Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Red Line
SERIES: Games We Play
AUTHOR: L.A. Witt
PUBLISHER: GallagherWitt Publishing LLC
LENGTH: 310 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 10, 2024
BLURB:
The Games We Play, Book 1
Theo Mathis doesn’t regret defying the general manager during his brief stint on the Seattle Rainiers last season. The rainbow tape on his stick cost him dearly, but he’d do it again in a heartbeat… even though it means he’ll never get called up from the minors again while that GM is at the helm.
Then a flood of injuries leaves Seattle desperate for players, and Theo gets called up after all. But he’s warned: provoke the GM again, and he will regret it.
Except stick tape wasn’t the only line Theo skated over, and the temptation to cross it again has nothing to do with spite.
Equipment manager Christian Hayes has had that hot minor league player living rent-free in his head ever since they hooked up last year. It wasn’t love, but it was fun, and he wishes they could do it again because they want to—not as an act of rebellion. If Christian’s dad ever finds out, there will be hell to pay. But it’s a non-issue, since his dad—the team’s GM—has vowed to never call up that player again no matter how bad the team needs him… and he doesn’t even know Theo and Christian hooked up.
Now Theo’s back in the Rainiers’ locker room. They don’t dare risk a rematch—they both value their careers too much. All they have to do is ride this out for a few games until Theo’s sent back down. Easy enough. Right?
But their mutual attraction refuses to be ignored.
And it looks like Theo’s going to be staying a while.
The Games We Play is a multi-author minor league hockey romance series! All titles run concurrently through the same hockey season and the books can be read in any order, so jump in anywhere!
REVIEW:
Christian, the Seattle Raniers’ equipment manager, meets Theo Mathis, a hockey player who has been called up from the minor league team in Everett when a bunch of injuries have depleted the roster. It happens to be Pride Night in Seattle, but at it seems that the GM, who just happens to be Christian’s father, cancels it. Christian is out and so is Theo and he sees the sadness and disappointment in Christian, so he does the one thing that he thinks can lighten Christian’s load and signal to the fans that all is not lost. He asks for rainbow tape for their sticks for the warmup. Pretty soon the rest of the guys jump on the bandwagon and everyone skates with rainbow tape.
Theo does OK in the game, but Jack, Theo’s dad is FURIOUS. He considers it a personal affront and insubordination, so he makes sure that Theo is sent back to the minors and Theo thinks that he’s probably blown his one change to be in the big leagues. *sigh* He still knows he did the right thing even though he’s sent back to Everett with a tongue-lashing and a promise that the incident won’t be forgotten. Since he knows he’s going to be sent back down and he’s out with the guys and Christian after the game, well their spark picks up. They leave very late from the bar and hookup thinkin it’s a one time thing. But neither of them can forget the sizzling hot chemistry and they haven’t met anyone since who even interests them.
Next season Theo is called up again – much to his surprise. Jack Hayes makes sure he knows that he’s being watched and Jack is just waiting to be able to send him back to the minors. He would clearly make sure that Theo never gets another chance if he doesn’t toe the line. He and Christian do their best to stay away from each other since Jack has not forgotten the previous season. He is a homophobic jerk and Christian knows that he would lose his job and Theo would be blackballed if they do anything. But the spark is still there and stronger than ever. They can’t seem to stay away. So they get together on the DL and do their best to keep a low profile.
Theo’s season is going well filling in for injured players and Christian is happy to have Theo back in his life and his bed. But Jack hasn’t forgotten and he’s just itching to make his son’s life miserable. He tries to mess with Theo’s head too. But when he goes too far, well it’s shocking just how badly he’s miscalculated 😀
Oh boy. What a toxic work environment. For anyone who has had to work in an organization where the person in charge is a bully and you have to watch every word and action when your livelihood is at stake, it’s a super stressful situation. In this case ramp it up about 1000% when that person is your homophobic dad? TOXIC!!! As bad as this situation is, I can definitely say it is not unrealistic. I’ve seen it happen for lots of reasons 🙁 While this is egregious, it’s something that I’m sure a lot of people have dealt with in the past and hopefully it’s soon to be dumped on the relic pile of the past. I felt terrible for Theo and Christian having to sneak around because of who they were. The story is told from alternating POVs, so there isn’t any question as to how these two feel about each other and the stress that they are under because of their jobs and Jack’s hawk eye trying to catch them out and make them pay. I loved the supporting characters here and there are some surprises about Theo that were fun to discover. The other players are funny and believable. The team Coach ended up being a standup guy as well as the owners. I also really like it when bad guys get what’s coming to them, so I felt very satisfied at the end of this story.
There isn’t a ton of hockey minutiae in this, so even casual observers will get this story in the best possible way. Theo and Christian are both willing to fight for their relationship and try to make things work in the face of real adversity and bullying. I was glad to see the ending here, or some employment lawyer would have had a field day with a hostile work environment lawsuit 😉 If you love sports romances and happy endings, I think you’ll enjoy this one. I know I did. Highly recommended.
RATING: 
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