Jerry Cooke
4.75⭐️ - A sweet and snowy sapphic romance with NCAA teammates who become olympic rivals and now co-hosts!
Darcy, former three time gold medalist for Team Canada's ice-hockey team has been retired for three years now and putting in hard work at her television station in the hopes of one day making it to the the screen as a hockey commentator. She feels like this is closer to becoming reality when the veteran anchor for the station decides he'd rather not be the laughing stock who tries and fails all the spots for fun segments at the upcoming Winter Olympics and it's offered to her. However, she's going to need a co-host...
Natalie was looking forward to trying to gain her second olympic medal for Team USA at the games, but this dream is crushed when a younger player takes her spot on the team and she's pushed out. Being forced to re-evaluate her options, it seems like good timing when her agent offers her an on-air spot at the games, allowing her to keep close to the action. However, she's not particularly thrilled when she finds out she'll be working with Darcy. Not when, during their time as NCAA champion teammates, they had a secret romance that ended in heartbreak for Nat.
As they head to the games and start doing their segments they're happy to find that they're well received. Going somewhat viral though is a hashtag that suggests that they're secretly a couple - their on-air rivalry coming off very flirty - and because this is good for the ratings, the station are all in favour of keeping the theory going. As the games progress, the find that the flirting becomes a little more than just pretend and old feelings come to the fore again, forcing them to confront all that happened with them before.
This was super sweet and fun. I loved the dynamic that Nat and Darcy had, how their handler at the station was getting steadily more and more frustrated with their bickering, etc. It was really entertaining reading about all the sports they tried and so it makes for an altogether great fine. Big recommend if you're as obsessed with queer hockey romance as I am lately, hehe.
4.75⭐️ - A sweet and snowy sapphic romance with NCAA teammates who become olympic rivals and now co-hosts!
Darcy, former three time gold medalist for Team Canada's ice-hockey team has been retired for three years now and putting in hard work at her television station in the hopes of one day making it to the the screen as a hockey commentator. She feels like this is closer to becoming reality when the veteran anchor for the station decides he'd rather not be the laughing stock who tries and fails all the spots for fun segments at the upcoming Winter Olympics and it's offered to her. However, she's going to need a co-host...
Natalie was looking forward to trying to gain her second olympic medal for Team USA at the games, but this dream is crushed when a younger player takes her spot on the team and she's pushed out. Being forced to re-evaluate her options, it seems like good timing when her agent offers her an on-air spot at the games, allowing her to keep close to the action. However, she's not particularly thrilled when she finds out she'll be working with Darcy. Not when, during their time as NCAA champion teammates, they had a secret romance that ended in heartbreak for Nat.
As they head to the games and start doing their segments they're happy to find that they're well received. Going somewhat viral though is a hashtag that suggests that they're secretly a couple - their on-air rivalry coming off very flirty - and because this is good for the ratings, the station are all in favour of keeping the theory going. As the games progress, the find that the flirting becomes a little more than just pretend and old feelings come to the fore again, forcing them to confront all that happened with them before.
This was super sweet and fun. I loved the dynamic that Nat and Darcy had, how their handler at the station was getting steadily more and more frustrated with their bickering, etc. It was really entertaining reading about all the sports they tried and so it makes for an altogether great fine. Big recommend if you're as obsessed with queer hockey romance as I am lately, hehe.
4.25⭐️ - A more satisfying sequel to The Wolf King than I expected, with a good expansion to the to the world set up previously
Aurora is caught in the middle of escalating werewolf clan politics, torn between Callum and Blake, while still facing the ongoing threat of her angry, jilted former fiancé, Sebastian. With the dark forces of the Night Prince moving to bring about the return of the imprisoned God of the Night and ancient laws being invoked due to shifting alliances, her path forward grows more obscured.
The story was satisfyingly twisty, and I found myself far more intrigued and pulled along than I ever was with the first book. There's a suitably satisfying love triangle going on and it was greatly aided by the three-part narration in the audiobook — Sean Masters stepping in to voice Blake works incredibly well and adds a lot to the listening experience.
Given how doubtful I felt after finishing The Wolf King, I was pleasantly surprised by how good this was and I'll be on the lookout for the next one when it comes out ^-^
4.25⭐️ - A more satisfying sequel to The Wolf King than I expected, with a good expansion to the to the world set up previously
Aurora is caught in the middle of escalating werewolf clan politics, torn between Callum and Blake, while still facing the ongoing threat of her angry, jilted former fiancé, Sebastian. With the dark forces of the Night Prince moving to bring about the return of the imprisoned God of the Night and ancient laws being invoked due to shifting alliances, her path forward grows more obscured.
The story was satisfyingly twisty, and I found myself far more intrigued and pulled along than I ever was with the first book. There's a suitably satisfying love triangle going on and it was greatly aided by the three-part narration in the audiobook — Sean Masters stepping in to voice Blake works incredibly well and adds a lot to the listening experience.
Given how doubtful I felt after finishing The Wolf King, I was pleasantly surprised by how good this was and I'll be on the lookout for the next one when it comes out ^-^
5⭐️ - An enthralling and poetic tale that spans centuries, a scholar and a knight finding each other over and over again
Owen Mallory's academic obsession has been the tale of Sir Una Everlasting - the greatest hero of the nation, an orphan girl who became a knight that bested all foes until the last. The many conflicting stories of her life have made him fall in love with her legend, that of the virtuous and true champion, time and time again. When a book purporting to be the truest story of her life appears on his desk.. then promptly disappears again.. he finds that the history taught is a pale reflection of the woman who inspired it and that he has a greater role in it than he could have imagined. Caught in a cycle of life and death, holding on to each other more and more each time, Una and Owen must try to change history itself, no matter the cost.
This was jaw-droopingly good and profoundly poetic. The writing style, a mix of second person story telling with first person narration inserts, fills it with so much heartbreaking personality. The way both the characters have chances to tell their story, to talk about each other, makes it feel like a love letter. An object of devotion and careful chronicling.
The subversion of gender roles, the messaging of fighting back against totalitarian oppression, of challenging the appearance of fate, is so very powerful. More than this, the world makes sense - it's really hard to make time travel work in a book in a way that deals with paradoxes cleanly and this does a great job of it. The chronology, despite all the tangles and splitting paths, was entirely easy to follow and by the time we go to the end, I honestly had no idea how it would play out, yet it provided such a satisfying conclusion.
5⭐️ - An enthralling and poetic tale that spans centuries, a scholar and a knight finding each other over and over again
Owen Mallory's academic obsession has been the tale of Sir Una Everlasting - the greatest hero of the nation, an orphan girl who became a knight that bested all foes until the last. The many conflicting stories of her life have made him fall in love with her legend, that of the virtuous and true champion, time and time again. When a book purporting to be the truest story of her life appears on his desk.. then promptly disappears again.. he finds that the history taught is a pale reflection of the woman who inspired it and that he has a greater role in it than he could have imagined. Caught in a cycle of life and death, holding on to each other more and more each time, Una and Owen must try to change history itself, no matter the cost.
This was jaw-droopingly good and profoundly poetic. The writing style, a mix of second person story telling with first person narration inserts, fills it with so much heartbreaking personality. The way both the characters have chances to tell their story, to talk about each other, makes it feel like a love letter. An object of devotion and careful chronicling.
The subversion of gender roles, the messaging of fighting back against totalitarian oppression, of challenging the appearance of fate, is so very powerful. More than this, the world makes sense - it's really hard to make time travel work in a book in a way that deals with paradoxes cleanly and this does a great job of it. The chronology, despite all the tangles and splitting paths, was entirely easy to follow and by the time we go to the end, I honestly had no idea how it would play out, yet it provided such a satisfying conclusion.
4.5⭐️ - Barely averted vehicular manslaughter and a study of ancient fish in this cosy winter sapphic romance!
Heading to DC for a monthlong paleoichthyology internship, the last thing Shani wants after a tense car trip is for the incoming snow to cause her mum to hit, albeit very lightly, a girl crossing the road. When one of her housemates in the house she's staying in asks her to take over her dog walking gig, the last thing she expects is to run into (though thankfully not as literally) that same girl again. Suffice to say, May isn't thrilled to see Shani, but after initially chilly interactions, things start to warm up when the two get snowed-in together. Shani is still processing getting dumped by her first girlfriend prior to leaving for this trip though and with a limited time to get to know each other, can a relationship really come out of this?
