Book safety, content warnings, and tropes & tags down below.

Okay, I’m too tired to write a lengthy review, (edit: okay so that was a lie lmao) but I listened to an 11 hour audiobook in one day, so it’s safe to say I loved it. I was immediately invested in both of these MCs, and I wanted nothing more than to see the end of their journey and their beautiful HEA. This book kinda details two different things: Devin and Jase falling in love, as well as Jase’s life with anxiety.

First of all, Jase didn’t even know he was closeted for the longest time. He just thought he didn’t feel attraction like ‘normal’ people, and he deals with anxiety and regular panic attacks without actually knowing that’s what they are for the longest time. Both of these things obviously create issues in his life and relationships, but these men really try their hardest to make it work. They are both very likable characters (with flaws, don’t get me wrong), and you if you read or listen to this book, you will be rooting for them. I would think.

Dallas is also the sweetest kid, and the whole premise for the book is beautiful. I had the biggest smile on my face during the first quarter of this book when they first meet and start talking. They are all adorably awkward, and it’s super endearing. I’m not a big fan of reading hockey books, but I didn’t mind it, and I loved everything around it so much. The hockey wasn’t a massive part of it anyway (in terms of gameplay on page, at least), so it wasn’t a problem at all. The rest of the tropes had me hooked.

It was nice connecting with both MCs and caring about the book’s outcome after reading a couple of duds. Highly recommend.

I listened to the audiobook so I unfortunately don’t have any quotes, although there were plenty worth mentioning. I also have to mention what a fantastic job Greg Boudreaux and Michael Ferrawhatsit did with the narration. Especially narrating Jase’s panic attacks and spiraling. He made that feel so real that I found myself holding my breath right alongside him. I could also recognize myself a whole hell of a lot with how the anxiety is portrayed in this book, which can sometimes feel a little overwhelming, as well as feeling sort of nice. No matter what, L.A Witt did a good job with the mental health aspects of this.

Second edit: I forgot to mention how lovely the spice was, and I also wanted to include how lovely (and healthy) it is to read a story with normal, average dicks. Including Jase’s insecurity about not being big enough, and then later on realizing he’s perfectly average and also showing how they have a great sex life is so refreshing, and honestly important.

Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️

⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Hockey
Player/fan
Single dad
Mental health
Friends to lovers
Closeted MC
Bisexual MC

⚠️⚠️ Content warning ⚠️⚠️
Explicit sexual content
Anxiety disorder
Panic attacks
Brief hospitalization
Mentions of financial problems
Child with chronic health issues

⚠️⚠️⚠️ Book safety ⚠️⚠️⚠️
Cheating: No
OM/OW drama: No
Third-act breakup: Yes
POV: 1st person, dual POV
Genre: Contemporary, sports romance, MM
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles