Gayle has been in love with her team captain, Shelly, for two years. She knows nothing can ever come of it—captain and player can’t be together. Gayle keeps quiet about her feelings, even when she realizes that Shelly touches everyone else, but never her.
But then Shelly proposes a one-night stand. Gayle would do anything to be with Shelly; she’s not about to object. That one night is perfect, but Gayle’s feelings are only stronger afterward.
Gayle can’t stop thinking about Shelly, and Shelly is treating her just like any other player. The tension between them may be one-sided, but it still won’t calm down.
What they need is a few minutes alone again… just a few minutes when the pull between them is irresistible.
It's imperative, at least I don't think, to read the first book in the series cause...well...I didn't and didn't feel lost at all in the book. I felt it started off pretty strong. I liked the story and difficulties that surrounded Gayle and Shelly (player and team captain dynamic). The stort is told in 3rd person POV of Gayle and honestly I wpild have liked it better if it was just done in first person because at times I was getting confused as to who was saying or doing what. Regardless, it was a nice read that could have gone into more details on certain things and probably skipped some of the details of other. And the ending sort of came to quickly and nicely together. Overall, free on kindleUnlimited, decent writting and editing, and likeable characters. Solid 3.5 stars for me.
Again a great romance through-line for its complexity, though Let's Jam had a great deal less roller derby than the first book. This is presumably due to the fact that the timelines overlap significantly, and it doesn't make a lot of sense to repeat the matches from the first book (and roller derby seasons aren't that long, so starting a new season would mean a lot of time passing between books), but it's still a little disappointing to those of us who were hoping for more hell on wheels.
Some spoilers below:
I love the conversation Gayle and Shelly have later in the book, when they've broken up and are trying to figure out whether to get back together. “I don’t decide what you do and don’t do, Shelly,” she said, looking at the floor. She couldn’t look Shelly in the eye. “If you decide you’re breaking up with me, then that’s what happens. I’m not going to second-guess you. And I’m definitely not going to fight with you because you think that’s the only way to pass your fucking test.” (244) Gayle's perspective on breakups seems to mirror my own (that it doesn't make sense to fight to stay with someone who doesn't want to be in a relationship with you), which is not something that I actually see that often in fiction. I'm Not Impressed by the rationale Shelly uses to break up in the first place (she and Gayle had agreed that if anyone on their team had a problem with the captain dating a player, Gayle would try to switch to a different team...and then when push comes to shove, Shelly says no, not good enough, we can't be in competition with each other either, so we'll have to break up), largely because she effectively negates the negotiation they'd done earlier. (Also, the logic is suspect. 'No, we can't date but I can still keep being your coach if we're exes cause that's totally less awkward'?)
Carrying on with the series because it's great fun. Let's see if we get some more roller derby back in and if the characters stop grinning in every other paragraph...
The established past in alternative perspectives extends & inscribes the roller derby divas & their community, conflicts, confidences, commitments & complexities.