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Penalty Box #1
Game Misconduct
Two bitter rivals go head-to-head in this age-gap, enemies-to-lovers hockey romance.
Michael Sato is used to fighting.
An undersized defenseman, Mike had to be tough, clawing his way up from the minors by taking down one ferocious player at a time. No way is he going to lose his spot on the league roster, especially not by giving in to his attraction to a hot, infuriating rival.
Daniel Garcia is used to fighting, too.
Enforcer Danny is the biggest, meanest player on the ice. A target for anyone trying to make a name for themselves, he doesn’t show weakness, nor is he going to risk his last seasons for a sexy rookie who nearly knocked him on his ass.
When their intense physical connection explodes outside of the rink, Mike and Danny learn they just might be able to build something real, but only if they can let down their guard—and their fists—long enough.
CONTENT WARNING: Game Misconduct contains descriptions of alcohol and drug use disorders, alcohol and drug usage, depression, under-negotiated kink, and discussion of a past sexual assault.
Michael Sato is used to fighting.
An undersized defenseman, Mike had to be tough, clawing his way up from the minors by taking down one ferocious player at a time. No way is he going to lose his spot on the league roster, especially not by giving in to his attraction to a hot, infuriating rival.
Daniel Garcia is used to fighting, too.
Enforcer Danny is the biggest, meanest player on the ice. A target for anyone trying to make a name for themselves, he doesn’t show weakness, nor is he going to risk his last seasons for a sexy rookie who nearly knocked him on his ass.
When their intense physical connection explodes outside of the rink, Mike and Danny learn they just might be able to build something real, but only if they can let down their guard—and their fists—long enough.
CONTENT WARNING: Game Misconduct contains descriptions of alcohol and drug use disorders, alcohol and drug usage, depression, under-negotiated kink, and discussion of a past sexual assault.
ebook
First published May 16, 2023
132 people are currently reading
1454 people want to read
About the author
Ari Baran
4 books169 followersBorn just outside of Philadelphia, Ari moved into the city for school and never looked back. In their day job, they are a lawyer (not that kind of lawyer).
When they’re not writing, they’re listening to black metal, researching one of several incredibly niche interests, or watching too many hockey games.
Ari is a writer of hockey romances, epic fantasies, and other emotionally-distant messes.
When they’re not writing, they’re listening to black metal, researching one of several incredibly niche interests, or watching too many hockey games.
Ari is a writer of hockey romances, epic fantasies, and other emotionally-distant messes.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 309 reviews
February 25, 2025
This was no fluffy, lighthearted read.
The whole series is intense and beautiful and still full of tender moments.
The MCs in this book, Mike and Danny are fucked up. Really fucked up. Mike is 25, Danny 35, they're hockey players on opposing teams and constantly fighting on the ice. There's so much violence on the ice, I just hope for all hockey players' sakes that the violence behind it was exaggerated.
Mike's character development is awesome. He starts hot headed, always angry, and very slowly finds some serenity.
Sadly for Danny it is much harder to get his life back on track. He is in constant pain, full of fear of his future, and drinking too much while abusing pills.
Be sure to read the trigger warnings before starting this (and be aware: at one point Danny has thoughts of SA and that's not listed in the blurb's TWs).
The way the MCs explored their sexuality left me a bit apprehensive at times, but I'm vanilla.
I didn't think I could stomach reading about MC slapping and basically very much hurting each other, leaving deep bruises during sex, but the author is extremely skilled, I believed them that this what Mike and Danny needed.
My romance loving heart grew a size, though, when their relationship got less angry and we got to see how tender some moments were. I loved to see how deep their feelings for each other got over time.
I loved Bree, Mike's teammate and best friend A LOT. Not sure how realistic her role as an awards winning, first line player on a NHL team is, but I loved her for always having Mike's back and supporting him.
Like the other books in the series this was very impressive, I'm really glad I left this for last, though.
The whole series is intense and beautiful and still full of tender moments.
The MCs in this book, Mike and Danny are fucked up. Really fucked up. Mike is 25, Danny 35, they're hockey players on opposing teams and constantly fighting on the ice. There's so much violence on the ice, I just hope for all hockey players' sakes that the violence behind it was exaggerated.
Mike's character development is awesome. He starts hot headed, always angry, and very slowly finds some serenity.
Sadly for Danny it is much harder to get his life back on track. He is in constant pain, full of fear of his future, and drinking too much while abusing pills.
Be sure to read the trigger warnings before starting this (and be aware: at one point Danny has thoughts of SA and that's not listed in the blurb's TWs).
The way the MCs explored their sexuality left me a bit apprehensive at times, but I'm vanilla.
I didn't think I could stomach reading about MC slapping and basically very much hurting each other, leaving deep bruises during sex, but the author is extremely skilled, I believed them that this what Mike and Danny needed.
My romance loving heart grew a size, though, when their relationship got less angry and we got to see how tender some moments were. I loved to see how deep their feelings for each other got over time.
I loved Bree, Mike's teammate and best friend A LOT. Not sure how realistic her role as an awards winning, first line player on a NHL team is, but I loved her for always having Mike's back and supporting him.
Like the other books in the series this was very impressive, I'm really glad I left this for last, though.
January 18, 2024
3.0*** stars
Puh, okay. The storytelling in this book was not good. None of the side characters piqued my interest so nothing of the plot that had no immediate relation to the romance or the interactions between the two main characters had interested me much. Still, I was very much into the general storyline so I’m giving half a star on top of what I intended for this book.
Veteran hockey player Danny and youngling Mike are rivals on the ice. They are both D-men on opposing teams and fight each other hard whenever they play against each other. Michael generally seems to be angry all the time and for whatever reason he chose to punch Danny to feel better. And Danny lets him, taunts him.
Both men feel so lonely in life. On top of that Danny struggled with being close to retirement, with his body giving out on him and because of injuries not being able to play his career to the potential he wanted to and could’ve otherwise. He was depressed, on pain-meds and drank too much. That they found each other and backed each other up made their romance so damn lovely after a private chance encounter brings them together.
God! He said we and not you. I loved that so so much.
But besides the storytelling, what really made this rather low rating for my standards was the over-usage of the word dude (72 times). I mean, dude!! Really? And also the ending. I was not a fan of seeing Danny finally accepting help being so glossed over and I feel like the author has cheated us out of a real happy ending, at least on page. What was that? Satisfying it was not.
I’m really sorry to say that about a debut novel but in the end I’m leaving this book rather disappointed despite having loved the main characters and their love story. And it was hot.
***************
Penalty Box Series
Book 1 - Game Misconduct - 3.0 stars
Book 2 - Delay of Game
Book 3 - Home Ice Advantage - release 06/24
Puh, okay. The storytelling in this book was not good. None of the side characters piqued my interest so nothing of the plot that had no immediate relation to the romance or the interactions between the two main characters had interested me much. Still, I was very much into the general storyline so I’m giving half a star on top of what I intended for this book.
Veteran hockey player Danny and youngling Mike are rivals on the ice. They are both D-men on opposing teams and fight each other hard whenever they play against each other. Michael generally seems to be angry all the time and for whatever reason he chose to punch Danny to feel better. And Danny lets him, taunts him.
Both men feel so lonely in life. On top of that Danny struggled with being close to retirement, with his body giving out on him and because of injuries not being able to play his career to the potential he wanted to and could’ve otherwise. He was depressed, on pain-meds and drank too much. That they found each other and backed each other up made their romance so damn lovely after a private chance encounter brings them together.
“We’ll talk about your game later, but I want you to start working on just forcing this shit into your muscle memory first. You’ve developed a lot of bad habits that we need to break.”
God! He said we and not you. I loved that so so much.
But besides the storytelling, what really made this rather low rating for my standards was the over-usage of the word dude (72 times). I mean, dude!! Really? And also the ending. I was not a fan of seeing Danny finally accepting help being so glossed over and I feel like the author has cheated us out of a real happy ending, at least on page. What was that? Satisfying it was not.
I’m really sorry to say that about a debut novel but in the end I’m leaving this book rather disappointed despite having loved the main characters and their love story. And it was hot.
There was a long pause and a shaky breath out. “Yes. It’s always fucking yes with you, you asshole.”
***************
Penalty Box Series
Book 1 - Game Misconduct - 3.0 stars
Book 2 - Delay of Game
Book 3 - Home Ice Advantage - release 06/24
November 15, 2023
DNF @ 30%
This was a very highly anticipated read for me and I've been saving it for months, so nobody is more irritated than me that I have to rage-quit this one because I'm hating every word. Nothing worked for me. The fantasy hockey world that the author created made no sense and was a slap in the face to women's sports, the writing was annoying, Mike was an irritating man-child who acted like a teenager instead of a 24 year old pro athlete, I hated the barrage of pointless side characters and the relationship between Mike and Danny made no sense and wasn't nearly as intense/dark as I wanted it to be. I'll go into detail from smallest issue to biggest.
Annoying Writing Style
The MCs played on different teams and the author's approach to their long distance romance was to fill page after page with repetitive internal rambling from both MCs and pointless scenes of the MCs interacting with side characters. The pacing was so bad that I could skim large sections and not miss anything important. Also - the author's decision to include text conversations without formatting the text conversations any differently from the normal narrative made it difficult to know what was texting versus what was an MC's internal thought. There's a reason nobody structures text conversations this way and I have no idea why the author decided to go against the grain with that.
Pointless Side Characters
Holy smokes! It's been a while since I came across a book where side characters seem to come out of the woodwork like termites at a never-ending pace. The majority of these characters didn't matter, yet the author insisted on providing their physical descriptions, their personalities and other irrelevant details. In particular, I hated the heavy focus on Bee and her boyfriend (another teammate). I tried to keep track of who was who but there were so many teammates and family members that I stopped trying and just skimmed over scenes referencing non-MC characters. Maybe these characters are sequel bait for future installments but in any case - it's an approach I hate because it's just pointless clutter.
