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Pucking Around: An MM Holiday Hockey Anthology
‘Tis the season to hit the ice and get your jingle on with 9 of your favorite and new to you MM romance authors for holiday hookups, hockey games, and hot queer hockey players.
Let’s light up the tree and light the lamp!
Let’s light up the tree and light the lamp!
ebook
Published December 1, 2023
6 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
Amy Aislin
38 books918 followersAmy's lived with her head in the clouds since she first picked up a book as a child, and being fluent in two languages means she's read a lot of books! She first picked up a pen on a rainy day in fourth grade when her class had to stay inside for recess. Tales of treasure hunts with her classmates eventually morphed into love stories between men, and she's been writing ever since. She writes evenings and weekends—or whenever she isn't at her full-time day job saving the planet at Canada's largest environmental non-profit.
An unapologetic introvert, Amy reads too much and socializes too little, with no regrets. She loves connecting with readers. Join her Facebook Group to stay up-to-date on upcoming releases and for access to early teasers, find her on Instagram and Twitter, or sign up for her infrequent newsletter here: http://bit.ly/AmyAislinNewsletter
An unapologetic introvert, Amy reads too much and socializes too little, with no regrets. She loves connecting with readers. Join her Facebook Group to stay up-to-date on upcoming releases and for access to early teasers, find her on Instagram and Twitter, or sign up for her infrequent newsletter here: http://bit.ly/AmyAislinNewsletter
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 28, 2023
3.25 overall!
Delayed For The Holidays - Kimberly Knight & Rachel Lyn Adam (2.5)
For a short story the characters spent more time apart than together so it didn't feel like anything more than a prolonged hookup over a week. There was also too much information dumped into the story that didn't really matter when you only have the characters for a few chapters.
Taking A Shot At Love - Jeff Adams (3)
Extremely wholesome and cute! I'd be interested to see more of these characters.
The Holi-Gay Breakaway - KC Kassidy (2.5)
Didn't really find out much about the characters to be interested in the story.
Snowball's Chance - Brigham Vaughn (4)
Enjoyed this trip back to Evanston. Very cute but now I want more of Brigham's hockey books!!
From The First - Susan Scott Shelley & Chantal Mer (4)
Very wholesome and enjoyable - it intrigued me enough to want to go and read the books in the series this is linked to.
Unwrapping The Truth - Victoria Denault (3.5)
Interesting characters but I would have liked to see more of them together as their relationship developed.
Shut Out - Amy Aislin (4.5)
It's not usually easy to get an emotional connection to characters in short stories but this was so good! The longing and pining was amazing, it made my heart ache. I'd love to see this extended! Plus it's always nice to see Mitch and Alex pop up in Amy Aislin's hockey books.
The Prodigy's Playbook - Hope Irving (2)
Very disjointed and confusing...
Delayed For The Holidays - Kimberly Knight & Rachel Lyn Adam (2.5)
For a short story the characters spent more time apart than together so it didn't feel like anything more than a prolonged hookup over a week. There was also too much information dumped into the story that didn't really matter when you only have the characters for a few chapters.
Taking A Shot At Love - Jeff Adams (3)
Extremely wholesome and cute! I'd be interested to see more of these characters.
The Holi-Gay Breakaway - KC Kassidy (2.5)
Didn't really find out much about the characters to be interested in the story.
Snowball's Chance - Brigham Vaughn (4)
Enjoyed this trip back to Evanston. Very cute but now I want more of Brigham's hockey books!!
From The First - Susan Scott Shelley & Chantal Mer (4)
Very wholesome and enjoyable - it intrigued me enough to want to go and read the books in the series this is linked to.
Unwrapping The Truth - Victoria Denault (3.5)
Interesting characters but I would have liked to see more of them together as their relationship developed.
Shut Out - Amy Aislin (4.5)
It's not usually easy to get an emotional connection to characters in short stories but this was so good! The longing and pining was amazing, it made my heart ache. I'd love to see this extended! Plus it's always nice to see Mitch and Alex pop up in Amy Aislin's hockey books.
