Brick Walls

by L.A. Witt

Cary “Sol” Solomon isn’t just in a slump—he’s a mess. His stats have plummeted. Fans hate him. After he caps off two awful seasons with a catastrophic playoff flop, his team is done with him. Worse, thanks to his downward spiral, the addiction that’s nearly cost him his career before is rearing its ugly head.

As luck would have it, though, the Seattle Sasquatches are desperate for goalies. When they snatch up Sol off waivers, maybe he has a chance to turn things around… if he can stay sober and get back on his game.

Except Sol isn’t the Sasquatches’ only new netminder.

Once destined for the hall of fame, Josh O’Brien is a trainwreck thanks to an injury and a messy divorce. His illustrious career is a disaster, and now he’s an unrestricted free agent who nobody wants to sign. He’s on the brink of losing the only thing he has left: hockey.

Then Seattle comes knocking with an offer he can’t refuse: a huge pay cut, but a shot at redemption. One that means being teammates with the ex whose name still raises Josh’s hackles all these years later.

Now Josh and Sol are stuck on the same team, proximity dredging up emotions they’ve both kept buried for years. Which wouldn’t be so bad if the only things coming to the surface were anger and resentment. As they remember all the sparks and feelings that once drew them together, neither can decide which is worse—being together or apart.

And that’s before Sol’s old demons start showing up.

But they’re not just coming for him this time.

CW: On-page struggle with cocaine addiction. If you would like clarification or other additional information about this content warning, please feel free to email the author at gallagherwitt at gmail dot com.

Genres: M M Romance, Hockey, Sports, Romance, Sports Romance, Contemporary, Second Chance

448 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 4, 2023

About the author

L.A. Witt and her husband have been exiled from Spain and sent to live in Maine because rhymes are fun. She now divides her time between writing, assuring people she is aware that Maine is cold, wondering where to put her next tattoo, and trying to reason with a surly Maine coon. Rumor has it her arch nemesis, Lauren Gallagher, is also somewhere in the wilds of New England, which is why L.A. is also spending a portion of her time training a team of spec ops lobsters.

Authors Ann Gallagher and Lori A. Witt have been asked to assist in lobster training, but they "have books to write" and "need to focus on our careers" and "don't you think this rivalry has gotten a little out of hand?" They're probably just helping Lauren raise her army of squirrels trained to ride moose into battle.

Visit her website at http://www.gallagherwitt.com/.

Reviews

[L.A. Witt]

Available April 12th.

Second chance hockey romance.

At the risk of jinxing myself again, this book is *currently* a standalone.

CW: cocaine addiction

[Ay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Content warnings for this one! Also High Angst Alert.

Sol's addiction and issues around it, including his visceral cravings and difficulties are a major component in this book. If he's obsessing about it, the other MC is. There is also much discussion around being a witness/SO/friend/team-mate of an addict and what to do and what not to do.

The paradigm seems to be around 12 steps/recovery/addiction as disease.

This is a proper hockey romance, not a wall paper romance. Witt does her research.

One of the MCs is a few years out of rehab for cocaine, and is still having a rough time. The addiction was the reason for initial break-up with the other MC. The other MC is coming out of a really nasty divorce.

Now they are both playing for the same hockey team.

Emotions ensue.

[Kayla 🐼 · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Good story, but not a good romance.

Many likes and dislikes with this one.

I am always a fan of openly gay sports players without all the drama of having to come out and face backlash. Immediate acceptance is always a big win in my book. Even the media gushing over Sol and Josh at the end, ugh so cute.

The hockey knowledge is top tier. This author definitely knows the game, I wouldn’t be shocked to find out if they played hockey at some point in their life. I even learned something new. I love a sports book with an actual focus on the sport. You get actual descriptions of games being played, and you could truly picture the games taking place in your heard while reading.

The struggles with addiction were captured realistically, ugly truth and all. No punches were pulled with depicting the emotional trauma that an addiction can have on the addict and the people around them. And it was even more compelling getting that story from two different vantage points. The subplot of the addict trying to help someone else from making the same mistakes? Chefs kiss. Sol risked his own sobriety to help others, and that level of strength is admirable. Honestly, Sol’s growth and development is one of the best parts of the whole story.

This book is inner monologue galore! It seems never ending, and it becomes monotonous and dry. And REPETITIVE! Chapters on chapters and paragraphs on paragraphs (sometimes back to back to back) of saying the SAME THING with just slight variations. The latter half of the book was much better with it but holy moly it took a lot to get there and it kind of kills the vibes.

Honestly don’t get how this is considered romance. There was no chemistry between the characters. They can claim they still had love for each other til they’re blue in the face but they surely didn’t act like it by constantly treating each other like trash. I get it, Josh and Sol have a rough history. You can’t forget about it with how often they mention it, but jfc if it was THAT BAD then just leave each other alone. It felt like the resentment and contempt towards each other would never end. I’m not sure where the romance was supposed to be in play when they legitimately did not like each other as people for most of this book. Even when they finally worked their issues out and got together, it didn’t feel like romantic love. It was giving more friendship than actual romantic relationship. This was a story on the struggles of a recovering addict and how they were rebuilding their life and relationships with the people they hurt, which is perfectly fine. But it definitely did not feel like a romance.

Overall, Josh was pretty horrible. “Oh I never stopped loving him” yea bulljive right there. He throws Sol’s addiction in his face every chance he can get. Sol is freaking trying here and it was like Josh wouldn’t accept it. “If nothing else, I wanna help you stay sober” then proceeds to throw in Sol’s face how he relapsed and can’t be trusted and yada yada yada. I’m sorry, but Josh helped put Sol in rehab ONCE at the beginning. Yes, thanks for that but Sol worked his butt off to get sober, work through relapses, and then get and stay sober again all WITHOUT Josh. Sol deserves his credit! I understood Josh’s concern, but if he wasn’t a DH about it then maybe Sol wouldn’t be standoffish towards him. Josh wasn’t helping anyone by being a pessimistic twat. It took forever for Josh to stop being a jerk, and at that point I was so over it I could barely even be happy about it.

Their communication STINKS. 30 and 32 years old and can’t talk without acting like raging toddlers. Or finish their sentences. So many of their fights are just the same rehashing of the same feelings and issues. “We can coexist at least” yet constantly fighting and bringing up the same crap, like go see a therapist together already. And the argument about Colfax could’ve totally been avoided if they just opened their mouths and acknowledged they both had the same suspicions. But no, Josh decided to throw Sol’s addiction back in his face and Sol, rightfully so, got defensive. Also, all Sol had to do was mention his concerns for Axel! Josh would’ve been happy to jump on the Protect The Rookie train right away. “I couldn’t explain the reason for hanging around an active user was to protect someone else” like what do you mean you can’t explain that? Just say it exactly like that???? Sol just made it harder for himself. But again, Josh sucks cause how is the concern another active addict on the team and how that can affect Sol’s sobriety but it’s Sol that he’s attacking? Josh was constantly yapping about “me me me and my feelings and what Sol destroyed” like yes, he was affected by Sol’s addiction and his feelings are valid. However, he was constantly bringing it up! Josh cared more about how the relationship was ruined and HIS feelings more than Sol having an actual addiction that was ruining his own life. And Sol acknowledged he was a terrible person for what he did back then! Sol didn’t deny it! Yet Josh kept acting like he did. We get it, Sol and his addiction ruined your relationship almost a decade ago, but like Josh was informed that doesn’t mean Sol is the same person!!!!! Honestly it felt like Josh WANTED Sol to relapse just so he could say “I told you so.” UGH!!!!!

I really was so excited for this book. Amazing premise and the author can clearly write in a compelling way. It just became so flat and boring. And the issues between Sol and Josh were SO dragged out and took forever to make progress in resolving. I like long books but when it drags out, it definitely kills enjoyability. Honestly if I didn’t pay for it, I probably would’ve DNFed. The last 40ish% of the book was the best because it actually felt like a progressing story.

[Arta reads at night · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️
I really liked this book.
But before reading it you should know that while it’s a romance a huge focus is on cocaine addiction.
One of the MCs has been struggling with said addiction for years. And he has ADHD.
The book is full of inner monologues, talking, thinking and dealing with cocaine addiction.
The romance is a second chance and feels like a parallel plot.
But if you’re not against all that, I recommend to read it. It’s well written and I enjoyed reading it.

