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Loving Luke
Harley
For years, hockey has been my only love, with occasional straying with nameless girls.
And yet, no one made me feel that special something until that fateful night happened.
My team captain and I met up at the bar after a victory.
We had one too many and I woke up in his room; naked, hungover, and thirsty as hell.
I'm just not sure if it's only water I'm so thirsty for. Luke
It all started as a bet, a harmless bet.
No one was supposed to get emotionally attached.
But, it turns out it was his first gay experience and, now, I can't wrap my head around it.
I'm too old for this.
Much older than him and I'm supposed to know better than to fall for a younger guy. Loving Luke is a standalone Gay First Time Hockey Romance with a HEA and NO cheating!
For years, hockey has been my only love, with occasional straying with nameless girls.
And yet, no one made me feel that special something until that fateful night happened.
My team captain and I met up at the bar after a victory.
We had one too many and I woke up in his room; naked, hungover, and thirsty as hell.
I'm just not sure if it's only water I'm so thirsty for. Luke
It all started as a bet, a harmless bet.
No one was supposed to get emotionally attached.
But, it turns out it was his first gay experience and, now, I can't wrap my head around it.
I'm too old for this.
Much older than him and I'm supposed to know better than to fall for a younger guy. Loving Luke is a standalone Gay First Time Hockey Romance with a HEA and NO cheating!
136 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 28, 2020
Harley and Luke are loveable characters, but their development in this novel seems a little stunted. A quick read, yet after I was halfway through I found it was getting more and more challenging to keep my attention on reading the story.
Don't get me wrong, the emotions were there. But it felt rushed, and in some parts underdeveloped. Almost like it was a race to the end of the novel. I wish the author had taken some more time to really flesh out the story - to help us understand the character development, and to allow us as readers to fully understand the characters and their emotions.
There were also a couple of niggles that didn't make sense to me, that pulled me out of the story. After Harley's injury, it mentions Luke driving him home - and the injured leg. Yet, later in the book there is mention of a cast on Harley's leg - that seems to have just been skipped over in earlier chapters. And in Chapter 11, it mention's that Lukes phone is on silent, however, in the next sentence Luke is reacting to the sound of his ringtone... Only small niggles, but again, they just push me to believe that this novel was a little rushed.
I enjoyed it in the end, but it's not one that I would be rushing to re-read at the moment. However, if the author ever revises a copy of this novel, I would love to re-read their story, because I think it has the bones there for being a lovely romance - it just need developing and fleshing out a little more.
Don't get me wrong, the emotions were there. But it felt rushed, and in some parts underdeveloped. Almost like it was a race to the end of the novel. I wish the author had taken some more time to really flesh out the story - to help us understand the character development, and to allow us as readers to fully understand the characters and their emotions.
There were also a couple of niggles that didn't make sense to me, that pulled me out of the story. After Harley's injury, it mentions Luke driving him home - and the injured leg. Yet, later in the book there is mention of a cast on Harley's leg - that seems to have just been skipped over in earlier chapters. And in Chapter 11, it mention's that Lukes phone is on silent, however, in the next sentence Luke is reacting to the sound of his ringtone... Only small niggles, but again, they just push me to believe that this novel was a little rushed.
I enjoyed it in the end, but it's not one that I would be rushing to re-read at the moment. However, if the author ever revises a copy of this novel, I would love to re-read their story, because I think it has the bones there for being a lovely romance - it just need developing and fleshing out a little more.
May 22, 2020
i read this book as part of an arc program. This is the story of Harley and Luke. Harley is a hockey player and Luke is his coach. After a night of drinking, they end up together in Luke's room and one thing leads to another. Luke admits it was a bet to see if he could sleep with Harley and soon he realizes it was Harley's first time with a man and Luke thinks it might be too much to ask for them to be together. Luke worries it was a mistake and he is too old for Harley. They grow closer to each other and soon their feelings grow stronger and they both decide to be together. I liked this book, i just wondered a bit at first about who the bet was with and what was the bet. Luke and Harley seemed to have a good connection with each other and i think it was a good base for a good relationship.
June 23, 2020
This is really unusual for me but I really didn't like this book. It seemed like there were vital pieces of information just missing from the story. Harley and Luke slept together one night. Apparently it was a bet but it's never stated who made the bet or why, what were the terms, why was Harley picked? was it a fellow hockey player cuz I thought Luke was closeted???? Just some of the things I wondered about. Then Luke does NOT apologize. Like he knows he's a dick and he still doesn't say the words that Harley deserves to hear. And then all of a sudden Luke is love. How did that happen? They never went on a date or had meaningful conversation. This was just totally unbelievable. Harley was a great guy but even at the end I still couldn't tolerate Luke.
