Eden Finley

The novels in this series are full of joie de vivre. Finding that other person is the biggest high for these characters. The sexual attraction is exhilarating between Aleks and Gabe, but of course, like the best of romantic comedy, they become each other's best mate.

Gabe is a drop dead gorgeous fireman and Aleks is a drop dead gorgeous hockey player - so off to a good start. The thing is, the story that brings them together has a great set-up - Aleks is coming off a divorce from his childhood sweetheart. Gabe has been married to his job but has moved out of his shared house to his own pad so that he can be a grown up. Aleks is pan sexual, and for some reason, which I didn't pick up in my listening, any moving on he does will be with a man this time. But he's new to everything - to dating, to loving a man, etc. So Gabe become his tutor.

There is close to zero angst in this story. Total escapism, and the delicious fun of romantic comedy.

I'd give this 4.5 stars except that I felt Iggy Toma and Alexander Cendese went a little overboard with their narration. It wasn't necessary because Eden Finley and Saxon James know what they are doing - they write fabulous light-touch romance - it doesn't need any hard sell in the form of overacting. Normally, I love these two narrators, so it's a departure for me to pick a hole in their performance.

And as for "foolish" puckboy, good news is that Aleks isn't a fool - he and his new team mates in Seattle love to be silly at parties - I have some sympathy that they deserve to destress in that high pressure life - but he's pretty mature, the way he goes about finding a new life and happiness.

So Aleks and Gabe's meet cute is due to how silly Aleks and his friends are. It's as SharingTheBookLove below says, meet cute is the right word because its this that sets up the meet cute fun that follows.

I wasn't 100% sure what a meet cute was, since I don't think that expression was around in my youth. Here is a definition from Wikipedia:
"A meet cute is a scene in media, in which two people meet for the first time, typically under unusual, humorous, or cute circumstances, and go on to form a future romantic couple.[1]
This type of scene is a staple of romantic comedies.... Frequently, the meet cute leads to a humorous clash of personalities or of beliefs, embarrassing situations, or comical misunderstandings that further drive the plot."

This quote comes from an article, Why Online Dating Spells the End of the Meet Cute, by Lauren Forsthye: "The term “meet cute” appears to have first originated in the 1938 movie Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife, where the two main characters and love interests meet shopping for pajamas and end up having a “cute” conversation."… (mere)

The story is a cute fake honeymoon romance between two first responders. It is a standalone spinoff of [Foolish Puckboy] where Remy has been stood up at the altar by his fiancé, Eman, who was really a sorry excuse for a human being, and I thought that Remy was actually lucky...but that wouldn't have been much of a story:) Eman’s childhood friend and groomsman, Sanden, has to break the news to Remy and then encourages him to hold the reception party anyway and still go on his honeymoon. Somehow, Sanden ends up on the Hawaiian vacation, too. I was in hopes that Sanden would have his own story ever since we met him as a Gabe’s friend and fellow firefighter in [Foolish Puckboy]....and it really isn't necessary to have read that book to really enjoy this one. Sanden is a sweet, goofy, lovable man and a selfless hero. He used to be closer friends with Remy until Eman came between them. Remy is uneasy about being married. He finally realizes that it’s the wrong move and when he’s left standing at the front of the church alone, he realizes he dodged a bullet. No need to waste a great honeymoon in a gorgeous place so Remy and Sanden enjoy the luxurious vacation...living in a state of suspended reality... where of course they are mistaken for newlyweds. Once they return home to Seattle, however, their actual reality becomes more of a reality. They can't seem to return to b normal…who are they now? Are they lovers, colleagues, friends with benefits? All of these things? There’s a strong attraction between them but Sanden knows Remy is not in the right headspace for a rebound fling or a more serious relationship. He badly wants more so he’ll wait until Remy has time to heal, trust him, and is ready for more. But Eman left Remy with deep emotional scars he won’t overcome easily. I really hated Eman. He was a truly vile character. He’s a conniving, manipulative, emotionally abusive psycho who have received a great deal of pleasure from simply strangling him and hiding the body. Sanden, wasn't without his own trauma from his childhood so they both needed time and each other to heal. In spite of the dark tone that the story sometimes took, it was still full of enjoyable banter and sexy fun.… (mere)

Turns out this out-there title captures the gist of this novel exactly.

Two full-of-themselves hockey players, Ezra and Anton, are out and out enemies.

Though Ezra is out and proud and Anton is only out to a close few, once Ezra learns that Anton is gay, he examines his animosity a little more closely. They hook up.

Next thing Anton is traded to Ezra's team and it's as uncomfortable as it could possibly be until bit by bit the ice breaks - as of course it does in romance novels, lucky us!

The layers of protective over-the-top behaviour, in Ezra's case, and prickliness, in Anton's case, peel back and they begin to see and appreciate the other. It's a pretty story in a roughhouse setting.

I think that's why I'm hesitating giving this 4 stars - despite their humour, we are not always given enough to like about these guys, at least for the first half of the novel.… (mere)