Overtime

Alpha Omega Hockey #3

by Marina Vivancos

Ishir is happy when his best friend Zane is traded to his team, the Brooklyn Cats. Why wouldn’t he be? They’ve known each other since they were kids. Zane was the first person he came out to as gay—an Alpha who’s attracted to other Alphas. Zane has been there for him every step of the way.

Oh, and Ishir is madly in love with him.

Ishir isn’t going to make it a problem, though. Sure, they’re living together, so he has to see Zane strut around shirtless. And, okay, Zane knows about Ishir’s weird little superstition—
Ishir can only come when he scores a goal. It’s his thing, okay?
But when Zane starts involving himself in who Ishir can sleep with…in how he gets himself off…well, things start getting a little more complicated.
Zane likes to tell him what to do, and Ishir likes listening.

They’re just best friends, though. Nothing more.
Ishir is just going to have to accept that…or break his heart trying.

This is the fourth instalment of Alpha Omega Hockey but can be read as a stand-alone.

Genres: Omegaverse, Sports, Friends To Lovers, M M Romance, Romance, Hockey, Contemporary

229 pages, Paperback

First published July 18, 2023

About the author

When Marina was a child she couldn’t sleep. Night after dissolving night she just couldn’t sleep. Nothing much worked – until she started making up stories in her head. Suddenly, the transition into unconsciousness was a smooth dive into calm waters.

Marina is currently in a period of sleepless upheaval, and she hopes writing down the stories in her head will cast the same spell it did years ago.

You can find her being malhumorada on Twitter.

Reviews

[Marci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zane and Ishir AKA Zee and Zammy are lifelong besties who are now on the same hockey team. They start living together immediately and we see what their daily life playing and living together is like as well as the complications of Ishir’s long standing pining for his best friend whilst said best friend is now in Ishir’s life more than ever before.

This was so fucked up, and he liked it so, so much.

Like or dislike the book, I always feel at home in Marina’s works!! Her writing is so inviting. There were types of possessive in here I haven’t ever read about before and I was LIVING.🔥 The jealousy and possessiveness was pretty much constant but never tiring to me! But if you don’t like that element in your books, I wouldn’t read this one; because there’s just so much lol. The steam was unreal. Like just when I think I’ve read it all…in comes a book that proves I simply haven’t!!! Self imposed orgasm denial because Ishir can’t come unless he scores a goal (that might not be the right hockey term idk!!! Everything I’ve learned about sports has been via MM romance and none of it has stuck😎✌🏼), Praise kink, Zane picking out the person that’s going to fuck Ishir (before they get together), Zane getting mad about Ishir having sex with someone not approved by him. People being like umm dude. Zane scented all over you. And Ishir being like whaaaaa no way ??? We’re just besties. He doesn’t like me like that. The cuddles!!! Ishir taking care of Zane when he injured his knee during a game! Zane giving Ishir puppy dog eyes when Ishir has to leave their home to go play without him.🥹 There’s lots of hot moments but also lots of sweetness and emotion to be found here and I thought it was balanced really well.❤️ Even though we don’t see much of Ishir and Zane in the past and the cementing of their friendship, I feel like I still could feel their bond so deeply in the present and why they’re so obsessed with each other. Like I get it!!! 100%!!! Codependency for the win!!!! Also I don’t normally read Omega / Alpha books but I love how Marina incorporates it in this series. So good! Also I really liked that this featured Ishir, a character with OCD!! It always makes me feel less alone when I read books about people like me.

”I’m hanging out in my room,” Ishir declared, bracing himself to get up.
Zee immediately latched onto his arm. “Don’t leave me.”
Ishir tried to wiggle out from his grasp, but Zee was barnacled on. “Jesus Christ, it’s like you have tentacles.”
“You wish I had tentacles.”
“I’m not acknowledging or reacting to that statement.”
Zee waggled his eyebrows, making Ishir laugh and give up on his mission to untangle himself from him.

[♡Gabi♡ [life & work is chaotic hiatus] · Rating 4 out of 5]

“𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔,” 𝒁𝒂𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅.
“𝒀𝒆𝒑. 𝑾𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅?”
“𝑩𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚.
𝒁𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍, 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉. “𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒆.”

