Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Even Strength
SERIES: Games We Play
AUTHOR: Cari Z & Ann Gallagher
PUBLISHER: GallagherWitt Publishing LLC
LENGTH: 272 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 26, 2024
BLURB:
Marek Stetina is so close to getting called up to majors, he can taste it. Maybe he wasn’t a number one draft pick like his brother, and maybe he’ll never be a Hall of Famer like his father, but he’s almost made it.
Right up until a serious injury puts his hockey dreams—major league or otherwise—on ice.
Up-and-coming MMA star Carson Wrede’s career—hell, his entire life—has been off the rails ever since a mishap during a fight put him in the hospital. Now he’s trying to find his balance again, both literally and figuratively. With each passing day, his chances of returning to the cage grow slimmer… as do his chances of paying that growing pile of medical bills.
Maybe a TBI support group isn’t the most romantic place to meet someone, but Marek and Carson can’t complain. While their worlds seem to be crumbling around them, they lean on each other through endless setbacks and frustration.
But is this just two guys helping each other through a tough time? Or is the connection between them real, honest love?
And is that love enough to see them through some unavoidable decisions about the careers they once lived for?
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:
So this is quite a different story from these two authors who are known for their full speed ahead romantic thrillers with lot of action, suspense, mayhem and sex. This has very little of any of those. Instead we have two men who are dealing with Traumatic Brain Injuries and the post concussion symptoms that are keeping them back from their livelihoods.
Carson is in a worse situation because he didn’t have any cushion to fall back on so he’s reduced to sleeping in the back rooms of gyms his friends own or more likely in his car which is filled with what few possessions he has left. When he’s injured in a fight in Abu Dhabi, he ends up in ICU and having to be accompanied back to the US for more hospitalization. Now he’s being pressured to sign away his ability to sue the fight organization or they will take him to court to recover the medical costs that are now in the hundreds of thousands. He doesn’t share this immediately with Mark since he’s just getting to know the guy. He manages to keep just how bad all this is from Marek, the hot hockey player he meets at the TBI support group one evening that he hits it off with, for quite a while – mostly because Marek has his own issues to deal with and is a few months behind Carson in healing from his injury.
Marek has taken a bad check in a game and he’s got a lot of awful symptoms and is still in the getting sick at lot and barely able to drive when he meets Carson. These guys have chemistry from the get go and they are both relieved that they don’t have to explain what’s going on since they are both experiencing the same issues – headaches, nausea, balance issues, horrific reactions to noise and lights. Marek, who is still in the minor leagues is dealing with the added pressure of his father who is about to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a “generational talent” – a legacy that so far Marek hasn’t lived up to. His brother is also a huge star in the professional league so it’s a lot for Marek to live up to and it’s messing with his head and his game.
As Marek and Carson get closer, they each are nervous about their relationship. They have not only their physical symptoms, but both are really trying to figure out where their futures lie. Carson hasn’t ever thought he could do anything else and he’s got all his eggs in this fighting basket. Marek doesn’t even seem to be enjoying hockey at this point. If he can’t play anymore, what does that mean? His father is pressuring him to get back on the ice even though his vertigo is making is close to impossible for him. Luckily he does have some support from his brother Jan.
At the end of the day, Carson and Marek are going to have to figure out what they really want to do with their lives. But at least they know they want to do it together 🙂
As I say, this is a departure for these two. I really loved both of these characters. If I have any issue, it’s that I felt like the ending was a bit abrupt – sort of walking off into the sunset but not really seeing how they are making this work. I also really wanted Kevin to face more consequences. God what an a$$hole. LITERALLY could have caused someone’s death with his shenanigans. I would have loved to see HIM in the hospital for a good long while! I liked Marek’s brother – he seemed to get it and in the end supported Marek and Carson. Carson’s friends rallied around him when the chips were down. Finally. I just wanted to give him the biggest hug. I felt so awful for him for so much of this story. He really did get dealt the worst cards. I was so happy when he was forced to come clean with Marek who recognized the strength that Carson had to keep his head up and moving forward, despite all of his setbacks. No sex in this one, but it didn’t need it. This is really a romance built on a solid foundation for these two men battling to get their lives back and their relationship. Recommended.
RATING: 
BUY LINK: