Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Game Misconduct
SERIES: Penalty Box
AUTHOR: Ari Baran
NARRATOR: Cooper North
PUBLISHER: Halequin Audio
LENGTH: 10 hours and 20 minutes
RELEASE DATE: May 16, 2023
BLURB:
Two bitter rivals go head-to-head in this age-gap, enemies-to-lovers hockey romance.
Michael Sato is used to fighting.
An undersized defenseman, Mike had to be tough, clawing his way up from the minors by taking down one ferocious player at a time. No way is he going to lose his spot on the league roster, especially not by giving in to his attraction to a hot, infuriating rival.
Daniel Garcia is used to fighting, too.
Enforcer Danny is the biggest, meanest player on the ice. A target for anyone trying to make a name for themselves, he doesn’t show weakness, nor is he going to risk his last seasons for a sexy rookie who nearly knocked him on his ass.
When their intense physical connection explodes outside of the rink, Mike and Danny learn they just might be able to build something real, but only if they can let down their guard—and their fists—long enough.
REVIEW:
Mike Sato is a fighter. He’s been that way his whole life. His family is a bunch of high achievers and he’s only wanted to be play hockey. He’s not the fastest or the best, but he’s good at fighting. In his first game against his division rival team, he gets into a brutal fight with Daniel Garcia, the other teams enforcer. In fact Mike knocks his tooth out. And since then, the gloves have come off in every game.
One night at the end of the season, Mike is looking for a way to blow off steam in Philadelphia and he happens upon Garcia in an alley around a gay bar. They end up getting in yet ANOTHER scuffle, but then Garcia makes good on a bet that blows Mike’s mind. And other things 😉 Neither is out and Mike can’t get over what happened. He continues to chirp Garcia through his DMs and finally Garcia answers back. While Mike is young, Daniel is coming to the end of his career. He’s pushed his broken-down body to the limit, but he needs two more seasons.
Sato and Garcia continue their online conversations. They also run into each other after games – not entirely by chance. Each is a rather violent encounter followed by sex. Neither wants anyone to know what’s happening but they can’t seem to stay away from each other. Sato is getting into trouble for fighting more and Garcia insists he is more than that – that he CAN be more than that. Mike is convinced that’s not the case – or wouldn’t his coaches have worked with him? But he agrees to try and works on the things that Danny insists will make him a better player living up to his capabilities.
Mike works really hard and he is getting better. There is still the expectation of fighting, but he’s moved up on the line and he’s fighting less and playing more. He also is getting closer to Danny. And he’s worried. Danny is relying far too much on pain killers and alcohol to get him through things. He’s in a lot of pain and he’s lonely. He also can’t see a life after hockey for himself. Mike tries to get him to see that he IS more – how much he helped him get better, how much the guys on his team respect him, etc. But when Danny really is at the point that he could risk his body for good, Mike can’t sit on the sidelines anymore.
Interestingly enough, although this book starts with a bang, the pacing of the first 30% of the novel was a bit slow for me. Finally when we get to Danny and Mike beating on each other and having doing more than hate sex, the story gets good. This isn’t an easy story because both of these men have issues. Danny doesn’t see that he has anything to offer other than his enforcer skills. Mike is down on himself and what he can do with his hockey skills. Despite what Danny tells him, he has trouble accepting that as he’s the underachiever in his family. Danny’s family is worried about him and so is Mike. He’s also worked that if he pushed Danny too hard, he’ll shut him out – because he’s done it before. He has to play this smart in order to keep seeing Danny and encouraging him to see himself the same way others do. There are some really rough moments here. Danny’s family is great and supportive and they finally get things on track. It’s really great HEA (although maybe not an “out” HEA) for these two.
Cooper North is a very accomplished narrator. I’ve enjoyed his performances over the last few year and this one is no exception. His slightly manic characterization and voice choices for the younger Mike Sato I though were spot on. The anxiety and lack of confidence I thought were perfectly portrayed. The world-weary and pain-wracked Danny Garcia was also pitch perfect. There are a lot of secondary characters here as well that I found to be distinct and well voiced. This really is a tough book and I really FELT the pain and difficulties these characters endured. A really well done book from Mr. North here. Highly recommended especially for fans of hockey romance 😀
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
[…] Reviewed by Sadonna […]