Mike = Immature Man-Child
The way Mike was written reminded me of a teenage boy, which annoyed me on many levels. Nobody gets to the highest levels of men's hockey with the kind of whiny, annoying attitude that Mike had. It doesn't matter how well you can play hockey but that kind of an attitude wouldn't be tolerated and he wouldn't have reached the level he's at. But here's the kicker - the guy isn't that good at hockey anyway. He's an 80s-style enforcer (don't worry - I'll talk about that later) who can be replaced at the drop of a hat so it made no sense that he'd be an NHL player. But more importantly, his immature attitude was annoying to read. I don't like YA romances. I don't like young, immature characters who throw non-stop tantrums when things don't go their way. I particularly hated having Danny play a parental role for Mike, providing mature and calm guidance in the face of Mike's never ending hissy fits. Even Mike's dialogue was annoying, mostly consisting of fuck this, fuck off, fuck you etc and tons of 'likes'. It felt like the author was deliberately writing him as being much younger and less mature than he should be at that age, never mind if he's a professional athlete. I don't care if this was for plot purposes - I'm not interesting in MCs who act like they're 12 years old, especially when they're in sex scenes.
Nonsensical & Insulting Fantasy Hockey World
(skip this section if you don't care about the depiction of hockey in this book)
Was this supposed to take place in the 1980s? Because it sure seemed like it did. You have enforcers getting into multiple fights per game and you also have enforcers taking up roster spots. The world of hockey has moved past the enforcer age over a decade ago. Sure, there are some stragglers who aren't costing the teams too much money and they respect the player enough to let them hang out until retirement but Danny's lack of enthusiasm and terrible health mean there's little chance he'd be given that consideration. He would have been shipped down to the minors long ago, to wait out the end of his contract. And guys like Mike would never reach the minors, never mind the NHL in this day and age. Teams have been moving away from the brawler model of hockey for various reasons and that's something to celebrate. But instead, the author decides to bring back the 1980s and that destructive and pointless model of hockey for some reason, which irritated me.
BUT - what really annoyed me about the author's fantasy version of the NHL was Bee's role. Bee is an African-American female hockey player who plays in the NHL. She's the first woman to ever play in the NHL, she plays on the first line and she's apparently better than all the other guys in the NHL combined. First of all - this Mary Sue nonsense nearly made me DNF out of sheer annoyance as soon as I read it. But then I thought about it more and when the implications of Bee's role sunk in, I nearly rage-quit because the whole thing made me see red. The entire thing is so disrespectful to women and especially female hockey players and it demonstrates such a lack of understanding and respect for the worlds of men's vs women's pro hockey that it's mind blowing to me. I've been a supporter and follower of women's pro hockey for many years and the idea that a female hockey player will only have achieved 'top level' if they've played in the NHL is so insulting and misogynistic that it makes me see red. Imagine if somebody suggested that about tennis or soccer or any other sport. They would be laughed at because of how ridiculous the notion was and also how insulting it is to female athletes.
Women's hockey has existed in North America for over 100 years and we have the best female hockey players in the world and they play on their own teams, in their own leagues. Suggesting that these women need to strive towards playing in the men's league is a slap in the face to their accomplishments but it also demonstrates a lack of understanding of how different men's vs women's hockey is and why those differences exist. Those amazing female hockey players you see at the Olympics are the best in the world but they always get their asses handed to them when they play all-boys high school teams and there's a reason for that. The hockey is different and that's okay because women don't need to get into men's spaces in order for them to be respected. What especially annoys me is that there are so many ignorant loudmouths on Twitter and Tumblr (the crowd who this author is catering to) who are very quick to scream about the NHL needing to allow female players in the league, while those same ignorant people refuse to support actual professional women's hockey leagues and that's why these leagues continue to fail again and again and again (am I still bitter about the CWHL folding in 2019 after 12 epic years? Yes, yes I am because it was avoidable).
In particular, I was annoyed that the author seemed to (maybe unintentionally) base Bee off of the real-life Blake Bolden. The 'Bee' name and the fact that both are African-American pro women's hockey players made the connection impossible to ignore. Bolden is one of the best hockey players in recent times (her record doesn't come close to Hall Of Famer Angela James, but still), having won the CWHL's Clarkson Cup in 2015 and then the NWHL's Isobel Cup in 2016, as well as Defenseman of the Year in 2019 before retiring in 2020. In another ironic twist, Bolden does work for the NHL now that she's retired - she's a scout for the LA Kings. But the idea that Bolden should have aspired to reach the NHL isn't just insulting, it makes no sense.
You know what would have been cool? If Mike did have a African-American female roommate who was a pro hockey player...who played in the actual real-life women's hockey league that already exists - the NWHL. The author had a golden opportunity to educate readers about women's professional hockey and demonstrate the many unfair differences between the life of a pro female hockey player versus a men's hockey player. But no, the author chose to cater to the rah-rah-girl-power crowd who don't understand women's sports and don't care about the actual athletes struggling to bring their own leagues into the mainstream.
A Weirdly Paced Romance
Mike being an immature man-child already soured me on the romance from the start because Danny took on a parental role with him, which became really icky when sex was added in. Then there's Danny's nonsensical romance progression. The guy also seems to know about Mike's sexual preferences and other personality quirks when he shouldn't know such things. It's like Danny was speed-running the romance relationship and it made no sense to me. Not to mention that I never believed that Danny would ever view Mike as a true potential romantic partner. Maybe I would have believed it if Mike had matured over time and then they'd started sleeping together but having Danny be attracted to this irritating man-child who was all rage, attitude and constant 'fuck you, fuck off, fuck this' made no sense to me.
Gratuitious Violence =/= Dark Romance
I was expecting this to be an epic enemies-to-lovers dark romance, comparable to Aleksandr Voinov and Marquesate's Soldiers or Becca Steele's Savage Rivals. Both have the MCs hate each other and take out their hatred with extreme violence against each other. They both realize the violence turns them on and they jump on the hate-sex train, which slowly turns into a romance-sex train without them noticing. That's what I was expecting but this didn't come close to meeting my expectations.
Where was this supposed animosity between them?? Instead of putting the violence into Mike and Danny's off-ice interactions, the author stuffs the rest of the book full of violence in a way that again makes the situation resembled the 1980s. Mike is constantly getting into fights during hockey, he boxes with Bee, he thinks about wanting to punch everybody around him etc. It was absurd and not the approach to violent dark romance that I was hoping for.
Conclusion
Overall, none of this worked for me. It felt disorganized and amateur, as if the author wasn't clear on how to go in the direction they wanted to go. It's too bad that this book has been hyped to the heavens by everyone because it means people like me who were very much looking forward to this book will likely end up disappointed.
This was a very highly anticipated read for me and I've been saving it for months, so nobody is more irritated than me that I have to rage-quit this one because I'm hating every word. Nothing worked for me. The fantasy hockey world that the author created made no sense and was a slap in the face to women's sports, the writing was annoying, Mike was an irritating man-child who acted like a teenager instead of a 24 year old pro athlete, I hated the barrage of pointless side characters and the relationship between Mike and Danny made no sense and wasn't nearly as intense/dark as I wanted it to be. I'll go into detail from smallest issue to biggest.
Annoying Writing Style
The MCs played on different teams and the author's approach to their long distance romance was to fill page after page with repetitive internal rambling from both MCs and pointless scenes of the MCs interacting with side characters. The pacing was so bad that I could skim large sections and not miss anything important. Also - the author's decision to include text conversations without formatting the text conversations any differently from the normal narrative made it difficult to know what was texting versus what was an MC's internal thought. There's a reason nobody structures text conversations this way and I have no idea why the author decided to go against the grain with that.
Pointless Side Characters
Holy smokes! It's been a while since I came across a book where side characters seem to come out of the woodwork like termites at a never-ending pace. The majority of these characters didn't matter, yet the author insisted on providing their physical descriptions, their personalities and other irrelevant details. In particular, I hated the heavy focus on Bee and her boyfriend (another teammate). I tried to keep track of who was who but there were so many teammates and family members that I stopped trying and just skimmed over scenes referencing non-MC characters. Maybe these characters are sequel bait for future installments but in any case - it's an approach I hate because it's just pointless clutter.
Mike = Immature Man-Child
The way Mike was written reminded me of a teenage boy, which annoyed me on many levels. Nobody gets to the highest levels of men's hockey with the kind of whiny, annoying attitude that Mike had. It doesn't matter how well you can play hockey but that kind of an attitude wouldn't be tolerated and he wouldn't have reached the level he's at. But here's the kicker - the guy isn't that good at hockey anyway. He's an 80s-style enforcer (don't worry - I'll talk about that later) who can be replaced at the drop of a hat so it made no sense that he'd be an NHL player. But more importantly, his immature attitude was annoying to read. I don't like YA romances. I don't like young, immature characters who throw non-stop tantrums when things don't go their way. I particularly hated having Danny play a parental role for Mike, providing mature and calm guidance in the face of Mike's never ending hissy fits. Even Mike's dialogue was annoying, mostly consisting of fuck this, fuck off, fuck you etc and tons of 'likes'. It felt like the author was deliberately writing him as being much younger and less mature than he should be at that age, never mind if he's a professional athlete. I don't care if this was for plot purposes - I'm not interesting in MCs who act like they're 12 years old, especially when they're in sex scenes.
Nonsensical & Insulting Fantasy Hockey World
(skip this section if you don't care about the depiction of hockey in this book)
Was this supposed to take place in the 1980s? Because it sure seemed like it did. You have enforcers getting into multiple fights per game and you also have enforcers taking up roster spots. The world of hockey has moved past the enforcer age over a decade ago. Sure, there are some stragglers who aren't costing the teams too much money and they respect the player enough to let them hang out until retirement but Danny's lack of enthusiasm and terrible health mean there's little chance he'd be given that consideration. He would have been shipped down to the minors long ago, to wait out the end of his contract. And guys like Mike would never reach the minors, never mind the NHL in this day and age. Teams have been moving away from the brawler model of hockey for various reasons and that's something to celebrate. But instead, the author decides to bring back the 1980s and that destructive and pointless model of hockey for some reason, which irritated me.
