Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Shameless Puckboy
SERIES: Puckboys, Book 3
AUTHOR: Eden Finley and Saxon James
NARRATOR: Iggy Toma and Alexander Cendese
PUBLISHER: Absolute Books
LENGTH: 7 hours and 8 minutes
RELEASE DATE: November 8, 2022
BLURB:
OSKAR
After a little mishap in an alleyway with CCTV, my public image needs fixing. Oops?
It might have been a stunt to get the attention of Lane Pierce, San Jose’s new PR manager, but I didn’t realize what the consequences would be when I did it. I’ve got Lane’s sole focus now in all the wrong ways.
He has designated himself as my babysitter, and while it’s fun messing with him, being bound by curfews and rules has never worked for me.
The more I push back, the more I realize what’s really on the line. My career, my future, and maybe even my heart.
LANE
Being appointed head of San Jose’s PR department was a dream come true…until I met Oskar Voyjik.
He may be San Jose royalty, but with the stunts Oskar’s been pulling, the team owner is down to his last thread of patience. Which puts me in the firing line. If I can’t turn Oskar’s entitled party boy image around, we’ll both be shown the door.
I have free rein to do whatever it takes, and it turns out whatever it takes is Oskar.
Only, the more entangled our lives become, the more I see the Oskar he’s buried deep down. The one who hurts, the one who’s sensitive and kind, the one…the one I think I’m falling for.
I can’t have him and my career, and if rumors of the professional lines I’ve crossed get out, it’s not only my dream job I can kiss goodbye; I’ll be disgraced from professional sports completely.
REVIEW:
Shameless Puckboy is the best yet in Eden Finley and Saxon James’ irreverent hockey romance series, Puckboys. NHL superstar Oskar Voyjik plays an important role in book two, Irresponsible Puckboy, in posing as Tripp’s boyfriend to get Tripp’s BFF and teammate, Dex the oblivious, to acknowledge that he has feelings for Tripp. It’s clear from Oskar’s role there that he’s outrageous, with a larger-than-life personality, and shies away from nothing. But it’s also clear he’s perceptive and cares much about his friends, more than he may let on.
While you don’t have to read Irresponsible Puckboy before reading Shameless Puckboy, I encourage it because it provides helpful context. The end of each of these series’ books overlaps with the beginning of the next, setting us up for the romance to come. We met Lane, Oskar’s San Jose team’s head of PR, at the end of book two. At that point, Lane’s already clearly aggravated and entrenched in his role as Oskar’s “keeper”. When Shameless Puckboy begins, we backtrack to see how Lane’s babysitter role came to be. Oskar’s wild, outlandish, scandal-inducing behavior has hit an all-time high – and not in a good way – and Lane steps in to keep Oskar on the straight and narrow.
This story puts an irreverent, funny, sexy twist on the bodyguard trope, except here, the only thing Oskar needs protection from is himself and his own self-disparaging tendencies. Lane moves in with Oskar and follows him everywhere, eliminating any hope of privacy and curtailing Oskar’s ability to sneak off for hookups. Lane is determined to show Oskar that he’s a better person than he portrays to everyone else, and a better person than he believes himself to be, and Lane is willing to put it all on the line to show him. Keeping him out of the media and out of trouble is Lane’s job, but he quickly becomes personally invested. Oskar, for his part, is none too pleased with Lane’s constant presence, and after trying everything in his arsenal to drive Lane away, they finally hit an impasse that is (predictably) broken by agreeing to hook up with each other. Oskar pretends to be unhappy about it, but he’s irresistibly drawn to Lane, and beyond that, he finds he surprisingly trusts Lane and can let his guard down because he knows Lane will take care of him.
Finley and James adeptly peel back the layers of Oskar’s facade, and the natural progression of his relationship with Lane from one of antagonists to lovers and then to being in love is seamless and authentic. Our view on Oskar at the beginning of the book intentionally parallels how Oskar’s world sees him – except for Lane, who seems to have x-ray vision into Oskar’s soul. Lane shows Oskar, and us, who Oskar really is.
I loved everything about Shameless Puckboy. It’s by far the best in the series so far, even eclipsing Egotistical Puckboy (notwithstanding my love for all things Ezra Palaszczuk). The hot AF age gap, bossy-vibe, voyeurism-lite dynamic between Lane and Oskar checks all the boxes. I loved both of these men, who Finley and James develop with nuance and complexity.
The Queer Collective is prominent in this story too. This group of LGBTQ+ NHL hockey players provides much-needed friendship and support for Oskar, as well as tons of humor. I love the cameos from the previous books’ couples, and characters from Finley’s Fake Boyfriends series universe, like Ollie Stromberg. Their interactions are humorous while resonating with an overwhelming sense of community and support. There’s plenty of Ezra here as well, and every time he’s in a scene with Oskar, it’s a highlight.
Iggy Toma and Alexander Cendese are back for the audiobook, and they nail these performances. Cendese does OTT, outlandish characters so well, and his portrayal of Oskar is perfect. His energy is infectious, and the nasally, caricaturish female voices that he sometimes falls back on are tempered a bit here (like Oskar’s next-door neighbor), just enough to provide a perfect foil for Oskar’s antics. Cendese had me laughing out loud so many times I lost count.
Toma, on the other hand, completely embraces Lane’s disgruntled, aggravated attitude as he tries to curtail Oskar’s shenanigans. His calm delivery and excellent intonation work bring Lane to life. Toma and Cendese are frequent narrating partners and their voices, although quite different, work seamlessly together even from chapter to chapter when the point of view shifts. Their intuitive interpretation of the text shows through, and their synergy also resonates despite this being dual narration.
I highly recommend Shameless Puckboy. It’s an engaging, sexy, funny, heartwarming audiobook. The whole Puckboys series is terrific, and in the expert hands of Cendese and Toma, each audiobook is a winner in and of itself. But when listened to in succession, you get a well-constructed story arc, a terrific group of guys, and some delicious romances to enjoy.
RATING: 
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