Savage Titan: Special Edition

North Shore Titans Hockey #1

by E.V. Olsen

I caught the attention of a savage beast.

My fault–ish after I crashed into the North Shore Titan’s star defensemen on my way to class.

In typical Eli Holmes fashion, instead of walking away after he threw my books across the hall, I stood up to Alexei Petrov.

Even sat right next to him in class, letting him know exactly what I thought of his brutish behavior.

Someone should’ve reminded me not to go around poking monsters.

But I’m not one to cower.

Until a heated encounter leads to a steamy kiss.

Now, I can’t seem to get away from him–at school or in my thoughts.

And his savagery draws out desires I didn’t know I had.

The worst part–even seeing how dark this hockey player is, I can’t stop myself from falling for him.

One way or another, Alexei Petrov is going to destroy me.

*Savage Titan is the first in a five book standalone MM college hockey romance series featuring a possessive hockey player, and the feisty art student who crashes into his world. This is a bully romance with dark behaviors, bi-awakening and opposites attract.*

Genres: M M Romance, Sports, Hockey, Romance, Sports Romance, College, Enemies To Lovers

185 pages, Paperback

First published March 24, 2024

About the author

I'm a romance author who loves Over The Top alpha males who are possessive and ​completely obsessed with their person or mate. Nothing will get in their way from claiming what's theirs. I enjoy writing darker type romances whether in the contemporary world, PNR worlds, or even post-apocalyptic worlds.

Reviews

[Chelsea · Rating 1 out of 5]

BRUH, NOT ONLY IS THIS BAD, IT'S LITERALLY THE FUCKING WORST??
Maybe my worst read of the year, or a close second.
If someone recommended this to cure your Heated Rivalry slump.... I'm lowkey convinced that they hate you.
I wanted to DNF this on THE THIRD SENTENCE. I counted.




This book was trying so fucking hard to be edgy.
"I gorge on their energy, letting it fuel the simmering darkness within me, a beast awakening from it's slumber"


These motherfuckers are like what? 19? What are you even talking about my bro?

"He might be my friend, but he should know better than to test me. No one is truly safe from the beast that lurks beneath my skin"

BRO I AM CRYING FROM LAUGHING, WHAT IS THIS?

WHY IS HE ALWAYS TALKING LIKE A DISNEY BULLY???
It's giving ... ✨Youtube Disney Bully Skit✨

This book was just trying SOOOOOOOOOOOo hard to be rivals to lovers because it's a popular trope.
There was no reason for him to be an asshole, or for them to fall inlove.
This was stupid as fuck, and our MC talked about women like they were dogshit.... because that is just SO COOL AND EDGY FOR A MAN TO DO THAT............ ick.
Read my highlight/notes if you need to see for yourself some of the awful shit in this book and sentences that barely make sense.

And for real... Harry Potter references in books published in 2024? GTFO OF EREEEEEEE







Preread:
I'm going to read the books that 'booktok' are recommending to people with "Heated Rivalr slump"... so that you don't have to.... *or maybe I force down your throat if they are worth it* TEHE.


Lesssssssssssgooooooooooooooo !! 🔊

[Kati *☆･ﾟ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2** stars


hahaha, found another one *lmaooo

Without any warning, I shove the whore off my lap and she lands on her ass. “Hey!” I just step over her. Does the dumb bitch really think I care about her complaints?

*hard eyeroll Yeah yeah I get it, you’re the king of the badasses ‘cause you treat women like the worthless bitches they are. Bravo. *slow clap


The rest of it was bad, but still kinda entertaining in its bad-ness.

After Eli stands up repeatedly to rich and entitled motherfucker Alexei their relationship develops quickly and must be off page because I didn’t see it happen and suddenly they are all mushy, possessive and in love —the savage Titan and the poor art student.

For good measure throw in a demanding, abusive and (ofc!) homophobic father, getting disowned for being a “cocksucker” now and there you have it —a super flat novella, full of stereotypes and OTT drama, I could’ve lived without.

