LinematesRating: 3.5 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel


Five years ago, Derek LaVigne and Trevor Ladoucer were known as the “Wonder Twins” when they played hockey together at the World Junior Championships. Inseparable on and off the ice, their relationship culminated upon winning gold and sleeping together. The next morning, Trevor was gone. Shortly after, the two were drafted by the NHL. Derek ended up in Los Angeles and Trevor in Detroit and the two never spoke again.

Now Derek finds out he’s been traded from the Los Angeles to Detroit in the hopes that teaming up with his former teammate can ensure Detroit the Stanley Cup. Yet, the welcome he gets from Trevor isn’t exactly welcoming as Trevor seeks to show Derek that he really isn’t gay. Will these two be able to create the magic they once had both on and off the ice?

For fans of hockey, there is plenty of hockey action in this book to keep you entertained. This book is narrated in the first person as Derek tells his story. Readers see as he struggles with the mixed messages Trevor keeps throwing at him. From not passing him the puck to the sexual tension as they share a room while out on the road, Derek rides the gamut of emotions lust to hate to love.

Trevor tells Derek that their night together in Finland was the result of too much alcohol and that he isn’t really gay. His proof is his girlfriend Ashely, his blonde bimbo who dislikes Derek with a passion…which was pretty much the only passion to be found in this book.

I didn’t quite get Trevor’s whole move from “I hate you, I am not gay” to declaring his love for Derek. Up until that point, there hadn’t really been anything heartwarming between the two to even suggest there was “like,” never mind “love.”

I was also disappointed with how abruptly the book ended. We know nothing about whether the two men are going to come out to their teammates or families, whether they live happily ever after, whether Derek is even going to continue playing in the NHL or in Detroit. It just ended. Personally, I want something more at the end of the book.

As a fan of hockey, I found that despite the book’s shortcomings in the romance department, it was still an okay read because the author’s love of the game was able to shine through. As a romance, I was sorely disappointed, finding that it was a bit short on the romance.

A review copy of this book was provided by Dreamspinner Press.

Wendy sig