I read through this so quickly bc I just enjoyed Zee and Zammy sm, like seriously, their antics, personalities, bond, and friendship-turned-relationship/dynamic together had me giggling and blushing at so many different points.🤭 What more could I ask for: bffs who are professional hockey players and finally playing on the same team AND living together now…oh no, what could go wrong (or so right😏)?

Zee (Zane) and Zammy (Ishir) become something more—after years of platonic friendship and Ishir thinking his love for Zee was one-sided—was everything I needed from this hockey romance and once they both finally give into their feelings: fireworks + possessiveness + HOTNESS overload.🥵

Just going to leave this short review with some quotes now, but I had a fun time reading this, was content with the writing and pacing—didn’t mind it being 3rd person at all, and I just love bffs who are so gone and soft for each other before and after they become romantically involved ugh!!🫠🦋🤌🏼

⋆˙⟡♡˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡˙⟡ ⋆˙⟡♡˙⟡ ⋆ ⋆˙⟡♡˙⟡
❥ 𝒁𝒆𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓, 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝑰𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑰𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕. 𝑯𝒂𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕, 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝒔𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒁𝒆𝒆. 𝑩𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒅, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒇 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒚.
yuppp, just being friendly, that’s all.🤭

❥ “𝑻𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆,” 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒁𝒆𝒆 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒃𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝑰𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆.
𝑰𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒎. “𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒚.
“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍.”
𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒂𝒚.
“𝒀𝒆𝒔.”
🥵

❥“𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒋𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔. 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏. 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒆. 𝑾𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑰’𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒐 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒔𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆.”
asdfjjkld🦋🥲🫠💘 and they say romance is dead

❥ 𝒁𝒂𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒁𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒚’𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔, 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕— 𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆.
𝑯𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒃 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆, 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒌. “𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒚,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒍𝒚.
𝒁𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔. “𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆.”
🥹
⋆˙⟡♡˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡ ⋆ ⋆˙⟡♡˙⟡

🏒bffs-to-lovers + roomates
🏒omegaverse - alpha and alpha
🏒hockey players
🏒territorial and possessive MC
🏒unrequited love (just for a lil) and mutual pining
🏒OM in the beginning before the two MMCs are together
🏒a lil angst and jealousy
🏒steamy moments + rutts + edging + orgasm denial

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ 4.5 stars ⭐️

“I’ll be yours,” Ishir promised, breathless and reeling. “If you’ll be mine.”

Overtime was my fave of the series so far. The pining, the possessiveness. Best friends turning into more.

“You’re not gonna come, because I didn’t tell you to. And you’re gonna be good, aren’t you?”

The spice was insane. I loved the JOI scenes, Zane controlling how and when Zammy would come, the alpha on alpha action, the jealousy.
I also really loved the epilogue. Seeing how gone Zane was for Ishir all along was amazing.

This installment was more sexy than angsty, but I very much enjoyed it.

CW and tropes (spoilers):
- Best friends to lovers
- Pining
- Omegaverse (alpha X alpha)
- Roommates & teammates
- Possessiveness & jealousy
- JOI (jerk off instructions)
- Switch scene
- Praise kink
- Phone sex
- Light domination
- Face fucking
- Orgasm control/denial
- Edging
- Knotting
- Rimming
- Breath play (epilogue)
- Public sex (epilogue)

[Drache.... (Angelika) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marina Vivancos writes the best omegaverse romances.
So much love, longing and possessiveness!

Just a quick heads-up, though.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!
Both Zee and Ishir have sex with other people for a big part of the book.
Ishir has been in love with Zeen since forever, but knows/thinks Zee won't ever reciprocate his feelings. So he sleeps with other people
Zee even confesses to Ishir that he had sex with someone else after they spent Zee's rut together and Ishir confessed his love.
Zee's motivation for holding back his feelings for so long wasn't really logical to me, but what do I know about obsession? Nothing, that's what.

[KaylaMarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

✰4 stars✰

“Not good enough, huh?” Zee asked. “I should carve my fucking name on your skin so you remember who you belong to.”

The possessiveness in this one? OFF THE CHARTS.

This was an enjoyable read for me. It's very friends to lovers, one of us had been in love with the other for a long time.

There were moments when the writing was a little clunky or awkward (mostly near the beginning and during jumps of time) but overall the story was engaging and held my attention. Marina Vivancos can honestly do no wrong for me, so it wasn't really a problem.

If you're looking for a story with minimal angst and some pretty steamy scenes then this might be a good one for you.

[Iz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yep, still a fav of mine.

_____________________

MARINA VIVANCOS, THE THINGS YOU DO TO ME. You gorgeous, evil, brilliant genius of a writer.
"Overtime" is a GEM of a book; it's, by far, one of my favourite reads of the year, and quite possibly one of my favourite Marina Vivancos books to date. I loved it to bits, soul and heart.
It's so steamy I needed multiple showers; it's so sweet and gut-wrenching my soul literally hurt; it's so good I'm quite tempted to start it again. And again.

Ishir and Zee's story stole my heart: I'd literally die for them.
Marina Vivancos makes every single trope better, and this book is no exception: best-friends to lovers, with a side dish of secret (and not so secret), soul-wrenching pining? Forbidden-ish Alpha x Alpha relationship? Ruts, scenting, marking, knotting and the delicious, expected Alpha possessiveness and protectiveness (but multiplied by 10, because whew, Zee is unbelievably possessive omg *fans herself*)? D/s dynamics, with edging, spanking, orgasm control, deliciously rough sex and jealousy used as foreplay?
I think this book was made for me.
I loved it so much, every single bit of it.

< Zee wrapped around him, rubbing his cheek against Ishir’s neck. “You smell like other people. You’re not allowed to go on any more road trips without me,” Zee grumbled.
Ishir let his head fall back, exposing more skin to be scented.
“You’re so possessive.” ��You’re mine.” It was said jokingly, but the words still curled up in the pit of Ishir’s stomach, a hot coil. >

I loved both main characters to bits. We mostly get Ishir's POV, but I still managed to fall for both of them: Ishir was so damn lovable, sweet and fierce, and his insecurities and pining made me want to wrap him up in blankets; and Zee? Even though we don't get his POV, his character still appears multilayered and complex: he's funny and childish and soft, but also protective and possessive and sliiiightly unhinged. I loved him so much.
AND their friendship was everything: bff-to-lovers has become a favourite trope of mine, and I've been so lucky to read so many authors who handle this trope beautifully. The pining broke my heart, their devotion made me tear up, and tension between them was unbelievable: so, so, so hot and sooooo perfectly done.

< Zee shoved Ishir in an ironic parody of wrestling as kids. Instead of a headlock, however, the move was followed by another kiss. Another bite, another chunk of Ishir’s skin and soul between Zee’s teeth. >

I admit, they weren't the best at communicating but I found their behavior quite justified: both of them are young, and I can't even begin to imagine how one is supposed to handle such an all-encompassing bond and dynamic. They were deliciously devoted to one another, codependant and attentive and affectionate, and yes, even deliciously (and consensually!) toxic at times. I loved them so much, and I adored every single aspect of their dynamic.
I literally could not get enough.

"Overtime" was made even better by the fact that we even got to witness a bit more of Levy and Olive, and Orion and Gabby; I'm still desperate for a few short stories or novellas about their life, after their respective HEA, but I was so happy with the glimpses we got.
And if their books had a, somewhat, abrupt ending, fear not, because "Overtime" has the most satisfying ending: it left me feeling happy and whole, and I could not have wished for more.

I loved seeing more glimpses of the team, and the team dynamic was great: fun and hilarious and endearing. I'm so curious to see what else Marina Vivancos has planned for her characters: I can't wait to see who will steal my soul next, and I seriously hope this omegaverse + hockey series never ends.

Thank you GRR for the ARC. I received it in exchange for an honest review.

CWs: possible trigger for some, so Ishir sleeps with a few people before getting together with Zee, but it's part of their weird (and hot) reward system, and it stops as soon as they start getting more involved with one another; I usually abhor sharing and cheating of any kind, but this didn't bother me so much, since it's all done before they "get" together and it was part of their game.

