The Husband Game

Relationship Goals #1

by Brigham Vaughn

Dustin Fowler Wed in Secret Vegas Ceremony – Partner’s Identity Remains a Mystery

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Or does it?

Toronto Fisher Cats ice hockey team captain Dustin Fowler attended the NHL awards and came home with more than the Ted Lindsay Award.

A cryptic social media post from the hockey center himself revealed that he was wed in a secret ceremony in Las Vegas this past weekend.

His caption stating, “Sorry, ladies, Toronto’s most eligible bachelor just went off the market. I married my kitten tonight and I’ve never been happier,” sent tongues wagging across the league.

But who is “Kitten”?

Without verification from either the team’s head office or the new groom, rumors swirl about exactly who Fowler’s partner is.

Speculation ranges from pop singers, to influencers, to actresses and models, but in a surprising twist, a credible source from within the organization suggests that “Kitten” is none other than retired men’s figure skating champion Charlie Monaghan.

Neither athlete has been linked to dating anyone in recent history.

Fan reactions vary from shocked disbelief to wholehearted support but without official confirmation, gossip continues to fly.

We here at JockGossip would like to offer our warmest congratulations to the newlyweds.

Genres: M M Romance, Hockey, Sports, Romance, Sports Romance, LGBT, Contemporary

554 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 30, 2023

About the author

Brigham Vaughn is on the adventure of a lifetime as a full-time writer. She devours books at an alarming rate and hasn’t let her short arms and long torso stop her from doing yoga. She makes a killer key lime pie, hates green peppers, and loves wine tasting tours. A collector of vintage Nancy Drew books and green glassware, she enjoys poking around in antique shops and refinishing thrift store furniture. An avid photographer, she dreams of traveling the world and she can’t wait to discover everything else life has to offer her.

Reviews

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved revisiting this story world, but I think this book was maybe 100 pages too long.

Really enjoyed Charlie and Dustin together and the way their relationship grew, but there was just a lot of repetition that made it feel dragged out for such a big portion of the book. Weirdly it then felt really rushed in the last few chapters where things were coming to a head!

I think if the pacing was just slightly changed there would have been more impact with the more emotional aspects like Charlie's parents and the reveal of Charlie's health issues and Dustin's self-doubts, but by then I was kind of ready to be done so it didn't affect me as much as I would have liked.

Looking forward to Nico's book though, and I enjoyed the additional world building specific to the Toronto team - trying to make my guesses of who will have books!

[ML · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ll write this review as I read the book. First observation is this book is WAY too long. Certain situations get repeated often and the minutiae of daily life gets tiresome. The off page sex at the very beginning is also off putting. I’m at 43%/pg 251 and there’s been no on page sex of any kind. Just fyi. That would be fine if the story was going somewhere but I’m bored and I want something to finally happen or I’m putting a pin in this book and coming back to it much later. Ugh 😑

Ok finally they have sex sober and not after a Vegas sham wedding. It wasn’t as hot as I thought it should be probably because the build up was so much. Charlie in lingerie was hot. The sex was a bit rushed and THEN the fact that Charlie topped Dustin was completely glossed over it felt more like off page sex than on page sex. Meh. I have higher expectations for hockey books and usually this author delivers but unfortunately not here AND I still have 300 more pages to read 😵‍💫
Time to skim…

The sex scene by the pool was what I was hoping for in their first sex scene together after marriage. I guess better late than never.

Page 369/64% and Charlie still hasn’t told Dustin about his eating disorder. Dustin has given him ample opportunities to do so but Charlie really trusts no one. It’s super sad and depressing. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop at this point and have them break up. Dustin is doing all the right things but with an unwilling partner he will never get the relationship he wants in Charlie. Who practically has one foot out the door already. Charlie wonders why his relationships never work out. He needs to look in the mirror. The way he treats Dustin is not exactly making him endearing to the reading audience. Tbh I can’t believe I’m still reading this over bloated book. I guess I’m waiting to see the train wreck that is coming. 😵‍💫😵‍💫

The train wreck never comes…they FINALLY admit their feeling for one another in a truly beautiful way which saves this book from being 1 star ⭐️. BUT this book is still way too long and the next character to get a book I kinda loathe SO I think I’m one and done on this series unless Matty gets a book. If it’s over 500 pages, I’ll pass on him too 😑😑.

[BookSafety Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book safety, content warnings, and tropes down below.

This was pretty good! I finished the book quickly, which is a good sign considering how long it is. It was a relief reading a hockey romance where you can tell the author actually knows what they’re talking about, even if it was light on the sports.

I really enjoyed both MCs. Charlie especially was a lovely, complex character that felt super genuine. I think it’s the first time I’ve read something with a character trying to avoid casual sex because they’ve previously engaged in it for the wrong reasons/it being harmful for their mental health. It was very lovely to see him eventually have a better relationship with sex and, well, relationships.

