“I mean, everyone knows how I feel about you.”
“What?”
“Yeah. I think I was pretty obvious about it. The guys have been teasing me.”
“Oh my god. Landon moaned. “This is going to be so weird.”
“Nah, I’ll play it totally cool. “No tongue.”
“No kissing at all, you fucking doofus.”
“I know. Don’t worry, I won’t even talk to you. Won’t look at you. Who are you, even?”
“Thank you.”
― Rachel Reid, Time to ShineCasey lit Landon up, filling all his dark caverns with sunshine. He made him happy in a way that Landon had forgotten was possible.
―“Oh god,” Landon said, voice shaky. “Stop. Please.”
Casey stopped, and Landon exhaled heavily.
“Sorry.”
“Never apologize for letting me know what you want.”
―
I found this book when I was perusing the Romance Books subreddit and someone posted the following request:
I’m looking for a book where our MMC is a cinnamon roll and stays that way even in the sex scenes. Looking for a consent king who wants to please.
I hadn’t read any of Rachel Reid’s books before. But, after this one, I immediately got her six-book hockey romance series called Game Changers.
I’m not a sports fan in general and I’ve stayed away from the hockey romances simply because there are so many other MM romances with premises that are more interesting to me.
This was a lovely and funny romance. It is a slow burn with relatively low angst. Both characters are cinnamon rolls, although one is a golden retriever and the other is the stoic player that needs someone to coax him out of his shell.
Landon is a goalie in the AHL, which I’m guessing is like the minor leagues of hockey. When the backup goalie for the Calgary Outlaws NHL team gets injured mid-season, Landon is called out to Calgary to sit backup until the other guy heals.
Landon loves playing hockey but he also feels that it is his duty. He has to be the best since he got to live while his older beloved sister did not. He feels immense guilt for “abandoning” his parents to continue his hockey training in high school, and believes the way to earn their forgiveness is by becoming a hockey star.
Landon has a ton of guilt and has never allowed himself to have a relationship of any sort.
Casey is the son of NHL royalty. He is hyperactive, sweet, and has no filter. He is also a phenomenal hockey player. He has a loving and supportive family but believes that he is stupid and that the only way people will love him is if he is the life of the party. He knows that he is totally extra but he doesn’t let that stop him from being himself. Despite his overactive mouth, he is sort of the team mascot. The other players like him but can only handle so much energy at one time.
Casey hates living alone, which is too bad because he has a massive mansion that he bought as an investment. Somehow, he convinces Landon to stay with him during his stint as the backup goalie. Proximity leads to connection, and it takes way too long for Landon to realize that he has genuine feelings for his roommate. However, this is a dangerous situation as he will return to his original team once the Outlaws no longer need him as a backup.
If I had to live with Casey, I would go nuts. He’s way too much energy. But he is a perfect match for Landon. Landon is able to start facing the trauma of losing his sister all of those years ago because Casey helps him realize that he deserves good things. And one of those good things is talking to his own parents and releasing the weight he has carried on his own for the past decade.