BUT - what really annoyed me about the author's fantasy version of the NHL was Bee's role. Bee is an African-American female hockey player who plays in the NHL. She's the first woman to ever play in the NHL, she plays on the first line and she's apparently better than all the other guys in the NHL combined. First of all - this Mary Sue nonsense nearly made me DNF out of sheer annoyance as soon as I read it. But then I thought about it more and when the implications of Bee's role sunk in, I nearly rage-quit because the whole thing made me see red. The entire thing is so disrespectful to women and especially female hockey players and it demonstrates such a lack of understanding and respect for the worlds of men's vs women's pro hockey that it's mind blowing to me. I've been a supporter and follower of women's pro hockey for many years and the idea that a female hockey player will only have achieved 'top level' if they've played in the NHL is so insulting and misogynistic that it makes me see red. Imagine if somebody suggested that about tennis or soccer or any other sport. They would be laughed at because of how ridiculous the notion was and also how insulting it is to female athletes.
Women's hockey has existed in North America for over 100 years and we have the best female hockey players in the world and they play on their own teams, in their own leagues. Suggesting that these women need to strive towards playing in the men's league is a slap in the face to their accomplishments but it also demonstrates a lack of understanding of how different men's vs women's hockey is and why those differences exist. Those amazing female hockey players you see at the Olympics are the best in the world but they always get their asses handed to them when they play all-boys high school teams and there's a reason for that. The hockey is different and that's okay because women don't need to get into men's spaces in order for them to be respected. What especially annoys me is that there are so many ignorant loudmouths on Twitter and Tumblr (the crowd who this author is catering to) who are very quick to scream about the NHL needing to allow female players in the league, while those same ignorant people refuse to support actual professional women's hockey leagues and that's why these leagues continue to fail again and again and again (am I still bitter about the CWHL folding in 2019 after 12 epic years? Yes, yes I am because it was avoidable).
In particular, I was annoyed that the author seemed to (maybe unintentionally) base Bee off of the real-life Blake Bolden. The 'Bee' name and the fact that both are African-American pro women's hockey players made the connection impossible to ignore. Bolden is one of the best hockey players in recent times (her record doesn't come close to Hall Of Famer Angela James, but still), having won the CWHL's Clarkson Cup in 2015 and then the NWHL's Isobel Cup in 2016, as well as Defenseman of the Year in 2019 before retiring in 2020. In another ironic twist, Bolden does work for the NHL now that she's retired - she's a scout for the LA Kings. But the idea that Bolden should have aspired to reach the NHL isn't just insulting, it makes no sense.
You know what would have been cool? If Mike did have a African-American female roommate who was a pro hockey player...who played in the actual real-life women's hockey league that already exists - the NWHL. The author had a golden opportunity to educate readers about women's professional hockey and demonstrate the many unfair differences between the life of a pro female hockey player versus a men's hockey player. But no, the author chose to cater to the rah-rah-girl-power crowd who don't understand women's sports and don't care about the actual athletes struggling to bring their own leagues into the mainstream.
A Weirdly Paced Romance
Mike being an immature man-child already soured me on the romance from the start because Danny took on a parental role with him, which became really icky when sex was added in. Then there's Danny's nonsensical romance progression. The guy also seems to know about Mike's sexual preferences and other personality quirks when he shouldn't know such things. It's like Danny was speed-running the romance relationship and it made no sense to me. Not to mention that I never believed that Danny would ever view Mike as a true potential romantic partner. Maybe I would have believed it if Mike had matured over time and then they'd started sleeping together but having Danny be attracted to this irritating man-child who was all rage, attitude and constant 'fuck you, fuck off, fuck this' made no sense to me.
Gratuitious Violence =/= Dark Romance
I was expecting this to be an epic enemies-to-lovers dark romance, comparable to Aleksandr Voinov and Marquesate's Soldiers or Becca Steele's Savage Rivals. Both have the MCs hate each other and take out their hatred with extreme violence against each other. They both realize the violence turns them on and they jump on the hate-sex train, which slowly turns into a romance-sex train without them noticing. That's what I was expecting but this didn't come close to meeting my expectations.
Where was this supposed animosity between them?? Instead of putting the violence into Mike and Danny's off-ice interactions, the author stuffs the rest of the book full of violence in a way that again makes the situation resembled the 1980s. Mike is constantly getting into fights during hockey, he boxes with Bee, he thinks about wanting to punch everybody around him etc. It was absurd and not the approach to violent dark romance that I was hoping for.
Conclusion
Overall, none of this worked for me. It felt disorganized and amateur, as if the author wasn't clear on how to go in the direction they wanted to go. It's too bad that this book has been hyped to the heavens by everyone because it means people like me who were very much looking forward to this book will likely end up disappointed.
April 5, 2023
2.5 stars rounded up
This book was straight up baffling to read. The two main components of the book, the hockey and the romance, were equally weird and made me question if I knew anything at all about hockey or reading romance.
To start, the hockey. I was initially ok with the idea of the two main characters being enforcers but they were Extreme Enforcers who fought multiple times every game. In the year of our lord 2023, hockey fighting and enforcers are barely a thing. The players in real life hockey who fight a lot have maybe 12-14 fights an entire season! What makes it even more confusing as a character choice is this is a league that's progressive enough to have a female hockey player. It makes no sense to have both of these be true at once and still have a homophobic league.
As for the rest of the hockey it was all a little...off. Like words might be used in hockey but they were slightly out of place or lacked context or seemed tacked on to prove Hockey Knowledge. Normally I can look past this but it was way too much and the romance wasn't enough to distract me.
Which leads me to the romance. There is barely any of it in the book which was disappointing. Everything seemed to happen off page except some very long explicit scenes and the fighting. And the bulk of the book was preoccupied with Danny's addiction issues and his refusal to get help about it and then it was all just handwaved away at the end.
I rounded up to 3 stars because there was enough to keep me reading but I would've preferred way less hockey and fighting and serious addiction and mental health issues that weren't well represented in the book anyway and way more romance and caretaking and pining and buying flowers for each other. I am intrigued enough to try the author's next book but I really hope they try to do way less things in it.
I received an ARC copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
This book was straight up baffling to read. The two main components of the book, the hockey and the romance, were equally weird and made me question if I knew anything at all about hockey or reading romance.
To start, the hockey. I was initially ok with the idea of the two main characters being enforcers but they were Extreme Enforcers who fought multiple times every game. In the year of our lord 2023, hockey fighting and enforcers are barely a thing. The players in real life hockey who fight a lot have maybe 12-14 fights an entire season! What makes it even more confusing as a character choice is this is a league that's progressive enough to have a female hockey player. It makes no sense to have both of these be true at once and still have a homophobic league.
As for the rest of the hockey it was all a little...off. Like words might be used in hockey but they were slightly out of place or lacked context or seemed tacked on to prove Hockey Knowledge. Normally I can look past this but it was way too much and the romance wasn't enough to distract me.
Which leads me to the romance. There is barely any of it in the book which was disappointing. Everything seemed to happen off page except some very long explicit scenes and the fighting. And the bulk of the book was preoccupied with Danny's addiction issues and his refusal to get help about it and then it was all just handwaved away at the end.
I rounded up to 3 stars because there was enough to keep me reading but I would've preferred way less hockey and fighting and serious addiction and mental health issues that weren't well represented in the book anyway and way more romance and caretaking and pining and buying flowers for each other. I am intrigued enough to try the author's next book but I really hope they try to do way less things in it.
I received an ARC copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
June 9, 2023
rep: Japanese American gay mc, Mexican American bi mc with drugs & alcohol abuse problem, Black side character, Mexican American side characters
tw: drugs & alcohol abuse, depression, hockey related injuries, homophobia
ARC provided by the publisher.
There are good romance novels, and then there's Game Misconduct. In my mind, it's truly in a league of its own, and the fact that it's a debut makes me extremely excited for the future. (I read it twice in the span of ten days, surely that tells you all you need to know.)
But before we properly start, so that we can fully understand each other, let me just say what I look for in a romance novel: palpable character development & a believable love story (i.e. chemistry!). Now that’s out of the way, let’s talk.
Mike and Danny are very different, and that shows both in their actions but also in the way their POV is written. They have distinct voices, which isn't often seen in romances. Interestingly, the way they talk, the vocabulary they use, changes a bit as they grow (& learn each other better), but always stays clearly them.
Of course the dialogues aren't the only thing that changes: it's all of them. The character development is uncanny. They've known each other for a while, but their first proper encounter was a perfect catalyst for all that's to come. They mature together, they learn to love life again. Mike's journey is beautiful to behold - at the beginning of the novel he just yells 'I hate you!' at Danny, and yet he ends it being able to talk about his feelings at length (and initiating those conversations). Danny, on the other hand, gets some of that youthful enthusiasm from Mike; he starts seeing life as precious once more.
It's not that love fixes them - there's an actual therapist along the way & a lot of talk about the power of therapy in general - but it makes them want to be better. That romantic love is the motor for change, yes, but simultaneously the novel underlines the importance of support from friends and family. Even if those relationships are strained, need work, they can still be a crucial step towards healing.
Another interesting aspect of Game Misconduct is that, unlike a lot of sports romance novels, it never pushes Mike & Danny to publicly come out. In fact, they never even talk about it. It's simply not something they consider - not because they're scared, but because they don't need it. The people who matter to them know and that's enough. They simply want to have a life together.
(It might also be tied with Mike's best friend being a Black woman player in the league. There's a lot of emphasis on how slow and painful her acclimatisation into the league was. Which is to say a lot of emphasis on the league being racist & misogynistic. So it's not that big of a stretch to assume the guys weren't considering coming out because they knew the league couldn't handle it.)
Every part of Game Misconduct is thought through and makes perfect sense for the characters. The way Mike and Danny's romantic relationship starts, the things they argue about, the things they fight for. It's a testament to the strength of the character development that there's no unnecessary break up at any point - their love story is allowed to run its true course. And they're all the better for it.
Game Misconduct is an outstanding romance novel, and we can only look forward to more great things from Baran. They clearly know how to make characters fell like real people and fall in love with each other, and the readers fall in love with said characters.
tw: drugs & alcohol abuse, depression, hockey related injuries, homophobia
ARC provided by the publisher.
There are good romance novels, and then there's Game Misconduct. In my mind, it's truly in a league of its own, and the fact that it's a debut makes me extremely excited for the future. (I read it twice in the span of ten days, surely that tells you all you need to know.)
But before we properly start, so that we can fully understand each other, let me just say what I look for in a romance novel: palpable character development & a believable love story (i.e. chemistry!). Now that’s out of the way, let’s talk.
