Another great romance from Reid. The exploration of sexuality in adulthood is something I wish we saw more of in media. Also her fabulous banter continues.

Definitely my least favourite of the series so far, which is a shame because there was a lot of potential here with the age-gap & setup with Kyle’s family abandonment issues. It just…never went anywhere meaningful. 

It was nice to revisit the Admirals & all the NY side characters, including Scott, Kip, & Maria (plus a couple  delightful cameos by one Ilya Rozanov), but the relationship between Eric & Kyle was so frustrating to read - so much could have been solved with a simple conversation! Instead we’re treated to frequent self-loathing and pages upon pages of internal dialogue by both mains. The lack of character development meant that I didn’t connect with, or care for, either lead, unfortunately. 

honestly, the fact that this book was focused solely on kyle & eric, two characters we meet in the first book, was what immediately sold me to the story. both men were very charming in their own ways and it thrilled me to see them get their own story, and to especially see how they end up together. 

learning more about kyle’s backstory from before his time in new york was a sobering reveal, but it also helped a lot in looking at this new relationship he was building with eric with clearer eyes. while a lot of readers might not be able to get past the interesting age gap between these two, it felt pretty significant to see how much control & agency kyle actually did have throughout this book, especially during sex. the intimacy in the scenes between him & eric were at a sky-high because there was this immediate trust that eric had towards him, this assurance that kyle knew what he was doing and that he felt confident in it. 

i honestly loved how they seemed to bring out the best sides of each other even more than they already do on their own. eric has this very calm & assuring vibe that makes playing with him on the ice while he stands ready at the goal feel exhilarating, because you know he’s constantly watching and that he won’t look away from the puck. with kyle, every moment that they’re flirting or when making simple conversation, it’s impossible to not notice how much interest eric pays to him in his life and kyle’s own interests, something that as a bartender, kyle’s used to giving that sort of attention to his customers but then now with eric, he’s getting that same focused attention paid to him. 

for someone who’s so naturally charming and knows how good he looks, someone like eric making kyle feel rven more secure in his desires, both physical and personal, is like a dream come true. i love how it just seems to make them feel even more comfortable with each other and excited for what the road ahead may seem like now that they’re by each other’s side. their interest in traveling makes me already envision many of the trips they’d make around the world and the art they can appreciate together because they’re big dorks who have a good eye when it comes to a brilliant piece of art. hell, they certainly noticed each other, so that says enough. 

i’m just glad i got to read more about them, their povs were genuinely sweet, as was their romance. and i’m so grateful to the author for giving us the chance to see more of our favorite characters from book one—not just kip & scott, because of course they’re here, but also others like maria (whose friendship with kyle was such a pleasant surprise, it was nice to get to learn a bit about his home life, and just getting to know more about him in general). 

i think with scott, what mattered to me a lot was getting to see how close of a friendship he shares with eric, as when scott first came out in book one, it was eric who immediately just seemed to make sure scott felt comfortable with the kind of words he wanted to say in that moment. seeing the two still be as close a few years later while eric prepares for his retirement made me feel a lot for the both of them, and that was great. 

will i say this is my most favorite story out of this series? definitely not, but i got some laughs from this ensemble cast of characters as we revisited the Big Apple, and again, kyle & eric’s povs were everything i didn’t know i needed until now. their chemistry was off the charts, and i just love that they pursued their relationship despite the fears they may feel—kyle regarding a bad experience he had with another older man when he was much younger, and eric with feeling like he might waste many years just for the taking the risk of falling in love and not knowing how it’d look on the other side. 

i wish so much happiness for them both.