Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: Coach’s Challenge 
SERIES: Scoring Chances #5
AUTHOR: Avon Gale
NARRATOR: Scott R. Smith
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 6 hrs 50 mins
RELEASE DATE: December 26, 2017
BLURB:
It’s been decades since blackmail forced Troy Callahan to retire from playing professional hockey, and he’s built a successful career behind the bench. When he’s offered the opportunity to coach the Asheville Ravens—the most hated team in the ECHL—he’s convinced that his no-nonsense attitude is just what the team needs to put their focus back on hockey. But Troy is disheartened when he finds out the Ravens have signed Shane North, a player known for his aggression—especially when Shane’s rough good looks have Troy thinking inappropriate thoughts about a player, even if he’s set to retire at the end of the season.
Shane’s career in the majors never quite took off. Wanting to quit on his own terms, Shane agrees to a one-year contract with the Ravens and finds himself playing for a coach who thinks he’s an aging goon, and with a team that doesn’t trust him, Troy, or each other. Despite his determination not to get involved, Shane unwillingly becomes part of the team… and is just as unwillingly drawn to the gruff, out-and-proud coach. As the Ravens struggle to build a new identity, Shane and Troy succumb to the passion that might cost them everything.
REVIEW:
If there is anything to rival the hate the rest of the world feels towards the Asheville Ravens it might just be the feelings of Troy Callahan towards Denis St. Savoy–the old head coach. In fact, Troy’s animosity towards St. Savoy is the main reason that Troy turned down a chance to coach at the NHL level and instead took the position for the lowly–and low thought of–Ravens. Turning the loathed group of bullies into a well-honed team of hockey players is going to be one hell of challenge, but it will be all the sweeter if he succeeds where St. Savoy failed–both as a coach and as a human being. Troy is not afraid of a challenge, though, and sees no reason with hard work and Troy’s take-no-shit attitude at the helm, that the Ravens might be loathed for a whole new reason: being the best in the ECHL.
He didn’t plan on having to deal with a team scared still by the memory of a vindictive bastard, an assistant coach that can’t seem to find the motivation to do anything more than smile and nod, and perhaps worse of all an attraction to Shane North–a new trade, who kinda just wants to play his last year of hockey and then run back to sunny cali. The absolute last thing the Ravens need is another scandal, which will be only the beginning of the shit storm if Troy gets caught shagging his player. All he has to do is keep reminding himself that. Every. Fucking. Day.
I’ve come away from this series–and these audio books in particular–with two things I know for certain. One, that Avon Gale is a very talented writer, and Two, that hiring Scott R. Smith to do the narration on all five of these books was perhaps the best thing to ever happen to these stories. Not a single one of these audio books let me down, either writing-wise, or in the narration. Each of the ten MCs (and nearly all of the main secondary characters) has had distinctive voices and personalities. Listening to these stories has been such a bloody big pleasure. So much so that I have no problem listening to them for hours at a time. Something I tend to have issues with when it come to audio books. They just don’t hold my attention the way print media does most of the time. But these books just suck me right in.
Coach’s Challenge, seeing as it is the last story written, is one that I am the least familiar with in this series. I don’t think I’ve reread it since I did my original review. So I was kinda curious how I would feel coming out of this audio book. And for the most part I think it did very well. The characters were still incredibly well written, and Smith’s narration once again brought them to life in whole new ways. And I really must say that listening to some of the sex scenes while at work was awkward as fuck. Kept having to check that the audio wasn’t playing thru the speakers as well as my headphones because oh my god I don’t want to be fired for listening to some hot porn at work.
Curiously, though, I also had a few more issues with this story this time around, than I remember having when I originally read it. They are not huge things, but they impacted my overall enjoyment nonetheless. The first is just the fact that because I know the twist at the end, I came at some characters differently this time around and it made me want to punch a certain someone in the crotch every time they showed up in the story. It was mildly distracting. The second is a bit more major–though it might just turn out to be something about where I am right now as a person, because I really don’t remember this bugging me when I first read it. This being the whole coach/player relationship between Troy and Shane, and the inherent problematic power imbalance between them because of it. Gale does a good job of offsetting this power imbalance by making it Shane’s last year in hockey so whatever Troy decides to do he can’t hold his career over him, as well as simply making Shane in his mid-thirties instead of some impressionable kid. In fact the personalities of both Troy and Shane being so stubborn and strong-willed actually works in favor of their relationship not feeling so incredibly creepy as well. I just…couldn’t shake the feeling that the relationship felt a bit off. In a general “this isn’t a good thing to happen, no matter how hot they are, or how old they are” kind of way. And while I’m not going to run around bashing this book for portraying this kind of relationship, I couldn’t ever get rid of the voice in my head that kept reminding me that there are rules against this kind of thing for a reason, and it doesn’t stop being an issue just because the two MCs are older and more mature.
You guys can do with that what you will.
So, yeah, this book is getting a slightly smaller rating because of that, but going from a 5-star to a 4.5 star, is hardly me saying it was a bad story. Just that a year on I am in a different place and some things that probably wouldn’t have bugged me then, do now. Even if in the smallest of ways. This is still a ridiculously good story, and I recommend it if you have been a lover of these books like I have. The narration is incredibly on point, and I can only hope that if this series continues that Smith will be willing to go on narrating these audio books.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: