Audiobook Review: The Hockey Player's Heart (Hockey Hearts #1) by Jeff Adams and Will Knauss

When hockey star Caleb Carter returns to his hometown to recover from an injury, the only thing he’s interested in is a little R & R. He never expects to run into his onetime crush at a grade school fund-raiser . Seeing Aaron Price hits him hard, like being checked into the boards. The attraction is still there, even after all these years, and Caleb decides to make a play for the schoolteacher. You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take, right?

Aaron has been burned by love before and can’t imagine what a celebrity like Caleb could possibly see in a guy like him. Their differences are just too great. But as Aaron spends more time with Caleb, he begins to wonder if he might have what it takes to win the hockey player’s heart.

Listening Length: 4 hours 56 minutes
Narrator: Finn Sterling

This right here?? This was pretty darn close to contemporary no fuss no muss perfection!

Caleb is a pro hockey player who broke his foot and is home for a few weeks to recover, as well as to visit friends and family that he’s had little time to do so because of his crazy super star life. When Caleb reconnects with his teen crush Aaron (bff to his older sister), it’s like his feelings never diminished. As Caleb and Aaron get to know each other again, their slow burn and charming sweet interactions simply made me smile. Overall, these men were, and acted, like the adults they are. They took their time reforming their friendship, capitalizing on their great chemistry and similar interests, and in their maturity, they appreciated what the other could offer as a potential partner and communicated such with overall ease. And how!

So, I obviously freaking loved that these two did not play any games, that though this is of the DSP Dreamspun line, there was no over the top melodrama, no big misunderstanding. Minus just one instance, this went down like the best brownie sundae ever! What made this even better was the fact that Caleb is an out and proud and well beloved hockey player. He even has a teammate who is also gay, and I suspect will be the star in the next book of this series!

I listened to this lovely story despite the fact that I don’t have the greatest track record with narrator Finn Sterling. I sampled before forging ahead, and though he is still far from my favorite, the many strong points definitely shined through regardless.

I’m also quite biased in having a soft spot for these two married authors, as they cohost a lovely podcast that features many an mm author and related events. This was definitely a win despite the little angst involving Aaron’s past relationship baggage making him afraid to take a chance at love. Both these characters were very likeable guys, and I fell hard for Caleb - Aaron never had a chance at resisting for very long! So high five for a great contemporary romance with equally some great sexy and nary a complaint! I look forward to this duo’s next endeavor!!



Thank you to the authors/publisher for the audio in exchange for an honest review

Giveaway + Blog Tour: The Hockey Player's Heart by Jeff Adams & Will Knauss

Jeff Adams and Will Knauss are here today to talk about their new Dreamspun Desires novel, The Hockey Player's Heart. Be sure to check out our review of it here & don't miss out on the giveaway below!

Hi! Thanks to Boy Meets Boy for hosting us on the blog tour for The Hockey Player’s Heart. We’re excited to be here to talk about our book, which is our first collaboration on a novel. Part of Dreamspinner Press’s Dreamspun Desires line, it’s a feel-good, second chance romance between pro hockey player Caleb Carter and grade school teacher Aaron Price. When these two were in high school, and Aaron was tutoring Caleb, they had crushes on each other that they never admitted. It's only when Caleb comes home years later that they rediscover each other and go after their HEA.

In this book, Caleb is the out and proud captain of the New York Rangers. And he's not the only openly gay member of the team, as his best friend Dimitri Stanislov is out of the closet as well.

There are no openly gay athletes in the big four sports (football, baseball, basketball, hockey) in the US, so we wrote this book to represent the world as we want it to be. Athletes have always been a source of inspiration, especially for young people. Part of the books’ world is that there are out athletes at the top of their profession who can serve as role models.

The You Can Play Project was formed in 2012 to support inclusivity in all aspects of sports. Its motto is simple “If you can play... you can play." It's a powerful message for athletes who might be hesitant to be their authentic selves. Over the years they've recorded athletes across all levels of sport saying those words and spreading the word for inclusiveness.

