Fanboy

Hot Off the Ice #7

by A.E. Wasp

Fashion, fake dates, and real stakes. Sometimes the only way to win is to break all the rules.

After being dumped by his fiance, Thunder forward Alex Huberdeau finds himself questioning the game of love entirely. Clueless about dating, disinterested in flings, and unable to have a normal conversation with women, Alex is convinced something's broken inside him.

Enter Sunny Gonzales—a nonbinary, proudly polyamorous, fashion designer desperately searching for a big break. While their creativity blooms, love seems a luxury that's eluded them, shaded by their fears of a world quick to shun people who color outside the lines.

When Alex learns that Sunny needs a partner for a game show that could be the answer to their prayers, he leaps at the chance to help. In return, Sunny will teach him all they know about love and romance.

With only three weeks to learn all they can about each other, Sunny and Alex embark on a crash course that blurs the lines between friendship and romance. As feelings grow and the game show's climax looms, Alex and Sunny must decide if they're playing to win or playing for keeps.

Fanboy is a story about breaking binaries and subverting expectations. It contains questionable coffee drinks, zoot suits, a talking car, and unauthorized use of a hot tub.

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

200 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 15, 2024

About the author

After time spent raising children, earning several college degrees, and traveling the world with the U.S. State Department, she is returning to her first love - writing.

A dreamer and an idealist, Amy writes about people finding connection in a world that can seem lonely and magic in a world than can seem all too mundane. She invites readers into her characters’ lives and worlds when they are their most vulnerable, their most human, living with the same hopes and fears we all have. An avid traveler who has lived in big cities and small towns in four different continents, Amy has found that time and distance are no barriers to love. She invites her readers to reach out and share how her characters have touched their lives or how the found families they have gathered around them have shaped their worlds.

Born on Long Island, NY, Amy has lived in Los Angeles, London, and Bangkok. She currently lives in Fort Collins, Colorado for who knows how long.

Reviews

[Dani · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a really weird book.

It's only about 200 pages, but most of it feels like Wikipedia results about various things, or constantly reiterating what it means to be gender fluid or polyamorous. It felt more like a lecture than a romance story? Surely if you're choosing to read a romance about a gender fluid MC you already know what that means? It just came across as a really defensive approach to having an MC who didn't identify within society's typical gender ideas, and rather than treating gender fluidity as an entirely normal identity or celebrating it through the story it just felt extremely bitter and judgemental.

For the romance itself, barely anything happens. They have a few 'dates' but all of Alex's learning about Sunny is shown through using flashcards, and we never even see Sunny learning anything about Alex! The whole story felt lopsided and very skewed towards Sunny and who they were as a person. It felt like because Alex had been presumed to be straight he wasn't worthy of getting to know because gender fluid, polyamorous Sunny was far more important just because of how they identify.

Didn't really like the approach to telling the story, didn't like the build up and we don't get to see them as a proper couple because it goes straight to an epilogue after they get together.

Weirdest of all is that the epilogue is from Devin's POV. He's constantly shown as being problematic and not thinking before he speaks, so it just felt like more lecturing and treating him like he was insignificant as a human being because he was ignorant! The way the whole relationship between Phoebe (who is trans) and Devin (who was the straight athlete) is shoved into the epilogue was strange too. I wanted to see the actual couple this story is supposed to be about as an established couple, but instead we get more preaching about how much better Sunny and Phoebe are than anyone who might identify differently to them.

The overall tone was like you aren't worth anyone's time if you're straight because you're obviously going to be ignorant and aggressive or abusive? I dunno, it just wasn't a pleasant reading experience at all!

[LauraSt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to be very clear on something, AE Wasp is one of my favorite authors EVER. Additionally this series is absolutely amazing. One of my favorite hockey series actually. It’s important to point out that I gave book 1 a 4-star rating, and all the other 5 books after that, a 5-star rating.
For this reason, it PAINS me to give this a 3 star rating. And it reached 3 because I adored being able to see all our hockey guys out and proud and living their happily ever afters.

There were mistakes in continuity and a Spanish-speaker fact was wrong, I’m Latina myself and that’s always super annoying. The characters just didn’t work for me, they felt forced and not genuine, almost like ticking inclusivity boxes. It was so on the nose, the judgement and stereotypes, the self-reflections. I never liked Sunny through the whole book. Phoebe was a piece of work. Alex was wonderful and perfection but basically some sort of puppet with no will. Ugh it just didn’t work at all.
The interactions were weird, the scenes seemed like just filler. I just didn’t enjoy it at all. This has absolutely nothing to do with Sunny being nonbinary btw, I’ve read amazing books with nonbinary, ace, drag queens, trans, pan, Demi, etc etc etc characters.

