Reviewed by Alexander
TITLE: Linemates
AUTHOR: D K Dunn
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 6 hours, 59 minutes
NARRATOR: Michael Pauley
BLURB:
Life is going pretty well for Derek LaVigne. He’s playing professional hockey in Los Angeles where hockey is barely on the radar, and this allows him to live in relative anonymity. Derek’s world is tilted on its axis when he’s traded to the Detroit Wheels. Not only is this one of the top teams in the National Hockey League, he’ll also be playing in a city that lives and breathes hockey. It sounds like a dream come true, but soon enough it becomes clear it isn’t. The reason for Derek’s change of heart is Trevor Ladouceur. Five years ago Derek and Trevor were linemates on Team Canada at the World Junior Championship. They were inseparable both on and off the ice and became known as the Wonder Twins. After winning the gold medal, they slept together. Trevor was gone the next morning, and they haven’t spoken since. Now they’re together again, and the expectation is for the Wonder Twins to help Detroit win the Stanley Cup. Much to Derek’s dismay, he realizes he’s falling in love with Trevor all over again.
REVIEW:
I have to admit that this was one of the more challenging reviews that I have done, simply because of the disparity in quality between the book and the audio narration.
Normally, I end a review with my impression of the audio quality, but today, I want to begin with Michael Pauly’s performance in Linemates. I was impressed with Pauley and how he addressed Trevor and Derek’s voices consistently, and since there was quite a bit of emotion in the story, Pauley was successful in bringing that emotion to us, the reader. The pace of the story was excellent, Pauley’s diction (a pet peeve of mine) was flawless, and he used good intonation throughout to keep the story from sounding flat.
And now for the story itself. Have you ever read a book where you loved both main characters? Yeah, me too. How about a book where you loved one of the guys, but not the other? Again, me too. Now if you are following my thought process, the next question would have to be, have you ever read a book where you disliked both main characters? Well I can now say “yes”. I just never found either Derek or Trevor to be likeable as they bickered and fought their way through the entire story.
I can appreciate both Derek and Trevor’s sides, even if I don’t necessarily agree with them. Trevor is in the closet, fine. Trevor hurt Derek when he did a runner after their first sexual encounter, not nice, but it is what it is. Does this history really warrant Derek’s constant hounding about the past, and more importantly is it cause for Derek to constantly harass Trevor about the aforementioned closeted status? I say it was annoying, but upon many days of reflection, I have come to the conclusion that I may not have liked how they behaved, but I can appreciate that Derek and Trevor both demonstrate some of the less favorable behaviors demonstrated by people in real life.
I would be remiss if I didn’t speak about the hockey, since it is, first and foremost a hockey story (not much sex in this one…sorry!). Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a hockey fan, but I am a big fan of sports themed books, and I will give Dunn credit for writing some good hockey, full of energy and that was easy for me to picture as I was reading the scenes. As a result, I did feel a connection to the teams as they faced off on the ice, and in a book where the main characters drove me to distraction, that teamwork and camaraderie was a bright spot.
Can I recommend Linemates? Hard to say. I think this is one of those books where I hope that I was objective, gave you a good balance of fact and feeling and then it is up to you to decide.
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