Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Puck Love
SERIES: The Elmwood Stories
AUTHOR: Lane Hayes
NARRATOR: Nick J. Russo
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 7 hrs and 32 mins
RELEASE DATE: April 29, 2025
BLURB:
Two rivals, one secret, and a shot at forever….
Jake:
Favorite things and peeps: hockey, family, friends.
Least favorite person in the entire history of the universe: Mason Trinsky.
I have my reasons, but since you’re curious, Trinsky is a showboat and a loudmouth. Sure, he’s a great athlete. Good for him. I accept that we have mutual friends, and I grudgingly accept that he’ll be a coach at Elmwood Junior Camp this summer—however, I plan to keep my distance.
Of course, some wise guy pairs us up for a camping expedition, and everything that can go wrong does go wrong.
Guess who I’m stuck with?
Trinsky:
Favorite things and peeps: hockey, surfing, and my kid brother.
Least favorite person in the entire history of the universe: Jake Milligan.
Look, I might be in the minority, but if you ask me, Jake is a nitpicking diva who wants everything his way. I hope my NHL team crushes his, and this summer, I want my campers to out-prank his. Childish? Nah, it’s all in good fun.
Until it starts to feel…complicated. I shouldn’t care if he’s happy, should I? I don’t want to be Jake’s friend. I don’t want to have feelings for him at all.
The only thing that matters is hockey. It’s all about the puck. Not love.
Or is it?
Puck Love is an MM bisexual, small-town romance featuring hockey’s hottest rivals, a hiking trip gone wrong, and a shot at forever….
REVIEW:
Note: This is the sixth book in this series. There are major spoilers for the previous books. If you don’t care about spoilers, it can work as a standalone just fine. I recommend the whole series though – particularly the audios 😉
Jake Milligan and Mason Trinsky are enemies on the ice. Trinsky is a couple years younger the Jake and he loves to get in Jake’s head. Chirping at him at ever game between Denver and Boston. Jake is tired of Trinsky and he certainly doesn’t want to see him in the off-season. Too bad.
Jake’s family is involved with a summer camp and charity to raise money for the local hockey teams. When one pro has to drop out, Trinsky’s manager sets him up as the replacement. Just one teensy problem. He’s paired with Jake. And there’s only one tent. And a reporter/social media guy following them. Oopsie.
Well things get weird quick on the camping trip when a bunch of people get sick. Mason and Jake are NOT happy campers 😉 They are bickering and fighting and then having to sleep in the same tent? Also nobody knows that Jake is bi and he’s finding himself attracted to his nemesis. Say what???? And then Trinsky kisses him?? And then there’s more?? Uh-oh.
They are hockey players. They are enemies/rivals. Mason’s never been with nor been attracted to a man before. But he can’t stop thinking about Jake. They can’t do this. But maybe just maybe they can for the summer? You know that’s not going to end well 😉
Oh man, I really really enjoyed this story! First, Nick J. Russo does a fantastic job bringing these two opposite personality characters to life. We’ve gotten to know Jake over the series as well as his dad, stepdad and mom. The citizens of Elmwood also figure prominently in this story as Jake and Mason’s relationship changes during a charity camping event. The consistency in the voicing of the characters frankly is amazing (I loved JC and of course Annie reappearing in this story 😉 ). Both Jake and Mason have had issues and once they start actually sharing (not that it was their intention to do so going in), the developed and appreciation for each other and how they had managed to come out the other side of their childhoods and make their lives as professional hockey players. The fact that Jake is bi and Mason is too? Maybe? Just more that they have in common when they thought there was nothing but animosity and bickering. I felt bad that they ended up hiding their real relationship for so long, but everything worked out in the end. Their strong family vibes also ended up working in their favor – which supportive parents and great compassion and love for their siblings 🙂 I don’t think I could love these two more and I was so glad to see them get their happy ending after all that they went through – both together and apart. I love a rivals to lovers story and this one was chocked full of twists and turns and funny, happy, heartbreaking and romantic moments. Oh, and plenty of steam 😉 The hockey was good too 😉
really have adored this whole series and this duo of Ms. Hayes and Mr. Russo are just so good. The emotional notes of the story are just really enhanced by the performance of Nick Russo. He does such a spectacular job of bringing all these characters to life and infusing them with their own quirks and personalities in a natural and authentic voice. Fabulous all round. Fans of this series, hockey/sports romances, rivals to lovers and HEAs will love this. Highly recommended.
RATING: 
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