The Prodigy's Playbook - Hope Irving (2)
Very disjointed and confusing...
December 29, 2023
This anthology was a great way to learn about some authors I'm not familar with and I enjoyed the stories, with a shout out to "Delayed for the Holidays" by Kimberly Knight and Rachel Lyn Adams (sexy flights-cancelled-sexy-one-night-stand that leads to a relationship) and Jeff Adams's "Taking a Shot at Love" (friends-to-lovers with long-time hockey player friends).
December 31, 2023
Delayed for the Holidays - Kimberly Knight, Rachel Lyn Adams
A hockey player and a Wall Street guy meet when their flights are cancelled. They have a hot night, and what was supposed to be a one night thing turns into more, ending in a HFN.
Taking a Shot at Love - from The Hockey Player’s Heart universe - Jeff Adams
Friends to lovers, with relatively little angst. It’s sweet.
The Holi-gay Breakaway, an Under Mr. Mistletoe prequel - KC Kassidy
A really cute, fun story with two guys who are newly-ish single, and meet at a mutual friend’s very gay, very fun, very debauched holiday parts. I really liked both heroes.
Snowball’s Chance - Brigham Vaughn
A short in the Evanston Otters world. The hockey player in this one is tangential to the Murphy/Hartinger era, he joined after they retired, but knows them. The love story is sweet and sexy times are hot. Well done Brigham Vaughn.
From the First - Susan Scott Shelley, Chantal Mer
A hockey player and a community theater guy have a head bumping meet cute, and then meet again. It’s a cute story.
Unwrapping the Truth - Victoria Denault
Lots of angst in this one, with a generous helping of a many-years long misunderstanding. The HEA is hard fought and nice.
Shut Out - Amy Aislin
Teenage crushes reconnect, but they hardly see each other due to their jobs. It’s a slow build up, and the pay off is good.
The Prodigy’s Playbook - Hope Irving
Possibly my favourite of the anthology - featuring a professional hockey player and his long standing teenage crush who walked away from hockey after a fluke accident. The guy is so grumpy, and I loved that even as they found their HEA, he was still a sometimes grumpy bastard.
Freebie from author
A hockey player and a Wall Street guy meet when their flights are cancelled. They have a hot night, and what was supposed to be a one night thing turns into more, ending in a HFN.
Taking a Shot at Love - from The Hockey Player’s Heart universe - Jeff Adams
Friends to lovers, with relatively little angst. It’s sweet.
The Holi-gay Breakaway, an Under Mr. Mistletoe prequel - KC Kassidy
A really cute, fun story with two guys who are newly-ish single, and meet at a mutual friend’s very gay, very fun, very debauched holiday parts. I really liked both heroes.
Snowball’s Chance - Brigham Vaughn
A short in the Evanston Otters world. The hockey player in this one is tangential to the Murphy/Hartinger era, he joined after they retired, but knows them. The love story is sweet and sexy times are hot. Well done Brigham Vaughn.
From the First - Susan Scott Shelley, Chantal Mer
A hockey player and a community theater guy have a head bumping meet cute, and then meet again. It’s a cute story.
Unwrapping the Truth - Victoria Denault
Lots of angst in this one, with a generous helping of a many-years long misunderstanding. The HEA is hard fought and nice.
Shut Out - Amy Aislin
Teenage crushes reconnect, but they hardly see each other due to their jobs. It’s a slow build up, and the pay off is good.
The Prodigy’s Playbook - Hope Irving
Possibly my favourite of the anthology - featuring a professional hockey player and his long standing teenage crush who walked away from hockey after a fluke accident. The guy is so grumpy, and I loved that even as they found their HEA, he was still a sometimes grumpy bastard.
Freebie from author
January 1, 2024
A fun collection of holiday hockey stories by some authors I know and some that were new to me. A fun read. The stories go quickly.
December 19, 2023
I loved each cute, little, and interesting story that was told in the book. Every single one was different and unique. I would definitely recommend these Christmas stories being read!!
