Reviewed by Jen
TITLE: Breaking Through the Doubt
SERIES: Espen Jetties
AUTHOR: Haven Hadley
PUBLISHER: Haven Hadley Books, LLC
LENGTH: 233 Pages
RELEASE DATE: April 25, 2025
BLURB:
A goalie whose temper was legendary, Leslie Knoxton showed the world his tough exterior, but not the man he truly was. They saw the hockey star, not the person inside.
Over the years, he’d watched his teammates find their soulmates while he’d been waiting for his shot. On the ice, he knew the joy of winning, yet Leslie was also aware how much heartbreak could hurt. A chance encounter with a tattoo artist left Leslie wondering if it might be his turn.
Corey Mancini noticed the Jetties’ goalie from the moment he stepped through his door. Getting involved with a client was the worst mistake a business owner could make. Corey worked too hard to build his shop into a thriving business to have it go up in flames. Except, he couldn’t look away.
To have a chance at love, they needed to overcome the obstacles and break through the doubt. If they could make it past the hurdles in their way, Corey and Leslie could find a love like no other.
Content warning for homophobia, assault, and off-page drug abuse.
REVIEW:
We have been waiting for Espen Jetties goalie, Leslie Knoxton, aka Knox’s, story for a while now while he sits back and watches his teammates all find their significant others, falling in love and finding happiness. Knox has a bit of a reputation with his anger getting him into trouble but he’s been trying to turn that around. He decides to get a tattoo one day, and that’s when it all seems to change for him.
Corey is the shop owner and artist who takes Knox on as a client, and after some reluctance on mixing business with pleasure, Knox convinces him to take a chance on getting to know each other better. Both have some background “secrets” that eventually must be dealt with, but I loved how these two took their time initially in an attempt to achieve a more meaningful relationship. They really did seem perfect for each other. Corey was easily able to handle the aspects of Leslie’s job, although the road trips do get a bit difficult at times. However, Leslie is reaching the end of his career and this seems like perfect timing for him to try and figure out some future plans.
There are a few twists that take place concerning those previously-mentioned background “secrets,” but nothing is overly drawn out. These guys have a pretty decent record for communication aside from their separation causing issues at times. Needless to say, things don’t ever go on for very long before they are hashed out, and it never really seems as though their relationship is in jeopardy. I truly loved seeing Knox find happiness that he was longing for and his friend circle remains solid. I’m always up for a good hockey story/series, and this one has been really enjoyable. I’m not sure where this will go next, or if it will go in another direction entirely. Either way, Ms. Hadley has become an auto read for me, and I’ll be on the lookout for the next one whatever that may be.
RATING: 
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