[Amani · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️. this handled pretty heavy subject matter, but i feel like it was done in an honest way. very high angst and a lot of hurt x comfort. i think it was a little longer than i would have liked and our MCs had A LOT of back and forth which made sense with their history, but was also a little exhausting.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emotional.

Sol and Josh have a very complicated past, both professional hockey players, they met, fell in love and had that love torn apart by Sol’s drug addiction. Years later, neither of their careers are going well, and a twist of fate has them both getting signed to the same team as rival goal keepers.

There reunion isn’t pleasant, their years apart has seen them each face their own difficulties, relapses, injuries, divorce. And they each have a deep resentment for each other from how they both dealt with their split. It isn’t until some of their team mates are suspected of drug use that they can see each others point of view, and see the way addiction affects not only the addict, but the people who love them as well.

This book was really difficult for me to rate , because the overall story I enjoyed, and I found parts of it towards the end very emotional. However, this book dragged a bit for me, it actually had very little dialogue, most of the story was the main characters thoughts and inner musings that seemed to go on forever with very little happening in the story. I understand that both sides of addiction needed to be told, but I found a lot of it unnecessary.

The rekindled romance seemed very rushed, I know they had a lot of history, but I think they would have seemed more authentic as a couple if we saw more of their history, there were a few times when the mc’s looked back at certain times in the relationship, but I would have liked to see more of that.

I enjoyed the sports elements, and I loved that the author didn’t paint addiction as something that can be fixed, and that it’s an ongoing struggle.

Overall certain parts of this book were good, others I found myself losing interest in, I definitely don’t think this book needed to be 400 pages. But it was definitely a realistic telling of the effects of addiction.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books about addiction can be so hard. Sometimes they mention it and shy away from it completely. This book was in it. We had constant thoughts going through Sol's head that he was not as good as he could have been on drugs. He had to rebuild a support system from scratch because he was traded to a new team and unfortunately the love of his life he ran off when he was at the bottom was traded at the same time.

They both harbor resentment at each other and haven't spoken in almost a decade. Josh left Sol at rehab and cut ties to save himself. Sol was heavy into cocaine and was a complete disaster at the time Josh told management about his drug problem and tanked his career. Eventually, they talk and reach a common ground to try and keep the rookies away from a veteran player who is clearly leading them right down Sol's path.

This book was dark but good. I didn't love that Josh and Sol would take like a step forward and 8 back every time. We would leave some chapters where I felt pretty good about them and they would be in a whole different mood when the next chapter opens up.

I appreciated that Sol's sobriety journey is a constant work in progress and never far from his mind.

[miracle · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is the perfect blend of angst and fluff and i really love it. i’ve waited SO long for goalies falling for one another and this one set the bar so high.

[Bettylicious · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should have lapped this book up. Two goalies, pinining, second chance romance, it deals wth some deeper and darker themes (drug additction) and heres the thing, I should but I did not quite as much.

Both goalies have history and end up playing on the same team. One of them struggles with a years long cocaine addiction (he has now been sober). Said addiction was the reason their relationship broke apart and both carry a lot of resentments.

This part of the book was great and the reason it is getting 3 stars to behin with. It really deep dives into the mental struggles of staying clean, the guilt of the addict, the struggles of their loved ones to stay supportive. Its all there and very well done.

Now to what was not so well done. The book is told in dual first person POV, which is something I enjoy but oh my god do these two ramble. The internal monolouges go on forever! I tried once to just skip ahead two pages and guess what, the character was still in the same monologue, I missed zero plot. This makes some of the scenes and events drag which they then end up loosing their oomph.

Its not that the character lack attaraction or chemistry but it is STIFELD by how some of their inner thoughts drag on for ever around the same topic in an endless loop. I could totally get their relationship and how it related to the addiction but when it came to their actual love for each other it was all very meh. It lacked that extra spark to add an additional layer to the whole story.