Although I sometimes enjoy arranged marriage/woke up married/fake relationship books, sometimes it annoys me? I think the parts that those who love the trope enjoy most, is the parts I ‘dislike’. I just get impatient and annoyed when people are in a fake relationship and there is very obviously real feelings on both sides, yet they spend half the book worrying about just that and not saying anything. To be fair it wasn’t super bad in this one, but still, lol. I just wanna yell ‘JUST TELL HIM ALREADY, DUMBASS’. Anyway tho, their relationship was adorable and the growing love was sweet and realistic.

I do think it’s longer than necessary, literally no romance book without external plot needs to be nearly 600 pages, but it was still enjoyable. There was a fair amount of telling and not showing which really pulled me out of the story sometimes because it suddenly felt so impersonal. Sort of recaps of things that have happened or telling what *just* happened instead of using two sentences to show it happening just really grinds my gears after a while.

Anyway. I obviously still enjoyed, and I thought Charlie’s anorexia was handled well. I’m not sure if I’m excited about the next book or if I’m gonna run in the other direction.

⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️

⚠️ Tropes & content tags ⚠️
Woke up married
Hockey player
Retired figure skater
Eating disorder rep
Lace and lingerie
Femme MC
Fake marriage
Makeup and high heels
Age gap
Multiple orgasms
Flip-fucking

⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Alcohol consumption
Disordered eating
Explicit sexual content
Details of anorexia and excessive exercise
SC driving drunk off page
SC with drinking problem
Neglect and abuse by parent (encouraging disordered eating, etc.)
Mentions of past hospitalization because of ED
Parent commenting on MC’s body and weight (on page)
Brief mention of past stalking and sexual harassment

⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No
Breakup: No
POV: 3rd person, dual
Genre: Contemporary romance
Pairing: M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Versatile
Main characters’ age: Not specified
Series: Interconnected standalone
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Pages: 575
Happy ending: Yes


“Ehh, a piece of paper and some jewelry isn’t what makes a relationship a marriage. It’s … it’s looking at someone like your heart is walking around outside your body. […]”

“Let me love you, Charlie.” Dustin leaned in and whispered against his temple. “Stay with me after this year is up and build a future with me. Please. Let me love you the way you deserve to be loved.”

“You didn’t fuck me last night,” he said with a pout. “I’m feeling needy.” “I don’t have sex with people who are on the verge of passing out. Even if I am married to them.” “Did I ever tell you your thoughtfulness makes me horny?”



You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?...

[Jane aka Coughy019 (Safety info included) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tropes: fake relationship, accidental marriage
Feels: 5/5
Steam*: 4/5
Kinks: lingerie kink
Angst: low
HEA: yes
Pairing: MM
Triggers/potential icks/content themes: eating disorder, abusive parent, mental health, minor character DUI, homophobia

4.5 stars

Charlie is a retired figure skater. He retired at 20 because his mother and his career gave him an eating disorder that nearly killed him. Because he was not healthy, he was using hookups for validation and it was hindering his recovery from his eating disorder. Charlie is gay and he likes to express his feminine and masculine sides, he loves not conforming with his fashion choices and just wearing what makes him feel confident and beautiful. He's a really well written character, I'm glad he didn't come off as fetishized like I have seen some other femme characters in books.

Dustin is an NHL player. He's captain of his team and he struggles a lot with being a supportive as he can of his teammates, he wants to be a good leader. He wants to improve the league. He volunteers and he's trying to get past a code of conduct. He is bisexual but he hasn't been public about it to the general public. He's out to everybody that matters.

I read this book as a standalone. But I get the impression the characters have appeared in other series that are interconnected by this author. There are references to them having interacted in the past but we meet these characters when they wake up married after a drunken night out with friends in Vegas. I have to say at first I was very disappointed because those little references to past interactions implied that they had a lot of banter going on between them and that Charlie was being a bit of a gremlin maybe denying Dustin's attempts to flirt. And them giving in and having a sex Marathon like they did after getting married would have been quite a thing to read. To me it felt like there was hints at such potential and we were deprived by having that glazed over. But then as the book developed I completely got that the tone of relationship development, and the story that the author wanted to tell was a lot more slow burn and soft feelings, so that wouldn't necessarily have fit in.

Anyway they get married and decide to stay married for a year to protect Dustin's reputation especially given the code of conduct he's trying to get passed. Charlie agrees for financial reasons because he owes some debts for his medical and rehab expenses from his eating disorder. They fall in love as they spend more time with each other. Dustin is really a golden retriever type of guy, he's just so kind and giving and loyal. So patient. He's just what Charlie needs. And he's so in love with Charlie. Everything about Charlie is perfect to him. Charlie isn't as quick to fall but as he gets to know Dustin he realizes what a great person Dustin is and he loves him for who he is and the kind of supportive partner he is.

I liked this book. I thought it was a really well told story. It was more slow burn than I would have liked but there was a lot of depth to the story with the plot and the character development and the love was so strong between these guys. You can really imagine them having a forever type of relationship.

