Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Name from a Hat Trick
AUTHOR: L.A. Witt
NARRATORS: Michael Ferraiuolo & Greg Boudreaux
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 11 hours and 31 minutes
RELEASE DATE: May 10, 2022
BLURB:
He’s a hockey star. And he’s my daughter’s hero. And now he’s…my boyfriend?
When Jase Kelly scores his fourth professional hat trick, it’s more than just a career highlight. In one of the hats raining down onto the ice, there’s a note from two fans—a girl whose migraines keep her from coming to games, and her dad, who hopes to get her an autograph for her birthday.
Devin McKenzie just hopes for a signature or maybe a chance for his daughter to meet her favorite player. Instead, Jase Kelly pulls out all the stops to give Dallas an evening of hockey, autographs, and all the souvenirs she can carry. She’s beyond starstruck. And Devin? Being starstruck wouldn’t make his heart race like this…would it?
Jase only wanted to cheer up a fan. He never expected to be so attracted to her dad. One look at Devin, though, and he’s speechless. And suddenly a lot more certain than he’s ever been about his sexuality.
Once they connect, they’re so good together it’s almost effortless…as long as Jase keeps Devin from seeing how the slightest bit of stress—or even nothing at all—can reduce him to shaking and hyperventilating. Meanwhile Devin desperately hopes that this one time, he’s found someone who won’t bolt from the reality of dating a parent of a child with chronic health issues.
They won’t be able to keep those cards hidden forever, though. Sooner or later, their respective truths will come to light.
Fate brought them together. Can love save them from falling apart?
Name from a Hat Trick is a 115,000-word standalone contemporary M/M romance.
CW: anxiety and panic attacks
REVIEW:
Jase Kelly is a professional hockey player who really likes his job. His hat trick results in a note inside one of the hats thrown onto the rink from a parent whose child has sensory issues and can’t come to hockey games because it triggers migraines. Devin McKenzie’s request for a possible autograph for his daughter Dallas results in Jase reaching out to him and planning an event for Dallas that will not result in her being sick for a couple of days. Devin is really grateful as he works really hard to keep things on an even keel for his daughter. He already has to deal with time away from work every time she has an episode, the expense of medical bills, the lack of additional doctors, and/or therapies, etc. Thankfully he has a good relationship with Dallas’s mom and stepdad, but still, things are a struggle.
Jase and the rest of his team plan a really nice event for Dallas – including a scrimmage, jerseys, food she can eat without smells that trigger her condition and fun with the hockey players. Jase continues to be in contact with Devin after the event. He eventually invites him out with the team after a home game and Devin and his brother take him up on it. But it seems that there might be something more than friendship brewing.
Jase has only ever dated women but he is attracted to Devin in a way that he’s never acted on before. But when he crosses the line and kisses him, things start to finally make sense for him. Yep. He’s definitely gay. But he’s just admitting this to himself. He’s never shared his attraction to men with anyone and he’s really nervous. It doesn’t help that he suffers from debilitating anxiety. He’s got some teammates who can talk him back from the edge, but he’s never dealt with it at all.
As Jase and Devin’s relationship heats up and other people know about it, there is a lot more at stake. Particularly since Jase hasn’t opened up to his family or his team. Dallas knowing also increases the pressure because Devin doesn’t like people coming in and out of her life or leaving when the medical stuff gets to be too much. He’s hard core on this and it does lead to more anxiety for Jase. When push comes to shove, Jase is crumbling under the pressure. It’s not clear that he will be able to manage this relationship and his job and he really wants both. It’s gonna take work from both sides to make this happen.
This was a long audio book 🙂 ! I really enjoyed the dual POV and both of these narrators are veteran favorites in the MM audio world. There are a lot of voices/characters here and I had no trouble following the action and individuals in each scene. Devin and Jase go from friends to lovers and Jase finally realizes that he is indeed gay. His previous relationships with women have been less than satisfactory. When he finally gets together with Devin, the pieces finally fall into place. The overarching issue for Jase though is his intense anxiety. I thought the author’s description of Jase’s anxiety and of Devin’s fierce support of his daughter were particularly well done. I really liked all the support that Jase got from family and friends when push came to shove. That support extending to his colleagues and management are something that frankly rarely seems to happen in real life, so bravo for it happening here. The epilogue was adorable and I was happy to see this HEA come to fruition. Recommended particularly to hockey fans and fans of hard won happy endings.
RATING: 
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