Sarina Bowen

Elle Kennedy

Natalie Sypeck 

Emma Kamer

haley bertsch

** spoiler alert **
           friends to lovers
rival hockey team

Aishling

3.5 star. No faults what so ever it was good and cute, minimal angst. Definitely recommend it, just didn’t blow me (lol) away

amber baardsen

how tf do you manage to fetishise lesbians in a mlm book?

This book was honestly one of my favorite books I’ve read in a long time. I’m very excited for the next four in the series. 

Seth Schweiger

Jamie Ford

Honestly, this was way better than I thought it was going to be.

I can't seem to find the words. I didn't hate it but I didn't love. S9me things definitely left me confused. The spice scenes were good but that seems like the most memorable thing. It 

Reeneisha Wynter 

I can't seem to find the words. I didn't hate it but I didn't love. S9me things definitely left me confused. The spice scenes were good but that seems like the most memorable thing. It 



Chemistry, rediscovering a childhood friend turned lover, and a steamy gay romance! Such a great read and a page turner. I did not want to set this book down and I have found that with Elle Kennedy’s writing. The characters had amazing chemistry and it made you love them and want to keep reading. I will say I docked points because although there was a decent plot throughout the book, I felt it was very over shadowed by the smut. At times I felt it was needed for the self discovery portion, but at others it felt like every other chapter they were doing something. It reminded me of my killer vacation, but written way better. My heart melted at the end and I’m excited to read Us!

ally cuabo 

sophia n

predisposed to like this, friends-to-lovers is one of my favorite things of all time, beaten only by the enemies-to-lovers trope ... i know. i know. and this was childhood friends-to-lovers??? honestly, i'm still not sure it wasn't written specifically for me. i also LOVED that it didn't fall into the "gay for you" category that so many m/m books seem to (gross and highly fetishistic) and instead had actual bisexual representation on page. a TINY bit too angsty for me in a few parts, but barely, and it was short lived. would read again! slams mug on ground! (actually HAVE read again before i learned you can log multiple reads on goodreads oops.) (note: i read a really good review on here that kind of tore this book apart, and. tbh i agree with all of it. but i also don't, bc i thought it was good. is the bar too low with m/m romance? yeah, yeah it is. this was still really fun and well written though, so idk.)

Rachel BD

Ok i love a good mlm hockey romance. (i’m queer myself i’m not fetishising dw). Jamie and Wes are so endearing and i have reread this about 50 times BUT there is a lot of smut. Well written, but still, more smut than i need lmao.

paloma

** spoiler alert **
           Había empezado este libro hace meses, pero por alguna razón nunca pasé del primer capítulo y lo dejé ahí abandonado (hasta ahora).

Tengo que admitir que he desarrollado una debilidad por los M/M Romances, la mayoría de estos siempre son Friends to Lovers y me gusta la angustia que me hacen pasar la mayoría de las veces. 

Acá la angustia no es tanta, pero de igual forma está ahí. ¿Y sabes que más está ahí presente? La tensión. Oh. Mi. Dios. Estos dos tenían una tensión sexual TREMENDA. Quedé un poco sin palabras y a la vez curiosa de cómo sería la dinámica entre esos dos, o cómo acabaría todo; porque por un lado estaba Wes (gay) seguro de lo que le gustaba o de lo que hacía, y por otro estaba Jamie (bisexual) todo confundido y asustado por momentos. Esa mezcla siempre tiene la opción de salir mal, pero al menos en este libro no lo sentí así.

Y si, Wes y Jamie son muy hermosos. No lo sé, siento que su relación es tan natural, llena de química, risas, camaradería, complicidad, etc etc etc; que se me hizo súper fácil conectar con ella y esperar su HEA. 

Creo que lo único me fastidió es que… había momentos de miscommunication o directamente de inmadurez, que me entorpecieron la lectura y que capaz sea esa la razón por la cual no le di las cinco estrellas al final; porque comencé el libro con toda la emoción y vértigo del mundo, pero al acabarlo estaba en plan “bueno, sí. Qué lindo todo, pero mEH”.

Aunque, algo que me gustó mucho pero siento que no mostraron casi nada, fue de la familia de Jamie. Qué gente más simpática, que recibió con los brazos abiertos a Wes y lo hicieron sentir como uno más de la familia. Una lástima que los padres de Wes sean una basura total, pero me consuela saber que ya no está solo y tiene un hogar junto a Jamie.

En fin, ¿había necesidad de un segundo libro para hacernos sufrir más? nop, pero igual lo leeré porque quiero que Wes y Jamie tengan su final feliz.

Kailey Rios

i love a good friends to lovers romance and this was such a cute one!

i’m not a huge fan of sports being heavily incorporated into stories because i honestly couldn’t care less about them but i still really enjoyed reading this.

some of the writing was a little cringey but it wasn’t anything too major and didn’t detract from the overall story.

i was really rooting for wes and jamie’s relationship and i’m definitely looking forward to reading more of them in the sequel.