January 11, 2024
Really good anthology, I just wanted a few more chapters for each story. They felt a bit rushed at the end of them. All
Really good though. I’ve also found some new authors too.
Really good though. I’ve also found some new authors too.
December 15, 2024
The most boring romances ever assembled.
January 14, 2024
Kimberly Knight and Rachel Lyn Adams – DELAYED FOR THE HOLIDAYS (2,75 stars)
This was a story about Baylor, the goalie for the New York Rangers, and Micah, a Wall Street day trader, meeting at LaGuardia airport, both of them flying to see their families for Christmas. As both their flights get cancelled, they decide to spend the time, waiting for their new flights, together in bed to mutual enjoyment. They exchange phone numbers and keep messaging each other during the holidays, meeting once more when Baylor invites Micah and his family to his game in their hometown. They declare themselves boyfriends and the story wraps up with
Baylor and Micah's relationship was instalust to instalove, the writing alternated between the telling instead of showing narrative parts and more personable parts of the two interacting together. For two literal strangers who met only two days ago I didn't feel the supposed connection between them. I didn't find their familiarity too believable and thought the endearments were used way too soon. This was zero angst, zero complications holiday read that didn't exactly work for me.
Themes: dual POV, player/regular, instalust to instalove, holidays, NHL
Jeff Adams – TAKING A SHOT AT LOVE (3 stars)
Cole and Miles' was a story set in The Hockey Player’s Heart universe of childhood friends and former college teammates, whose friendship stayed strong despite playing for different NHL teams. After Miles' flight gets canceled Cole offers him his spare room and with unexpected opportunity to spend the holidays together they finally admit to wanting more than friendship. Nothing particularly wrong with this story except I didn't feel invested at all. Cole and Miles POVs also felt very interchangeable so I constantly had to remind myself which POV I was reading at that moment. When we got to the sex scene between the two of them I completely lost track which one of them was doing what and in that moment I couldn't even bother to find out. I was over it. This had almost double the chapters compared to other stories in the anthology but thankfully they were relatively short ones. I kept stopping in the middle of the chapters and forcing myself to push through the end. I was just so bored. Near the end I felt like the story picked up a little and it did end on a sweet note but I found it to be more or less forgettable.
Themes: dual POV, friends to lovers, rivals, Jewish character, holidays, NHL
K.C. Kassidy – THE HOLI-GAY BREAKAWAY (2 stars)
Hudson Mills got fired from his publishing job few weeks before Christmas, even though he doesn't feel particularly festive he accepts an invitation from his friend to a Holi-gay Jingle and Mingle Shindig in his family owned Mistletoe Mountain Resort. Beckett Taylor is a pro hockey player who turns out to be not only hot but also Hudson's roommate for the weekend. The first chapter where Hudson gets pulled over by a cop (actually ) without breaking any laws, only for it to turn out to be a prank for "a virgin guest" by his friend, didn't exactly sit well with me. After that introduction Hudson and Beckett share a room together, sing karaoke and get it on. What should have been a fun holiday hookup apparently meant much more to both of them. We're only told this and it's not that their connection was shown in the story. As the subtitle to the story itself states this is a prequel for Under Mr. Mistletoe, what I guess should be a longer story with Beckett and Hudson as main characters, except I don't find myself even slightly interested in reading more about their bland personalities.
Themes: dual POV, player/regular, instalust to instalove, holidays, NHL
Brigham Vaughn – SNOWBALL’S CHANCE (3,75 stars)
Shane Bennett (or actually Shane Hurst) is a player for the Evanston River Otters, who are in the rebuilding stage after retirement of their leadership guys, and Noel Sutton is the new analytics guy and Shane's former college tutor. Shane is more than happy to offer his spare room to Noel, after some living accommodations issues, but Noel doesn't seem as thrilled to be reunited with Shane. Noel is convinced, that back in college, Shane broke his sister's heart, but it turns out to be all a big misunderstanding on Noel's part as the actual relationship was pretty casual and nonexclusive. The two finally give into their mutual attraction and make plans to spend the holidays in Shane's bed.