I’m so so sad. But please don’t take this review in consideration when deciding to read this series. It’s truly wonderful and the characters are perfection. I’d just skip this one to be honest.

**arc received in exchange for an honest review**

[Crisana · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up. This series just gives me the best feelings every single time. Nothing new, but there's just something unique in the story telling that makes me love everything about them.

[jennrubenstein]

I generally enjoyed this story but every time the non-binary character was misgendered it took me completely out of it. I couldn't figure out if it was intentional, but the character was continuously clear that their pronouns are they/them. Still not sure if it's supposed to be that way or not. A bummer, for sure.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

fun, well written and absolutely awesome

Rating: 4.5 🌈

I love the Hot Off the Ice series by A. E. Wasp and the latest novel, Fan Boy, is just a reminder why it’s so fun and well written.

Wasp’s storylines never forgets that these characters as well as the series are grounded firmly in the sport of professional ice hockey. The team dynamics, the sheer physicality of the players and what it takes to maintain their peak performance levels while also being able to have a personal life. That last part is as important to the team and players stability as their physical conditioning.

Over and over, it’s the players who lack a support system outside of the team that fumbles their respective lives, professional and personal. Wasp has been able to explore different personalities, team dynamics and positions, and couples so far. It’s been a fascinating journey for so many different players.

Now it’s Thunder forward Alex Huberdeau, a sweet, immensely gifted hockey player. He’s just been dumped by his longtime fiancée, someone he’s known since his high school days. He’s lonely in the enormous house he bought for them after they were married, and drifting in the aftermath of this rejection.

In typical, wonderful Wasp fashion, Alex has been crafted as a character we not only can care about immediately but as he reveals more of the depth of his personality and inner voice, we fall even more deeply in love with him.

The same goes for Sunny Gonzales, a nonbinary fashion designer who’s working for their friend’s Phoebe’s cafe as a barista. Sunny is a character who is beautifully fluid, vibrantly articulate who transforms their appearance through their incredible fashion designs. Sunny’s relationship with Alex is one that incorporates humor, wonder, surprise, and growth, especially as they help Alex adjust to a new sense of awareness about his own sexuality.

It’s beautiful romance and such a great storyline. It’s got personal exploration, splendid communication between not just the two main characters but their friends who are just as much a part of them and their relationship.

There’s also laugh out loud scenes, courtesy of Alex’s best friend and fellow teammate, Devin and another couple from a previous story. Just hilarious.

We actually get two couples here. Plus plus!

Would I have been happy for an additional chapter or two? Why, yes. I wasn’t ready for this to be over. But I was satisfied with the outcome and the ending.

Fanboy (Hot Off the Ice Book 8) by A. E. Wasp is a fantastic story and source of reading happiness. A definite recommendation.

Hot Off the Ice:
- [x] City Boy #1
- [x] Country Boy #2
- [x] Skater Boy #3
- [x] Boy Toys #4
- [x] Boy Next Door #5
- [x] Boys of Summer #6
- [x] Bad Boys #7
- [x] Fanboy #8

[S Paschal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This exceptionally sweet queer romance makes for a lovely evening read.

Pro hockey player Alex is a bit lost - his long-time girlfriend/fiancee broke up with him and now he doesn't really know what to do next. He was planning on a future, while she was planning on moving forward alone. Having dated this woman since high school, he doesn't really know how to be with anyone else and is now feeling a bit lost, a bit bitter and a lot confused.

While he's been playing for his team, the Thunder, Alex routinely stops by a local coffee spot where his caffeine and sugar cravings are fed by nonbinary Sunny. They've known each other for a while and Alex always enjoys time spent with Sunny. Sunny is intelligent, clever and talented, so Alex always learns something new when they converse. What he doesn't know is that Sunny has had a hidden crush on Alex for years. For their part, Sunny's most recent relationship has just ended as well. They realize the futility of pursuing more than friendship with the cis pro athlete.

Alex, being a truly good guy, offers to help Sunny when they are selected to participate on a game show that will showcase his fledgling clothing line. In a kind of 'Newlyweds' format, Sunny and Alex will be quizzed on their knowledge of each other. Being a truly competitive person as well as wanting to help Sunny win, Alex is determined to get to know his friend better to help him win much needed funding to support his business.

What follows is a path of discovery for both Sunny and Alex. Alex had been with his girlfriend for years and never really questioned whether she was who he wanted to spend his life with. As he and Sunny become closer, he also learns a lot about what it means to be nonbinary and begins to examine his own sexuality. Sunny, having assumed that Alex is a straight White pro athlete, is surprised when he realizes that he holds unfair prejudices of his own. The story is a thoughtful exploration of the queer spectrum, sexuality and the different forms happiness can take.