Can’t wait for the next ones! There are quite a few more badasses *cough assholes on the team who could earn a spot in this series.

************
North Shore Titans Hockey Series

Book 1 - Savage Titan - 2.0 stars
Book 2 - Brutal Titan
Book 3 - Unhinged Titan
Book 4 - Forbidden Titan
Book 5 - Ruthless Titan

[Mimi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, this was...dumb. 🫠
I could list the ridiculous things starting with the early 2000s levels of misogyny all the way to the plethora of cliches thrown into the (very angry, very entitled, very "I am man watch me make fire and roar") main character and into the book in general, but honestly this novella got an hour of my time and it didn't even deserve that so...good riddance.

[Megan [At The Cottage] · Rating 2 out of 5]

MM Romance
Instalove Hockey
2 Stars ⭐️


I was excited for this book after liking this author’s debut apocalyptic series but this was seriously bad. This was 116 pages of cliche, OTT, stupid drama and fucking Alexei was such a douchebag that I couldn’t figure out why the other guy was into him. LoL I just finished it an hour ago and already can’t remember his name 🤣🤣🤣 I was in the mood for a good bully book too but Alexei was a bully for maybe one page and then he’s in love with what’s his name. It didn’t show any of the falling in love on page, just the sex, and while this author writes good smut, this book needed more plot. I just kept rolling my eyes and yawning while reading this. It was just a complete disappointment and while I’m kind of interested in some of the other hockey players, I don’t exactly trust this author to give me a great story after this train wreck.

[Milica · Rating 3 out of 5]

something tells me this will be done in one sitting
update: it absolutely was🤣

this novella was pretty short just like eli, but i enjoyed reading it anyway

my first impression was, damn this alexei bloke has got some major anger issues💀 but then we meet his friend group and pretty much all of them need anger management oop-

we got lots of cliche tropes like mr popuar and an art nerd, but oh well, i ate it all up anyway 🤷🏼‍♀️
tho it was a bit confusing how they both suddenly got obsessed with each other pretty much within the same chapter where they were at each other's throats💀
felt like a time jump, like a big chunk was missing, bc i really wanted to see how their relationship progressed, and it feels like we were robbed of that😪

but i did love that there wasn't a third act breakup scene, and also that neither of them was actually hiding in the closet, that was kinda refreshing, ngl 🙂‍↕️

[ivy]

DNF chapter 2 - MC is so angry his dialogue veers into ridiculous

[Hugo #freepalestine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dude it's too short but its so good lol I wished there were more couldn't get enough of their interactions.

[Head in a book · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author has quickly become an automatic read for me. I absolutely loved Eli and how he softened Alexei's hard edges...marginally. This was quick, hot & a fun read, looking forward to the next one already!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[alex :) · Rating 1 out of 5]

i didn’t care much for this at all. i came back to it with the audio and although i loved the voice actors, they still couldn’t save this book. the biggest thing that drove me crazy was that alexei was feared by everyone. i can’t stand when characters are feared and can get away with pretty much anything. idk it just doesn’t sound realistic to me. also, alexei was ready to fight anyone who pissed him off. like how old are we?? he just seemed very childish and i wasn’t feeling the romance between him and eli.

[Jane aka Coughy019 (Safety info included) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tropes: opposites attract, college romance, bully romance, hockey
Feels: 1.5/5
Steam*: 1.5/5
Kinks: rough sex, spanking
Angst: low
HEA: yes
Pairing: MM
Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: abusive dad, misogyny to women, instalove, unsafe sex

This is a novella. It's the story of Eli a gay art student and Alexei a college hockey player dreaming to make the NHL who is about to go through a bi-awakening. Alexei is a bully, misogynistic, he doesn't really care about other people. They bump into each other physically at college one day and Alexei blames Eli for not avoiding him and basically barks at him on two occasions and then their next interaction he's lusting after him. They both instantly think that what they have is so special even though you see no development of feelings or positive healthy interactions between them on page that would rationalize feelings developing. It's insta love.

I have to acknowledge first, I do have a bias against novellas, because to me a novella just isn't enough pages to properly tell a good story. It takes a special talent to write a good novella, and even if it's a good novella I usually prefer a full length book because I can get attached to the story and characters more and have more to enjoy - to accommodate for my bias, I judge novellas according to what I call novella standards and I'm usually pretty generous with the stars. Authors do need to do their part though and use caution and make sure the story they want to tell is one that fits into the confines of a novella.

That said, this wasn't a well written novella. There wasn't good development of the characters or the relationship. You didn't get to know the characters very well. The relationship was instalove, and there was no rational reason for these characters to actually develop feelings for each other. There was a decent amount of plot for a novella, I'll give the author that. The passage of time was not handled well, it wasn't very obvious to the reader. There was reference to the next day and a few days later, and then at the end all of a sudden there's a comment about it having been a few months (it wasn't a time jump for an epilogue).

Also it just didn't have likable characters. You didn't really get to know Eli well and Alexei was a misogynistic bully who was violent and mean to people as his default. Yeah his dad was abusive towards him, but that's not an excuse for treating people the way he did. Especially women. And there was no indication that he changed and redeemed himself, he just cared about Eli. And all the guys had together was instalove. I saw some tiktoks marketing this as having Sterek vibes (Teen Wolf), but Alexei and Eli were just violent grump & weaker small guy with none of the depth of Sterek. I will also acknowledge that I am biased because I'm a huge Sterek fan and have read sooooo much fanfiction of them, like, embarassing amounts, I even have a couple tags on my Goodreads for Sterek.


Best moment:

It's the 'I live here too!' that did me in. "Eli spasms in my arms, cock erupting, cum striping his chest and abs. I bite down where his neck meets shoulder, fucking him through his orgasm as my vision whites out, and I come harder than ever before, every cell exploding in pleasure, then fusing back together, making me feel nearly invincible. Through the fuzzy post orgasm haze, I just make out the sound of the door opening and turn my head. Eli’s roommate stands at the threshold, gaping before slapping a hand over his face. "Oh, Jesus fuck. I live here too!" He stumbles back out, pulling the door forcefully closed behind him."


*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.

[Jenn · Rating 1 out of 5]

1⭐️

This might just be the worst book I’ve read in 2025😭this was atrociously bad.

The book is only 187 pages, so I was thinking okay just a read fast and easy read. But idk, maybe romance books need a minimum of 250 pages cause this felt extremely insta-lovey. They were “enemies” or whatever for a solid 30 pages and then suddenly they are into each other and are obsessed.

These characters were so bland too oh my gosh, I can’t tell you a single thing about either of them. I don’t think they even know anything about each other.

Alexei was fucking annoying, don’t get me started. The whole book he was giving alpha male and for what?💀 and WHY are we still writing characters extremely misogynistic ‘I shove the slut off my lap and she lands on her ass. “Hey!” I just step over her. Does the dumb bitch really think I care about her complaints?’

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eli & Alexei
Rating: 3.9 ⭐

- Bi-Awakening
- Sexual Awakening
- Opposites Attract
- Possessive (OTT) MC
- Hurt/Comfort
- Grumpy/Sunshine
- Size Difference
- Hockey Romance

Trigger warnings are listed at the end.

Dang it Olsen, again getting me hook line and sinker! NOOOOOOOOOO, sweet mother of mercy, why is this not longer??? I'm throwing a full-on tantrum currently because I want more of them, NOW!! This gives me Russian bully alpha male hockey player with a strong-willed quick-witted artist, yes please all day long! The team during the games were brutal and loved every minute of it.



