REVIEWED by Jen B.
TITLE: Goal Line
SERIES: Harrisburg Railers
AUTHORS: R.J. Scott and V.L. Locey
PUBLISHER: Love Lane Books
LENGTH: N/A
RELEASE DATE: August 8, 2018
BLURB:
Fear and sadness mark Bryan’s life, can Gatlin show him that you have to trust before you can love?
Gatlin Pearce is creeping up on thirty-eight and is still single. It’s not that he wants to be alone, it’s just that he’s too damn old to be in clubs filled with glittery gay boys who can’t even tell him who the Rolling Stones are.
Better to just spend his evenings at Hard Score Ink – his tattoo and artwork shop – creating masterpieces on human flesh, listening to the Railers games, and nursing a cold beer.
His solitary life is about to end when Bryan Delaney, the new Railers backup goalie, shows up at his shop looking for new artwork for his helmet. There’s some sort of sad story in those beautiful eyes of Bryan’s, and Gatlin finds himself more than a little infatuated with the tender new goalie.
Bryan Delaney leaves home at fifteen to live with a billet family. He just wishes that he could have escaped his alcoholic father and strictly devout mother earlier. Drafted to the Arizona Raptors he finds a new family, and his first love affair even if that relationship is marked with violence.
Being traded to the Railers is a shock to the system but the team isn’t like any other he’s ever played on and they truly seem to care about him. It’s only when he meets artist Gatlin, with their shared love of music and hockey, that he realizes how hard it is to escape the past.
I have enjoyed this series from the get go. It has been so much fun following this team, and this installment really shows the kind of team they are and what sets them apart from some of the others. They are genuinely good guys who embrace the team spirit and actually care about each other, have each other’s backs, regardless of age, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Sure, there have been a few bumps here and there, but when it counts, they circle the wagons and pull together.
Here, we have a young guy who is one of the most insecure guys I’ve read about. Bryan has not had a very good life, aside from his adoptive billet family, who are wonderful and go a long way in making it up for him. Unfortunately, when the story begins, he is still in a “relationship” with another player, and to say it is unhealthy would be a gross understatement. Not only is it mentally (and to a degree physically) abusive, but Bryan is practically brainwashed into believing he is worthless, barely worthy of making it on any team. So, to say that he is down on himself and his life is putting it mildly. While it did get a bit tiresome at times, it was hard not to feel for him and what he’s been through.
Every goalie needs a bad ass goalie mask, so Bryan’s new mentor and fellow goalie (and the man whom Bryan was brought on board to back up), and my favorite of the series, Stan, insists he must go see Gatlin, the team tattoo artist and designer of Stan’s awesome mask. Gatlin is quickly taken by the shy young man, and even though he senses there is a lot to Bryan’s stand-offish demeanor, he can’t help but want to get to know him and help him somehow, even if that has gotten him hurt in the past. It takes some time for Gatlin to push past the walls the skittish Bryan has erected, but it is worth the effort, and it pays off.
Bryan quickly learns that the team is not anything like he was expecting, though it takes a while for him to truly believe they are genuine, not anything like he was led to believe, etc. It really was enjoyable to watch them continually prove to be stand-up guys. Those guys and their camaraderie are what make this series so great, and I love that we get to see them all in each story. They are all tested quite a bit in this installment, and I was on the edge of my seat until the end. I can’t wait to see the team again. It’s like waiting for the real NHL season to start and rooting for all your favorite players. I’m ready to cheer the Railers on, through thick and thin! Highly recommend!
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