[Mug · Rating 5 out of 5]

edit 12/25/23: ishir and zee have insane chemistry like omfg do they have c h e m i s t r y….like they INVENTED chemistry fr like they are ELECTRIC……like ugh marina spoils me🥰 like bruh how is it possible or even LEGAL to be oozing this much sex:

“‘I’ll choose for you if you want,’ Zee suggested. Ishir would have taken it as a joke if Zee hadn’t sounded so serious, voice low under the music. Even his expression had stilled into severe lines, eyes intent. A thrill went through Ishir, the scrape of nails at the nape of his neck. It felt like a dare. Like a promise. Ishir liked to think he wasn’t an impulsive person. He was measured and thoughtful, could even be overly cautious at times. Right then, though, all those qualities melted away in the light-beam of Zee’s stare. ‘Okay,’ Ishir’s mouth agreed before his brain could catch up. Something lit up in Zee’s dark eyes. ‘Okay.’”

and they’re not even touching or anything, zee is picking out a hookup for ishir, like how am i already SWEATING🥵🥵 that’s TALENT babeyy……the way they’re already sex personified, 12% in, at the barest hint of crumbs is CRAZY!!!!! and this is literally just the very beginning, it only gets sexier from here😩😩😩 like do y’all hear that??? that’s my knees knocking together bc i’m so shaky and wobbly rn i’m bout to fall over….god forget a cane, ima need to be wheeled around for a good week after this:

“The truth was, he didn’t know how to say the truth. That this felt less like one friend helping another and more like Zee was explicitly choosing someone to fuck Ishir. As if Zee owned him and could lend him out at will. Most of all, he didn’t know how to say he liked it.”

“Zee was right behind him, seeing it all, feeling Ishir go pliant and needy, neck exposed. Could he hear the moan that slipped from his throat? Did he know it was for him?”

“Ishir was utterly trapped in Zee’s stare. In the way he seemed to be boring into him, the way he fully expected Ishir to tell him exactly how he was going to touch himself. As if that would belong to Zee, too.”

i CAN’T READ shit like this and be expected to stay sane😩😩😩😩 oh god please i need a defibrillator handy or i won’t make it😩😩

FUCK zee is literally FERAL and i can’t emphasize this enough, the man is CRAZED, it’s otherworldly possessiveness, it’s fiercely intense need, manic almost in it’s fervency, and god it is so beautiful, watching zee just drill holes into ishir at all times, completely zoned out to everything else but ishir. like everything in zee’s life revolves around ishir and ishir thinks his love is unrequited??? let’s have zee clear this up real quick:

“‘It’s not just being jealous. I want to own you. I want you to wear my come on your skin. I want to bite you where everybody can see. Want to mark you. I’d fucking do it anywhere. Every time someone touches you, I want to bend you over and fuck you in front of them so both of you know you’re mine.’”

THIS⬆️ is fucking insane!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS⬆️ is making me malfunction!!!!!!!!!! zee is the definition of growly caveman, god he’s so swoony😩 most chalant mf alive!!!!

“‘But sometimes I look at you and I just want to dig my fingers into your skin and scoop your insides out and fucking…eat them, just so you’ll be part of me.’”

god help me, how is that sexy🥵🥵 not just sexy, but astronomical fucking illegal sexiness. ILLEGAL!!!!!! FUCK i need this shit imprinted in my mind!!!!! i want the pages of this book glued to my fucking walls like wallpaper. i want to grind this book in a blender and consume it.

side note, marina is so talented at writing dialogue for english second language characters….it’s distinctly phrased in such a way that you can HEAR exactly how someone with a russian or swedish accent would say something….truly impressive.

anyway, the first time i read this book, i was so irritated at the 3rd act break up bc it didn’t make any sense to me at that time. like tf, ishir tells you he loves you and you back off like you aren’t damn well in love with him too??? i didn’t buy it the first time, but i loved everything else SOO MUCH, i could overlook it. now tho, reading it a second time and having the full knowledge of zee’s fears and worries and insecurities (thank you epilogue), it makes more sense and i can accept it.

but like, did zee HAVE to sleep with another alpha😐😐 i must have missed that the first read. he slept with another alpha (off page) after their 3rd act break up to, what, prove it was only ever ishir for him? urrrgggghh, fucking nonsense behavior truly. and it was definitely during the break bc he told ishir that ishir was the first alpha that zee had been with. WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY have him sleep with another alpha……it was completely unnecessary for the story, why even add that!!?? and they sorta just bulldoze over it and move on, like it’s some throwaway comment. sick to my stomach, i tell you. i will be IGNORING TF outta this altogether tho and pretending that piece of information doesn’t exist.