Some notable moments:

"“But I meant what I said. I think you’re amazing, just the way you are. I don’t want you to change anything except for how you feel about yourself.”"

"“You don’t have to say anything yet if you don’t want,” Dustin assured him. “Honest. We have a long time before our year of marriage is up. I … I needed to tell you how I feel though. I want you to know the kind of future I see with you. I don’t want a year with you. I want decades. A lifetime. As long as you’ll give me.”"

*FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink.

**Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers.

[Ky · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Husband Game took the wake up married trope gave it a slightly different twist and run with it.

Dustin is an NHL player for Toronto and Charlie is an ex-figure skater turned interior designer working for a firm in Chicago. They know each other through mutual friends but don't have any other connections.

When they meet in Las Vegas and embark on a fun night of drinking they don't expect to wake up the next morning married and with everyone knowing about it because they drunkenly decided to announce it through social media.

For many reasons they decide the best course of action is to stay married for a year and act like it's a real marriage.

The storyline spans a few months with Charlie and Dustin navigating their new reality and learning to live together and be in a relationship.

How fake it is though is up for debate.

I liked the story and the MCs. Dustin was a sweetheart, always looking out for Charlie and trying to be there for him and make him happy. Charlie was a lot more that what he appeared at first glance. He had a lot of struggles in his past and in his present and he needed a strong support system to be there for him but he was reluctant to open up or ask for help.

The book felt a little too long at times, with scenes stretching out when they could have been shorter. There were a lot of secondary characters and I couldn't always remember which position they played or what was their backstory or who was their partner.

However, I did appreciate the way the author devided to clue us in in events from previous books, which was in the form of conversations instead of endless internal monologs. I read this as a standalone and was able to follow along just fine despite cameos from past characters and mentions of past events.

There are a few secondary characters that I'm curious about their stories and I hope we'll get them. I know Nico is next but I hope Felix will also get a story of his own.


~ I read an ARC of this book. ~

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The romantic story of Charlie and Dustin is really lovely and there was a lot I liked about it but you’ve got to slog through the appearances of about 6 couples from the previous series and a bunch more introductions to future books In this series. It’s a bit exhausting and makes this book drag especially in the beginning but if you can get through that then the romance and storyline is quite satisfying.

Pros : eating disorder represented really well. It does seem that a vast majority of Charlie experiencing this occurs in a book in another series and this is mostly about his long term recovery. Charlie seems to have a lot of back story in the other book (Unwritten Rules) which I haven’t read.

Figure skating - Charlie is a retired figure skater and I’ve always loved this sport so the glimpses of this were so good.

Fun fake marriage/waking up In Vegas married trope - the relationship development was really nicely done and actually quite believable after the crazy way it started.

Cons: a bit long. This looks like it’s own series but it’s set in the same world as another series which has 6 books in it and all those people seems to feature here. Being as this is the first in a new series there is set up for a bunch of new couples. This made for a lot of name dropping, info dumping about characters and details about people I knew nothing about. I ended up skimming the stuff on existing couples and just paying attention to the actual couple and a few future people and this worked well. For those who have read the other series this would probably be great.

There was so much detail in this but it irked me when the one thing it didn’t include was the family skate event that is mentioned quite early, I thought this would be interesting seeing Charlie faced with being on the ice with Dustin’s team and everyone else there but after initial mentions this never eventuated. I’m glad the epilogue included what it did.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up

[Iz]

First DNF of the year? Ugh. TOD: 31%
A shame since I've loved a few of this author's books.
Anyway, it's too long and a smidge shallow. I'm very picky with my contemporary romances (and my hockey ones too, I think; when did that happen?), and the MCs aren't leaving much of an impression. I'd hoped, since it deals with a couple of tough themes, that the book would have a smidge more heft, but yeah, nope. Like I said, I've become very picky.
I usually don't write reviews for DNFs, but I need to remind future me that I gave this one a try and that, despite the appealing blurbs, I doubt the rest will work for me.

On the other hand, does any one have any romance recs with good eating disorder rep to give me? *pretty please* I'm the mood for a tough book.

[BWT · Rating 4 out of 5]

😍

'The Husband Game' is really sweet, there's really good relationship development, and surprisingly little drama considering everything that happens. I really like the characters, the only reason I'm not rating this higher is I often felt out of step. Even though this is the first in a series I constantly felt like this is actually a spin off from a different series I probably should've read before starting. I was easily able to keep up and catch up, but it kept me wondering consistently how much backstory I was missing. I'll definitely be checking out the next in the series to see what Nico gets up to with his sexy ref.

3.5 stars rounded up.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 star

DNF at 3%

I don’t like when books try to make gay couples fit into typical male / female roles. Just within the first few pages, we’ve got one character that is a sassy figure skater that wears lace underwear and diamond rings and bottoms, and another character that is a masculine hockey player that wears typical men’s underwear and wedding rings and tops. It’s not that I have a problem with feminine men, it’s more that I have a problem when authors make one gay character feminine so the relationship can be heteronormative. No thanks.

