Reviewed by Jen
TITLE: Blitz
SERIES: Railers Legacy
AUTHOR: R.J. Scott
PUBLISHER:Love Lane Books
LENGTH: 270 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 14, 2025
BLURB:
When hockey’s biggest ego meets football’s golden boy, sparks fly, and defenses crumble.
Cole “Trick” Harrington III has made a career out of pretending he doesn’t care. Not about his past, his name, or the father who built a megachurch empire off judgment and control. Trick torched every bridge back to Atlanta, deliberately wrecked his career, and buried his truth so deep even he started to forget it. Now traded to the Harrisburg Railers, he’s skating on thin ice, with a reputation for arrogance and a career teetering on the edge. The last thing he needs is a PR stunt tying him to a squeaky-clean football star, particularly one who is sexy, strong, and always freaking happy. As Trick is forced to confront his growing attraction and deal with the past he’s spent years ignoring—including the younger sister he never knew existed—he realizes that the most brutal battles aren’t fought on the ice. They’re fought in the heart. And this time, he has to stop running.
Tom Fulkowski has led a charmed life. Starting with a typical middle-class childhood in Philly, his skill at catching quarterbacks has propelled him to the heights of pro football. He’s got the rings, he’s got the cash, and he’s got the cars. He’s also got a bad back, achy knees, and a yearning to move on. With one final season to play with the Philadelphia Pumas before retirement, Tom looks forward to that next phase of his life. He’s just not sure what the next phase is exactly. Then, out of the blue, he meets a wild-eyed hockey player with a chip the size of the Liberty Bell on his shoulder. As he and Cole grow closer, he finds a depth to the younger man that resonates deeply. If only Cole would slow down and let Tom catch up to him, they might win it all.
Blitz is an MM romance featuring a bad-boy hockey player with a past he can’t outrun, a football legend on the verge of retirement, a forced PR stunt that might turn into something real, and a game-changing journey to their happy-ever-after.
REVIEW:
The Railers story continues with a new player traded from Atlanta. It is quickly apparent that Trick has some major issues, and although they don’t ever really justify his overall behavior, they do explain it a bit. Trick’s father is a raging homophobic televangelist who has been manipulating and ruining lives for as long as Trick can remember, him being one of the main victims. In order to escape his father, Trick has made himself unlikeable and a nuisance so much so that his hockey team traded him to the Harrisburg Railers.
In an effort to help “fix” Trick’s image, the Railers require Trick to join forces with football star Tom on an endorsement campaign. Tom is also closeted but seems to see through Trick’s facade right from the get go. He makes it his priority to break through Trick’s walls, and, in doing so, falls pretty hard for him.
In the middle of all of this, Trick finds out he has a sister which brings a whole other set of drama into his life, along with something he had been missing throughout his life. Trick finally has some people in his corner, and the much needed support, although pushed aside at first, was exactly what Trick needed to face his demons, or demon, as the case may be.
My heart really did break for Trick and what he had been put through. It felt so good to see him end up with the Railers family and Noah pushing his friendship on him was a delight as well. With Rebecca and Tom and Tom’s big family, Trick found all that he needed to be happy in his own life and in the end, a newfound joy of hockey also reappeared.
This story continues to be a joy to read, even when the subject matter is not so great, as is the case here. However, the struggle is worth it in the end as the guys find their happiness. I can’t wait to see what else is in store for this series.
RATING: 
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