These themes provide some of the backdrop for The Hockey Player’s Heart. Caleb is fully aware that his talent and success in professional hockey make him a role model and provide him with a platform to share his message of inclusivity.

We look to the day where all athletes--and really all people--are allowed to be open and honest about their identity without fear of repercussions. Until then, we’re grateful for the role models that are out there, as well as the opportunity to create them in our books.

Below is a brief excerpt, set at the school fundraiser, where Caleb and Aaron talk about an interaction he just had with some students.

Make sure you also check out the Rafflecopter because we’re giving away an e-book copy at each tour stop plus there's a grand prize of an autographed paperback for a US winner or a $10 Amazon e-gift card for an international winner. Make sure to check out all the stops to maximize your chance to win.

We hope you enjoy The Hockey Player's Heart and would love to hear what you think. If you read it, please consider leaving a review on your favorite site or dropping us a comment on one of our websites.

Excerpt

“Is it strange seeing your face on merchandise, like that toy of Terry’s?”

“It’s strange at first, but you get used to it, I guess.”

As one of the few out-and-proud players in the NHL, Aaron knew how significant it was that Caleb was so beloved by his fans and sought after by companies for merchandising and sponsorship deals.

“I’ve never known anyone who’s had a doll made in their likeness.”

“That’s not a doll,” Caleb emphasized. “That was a one-sixth scale, collector’s edition, premium action figure. The league did a series of them last year.”

Caleb certainly wasn’t a preening, macho sports star, but Aaron found his insistence on the precise masculine terminology for an NHL doll amusing. He couldn’t resist giving his old friend a hard time.

“It sure looked like a doll to me,” Aaron teased. “In fact, if we went back to your parent’s house right now and dug around in Pam’s old bedroom closet, we’d find a box full of Barbies who’d just love to go on a dream date with that miniature version of you.”

“Well, as long as Malibu Ken came along, I’d be okay with that.”

Aaron couldn’t help himself—he laughed out loud. Caleb chuckled as well.

“In all seriousness,” Aaron continued, “Thank you for taking the time to talk to those kids. I know it meant a lot to them.”

Caleb waved it off as if it were no big deal. “When I was their age, I met Gideon Roark after a game. His team and coach were trying to hurry him along to get on the bus, but he stopped, signed a puck, and talked to me for a few minutes. Dad was with me, and even he said we needed to let him go, but Roark continued to talk and even offered some face-off tips. I still have the puck, and because of him, I always take time for kids. Sort of a ‘pay it forward.’”

                                                                   

Blurb:

Hometown hero. Hockey superstar. Perfect boyfriend?

When hockey star Caleb Carter returns to his hometown to recover from an injury, the only thing he’s interested in is a little R & R. He never expects to run into his onetime crush at a grade school fund-raiser . Seeing Aaron Price hits him hard, like being checked into the boards. The attraction is still there, even after all these years, and Caleb decides to make a play for the schoolteacher. You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take, right?

Aaron has been burned by love before and can’t imagine what a celebrity like Caleb could possibly see in a guy like him. Their differences are just too great. But as Aaron spends more time with Caleb, he begins to wonder if he might have what it takes to win the hockey player’s heart.

Buy Links:

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon

iBooks

Kobo

Bio:

Jeff Adams and Will Knauss are husbands, authors, and podcasters based in Northern California. They write gay romances, sometimes together and other times separately. Jeff also writes young adult LGBT fiction. Together they host Jeff & Will's Big Gay Fiction Podcast, a weekly show devoted to gay romance literature and the pop culture they love.

Websites:

Jeff: JeffAdamsWrites.com

Will: WillKnauss.com

Podcast: BigGayFictionPodcast.com

Enter for your chance to win an autographed copy of The Hockey Player's Heart OR a $10 Amazon Gift Card! Giveaway ends January 28th. Good luck!