Shane was a very personable guy, which also made him a likable character. While Noel was initially standoffish when it came to Shane, it made their reunion all the more interesting. This was one of the few stories in the anthology that I found to be more on the enjoyable side and I had no issues feeling invested in Shane and Noel's story.
Themes: dual POV, player/team employee, college crush, holidays, NHL
Susan Scott Shelley and Chantal Mer – FROM THE FIRST (3 stars)
Fluffy, instalust, low steam, zero angst story about Malcolm Stewart, a Philadelphia Power defenseman, and Kingston (no last name given), a theater producer, who literally run heads first into each other on the streets of Philadelphia. Kingston is a co-producer for the community theater production of Nutcracker for charity and after one of their celebrities breaks a leg, his brother, Riggs, suggests Malcolm as a possible alternative. Kingston reaches out to Malcolm via Instagram and the rest is history. Sweet story but probably more enjoyable for readers already familiar with authors' Philadelphia Power series as the characters from the first two (?) books have cameos in this short story.
Themes: dual POV, player/regular, theater, holidays, NHL
Victoria Denault – UNWRAPPING THE TRUTH (2,25 stars)
Review posted separately.
Themes: dual POV, bisexual awakening, older brother's friend, teammates, f*ck buddies, NFL
Amy Aislin – SHUT OUT (3,5 stars)
Review posted separately.
Themes: single POV, childhood best friends, teenage crush, reunion, hockey player/retired hockey player, long distance relationship, NHL
Hope Irving – THE PRODIGY’S PLAYBOOK (2 stars)
This was a story about Joshua Foster, who gets interested in playing hockey in 2nd grade, after coming back from spending summer holidays in Canada and seeing Jules Mistral, a French Canadian hockey prodigy play in real life. Even lacking Jules' natural talent Joshua is obsessed about practicing hard enough to be able to beat Jules sometime in the future. The opportunity presents itself in a college game between Joshua's Dallas (?) Longhorns and Jules' Boston Hawks, but after Jules' team wins the game, the fight breaks out and Jules' teammate and best friend gets injured resulting in Jules having a mental breakdown and disappearing from the world of hockey. Five years later Joshua tracks Jules down in France and convinces him to come back to play in a charity hockey game.
This was such a strange story (I won't even go into how weird Joshua's obsession with Jules was) full of over the top drama and annoying inconsistencies which I have to point out. At the beginning of the story we obviously have an NHL universe where the Dallas Stars exist, yet years later Joshua is playing for the Chicago Muskoxen. Jules' teammate gets injured after an unlikely fight breaks out after the game ends, and despite this being a college game, the other player gets fined by the NHL... Descriptions in general were something else, from following purple prose quotes during sex scenes:
To actual descriptions on a charity hockey game that made it very hard to stay in the story:
Themes: dual POV, childhood crush/obsession, rivalry, bisexual awakening, NHL
While I appreciate the effort that was put into creating a holiday anthology focused solely on hockey and feel grateful for being able to read it completely for free, I do feel disappointed by the fact that the individual stories were more of a miss than a hit for me personally. The stories that did manage to warm my cold heart were Brigham Vaughn's SNOWBALL’S CHANCE and Amy Aislin's SHUT OUT, and I will admit that in hindsight (after reading the rest of the stories) I might have judged Victoria Denault's UNWRAPPING THE TRUTH a bit too harshly. This anthology did introduce me to some of the new authors but considering I didn't find their contributions all that enjoyable I am somewhat reluctant to explore the rest of their hockey stories in more detail.
