About the Book

Can Tennant show Jared that age is just a number, and that love is all that matters?

The Rowe Brothers are famous hockey hotshots, but as the youngest of the trio, Tennant has always had to play against his brothers’ reputations. To get out of their shadows, and against their advice, he accepts a trade to the Harrisburg Railers, where he runs into Jared Madsen. Mads is an old family friend and his brother’s one-time teammate. Mads is Tennant’s new coach. And Mads is the sexiest thing he’s ever laid eyes on.

Jared Madsen’s hockey career was cut short by a fault in his heart, but coaching keeps him close to the game. When Ten is traded to the team, his carefully organized world is thrown into chaos. Nine years younger and his best friend’s brother, he knows Ten is strictly off-limits, but as soon as he sees Ten’s moves, on and off the ice, he knows his heart could get him into trouble again.

The Finer Details

Narrative Arc: Series

Series Detail: Harrisburg Railers, book 1

Publication Date: July 12, 2017
Publisher: Love Lane Books Limited
Editor(s): LOOKUP
Cover Artist: Meredith Russell Website
Length: Novel, 233 e-book pages
POV: 1st person, two characters
Tense: Past
Pairings: Male/Male
Identities: Gay
Age Ranges: 22 to 25, 30 to 34
Genre(s): Contemporary, Sports

Athlete: Professional Sport(s): Ice Hockey

Tropes and Tags: age gap, athlete, best friend’s sibling, opposites attract
Settings & Locales: Harrisburg, PA
Ending: HEA

Advance Review Copy generously provided by the author via Signal Boost Promotions

Back Porch Thoughts

Rating

3.5 Stars

Rating Info

Ratings stick closely to the GoodReads standards. Occasionally I’ll make note of half-star ratings and will typically round up on GoodReads reviews and other sites where I may cross-post.

Stars	Goodreads	What this means to me
5	AMAZING	This totally knocked my socks off, and I might end up a crazed fan (from a respectable distance).
4	Really Liked	This was truly enjoyable, and I’d recommend it.
3	Liked	It was good, and I’m glad I read it, but I may have had some issues.
2	It was okay	There were likable parts but I definitely had issues.
1	Didn't like	I read the whole thing but....
1 DNF	Didn't like	I read past 50% (at least) before giving up.
0 DNF	No Rating	I couldn't even make it to 50%, but I still feel the need to share my thoughts.

Review

For some reason, I’m a sucker for Ice Hockey stories. I can’t resist them. It probably has to do with some wild times from my late twenties when I’d scream-n-cheer myself hoarse rooting for my local ECHL team, attending every game I could, even gallivanting around the southeast for away games. I won a signed hockey stick one time and kept that baby close for years. We won’t talk about its unfortunate demise.

So imagine my DELIGHT to get my hands on this!

Also because it was a chance for me to read two authors I hadn’t had read yet.

Delighted, I tell you.

And mostly, my delight stayed with me from beginning to end. Because these characters! Ten and his loud, intrusive family who’s all super-enthusiastic and supportive in their own ways. And Mads who has a PAST like whoa that’s all kinds of meddlesome on his present in good and bad ways.

Obviously, also the hockey. That was fun.

Authors Scott and Locey nailed the hockey, I thought; as well as the collision of a subtle little age gap and wild family dynamics. The pacing chugged right along at an engaging clip, interspersed with a few laughs and tense moments that packed an emotional punch that kept me glued to see what would come next.

And that’s where I realized I needed more. I had boat-loads of need-to-know questions that weren’t quiiiite answered. I needed just a bit more of Mad and Ten, more of what made them tick separately and together. It’s almost like the hockey and other external factors had a louder heartbeat than the MCs with some resolutions coming way too easily.

But, listen, there are some side characters who are INTRIGUING as hell that I gotta have more of, maybe their books will come, but way to freaking TEASE ME.

A promising start to a new series — I’ll be back to see what comes next.

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About the Authors

R.J. Scott

RJ Scott is the bestselling romance author of over 100 romance books. She writes emotional stories of complicated characters, cowboys, millionaire, princes, and the men and women who get mixed up in their lives. RJ is known for writing books that always end with a happy ever after. She lives just outside London and spends every waking minute she isn't with family either reading or writing. The last time she had a week's break from writing she didn't like it one little bit, and she has yet to meet a bottle of wine she couldn't defeat.

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V.L. Locey

V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a flock of assorted domestic fowl, and two Jersey steers. When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in hand. She can also be found online on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and GoodReads.