Save of the Game

*Audio copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by the Dreamspinner for my listening pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*

Save of the Game is Book 2 in Avon Gale's Scoring Chances series. You could probably listen/read Book 2 without having read the first one, but don't do that! There are characters and storylines from Book 1 that are involved in Book 2 and you'll enjoy it more with the history of the characters. In this book, goalie Riley Hunter is in peak physical shape and ready to win a championship. Riley is an open minded individual, who has considered that he may be bisexual. Riley comes from a wealthy family which he keeps hidden from everyone but his closest friends. Ethan Kennedy is loud, boisterous, and the life of the party. He smokes cigarettes like Riley drinks coconut water. Ethan was raised in a close knit family with a single mom and two sisters. Family is one of the most important parts of his life. Riley is unexpectedly attracted to Ethan, confirming that he's bisexual. In a nosy move, Ethan finds Riley's hidden porn files on the laptop and realizes that the men in the videos look a lot like him, making him rethink his sexuality.

I seriously appreciated that when Riley and Ethan became interested in each other, they went all in. There were no chapters of angst about how can I be gay, can I do this, should I do this, etc. They both decided to accept themselves and to move forward. Their fumblings of trying to figure out what to do with each other was funny, leading a clearly desperate Riley to call Lane (from Book 1) for sex advice. The ridiculousness and hilarity of that call was a pure Lane moment. And was a reminder of just how much I loved Lane and Jared.

Some characters that I have to mention is Riley and Ethan's coach and Ethan's family. Coach doesn't care that they're gay, he just wants them to play some ******* hockey! Coach likes to sprinkle nouns and verbs in between his cussing and he is hilarious! There were many scenes with him involved that I was laughing while listening. He was just so well written and the narrator just brought him to life. Additionally, Ethan's mom and sisters. They were no different from Ethan, they're loud, brash, in your face and they have huge hearts. They just added so much to this story, and made it easy to understand why Ethan had turned out the way he did.

I really enjoyed the audiobook from Book 1, and this one definitely doesn't disappoint. This audiobook was narrated by Scott R. Smith, who really brought the characters to life! His storytelling was very well paced and he really brought out the humor and passion in this story. Though I did feel that his female characters all had the same voice/tone, so sometimes it was hard to tell which one was speaking without being told.

Overall, this is a low angst story with two lovable guys, that provides lots of laughter and some really hot, steamy, sexy scenes. Even if you're not a fan of hockey, or don't understand it, you should still check out this series!

Overall: 5 stars
Performance: 4.5 stars
Story: 5 stars

Because of the first book in this series, Breakaway, I actually watched the Hockey All Stars game. I do follow hockey a bit, but it is rarely as interesting as the author makes it in this series, with really likeable guys, who are articulate and love their sport.

Riley and Ethan are good characters, but I have to admit that the scenes when Lane Courtnall from Breakaway was around were my favorites. His Lane-isms are Just. So. Funny. But there were many other touching and wonderful scenes as well. I especially liked when Riley met Ethan's welcoming family, and when they all came to watch the playoffs. There were so many great secondary characters that I could read a book or a story about any one of them in the future.

The ending of the book was great and I was pleased at the path Ethan is taking, and how he really trusts that Riley will be there for him. I would recommend this book to anyone, whether you are interested in hockey or not. If you like to read about teamwork and family, as well as the sexy times, then this book is for you.

3 1/2 Hearts Reviewed by Prime

Save the Game is the second book in Avon Gale’s series, Scoring Chances. It is fun, sexy and fully of hunky hockey players – so it’s got a winning formula already. You probably don’t need to read the series in order as they can be read as standalone novels.

The story follows teammates on ice hockey team, the Jacksonville Sea Storm, Ethan and Riley. We see both the characters and the team grow as we see another couple start to form in the sidelines for the Sea Storm. Ethan was recruited to the Sea Storm from New York and he is very much an out there sort of character in more ways than one. Then there is Riley. He seemed to have a bit of a chip on his shoulders in the first book but this guy is like an onion – he has layers and it is clear from the get go that Ethan and Riley do have the beginnings of something special. And the minor characters – including the Sea Storm and even Ethan’s family play a big and very enjoyable role in proceedings.

Yes – you can see I enjoyed this book but there were a couple of reason why I could only give this book an average rating.
1. Ok, so a bit of a spoiler but this is more a warning about something I know a lot of people dislike in their MM fiction – one of our main characters has sex on page with a woman (pretty much at the beginning of the book). While that works in some cases this is one of those times when I thought it was unnecessary to have it happen on page. Ok, one of the characters does have problems coming to terms with his sexuality but for me it didn’t fly.
2. While the characters were very well developed the plot was sometimes a bit plain and the pace was rather slow for the first two third of the book. The story never really fell flat but I suppose that there wasn’t enough excitement to hold my attention.

This is the type of book for people that love a good dose of MM romance with their ice hockey, though if you prefer sweetness over action this would probably be more the book for you. It also goes without saying that fans of the first book in Scoring Chances should also give this a go.

Can I just say how much I adore Riley & Ethan? Great follow up to the first book!
I especially loved their family visits and the interactions with family members.
Excellent series that I hope is not over anytime soon.

4.5 stars
I debated for several days before starting this book as to whether or not I should read book one. In the end I decided to see if the book would hold up well as a standalone. It does, and does it well.
Riley is the goalie for the Sea Storm, an ECHL hockey team. Let me stop there and say how appreciative I was that the author took the time at the beginning of the book to give her readers a synopsis of how the NHL/AHL and its subsidiaries is broken down. I'm a serious baseball fan, so I understand the feeder leagues and wasn't aware of the multiple levels that also exist in hockey.
Riley's previous roommate (Lane, of book one fame) has gotten called up, leaving Riley without a roommate, but not in dire straits because he comes from money, a lot of money. Enough money that he hides it and causes issues down the road. Enter Ethan, enforcer for the Sea Storm, ready to defend his teammates with fight after fight. He's the good son, the scrappy fighter, but doesn't have a lot of money. See issues above.
I really liked how the boys \"tumbled\" together, and how they navigated their first forays into liking and loving another boy, and then the added kink on top. There were a ton a fun moments and lively banter, and the scenes of actual hockey playing were spot on. The secondary characters made the story bloom, especially Ethan's boisterous mother and sisters. The main characters from book one (Breakaway) were brought back occasionally and added to the story's dimension.
I've already added book one to my list, a good sign that I'll be reading and looking for more from this author.