[Alex (HEABookNerd) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so excited for this spin-off series and THE HUSBAND GAME starts off with a bang! We met both Charlie and Dustin in the previous series, RULES OF THE GAME, and now we get to see the aftermath of their drunken Vegas wedding. I absolutely adored these two together! Things may start out as a fake marriage but from the very beginning Dustin was all in and I loved him so much. Dustin is a complete husband guy -- he loves being married, he adores everything about Charlie, and I was swooning at the way Dustin always supported and encouraged Charlie to be exactly who he was. Dustin never wanted to take Charlie for granted or dim his light. Dustin absolutely made THE HUSBAND GAME for me.

I also loved Charlie and his bright and shining personality. Charlie's wary of a relationship and trusting Dustin but he soon comes to appreciate the loyal, sweet, and all around nice guy that Dustin is. Charlie has a lot on his plate as he adjusts to the fake marriage, moving to Toronto, and keeping himself healthy as a recovering anorexic. I was so happy to see how Charlie found his place in Toronto and even became friends with some of the other guys on the team as well as some of the other WAGs.

There's not a ton of hockey in THE HUSBAND GAME because it takes place in the off season, but I think that actually works for the book because Charlie and Dustin needed time together and Charlie would have never connected with Dustin as much if Dustin was always traveling for away games and completely focused on hockey. But even though there's not as much hockey there's a lot of the Toronto Fisher Cats team and I loved how cohesive and caring the whole team was. Everyone was so open and I can't wait to see what this team gets up to as the series goes on.

Content Warning: toxic mother; frequent discussion and therapy around an eating disorder; past hospitalization and current moments of disordered eating; side character struggling with a drinking problem

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Connected Series
1. Rules of the Game
2. Relationship Goals
3. Scoring Chances

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Favorite Quotes:

Dustin hadn’t pushed Charlie to be anything at all. He didn’t seem to want Charlie to be anyone but himself. He seemed to delight in everything Charlie did, watching him with wide-eyed wonder like he was just pleased Charlie was there.

Like nothing about him could ever be too much.

- - - - -

“I know this eating disorder, it’s your fight. I can’t fight it for you. But if you’ll let me, I can have your back while you go to battle.”

- - - - -

“Ehh, a piece of paper and some jewelry isn’t what makes a relationship a marriage. It’s … it’s looking at someone like your heart is walking around outside your body. It’s exactly the way he looks at you, like he’s dumbstruck you even exist and he’d do anything to keep you.”

[Caz · Rating 4 out of 5]

B / 4 stars

I picked up book two in the Relationship Goals series ( The Head Game ) late last year and enjoyed the author’s style and different take on the fake-relationship trope, so I decided to make my way through the rest of the series – which has a fake relationship theme running throughout.

The Husband Game is book one, and is a ‘wake-up married’ romance between Dustin Fowler, captain of the Toronto Fisher Cats hockey team and Charlie Monaghan, a former Olympic figure skating champion, who have known each other vaguely for a while and have a knack for needling each other. A drunken night partying in Las Vegas leads to a hasty wedding and energetic wedding night – and secrecy and a quickie divorce isn’t an option. Dustin has a reputation for being solid, dependable and squeaky clean and has never caused a single scandal, so a whirlwind marriage and whirlwind divorce aren’t going to look great for him. More importantly, he’s currently involved in negotiations for a new, better NHLPA code of conduct in the wake of the exposure of some seriously underhanded dealings by a former player (which I presume happened in the earlier Rules of the Game series) and his opponents will use anything they can – like a hasty drunken marriage and an equally hasty divorce - against him to undermine everything he’s done to support it. There’s no easy way to undo the marriage, but Dustin’s agent and the team PR guru have a suggestion; they can sell it as the romantic – if rather rushed – outcome to Dustin and Charlie’s existing but secret romance if they’ll both play ball.

Charlie is not happy about any of it. His past is littered with bad decisions and getting drunk with Dustin is yet another one – and he’s been working so hard to get his life back on track following his retirement from skating and treatment for an eating disorder. He doesn’t want to risk his recovery by making such big changes to his life, but also recognises how badly things could go for Dustin if he refuses to go along with the plan. He reluctantly agrees, and Dustin, knowing that Charlie is uprooting his entire life for him, determines to make the year as good for Charlie as he can.

So they agree to fake it, Charlie moves to Toronto and the pair sets about selling their love story. Dustin doesn’t find it too difficult at all – he’s already pretty smitten and would like nothing more than for Charlie to realise he wants to stick around when the year is up. But it’s a lot of upheaval for Charlie, who is a recovering anorexic and reluctant to tell Dustin about his eating disorder, mostly because he kind of likes having someone in his life who doesn’t know what a mess he is and because he wants this “ridiculous marriage” to be his chance to get away from his past.