[Macrochiroptera · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this and I hated it. Mainly, I loved it, but it also frustrated me immensely.

Differently from usual, I only listened to the audiobook (which I rarely do) and I was blown away by the quality. The two actors (Michael Ferraiuolo and Declan Winters) put so much emotion in both dialogue and narration that I immediately decided to listen to everything they narrated before this. This made the experience definitely better for me.

The story was also an actual enemies slow burn. There is no "instant lust", but more like simmering feelings and so many unsaid emotions, and unresolved things. Sol and Josh remains full of animosity for each other's for more than 10 chapters. I appreciated it, but after a while... it felt tiring.
My main problem with the novel is that it gets stuck in a cycle of repetition. It has first person alternating double pov, and every time the character speaking had to reintroduce the scene, their feelings, their reactions - look, I was there... the previous chapter...
Not to mention that things were actually repeated. I remember that Josh says three times how much he likes this specific sex position, all three times he explains why and how. It is like the author had no faith in the readers and did not expect us to retain any information at all, so everything had to be introduced multiple times.

The general plot is good, and I loved how mental health, addiction and fear were described. I think under the eternal monologues, there is a really good book.

Just a note on Sol's ADHD and anxiety - I was so amazed by how the book described it. I think the audiobook narration also helped a lot, the inflections of the small frustrations of being stuck, unable to organize, unable to move and start, brain scattering with a thousand thoughts. As someone who has ADHD and anxiety, I never saw a book pinpointing so accurately the kind of ADHD I have. There is a scene where (still around the start) Sol moves into a new house and he is stuck between wanting order and overwhelmed by the new organization, the new house and unable to start, even anxious about the movers being unable to use the elevator while the other movers were using it. That small little elevator comment was so crystal clear in my mind, I felt like I was right there worrying about the same useless thing.

[Kaje Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this author's ability to weave a serious issue into a strong romance. Josh and Sol were teammates, both goalies, and in love, years ago. But Sol began using cocaine to self-medicate, and his addiction spiraled out of control. Eventually, Josh made the ultimate act of both love and self-preservation, and reported Sol's need for rehab. Then he cut and run, for his own sanity.

Sol made it through rehab, and he's clung to his sobriety, sometimes by his fingernails and the grace of his close friends on his team. Josh got married, tried to forget Sol, and is now recently divorced.

Now, both drafted to the same new team, both adrift without the teammates they've left behind, and both coming off bad seasons, they're facing each other with a lot of years between that moment of crisis and now. But there are still a ton of emotions swirling, from competitiveness and old anger, and hurt, to protectiveness and old love, and lust. Top that off with concerns about the easy availability of cocaine in the circles hockey players frequent, and both men are a hot mess.

This book is long, with a lot of internal dialogue and one step forward, two steps back. It felt realistic, and I liked seeing both POVs, the addict and the person who loved them until the drug made it impossible. The romance is pretty slow burn, and then really fast, but their past history makes that believable. There's some good hockey action here too, which helps keep the book from being too dug into the emotional intensity.

[- Pertho - · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a while back so I don‘t fully remember the plot and might have to expand on this after a re-read.

I remember that the plot had some pacing issues at time, or rather that there was this issue building up (Sol not wanting to tell josh about his suspicions of a teammate being a user out of fear that Josh would think he‘d (Sol) started using again or something) that ended up having no real kind of impact and all the characters concerns amounted to nothing.

What really stuck out to me about this book was the way it described what it feels like to love someone in active addiction and what it‘ll do to you and them and your relationship. The guilt over trying to get them to quit, the shame that you can‘t, and the sadness of Substances being chosen over you etc. I‘ve been in that position before and this book brought up a lot of feelings for me, to the point where I had to put it down at times and go have a cigarette and calm down lol.
No seriously, it was well done and I feel the author really did her research and did more than just cobble together a couple of stereotypes.

There are better hockey romances than this, but when it comes to addiction and relationships this book is really up there for me.

(Also the romance was kind of underrepresented in the story, of course not everything needs to be about relationships but if you put it in there you might as well put it in there for real. Them getting back toogether might‘ve just been kinda rushed)

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but will say that the style may not appeal to everyone; it is a long one, and it does have a lot of internal monologue.