Sunny is a feisty, cheerful and totally unique character who is unafraid to be themselves. Alex appears to fit the pro athlete stereotype until he doesn't - he's truly kind and tolerant of those around him, even his cluelessly obnoxious teammate 'Triple D.' As Sunny begins to unwrap Alex's layers, it becomes apparent that there is much more to Alex than his outer appearance and profession would suggest.

Sunny's and Alex's interactions are sweet and charming. Sunny is knowledgeable on a variety of topics and the two sometimes fall down the rabbit hole while discussing various topics. Their relationship becomes more than friendship very quickly but has a lovely cerebral component to it in addition to physical attraction. Just a really lovely romance read.

Four stars.

This is an honest, voluntary review of an ARC of the story.

[Kirsten · Rating 1 out of 5]

So short and shallow--
None of it was convincing,
not least gender reps.

Sometimes a book is problematic enough that I feel compelled to talk about why, especially when none of the other reviews have done so. I am NOT non-binary (cis female), so I am not speaking from personal perspective, but this felt really problematic to me. TL;DL: the plotting and characterization is lazy, but the gender and sexuality rep is atrocious.

The problems with the narrative (a chapter about reading about gender and sexuality without any conversation, and apparently MC Alex read for about a week and several books and still hadn't learned about demisexuality until Sunny mentioned it? and his ex-girlfriend didn't like sex much, and that didn't deserve some unpacking? and the epilogue was from the POV of the friend Devin, who seemed to be angling for the 3some the narrative had hinted at with poly Sunny at the beginning but both Sunny and Alex had just shut the heck down? and wayass more clumsy AF "explanation" of non-binary gender than character development) were bad enough, but I was pretty troubled by the gender rep.

I know that the conceit of the series is that these are all "boys," but it was already put off by the idea that book with a non-binary, non-hockey playing MC would be titled Fanboy. And then Sunny was frequently misgendered in the text? It felt like Wasp had decided to make them non-binary for an extra edge in a later draft and missed some male pronouns in a global replace, and that's gross.

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

After his fiancé dumped him, Alex starts to question what he knows about love. He is definitely figuring out he is clueless about dating and bit by bit starts to realize some things about himself. Making connections with someone is something he needs in order to feel close to them. He can’t find it in himself to do the hook up thing without getting to know them. That becomes more true when he gets a chance to help out his friend, Sunny. Sunny is in need of a partner for a game show that could help make their dreams a reality. So for the next few weeks, Alex and Sunny will get a chance to learn more and more about the other and in doing so maybe even fall in love. Sunny knows exactly who they are. And they are so proud of it. And being around Alex makes them happier than anything. Especially when they learn more and more about who Alex is. These two fit so well. Their chemistry is great and there is no doubt the connection between the two of them is real. I really enjoyed getting to them and seeing familiar faces of others in this series! Another great addition to this series.


I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sunny and Alex, aka Hubs, were so cute together! I’m glad we finally got Alex’s story (Amber SO didn’t deserve him), seems like we’ve been waiting FOREVER, but it was definitely worth the wait.

Sunny is the nonbinary barista at the team’s, and more specifically, Alex’s, favorite coffee spot who also has a soft spot for Alex. Alex is the straight, recently rejected fiancé who, for some reason isn’t all that interested in dating other women… but the cute barista—that’s a whole different story.

This was such a good book, it was definitely a slow burn which I’m not normally a fan of but thankfully, we were privy to the thoughts of our MCs and they were steamy enough that they made up for it. One thing I absolutely loved, there was no breakup, third act or otherwise and that’s a biggie for me. The only thing I stumbled over was the fact that Sunny was polyamorous, that’s not my thing but thankfully nothing came of it. (If that’s a spoiler, I’m sorry but that kind of thing is why I scour reviews before purchasing, I don’t want that kind of surprise.)

ANYway, super book, angst free and lovable MCs, not an a-hole among ‘em! 4.5 stars!!

[Elle Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been waiting for Hubs’ story for a long time. Alex Huberdeau has played for the Seattle Thunder for a large number of books in the Hot off the Ice series, patiently awaiting his own story. Previously he was engaged to long-term girlfriend Amber but there always seemed to be something weird about that. In this novel, we find out she dumped him. We also get to experience every glorious minute of him falling for non-binary barista and fashion designer Sunny Gonzales.

In addition, Alex’s best friend Devin (“Triple D”) DiDiomonte adds humour with his mixed metaphors, shock with his bluntness and warm gushy feelings at his loyalty and emotionally based friendship with Alex.

Phoebe, on the other hand, is a breath of fresh air. Working alongside Sunny at the coffee shop, she is both his boss, his roomie and his bestie. She’s tall, has great style and takes no guff from anyone. Together with Robbie, I even have hope that Devin’s cluelessness and carelessness with words will be curbed.