Dustin is your big, golden retriever type - kind, patient, loving and loyal, and is head-over-heels for Charlie almost from the beginning, although it takes Charlie a bit longer to get there and realise that Dustin is the perfect man for him. Charlie is his opposite in many ways – he’s a firecracker and a real force of nature, but they have excellent chemistry and Dustin is unequivocally Team Charlie all the way – he adores everything about him and makes sure Charlie knows it, encouraging him to be exactly who he is. Their romance is nicely done, and although Charlie is a bit waspish and wary to start with, they soon settle into an easy companionship and domesticity where they take care of one another in lots of little ways.

There’s a lively secondary cast of team-mates (past and present – Charlie’s best friend is one of the leads in Unwritten Rules , Rules of the Game #4) and I appreciated the way the author includes the details a new reader might need to know without long inner monologues or info-dumps, making this easy to read as a standalone. Charlie’s health issues are incorporated naturally and sensitively into the story, although I would have liked him to have come clean with Dustin earlier, especially as he knows that Dustin will be nothing other than non-judgmental and supportve. In fact my main criticism of the book as a whole is that it’s a bit too long and some things are unnecessarily stretched out. But the central love story is really well done; I liked watching Dustin and Charlie learning to fit into each others lives so naturally and was happy to see Charlie finding his place in life - in Toronto and with Dustin.

I liked Dustin and Charlie as a couple and there was no question in my mind by the end that these two would make it long-term, which is how I always want to feel at the end of a romance. I enjoyed The Husband Game and hope I can find the time to read the other books in the series in the not too distant future.

[Dani (Daniiireads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“𝐄𝐡𝐡, 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐣𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚���𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 … 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞’𝐝 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”

- ex figure skater + pro hockey player
- wake up married
- frenemies (ish) to lovers

CW: MC has eating disorder/in recovery

Dustin Fowler left Vegas with more than just a Ted Lindsay Award, he also has a brand new husband—former figure skating champion, Charlie Monaghan.

The basis of their relationship prior to their spontaneous nuptials has been nothing but snarky banter and hate flirting, and now the pair find themselves tied together for the next year.

“𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞’𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐧.” 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡. “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.” “𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞,” 𝐃𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝. “𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨.”

These two absolutely killed me! I loved them so much! Dustin is such an amazing and supportive husband, and I loved that he took everything at Charlie’s pace!

[The Secret Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5
Steam: 3
PoV: dual, 3rd person
Genre: sport romance, MM
Tropes / tags: accidental marriage, hurt / comfort, size difference


I ended up reading this book in one siting - I totally fell in love with this story and the characters right from the start and just couldn’t put it down. I really needed Charlie to get his happy ending after everything he’d been through…

These two together made for quite the story, - they were opposites in a lot of ways, but absolutely perfect for each other. Dustin was such a genuine and kind character, he was so thoughtful and respectful of Charlie and I completely adored him. Charlie on the other hand was a firecracker, and I loved how fierce he was. He’d been through a lot and I felt so much for him, it was definitely hard to read about his struggles and seeing him keeping secrets from Dustin.

Despite them having a ton of chemistry and their early marriage, their story was a bit of a slow burn. It made sense and I loved seeing them getting to know each other, with Charlie slowly realising that Dustin genuinely was a nice guy that cared about him. There was quite a lot of dialogues throughout the story, and I really enjoyed the more in-depth conversations between the characters and the insights they brought.

The Husband Game was a fantastic read, and an amazing start of a new series. The balance between romance and hockey was great, and I loved the found family team feeling and the time spent with Dustin on the ice.

If you like the woke up married trope and/or hockey romances, you really don’t want to miss this one!

(Please be aware that there are some potentially triggering subjects present, so be sure to check the trigger warnings before reading.)

-
I received a complimentary copy of this book, and these are my honest thoughts and opinions.

[Nina]

Dnf at 42%

Definitely more of a me problem than the book! I just wasn’t vibing with low angst, slow burn, and all the green flags. What I read was very sweet and I don’t think I’ve read a book with a mmc who was more of a green flag all around, but I just wasn’t in the mood for green flags and sweet, I guess.

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book proves that a longer book doesn’t mean more story, it just means more words. This was twice as long as it should’ve been and it still would’ve been 270 pages!!

There were moments that weren’t just unnecessary but tone deaf. The scene when Charlie was talking with one of the hockey wives discussing the players sexualities, Charlie’s eating disorder announcement at a game after he just met Dustin’s family and then the sister dropping the “I know what your going thru because my friend died because of her ED.” These three scenes were handled so poorly.

I also really didn’t care for the way the relationship between Charlie and his parents was handled. It felt too surface and nothing that would be enough for a freaking restraining order. Charlie read as a victim the whole book so I never warmed up to him. Meanwhile, Dustin was basically perfect.

This was a total snooze. Not an author I’ll pick up again.

[Monikat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to read Charlie and Dustin's book so much!! I'm really into the LV drunk wedding and forced staying married.
I enjoyed this book a lot.
The anorexia issues and inner thoughts and Charlie's behavior and ultimate getting better going through therapy is very well written, researched and thought out.
But....
Thoughts as I was reading...
I have issues with this book.
I really don't get why Charlie cannot see what is right in front of him. Treating the marriage as a 'test run' for a 'real' relationship is so near sighted and insulting and totally uncool for me as a reader.
At 57% of this story and although the sexy parts are extraordinary, the rest of the story is sluggish and very low beat. The loud, colorful Charlie we know and love feels tame and tampered down. And their relationship and cohabitation feels too easy and dare I say vanilla. BV usually does this in her books amping up the drama towards the latter part of the book, but for right now it feels like I'm falling out of love with these characters.
At 70% Slowly burning, slow burn.
And then the drama, the outcome and a freaking gorgeous epilogue.
Loved it.

[Alix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook update: This is narrated by James Edward Jones and he is a new-to-me narrator but I'm looking forward to hearing more from him. He was a very pleasant voice and the cadence improved further into the narrative. I think he did an especially nice job with the smutty parts, but also with the female voices - Birdie, for example, sounded very natural and she's there a decent amount, it's nice to have a male narrator succeed with female voices as well. Most importantly, though, I always knew whether it was Dustin or Charlie. I had previously read this book about 9 months ago and it was great to revisit via audiobook! Can't wait to listen to the rest of this series!


Dustin and Charlie wake up in Vegas one day to find out they're married! This is a surprise to everyone around them - including them because they've never even been on a date before, though they have interacted multiple times thanks to having friends who are in a relationship. From this beginning we can see that Dustin is super attracted to Charlie and that Charlie has a lot of insecurities as well as some significant mental health and physical health issues he is working through, though he keeps all of this from Dustin. Charlie is adorable and has such a stunning sense of style - he wears makeup and heels and wears all kinds of beautiful clothing, including lacy undergarments. Dustin appreciates all of this. Charlie's sense of style also applies in his choice of work, now that he's retired from figure skating. As a former skater, Charlie understands more than most the needs of Dustin's hockey career and it gives them a base from which to grow what started as a fake marriage into something more - at least that's what Dustin clearly wants. Charlie is unsure about all, though he is attracted to Dustin in return. All of this provides quite a bit tension as they navigate their fake married life under the watchful eye of the media, Dustin's team, and all of their friends. There is also a lot of tension because Charlie has been keeping a lot of secrets from Dustin about his mental health, personal struggles, and family drama. I love how Charlie finds a place for himself in Toronto as well as finding sources of support. The attraction between Charlie and Dustin is never in doubt and the spice is hot! They go through a lot of give and take until they get to their HEA.

This is the first book in the Relationship Goals series and I LOVE this series! Dustin and Charlie are side characters in the previous series from which this is a spinoff (I haven't read that series) but this can be read as a standalone. It's pretty clear that some side characters that are discussed at the very beginning have a big history (so I was curious about them), but it doesn't really impact the ability to appreciate this couple for itself. However, there is a lot of info about characters from the other series and future books, so there is a lot to process and parts of this book feel a bit unwieldy (probably because it's a series starter). The author writes Canadian hockey well!!

I do love these characters and look forward to seeing them in future books! Charlie in particular is a fave of mine! I can't wait for the rest of the series.

[Edga · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be one of the sweetest love stories I've ever read. The way in which Charlie and Dustin loved one another was prodigious and all encompassing. It was how love should be. I became totally immersed in their story. It tells of the harrowing and agonising effect of anorexia on an individual, and is a brutally honest and mind-opening account. Despite the subject matter, the narrative is beautifully punctuated with wit, colourful characters and a sense of love triumphing throughout . The story's central theme for me was the feeling of love between friends, between parents, between lovers, but most importantly the overarching and unconditional love between Charlie and Dustin, they're perfect together. It's such a gorgeous story. I adored how Dustin dealt with Charlie, always believing in him and building him up. Also, Charlie showed in many ways how much he loved and cared for Dustin, allowing him to be himself and also allowing him to cut himself some slack, realising he didn't always need to be perfect. What a beautiful tale, can't wait for the next book in the series.

After listening to the audible, I loved this story even more. James Edward Jones does a cracking job bringing Dustin and Charlie 's story to life. Their emotions and growing relationship leapt from the page, highly recommended.

[K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I didn't like Charlie at all. It was all about Charlie. All the time. I like this trope, but it went sideways so soon and I was like wait a minute, I'm supposed to like Charlie? Charlie demanded and was granted huge sums of money the next day after marrying, so that he would play Dustin's wife, whoops that is husband for a year. My second big issue with this book was that it felt awful lot like MF pretending to be MM. The money issue, cooking, wearing those lace underwear and cocktail dresses and pretty makeup. Everyone always commenting how gorgeous Charlie is. MF would have felt more natural here because Charlie was supposed to be a man, but he was written as a stereotypical woman. Maybe I'm wrong here, but that book just didn't read like MM book. I think it would be fine for authors to not make every character gay. You can have MF couple as well in a series.
Dustin was great though. He deserved better.

