What a freaking delight.
I adored this hockey romance SO MUCH.
I decided to dive into this series because I really want to read book four, but since all of these are quite short, I broke my rule about series made up of standalones (that is, I shouldn't have to read them all if I don't want to) and started at the beginning.
I'm so glad I did.
Lane and Jared are DELIGHTFUL protagonists, and their dynamic was so freaking cute and wholesome and lovely and perfect I had the urge to kick my feet and twirl my hair and squeal in my pillow. So cute. SO LOVELY. And the banter? Now, if you've read my reviews before you know I abhor pointless, childish banter, but the way these two were together, their inside jokes, the ribbing and the delightful way Jared teased Lane, it WAS EVERYTHING. I grinned non-stop til the end.
I adored both of them so so so much. I loved Lane, I loved how peculiar and unintentionally funny he was, I loved his no-filter big mouth, I loved how freaking precious he was. I'm pretty sure he's portrayed as being neuroatypical, and I absolutely freaking loved that. He was the best.
And Jared! UGH, I loved that grumpy sod so much. I loved seeing him grow throughout the novel, how he managed to get back his shine and his love for hockey thanks to Lane, and I loved being in his head. He was hilarious and snarky and lovely, and his past made me want to jump into the book and hug him to death.

< “J, hey. Wake up. I just thought of something.”
“God help us all,” Jared muttered, blinking sleepily at him. “What is it? Also. Do you know what I just thought of? We need a bigger bed. This one is terrible. Why are we sleeping on it?” Lane’s bed was a full-size mattress that was barely big enough for him, but he wasn’t thinking about that. “No. That’s not what I’m thinking about.”
“I know. It’s what I’m thinking about.”
“Wait your turn.” Lane stared at him. Jared stared back. >

I adored the side characters (Ryan and Zoe own my soul <3 and I cannot wait to get to Riley and Ethan's romance *happy dance*), and I loved how this series is set in a minor league hockey team. There was enough hockey to make my sports-romance loving heart happy, but it didn't feel overwhelming like some of these romances do.
"Breakaway" is a fairly short novel; but it feels so much longer. I don't know if it's an Avon Gale magical skill or something, I'll have to get back to you on that, but it's packed with so much character development, an emotional, angsty undertone that made my heart hurt, and a love story that stole my freaking soul. I loved the ending so, so, so much too.
I wholly recommend.

TWs/CWs: grooming and abuse (in the past), homophobia.