Maggie Blackbird

Today, I’m hosting author Amy Aislin’s latest release Game Plan, book one in the Vancouver Orcas series, a m/m contemporary romance.  Be sure to read my review.  And don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway.

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Title: Game Plan
Series: Vancouver Orcas, Book 1
Author and Publisher: Amy Aislin
Genre: Contemporary M/M hockey romance
Tropes: Second chance, forbidden romance, hockey
Themes: Second chances, forgiveness, making amends
Release Date: April 4, 2023
Heat Rating: 3 flames
Length: 72 000 words

Coaching his new AHL team? Easy
Reconnecting with his ex…who’s also his best player’s father?
Not so much.

Blurb:  As the new head coach of the Vancouver Orcas, Matt Shore has got his work cut out for him. Coming off a season where the Orcas came in last in the entire AHL, Matt’s job is to whip his new hockey team into shape for the oncoming season.

He doesn’t need any distractions, especially not one in the form of a tall, dark, and gorgeous antiques dealer.

Who’s also his ex—and his best player’s father.

Pierce Langley-Brown has a lot of regrets. The biggest? Leaving Matt behind two years ago when his son needed him. Now, with his son on Matt’s hockey team, there’s no avoiding the man who once owned his heart.

Not that Pierce wants to avoid him. And that heart? It still belongs to Matt.

But will Matt choose to keep it after all this time?

It is the first book in a new trilogy that’s a spin-off from Star of the Game (Stick Side 6). All three books will stand on their own and feature new couples.  It does not end on a cliffhanger.

Content Warnings:  Past parental death (off-page but is discussed on-page); depression and mental health.

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Buy Links – Audiobook available on Audible, Amazon, and Apple

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“What do you think?” Matt slowed as they approached the entrance to Kitsilano Beach Park. The parking lot was mostly empty at this time of day. “Should we park here or find street parking farther down?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Pierce muttered. “We both know I’ll only last five minutes.”

Matt grinned and pulled into the parking lot. “Not to worry. We’ll build your stamina in no time.”

Speaking of stamina . . . Matt scratched at his thigh, drawing Pierce’s gaze.

He swallowed hard. Sipped his coffee. Eyed Matt’s profile as Matt backed into a spot. “What kind of strenuous activities do you expect me to be doing that I’ll need stamina?”

Putting the car in park, Matt side-eyed him. “Increasing your stamina helps reduce fatigue. Allows you to perform your daily activities at a higher level while using less energy.”

“Uh-huh.” Amused at the non-answer, Pierce sipped more coffee, hiding a grin behind his mug. “Is that all?”

Huffing, Matt popped his door open. “Get out of the car, LB.”

Pierce let his laughter loose, feeling giddy and happy and like Matt’s laughter gave him superpowers.

Until they got a few minutes into their jog.

“I’m—” Huff. “—dying.” Huff. “Jogging is . . .” Huff.

“Good exercise?” Matt prompted, not the least bit winded.

“Torture.”

Matt chuckled, but he slowed to a fast walk. Other joggers and cyclists passed them, but Pierce didn’t care much about anything other than gulping big breaths of air. On their left, the sandy beach was dotted with wooden logs for seating, and the ocean was calm under a blue sky peppered with the occasional cloud. In the distance, the mountains rose, tall and green.

Pierce sucked in a deep breath of ocean-tinted air, held it, and released it in a long sigh.

“How did you survive in landlocked Laval for two years?” Matt asked

“Technically, it’s not landlocked. Laval is mostly on an island across the Prairies River from Montreal. It’s not the same, but there are waterfronts. I did miss home, though. It’s good to be back.”

“Yet you’d still move with Jason if he got traded again?”

Pierce blinked at Matt. “What makes you say that?”

“You sort of implied it,” Matt said, suddenly finding a hangnail interesting. “When you said you moved back here because Jason did.”

“Oh, well . . . I mean, generally, parents don’t follow their kids around, right? Especially when those kids reach adulthood?”

Matt raised an eyebrow, and if ever sardonic had an expression . . . “Yet here you are.”

“Sure, but . . .” Pierce shrugged. “I kept my apartment here for a reason, you know? Jase getting traded here was fortuitous. It gave me an excuse to return home, which gave me a reason to be close to Jason so we can keep repairing our relationship.”

“If he’d gotten traded to . . . I don’t know . . . somewhere in the States, you wouldn’t have gone with him?”