Mike and Danny are very different, and that shows both in their actions but also in the way their POV is written. They have distinct voices, which isn't often seen in romances. Interestingly, the way they talk, the vocabulary they use, changes a bit as they grow (& learn each other better), but always stays clearly them.
Of course the dialogues aren't the only thing that changes: it's all of them. The character development is uncanny. They've known each other for a while, but their first proper encounter was a perfect catalyst for all that's to come. They mature together, they learn to love life again. Mike's journey is beautiful to behold - at the beginning of the novel he just yells 'I hate you!' at Danny, and yet he ends it being able to talk about his feelings at length (and initiating those conversations). Danny, on the other hand, gets some of that youthful enthusiasm from Mike; he starts seeing life as precious once more.
It's not that love fixes them - there's an actual therapist along the way & a lot of talk about the power of therapy in general - but it makes them want to be better. That romantic love is the motor for change, yes, but simultaneously the novel underlines the importance of support from friends and family. Even if those relationships are strained, need work, they can still be a crucial step towards healing.
Another interesting aspect of Game Misconduct is that, unlike a lot of sports romance novels, it never pushes Mike & Danny to publicly come out. In fact, they never even talk about it. It's simply not something they consider - not because they're scared, but because they don't need it. The people who matter to them know and that's enough. They simply want to have a life together.
(It might also be tied with Mike's best friend being a Black woman player in the league. There's a lot of emphasis on how slow and painful her acclimatisation into the league was. Which is to say a lot of emphasis on the league being racist & misogynistic. So it's not that big of a stretch to assume the guys weren't considering coming out because they knew the league couldn't handle it.)
Every part of Game Misconduct is thought through and makes perfect sense for the characters. The way Mike and Danny's romantic relationship starts, the things they argue about, the things they fight for. It's a testament to the strength of the character development that there's no unnecessary break up at any point - their love story is allowed to run its true course. And they're all the better for it.
Game Misconduct is an outstanding romance novel, and we can only look forward to more great things from Baran. They clearly know how to make characters fell like real people and fall in love with each other, and the readers fall in love with said characters.
April 16, 2023
Well, that was brutal, by which I mean it was a long trip through the emotional wringer watching these two badly damaged men find their way. I was going to say "find their way out of the traps they're in," only I have a very bad feeling about their long-term prospects.
Not their prospects as a couple, I mean: By the end of the book, Mike has expanded his emotional repertoire far beyond the directionless rage and very directed self-hatred he starts out with; also, Danny has helped him achieve his potential as a hockey player. For his part, Mike has coaxed Danny back into contact with his family and gotten him closer to where he can stop destroying himself with Percocet and alcohol and playing through injury; at the end, Danny puts the brakes on his downward spiral.
Enemies-to-lovers transformation is tricky to pull off when the hostility isn't just a matter of MC2 taking MC1's lunch out of the office fridge. These two start out violent and for a long time they stay violent, fighting whenever they meet on the ice even after their personal enmity has evaporated. The sex is rough from the start, and rough is how it stays, though the roughness slowly alchemizes into a means of tenderness. (I thought about tagging this for BDSM, because once Mike and Danny begin to acknowledge that they're not just hate-fucking, the hitting and biting and bruising take on that trustful, physically cathartic quality I associate with BDSM. I'm not sure why it seems different and I might yet add the tag.) The increments by which they progress out of mutual assured destruction are so minute that I believed them, which is something to say.
Why, then, have a bad feeling about their long-term prospects? One word: concussion. For any reader halfway paying attention to (1) Danny's history (2) the news about repeated head injuries among football and hockey players, it's no spoiler to say that I finished Game Misconduct loving Danny and Mike, and very, very worried about the medical future.
The close third-person narration alternates points of view; for Mike, in particular, the structure of the prose reflects his constricted emotionality and broken-off -- well, you can't even call them "broken-off insights," because it takes Mike a good while to get as far as having even a broken-off insight:
What the fuck was wrong with him? His brain kept replaying everything. Going down on his knees. He didn’t know why the fuck he’d done that. Why he’d said that. Like: he didn’t like owing people, it was true. But Garcia was an asshole and Mike didn’t have to…
It had been really fucking good, and that was worse. He felt like he was going to rip his entire fucking skin off and he didn’t know why.
Or this snippet that comes out of Mike's mouth: “But like— the person you want to fuck— like— what do you do when there’s something, you know, going on with them and you don’t know what it is?” This is him already having taken baby steps toward understanding himself, mind you.
Game Misconduct is a terrific book, exquisitely painful; I can't recommend it highly enough but do brace yourself. The content notes at the end of the GR descriptive copy make it pretty obvious what kind of ride readers are in for. I expect I'll be thinking about that for a good while: a love story that ends with the MCs believably together for the long haul and that nevertheless has potential for tragedy built in.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
Not their prospects as a couple, I mean: By the end of the book, Mike has expanded his emotional repertoire far beyond the directionless rage and very directed self-hatred he starts out with; also, Danny has helped him achieve his potential as a hockey player. For his part, Mike has coaxed Danny back into contact with his family and gotten him closer to where he can stop destroying himself with Percocet and alcohol and playing through injury; at the end, Danny puts the brakes on his downward spiral.
Enemies-to-lovers transformation is tricky to pull off when the hostility isn't just a matter of MC2 taking MC1's lunch out of the office fridge. These two start out violent and for a long time they stay violent, fighting whenever they meet on the ice even after their personal enmity has evaporated. The sex is rough from the start, and rough is how it stays, though the roughness slowly alchemizes into a means of tenderness. (I thought about tagging this for BDSM, because once Mike and Danny begin to acknowledge that they're not just hate-fucking, the hitting and biting and bruising take on that trustful, physically cathartic quality I associate with BDSM. I'm not sure why it seems different and I might yet add the tag.) The increments by which they progress out of mutual assured destruction are so minute that I believed them, which is something to say.
Why, then, have a bad feeling about their long-term prospects? One word: concussion. For any reader halfway paying attention to (1) Danny's history (2) the news about repeated head injuries among football and hockey players, it's no spoiler to say that I finished Game Misconduct loving Danny and Mike, and very, very worried about the medical future.
The close third-person narration alternates points of view; for Mike, in particular, the structure of the prose reflects his constricted emotionality and broken-off -- well, you can't even call them "broken-off insights," because it takes Mike a good while to get as far as having even a broken-off insight:
What the fuck was wrong with him? His brain kept replaying everything. Going down on his knees. He didn’t know why the fuck he’d done that. Why he’d said that. Like: he didn’t like owing people, it was true. But Garcia was an asshole and Mike didn’t have to…
It had been really fucking good, and that was worse. He felt like he was going to rip his entire fucking skin off and he didn’t know why.
Or this snippet that comes out of Mike's mouth: “But like— the person you want to fuck— like— what do you do when there’s something, you know, going on with them and you don’t know what it is?” This is him already having taken baby steps toward understanding himself, mind you.
Game Misconduct is a terrific book, exquisitely painful; I can't recommend it highly enough but do brace yourself. The content notes at the end of the GR descriptive copy make it pretty obvious what kind of ride readers are in for. I expect I'll be thinking about that for a good while: a love story that ends with the MCs believably together for the long haul and that nevertheless has potential for tragedy built in.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
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September 5, 2025spectacular i'll take 14 more thanks
August 23, 2024
On my blog.
Rep: Japanese American gay mc, Mexican American bi mc with substance abuse disorder(s), Black side character, Mexican American & Japanese American side characters
CWs: painkiller addiction, alcohol abuse
Galley provided by publisher
Game Misconduct is one of those romances that made me feel just a bit insane on finishing it. For a good week after reaching the end, I couldn’t last a few hours not thinking about it. Every time I tried to read another book, particularly when I tried to read another romance, it was automatically organised into the category of “not Game Misconduct” and, therefore, not as good.
I’m still not even sure I’m past that stage, but the immediate desire to reread has abated at least a little (although I feel like writing this review is going to make it come back with a vengeance).
The story follows two rival enforcers, Mike Sato and Danny Garcia. They’re on opposing teams (Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, iykyk) and hate each other. Or at least, Mike hates Danny with a passion. The feeling is not entirely reciprocated. But then a chance meeting in a Philadelphia alleyway leads to just a few complications in that relationship.
The key thing about any romance is that you like the characters, both separately and together, and that you can believe in their relationship. That you’re rooting for them, basically. And boy do you root for Mike and Danny. Their relationship is so incredibly compelling in a way that’s hard to describe. There are so few authors I’ve read who’ve captured my attention quite so completely, quite so early on in the book. There are regular openings to books, and then there’s this, an opening scene that quite literally takes your breath away.
From then on, the trajectory of the book is pretty much as expected. Except, unlike a lot of romances I’ve read where the sex has started early, this one still maintains a level of tension between the two mcs. Every interaction they have is still so charged, you almost feel uncomfortable watching it. And yet, your eyes remain glued to the page because you have to find out how it pans out, so desperately. That really sums up this entire book to me: you want to devour it just as much as you want to savour it. You can’t put it down but you don’t want it to end.
This book also contains what feels like a rarity: no third-act break-up. Now, I’ve probably long made clear my feelings on those, namely, they only work if they make sense with the characters’ personalities as established and that’s rarely the case. So when this one didn’t have a third-act break-up (which, to be clear, made total sense because there’s no way Mike would have let Danny be that stupid), it made me love it even more. Not least because I find senseless third-act break-ups fall into two categories: “wow that’s so stupid just talk will you” and “how the hell do you forgive that so easily”. This book had none of that, just two characters whose relationship with each other was the catalyst for their individual growth and understanding.
I don’t think I’m going to read a better romance than this all year, all said. At least not until the sequel comes out in however many months time (sob). I guess all that’s left for me until then is copious numbers of rereads…
Rep: Japanese American gay mc, Mexican American bi mc with substance abuse disorder(s), Black side character, Mexican American & Japanese American side characters
CWs: painkiller addiction, alcohol abuse
Galley provided by publisher
Game Misconduct is one of those romances that made me feel just a bit insane on finishing it. For a good week after reaching the end, I couldn’t last a few hours not thinking about it. Every time I tried to read another book, particularly when I tried to read another romance, it was automatically organised into the category of “not Game Misconduct” and, therefore, not as good.
I’m still not even sure I’m past that stage, but the immediate desire to reread has abated at least a little (although I feel like writing this review is going to make it come back with a vengeance).
The story follows two rival enforcers, Mike Sato and Danny Garcia. They’re on opposing teams (Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, iykyk) and hate each other. Or at least, Mike hates Danny with a passion. The feeling is not entirely reciprocated. But then a chance meeting in a Philadelphia alleyway leads to just a few complications in that relationship.
The key thing about any romance is that you like the characters, both separately and together, and that you can believe in their relationship. That you’re rooting for them, basically. And boy do you root for Mike and Danny. Their relationship is so incredibly compelling in a way that’s hard to describe. There are so few authors I’ve read who’ve captured my attention quite so completely, quite so early on in the book. There are regular openings to books, and then there’s this, an opening scene that quite literally takes your breath away.
From then on, the trajectory of the book is pretty much as expected. Except, unlike a lot of romances I’ve read where the sex has started early, this one still maintains a level of tension between the two mcs. Every interaction they have is still so charged, you almost feel uncomfortable watching it. And yet, your eyes remain glued to the page because you have to find out how it pans out, so desperately. That really sums up this entire book to me: you want to devour it just as much as you want to savour it. You can’t put it down but you don’t want it to end.
This book also contains what feels like a rarity: no third-act break-up. Now, I’ve probably long made clear my feelings on those, namely, they only work if they make sense with the characters’ personalities as established and that’s rarely the case. So when this one didn’t have a third-act break-up (which, to be clear, made total sense because there’s no way Mike would have let Danny be that stupid), it made me love it even more. Not least because I find senseless third-act break-ups fall into two categories: “wow that’s so stupid just talk will you” and “how the hell do you forgive that so easily”. This book had none of that, just two characters whose relationship with each other was the catalyst for their individual growth and understanding.
I don’t think I’m going to read a better romance than this all year, all said. At least not until the sequel comes out in however many months time (sob). I guess all that’s left for me until then is copious numbers of rereads…
July 28, 2023
I really love Baran’s examination of violence—the expectation of violence, the conditioning to it and consequences of it—in hockey, and also, the sometimes messy overlap of violence and sex. This can be a brutal (but compelling, and compassionate) read. But then somehow, still, in the midst of all that, Baran also crafts a bone deep, wonderful love story that I couldn’t look away from. I just really loved the whole thing & can’t wait to read more from Baran.
January 13, 2025
It is a very standard sports-romance rivals to lovers but with a bunch of angst and depression all around. I mostly read it because I want to read the sequel.
April 4, 2023
4.25
Well, this was absolutely gripping.
Angst-filled, tough and complex, "Game Misconduct" stole my heart; and Mike Sato stole my soul.
This isn't a light-hearted read: Mike and Danny's romance, their road to a much-deserved HEA (although, I admit, it's more of a HFN), is filled with rage and doubt and pain and addiction, but it's also fueled by care and deep, wonderful, helpless affection and the joy of slowly discovering one another after years of rivalry and violence.
There's nothing I love more than enemies to lovers, and since I absolutely adore hockey romances, I knew (and I hoped) I was going to love their story from the very first chapter.
Mike and Danny's relationship wasn't easy, and their whole dynamic was volatile from the very start: don't go into this book expecting sweetness, because these two, at least in the beginning, have an obsessive, toxic dynamic; and yeah, punching and slapping each other is their own form of foreplay.
To be fair, the (non-negotiated) kinky aspect of their relationship stays rough and violent, but it's also intersected by the love and affection they slowly develop for one another.
Needless to say, they were absolutely explosive together and I loved them, so much.
And actually, their romance does get sweeter and softer, and that is solely down to the utter gem, the disastrous, precious boy, that is Mike Sato.
Mike Sato stole my heart and soul: he's angry and hurt and confused and unsure, but he's also so damn sweet and eager and needy and starved for affection that I literally wanted to jump into the book and cuddle him to death. He's so unexpectedly sweet and unsure and soft at times, so damn thoughtful, I kept myself from sobbing through sheer will. His character growth was exceptional: I have to applaud the author for how they handled Mike, and his wonderful growth throughout the book.
So yeah, I loved Mike to bits, and I also thought, maybe uncharitably, that he deserved better than what he got. Or at least, he deserved a good ol' grovel from Danny near the end.
So yeah, while I did love Mike and I did love Danny in the beginning, after a bit I got really frustrated with how Danny was acting. I know, addiction isn't easy; I know, he was going through hell and he was in constant pain. I know I'm being unreasonable here, but still!
I think that's the reason I can't give this book the full five stars it would have easily deserved. I think I kept expecting them to reach a breaking point or, in the very least, a third act break-up: yes, I know, I shocked myself too. I usually don't like them, but I feel like it would have been justified here and it would have made Danny and Mike's HEA much more sweeter and definitive. And yeah, a grovel scene would have been welcome too. I kept waiting for something like that, so I was disappointed there wasn't.
Anyway, apart from this minor thing, I loved this book and I absolutely adored the writing: it's relentless and emotional and vivid.
I also loved the side characters to bits: from Bee to Celi, to all their other teammates. I'm very excited to see if there will be another book of Ari Baran's about certain two oblivious, BFF teammates: I sincerely hope so.
In the meantime, I thoroughly recommend this book: it was wonderful.
TWs/CWs: alcoholism, drug abuse, injury, rough sex, suicidal thoughts, SA (brief description), homophobia and racism (mentioned).
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Well, this was absolutely gripping.
Angst-filled, tough and complex, "Game Misconduct" stole my heart; and Mike Sato stole my soul.
This isn't a light-hearted read: Mike and Danny's romance, their road to a much-deserved HEA (although, I admit, it's more of a HFN), is filled with rage and doubt and pain and addiction, but it's also fueled by care and deep, wonderful, helpless affection and the joy of slowly discovering one another after years of rivalry and violence.
There's nothing I love more than enemies to lovers, and since I absolutely adore hockey romances, I knew (and I hoped) I was going to love their story from the very first chapter.
Mike and Danny's relationship wasn't easy, and their whole dynamic was volatile from the very start: don't go into this book expecting sweetness, because these two, at least in the beginning, have an obsessive, toxic dynamic; and yeah, punching and slapping each other is their own form of foreplay.
To be fair, the (non-negotiated) kinky aspect of their relationship stays rough and violent, but it's also intersected by the love and affection they slowly develop for one another.
Needless to say, they were absolutely explosive together and I loved them, so much.
And actually, their romance does get sweeter and softer, and that is solely down to the utter gem, the disastrous, precious boy, that is Mike Sato.
Mike Sato stole my heart and soul: he's angry and hurt and confused and unsure, but he's also so damn sweet and eager and needy and starved for affection that I literally wanted to jump into the book and cuddle him to death. He's so unexpectedly sweet and unsure and soft at times, so damn thoughtful, I kept myself from sobbing through sheer will. His character growth was exceptional: I have to applaud the author for how they handled Mike, and his wonderful growth throughout the book.
So yeah, I loved Mike to bits, and I also thought, maybe uncharitably, that he deserved better than what he got. Or at least, he deserved a good ol' grovel from Danny near the end.
So yeah, while I did love Mike and I did love Danny in the beginning, after a bit I got really frustrated with how Danny was acting. I know, addiction isn't easy; I know, he was going through hell and he was in constant pain. I know I'm being unreasonable here, but still!
I think that's the reason I can't give this book the full five stars it would have easily deserved. I think I kept expecting them to reach a breaking point or, in the very least, a third act break-up: yes, I know, I shocked myself too. I usually don't like them, but I feel like it would have been justified here and it would have made Danny and Mike's HEA much more sweeter and definitive. And yeah, a grovel scene would have been welcome too. I kept waiting for something like that, so I was disappointed there wasn't.
Anyway, apart from this minor thing, I loved this book and I absolutely adored the writing: it's relentless and emotional and vivid.
I also loved the side characters to bits: from Bee to Celi, to all their other teammates. I'm very excited to see if there will be another book of Ari Baran's about certain two oblivious, BFF teammates: I sincerely hope so.
In the meantime, I thoroughly recommend this book: it was wonderful.
TWs/CWs: alcoholism, drug abuse, injury, rough sex, suicidal thoughts, SA (brief description), homophobia and racism (mentioned).
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
dnf
May 4, 2023I'm sorry I just can't any longer. I really really tried. There's just something about this narrative that's a bit too OTT... Discomforting for sure, and I know this sounds strange, but I want to say this reads somewhat overly aggressive. This is a weird thought for me because I'm a huge fan of hockey and in game fighting etc., so I don't know what this feeling is but I know that I don't like it. Maybe this is why I'm not connecting to the characters? Anyway, I can't see myself pulling a 180 in the last quarter of this book, so I have to politely bow out. The bones of a great, emotionally impactful story are here, but the execution is simply not for me.
I would like to thank NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
No rating: DNF 72%
I would like to thank NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
No rating: DNF 72%
July 9, 2023
Audio - 4 Stars
Story - 3 Stars
The relationship development was just okay. I felt the affection between the MCs, but not real chemistry.
Story - 3 Stars
The relationship development was just okay. I felt the affection between the MCs, but not real chemistry.
June 2, 2025
Look, I loved this book while it also absolutely KILLED me. I adored Danny and Mike. They fight (literally) their attraction for each other and that beginning was HARD. There is a LOT of violence in this book. I cringed so much every time we got descriptions of them on the ice because there were constant injuries.
There is a lot of beautiful relationship growth in this story. Anytime, we get to see men learning how to love and say it… my heart melts.
However, this book sucked SO MUCH as well. Danny is suffering for (literally) 99% of the book. And we NEVER get to see him doing better. The book ends with a freaking article that says he’s doing well, but we don’t get any time with them together as a couple and him being healthy.
I hated watching Danny almost kill himself through depression, drinking, drug abuse, and emotional suppression. Mike grew and changed while Danny hid his pain and suffered in macho silence. It was brutal and heartbreaking and absolutely awful.
There is NOTHING you can do when someone won’t take any initiative on their own and I resent the author for putting me through this. It was horrific and brought up so many sad memories of friends or colleagues killing themselves in a similar way.