This was a really sweet and emotionally rich queer coming of age story, with Shani and May experiencing their first positive intimacy with another girl, and being able to heal from their past trauma. There's a wide cast of interesting characters, from the 90+ year old friend of her grandmother that she's staying with, to her internship supervisor who is able to offer her a helpful queer ear, and it's a really diverse group. The relationship between Shani and May is really well handled and their time spent with the adorable fluffy loaf (corgi) on the walks is stinkin' adorable ☺️
4.5⭐️ - Barely averted vehicular manslaughter and a study of ancient fish in this cosy winter sapphic romance!
Heading to DC for a monthlong paleoichthyology internship, the last thing Shani wants after a tense car trip is for the incoming snow to cause her mum to hit, albeit very lightly, a girl crossing the road. When one of her housemates in the house she's staying in asks her to take over her dog walking gig, the last thing she expects is to run into (though thankfully not as literally) that same girl again. Suffice to say, May isn't thrilled to see Shani, but after initially chilly interactions, things start to warm up when the two get snowed-in together. Shani is still processing getting dumped by her first girlfriend prior to leaving for this trip though and with a limited time to get to know each other, can a relationship really come out of this?
This was a really sweet and emotionally rich queer coming of age story, with Shani and May experiencing their first positive intimacy with another girl, and being able to heal from their past trauma. There's a wide cast of interesting characters, from the 90+ year old friend of her grandmother that she's staying with, to her internship supervisor who is able to offer her a helpful queer ear, and it's a really diverse group. The relationship between Shani and May is really well handled and their time spent with the adorable fluffy loaf (corgi) on the walks is stinkin' adorable ☺️
3.25⭐️ - An enjoyable, but a little predicable, romantasy with wolf clan politics and conflicting goals
Aurora, princess of the southland, has resigned herself to her fate of marrying the odious Sebastian. It's a political situation that will aid her father, but not one that she's pleased about, particularly when she experiences one of his brutal fighting pit displays. Sebastian's tradition of capturing the warewolves and treating them as slaves is one that is bad enough already, but forcing them into martial combat makes them sick to her stomach. Sneaking away in order to try and offer some medical care to a young wolf boy, she comes face to face with the brutal alpha. When a breakout attempt starts she has to decide on the lesser of two evils - staying to be wed to the terrible Sebastian, or following the violent alpha.
I really wanted to love this, as I'd heard good things about it, but I can't say I was really hooked by it. The way everything played out was more than a little predicable, even if it was still entertaining. It was good enough for me to want to read the next one in order to find out what happens, but I'm really hoping it adds a bit more overall. The one real positive was the narration, with Zara Hampton-Brown and Shane East offering great portrayals.
3.25⭐️ - An enjoyable, but a little predicable, romantasy with wolf clan politics and conflicting goals
Aurora, princess of the southland, has resigned herself to her fate of marrying the odious Sebastian. It's a political situation that will aid her father, but not one that she's pleased about, particularly when she experiences one of his brutal fighting pit displays. Sebastian's tradition of capturing the warewolves and treating them as slaves is one that is bad enough already, but forcing them into martial combat makes them sick to her stomach. Sneaking away in order to try and offer some medical care to a young wolf boy, she comes face to face with the brutal alpha. When a breakout attempt starts she has to decide on the lesser of two evils - staying to be wed to the terrible Sebastian, or following the violent alpha.
I really wanted to love this, as I'd heard good things about it, but I can't say I was really hooked by it. The way everything played out was more than a little predicable, even if it was still entertaining. It was good enough for me to want to read the next one in order to find out what happens, but I'm really hoping it adds a bit more overall. The one real positive was the narration, with Zara Hampton-Brown and Shane East offering great portrayals.
4.75⭐️ - Everything we could want in the continuation of Shane and Ilya's story! Steamy, sweet, and such a well-built world!
Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov have been together in secret for so many years now that hiding their relationship has begun to take a serious toll. With friends and teammates coming out recently, it's becoming increasingly hard to justify not going public, but the fear of fan and league reaction is still really strong. With the potential of their hand being forced and increasing negative pressure from the NHL itself, it becomes clear that they're soon going to have to make some serious choices about their careers and lives together...