bc aside from that disgusting discovery, zee and ishir’s dynamic makes me unhealthily deranged and feral. my heart isn’t even big enough for the love i have for them. and plus they are just so wildly intense, it’s scorching, it’s intoxicating, i literally feel high from it. i don’t even LIKE books where mmcs have sex with people other than the person they get their hea with (even if it’s off page), so how marina managed to write the concept of one mmc picking out another man for the other mmc to fuck and, not only make me enjoy it, but also make me think it’s one of the sexiest things i’ve ever read ????? that is literally just 100% pure talent!!!!!!

book 4 is gonna be nicky’s book right??🤞😩 bc i NEED PLS😩😩

original 7/19/23: when the one who has been secretly in love for years is oblivious to the clear and obvious signs the other is obsessed in a more than friends way >>>>>>>>>>>> and i’ll eat it up every time!!!!!!

they are so sexy holy fuck i was seriously sweating that first blowjob like jesus christttttt they’re desperate thirsty sluts and more importantly they’re desperate thirsty sluts for each other!!!!!!!!!!! zee was insane!!!!! he said “i could make u mine if i wanted” while touching ishir’s mating gland ??????? IM SCREAMINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG PLSSSSS!!!!!!!! and then “we should have been doing this forever. i should have been your first ishir. you fucking hear me? i should have been the only fucking person to see you like this.” IVE ASCENDED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! like zee was crazy for ishir the entire book like so possessive and feral and dominant and intense and ur mine and fuckkkkk i was shakingggggg!!!!!!!!!!!! like when he said “you get what i give you” and “i say when you’re good” and “all this is mine and it’ll do what i tell it to” my eyes rolled into the back of my head like uhhhhhh i can’t handle this!!!!!! zee……..mr i asked to my agent to hook up a trade to your team as soon as i got drafted……mr it’s only ever been you…….he was the highlight of this book….just deathly sexy and so sweet on ishir……marina took it the the next level with this one!!!!!

[Evelyn Bella (there WILL be spoilers) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hate when epilogues have sex. There. I said it. Now that I've outed myself as a hater, we can move on to the review.

This isn't even an issue with sex in general. It's just that we've already been here, done that. We have a chance to see into the future and we're just going to see them fuck? Sigh.

So. I couldn't get into this until around 30% in. The whole 'Zane pointing out people for Ishir to fuck' wasn't my cup of tea. But it's this author, so I stuck it out, and I'm excited to report back that I'm so glad I didn't give up on it.

There's a very fine line between edging and orgasm denial and boy do these two ride it hard. Heh. Get it? No? Moving on.

I wish this could have been dual POV. As it was, it felt too much like one-sided pining on Ishir's side and by the time the big reveal came up, it sort of felt like lip service from Zane.

Could you imagine the entertainment value if we'd got to read about them separately until they converged at the Brooklyn Cats? We'd have had an 'obliviots' romance for the ages. Putting Zane's POV in just the epilogue was a disservice. But that's just me.

Besides that, the pining from Ishir was god-tier.🤌🤌🤌 No notes. Honestly, even I felt like it was a lost cause, even though I knew a HEA was guaranteed.

We didn't get to see Zane express himself much without his POV but the possessiveness that we DID get to see??? Whewww! He ate that one little thing. Muah, no bars.

[Papie]

DNF at 35%
I am bored out of my mind.

[Morgan ♓︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the conflict between the two mcs was a little weak and it might have made more sense to me if we were in Zee’s head instead of Ishir’s, but this was still fire 🔥🔥🔥

And as always the little potential preview we have for the next book has me hyped. An omega who feels like he’s an alpha?? Sign me the fuck uuuppp

[rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, this was so much fun. Possessive alphas always are. But it was also so very emotional. I loved it.

[Shellfish]

Alpha love❤

I have read In this order 2, 4, then 3. This is by far my favorite in the series .I need to read 1 to double check but this one will be hard to beat. Ishir and Zane are amazing!!! The hockey was great and I loved the nesting.

[Jenny (Nyxie) · Rating 5 out of 5]

5*, all vibes.

There were some meh moments with the writing - most noticeable were the times where there was a shift in time and it took me a minute to realize. The beginning was slow to get into. And the names - 2 per MC, a name and a nickname - confused me for the whole book. (It didn’t help that they were Zane, Zee, Zammy, and Ishir. I kept Ishir straight, the rest were hard).

But the characters! And the descriptions! And some absolutely devastating lines. Watching an emotionally repressed character absolutely fall apart and spew out all his feelings in desperation might be my favorite scene ever. Plus the praise kink, and the pining. And the possessiveness! So good.

