Theme Week again @ Love Bytes
This month we feature Sports!
Reviewed by Amber
TITLE: Winging It
AUTHOR: Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 300 pages
BLURB:
Gabe Martin has a simple life plan: get into the NHL and win the Stanley Cup. It doesn’t include being the first out hockey player or, worse, getting involved with one of his teammates. But things change.
Dante Baltierra is Gabe’s polar opposite—careless, reckless… shameless. But his dedication to the sport is impressive, and Gabe can overlook a lot of young-and-stupid in the name of great hockey. And Dante has a superlative ass in a sport filled with superlative asses.
Before Gabe can figure out how to deal, a tabloid throws him out of his comfortable closet into a brand-new world. Amid the emotional turmoil of invasive questions, nasty speculation, and on- and off-ice homophobia, his game suffers.
Surprisingly, it’s Dante who drags him out of it—and then drags him into something else. Nothing good can come of secretly sleeping with a teammate, especially one Gabe has feelings for. But with their captain out with an injury, a rookie in perpetual need of a hug, and the race to make the playoffs for the first time since 1995, Gabe has a lot on his plate.
He can’t be blamed for forgetting that nothing stays secret forever.
REVIEW:
I honestly thought I would absolutely love this story from the blurb alone. I love romance behind professional sports. I can appreciate the need to hide it due to the press involved. What I didn’t expect was to get completely lost in this story, which was what happened. I don’t really know what happened, really. I feel like I was a little off kilter from the beginning. I don’t know if it was the nicknames, or the French-Canadian lingo, or my overall ignorance when it comes to professional hockey. All I know was I enjoyed this story but I feel like I would have loved it had I not been confused throughout most of the book. And I want to make it very clear I don’t think the fault is in the story or the authors because although at times it did drag a bit, it was beautifully written. I think it’s me and my ignorance to professional hockey.
Gabe Martin (nickname: Banksy?) was born to play hockey. He’s really good at it and it’s all he’s known. He also realizes being gay has no place in professional sports. So he chooses to hide it. He never anticipates a time where he will want to come out as long as he’s a professional hockey player. The people closest to him know, and that’s all that matters.
Dante Baltierra (nickname: Baller?) is an enigma within Canadian hockey culture. He’s Hispanic which throws people for a loop. It’s his 2nd year on his team and he’s only getting better and better. Always a ladies’ man he’s confused about his recent attraction to his teammate, Gabe.
Dante and Gabe work hard to form a great bond on and off the ice. Coming together romantically was almost expected. But it was awesome too. I really appreciated how once Dante accepted his feelings he was more open to the relationship then even Gabe.
What ensues is a lot of “coming out” experiences. Be that with teammates, family, media, or between each other.
These two were very explosive together. Dante was a power bottom and it was so friggin HOT. Loved it.
So, aside from a lot of confusion on my part, this story was pretty good. I’d definitely recommend to anyone who loves hockey, be that professional or otherwise.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: