Dante and Gabe were fabulous mains. I had such an enjoyable time watching them flittering around each other, flirting and learning each other. The way they were both different and similar made for a great back-and-forwards pull.

Dante is an excitable extrovert. Great at connecting with others, loves people, and knows how to use this to his advantage. He knows that it's not just skill people respond to, but social connection.

Gabe is an introvert (refreshingly so as a fellow introvert - I loved seeing the way he needed to process events of both good and bad nature by himself) with a secret he's spent a very long time and a lot of effort to hide. His secrecy is bundled so tightly with control and privacy, that it's practically impossible for him to connect with others beyond being a good teammate.

It was no wonder that they connected. But also no wonder when they eventually hit their conflict point. It was pretty well-set up. Though perhaps not well paced. I didn't much enjoy the final portion of the book. And indeed, there was a line in that conflict that sat so poorly with me that I still haven't been able to shake it off even days later. However, the resolution was very well articulated.

I also really liked the inclusion of Dante's Latinx heritage. I can't speak for the subtleties - I don't think they were there, but perhaps I'm just not versed enough to know what that may have looked like. But the more explicit stuff (representation and role models, family members) was well articulated and consistently and rather organically incorporated throughout the work. I appreciated that it wasn't just a brief mention but rather a real trait so to speak.

However, I like my romances to show not only character and dynamics, but also growth. Dante didn't really have any areas of needed growth. In the relationship, communication was an issue - but that was an issue stemming from the relationship and both of them in it, rather than Dante himself. Dante effectively stayed the same throughout the book, besides his bi-awakening (which i loved). Gabe was the one who showed flaws and growth - the obsessive control over privacy, the lack of deeper connection with his team. The growth from the former was spurred by Dante and their relationship. The growth from the latter was spurred organically by way of being out/outed and no longer having that secret and potential ramifications on his mind.

I'm also not sure why the book bothered to include, let alone mention, the age gap (I'm not even sure how big it was - we get Gabe's age but not Dante's) or team power dynamics "issues." They never amounted to anything. So why?

I also personally didn't like the way the grandmother storyline concluded. Though perhaps that nods back to Dante's cultural values as someone from a Latinx family.

Cover Note I'm not a fan of these covers? The blue one does tell me that they are hockey players and body language does seem to suggest at their personalities a bit - but perhaps too vaguely so. And the faceless style sends my masklophobia into high gear. I can't look at this cover. The birds eye-view one with all the hockey players on the rink tells me absolutely nothing at all about the story. If I had to choose a favorite, it would perhaps be the detailed art one in the locker room? But the same reason I like it is the same reason it probably wouldn't make a good cover. It feels like the sports fiction books I used to read in the early 2000s. Nostalgic. Also, not necessarily discernable as a romance book (which is great for closeted/DL folks, but not so great for someone who is browsing).

✒️Favorite Quotes✒️

I treated you like you mattered less to me than privacy I don't have.

I might have been shoved out of the closet, but I never got over that instinct to hide.

If everyone showed up in rainbow t-shirts, Gabe would cry. Hell, Dante would cry, and the ink wasn't even dry on his bisexuality card.