Changing Lines (Harrisburg Railers, #1) in RJ Scott

Aug 31, 2018 SoCalBookReviews rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audio_owned

5 Stars, Book & Narration

I did not want this book to end. I think that this book was put together well, and if this is what we have to look forward to in the rest of the series, I won’t hesitate to get my hands on the next several books. I think the collaboration between RJ Scott and VL Locey is a definite mark in the win column, this book turned out great and I was sucked in from the first few lines.

Oh, and then add in the fantastic narration by Sean Crisden and this book was basically perfect. 5 Stars, Book & Narration

I did not want this book to end. I think that this book was put together well, and if this is what we have to look forward to in the rest of the series, I won’t hesitate to get my hands on the next several books. I think the collaboration between RJ Scott and VL Locey is a definite mark in the win column, this book turned out great and I was sucked in from the first few lines.

Oh, and then add in the fantastic narration by Sean Crisden and this book was basically perfect. Sean gave us a great performance (again), making sure the main characters and even the minor hockey players and family members were all given the correct voices and accents depending on where they were from. Sean even gives us some good Boston and Ukrainian/Russian accents too, it was awesome. This was another really solid narration from him. Sean is still one of my favorite narrators no matter how many books I’ve heard because he is always so consistent with what he gives us.

I was happy to see that not only do we get a great book and personal story for these two men, Tennant “Ten” and Jared “Mads”, but *gasp* we actually got see and learn about some hockey in this book as well. Sometimes with sports books we don’t actually get to see the sports being played or written in on-page and that was so not the case here. We got to see these characters put their hearts and souls into their sport as well as each other. Tennant is an upcoming hockey star on the new Harrisburg Railers team, and Mads is the defensive line coach. It was great to hear that Ten and Mads grew up together, that they had that background even though they fell out of touch. They get a second chance at getting to know each other again now they are both adults. The two of them together is seriously steamy H.O.T. and there are a few scenes that were pretty sexy, but I would have loved to see more of them getting personal together. There just wasn’t enough time in this book for them to get really in-depth, strengthen their dynamic and create enough chemistry and tension.

This book was really low angst and had virtually no drama. Ten and his brothers have an interesting dynamic though, all three of them being pro hockey players and getting competitive when their teams collide in a match. Ten is still the baby of the family and his brothers are consistently treating him as such throughout the book, always questioning his decisions.

Mads is the perfect older “hot” dad to a teenage boy Ryker. One thing I had issue with was how Mads always made himself out to be “old” but he was really only mid-thirties and Ten really wasn’t that much younger like 10-13yrs difference in age. I thought that the deal with Mads’s ex father in law, Ryker's grandpa, was an interesting situation all around. I didn’t get how they just let him act the way he did, almost like they were all afraid to stand up to him and put their foot down. He was the main drama piece in this book and I hated him each time he surfaced.

Omg, and the hockey players all playing Pokémon Go and creating their own Pokémon team was hilarious, I thought that was a really fun addition to this book, and made them see all that much more real to me. This book was really great. I would also like to add that Mads's son Ryker is younger like 17 or so in this one. But I would love to see him a few years down the line as the main character of his own book. ...more

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Jul 01, 2017 Rachel rated it it was amazing

I love RJ Scott books, I love V.L Locey books so what a treat to read a book written by them both :) and...it's about hockey...I LOVE books about hockey!! (lots of love going on here)

This is the first book in the Harrisburg Railers series and honestly, I can't wait for more. Ten and Mads are lush, they had me swooning and I really enjoyed watching them fall in love <3 There's some fantastic supporting characters and some I'm desperate for RJ and VL to write a story for (Ryker & Stan). There's j ...more

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Jul 12, 2017 ButtonsMom2003 rated it it was amazing

Edited to add comments for my review of the audio book performed by Sean Crisden.
I read this book back in July 2017 when it was first published; a copy of that review is shown below. The only thing I want to add here is how wonderful I thought that Sean Crisden's audio performance was. He conveyed all of the right emotions and made the story come alive for me again. He had me sobbing in places (that means I loved a story and it affected me deeply). I will certainly be listening to the other book Edited to add comments for my review of the audio book performed by Sean Crisden.
I read this book back in July 2017 when it was first published; a copy of that review is shown below. The only thing I want to add here is how wonderful I thought that Sean Crisden's audio performance was. He conveyed all of the right emotions and made the story come alive for me again. He had me sobbing in places (that means I loved a story and it affected me deeply). I will certainly be listening to the other books in this series as they become available.

Begin original review:
A great beginning to a new series!

I've read a lot of books by RJ Scott but this is the first one for me by V.L. Locey. Just what I need, another great author to follow – lol.

Age gap stories are not something I look for, but if a favorite author writes one I will certainly read it. Actually, Tennant (Ten) and Jared (Mads) are only 9 years apart; to me this isn't really much of an age gap given that both MCs are over 21. One of the tropes I do love though, is falling for a sibling's best friend; so, even if I didn't already love RJ Scott's work, this is a story I would totally go for. Jared is the best friend of Tennant's oldest brother.

Tennant is the youngest of three brothers – all of them professional hockey players. He loves his brothers but he also has felt a bit stifled because of always being compared to them. He accepts a trade to an expansion team and his oldest brother thinks it's a mistake.

Jared's a coach on Tennant's new team and he hasn't seen Ten in years. The two of them quickly realize their attraction for each other but Ten isn't out and their relationship could jeopardize his career.

This story is told from alternating points of view by Jared and Tennant; it was full of feels for me. Jared has a 17-year-old son and seeing him do all he can to protect him touched my heart. Ten has to deal with coming out to his team and his family and how all of that went down moved me to tears. I won't tell you if they were happy or sad tears, you'll have to read the story to find out for yourself.

Changing Lines is also full of hockey jargon and it was kind of a weird thing for me…. I'm not a fan of any sports but hockey would definitely be a one that I know next to nothing about. But, none of that meant a thing to me when I read this story. To me the jargon was secondary to the story and the fact that I didn't totally understand all of it didn't make a bit of difference. I'm sure I'll learn and understand a lot more about hockey before this series ends.

I loved the epilogue for Jared and Ten's story and the teaser for book 2 that followed. I just know that Railers Hockey is going to be a great series.

An advanced copy of this book was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author.

***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions*** ...more

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Jun 21, 2017 Paul rated it really liked it

Shelves: bought_it, preordered, review-copy

Release Day Review. A new collaboration, a new series. R.J. Scott and V.L. Locey's new series begins with Changing Lines. This is a charming, fun story that brings Tennant Rowe (Ten, the youngest of the hockey-famous Rowe brothers) and Jared Madsen (Mads) together with the Harrisburg Railers hockey team. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the secondary characters definitely added to the story. The only downside was the ending.... I know it's a series, but there were SO many unanswered questions ...more

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Jul 01, 2017 Elayne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc-books

I hold my hand up, I know nothing about sport any sport except maybe Olympic swimming and Diving! However I love reading about them, I think I could become a fan of Ice Hockey, Ten and Mads are a really engaging and enjoyable couple finding each other in a climate where their experience is how it should be received, possibly not from reading social media How it would actually be received. The secondary characters and the relevant family members are delightful. This is the start of a new series a ...more

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Jul 07, 2017 Vinga rated it it was amazing

This book is a great start to a new series.
Loved the characters and the story.
Can't wait to read the next book in this series. ...more

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Jul 08, 2017 Jess A Jaye rated it really liked it

In real life I do not like sport. I don't participate in it and I don't enjoy watching it but for some reason in MM romance I love a good sports read. I particularly like when it's an American sport like American football, baseball or ice hockey. I think those sports that we're less familiar with in the UK seem more mysterious and had another level of romance. I think the angst and conflict are immediately heightened in sports romance with the fear of being outed in the often homophobic industri ...more

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Jul 12, 2017 LeeAnn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Brilliant!

Where to begin? Everything about this book was wonderful. The humor was off the charts! The scenes with the brothers and how they interact with each other, with my experiences with my own brothers, was spot on. Name calling etc. The connection between the MCs , Mads and Ten, was adorable and hot and all kinds of feels, all over the place! Mom and Dad? Oh my goodness I loved them too! There is one bad apple in this but He is nothing but a pesky fly, soon squashed I hope. There is one pa ...more

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