Synopsis:
Recently traded to the newly formed Vermont Trailblazers, professional hockey player Roman Kinsey needs to focus on helping the team win games and filling the stands, not on the blond, bespectacled part-timer who works at the library he volunteers at. He knows all too well that outing himself equals heartache and ridicule…or worse.
Cody Evans, psych major and grad school hopeful, notices everything and thinks too much. But he doesn’t know what to think when he sees Roman reading to kids. The rugged hockey player just doesn’t look like the type. But it stirs something in him, something he’s never felt before.
When the library is threatened with closure, Cody enlists Roman’s help. As they get to know each other better…much, much better…they realize that they have more in common than books. But Roman’s keeping a big part of himself from his team, and giving in to his feelings for Cody might be more than he’s willing to risk.
[I received a digital arc for an honest review]
Shots on Goal is the third stand alone in the Stick Side series by Amy Aislin. This is a MM hockey romance series that you will fall in love with.
Professional hockey player Roman Kinsey tends to close himself off which causes him to come off as a jerk. He has recently been traded from Tampa to the newly established Vermont team. Due to past trauma as a queer teen he doesn’t trust anyone, keeping everyone at arms reach. It’s easier to stay in the closet than get hurt again. Until he meets psych major, Cody Evans, while volunteering at the library. They connect instantly but are they able to put past issues behind them and find a better future together.
Roman looked at him then like he was something magical .” You make me want to be braver than I am.”
This was a really sweet story. Of course, it wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine the whole time because Roman had a serious problem with going hot and cold with Cody but in the end I’m left remember all the really genuine moments between them. The book focus more on the emotional relationship between the characters. With Roman being gay and Cody being demisexual, sex wasn’t a main focus and it isn’t missed. What physical relationship they had was described perfectly for the nature of their relationship.
One of my favorite aspects of the book was Romans love of cooking and Cody’s complete lack of culinary skills which made me strangely happy. I looked forward to scenes that had Roman whipping something up in the kitchen. It was a way for him to bridge the gap he put between himself and the team. Watching him connect with the team made me just as happy as him connecting with Cody.
“I don’t understand the question? Can I have more cookies if we’re not having sex?”
This story gives you a different feel from the other two. You aren’t waiting on the edge of your seat for something to go terribly wrong or for that first physical experience. It’s much more about the evolution of their relationship and how they evolve as characters separately. If you’re looking for a low angst hockey romance than I would definitely recommend Shots on Goal.
OnceUpon_A_BookDream 