Eli said he will not stand down to a bully and boy they both get a surprise when they realize they're attracted to each other and the rough treatment Alexei deals out to Eli. Alexei has only slept with women but has never really been attracted to anyone male or female, until Eli comes along and turns his world upside down. Once Alexei decides he wants to own Eli, they are both all in with no questions. I liked that there was never really an issue with Alexei being with a man, Eli was sensitive to how Alexei was dealing with it of course, but no one bothered them about it. That probably also had to do with everyone being scared of the bully hockey team anyways. There's even some sweet moments sprinkled into their story, which made their dynamic all the more enticing. There's crap Alexei has to deal with when it comes to his dad, but that's not because he's with a man just what his dad deems a distraction.

TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Descriptive sex scenes, impact play, violence/bullying, rough sexual play, homophobic tertiary character who makes homophobic remarks (appears toward the end), mention of childhood physical abuse, emotional abuse by a tertiary character toward the end.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Verse: No
HEA: HFN
POV: Dual
Breakup: No

[Sid · Rating 2 out of 5]

yeah this should've been full length novel. it's just too short and too fast to fully grasp relationship development.

[kay! ☾ · Rating 1 out of 5]

‘i want heated rivalry’ ‘we have heated rivalry at home’ and this is the heated rivalry at home

yeah this is the last time i trust someone when they say that if you like heated rivalry you should read xyz book i knew i should have dropped this the moment i read the phrase little mouse 🤢

[readingwithmiaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐️
3.5🌶️




Y’all, This Was Such A Fun Time I Really Enjoyed This Book And I Really Love Alexei And Eli So Much They Were Honestly So Cute. On My Way To Start Book Two Brutal Titan, Can’t Wait For Jackson And Killian’s Story I’m SO Pumped. Highly Recommended This Series If You Want A Quick Fun Good MM Dark Hockey Romance Series To Get You Out Of A Reading Slump.💕💕💕💕

[hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alexei breaks the kiss and rests his forehead against mine, his eyes fluttering closed. "What are you doing to me, Eli?" His voice is a ragged whisper.
"I could ask you the same thing." I smooth back a lock of his dark brown hair. "I've never felt so connected to someone either."

stop they were so cute 🫠😭😍

i went into this series with zero expectations and i'm just here along for the ride, so i actually enjoyed this a lot! i wanted to smack alexei upside the head at the beginning for being such an asshole, but when he fell- HE FUCKING FELL HARDDDDD. he was very guarded and cold, but seeing him become so soft for eli was adorable 🥺 even with how short and ott this was, i was pretty happy with alexei's development. also loved how eli didn't take alexei's shit. he had that man in the palm of his hands 😌

the marking!! 😈 the possessiveness!? the jersey alexei got eli with his number on it?? THE PET NAME 😍😍😍 i'm afraid i am that easy to hook if a book has these things. sign me up EVERYTIME

so even with the laughable dialogue we got when in alexei's head, i couldn't help find the ridiculousness of it entertaining. 😂

onto book two, i'm so excited to see the infamous team rivals fall in love!!

[kaleigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

The side characters and MC1 treated girls so horribly and only saw them as a hole to use. As much as I wanted to enjoy the book, certain quotes completely ruined it for me.

I grab my half-hard dick and give a little squeeze. Luckily, some brunette in a skintight black dress that barely covers her ass looks my way. I raise my glass and beckon her over. She smiles, not that I care. I’m too busy deciding what hole of hers I want to use. And when she sits on my thigh instead of on the couch, I decide on her pussy.

~

Unless we’re in need of a toy or three.
Nothing like a mouth to rail to take the edge off.