May 28, 2020
First thing, this story begins with a big piece of the events being left out. Who did Luke make a bet with? Was the bet Harley's first time? Any way, after I caught up I thought Luke was a jerk. No apologies or anything. I know why, but Harley deserved better. Harley was great and very forgiving. I did love the ending and Jessie was a great character. I loved Luke with her girls, another whole side to him.
May 2, 2020
Van Cole's Loving Luke is a Gay First Time Hockey Romance that gave me reasons to smile. Sports, steam and good characters. A good and fast read.
Want to Read
August 20, 2020🎁 FREE on Amazon today (8/20/2020)! 🎁
September 16, 2021
Couldn't get into this writing style.
Read
November 18, 2023Novella November (What was Luke’s bet? Why do we not get to know?)
June 1, 2021
I went into this story with high hopes. A nice hokey romance that starts in the midst of a problem instead of dragging you through the problem and then suddenly ending with an HEA. This way I assumed we’d get more of the actual relationship stuff and not the forced angst/drama. It didn’t quite lift off the page for me though. Firstly I’d like to point out I had zero problems with the book starting after a major event. Luke made a bet. Harley found out about it and now he needs to fix the mess he made. My problem with it was how long it took to mention the parameters of the bet. Like the full details didn’t drop until his apology which is way down past 70 percent. This is the crux of this entire novel so that is more than just too far in. Secondly, most importantly, how the hell did Harley find out? Not detailing the scene fine, but not expressing the specifics of the bet and how Harley found out about it were serious issues making it hard to get into this.
Sometimes the sentences seemed wordy. A few seemed unnecessary altogether. The writing was clean, didn’t notice much typos, but a second step of editing to make it clearer and flow better was needed.
I stopped reading at two spots. First when Luke gets a call from a guy he was intimate with previously. He did not have to say he’s seeing someone but he could’ve cleary said chances are he wouldn’t be free in the near future and if he was he would call back. Something that stated don’t waste your time messaging me I’m not going to answer and, most people, would be able to read between the lines and it puts him in the position to ignore any future messages should the guy not take him seriously. The second point was when Harley checks his phone.
I’m not into personal space violations. That is a problem but it’s not the real issue. The way things have been laid out you get the impression this guy has been texting Luke and Luke has been ignoring him–rightfully so. Any human knows that if you get multiple messages from someone and never respond you’re ignoring them. We know what ghosting is. So if Harley did a good enough spy job there is no way he could think Luke was sleeping with him. Not with such obvious evidence. Furthermore, why didn’t Luke say this? “Oh he’s just some guy I messed with before and I thought ignoring him would make him go away.” One simple truthful sentence, problem solved. The whole drama of kicking him out did not have to happen at all. I really couldn’t connect with how either of them responded to this. The irrational early teen love vibes were hard to ignore.
The bits of wisdom always seemed misplaced. Like the author was trying to learn the reader something instead of the character they were talking to. Something about where they fell made them stick out instead of blend in.
Lukes best friend, she was the best thing in this novel. I loved her. Everything about her. She needed more page time. Her scenes got my biggest smiles.
Most of the book after the big fight they let happen by not behaving like adults I did a lot of skimming. Just wanted to see when they’d get back together and then I skimmed some more to get to when they announced they were a couple.
I really wanted to love this book. I mean sports jock M/M romance… I was born ready but without giving details of the bet, having Luke behave like a teen who can’t form a simple sentence, occasional wordiness, Harley not stalking the messages well enough, and a few other things I just couldn’t vibe with this story.
I felt this book wanted to be a slow burn and used the wrong angle to get there. The bet, and a guy too stupid to say I’m seeing someone wasn’t strong enough especially when he didn’t actually see anyone while patching things up with Harley. He was good and celibate. There was nothing to get angry over. So much potential but the waiting for an apology seemed to be the only thing the story was concerned with when it had so much more great angles and plot points going for it.
Sometimes the sentences seemed wordy. A few seemed unnecessary altogether. The writing was clean, didn’t notice much typos, but a second step of editing to make it clearer and flow better was needed.
I stopped reading at two spots. First when Luke gets a call from a guy he was intimate with previously. He did not have to say he’s seeing someone but he could’ve cleary said chances are he wouldn’t be free in the near future and if he was he would call back. Something that stated don’t waste your time messaging me I’m not going to answer and, most people, would be able to read between the lines and it puts him in the position to ignore any future messages should the guy not take him seriously. The second point was when Harley checks his phone.