Pierce blew out a breath. “I might’ve gone with him for the first week or so, just to make sure he was settling in okay. Whether or not I would’ve moved there with him . . .” He rubbed his jaw, the overnight stubble he hadn’t bothered to shave scratching at his palm. “I honestly don’t know. I don’t spend much time mapping out what I would or wouldn’t have done in a situation that doesn’t exist.”

“But it could exist.”

Pierce stopped right there on the path, a frown pulling at his forehead. Once Matt had turned around, he said, “Are you trying to tell me something? Is Jason about to get traded? He just got here.”

Matt’s eyes were dark as sin under the autumn sun. “No. That’s not what I’m saying. I’m just . . . curious.”

Curious because . . . he didn’t want Pierce to leave again?

Because . . . he was still in love with him?

Pierce nearly laughed out loud at the fanciful thoughts.

“Curious about . . . ?”

Matt walked backwards, forcing Pierce to follow. “What your long-term plans are. I don’t even know what you do for work right now.”

“I’m a runner.”

Another sardonic eyebrow paired with an amused twist of the lips. “I beg to differ.”

“No,” Pierce said with a laugh. “Not a runner runner. A runner for an antiques dealer in Quebec.”

“Which is . . . ?”

“I buy antiques for my dealer. She tells me what she’s looking for and what her budget is, and I run around looking for it.”

“Huh.”

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Although I’m not a hockey fan (go figure since I’m a Canuck obsessed with golf) I am a big fan of Vancouver, so when this title came up for review, I was in.

I must say the author is an impressive writer.  I enjoyed the descriptions of the locale, the dialogue between characters, the pacing of the novel, and the arc for one of the characters.

Matt Shore is the new head coach out to make an impression with the ALH team the Oracles.  He’s also nursing a wounded heart, having been dumped two years ago without so much as a phone call or even a text by a man he’d become quite infatuated with, and even could have possibly loved.  So he’s doing his best to move on, but the dating app scene isn’t for him.

As for Pierce Langley-Brown, he’s returned to the place he’s run from to support his son’s hockey career.  Battling with mental illness two years ago, Pierce fled Vancouver and everything that meant something to him to reconcile with his estranged hockey son who’d been traded to a team in Quebec.  Now Pierce is settling in Vancouver once again, with a much healthier mental state, and determined to make amends to those he’d hurt due to his illness.

I enjoyed this look into a person’s mental health and my heart went out to Pierce.  The man was fighting for his sanity, so of course he had survival on his mind when he fled.  When it comes to sink or swim, he sacrificed everything to swim toward sanity.  But Pierce also realizes the hurt he’d caused.  I enjoyed how he wanted to make amends to those left behind.

One of those left behind wasn’t only Pierce’s sister, but the head coach of the Oracles.  Naturally, their first meeting doesn’t go over well.  Pierce still has work to do and misses the goalie net big time and costs himself a win with Matt.

The struggles they face as they try to renew what they’d lost pulled me in.  I also enjoyed the peeks into their jobs.  Pierce is an antique runner, and we all know what Matt does.  I don’t know why, but I rather enjoy peeking into the world of the character’s job.  The author did her research and provided a nice account of hockey without going overboard.

I also enjoyed the secondary characters that hint at previous romances, and possibly new romances as well for the series.

It’s a wonderful read about reconciliation, starting anew, understanding mental health, and compassion for those suffering.  It was a lot to pack in, but the author did a great job of covering all the bases.  It’s also a great book to kick off the new series.  I recommend you give it a read. 

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Amy’s lived with her head in the clouds since she first picked up a book as a child, and being fluent in two languages means she’s read a lot of books! She first picked up a pen on a rainy day in fourth grade when her class had to stay inside for recess. Tales of treasure hunts with her classmates eventually morphed into love stories between men, and she’s been writing ever since. She writes evenings and weekends—or whenever she isn’t at her full-time day job saving the planet at Canada’s largest environmental non-profit.

An unapologetic introvert, Amy reads too much and socializes too little, with no regrets. She loves connecting with readers. Join her Facebook Group to stay up-to-date on upcoming releases and for access to early teasers, find her on Instagram, or sign up for her infrequent newsletter.

Follow Amy:  Blog/Website | Facebook | Instagram | Newsletter Sign-up | Facebook Group

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