[Imanewreader ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh we love an extravagant gay and joke that just match each other's freak !!

the we "hate" each other intense sexual tension turned we got wasted and married in vegas was on point. them living together and learning more about each other and falling beyong their attraction was great !
i had so much fun reading it.

[Colleen (colleenreads40) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 ⭐

The Husband Game is the first book in Brigham Vaughn's Relationship Goals series. Although it's a spinoff of her Rules of the Game series, you can enjoy The Husband Game without having read that series (although I'm definitely planning to go back and read those at some point). Here's what you can expect from Dustin and Charlie:

💚 MM contemporary romance
💚 Third person dual point of view
💚 Guaranteed happily ever after
💚 Hockey romance
💚 Hockey player and retired figure skater
💚 Waking up married in Vegas
💚 Eating disorder representation
💚 Lingerie
💚 Found family

As always, ensure you review the content and trigger warnings to decide if this book is right for you. Note that this list of warnings and triggers may be incomplete. Please take care of yourself while reading. Contains scenes and frank discussions of eating disorders (anorexia) and past parental abuse/neglect.

I originally did an advanced review copy of this book, and loved it! Now that the entire series is available, I'm starting from the beginning so I can enjoy them in order and decided to take this opportunity to update my review.

This book is awesome! It's such a great blend of emotion, romance, steam, and some ridiculous hockey player antics (in the best way possible). Don't let the long page count intimidate you. If you're a fan of hockey romance and don't mind lots of dialogue and details, I think you'll love this book. The book dives straight into things in the first chapter when Dustin, captain of the Toronto Fisher Cats professional hockey team, wakes up in bed and realize him and ex-figure skater Charlie drunkenly got married the night before. Cue the public relations nightmare. Of course, they decide to stay married which forces Charlie to relocate his entire life from Chicago to Toronto.

Watching Dustin and Charlie's relationship develop from the first chapter was something special. Dustin and Charlie have only met a few times prior to their drunken marriage, but sparks flew each and every time. Dustin's never been one to settle down, and Charlie's last relationship ended and triggered a major setback with his recovery from anorexia. Dustin is hoping that them staying married for the year they've agreed to might actually end up in a proper happily ever after for them, however, Charlie's not so convinced. As they settle into life in Toronto together, they fall into habits. I loved watching this aspect of their relationship grow. Although sex is off the table at first, when they decide to engage in it, phew, Brigham delivered some very steamy scenes that will fog your Kindle right up! It was a bit frustrating that neither of them wanted to admit they wanted to stay together, but eventually they both get with the program.

I loved both their characters. Dustin is a great captain, and all his guys love him (and his teammates made awesome additions to this story, I laughed out loud when Matt crawled into bed with them) but he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. Charlie's a fighter, and his confidence was really inspiring. I really appreciated how Brigham handled Charlie's eating disorder. It's not an easy topic, but the way food is so interspersed in our lives? It becomes something Charlie's forced to think about endlessly. I love that he found an amazing therapist in Toronto, and worked with her while learning to trust Dustin. Dustin is definitely top-tier boyfriend material, and I adored how fiercely protective and appreciative he was of Charlie. As always, the hockey action in this book was lots of fun and overall, this is just an enjoyable read. Great representation with lots of communication and boundaries, and I can't wait to continue reading the series and seeing all our favourite guys get their happily ever after.

[✰ BJ's Book Blog ✰Janeane ✰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Copy received from Neon Rainbow Reviews for an honest review

Another wonderful story from a new to me author.

I truly do love a Vegas-wedding-fake-marriage-they-fall-in-love story. I mean really, what could go wrong?

I loved that Dustin and Charlie weren't just strangers, they had some history, even if it was quite limited.

The story also deals with issues of mental illness/eating disorders and family issues, and Vaughn does so with tact and empathy.

To me, the fact that getting married isn't the be all and end all for our lovelies. It doesn't miraculously fix all of their issues. Their relationship grows, it has it's ups and downs, is at times just plain mundane. But it is the way they work on themselves, on their friendship and their relationship that made my heart soar.

I have these wonderful images in my head of Charlie, I would love to see the author's visions for him. I kind of picture him as Adam Ripon-ish, with an faaaabulous sense of style.

I enjoyed the friendships with the other Fisher Cats, and look forward to more of their stories in the future.

What a way to start my journey with Brigham Vaughn, can't wait to see where they take me next.