This was a story about Baylor, the goalie for the New York Rangers, and Micah, a Wall Street day trader, meeting at LaGuardia airport, both of them flying to see their families for Christmas. As both their flights get cancelled, they decide to spend the time, waiting for their new flights, together in bed to mutual enjoyment. They exchange phone numbers and keep messaging each other during the holidays, meeting once more when Baylor invites Micah and his family to his game in their hometown. They declare themselves boyfriends and the story wraps up with
Baylor and Micah's relationship was instalust to instalove, the writing alternated between the telling instead of showing narrative parts and more personable parts of the two interacting together. For two literal strangers who met only two days ago I didn't feel the supposed connection between them. I didn't find their familiarity too believable and thought the endearments were used way too soon. This was zero angst, zero complications holiday read that didn't exactly work for me.
Themes: dual POV, player/regular, instalust to instalove, holidays, NHL
Jeff Adams – TAKING A SHOT AT LOVE (3 stars)
Cole and Miles' was a story set in The Hockey Player’s Heart universe of childhood friends and former college teammates, whose friendship stayed strong despite playing for different NHL teams. After Miles' flight gets canceled Cole offers him his spare room and with unexpected opportunity to spend the holidays together they finally admit to wanting more than friendship. Nothing particularly wrong with this story except I didn't feel invested at all. Cole and Miles POVs also felt very interchangeable so I constantly had to remind myself which POV I was reading at that moment. When we got to the sex scene between the two of them I completely lost track which one of them was doing what and in that moment I couldn't even bother to find out. I was over it. This had almost double the chapters compared to other stories in the anthology but thankfully they were relatively short ones. I kept stopping in the middle of the chapters and forcing myself to push through the end. I was just so bored. Near the end I felt like the story picked up a little and it did end on a sweet note but I found it to be more or less forgettable.
Themes: dual POV, friends to lovers, rivals, Jewish character, holidays, NHL
K.C. Kassidy – THE HOLI-GAY BREAKAWAY (2 stars)
Hudson Mills got fired from his publishing job few weeks before Christmas, even though he doesn't feel particularly festive he accepts an invitation from his friend to a Holi-gay Jingle and Mingle Shindig in his family owned Mistletoe Mountain Resort. Beckett Taylor is a pro hockey player who turns out to be not only hot but also Hudson's roommate for the weekend. The first chapter where Hudson gets pulled over by a cop (actually ) without breaking any laws, only for it to turn out to be a prank for "a virgin guest" by his friend, didn't exactly sit well with me. After that introduction Hudson and Beckett share a room together, sing karaoke and get it on. What should have been a fun holiday hookup apparently meant much more to both of them. We're only told this and it's not that their connection was shown in the story. As the subtitle to the story itself states this is a prequel for Under Mr. Mistletoe, what I guess should be a longer story with Beckett and Hudson as main characters, except I don't find myself even slightly interested in reading more about their bland personalities.
Themes: dual POV, player/regular, instalust to instalove, holidays, NHL
Brigham Vaughn – SNOWBALL’S CHANCE (3,75 stars)
Shane Bennett (or actually Shane Hurst) is a player for the Evanston River Otters, who are in the rebuilding stage after retirement of their leadership guys, and Noel Sutton is the new analytics guy and Shane's former college tutor. Shane is more than happy to offer his spare room to Noel, after some living accommodations issues, but Noel doesn't seem as thrilled to be reunited with Shane. Noel is convinced, that back in college, Shane broke his sister's heart, but it turns out to be all a big misunderstanding on Noel's part as the actual relationship was pretty casual and nonexclusive. The two finally give into their mutual attraction and make plans to spend the holidays in Shane's bed.
Shane was a very personable guy, which also made him a likable character. While Noel was initially standoffish when it came to Shane, it made their reunion all the more interesting. This was one of the few stories in the anthology that I found to be more on the enjoyable side and I had no issues feeling invested in Shane and Noel's story.
Themes: dual POV, player/team employee, college crush, holidays, NHL
Susan Scott Shelley and Chantal Mer – FROM THE FIRST (3 stars)
Fluffy, instalust, low steam, zero angst story about Malcolm Stewart, a Philadelphia Power defenseman, and Kingston (no last name given), a theater producer, who literally run heads first into each other on the streets of Philadelphia. Kingston is a co-producer for the community theater production of Nutcracker for charity and after one of their celebrities breaks a leg, his brother, Riggs, suggests Malcolm as a possible alternative. Kingston reaches out to Malcolm via Instagram and the rest is history. Sweet story but probably more enjoyable for readers already familiar with authors' Philadelphia Power series as the characters from the first two (?) books have cameos in this short story.
