Reviewed by Stephen K.
TITLE: No Protocol for Love
SERIES: Face Off for Love #1
AUTHOR: Jen FitzGerald
PUBLISHER: Knotted Hearts Publishing
LENGTH: 72 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 16th 2019
BLURB:
Tyson Collier lives out and proud in Las Vegas, a far cry from the oppressive small town he grew up in. He swore he’d never go back in the closet, not for anyone or anything.
Working as an ice crew member for the Las Vegas Gamblers is a dream job. Tyson is surrounded by hunky hockey players–athletes are totally his type even if they’re straight.
Semyon “Semka” Novikoff has focused his whole life on playing professional-level hockey. He can’t ever come out. Not as a Russian national. His life and livelihood depend on keeping his sexuality a secret.
Playing professional hockey in the United States is an experience like no other. The vast freedoms he enjoys are many. Except the freedom to be publicly gay.
When Semka suffers a concussion, Tyson volunteers to help him with daily life. Over the course of the first few weeks, their friendship blossoms.
Semka takes Tyson into his confidence and reveals his sexuality. Tyson takes Semka to bed.
What started as a simple gesture of kindness becomes a secret relationship with an expiration date. Once Semka is medically cleared to play, the relationship is over.
Semka can’t risk losing his job or his life, and Tyson won’t be with someone who can’t openly present themselves to the world as part of a couple.
When Semka and Tyson part ways, both men find themselves missing the other, but they can never be. At least, that’s what they tell themselves.
REVIEW:
This short novella pairs a Russian National who’s playing professional hockey in Las Vegas with an out and proud guy who works for the rink. When Semka, the hockey player, gets concussed in game, the trainers don’t want him being alone in his apartment. Tyson, the out rink employee, volunteers to look in on Semka regularly. Next comes some Russian take-out, some shared meals and a few shared secrets. Pretty soon…
At 72 pages we don’t learn a tremendous amount about these guys, but we get to meet two guys that I enjoyed spending some time with. We also get to consider how Russia’s current anti-gay party-line affects some of their ex-pats. Though the sex here is not very vivid, it’s present, and the romantic aspects of the story ring true.
It also raises the question of when going back into the closet may be appropriate. That’s really quite a bit for a 72 page series intro novella.
Freebies like this are meant to serve as calling cards. They serve as a free sample that may get us interested enough to investigate some of the author’s other works. Well, No Protocol for Love can consider that mission accomplished. I’m now really curious just where the rest of this series goes.
As to where one can find this… Prolific Works is a website where authors give free samples of selected novels to potential readers in hopes of increasing their fan base. Anyone can join for free. There are paid memberships as well but those are primarily aimed at authors looking to publicize their novels. We inveterate readers get in free. I found this novel there, or one may buy it on Amazon. If you’re lucky enough to have access to a good library system, it’s also available for loan as an e-book on HOOPLA.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
Free on ProlificWorks
Free to Borrow on Hoopla