5 stars. I just wish it had been a little bit longer and had a few more appearances by Joey.

[Traci S · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️
Loved every word of Sunny and Alex’s story. I forgot how fun this series is, it’s been a bit since I’ve read AE Wasp- way too long. The charters are just so well brought to life, flawed, full of personality, and utterly lovable. I loved Alex’s sweetness, he is entirely endearing, which I think is hard to pull off while still making Alex feel real. Sunny is his perfect counterpart, they are full of life and tons of personality. These two together are crazy sweet, I loved their conversations and their chemistry. I enjoyed all the team vibes, the characters are lovely, the romance is top notch, and Sunny and Alex have an absolutely lovely story to tell.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[Sandass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great intro into use of personal pronouns

Some of us, out of touch, older generation, retired people don't have a good understanding of the preferred pronoun usage our friends and family expect us to use.
This book puts you through a rigorous training of 'they/them' used by one of the guys in this book. At first, I was startled and confused, but I caught on after a while.
Meanwhile, the book marches on with a couple falling in love and their best friends aren't far behind them in developing a warm, lusty relationship. There's hockey too, if you like it. And there's a very clever clothing designer who can sew up some outstanding outfits.
Wasp is a favorite author, but this was not my favorite book of hers.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been way too long since the last book in this series, and it feels great being back with these guys. This was the most perfect couple to resume this series. I just wanted to hug them real hard! It was educational , emotional, and so much fun. By the end of this book there was so much love, that I could feel it emanating from this book. ❤️ Truly. This was a two for one romance, with two couples getting an hea. It was so much fun to reunite with the team again. That crazy game day at the " love shack" was hilarious and heartwarming. How they kept track of everything is still a mystery to me. If you're looking for romance and entertainment, look no further-- this is your book.

[Vols77 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series gets better with each new book. This romance between Alex, who all but given up on love and relationship, and Sunny, the nonbinary fashion designed, was by far the most romantic of the series. I loved watching these two help one another and their love to slowly bloom. A great read with awesome characters that you will root for from page one. I wish these books came out sooner but each one is well worth the wait. I cannot speak highly enough about this book nor this series. I did receive an ARC and leave this honest review.

[K-Me · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this was one of the more cuddly and cute romances in this series. Alex is having trouble finding himself and Sunny was just the guy for the job. They end up genuinely getting too slowly know each deeply and it was sweet to watch. Fashion and Ice really connected here. I adored them together and of course all the other guys surrounding them and supporting them. Love and Happiness for the win!

[Juniper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the main characters in this story. Sunny and Alex (Hubs) are “make you laugh, make you smile, and make you sigh” types of characters in all the best ways, both as individuals and a pairing. They’ve got depth and nuance as people as well as solid chemistry, and it’s fun and touching and full of feels watching them together. Shout out also to the supporting characters, who more than hold their own as well. 4.5 stars.

*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

so good!!!

I so enjoyed watching Alex and Sunny fall in love, especially Alex. Alex was so good in learning what made Sunny who they were, all the pieces and in process learning about themself. So sweet!! And Devin is quite the character. What a surprise to see him with Sunny’s friend Phoebe.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed this series from the very beginning and I was so excited to see another one. This was a wonderful story with some fantastic characters and great world building. I highly recommend the whole series.

[Amanda Reeves · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the eighth book in the Hot off the Ice series and I love this series so much. There is so much chemistry between Sunny and Alex and I love the helping they do for each other. This is well written with wonderful characters.

[devil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute story... low on drama, lots of swoony moments. Alex and Sunny are just adorable together. It's a great addition to the series.

[Jolanda van Osch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved these series, but I was a bit disappointed with this book. I didn't get a feeling for Sunny and Alex, I thought it was all a bit too forced.

[Bobbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fanboy, Hot Off The Ice book eight by A. E. Wasp. This has been a fantastic Series! I enjoyed reading this book very much. The characters are fantastic! I love great characters! I believe this author has been my first favorite, from the first book I read by her. I thought I’ve read all the books in this series , but it looks like I may have missed a couple. So I’m going to have to try and get those books. Especially “ Hot Off the Ice, The O’Reilly Boys”. “Boy Toy” was a really fun book so I would love to read more about the O’Reilly’s. This is definitely a must read book in a must read series!!!!!

[Melduk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book seemed to be a different writing style to the previous ones in the series and I just could not get into it properly. It was somehow a bit drawn out and rushed at the same time and the main characters were too vague. And when I did finally manage to get to the epilogue it was so off centre that it totally threw me. It wasn’t the main characters ending it was a side characters. Why????? The two main characters had good stories to tell they just didn’t come off well.