This wasn’t a romance so much as a tragedy.
But, I still loved the characters and the storytelling. I just wish we had gotten more light and time with them together and happy/healthy.
There is a lot of beautiful relationship growth in this story. Anytime, we get to see men learning how to love and say it… my heart melts.
However, this book sucked SO MUCH as well. Danny is suffering for (literally) 99% of the book. And we NEVER get to see him doing better. The book ends with a freaking article that says he’s doing well, but we don’t get any time with them together as a couple and him being healthy.
I hated watching Danny almost kill himself through depression, drinking, drug abuse, and emotional suppression. Mike grew and changed while Danny hid his pain and suffered in macho silence. It was brutal and heartbreaking and absolutely awful.
There is NOTHING you can do when someone won’t take any initiative on their own and I resent the author for putting me through this. It was horrific and brought up so many sad memories of friends or colleagues killing themselves in a similar way.
This wasn’t a romance so much as a tragedy.
But, I still loved the characters and the storytelling. I just wish we had gotten more light and time with them together and happy/healthy.
March 29, 2023
Mike Sato is angry, one-note angry. Period. He's an undersized D-man with a huge attitude and he's resigned himself to being a goon, especially when it comes to his on-ice nemesis, Danny - an opposing D-man. As in they bust teeth, bloody noses, fight every time they meet during a game. It's almost pathological on Mike's part while Danny hopes just to survive a few more seasons before retiring and he seems very disengaged while on the ice, and off-ice as well.
Until the night they meet in a dark alley, which suddenly turns to sex. What follows is a mostly long-distance relationship of sorts with Mike and Danny having violent sex when they meet on the road, and texting in between. Not sweet nothings, unless you count 'asshole' as an endearment.
Danny is sort of estranged from his family for reasons not really explained. He lives in a fog for other undeveloped reasons. Mike doesn't get along with his family and seems to allow anger to be his primary response and emotion. Maybe it was just me, but I never felt that I understood much about either character and while we are given some minor background about them, they never feel fully fleshed out. I absolutely accept that other readers may feel differently.
I enjoyed the hockey universe the author creates, and there seems to be some interesting relationships there that I hope the author will explore in future books. And as Danny finally addresses his addiction in the closing pages of this book, I hope we get to see the next chapter of his life, and his life with Mike. 3.5 stars.
I received an ARC from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Until the night they meet in a dark alley, which suddenly turns to sex. What follows is a mostly long-distance relationship of sorts with Mike and Danny having violent sex when they meet on the road, and texting in between. Not sweet nothings, unless you count 'asshole' as an endearment.
Danny is sort of estranged from his family for reasons not really explained. He lives in a fog for other undeveloped reasons. Mike doesn't get along with his family and seems to allow anger to be his primary response and emotion. Maybe it was just me, but I never felt that I understood much about either character and while we are given some minor background about them, they never feel fully fleshed out. I absolutely accept that other readers may feel differently.
I enjoyed the hockey universe the author creates, and there seems to be some interesting relationships there that I hope the author will explore in future books. And as Danny finally addresses his addiction in the closing pages of this book, I hope we get to see the next chapter of his life, and his life with Mike. 3.5 stars.
I received an ARC from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
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December 24, 2023Mike goes from saying fuck (angrily) to fuck (affectionately). 10/10
September 30, 2024
i was home sick when i read this and i am choosing to believe it singlehandedly lowered my fever 🙏
ari baran clearly went to the kd casey school of sports romance - i just love to read a romance novel where people are tired and unwell and barely hanging on! representation matters!!
jokes aside, something that i really appreciate about casey, and now also baran, is the fact that they write about sports as a *job*, and one that's uniquely mentally and physically exhausting at that. but at the same time, the characters clearly see the sport they play as a key part of their identity and place in the world. and let's be clear, you can absolutely have the same kind of intense relationships with your job if you're any other profession (many such cases), and it would hold the same potential for crafting an interesting character-driven romance. i guess what i'm getting at is that i'm glad to see these themes explored in a subgenre that is like, tailor-made for these types of character studies.
so, i think that a sports romance that really wants to sink its teeth into all these complextities has to start with the destabilization of this sense of self that has been established around the sport. and baran accomplishes this destabilization with both of the protagonists, but for one of them this just offers a new perspective that helps him improve literally every facet of his life, and for the other it throws him completely off-kilter, to the extent that if you're spending most of the book worried sick about this poor guy. (seriously, mind the content notes. my man danny is not doing well at all!!)
i think my only substantial critique of the novel is that i think it's a bit anticlimactic to have danny's entire recovery done off-page? also i did NOT buy that interview segment, they would not have said that lmao. but other than that, you (addressing this mostly to X, Cait and ancientreader lol) were all right, ari baran is indeed iconic!! looking forward to the rest of the series immensely.
ari baran clearly went to the kd casey school of sports romance - i just love to read a romance novel where people are tired and unwell and barely hanging on! representation matters!!
jokes aside, something that i really appreciate about casey, and now also baran, is the fact that they write about sports as a *job*, and one that's uniquely mentally and physically exhausting at that. but at the same time, the characters clearly see the sport they play as a key part of their identity and place in the world. and let's be clear, you can absolutely have the same kind of intense relationships with your job if you're any other profession (many such cases), and it would hold the same potential for crafting an interesting character-driven romance. i guess what i'm getting at is that i'm glad to see these themes explored in a subgenre that is like, tailor-made for these types of character studies.
so, i think that a sports romance that really wants to sink its teeth into all these complextities has to start with the destabilization of this sense of self that has been established around the sport. and baran accomplishes this destabilization with both of the protagonists, but for one of them this just offers a new perspective that helps him improve literally every facet of his life, and for the other it throws him completely off-kilter, to the extent that if you're spending most of the book worried sick about this poor guy. (seriously, mind the content notes. my man danny is not doing well at all!!)
i think my only substantial critique of the novel is that i think it's a bit anticlimactic to have danny's entire recovery done off-page? also i did NOT buy that interview segment, they would not have said that lmao. but other than that, you (addressing this mostly to X, Cait and ancientreader lol) were all right, ari baran is indeed iconic!! looking forward to the rest of the series immensely.
January 14, 2025
Actual rating: 4,5
TW: drug and alcohol abuse, fighting, hip and femur injury, BDSM
This was Cruel Prince kind of enemies to lovers where they really punched each other in the face before kissing and I was like…intrigued. 👀
It was very gripping and super steamy with some serious (mental) health topics. It just did something to me and I couldn’t stop. Might also be the narrator Cooper Norths fault because he’s just 😗👌🏻.
This is very much a BDSM steamy novel, so if you’re absolutely against that, then this will not be for you.
I loved the character development Mike had and I think the sports world is so toxic when it comes to masculinity and pain.
I’m glad with how this story ended, I just wished it didn’t drag on for so long and discussed the topic of rehab and therapy a bit more than just in the last 5 minutes.
TW: drug and alcohol abuse, fighting, hip and femur injury, BDSM
This was Cruel Prince kind of enemies to lovers where they really punched each other in the face before kissing and I was like…intrigued. 👀
It was very gripping and super steamy with some serious (mental) health topics. It just did something to me and I couldn’t stop. Might also be the narrator Cooper Norths fault because he’s just 😗👌🏻.
This is very much a BDSM steamy novel, so if you’re absolutely against that, then this will not be for you.
I loved the character development Mike had and I think the sports world is so toxic when it comes to masculinity and pain.
I’m glad with how this story ended, I just wished it didn’t drag on for so long and discussed the topic of rehab and therapy a bit more than just in the last 5 minutes.
June 20, 2023
Tropes: enemies/rivals to lovers, hate to love, hurt/comfort
Feels: 5/5
Steam*: 5/5
Kinks: bit of dominance
Angst: medium/high
HEA: yes
Pairing: MM
Triggers/potential icks/content themes: alcoholism, drug abuse, serious injuries, concussion, depression
Mike is gay, 25, closeted in the NHL. Danny is 35, bi, closeted in the NHL but out to his family. They are both enforcers and they have a rivalry, they have a reputation for getting into fights with each other. Mike is new and looking to prove himself, he spent a lot of time in the AHL. Danny is on the tail end of his career, he has had a lot of serious injuries and he has developed an addiction to alcohol and Percocet.
They run into each other on the street in an alley one day in July while Danny is hiding from his family who are interfering with his life by caring about his welfare. They exchange insults and punches. Then a "suck my d***" chirp gets taken literally. Over the next 8 months or so, they keep occasionally needling each other and hooking up. The frequency amps up until they are in daily contact, though most of it is not in person as they are separated by a lot of distance. They are still fighting on the ice. They are possessive and love to mark each other up, and they have a f*** and feels fest every time they see each other in person, making the most of their time. At one point, Danny gets jealous about someone else punching Mike and leaving marks on him. It quickly becomes friendship and real deep care for each other. Danny is struggling with a lot of demons though.
I really loved this book. It was really well plotted out with great compelling characters and great tension. I loved that they were really true rivals / enemies and hated each other at the beginning. It made it so sweet when they cared about each other later on. I loved the chirping that they did. The tension of their secret was nice. There were some great scenes of comic relief caused by the secual shenanigans being discussed or happening in front of their teammates and by the juxtaposition of them being fighting on the ice and so darn happy about it because they were near each other.
Spoiler warning for the end... I wish that they came out to more people at the end or that we had gotten an epilogue further in the future so that we could see them settling into a regular life in the same city and hopefully see Danny in better health.
Some notable moments:
"His hand had sped up and Mike could hear the sound of skin on skin, the occasional soft groan that escaped. It just made him think that if he was there, if he was fucking Garcia, he’d make him be noisy, he’d fucking tear the sounds right out of him."
"Mike couldn’t get it out of his head. Garcia was sad. It bothered the shit out of him."
"“So...let me get this straight, for my own reference. This person, who you are not dating, but who you have f*****, or want to f***—I’m still not entirely clear on that part and please do not clarify for me, I don’t actually need to know—who doesn’t like you very much, has something...going on? And you want to know what it is?”"
"Luckily, Reed had been either too embarrassed or too understanding to say anything, or practices would have been unbearable after that. There were, like, hockey bros. And then there were hockey bros who knew what you sounded like when you were coming your brains out and if he’d had the choice, he definitely would not have put Reed into that category. Ever, under any circumstance."
