Isaiah Roby's Blog: MI Book Reviews, page 14

Shameless Puckboy

Something about this felt different than the other books in the series/by the authors.
It wasn’t hate-to-love, exactly, but it felt like the truly first book where for a long time the characters genuinely didn’t like each other, even beyond the point where they have sex.

OSKAR
After a little mishap in an alleyway with CCTV, my public image needs fixing. Oops?
It might have been a stunt to get the attention of Lane Pierce, San Jose’s new PR manager, but I didn’t realize what the consequences wou...

Irresponsible Puckboy

This one was quite hard hitting.

Tripp
The worst part of being in love with my straight best friend is the fact he’s too oblivious to see it.
Years of pining have left me exhausted, and I need a break from Dex. I need space to get over my feelings. But when his relationship falls apart and he turns to me for comfort, I cave immediately.
If there’s one thing I hate more than being hurt, it’s seeing Dex struggle. I can’t leave him in a time of need, even if my friends say it’s my biggest downfall...

Egotistical Puckboy

Well executed rivalry/hate-to-love sports romance.

EZRA
Partying, dudes, and hockey. What more could a gay NHL player want?
If it weren’t for Anton Hayes, my life would be perfect.
Not that he affects my life in any way. At all. That would imply I care what the winger from Philly thinks of me.
Which I don’t.
Not even a one-night stand with him can thaw his misplaced animosity toward me.
He says I’m the one with the ego, but he can talk. He rivals me for most egotistical puck boy in the league.
I ha...

But Not Too Bold

I’m a simple guy, I see “sapphic monster romance” and I wanna read it instantly.

The Shape of Water meets Mexican Gothic in this sapphic monster romance novella wrapped in gothic fantasy trappings

The old keeper of the keys is dead, and the creature who ate her is the volatile Lady of the Capricious House⁠―Anatema, an enormous humanoid spider with a taste for laudanum and human brides.
Dália, the old keeper’s protégée, must take up her duties, locking and unlocking the little drawers in which ...

Best Books of 2024

I’m a tad late with this, but here are my favourite or most memorable reads from 2024!

2024 was all over the place in terms of reading for me. I started out reading very little in January and February, and then gradually increased my reading rapidly over the rest of the year, leading to around 200 read books this year. I do not have an exact number, as I read a lot of short stories and some unpublished fiction, and the different apps I use to track my reading all have different ways of t...

Puck Drills & Quick Thrills

This took me a bit out of the college feeling of the series, given that the main characters are (college level) hockey coach and a professor. But since both teach at college level, as well as their proximity to previous book characters, it fit well with the rest of the series.

WESTLY
The fall from NHL superstar to domestic disaster was swift and painful. When I became the legal guardian of my five younger siblings, I had no idea what I was doing.
One year later, I’m still lost.
Coaching CU’s ho...

Line Mates & Study Dates

Super snarky couple in this one.

ASHER
Hockey, studying, and school runs. That’s my life now.
After a tragic accident that took our parents’ lives, it’s up to me and my big brother to take care of our five younger siblings.
In between burning their meals and keeping them from killing each other, I’m supposed to get a college degree. It’s hard when I don’t have time to breathe let alone study, and if I don’t get my grades up, I’m in danger of losing the one thing that makes me happy: my spot on...

Goal Lines & First Times

This series is really growing on me.

COHEN
It turns out making out with my best friend in high school could be considered gay. Who knew? Apparently, everyone but me.
Now that it’s been pointed out, I can’t help reliving it in my head. Repeatedly. Goodbye Denial Town, hello Confusionville.
When my path leads me down the gay dating app route, I don’t expect to meet anyone I like, but then I meet him.
He can’t be more opposite than me. He’s smart, he hates hockey, and he identifies as demi—somethin...

Face Offs & Cheap Shots

JACOBS
For the last three years, I’ve lived and breathed hockey with one goal: team captain.
There’s only one thing standing in my way. TJ Beckett.
Beck is irresponsible and immature, and I’ve hated him since the moment we met freshman year.
Yet, the coaches see something in him I obviously can’t, and they refuse to choose between us. The captain spot is going to a team vote, and the team thinks that what we need are a bunch of challenges to prove our worth. Challenges that have nothing to do with h...

Power Plays & Straight A’s

Lovely NA sports romance with the nerd/jock and brother’s best friend tropes.

FOSTER
“Look out for Zach and don’t hit on him.”
My brother’s request sounds easy enough. Keep an eye out for his best friend on campus and keep my hands to myself.
Easy.
Even if Zach is a quintessential nerd, who I’ve always thought was cute, I don’t have the time to think with my … stick.
There’s only one stick I should be focused on this year, and that’s my hockey stick. My goal once I graduate is to get an NHL contr...