These aren’t the worst quotes I’ve come across, but any time they talk about/ treat women like the side characters and MC1 did in this book, they never fail to give me the ick😖

Safety info:
- no V. MC1 seemed like a manhoe but has never done anything with a guy before MC2. MC1 has had anal sac with a girl a few times which he mentioned as he was prepping MC2 for their first time. No info on MC2 that I can remember
- no OM
- OW: on page MC1 has a girl sitting on his lap and he is thinking about what hole of hers he wants to fuck after the party😒 MC1 does not end up sleeping with this girl since he sees MC2 at the party and goes to be with MC2. This was after MC1 and MC2 met but they didn’t have feelings for each other by this point and haven’t kissed yet. MC1 watches his friend get a blowjob in this scene too
- condoms >> no condoms (1 scene), both are clean
- strict t/b

[Audi♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I need to fuck you until it’s branded on your soul that every part of you belongs to me. Not anyone else. Me. And only me.”
Blushing 🤭🥰

Damn these hockey players were super intense. A bit OTT, but exactly what I was in the mood for.
Off to the next book.

“Look at your greedy hole winking at me. So desperate for my cock.”
STOP. Hehe. So embarrassed

[Blair ♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

❝*No one is truly safe from the beast that lurks beneath my skin, not even those closest to me.*❞

❝*He snarls and spits in my face. Fool. Doesn't he know that only feeds the monster?*❞

I am genuinely laughing my ass off. I just discovered that I am not a big fan of bully romances. I can't stand Alexei's chapter. Eli on the other hand is fairly tolerable.

This works as a quick, light read, but expect that the characters and plot are shallow because of how short this is. It’s clearly written more for fun and smut, neither of which I found remotely satisfying.



📌📚 North Shore Titans Hockey

📖 Savage Titan — 1 star
📖 Brutal Titan — 2.5 stars
📖 Unhinged Titan — tbr
📖 Forbidden Titan — tbr
📖 Ruthless Titan — tbr

[Laura Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Savage Titan is book one in the North Shore Titans series. This MM college hockey romance story is about Alexei and Eli.

Alexei is a star hockey player looking to get into the NHL and Eli is a feisty art student. These two literally run into each other, and when Alexei tries to bully Eli, Eli isn’t having it. Alexei is straight, but soon realizes he is into Eli. I liked how Eli was understanding and patient with Alexei, and they ended up being very sweet together. Alexei and Eli’s story was short and I was entertained, but I needed more from the story and the characters. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the ending because it felt very abrupt and incomplete.

[Dani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty disappointing!

I love possessiveness and trashy OTT drama, but it absolutely has to have some substance and the characters actually getting to know each other on page before they make love declarations.

This was just a checklist for cliches!

They start hooking up all of a sudden with no explanation.

They're saying they love each other after sex, and they know the absolute bare minimum about each other.

No one ever sees them together even though every interaction happens in public spaces...

Alexei is obsessed with Eli for no reason other than he wasn't afraid of him.

I wanted to see them actually getting to know each other and building a real relationship where they grow as characters, but these two are the exact same people at the end of the book, they're just exclusively having sex with the other and saying they love each other now! That's the only change!!!

I mean, I'm still interested enough to try some more books in the series, but this fell massively short of what I think makes a good trashy drama.

[bookishninaa]

Less hockey and more fucking, please and thank you.

[Crystal (Crystalreads2) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[⋆｡°✮ Lucy InTheSky ✮°｡⋆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a quick, underdeveloped novel that left me indifferent. It's the same thing as with #Wasteland Temptations - too short for the story the author was trying to tell, it ends abruptly and you finish reading it feeling veeeery unsatisfied.
But I did like #Wasteland Temptations though.

North Shore Titans, the fierce hockey players, sons of billionaires that run this campus and punch anyone who even looks at them

"We might love to coat the ice with blood, break a few bones, but we draw the line at brain injury type shit."



Yeah, this didn't work.

🟣 Bully trope
🟢 Brutal rich Russian hockey player/the new guy on scholarship
🟡 Insta everything
🟠 Gay/express bi-awakening
🌶️ Some sex, good, nothing earth-shattering; t/b

This is what happens when you're overselling the bully. He becomes a caricature and not that hot anymore.

"The snarl that leaves my lips is dark, viscous. He might be my friend, but don’t test me. No one is truly safe from me."