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Review: The Hockey Player's Heart (Hockey Hearts #1) by Jeff Adams & Will Knauss

When hockey star Caleb Carter returns to his hometown to recover from an injury, the only thing he’s interested in is a little R & R. He never expects to run into his onetime crush at a grade school fund-raiser . Seeing Aaron Price hits him hard, like being checked into the boards. The attraction is still there, even after all these years, and Caleb decides to make a play for the schoolteacher. You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take, right?

Aaron has been burned by love before and can’t imagine what a celebrity like Caleb could possibly see in a guy like him. Their differences are just too great. But as Aaron spends more time with Caleb, he begins to wonder if he might have what it takes to win the hockey player’s heart.

By now I think it’s pretty obvious that I am a fan of the Dreamspun Desire series and this book is a great example of why. There are some books in the Dreamspinner Press houseline that are super fluffy and they are some that are so damn sweet and meaningful, you need to hug it out with your Nook when you finish the book. This story is the latter.

From the prologue I was hooked as we get a young Caleb waiting to give a gift to his older sister’s best friend Aaron who is also Caleb’s crush and his geometry tutor after Aaron’s high school graduation. Caleb has been crushing pretty hard on Aaron for what seems like forever but he has no way to tell Aaron other than this. It’s a milestone moment for Caleb but it’s over quickly and then life happened and the two men haven’t seen one another in years.

Caleb has always loved the game of hockey and was lucky enough to turn it in to a career playing for the New York Rangers. But a foot injury has Caleb needing some time off the ice so he heads back to his home town of Foster Grove to recover. Once home, his sister Pam who is also the elementary school’s principal thinks it’s a great idea for Caleb to participate in the local school’s carnival and draw some fundraising money, Caleb comes face to face with his teenage crush.

I love that this was told from both Aaron and Caleb’s POV so we really got a chance to see that both men have had crushes on the other for some time. Aaron is nothing short of adorable as he tries to act like seeing a grown up and hot as heck professional hockey player that Caleb now is doesn’t affect him and Caleb momentarily turns 16 again when he sees Aaron but the men keep it platonic.

This story was so sweet and yet really meaningful. We get a lot of Aaron and Caleb building an adult friendship though a natural progression. The men hang out with one another and find out they have a lot in common with their likes and shared history. It’s easy to see how they could quickly find themselves in a relationship though it moves at a slower pace with them keeping respectable boundaries. The moments of Caleb showing Aaron’s third grade class how he uses geometry in Hockey and Aaron being mesmerized by Caleb teaching kids on the ice was lovely to experience. These two have such a healthy admiration for what the other does that it gives the reader a stable building block for their romantic relationship.

With Caleb being a hockey player, we do get a good amount of sport in this story. At least for a reader like myself who isn’t sporty. We get the ins and outs of how the sport works professionally for Caleb and his responsibilities with it. The “You Can Play Initiative” is front and center with Caleb and the story highlights it in an informative and supportive way. Just the memory of Caleb dealing with a young man wanting an autograph and what he does warms my heart. Caleb knows that his position as an out gay man in the world of professional hockey holds a level of responsibility and he doesn’t take that lightly. He gives back to his community and he gives back to kids remembering what it was like to be one.

Aaron broke my heart with his relationship issues and how he wants to trust Caleb but is scared. I think what I liked the most about this element is how he and Caleb were so honest with one another about their past, present and future. The communication is always there even if it’s a little stalled with insecurity but it doesn’t last long.

Once again, I find myself rambling because there are so many positives in this story. It’s a great unrequited/unknown/mutual high school crush/friends to lovers romance that warmed my heart. I truly loved watching Aaron and Caleb become friends and then more. They are sweet and also really hot together when they decide to get down and dirty and Aaron can get pretty dirty.

At the end of it all, this was lovely. I find myself thinking of the moments that made me smile and there are so many of them. I have a note on one highlight that says “Stop highlighting moments before you highlight the whole book” because there are that many.

The ending was super sweet and again, respectful and romantic. Yeah this was a good book.

Wait… I have one more thing to say. Since this is listed as a series, I really hope the next books is Dimitri because he needs someone to show him his hookup days are over.