Themes: dual POV, player/regular, theater, holidays, NHL
Victoria Denault – UNWRAPPING THE TRUTH (2,25 stars)
Review posted separately.
Themes: dual POV, bisexual awakening, older brother's friend, teammates, f*ck buddies, NFL
Amy Aislin – SHUT OUT (3,5 stars)
Review posted separately.
Themes: single POV, childhood best friends, teenage crush, reunion, hockey player/retired hockey player, long distance relationship, NHL
Hope Irving – THE PRODIGY’S PLAYBOOK (2 stars)
This was a story about Joshua Foster, who gets interested in playing hockey in 2nd grade, after coming back from spending summer holidays in Canada and seeing Jules Mistral, a French Canadian hockey prodigy play in real life. Even lacking Jules' natural talent Joshua is obsessed about practicing hard enough to be able to beat Jules sometime in the future. The opportunity presents itself in a college game between Joshua's Dallas (?) Longhorns and Jules' Boston Hawks, but after Jules' team wins the game, the fight breaks out and Jules' teammate and best friend gets injured resulting in Jules having a mental breakdown and disappearing from the world of hockey. Five years later Joshua tracks Jules down in France and convinces him to come back to play in a charity hockey game.
This was such a strange story (I won't even go into how weird Joshua's obsession with Jules was) full of over the top drama and annoying inconsistencies which I have to point out. At the beginning of the story we obviously have an NHL universe where the Dallas Stars exist, yet years later Joshua is playing for the Chicago Muskoxen. Jules' teammate gets injured after an unlikely fight breaks out after the game ends, and despite this being a college game, the other player gets fined by the NHL... Descriptions in general were something else, from following purple prose quotes during sex scenes:
My irrepressible yearning for him swells with every stroke of his tongue against mine. What a stunning revelation.
I pepper featherlight kisses across his proud boner. He quivers under my TLC.
I’m not chickening out, so I don’t free him from my wet inferno. Within seconds, My willing mouth swallows his pleasure.
To actual descriptions on a charity hockey game that made it very hard to stay in the story:
With the clock dwindling, I seize my chance. “Onward, my festive friends!” I exclaim, the twinkle in my eye reflecting the determined spirit of the season. My teammates, a sea of red and white, surge forward, a tidal wave of North-Pole-powered offense.
Themes: dual POV, childhood crush/obsession, rivalry, bisexual awakening, NHL
While I appreciate the effort that was put into creating a holiday anthology focused solely on hockey and feel grateful for being able to read it completely for free, I do feel disappointed by the fact that the individual stories were more of a miss than a hit for me personally. The stories that did manage to warm my cold heart were Brigham Vaughn's SNOWBALL’S CHANCE and Amy Aislin's SHUT OUT, and I will admit that in hindsight (after reading the rest of the stories) I might have judged Victoria Denault's UNWRAPPING THE TRUTH a bit too harshly. This anthology did introduce me to some of the new authors but considering I didn't find their contributions all that enjoyable I am somewhat reluctant to explore the rest of their hockey stories in more detail.
November 15, 2025
Delayed For the holidays = 2.5 Stars
Taking a shot at love = 1.5 Stars
The holi-gay breakaway = 2.0 Stars
Snowball’s chance = 3.5 Stars
From the first = 1.5 Stars
Unwrapping the truth = 1.0 Star
Shut out = 2.0 Stars
The prodigy's playbook = 1.0 Star
Taking a shot at love = 1.5 Stars
The holi-gay breakaway = 2.0 Stars
Snowball’s chance = 3.5 Stars
From the first = 1.5 Stars
Unwrapping the truth = 1.0 Star
Shut out = 2.0 Stars
The prodigy's playbook = 1.0 Star
December 21, 2023
A great way to get an introduction to various authours.
