Review by Danielle

TITLE: Road Rules

SERIES: Rules of the Game #1

AUTHOR: Brigham Vaughn

PUBLISHER: Two Peninsulas Press

LENGTH: 407 Pages

RELEASE DATE: March 24, 2023

BLURB:

Rule #1: Hockey Comes First

As NHL team captain, Zane Murphy’s goal for the upcoming season is simple: take the Evanston River Otters all the way to the Stanley Cup.

Rule #2: Only On the Road

But an unexpectedly hot night with his best friend and teammate Ryan Hartinger throws Zane’s carefully laid plans and his sexuality into disarray.

Rule #3: Don’t Fall in Love with Your Best Friend

When feelings begin to creep in, Zane will have to decide if he’s willing to throw out the rules and risk his career and his friendship for a chance at winning it all.

Note: Road Rules was previously published as a 45k word novella on Prolific Works and has since been expanded into a full length 87k word novel.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Homophobic and gendered slurs. Mentions of cheating (not between MCs).

REVIEW:

First off let me start with that I already really liked this story when it was a novella but author Brigham Vaughn did a stellar job in extending it. There is so much added which only makes the story better!

What is important for me is the click with the main characters and I have to say I love Ryan and I like Zane, which during the story grew into loving Zayne as well.

The development they are experiencing not just as a couple but definitely also within themselves is portrayed wonderfully.

They make a very sweet couple who started out as the best of friends which slowly developed into more.

You see Zane struggling with how to balance his new-found feelings with his thoughts about what is right and his sole focus that hockey is most important of all.

Ryan realises that it might be worth the risk to see is there is more and just goes for it and boy does he go for it.

It is dificult at times to read Zane struggling and I commend Ryan for his patience and understanding in that.

When they do get together and Zane is all-in so to speak, it brings out some amazing moments and they way the author rounded up the story was absolutely delightful. The happiness and love brought a huge smile to my face and it’s still currently residing there!

I know one thing; it sure made me want to re-read the whole Rules of the Game series again!

RATING:

BUY LINK:

Amazon