Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: The Best Parts of Him
SERIES: Vermont Trailblazers
AUTHOR: Amy Aislin
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 230 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 28, 2025
BLURB:
Sometimes the sweetest victories happen off the ice.
Ryland Zervudachi lives for the game of hockey—and for the chance to build the kind of team unity that will carry the Columbus Pilots all the way back to the playoffs after last season’s crushing defeat. Off the ice, though, there’s one goal he hasn’t managed to score—the heart of Kyle Dabbs, the Vermont Trailblazers’ team captain and his long-time crush.
Kyle Dabbs has built a life centered on quiet strength. After a childhood scarred by his father’s verbal abuse, Dabbs pours his energy into his career on the ice and the book series he’s written to help kids like the boy he once was. He doesn’t need someone flashy, loud, and spotlight-loving like Ryland turning his world upside down.
But when an untimely appendectomy leaves Dabbs stuck at home, Ryland—recovering from an injury—shows up to help. Between late-night Scrabble competitions, pumpkin-carving mishaps, and long talks that peel back layers they’ve both kept hidden, Dabbs begins to see past Ryland’s bold exterior.
With chemistry sparking and walls crumbling, both men must decide if they’re ready to risk their hearts for something even better than a championship: love.
REVIEW:
Note: These characters were introduced as side characters in another book, Love in Maplewood. This book contains spoilers for that book, but can be read as a standalone. I personally really enjoyed the first book though and recommend it if you want more information about Ryland and Bellamy’s contentious past relationship.
Kyle Dabbs is the captain of the Vermont Trailblazers professional hockey team. He is rooming with one of his teammates, Bellamy, whose boyfriend lives in Maplewood, a small Vermont town close by. Bellamy was traded to the Trailblazers last season and then they went on to win the Stanley Cup. In the off season, they are running kids camps. And spending time in Maplewood 🙂 Bellamy’s boyfriend Jason happens to be the brother of Bellamy’s former nemesis in the NHL, Ryland Zervudachi. Ryland has long had a crush on Kyle, but Kyle has put him in his place due to the bad blood between Ruland and Bellamy. Ryland has finally let the rivalry go, but Dabbs isn’t moved. Yet.
At the beginning of the new season, Dabbs ends up with appendicitis and of course has to recover. At the same time, Ryland gets injured in a game and is going to be off the ice recovering too. So Ryland volunteers to look after Dabbs when Bellamy is going to be on the road with the team. Ryland moves in and starts taking care of Kyle. Kyle isn’t happy about that at first, but it’s clear he does need help – especially with his dogs. He waits until Kyle is feeling a bit better, but he’d like things to progress between them 😉
When it does finally change, it doesn’t stay private for long and Kyle isn’t so happy about that. But he’s got to address it before he’s exactly ready to. There is also the fact that he didn’t give his teams a heads up and so there is a little stress there too. But Ryland is happy. And Kyle’s not unhappy. Turns out Ryland is more than ready to support Kyle in everything. And maybe step back a little from his social media world. Especially since Kyle hasn’t been on social media.
I will admit that I did not like Ryland much in a previous book, Love in Maplewood. He was kind of a jerk to Bellamy and I was not convinced that he would redeem himself. I’m still not 100% sold in his turnaround and I think he was incredibly immature for a very long time. At 29, he should have been further along in his journey of dealing with his childhood in my view 😉 But as usual YMMV. Kyle was such a good guy. His care for his teammates, his family, his old coach, etc. was rooted in his own childhood trauma. He has help dealing with his issues thanks to someone having his back. He’s done his best to pay it forward. This is why he’s been so dedicated to his teammates and making sure everyone feels supported and part of the team. I do find it interesting that toxic work environments tend to operate with the clique mentality. Ryland learns as part of his spending time with Kyle and the Trailblazers that his team is unlikely to be successful if they continue to let that kind of thing fester. I actually really enjoyed not only the relationship between Kyle and Ryland progressing throughout this book, but I really liked the insight into teamwork and mutual support leaving to success 🙂 I also really like that Kyle wanted to help other kids who were in bad situations like he was as a kid and the fact that Ryland had some great ideas about how to increase his reach and potentially help a larger target audience was just perfect. Add in some fun scrabble games and this is a sweet and spicy romance for these two. There is a pretty large group of supporting characters in this story and I am anxious to see what happens next with some of these guys 😉 I found this to be a good setup and first story in this new series and I am looking forward to Book 2!
RATING: 
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