"Without any warning, I shove the whore off my lap and she lands on her ass."



So Alexei, the ultimate bully that ever bullied, tries to bully Eli and - plot twist - instead of punching his face, they kiss, they start hooking up and fall in love.

It all happens with absolutely no hiccups from Alexei, he just goes for it, even though he's Russian and even though he doesn't know how the team is going to deal with it, he picks his new boyfriend and that's that.

Eli wasn't a fleshed out character, I didn't particularly like him either. I can't be enthusiastic about his relationship with Alexei since everything flew by so fast I couldn't even get to know both of the main characters like I wanted to.

I'm guessing the next installment is the same.

[Luna ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

»If one strand of hair on his pretty little head breaks, I'll rip someone's throat out with my teeth.«

★ ★ ★

❥ 𝑬𝒍𝒊 𝜗𝜚˚⋆
Loved him. He is sweet but stands his ground against Alexei.

❥ 𝑨𝒍𝒆𝒙𝒆𝒊 ࣪⋆✮
A rich psycho with a soft spot for Eli. He is unhinged, possessive and dangerous.

✥ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌
I liked this more then I thought. It was funny, silly, brutal and just a brainless college romance - exactly what I was in the mood for. This is by far no literary masterpiece but the tension is good and the smut is hot. The perfect book for a short evening.
Eli and Alexei have great tension and I liked them together. While Alexei is hotheaded and brutal Eli is soft and calms him down. Their story is rather insta lovy but it kept me entertained and I has a good time with this book.

𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤?
Yes, if you want to read a short and enjoyable darker college romance.

𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝟓 ׂㅤ𐙚 ࣪ ⭒
plot: 2/5
spice: 3/5
humor: 4/5
couple/tension: 4/5
world building: 5/5
happy end?: yes

𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 ᡣ𐭩ྀི₊ ⊹
possessive and protective hero, instant attraction, touch him and die, from different worlds, college, m x m, rich x poor, hockey player x art student, bully romance, bi awakening, grumpy x sunshine

𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬
#1 Savage Titan ★ ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
#2 Brutal Titan ★ ★ ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
#3 Unhinged Titan ★ ★ ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
#4 Forbidden Titan ★ ★ ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
#5 Ruthless Titan ★ ★ ★ ★
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Aricka Decker]

4⭐

Maybe the audiobook saved it but I don't hate this shit. Maybe I was in a good mood. Wish it was longer though because it had poitrinal to have characters I actually liked and think would of made an actual good book. Like super corny but like Legacy of Gods corny type shit good.

[J · Rating 1 out of 5]

19% in and absolutely the f not. the main character is a child... oh my God. I love me an asshole character but that mc was trying too hard. This is so 12 year old girl coded.

[Rayan Benbella · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only reason im giving it one star is because I can’t give 0

[Monikat · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨✨✨✨🪄✨✨✨✨✨
Over The Top Alpha male Brutal Bully erotica at its core, quick and dirty. Unfortunately, it's like getting the cliff notes. We barely get to know them so their individual reactions seem far fetched or abrupt. Making it a novella skips many important things that we are just told about, which does not make it a good read, just a fast one.
The touch him and die vibes are full on, as much as the ott violent bully vibes, validating the title of this story.
Meh, but I had fun reading it😊😉😅🙃
Addendum: After reading the series, you see this couple a lot more and realize they are the backbone story and everything makes more sense. I'm upgrading to 4 stars.

[Ed Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can see why some people didn’t like this, but I loved it. I must admit that after reading about the first hockey match I was a little taken aback by the violence of Alexei’s team. However, I loved Alexi and Eli. Eli standing up to Alexi was great. Some people complained that they went from hating each other to sex too quickly, but to me Alexi started off fighting his attraction and slowly realized how important Eli was to him. The sex scenes were right up my alley. My only complaint was it’s too short and the next book is about a different player. I can’t wait to read it anyway.