*FYI, I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink."
Feels: 5/5
Steam*: 5/5
Kinks: bit of dominance
Angst: medium/high
HEA: yes
Pairing: MM
Triggers/potential icks/content themes: alcoholism, drug abuse, serious injuries, concussion, depression
Mike is gay, 25, closeted in the NHL. Danny is 35, bi, closeted in the NHL but out to his family. They are both enforcers and they have a rivalry, they have a reputation for getting into fights with each other. Mike is new and looking to prove himself, he spent a lot of time in the AHL. Danny is on the tail end of his career, he has had a lot of serious injuries and he has developed an addiction to alcohol and Percocet.
They run into each other on the street in an alley one day in July while Danny is hiding from his family who are interfering with his life by caring about his welfare. They exchange insults and punches. Then a "suck my d***" chirp gets taken literally. Over the next 8 months or so, they keep occasionally needling each other and hooking up. The frequency amps up until they are in daily contact, though most of it is not in person as they are separated by a lot of distance. They are still fighting on the ice. They are possessive and love to mark each other up, and they have a f*** and feels fest every time they see each other in person, making the most of their time. At one point, Danny gets jealous about someone else punching Mike and leaving marks on him. It quickly becomes friendship and real deep care for each other. Danny is struggling with a lot of demons though.
I really loved this book. It was really well plotted out with great compelling characters and great tension. I loved that they were really true rivals / enemies and hated each other at the beginning. It made it so sweet when they cared about each other later on. I loved the chirping that they did. The tension of their secret was nice. There were some great scenes of comic relief caused by the secual shenanigans being discussed or happening in front of their teammates and by the juxtaposition of them being fighting on the ice and so darn happy about it because they were near each other.
Spoiler warning for the end... I wish that they came out to more people at the end or that we had gotten an epilogue further in the future so that we could see them settling into a regular life in the same city and hopefully see Danny in better health.
Some notable moments:
"His hand had sped up and Mike could hear the sound of skin on skin, the occasional soft groan that escaped. It just made him think that if he was there, if he was fucking Garcia, he’d make him be noisy, he’d fucking tear the sounds right out of him."
"Mike couldn’t get it out of his head. Garcia was sad. It bothered the shit out of him."
"“So...let me get this straight, for my own reference. This person, who you are not dating, but who you have f*****, or want to f***—I’m still not entirely clear on that part and please do not clarify for me, I don’t actually need to know—who doesn’t like you very much, has something...going on? And you want to know what it is?”"
"Luckily, Reed had been either too embarrassed or too understanding to say anything, or practices would have been unbearable after that. There were, like, hockey bros. And then there were hockey bros who knew what you sounded like when you were coming your brains out and if he’d had the choice, he definitely would not have put Reed into that category. Ever, under any circumstance."
*FYI, I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 23, 2023
Attention everyone! NEW FAVE JUST DROPPED. (Okay technically, new fave drops in May.) You know when you read the first book in a romance series and not only is it chef’s kiss perfection but you can just see the other book(s)’ possible storylines unfurl in front of you, a yellow brick road of hot lovable hockey player potential? That’s what reading this book was like. A new universe opened before me, and it was good.
Okay here’s the situation… enemies-to-lovers hockey romance is the best genre ever. EVER ever. (Okay, enemies-to-lovers gay hockey romance is tied with lesbian vampire noir for the best genre ever. I will not be taking questions.) And please do not confuse enemies-to-lovers with rivals-to-lovers, I loved Heated Rivalry too but that is a different vibe!! Give me enemies or give me nothing imo. (You can quote me on that!! But actually, please give me other things also, a series cannot be built on enemies-to-lovers alone and I will gladly consume whatever tropes will be on offer in the future as well!! No as far as I can tell no other books have been announced in connection with this one but you cannot simply give me two side characters dressing up as Captain America and the Winter Soldier for Halloween and leave it at that!! Carina Press are you listening!!!)
Please note I will NOT be describing the characters or summarizing the plot, I am exercising my reviewer’s prerogative to tell you nothing except that this book is INCREDIBLE. Yes, there is a fistfight immediately followed by angry sex in an alley at 3%!!!! That is all you should need to know!!! Drop everything else!!!
Aside (subtitle: a paean to the cover) - is this, or is this, the greatest cover of all time… yes it is. The orangey-pink font, the black and white photo, the hoodie, the hand positioning, the head slightly tilted back…!! It’s got it all. This is more or less how cool I imagine I look when I lean back against a subway seat, please never tell me if I’m wrong about that as I would prefer to live in cool ignorance.
Drop everything!! Read this book!!
Okay here’s the situation… enemies-to-lovers hockey romance is the best genre ever. EVER ever. (Okay, enemies-to-lovers gay hockey romance is tied with lesbian vampire noir for the best genre ever. I will not be taking questions.) And please do not confuse enemies-to-lovers with rivals-to-lovers, I loved Heated Rivalry too but that is a different vibe!! Give me enemies or give me nothing imo. (You can quote me on that!! But actually, please give me other things also, a series cannot be built on enemies-to-lovers alone and I will gladly consume whatever tropes will be on offer in the future as well!! No as far as I can tell no other books have been announced in connection with this one but you cannot simply give me two side characters dressing up as Captain America and the Winter Soldier for Halloween and leave it at that!! Carina Press are you listening!!!)
Please note I will NOT be describing the characters or summarizing the plot, I am exercising my reviewer’s prerogative to tell you nothing except that this book is INCREDIBLE. Yes, there is a fistfight immediately followed by angry sex in an alley at 3%!!!! That is all you should need to know!!! Drop everything else!!!
Aside (subtitle: a paean to the cover) - is this, or is this, the greatest cover of all time… yes it is. The orangey-pink font, the black and white photo, the hoodie, the hand positioning, the head slightly tilted back…!! It’s got it all. This is more or less how cool I imagine I look when I lean back against a subway seat, please never tell me if I’m wrong about that as I would prefer to live in cool ignorance.
Drop everything!! Read this book!!
May 17, 2023
I expected a smidge of darkness considering this book is about rival hockey players who beat each other up every time the get a chance but this was darker than that even.
Mike and Danny are defensemen and are both honestly kind of over fighting on the ice but always make a special effort to beat each other up on the ice. They end up bringing this energy over to their off ice encounters and everything is just as explosive there. Danny is just so out of it for reasons I'll get to and Mike helps bring some life to him. Watching Mike grow the heck up throughout the book was lovely too.
I want to applaud Ari Baran for making a choice especially with a debut novel. Danny is hardcore down an addiction spiral for the entire book and instead of the power of love bringing them out of it which always makes me roll my eyes, a choice was made for Danny to actually listen to the fears everyone has shared with him about his health and do something about it. He spends a chunk of the book blowing everyone off and saying it's not so bad but it really, really was. He goes to rehab and moves forward.
I'm hoping the next book I see from Ari has Singer and Reed. Those two seem like a codependent mess and I need it.
Thank you to Netgalley and Carina Press for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.
Mike and Danny are defensemen and are both honestly kind of over fighting on the ice but always make a special effort to beat each other up on the ice. They end up bringing this energy over to their off ice encounters and everything is just as explosive there. Danny is just so out of it for reasons I'll get to and Mike helps bring some life to him. Watching Mike grow the heck up throughout the book was lovely too.
I want to applaud Ari Baran for making a choice especially with a debut novel. Danny is hardcore down an addiction spiral for the entire book and instead of the power of love bringing them out of it which always makes me roll my eyes, a choice was made for Danny to actually listen to the fears everyone has shared with him about his health and do something about it. He spends a chunk of the book blowing everyone off and saying it's not so bad but it really, really was. He goes to rehab and moves forward.
I'm hoping the next book I see from Ari has Singer and Reed. Those two seem like a codependent mess and I need it.
Thank you to Netgalley and Carina Press for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.
June 15, 2024
These two adorable idiots need therapy and a hug. I hope the next book is about Reed and Singer, I need some golden retriever hockey player energy after that one 🤞🏼
Read
August 7, 2024Time of death - 15%
I'm calling it before I feel obligated to give it an unkind rating. Not even Cooper North could save this for me. I just couldn't do it anymore. I care about nothing that is happening and none of the characters 🫠
I'm calling it before I feel obligated to give it an unkind rating. Not even Cooper North could save this for me. I just couldn't do it anymore. I care about nothing that is happening and none of the characters 🫠
October 25, 2023
I really liked this book. It gets to a point where you feel like you've read every variation of hockey romance: teammates, rivals, rivals that become teammates, teammates that become rivals - and this is a very fresh take on that which doesn't follow the norm.
Also, I like the gravitas with which it handled the addiction storyline - it's serious, but at no point is it implied that people battling addiction issues have to first have that element of their lives done and dusted before they can be in healthy relationships. I feel like a lot of books fumble with that and this one didn't.
The only thing I didn't like, and, yes, this is me nitpicking - was the way they spoke. I get that it was meant to convey hesitancy, especially when dealing with the conversations about feelings, and that it made sense, given Mike's age(to use 'like' a lot as filler) but godDAMNit was it a pill to read.
Also, I like the gravitas with which it handled the addiction storyline - it's serious, but at no point is it implied that people battling addiction issues have to first have that element of their lives done and dusted before they can be in healthy relationships. I feel like a lot of books fumble with that and this one didn't.
The only thing I didn't like, and, yes, this is me nitpicking - was the way they spoke. I get that it was meant to convey hesitancy, especially when dealing with the conversations about feelings, and that it made sense, given Mike's age(to use 'like' a lot as filler) but godDAMNit was it a pill to read.
