Reviewed by Jen
TITLE: Speed
AUTHORS: R.J. Scott and V.L. Locey
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 234 Pages
RELEASE DATE: May 8, 2025
BLURB:
Hard ice. Fast cars. Fierce love. And a race against fate.
Hockey is as natural as breathing for Noah Gunnarsson. Growing up with two famous hockey stars as his dads, Noah has always aspired to join the Railers to continue the Lyamin-Gunnarsson legacy. With his degree done, it’s time to live that dream, and the first step is being drafted by the team his hall-of-fame dad played for. The second step is to pull on that dusky blue-gray sweater and make his fathers proud. His rookie year is bound to be a season of incredible highs and lows, but one of the biggest highlights is meeting Brody Vance at a fundraiser. Brody is the living epitome of a bad boy hiding his pain behind a devil-may-care attitude. As Noah struggles to keep one eye on the puck and not on Brody, it’s only a matter of time before both loves collide in a chaotic splash of media attention.
Bad boy racing driver Brody Vance has spent his life chasing speed and glory and is only points away from his first world championship when a devastating crash ends his season. Determined to make a triumphant comeback, Brody is blindsided by a diagnosis that forces him off the track for good. With his world flipped upside down and family and fans questioning why he left, Brody hides his pain by pushing the limits and refusing to let anyone see the cracks. But after a chance meeting with a sweet, sexy hockey player turns into an unforgettable one-night stand, fate keeps putting Noah in his path. With his heart on the line and his body racing against time, Brody must decide if he’s willing to risk it all for love—or if he’ll let fear and pride leave him in the dust.
Speed is a steamy M/M romance with a hockey rookie living his family legacy, a bad-boy racing driver with secrets, media attention that would break even the strongest of men, an unforgettable one-night stand, a love that means risking it all, and a hard-won happily ever after.
REVIEW:
First things first. If you have not read the original Harrisburg Railers series, I highly recommend you do so. While it isn’t necessary to enjoy this book without the prior reading, it is worth it just to have the background on some of the older original Railers players. This story follows the son of Railers players, Erie and his husband, our favorite Russian goalie, Stan, as he begins his professional career when he is getting ready for the draft and hoping to be picked up by his dads’ former team, which he is. But, it isn’t all easy peasy for him. He has to work quite a bit harder than most guys in that he is diabetic and must follow a pretty strict regimen to maintain his levels. The team is very accommodating, but it is something that he has to monitor extremely closely.
The other side of this story is about racing star, Brody, who is now dealing with a medical issue that is forcing him to end his career. Unfortunately, the racing world and his overbearing, obnoxious grandfather, are not privy to that information and believe he is just being a coward and skipping out on his obligations. Brody has some pretty heavy weight on his shoulders to say the least. Adding to all of that is his attraction Noah, his first real attraction to a guy. If that wasn’t enough, there is extra pressure of being anything but straight in the racing world.
Noah is such a great guy and has such an amazing support system behind him with his family, fathers, and their teammate friends. He definitely seems to have the best head on his shoulders of the two of them, and it is his strength that helps Brody through many of his issues. They struggle a bit here and there, but nothing drags on too long before getting settled. Again, aside from the evil grandfather, there is a fabulous support system for these two guys. Brody has his brother and his family on his side, and adding Noah’s clan really helps Brody pull through.
A few things I love about this writing duo and this series are that the hockey stuff is pretty spot on accurate, so it feels pretty realistic. The other is the location. I live in the area where these stories take place, so hearing about the different spots, such as the arena, training rink, and where the guys live make me want to drive around there just to see if I could spot these guys. Needless to say, I never hesitate to grab a book by these authors, and I’m really happy to see this series continue in this spinoff about the next generation of players. Looks like the disgruntled first-round rookie pick is up next, and I can’t wait to see who will be putting him in his place!
RATING: 
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