Overall definitely recommend. I didn’t read the first two books in the series and this works as a standalone.

Tags: omegaverse, best friends to fuck buddies to lovers, pining, hockey players, praise kink, BDSM but minimal pain kink, orgasm denial, nesting, alpha/alpha pairing, rut

[erraticdemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars+++

Ok this book was great and I did not have very high hopes going in based on the first two books in this series. BUT it's probably the best Vivancos book I've read since Crybaby. Even though it's alpha/alpha it had the best omegaverse dynamics of this series too. And just a sprinkle of hockey! Not too much, not too little. And! It's a quick read - I read the whole thing in one afternoon. Ugh it's just so good y'all! Sometimes Vivancos just fucking nails it and this is one of those times.

I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Amani · Rating 4 out of 5]

2026 reread: just as great as the first read.

3.5⭐️. dual povs would have made this *chef’s kiss*

[Moraa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sick with a cold (still am grrrrr) and in the mood for something comforting and this was exactly what I needed.

I enjoyed reading about Ishir and Zane though the conflict in their relationship could have been a little stronger/better articulated - all the alphas in this series have been growly and possessive so...



The writing was good too (not as heavy on the use of “like” thank god) but the montage intro had me confused af (it didn’t help that I was fighting for my life to stay lucid🫠)

Also, can we talk about the epilogue? The part with Carl was fun (and HOTTT🥵) but everything before that was just rehashing Ishir and Zane’s friendship before the Cats transfer because… why?? We’ve had the whole book to get to know Zane, just because the epilogue is in his POV doesn’t mean we need to go back in time.

All in all, this was a great read with plenty of steam. I will now try (and probably fail) to pace myself to release day on 31st Dec.

[Ash&#x1f349; · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to GRR for the arc ❤️

The arcs went up for this yesterday and I IMMEDIATELY requested it, I’ve enjoyed the last two books a lot and I couldn’t wait to get back into this world.

Isher and Zee have been best friends for years, but Isher has always secretly been in love with his best friend. Now after four years apart, Zee has been transferred to Ishers hockey team. This is both a dream come true, and a nightmare for Isher. He loves having Zee around, but living with him and not being able to love him how he wants is going to be hard.

In this world that Marina Vivancos has created, alpha x omega relationships are considered heterosexual no matter the gender, and alpha x alpha and omega x omega relationships are considered homosexual. Isher is gay which is something he can’t share with his team, and another reason he has to keep his love for Zee to himself.

Isher has suffered with OCD all his life, and has mainly gotten it under control except with it comes to rituals surrounding hockey games. Mainly one where Isher cannot have an orgasm unless he’s made a goal in a game. Zee knows this, and now that’s he’s living with Isher he’s very interested in finding out how he gets his rewards. It’ll come to no surprise to anyone that eventually Zee gets involved with helping Isher to get his rewards.

This book is definitely sexier than the previous entries. There is orgasm denial, dom/sub undertones, praise kink, extreme jealously, and possessiveness.

I really enjoyed this, I think each book gets better and I like how each couple has a unique vibe to them. I’m really hoping there’ll be more books in the series. Considering we met another omega in this book, maybe the next one will be an omega x omega to cover all pairings 👀

Check out my review on instagram too ❤️

[JJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hottest book I've read in a while. Glad I decided to give it a chance after DNFing the first in the series.

[Shawna (endemictoearth) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book . . . it was so close to being what I hoped for.

I love Marina Vivancos's writing and especially her characters and how they interact/approach each other. This book had some of what I like most, but was not my favorite.

I felt a lot with this book. It is full of longing and pining and yearning and fear and hope. That part is wonderful, and it is magical that the author can evoke all of that with words on a page. But while I could understand/tolerate the miscommunication, (nay, refusal to communicate or gain insight/understanding) to a certain point, eventually, it just wore me down.

The connection Zee and Ishir have is potent and palpable. Ishir willfully misconstrues Zane's possessiveness while Zane makes a laughable attempt to suppress his obsession and in the EPILOGUE we finally get to understand what he was feeling about the situation. I often really like a single POV with a chaser from the other MC's side, but it wasn't enough for this one. The supercharged feelings and intensity feels out of control and overblown without the grounding of where Zane's head is at and how helpless he feels. Getting it in a 'here's what you missed last week on Zane's obsessive crush' superspeed wrap up at the end just didn't cut it for me.

While I would never want it in my own life, I do occasionally enjoy reading about a good ol' fashioned unhealthy co-dependent relationship, and this one could have made my list, but it needed more balance (either occasionally hearing from Zee's POV throughout, or finding some device to get that info), or flipping the whole thing on its head and having it all from his POV, maybe with Ishir giving us an epilogue. Because, as noted above, the epilogue feels like half retread, half apologizing for what happened.

I totally bought their connection. I totally found their sexual dynamic and the edging really well done. I totally wanted them to figure it out and get together and stop being dummies about each other. But I just think the last 25% or so was rushed and I would have rather had them wait to mate because they needed to talk to each other about all the feelings they were afraid to scare each other away with. When Ishir was running all over town talking to everyone else, I was like, "coolcoolcool, but the guy you love is blowing up your phone, could you maybe . . ." Possibly there's a way to pace this version of the plot that would have satisfied me, but it would have made the book a lot longer.

Okay, enough. Some other positives (because I did say some nice stuff up there, too):

* The ruts - I always say we need more of these in this kind of book; they're fascinating.

* Seeing the couples from the previous two books thriving - these cameos are refreshing and don't take away anything from the main narrative.

* The team dynamics - I feel like this is getting stronger book to book in this series.

It does pain me to not give this a higher rating, but as I've said it before, at this point I'm just judging this author against her other books. I'll always read whatever she puts out and love most of it, I believe, but this one just didn't quite work the way I hoped it would.

I kindly received an advanced copy from Gay Romance Reviews.

[Bekka · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars
Possessive co-dependent best friends, scent-marking, did I mention possessive, nesting and knotting? What isn't there to love? This hit so many of my favourite tropes and this must be my new favourite hockey series <3

The only thing that would have made this five stars for me would have been if they had communicated with each other as teenagers and young adults and never ended up not being together and having sex with others without each other. The scenes of Zee (God I still can't keep their names apart) telling Ishir who he should fuck and leading him through were great and also superb within the build up of their relationship but for me personally considering these MCs have had feelings for each other forever there was too much sex with others. I mean I could have just had these guys talking to each other from the beginning, no angst, just possessiveness, being together and nesting <3

Quotes

"You smell like other people. You're not allowed to go on any more roadtrips without me," Zee grumbled. Ishir let his head fall back, exposing more skin to be scented. "You're so possessive." (p. 101)

"Marked, now. Mine." "Yours," Ishir agreed, gripping Zee so close they almost slipped into one." (p. 151)

"There in the cradle of their nest, they drifted off to sleep." (p. 226)

NSFW infos:
- one alpha, gay "big eyes, long eyelashes, and high cheekbones had given him the unfair reputation of being 'pretty'" (p. 7) single POV
- one alpha, bisexual but mainly only obsessed with his best friend, "proportions were old-school defenceman, though - broad-chested with thick thighs" (p. 8) and "dark skin" (p. 15)
- strict top bottom apart from one scene (one time during rut so they have one first together)
- praise kink
- orgasm denial
- sex with others on page
- being told how to masturbate
- face time sex
- rut
- double rut
- knotting
- somnophilia
- felching
- breath play
- dacryphilia

[The Secret Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5
Steam: 4
PoV: single, 3rd person
Genre: paranormal romance, omegaverse, MM
Tropes / tags: hockey, friends to lovers, sexual discovery

I binged this entire series over a weekend and I honestly don’t know how I missed these books. I loved the combination of omegaverse and hockey romance, and while the whole series was fantastic, Overtime was my favourite read!

I had a lot of fun with Ishir and Zee; they were both alphas, long term friends, now teammates and roommates. Their story definitely brought a lot of steam and things got a little kinky as well, which I loved. Ishir’s vulnerability and Zee’s possessiveness was such an addictive combination.

While Zee had always been possessive of Ishir, it reached whole new levels once they started living together, and I loved how it was written and handled in the story. Add in some scenting and marking, and things really got super hot!

There was some pining from Ishir’s side, as he had been crushing on Zee for a long time. It was bittersweet to see how he tried to protect himself in the beginning, trying to figure out if Zee had feelings for him or not.

I completely adored these two together, and there were a lot of sweet and heartwarming moments between them, as well as more steamy ones. Marina Vivancos is fantastic at writing both steam and omegaverse, and I fell in love with these guys and the way their relationship unfolded.

Overtime was an amazing read, and if you enjoy either hockey or omegaverse romances, I wholeheartedly recommend to try this series! Even if you’re not sure about omegaverse, this series would be a great starting point.

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

[Renée · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Em’sBookNook · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one just didn’t slap for me like the first two. I still love Marina Vivancos’ writing but I didn’t actually like Zane and Ishir together so I was never really rooting for them. I usually find this author’s characters super well fleshed out but Zan wasn’t for me. It felt like he only existed when Ishir was in the room.

I’m excited for the next book in the series though.

[Mariam, · Rating 2 out of 5]

Older marina was better

[gabireadsromance · Rating 5 out of 5]

i. am. eating. this. up.

oh my god.

possessive, absolutely psychotic, and HOT. my favorite of the series so far. no words. i’m left speechless.

[Carol (§CoverLoverGirl§) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read several of Marina Vivanco’s books and liked them a lot, ‘Overtime’ which I’ve just finished would not be top of that list. There was much I did like about it, the supportive friends on the Team were terrific to Ishir, but some of the stuff that Ishir (Zammy), or Zee (Zane) (bit annoying the names swapping at times) did put me off.

Given that Ishir had unrequited feelings for Zee, he allowed Zee to select possible pickups for him whenever he scored a goal on the Ice. This was a reward Ishir gave himself for scoring. Zee, instructing Ishir on what to do when he wanted ‘to get off’ etc. when he didn’t find a pickup . Zee was too controlling and jealous, a bit detrimental in a relationship surely.

This may possibly just be me, others might find that ‘hot’.

Apart from that, I liked the storyline, the friends to lovers trope is always good in my book. I see I’m in the minority as most of the reviewers raved about it. I stilled liked it enough to give 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Adaline · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. Two co dependent alphas. Quite different in tone to the other two books, and so far my favorite of the series. Can be read as a standalone.

A relationship a bit on the side of toxic. Dingdongs not communicating and being OTT. I normally don’t enjoy this, but Vivancos makes it work really well. Plus the writing as per usual is fantastic.

I loved the kink aspect of it. And the nesting. And the scenting. Really recommended.

Notes: omegaverse, no mpreg in the book (but possible in this world), kink (d/s, praise kink, orgasm denial and control)

[Valen]

DNF @ 74%, I’m just not feeling it!

I LOVE Marina's Crybaby and Paint Eater, but her omegaverse stories are just not for me. I can't bring myself to finish it as I'm a bit bored.

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why was this so hot 😩

[True Loveislovereview · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ishir is oblivious, his best friend Zane is extremely possessive over him, he’s always all over him, making sure his scent is all over him. All his teammates notice only Ishir does not.

Ishir is in love with Zane for years already. They are both Alpha, Zane used to push Omega Ishir’s way, until Ishir got angry and told him to quit it because he isn’t attracted to omegas at all… only alphas!

Since Zane was traded to Ishir’s team they live together. Zane is getting more and more possessive, he rules Ishir’s life, and he even chose the men he can fuck with. Ishir has no problem with it, he likes to be possessed by Zane. Sadly it means nothing to Zane, it’s just fun for him, the guy is so straight.

Oh boy, it’s all extremely intense. Arousing af. Zane knows Ishir only let himself come if he scores, playing with Ishir with this knowledge was everything. Ishir should stop it, he’ll get hurt badly when Zane will end it all. But Ishir is too far gone for Zane.

They should talk about what’s happening between them. Ishir wants to, but Zane not, so Ishir let it go.
From an easygoing friendship, it turns into an overwhelmingly Alpha possessiveness, dang it was hot AF! I wanted to shake Zane, slap him, forced him to.. to.. read it yourself!

Ishir loved to be possessed by Zane, he’s the perfect lover until it hurt too much and he can’t anymore.
There’s so much more going on, read it yourself.

The buildup was perfectly done. At times I wished I could read Zane’s mind. Still, it was all how it should be, the author did it greatly.
I love this author’s work so much, this read was intense, super captivatingly written, and hot AF.
Overall a winner!!

Read and reviewed for LoveBytes - LGBTQ bookreviews