I am not always a fan of realism in romance, but it worked well here, both characters had issues with each other, and the way they had left their previous relationship left them with a lot of baggage to unpack, which was the driving romantic plot of this book.

Lots of MM sport romances have either homophobia or being closeted as the main conflict (because it is still unfortunately a huge problem in sports, even today) but I liked that addiction was the conflict in this one.

The addiction was realistically portrayed, especially with its ongoing impact on Sol, even when he was sober. I also liked that it showed the impact on the people around the addict with Josh's storyline.

Although there was not a lot of sugar coating, the book did go with the best case scenario for an addiction storyline, and had a lot of hope in it.

There was some hockey in the story; I am not a hockey fan, and don't know the first thing about how the game works, but the sport was presented in a way I could understand, and I was never lost in the hockey parts of the story.

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprisingly invested in this story. I headed into it thinking it would be another hockey story and a fun read. But something about these 2 MC's really got to me. So much pain and hurt. Facing each other again after a decade is not something either guy wants for any reason. But faced with retiring or being retired from the one thing they both love - hockey - they each need to be better than the other to ensure their place, and their future is safe. Hating each other for the way things ended all those years ago, fuels the drive to be the best. But old demons are always close, and old scars are still raw. I have not read an account of cocaine addiction like this in any other book. It's heart wrenching and confronting and sad and full of anguish for all concerned. It's LA Witt at her finest and I couldn't put it down.

[JennyBuysBooks | Find me on Fable!]

DNF at 47%

I wanted to like this book so much and it had potential but I just couldn’t with the inner monologues. There would be a paragraph of something happening and then pages of the characters thoughts about them and those thoughts weren’t deep. They were just a repeating mess. Like I get it! In this world it would be perfectly normal for a person to ask you a question and for you to stare blankly for 10 minutes while you have your same set of thoughts before answering. The author probably could have turned this book from 450 to 300 pages and NOT LOST ANYTHING!

I hope the one MC stays off coke and I guess I hope he gets together with the other MC? I don’t know. Besides the coke thoughts, I had a hard time differentiating them so I guess I don’t really have big feelings about their future.

[etoile1996 · Rating 4 out of 5]

good story but not enough romance

This was emotional and a really good look at the impacts of addiction from both the point of view of the addict and the people who love them. But because there was so much hurt and bitterness between the MCs, when it finally starts to thaw, it taken hundreds of pages, and then their reunion feels super rushed. Having gone to so much depth with the hard parts of their story, it feels like we got a little cheated on the joyful ones. We don’t really get to see them as a couple until the very very end, which is my problem with slow burns. It was good but I always am left feeling a bit like I got cheated out of the best parts of a romance.

[Cori · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. It took me a while to commit to starting this book as I anticipated a lot of angst and I don't quite do well with that. I've enjoyed other books by this author and assumed both the fact that I like their other work, as well as the hype for this book would lead to an enjoyable read. And that was true! I struggled a bit to get through as I truly don't handle angst well, but the book was well written and the tough subject matter was handled well. It's a good book! Covers important topics and the characters do mature! Will I read it again? No, it's not quite for me. Will I recommend to a friend? Probably!

[Kim BookJunkie ~ Editor & Proofreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of audiobook…

This was my first book by Witt and definitely won’t be the last! BRICK WALLS is not your typical second chance or hockey romance. This incredibly innovative story was heartwarming, entertaining, unpredictable, and sexy as he||! And aside from some repetition (the characters moisten their lips way too often, and we’re told more than once how tall the main characters are), the book was extremely well written! The narrators did a phenomenal job too. Lucky for us, Witt hired two narrators with different sounding voices, making it easy to differentiate between the two male main characters.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I only stuck with this book because it’s about two former Phoenix coyote— I mean firebirds players. Then I realized that it’s actually a really thoughtful reflection on addiction, not just how it influences addicts but those around them. The way Sol experiences ADHD was also very relatable to me. It’s not really a romance as much as it is a book with romance in it, which is probably a huge part of why I liked it so much. Honestly, if it wasn’t in first person it would probably be getting four and a half to five stars. The inner monologue got a little tiring but the author definitely knows puck. With the help of a good editor and maybe a rewrite this could be an all timer.