This was such a satisfying conclusion(?) to their story together, pulling together so many of the branching stories that have been introduced in the earlier books. With the book taking place alongside Role Model, chronologically, we also get to see a lot more of Kyle and Harris from that book, as well as Haden, Scott, Kip, etc. from the earlier books. The most powerful thing about it though, is the way in which the boys stand up to the league and make it clear how strong their support for each other is.
I really hope we get more in this series, because it's so good!!
4.75⭐️ - Everything we could want in the continuation of Shane and Ilya's story! Steamy, sweet, and such a well-built world!
Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov have been together in secret for so many years now that hiding their relationship has begun to take a serious toll. With friends and teammates coming out recently, it's becoming increasingly hard to justify not going public, but the fear of fan and league reaction is still really strong. With the potential of their hand being forced and increasing negative pressure from the NHL itself, it becomes clear that they're soon going to have to make some serious choices about their careers and lives together...
This was such a satisfying conclusion(?) to their story together, pulling together so many of the branching stories that have been introduced in the earlier books. With the book taking place alongside Role Model, chronologically, we also get to see a lot more of Kyle and Harris from that book, as well as Haden, Scott, Kip, etc. from the earlier books. The most powerful thing about it though, is the way in which the boys stand up to the league and make it clear how strong their support for each other is.
I really hope we get more in this series, because it's so good!!
4.5⭐️ - A hockey star with a tarnished reputation meets a supportive bearded cinnamon roll in this adorable addition!
Troy Barrett hasn't got a lot going for him right now. After calling out his ex- friend and team-mate publicly for sexual-assault, he found himself traded to the worst team in the league. Given how he's been treated, it's not surprising that he's a little standoffish, but it really doesn't help him integrate with his new team.
Harris Drover is pretty beloved by his team and family. Not only is he the team social media manager, he's also got an adorable puppy he's training that everyone is obsessed with. He's also perceptive enough to see through Troy's grumpy exterior to the person beneath who wants to use his platform to support people. As the two get closer and learn more about each other, they're able to offer each other a lot of healing and affirmation and find that taking a chance on the team being supportive can be a big pay-off.
This was super sweet and affirming. Seeing Troy coming out of his shell was really lovely, especially how Ilya is present as the team captain and able to get Troy to open up about his sexuality. The scrappy vibe of the team who have a lot of potential adds so much to the series as a whole and it's lovely that all the connections between the various characters continue to grow. Definitely one of my favourite books in the series!
4.5⭐️ - A hockey star with a tarnished reputation meets a supportive bearded cinnamon roll in this adorable addition!
Troy Barrett hasn't got a lot going for him right now. After calling out his ex- friend and team-mate publicly for sexual-assault, he found himself traded to the worst team in the league. Given how he's been treated, it's not surprising that he's a little standoffish, but it really doesn't help him integrate with his new team.
Harris Drover is pretty beloved by his team and family. Not only is he the team social media manager, he's also got an adorable puppy he's training that everyone is obsessed with. He's also perceptive enough to see through Troy's grumpy exterior to the person beneath who wants to use his platform to support people. As the two get closer and learn more about each other, they're able to offer each other a lot of healing and affirmation and find that taking a chance on the team being supportive can be a big pay-off.
This was super sweet and affirming. Seeing Troy coming out of his shell was really lovely, especially how Ilya is present as the team captain and able to get Troy to open up about his sexuality. The scrappy vibe of the team who have a lot of potential adds so much to the series as a whole and it's lovely that all the connections between the various characters continue to grow. Definitely one of my favourite books in the series!
3.5⭐️ - A retiring veteran goalkeeper experiences his queer awakening in this affirming and steamy romance!
Eric Bennet has had a sterling career, but when he's benched in favour of a younger goalie, he has to face the reality of retirement. While finding a new place in life takes a lot of getting used to, the upside is that he's also able to finally acknowledge his sexuality. When he gets to know bartender Kyle (who WE met in Game Changer) the flirting leads to a non-strings-attached arrangement where he gets the opportunity for some lessons in intimacy from the younger man. This friends with benefits arrangement is one that suits both of them, but becomes obvious after a while that there's an attraction there that may lead to falling even harder than Eric ever did on the ice.
