REVIEWED by JEN B.
TITLE: Trade Deadline
SERIES: Hat Trick #3
AUTHORS: Avon Gale & Piper Vaughn
PUBLISHER: Carina Press
LENGTH: 304 Pages
RELEASE DATE: August 17, 2020
BLURB:
It’s a reunion to remember…
Don’t miss this friends-to-lovers hockey romance from Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn.
Daniel “Bellzie” Bellamy should be on top of the world—a Stanley Cup is the perfect topper to his fourteen-year NHL career. But despite the post-win high, something’s missing. When the chance to play for his hometown team, the Miami Thunder, comes along, he’s open to it. And when he runs into an old friend from his past soon after he makes the move, he wonders if it might be kismet.
Micah Kelly never thought he’d see his childhood crush—and first kiss—again. Danny Bellamy moved on to bigger and better things when they were teenagers, and the idea that Micah’s relationship with the professional hockey player could be anything more than one-sided Instagram thirst seems too good to be true.
Maybe too good to be true is the new reality, though. As the season goes on, Micah teaches Daniel to surf, and Daniel introduces Micah to his lovable pack of rescue dogs and the world of being a hockey boyfriend. Life is good. But when things on the ice don’t go as planned, they’ll have to decide if their rediscovered romance is built to last.
Hat Trick:
Book 1: Off the Ice
Book 2: Goalie Interference
Book 3: Trade Deadline
REVIEW: I love a good hockey story, and these authors make a great team in that regard. I’ve really enjoyed their stories thus far. Fitting that the hockey playoffs are finally taking place in real life which helps put me in the mood to read more of them in my off time. In this installment, we have Bellzie, whom we have met previously on the winning team Venom. He has decided a change is needed in his life and has taken on the challenge of helping his home town team in Miami, who has some serious team/winning issues. When he gets settled in, he is reunited with his childhood friend, Micah, who has followed his own dreams and become a marine animal caretaker with a focus on rehabilitation of the animals and education of the public.
Daniel is a divorced father of two who has an amazing relationship with his ex-wife. They realized they are better friends and remain so to this day providing a wonderful environment for their kids. Daniel had hoped to make a difference with his new team but finds it much more challenging than expected. He is not as young as he used to be, so although he is just coming off of a Stanley Cup win, his numbers are beginning to drop making him more likely to be traded (although he has a no-trade one year contract with the Venom)
When he and Micah reconnect, their friendship re-blossoms picking up right where they left off as kids. It is clear from the get go that they have great chemistry. There isn’t much angst in this story, other than some hesitation from Micah about the possibility of Daniel being traded and leaving him for hockey just as he did all those years ago. But aside from some internal musings on Micah’s side, there is little friction caused, as Daniel pretty much includes Micah in all of his decisions, thought processes, etc.
While this was a sweet and enjoyable story, it was not one of my favorites. It was missing something that I believe for me was the hockey and team interaction aspect. In the previous books, we had all of the other teammates chipping in (they do make appearances here, which was awesome), but with the exception of one player on the new team, I was hoping for a trade more than anyone involved. I loved how things turned out and the direction of Daniel’s life ended taking. It really was a perfect outcome, and while it was great all around for everyone involved, it felt lackluster to me. If you love guys with pets, this will be a win for you, as Daniel has a herd of rescue dogs, and Micah has a cat, and of course, Silver the dolphin. As with the previous books, I’m already looking forward to whatever these authors come up with next and hope we don’t have to wait too long to get it.
RATING:
BUY LINK: 