I have posted my review of Check, Please! Vol 1 here: https://cannonballread.com/2019/02/check-please-debcapsfan/. Check Please Vol 2 continues the story of Eric “Bitty” Bittle in his Junior and Senior years at Samwell. When we last left our hero, his boyfriend, Jack, has graduated and is playing in the NHL for Seattle’s expansion team.
Jack is a professional player, and they are keeping their relationship quiet.
But slowly, Jack and Bitty reveal themselves to the hockey team at Samwell, and Jack’s teammates, and finally to Bitty’s parents. I cried so many happy tears that my husband was VERY concerned and asked me several times “are you sure you like this?”
To be sure, the homophobia that both men deal with is not glossed over. There are scenes from the college games Bitty plays in where players on the other team call him “ma’am” and tell him that they bet he loves the locker room. There’s a scene where a closeted player is watching Jack come out on national television and listening to the homophobic talk around him. There are also a very nice scene with Bitty’s father that I won’t ruin but it’s really wonderful. There’s a running gag where Bitty, who is a baker, is using his Aunt’s jam recipe instead of his mother’s that gets rewarded near the end that is very funny. Overall, it’s very sweet and funny and lovely, and some of the folks that graduate after Bitty’s sophomore and junior year appear at the end of the book. And we finally find out Shitty’s real name.
What else can I say, it’s Rainbow Rowell endorsed, people, you know what to do. Read it, love it, let Bitty and Jack enter your hearts. I love them so much, but I also love the people around them at Samwell and in Seattle. This book will make your heart happy. And the *thing* is the most romantic *thing* I’ve read in a book in a long time. It’s very swoon-worthy. My son has a star scale with the food we make him that somehow scales up in crazy ways, so I’ll give this book infinity stars.
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