[Molly Otto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well that was a ride

This was my first book by Bringham, and wow, was it worth the heartache! They handle recovering from an eating disorder masterfully it's not easy, its a slow life long process to be your best self. You need a support system, you will have setbacks, and that's okay cause that's how life goes.
This trope generally is not one of my favorites, but the way their relationship builds over time from friendship to so much more is just beautiful. Dustin is so beautiful and supportive of Charlie to show him he can be loved even when his family fails him. It's a beautiful read, and I look forward to more from this author.

[Lady Lauren Explorer · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5!

Very cute and loved the relationship between them.

It was also very nice to see how the ED was handled in the story.

I absolutely loved both of them together and how their qualities fit each other. At times, it was so emotional that you just teared up because of the writing in Howell in depth, it made you feel, or I should say myself.

I would definitely recommend end, I will be buying the physical and I also want to read the next book because Nico sounds right up my alley as well!!

[crabapple · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this universe and was happy to see another book added. I was in a bit of a reading slump after some good ones and this pulled me back in, Vegas wedding and all (I’ve kind of grown tired of that trope). Retired Olympic figure skater Charlie and hockey star Dustin and pretty cute together and a bit swoon worthy.
TW: eating disorder — I will say, this is one of the best descriptions and handling of an ED that I’ve read and I appreciated that.

[Alyssa (hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Brittany De Sousa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was pure perfection!

Charlie and Dustin wake up in bed together after getting very drunk in Vegas. And surprise! They’re married. Dustin has had feelings for Charlie since day one, but Charlie wants nothing to do with him. Due to Dustin being a big-shot in the NHL, and due to them announcing their wedding on social media, they work out a deal to pretend they’re married in public for the next year.

Charlie’s main concern about this is that he is a recovering anorexic, and his entire support system is in Chicago. He moved to Toronto to be with Dustin, who doesn’t know about his eating disorder. Charlie is very good at communicating boundaries with Dustin, and Dustin respects every single one.

Throughout the book, Dustin and Charlie grow close and their support of each other never wavers. Charlie struggles with his eating disorder, especially when his mother pops back up. Dustin is so kind and understanding, trusting Charlie to talk to him and reach out if he needs additional support.

The love these two have for each other is so pure and amazing to watch. I fell in love with them from the very beginning, and think everyone should read this book!

Please make sure to read trigger warnings before reading, as this book does deal with sensitive topics that can be triggering for some people 💜

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a new series but feels very familiar because the hockey players from the previous series know one another, so it overlaps nicely. I loved this story from the start, the characters were immediately engaging and the 'oops we got married' was a brilliant story starter! We then had time to get to know both characters. It was easy to see they already had chemistry and the outcome of them truly being in love was inevitable but we had a lot to go through with Charlie's hidden secrets before we got there. Dustin is such a genuine person, despite being a tough hockey captain on the ice, off the ice he is gentle, attentive and genuine. He takes a lot on and when his team mates are in strife he is who they turn to. We hear Charlie's fears and struggles over his anorexia, and how debilitating it can be. We knew Dustin would have the right words to support him, they have such a special bond. There is a build up of pressure due to them taking the intimacy out of the equation but this just heightens the chemistry zinging between them until neither can resist and when they finally give in we are given hot, steamy scenes. There are a lot of team mates waiting for their story and I can't wait to read them. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Victoria Poulter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m in the middle of a bit of an MM ice hockey kick at the mo - along with a few other sports - and I had this series recommended to me. Firstly, as soon as I started I realised I was probably doing the series the wrong way round and I’d have been better off reading the Rules of the Game series first. But that’s my own stupid fault so I’m not marking my review down for that - I also really liked the blurbs for this series so decided to carry on reading these Relationship Goals series books first.
I liked the whole woke up married plot, although having not read the previous series I didn’t really get why they disliked/antagonised each other so much (I’ll go to that series next to fill in the gaps).
For me the only criticism was I felt it could have been a bit shorter and some of the monotony of them doing the same things could have been cut out. I do like long books with lots of character building but I felt like we got that, plus a lot of repetition of the same sort of scenes. It was still very good and I have dived straight into book 2 as I want to read Nico’s story.

[Kaez · Rating 5 out of 5]

i don’t know what i was but i loved this book so much. i sat and i read this book in a single day, i fell in love with the story and the characters very quickly! these two are opposites in a lot of ways but they were so perfect for each other. despite this being an accidental marriage book it is a bit of a slow burn and i loved it.

this book means a lot to me! i have never had a character i relate to the way i relate to charlie and his struggles! i have such a soft spot for charlie, i really felt for him and could really relate to him. and dustin was just such a kindhearted, patient, genuine guy and seeing their love story unfold made me giddy!
as someone who struggles with an eating disorder i thought the way that it was written and the way brigham vaughn went about it was really well done. i appreciated how it showed how much of a constant battle it is, it doesn’t just go away. it’s a topic that isn’t talked about a lot and i think she did a great job with it!

if you like accidental marriage, opposites attract, hockey players, found family i highly recommend!