  4 stars

Megan Lowe

Oh my god, I LOVE Jamie and Wes! I love the humour, the drama, the feelings, the hockey.
This is a great book, not just sports romance, not just a MM romance, a great book full stop. 
I HIGHLY recommend you read this book, like yesterday!

Phee

i really wish i could say that i loved the book and although there are parts that i DID love (i.e. jamie & wes, the concept and even some quotes that are memorable) but overall, it ended up making me feel a little… uncomfortable.. about how jamie’s bisexuality was addressed in the book. 

now i’m all for coming out stories, and i do believe this book had good potential; however, there’s only so many times you can read a character who is gay express their discomfort of their partner also being attracted to women before it just starts to feel biphobic. there were so many lines that were said where wes (gay mc) would outright call jamie (bisexual mc) gay for hooking up with him and THEN call him straight and “experimenting” when remembering he’s also attracted to women… all the while knowing he’s bisexual.. and it’s never completely addressed by wes again ??? and no apology whatsoever ?? literally what was the point?

also, not to mention: 

- completely uncalled for racism by a secondary character (anti asian slurs used) which adds nothing to the plot whatsoever. it’s literally just thrown in because why not i guess..

- there’s a comment made at the end of the book which was also extremely?? and i’ll just copy and paste it here for reference: 
“I could announce I wanted to live my life as a transsexual vampire yeti, and they’d still say ‘Oh, Jamie. You’re so cute.’” …. yeah big yikes.

Overall, i did enjoy some of the moments between jamie/wes and the story had a lot of potential.. i just wish there weren’t so many moments that made me question why i picked up the book to begin with.

lindsey

i have some 
  opinions
 on this one lol

in general, this was a nice childhood friends to lovers mm hockey romance. it was a quick, fun read and i had a pretty good time! i did have some issues regarding the overall writing and pacing of the plot. i would have liked a more gradual build up to them getting together, but it felt like they started messing around pretty quick, especially for two friends that hadn't even talked to each other in 4 years. the writing itself may have had a few cringy lines here and there but my biggest problem was the male gaze from which these authors decided to write. overall, some of the conversations and viewpoints surrounding women, even if this was an mm romance, felt pretty misogynistic and objectifying. to me, i felt that the content was at times biphobic and villainized women. the f slur is also used quite a few times, in situations where i believe it could have gone without, especially when the authors are straight women. just something that i think should be acknowledged.

the romance itself actually ended up being very sweet near the end. for a while i didn't feel very connected to their relationship. i felt that it lacked emotionality and was more surface-level. we didn't get much insight on their friendship or the growth into romance for it to carry much meaning so all that was really left were steamy scenes. and idk how to feel about that lol. i did warm up to them in the latter half so i'm not too mad about it. 

regardless, i will probably give sabrina bowen's works another go because she does seem to be very popular for this genre. hopefully i enjoy them a little bit more :)

Cathy

* 3.5

apparently 2022 is the year for romance ?/!/ 

i found this out through trying to find out similar books to from lukov with love and i was like sure, ice skating -> ice hockey are pretty similar. 

jamie and ryan literally make me want to slam doors because sometimes they are just so insufferable like please just sit down and talk but they have their moments. idk if i’ll read the sequel though, i liked the ending x

romance authors please stop putting shirtless men on covers i am getting third hand embarrassment thank you

“ My life has been chaotic for as long as I can remember, and I always dealt with it alone. My parents’ criticism, my confusion over my sexuality. But for six weeks every summer, I didn’t have to be alone. I had Jamie, my best friend, my rock. ”

Saying I loved it will be the under statement of the year. I'm a sucker for friends to lovers. I love the whole build up of being best friends until they realize they love each other. People find it boring but it's my favorite trope. 

As if two athelets with hot bodies making out with each other was totally worth picking this up. But this book was so much more than the smut. Wes helping Jamie figure out his sexuality, even though he has no idea where would it lead them was the most selfless act. Did I tell you I love friends who turn into lovers? Wes did it not just because he had loved Jamie longer than he was even sure he is gay. He did it for his best friend. 

I loved how Jamie deals with Wes freaking out all the time that at one point he is going to push too far and their friendship will end. He always knew to say the right thing at the right time even though he was the one with the whole "do I like girls or boys or both" question. 

Another thing about Friends to lovers that always gets to me is that you have so many memories to return to. Secret hiking spots, your own jokes, nights when you got shit drunk and did something embarrassing, and all of this not because you were put in some situation where you had no other option but you chose to. You chose one person you want to create those memories with and one day you realize they mean the world to you. That's basically what those six weeks of summer camps meant to Wes and Jamie. 

The story also deals with homophobia, but it truly doesn't matter what some random guy says if and when you have a good support system. This book is just another story proving that love wins, no matter what. 

The ending was so wholesome. I can't wait to read the second part where they are madly, irretrievably in love with each other.

Akansha

“ My life has been chaotic for as long as I can remember, and I always dealt with it alone. My parents’ criticism, my confusion over my sexuality. But for six weeks every summer, I didn’t have to be alone. I had Jamie, my best friend, my rock. ”

Saying I loved it will be the under statement of the year. I'm a sucker for friends to lovers. I love the whole build up of being best friends until they realize they love each other. People find it boring but it's my favorite trope. 

As if two athelets with hot bodies making out with each other was totally worth picking this up. But this book was so much more than the smut. Wes helping Jamie figure out his sexuality, even though he has no idea where would it lead them was the most selfless act. Did I tell you I love friends who turn into lovers? Wes did it not just because he had loved Jamie longer than he was even sure he is gay. He did it for his best friend. 

I loved how Jamie deals with Wes freaking out all the time that at one point he is going to push too far and their friendship will end. He always knew to say the right thing at the right time even though he was the one with the whole "do I like girls or boys or both" question. 

Another thing about Friends to lovers that always gets to me is that you have so many memories to return to. Secret hiking spots, your own jokes, nights when you got shit drunk and did something embarrassing, and all of this not because you were put in some situation where you had no other option but you chose to. You chose one person you want to create those memories with and one day you realize they mean the world to you. That's basically what those six weeks of summer camps meant to Wes and Jamie. 

The story also deals with homophobia, but it truly doesn't matter what some random guy says if and when you have a good support system. This book is just another story proving that love wins, no matter what. 

The ending was so wholesome. I can't wait to read the second part where they are madly, irretrievably in love with each other.

Stacy

it was a cute read

pretty fast paced as well

Jessie Stafford

Gahh! I adore this love story so much. Best friends, to strangers, to lovers Wes and Jamie had me equally swooning and melting. Teddy Hamilton and Jacob Morgan bring the heat and the feels with some stellar narration. They are both favorites of mine and never fail to deliver. 

Two college hockey players who grew up going to camp together and quickly become best friends until a bet goes a little... different. Wes’ love for Jamie is so strong that you instantly understand his reasoning for leaving without words long ago. My heart soared for him in this book, I smiled BIG for his sweet, sarcastic self. Jamie’s bravery and sheer willingness to explore something new, yet familiar instead of holding back is adorably sexy. You get a bit of angst but it’s more love and play than anything else making it perfectly addictive. The combination of their personalities had me laughing, wishing I could crack a beer and hang with them myself. I instantly queued up the next book, US, and started listening. This story has everything you want in not just MM, but a great, timeless romance in general.

4⭐️

This was such a great read. 
Is it anything super new and not predictable? No. But that’s also not what I was looking for. 
I knew exactly how this was going to be because I’m used to one of the author’s style and I’m not disappointed. 
Easy, cute and spicy read. I like how it ended and I’m curious to see where these characters will go on this next step.

anna

rep: bi mc, gay mc

i kept rating books that were "okay but boring" 2 stars, so it's only fair this shit gets 1 star for all the biphobia and misogyny and other stuff

things that i had to read here:
- wes thinks jamie can't be bi bc jamie has a girlfriend
- wes "calls out"???? jamie for "still being into women"?????
- jamie realises he's bi and still into women bc he likes how soft they are
- wes' main fear is that jamie will leave him for a woman
- wes is never rly described as not a white guy but he has tribal tattoos & "golden-toned skin"

and i saved the best for last:
- jamie came out to his family via facebook, they were very accepting and he literally responded with: "I swear to God, I could announce I wanted to live my life as a transsexual vampire yeti, and they’d still say ‘Oh, Jamie. You’re so cute.’"

Ryiel

Was a bit wary going into it, saw lots of good things said about it so there was a lot of expectation building up in my head. Though, I tried to set those aside when I started it in fear of disappointed. In the end, this book captured my heart and I absolutely enjoyed it! I’ll admit that around the parts where Jaime was trying to figure himself out, I feared it was going to be a whole “I’m gay for you” type of thing—which is incredibly tiring to see so often—instead he figures out he’s bisexual, which was quite the moment I was proud to see when he came to admit and accept it. Absolutely adored Jaime and Wes together! And those steamy scenes were so casual it was nice to see something that didn’t just go straight into it and focus solely on all the sex—there were brief moments of laughs, short and random conversations during it it felt kinda down to earth? Yet it didn’t fully take away how steamy it really was. Loved their growth throughout the story as well. Oh! and Jaime’s family? Adored them so much. The amount of supportiveness and love they gave Jaime as well as welcoming Wes as a part of their family was so heartwarming I couldn’t help but smile. Definitely worth the shot to read! 

Him

Reviews

Highlights