This was super cute and it was lovely to see more of Scott and Kip, as well as Maria, from the first book. Super lovely supportive friends and more time with Ilya, who is always such a fun addition to the stories. While I didn't love it quite as much as the others, it's definitely worth reading for the roundness of the series as a whole, because there's lots of back-story in here that adds fun to the later books!
3.5⭐️ - A retiring veteran goalkeeper experiences his queer awakening in this affirming and steamy romance!
Eric Bennet has had a sterling career, but when he's benched in favour of a younger goalie, he has to face the reality of retirement. While finding a new place in life takes a lot of getting used to, the upside is that he's also able to finally acknowledge his sexuality. When he gets to know bartender Kyle (who WE met in Game Changer) the flirting leads to a non-strings-attached arrangement where he gets the opportunity for some lessons in intimacy from the younger man. This friends with benefits arrangement is one that suits both of them, but becomes obvious after a while that there's an attraction there that may lead to falling even harder than Eric ever did on the ice.
This was super cute and it was lovely to see more of Scott and Kip, as well as Maria, from the first book. Super lovely supportive friends and more time with Ilya, who is always such a fun addition to the stories. While I didn't love it quite as much as the others, it's definitely worth reading for the roundness of the series as a whole, because there's lots of back-story in here that adds fun to the later books!
5⭐️ - An enthralling and poetic tale that spans centuries, a scholar and a knight finding each other over and over again
Owen Mallory's academic obsession has been the tale of Sir Una Everlasting - the greatest hero of the nation, an orphan girl who became a knight that bested all foes until the last. The many conflicting stories of her life have made him fall in love with her legend, that of the virtuous and true champion, time and time again. When a book purporting to be the truest story of her life appears on his desk.. then promptly disappears again.. he finds that the history taught is a pale reflection of the woman who inspired it and that he has a greater role in it than he could have imagined. Caught in a cycle of life and death, holding on to each other more and more each time, Una and Owen must try to change history itself, no matter the cost.
This was jaw-droopingly good and profoundly poetic. The writing style, a mix of second person story telling with first person narration inserts, fills it with so much heartbreaking personality. The way both the characters have chances to tell their story, to talk about each other, makes it feel like a love letter. An object of devotion and careful chronicling.
The subversion of gender roles, the messaging of fighting back against totalitarian oppression, of challenging the appearance of fate, is so very powerful. More than this, the world makes sense - it's really hard to make time travel work in a book in a way that deals with paradoxes cleanly and this does a great job of it. The chronology, despite all the tangles and splitting paths, was entirely easy to follow and by the time we go to the end, I honestly had no idea how it would play out, yet it provided such a satisfying conclusion.
5⭐️ - An enthralling and poetic tale that spans centuries, a scholar and a knight finding each other over and over again
Owen Mallory's academic obsession has been the tale of Sir Una Everlasting - the greatest hero of the nation, an orphan girl who became a knight that bested all foes until the last. The many conflicting stories of her life have made him fall in love with her legend, that of the virtuous and true champion, time and time again. When a book purporting to be the truest story of her life appears on his desk.. then promptly disappears again.. he finds that the history taught is a pale reflection of the woman who inspired it and that he has a greater role in it than he could have imagined. Caught in a cycle of life and death, holding on to each other more and more each time, Una and Owen must try to change history itself, no matter the cost.
This was jaw-droopingly good and profoundly poetic. The writing style, a mix of second person story telling with first person narration inserts, fills it with so much heartbreaking personality. The way both the characters have chances to tell their story, to talk about each other, makes it feel like a love letter. An object of devotion and careful chronicling.
The subversion of gender roles, the messaging of fighting back against totalitarian oppression, of challenging the appearance of fate, is so very powerful. More than this, the world makes sense - it's really hard to make time travel work in a book in a way that deals with paradoxes cleanly and this does a great job of it. The chronology, despite all the tangles and splitting paths, was entirely easy to follow and by the time we go to the end, I honestly had no idea how it would play out, yet it provided such a satisfying conclusion.