[yazaleea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the way the book addressed the serious, heavy topic of substance abuse. I don’t know much about it, but it seemed well done, and did a good job to convey the vulnerability and the struggle of addiction.

The romance and the sport aspects were a bit disappointing. The plot dragged on, and there didn’t seem to be much progress. And oh, goodness the writing was very repetitive. I feel like every scene happened at least 3 times throughout the book, using the exact same wordings at different times.

Other than that, it was an OK read!

[Bookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how the whole love story was explained and even the ups and downs of being in a relationship with someone who is an addict and even the aftermath of that. I also liked how Josh understood that he was taking back someone who was an addict and also understood how addiction works and how difficult it could get because most authors who write about recovering addicts second chance romance don't know how to write the main character who is taking back the addict. It also had a perfect storyline 5/5!!!

[Manon Lavoie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm struggling to rate this book.
First, I think Sol's addiction to cocaine was very well done and it made us feel how difficult it is to stay sober. I really appreciated that.
But, there were some things that annoyed me. Josh was such an asshole with Sol. Telling him he was an addict who couldn't be trusted. Also, the part where they just tolerate one another is just so long and repetitive.
I had a hard time knowing who was who. Two goalers in the same team as the two MCs. Kept mixing them up !!!
All in all, it was good but nothing remarkable.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story: 3.25/5.0
Narration: 4.5/5.0

This book has me divided. The first half dragged. I knew this was a book about addiction, and I appreciate the author giving it the weight it deserves. But it was bogged down and repetitive in the first half. The point could have been made just as thoroughly with less pages. It really didn’t feel like a romance until 2/3rds of the way in. The second half of the book picked up and was far more interesting in terms of the plot and enjoyable.

Narration was excellent from Winters and Ferrauiolo.

[Shelly Cerullo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm now understanding the reviews that this book didn't quite know what it wanted to be. I think it actually would have been way stronger if Witt had decided to not do her usual dual POV romance and instead focus on Sol and Axel for the A plot and Sol and Josh for the B plot, instead of the other way around. As it is, I did really enjoy this book, but it felt like something was missing, and honestly that something was a continuous sense of urgency around Axel. Absolutely not a bad book! Just probably needed a few rewrites is all.

[Didi Ps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sol needs to try to stay sober in order to get his career back on track. Josh is an unrestricted free agent, & no one wants to give him a contract, following an injury & a bad divorce. After many years of silence, they’re now on the same team, & their connection ends up being reignited after many years apart… Hopefully they can bring out the best in one another, both personally & on the ice.

Great story, loved the ending. Love this author. <3

[Marie Patton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! One of the Best Stories!

I’ve had my eye on this story for awhile but due to my dyslexia, I was so excited to finally see an audiobook had been released for it. I immediately purchased the ebook and audiobook and read it in one day. While the story deals with very serious issues, it the love story that draws you in and keeps you rooting for the two MCs. I give this higher than 5 stars if they were available. A definite must read.

[Lidia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I liked the story and the main characters Josh and Sol, but I think that it's a bit long, few dialogues to so much interior thinking by the protagonists. The topic of addiction is serious one and the author have write about with competence. Last there the hockey and for me that didn't know very much is been hard follow the parts described.

[G_occasionally_reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

You are in for:
🧱 MM sports romance
🧱 second-chance
🧱 teammates to lovers
🧱 dual POV
🧱 Emotional scars and redemption
🧱 CW: substance abuse (on page); psychological manipulation/gaslighting

I wished I liked it more, but I ended up skipping a page (or 3) here and there cause it was so repetitive and the two MCs seemed to be quite toxic for each other in the first 1/2 of the book

[Shaztwirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great Story

Great story, dealing brilliantly with some heavy subject matter. But it was very heavy on the introspective, enough that I ended up skinning paragraphs at a time just to get through it quicker.

[Nina Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emotional read

This book caught me by surprise. I loved the story of addiction told through 2 vantage points - the addict and the people who love them. All woven together into a sports romance novel. This book gave me a lot to think about.