August 24, 2025
DELAYED FOR THE HOLIDAYS by Kimberly Knight and Rachel Lyn Adams //.
Rangers goalie Baylor Kingston meets day trader Micah when they are waiting at the airport for flights that are delayed. They leap on the unexpected opportunity to indulge their mutual attraction.
Characterizations and writing feels oddly cliched to me, and hetero, but I’m obviously not a gay man, so I could absolutely be making that up. This is my second or third time reading Knight and Adams—I don’t think I’m the right reader for their writing.
TAKING A SHOT AT LOVE by Jeff Adams ///
Cole Ackerman and Miles Robinson grew up BFFs and now play on opposing teams. A winter storm stymies Cole’s chance to travel home to celebrate with his family but gives them a welcome chance to spend time together and finally admit that they might share some even friendlier feelings.
THE HOLI-GAY BREAKAWAY by KC Kassidy ///
An Under Mr Mistletoe prequel
Hudson Mills is a newly unemployed editor on his way to a friend’s holiday party. Beckett Taylor is a hockey player on break. The two enjoy all kinds of hot wintry shenanigans.
SNOWBALL’S CHANCE by Brigham Vaughn ////
Evanston Otters’ player Shane Bennett Hurst ends up offering his spare room to the team’s new analytics expert Noel Sutton for the holidays. Turns out they knew each other way back when and while some things haven’t changed at all, others aren’t exactly what they’d seemed…. And maybe everyone gets what they’ve dreamed of under the tree…
FROM THE FIRST by Susan Scott Shelley and Chantal Mer ///
Philadelphia Power series
Hockey player Malcolm and community theater producer Kingston cross paths over the annual production of the Nutcracker that includes guest performers. When they opt to extend their connection after the show closes, who can blame them for being hopeful?
UNWRAPPING THE TRUTH by Victoria Denault ///
Noah Prince catches his older brother’s best friend, Luke Alexander, under the mistletoe during holiday break…
SHUT OUT by Amy Aislin ////.
Shawn Staples is shocked to see his former BFF Carter Caulfield at his teammate’s holiday party. But rebuilding that friendship that now comes with a side of intense attraction is far more challenging that either of them anticipate…
THE PRODIGY’S PLAYBOOK by Hope Irving ///
A young Joshua Foster was once inspired by hockey phenom Jules Mistral-Lavoie, who dropped out of the public eye after a terrifying on-ice accident severely injured a teammate. Years later, Josh takes it upon himself to track Jules down and entice him to rejoin the hockey life…
Rangers goalie Baylor Kingston meets day trader Micah when they are waiting at the airport for flights that are delayed. They leap on the unexpected opportunity to indulge their mutual attraction.
Characterizations and writing feels oddly cliched to me, and hetero, but I’m obviously not a gay man, so I could absolutely be making that up. This is my second or third time reading Knight and Adams—I don’t think I’m the right reader for their writing.
TAKING A SHOT AT LOVE by Jeff Adams ///
Cole Ackerman and Miles Robinson grew up BFFs and now play on opposing teams. A winter storm stymies Cole’s chance to travel home to celebrate with his family but gives them a welcome chance to spend time together and finally admit that they might share some even friendlier feelings.
THE HOLI-GAY BREAKAWAY by KC Kassidy ///
An Under Mr Mistletoe prequel
Hudson Mills is a newly unemployed editor on his way to a friend’s holiday party. Beckett Taylor is a hockey player on break. The two enjoy all kinds of hot wintry shenanigans.
SNOWBALL’S CHANCE by Brigham Vaughn ////
Evanston Otters’ player Shane Bennett Hurst ends up offering his spare room to the team’s new analytics expert Noel Sutton for the holidays. Turns out they knew each other way back when and while some things haven’t changed at all, others aren’t exactly what they’d seemed…. And maybe everyone gets what they’ve dreamed of under the tree…
FROM THE FIRST by Susan Scott Shelley and Chantal Mer ///
Philadelphia Power series
Hockey player Malcolm and community theater producer Kingston cross paths over the annual production of the Nutcracker that includes guest performers. When they opt to extend their connection after the show closes, who can blame them for being hopeful?