I’m not into personal space violations. That is a problem but it’s not the real issue. The way things have been laid out you get the impression this guy has been texting Luke and Luke has been ignoring him–rightfully so. Any human knows that if you get multiple messages from someone and never respond you’re ignoring them. We know what ghosting is. So if Harley did a good enough spy job there is no way he could think Luke was sleeping with him. Not with such obvious evidence. Furthermore, why didn’t Luke say this? “Oh he’s just some guy I messed with before and I thought ignoring him would make him go away.” One simple truthful sentence, problem solved. The whole drama of kicking him out did not have to happen at all. I really couldn’t connect with how either of them responded to this. The irrational early teen love vibes were hard to ignore.
The bits of wisdom always seemed misplaced. Like the author was trying to learn the reader something instead of the character they were talking to. Something about where they fell made them stick out instead of blend in.
Lukes best friend, she was the best thing in this novel. I loved her. Everything about her. She needed more page time. Her scenes got my biggest smiles.
Most of the book after the big fight they let happen by not behaving like adults I did a lot of skimming. Just wanted to see when they’d get back together and then I skimmed some more to get to when they announced they were a couple.
I really wanted to love this book. I mean sports jock M/M romance… I was born ready but without giving details of the bet, having Luke behave like a teen who can’t form a simple sentence, occasional wordiness, Harley not stalking the messages well enough, and a few other things I just couldn’t vibe with this story.
I felt this book wanted to be a slow burn and used the wrong angle to get there. The bet, and a guy too stupid to say I’m seeing someone wasn’t strong enough especially when he didn’t actually see anyone while patching things up with Harley. He was good and celibate. There was nothing to get angry over. So much potential but the waiting for an apology seemed to be the only thing the story was concerned with when it had so much more great angles and plot points going for it.
August 2, 2020
2.5?
It feels weird to give a book I enjoyed a low rating, but really the writing was kind of ridiculous.
It feels weird to give a book I enjoyed a low rating, but really the writing was kind of ridiculous.
July 9, 2021
Had so much Potential
Loving Luke leaves me wondering what's to love.As a fan of MM, i grabbed this without a second look. I started right away and i wish I hadn't.
While the story has potential, it has no follow through. The characters are not developed. The bet and it's surrounding drama are a mystery void in the story. The author wanted to write a hockey romance but doesn't understand the sport which wouldn't be an issue but this random team plays professionally and for the Olympics...um no.
The relationship is not even luke warm dishwater. I wound up skimming to get through it. Not even the physical intimacy kept me engaged.
Loving Luke leaves me wondering what's to love.As a fan of MM, i grabbed this without a second look. I started right away and i wish I hadn't.
While the story has potential, it has no follow through. The characters are not developed. The bet and it's surrounding drama are a mystery void in the story. The author wanted to write a hockey romance but doesn't understand the sport which wouldn't be an issue but this random team plays professionally and for the Olympics...um no.
The relationship is not even luke warm dishwater. I wound up skimming to get through it. Not even the physical intimacy kept me engaged.
February 20, 2021
DNF 56%
When I pick up a book within this category I'm not looking for earth shattering reads, they don't need to break the mold, but I do need to engage with the story and care about the characters both of which failed to happen with this book.
As another reviewer has mentioned this book begins in the middle, youve missed the angst completely this has worked in other books before but not here. The book feels like the back bones of a story without any flesh to it and a strong lack of editing. Just lacking in general.
When I pick up a book within this category I'm not looking for earth shattering reads, they don't need to break the mold, but I do need to engage with the story and care about the characters both of which failed to happen with this book.
As another reviewer has mentioned this book begins in the middle, youve missed the angst completely this has worked in other books before but not here. The book feels like the back bones of a story without any flesh to it and a strong lack of editing. Just lacking in general.
May 31, 2021
Fantastic read
This author is new to me and i thoroughly enjoyed it. The plot and characters was enough to give me that feel good vibes. Its about an age gap relationship where the older man younger man have to decide if it's all worthwhile. I do not want add any spoilers but I really enjoyed it.
It was an easy 5 star ratings from me.
This author is new to me and i thoroughly enjoyed it. The plot and characters was enough to give me that feel good vibes. Its about an age gap relationship where the older man younger man have to decide if it's all worthwhile. I do not want add any spoilers but I really enjoyed it.
It was an easy 5 star ratings from me.
July 2, 2021
Loving Luke
I am a little disappointed. In my opinion, there was not enough content. Very little backstory. It was a good story, just not enough content.
I am a little disappointed. In my opinion, there was not enough content. Very little backstory. It was a good story, just not enough content.
July 13, 2021
???
There is no back story about the bet, the bisexuality, or the night they met. I read the entire thing waiting for it to come together and it never did.
There is no back story about the bet, the bisexuality, or the night they met. I read the entire thing waiting for it to come together and it never did.
May 6, 2023
2.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews