Anthology
by Toni Aleo, Cassandra Carr with Cindy Carr, Jami Davenport, Catherine Gayle, Jaymee Jacobs, V.L. Locey, Bianca Sommerland, & Nikki Worrell.
ARC Review
Released: April 2014
My rating: 4 of 5 ⭐️
Nine popular authors have joined forces to write eight deliciously hot and at times heart-wrenching hockey novellas, bundled together in a drive to Support the Fight against cancer!
Nine popular authors have joined forces to write eight deliciously hot and at times heart-wrenching hockey novellas, bundled together in a drive to Support the Fight against cancer!
TANGLED IN THE LACES
(The Assassins series: Prequel to Laces and Lace)
by Toni Aleo
In Tangled in the Laces, Karson King is on the fast track to the NHL. Lacey Martin is coming back from a hard fight against cancer and is terrified of him but the attraction is too much to ignore. Soon their love is so intense, neither of them see the rest of their lives without the other. Will Karson prove that he will protect her heart at all costs, or will he leave Laceyto pick up the pieces of her life once again?
HOOKING HANNAH
by Cassandra Carr and Cindy Carr
When Hannah attends the NHL All-Star game, she doesn't expect a hockey player of all people to turn her world upside down. Her sister is married to a player and Hannah never wanted that life. But Scott could change everything. For Scott's part, he has to know the woman who stirred his blood with just a look, and once he does, he realizes he wants Hannah to be his forever. Now to convince her...
When Hannah attends the NHL All-Star game, she doesn't expect a hockey player of all people to turn her world upside down. Her sister is married to a player and Hannah never wanted that life. But Scott could change everything. For Scott's part, he has to know the woman who stirred his blood with just a look, and once he does, he realizes he wants Hannah to be his forever. Now to convince her...
CRASHING THE BOARDS
(Seattle Sockeyes 1.5)
by Jami Davenport
Professional party crasher, Izzy Maxwell, needs the cooperation of reluctant party guest Cooper Black, the team captain of Seattle’s new hockey team, but Cooper can’t get past his anger over the team’s relocation to Seattle. Can Izzy melt Cooper’s frozen heart or will this party crash along with her fledgling business?
Professional party crasher, Izzy Maxwell, needs the cooperation of reluctant party guest Cooper Black, the team captain of Seattle’s new hockey team, but Cooper can’t get past his anger over the team’s relocation to Seattle. Can Izzy melt Cooper’s frozen heart or will this party crash along with her fledgling business?
TAKING A SHOT
(Portland Storm 2.5)
by Catherine Gayle
Katie Weber has had a crush on Jamie Babcock for almost two years, since he joined her father’s NHL team, the Portland Storm as an eighteen-year-old rookie. When cancer takes her health, her hair, and even her friends, she can’t bear to go to senior prom…until Jamie intervenes.
Katie Weber has had a crush on Jamie Babcock for almost two years, since he joined her father’s NHL team, the Portland Storm as an eighteen-year-old rookie. When cancer takes her health, her hair, and even her friends, she can’t bear to go to senior prom…until Jamie intervenes.
A VALUABLE TRADE
by Jaymee Jacobs
Bryan's life gets turned upside when he gets traded to the Dallas Comets, and things get even messier when he meets Georgiana, the Director of Team Services. He's got a lot of work to do to prove his worth to his new team, but Georgiana's sure he'll prove to be a valuable trade.
Bryan's life gets turned upside when he gets traded to the Dallas Comets, and things get even messier when he meets Georgiana, the Director of Team Services. He's got a lot of work to do to prove his worth to his new team, but Georgiana's sure he'll prove to be a valuable trade.
HEIR APPARENT
by V.L. Locey
Superstar Cam Evans is fighting to climb out of a slump that`s growing worse with each day of living in denial. Fresh from the minors, Jacobi Neal is hungry for this chance to play back-up for the legendary goalie. Can two men battle each other, their inner demons, and the sizzling attraction building between them?
Superstar Cam Evans is fighting to climb out of a slump that`s growing worse with each day of living in denial. Fresh from the minors, Jacobi Neal is hungry for this chance to play back-up for the legendary goalie. Can two men battle each other, their inner demons, and the sizzling attraction building between them?
BLIND PASS
(The Dartmouth Cobras 0.5)
by Bianca Sommerland
Nothing could stop Tim Rowe, the assistant coach of the Dartmouth Cobras, from falling in love with Madeline, but love alone can’t satisfy every need. Sometimes, to reach the goal, you have to take the chance with a . . . Blind Pass.
CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Nothing could stop Tim Rowe, the assistant coach of the Dartmouth Cobras, from falling in love with Madeline, but love alone can’t satisfy every need. Sometimes, to reach the goal, you have to take the chance with a . . . Blind Pass.
CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
(Prequel to the NHL Scorpions Series)
by Nikki Worrell
Keith Lambert is the captain of the Philadelphia Flyers—until he’s not. To everyone’s shock, he’s traded to the San Diego Scorpions. As if that’s not bad enough, Phoebe, his girlfriend of two years, decides she doesn’t love him enough to follow.
All alone in a new town, Keith is drawn to Kelly, his take out delivery girl. When she shows up at ice girl tryouts, he’s lost. She’s all he can see. Can he convince her to forget her past and take a chance on him or is he destined to be alone in a new town a little bit longer?
by Nikki Worrell
Keith Lambert is the captain of the Philadelphia Flyers—until he’s not. To everyone’s shock, he’s traded to the San Diego Scorpions. As if that’s not bad enough, Phoebe, his girlfriend of two years, decides she doesn’t love him enough to follow.
All alone in a new town, Keith is drawn to Kelly, his take out delivery girl. When she shows up at ice girl tryouts, he’s lost. She’s all he can see. Can he convince her to forget her past and take a chance on him or is he destined to be alone in a new town a little bit longer?
*****
Aside from the fantastic cause that joins these established authors together, they have a love for, and a solid knowledge of, the game of hockey, evident each of these short stories.
In all, this anthology makes for a good read for lovers of the genre, with a couple that stick out over the rest by merit of their deeper emotional range.
I am talking about Toni Aleo's TANGLED IN THE LACES, and Catherine Gayle's TAKING A SHOT. In both these stories, the writers have gone beyond the scope of a hockey story and have included the subject of the charitable cause of this anthology, namely cancer. In particular breast cancer.
Coincidentally in both books, it concerns breast cancer in young women and the men who end up loving and accepting them for the strengths they have and not for the assets they've lost. Both writers are able to captivate not just the physical, but the emotional damage that a disease as breast cancer can do. Especially for someone who has barely started living.
The insecurities inherent to their young age are amplified hundredfold by the physical scars left behind as a reminder of their battle to survive. And it takes two very courageous and loving young men, to teach them that their beauty lies in the strength and survival those scars represent.
Short stories are difficult to review, because you are not given very much to work with. And I am someone who likes to have more than just bones of a story - I like some meat on them. Something to put my teeth into, something to chew on. A serving of angst - which I had a little bit of - some decent context, a goodly amount of controversy, an interesting backstory. It simply isn't all possible to fit into a short. All these stories served up a fair amount of steamy heat, a bit too much sweetness for my tastes, but a great deal of hockey which was fantastic!!
✨Sweet hockey heat for a collective cure!✨
**Copy provided in return for an honest review.**
Thank you for your support!
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