UNWRAPPING THE TRUTH by Victoria Denault ///
Noah Prince catches his older brother’s best friend, Luke Alexander, under the mistletoe during holiday break…
SHUT OUT by Amy Aislin ////.
Shawn Staples is shocked to see his former BFF Carter Caulfield at his teammate’s holiday party. But rebuilding that friendship that now comes with a side of intense attraction is far more challenging that either of them anticipate…
THE PRODIGY’S PLAYBOOK by Hope Irving ///
A young Joshua Foster was once inspired by hockey phenom Jules Mistral-Lavoie, who dropped out of the public eye after a terrifying on-ice accident severely injured a teammate. Years later, Josh takes it upon himself to track Jules down and entice him to rejoin the hockey life…
December 29, 2023
1. Delayed for the holidays ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. Taking a shot at love ⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. The holi-gay breakaway ⭐️⭐️⭐️
4. Snowballs chance ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. From the first ⭐️⭐️
6. Unwrapping the truth ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
7. Shut out ⭐️⭐️
8. The prodigy’s playbook ⭐️
2. Taking a shot at love ⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. The holi-gay breakaway ⭐️⭐️⭐️
4. Snowballs chance ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. From the first ⭐️⭐️
6. Unwrapping the truth ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
7. Shut out ⭐️⭐️
8. The prodigy’s playbook ⭐️
December 22, 2023
Downloaded this for the Amy Aislin story, which did not disappoint. Wonderful addition to the canon. Enjoyed about half of the stories.
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February 21, 2024So far only read One Winter with You by Amy Aislin.
January 23, 2025
A great collection of stories! I like some more than others but fully read all but two.
January 19, 2024
2,5 stars, rounded up only due to Denault & Aislin's stories
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Delayed For The Holidays by Kimberly Knight & Rachel Lyn Adams - 2 stars
Taking A Shot At Love by Jeff Adams - 2.5 stars
Friends to lovers, Since Forever
The Holi-Gay Breakaway by K.C. Kassidy - DNF
I lost interest quickly.
Snowball's Chance by Brigham Vaughn - 2.5 stars
From The First by Susan Scott Shelley & Chantal Mer - 2 stars
The writing is all right, but I found the story bland.
Unwrapping The Truth by Victoria Denault - 4stars
Shut Out by Amy Aislin - 4,5 stars
The Prodigy's Playbook by Hope Irving - 1 star
a capital mess.
Delayed For The Holidays by Kimberly Knight & Rachel Lyn Adams - 2 stars
Taking A Shot At Love by Jeff Adams - 2.5 stars
Friends to lovers, Since Forever
The Holi-Gay Breakaway by K.C. Kassidy - DNF
I lost interest quickly.
Snowball's Chance by Brigham Vaughn - 2.5 stars
From The First by Susan Scott Shelley & Chantal Mer - 2 stars
The writing is all right, but I found the story bland.
Unwrapping The Truth by Victoria Denault - 4stars
Shut Out by Amy Aislin - 4,5 stars
The Prodigy's Playbook by Hope Irving - 1 star
a capital mess.
June 18, 2025
Only the following stories were read from this anthology:
SNOWBALL'S CHANCE by Brigham Vaughn
4 stars
This was a sexy and sweet novella featuring a hockey player and his college crush snowed in for Christmas. I really liked Shane and Noel and this would have been perfect if Shane hadn't dated Noel's sister in the past. They never slept together, thank goodness, but I just don't like when an MC has dated siblings.
SNOWBALL'S CHANCE by Brigham Vaughn
4 stars
This was a sexy and sweet novella featuring a hockey player and his college crush snowed in for Christmas. I really liked Shane and Noel and this would have been perfect if Shane hadn't dated Noel's sister in the past. They never slept together, thank goodness, but I just don't like when an MC has dated siblings.
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