May 17, 2023
is this a debut?! i don’t usually write reviews but this was an mm romance with real conflict and character and relationship development, as well as the smut, that im rating it up there as 4.5-5 stars. most gay sports romances lean on the public/team “finding out” as a major conflict and this one didn’t need or use that and it was refreshing. def a fav, and not just bc i’m a sucker for rivals to lovers
cw for suicidal ideation, drug/alcohol abuse, as well as mentions of past SA.
cw for suicidal ideation, drug/alcohol abuse, as well as mentions of past SA.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 8, 2023
This is the stuff, rivals to lovers, hockey, emotionally constipated boys, and by boys I mean men. Scorching hot men who have great sex. It’s extremely rare I want to read more after a couple finally admits they love each other but I want more. Ugh, I love these boys and I need them happy
Very similar vibes to thrown off the ice but an actual romance
Very similar vibes to thrown off the ice but an actual romance
December 4, 2023
These guys were so horny for each other and so mad about it which is a trope I'll never tire of 😂
I loved Mike and Danny, and I really enjoyed this book. Some of their first sexual encounters were a bit too violent for me, and I wish we'd gotten more of an epilogue, but I thought the writing was great and I'm very excited for the second book in the series
I loved Mike and Danny, and I really enjoyed this book. Some of their first sexual encounters were a bit too violent for me, and I wish we'd gotten more of an epilogue, but I thought the writing was great and I'm very excited for the second book in the series
August 3, 2023
Super tough guys, but
super hard read, but superb.
Drugs, fists, self-hate. Ends.
4.5 rounded down
super hard read, but superb.
Drugs, fists, self-hate. Ends.
4.5 rounded down
November 20, 2023
This made it's way onto my Netgalley shelf and I downloaded it and read it in the course of two days. Definitely some kind of record!
"enforcer' = used synonymously with "fighter", "tough guy", or "goon". An enforcer's job is to deter and respond to dirty or violent play by the opposition. When such play occurs, the enforcer is expected to respond aggressively, by fighting or checking the offender. Enforcers are expected to react particularly harshly to violence against star players or goalies. Enforcers will often be used as specialists in attack of defense.
Game Misconduct is angsty!
Mike is a young (25) enforcer who usually plays on the third line. He's a bit smaller than other defenseman but makes up for it in sheer grit, toughness, and commitment to taking on the biggest and meanest. Danny is a stalwart at 35 -battle weary, and bearing the scars of his profession. When Mike and Danny are pitted against each other, it's fire and fury, cuts, bruises, and lost teeth.
This book takes Mike and Danny's story off-ice when a chance encounter yields an unexpected outcome. Neither know what to make of it and they begin corresponding, facetiming and well ... getting to know one another.
This book is hockey heeavy - both games and talk, but it is much more than that. There's underlying themes of machoism, what it is to "be" a man, expectations about playing on despite significant injury, the isolation players experience, and the recognition (or lack there-of) of mental health issues, drug and alcohol addiction, and post-career transition planning. Thrown into this mix are two characters from different cultures, their familial expectations, and divergent lifestories.
The outcome is an emotional read. As I said, it's angsty. There is a strong emphasis on physical violence (both on and off the ice). It's present in Mike and Danny's most intimate moments (could be quite confronting for some readers). Their relationship is challenged given their competing priorities and demands, and the reader witness their developing through texts, messages, facetimes and telephone calls in between their occasional face to face encounters. Danny also serves as a mentor of sorts to Mike (initially this is unwelcome), encouraging him to be the best player he can be. Each has a small support system as both experience fracture in their families of origin and they are a varied, robust group of characters. Mike's support group is more active and involved than Danny's, given Danny's choice of social isolation.
It's a reasonably lengthy book but there are some aspects that occur off the page, such as some of the early conversations that progress Mike and Danny's relationship,. There are times when the communication between these two is lacking, although their feelings about one another for me were fairly clear - their attraction, their overriding thoughts about one another, and the palpable relief they felt when they were together. There is alot of "dude-ing" as well. The addressing of Danny's issues was probably addressed too quickly for me, given the long standing nature of his addiction, and I thought more could have been made of his converting realisation into action for change. We all know an I love you ain't enough! I also wanted to explore their individual family issues and how these were addressed that brought both characters to where they appear in the Epilogue.
Game Misconduct is pretty intense and a great start to this duology. I believe it's a debut, and I can't wait to see what is in store for the sequel.
Thanks to Carina Press and Netgalley!
"enforcer' = used synonymously with "fighter", "tough guy", or "goon". An enforcer's job is to deter and respond to dirty or violent play by the opposition. When such play occurs, the enforcer is expected to respond aggressively, by fighting or checking the offender. Enforcers are expected to react particularly harshly to violence against star players or goalies. Enforcers will often be used as specialists in attack of defense.
Game Misconduct is angsty!
Mike is a young (25) enforcer who usually plays on the third line. He's a bit smaller than other defenseman but makes up for it in sheer grit, toughness, and commitment to taking on the biggest and meanest. Danny is a stalwart at 35 -battle weary, and bearing the scars of his profession. When Mike and Danny are pitted against each other, it's fire and fury, cuts, bruises, and lost teeth.
This book takes Mike and Danny's story off-ice when a chance encounter yields an unexpected outcome. Neither know what to make of it and they begin corresponding, facetiming and well ... getting to know one another.
This book is hockey heeavy - both games and talk, but it is much more than that. There's underlying themes of machoism, what it is to "be" a man, expectations about playing on despite significant injury, the isolation players experience, and the recognition (or lack there-of) of mental health issues, drug and alcohol addiction, and post-career transition planning. Thrown into this mix are two characters from different cultures, their familial expectations, and divergent lifestories.
The outcome is an emotional read. As I said, it's angsty. There is a strong emphasis on physical violence (both on and off the ice). It's present in Mike and Danny's most intimate moments (could be quite confronting for some readers). Their relationship is challenged given their competing priorities and demands, and the reader witness their developing through texts, messages, facetimes and telephone calls in between their occasional face to face encounters. Danny also serves as a mentor of sorts to Mike (initially this is unwelcome), encouraging him to be the best player he can be. Each has a small support system as both experience fracture in their families of origin and they are a varied, robust group of characters. Mike's support group is more active and involved than Danny's, given Danny's choice of social isolation.
It's a reasonably lengthy book but there are some aspects that occur off the page, such as some of the early conversations that progress Mike and Danny's relationship,. There are times when the communication between these two is lacking, although their feelings about one another for me were fairly clear - their attraction, their overriding thoughts about one another, and the palpable relief they felt when they were together. There is alot of "dude-ing" as well. The addressing of Danny's issues was probably addressed too quickly for me, given the long standing nature of his addiction, and I thought more could have been made of his converting realisation into action for change. We all know an I love you ain't enough! I also wanted to explore their individual family issues and how these were addressed that brought both characters to where they appear in the Epilogue.
Game Misconduct is pretty intense and a great start to this duology. I believe it's a debut, and I can't wait to see what is in store for the sequel.
Thanks to Carina Press and Netgalley!
January 26, 2024
I just wrote out a long review and GR crashed and ate it.
So this consolation review is going to suck. Here goes.
First some tropes/themes
🏳️🌈 enemies to lovers
🏳️🌈 bi/gay characters
🏳️🌈 poc mcs
🏳️🌈 depression/drug abuse
🏳️🌈 amazing tattoos
🏳️🌈 violeeeeeence!!! 😍🖤
So…
I’ve read a lot of the reviews on Goodreads and it seems like this is a book that you are either gonna love or you’re gonna hate/DNF.
I loved it. Buuuut I love violent things (in my fiction!). This book has chaos agents, violence, hate sex, bad decisions, substance abuse, suicidal ideations, depressed and sad motherfuckers. Lots of violence and hate in the beginning. But I love when two characters really hate each other but still end up with that insane level of attraction.
Things I loved about this book: the characters still stayed gritty even when they began to redeem themselves. There was still this weirdness in the bedroom with their kinks that felt right for the characters and their issues. The author didn’t make the main gd crux of the story about how “omg hockey players can’t be gay and we can’t come out bc we’ll lose our careers.” 🙄 I’ve read a lot of sports romance at this point and it gets old that authors can’t write a sports romance without this being “THE” thing that causes them problems. No. Not in this book. The characters act like real people- coming out when it felt right, in normal (ie: not press conferences) situations with the people who mattered. No one had to go to their coach or PR firm to deal with their love life. Thank you dear author!!
Also, I appreciate how sweet the characters became with each other. And it happens gradually through what seems to me a totally normal timeline for the advancement of their relationship. They slowly connect in real ways, coming to depend on each other, and love just spending time with each other be it on a phone call or in person when they could eke it out.
This couple will go down as one of my all time favorite hockey couples 😍🖤🖤🖤
Ps. Pet peeve? The Mc on the cover is supposed to be literally covered with tattoos except the back of one hand, face, and his dick. But look… that guy on the cover is NOT that guy. 😒
So this consolation review is going to suck. Here goes.
First some tropes/themes
🏳️🌈 enemies to lovers
🏳️🌈 bi/gay characters
🏳️🌈 poc mcs
🏳️🌈 depression/drug abuse
🏳️🌈 amazing tattoos
🏳️🌈 violeeeeeence!!! 😍🖤
So…
I’ve read a lot of the reviews on Goodreads and it seems like this is a book that you are either gonna love or you’re gonna hate/DNF.
I loved it. Buuuut I love violent things (in my fiction!). This book has chaos agents, violence, hate sex, bad decisions, substance abuse, suicidal ideations, depressed and sad motherfuckers. Lots of violence and hate in the beginning. But I love when two characters really hate each other but still end up with that insane level of attraction.
Things I loved about this book: the characters still stayed gritty even when they began to redeem themselves. There was still this weirdness in the bedroom with their kinks that felt right for the characters and their issues. The author didn’t make the main gd crux of the story about how “omg hockey players can’t be gay and we can’t come out bc we’ll lose our careers.” 🙄 I’ve read a lot of sports romance at this point and it gets old that authors can’t write a sports romance without this being “THE” thing that causes them problems. No. Not in this book. The characters act like real people- coming out when it felt right, in normal (ie: not press conferences) situations with the people who mattered. No one had to go to their coach or PR firm to deal with their love life. Thank you dear author!!
Also, I appreciate how sweet the characters became with each other. And it happens gradually through what seems to me a totally normal timeline for the advancement of their relationship. They slowly connect in real ways, coming to depend on each other, and love just spending time with each other be it on a phone call or in person when they could eke it out.
This couple will go down as one of my all time favorite hockey couples 😍🖤🖤🖤
Ps. Pet peeve? The Mc on the cover is supposed to be literally covered with tattoos except the back of one hand, face, and his dick. But look… that guy on the cover is NOT that guy. 😒
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