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Game On
Flirt with a stranger. Get the photo. Walk away. The job should have been simple—if the stranger hadn't turned out to be the most famous ice hockey star in the league...
Stellan is very good at being the right kind of irresistible to the wrong kind of man—it pays the rent, and that's the deal. But when one Chicago hotel lounge job ends with a career-ending photo of NHL star Matt Harkins and Stellan is fired for trying to stop it, the whole disaster gets filed under the worst day of his life.
Seven months later, Matt walks into a Seattle suit fitting and finds Stellan holding out the next jacket. Matt is blindsided and absolutely not over it... but the chemistry between them is undeniable. He knows he should walk away, but one stolen night turns into two, then more—and a closeted ice hockey captain with everything to lose is about to find out exactly how much he's willing to risk.
Game On is a sizzling MM hockey romance from a bestselling author, perfect for fans of Heated Rivalry . You can expect...
- Closeted athletes
- Forbidden romance
- Forced proximity
- Slow-burn chemistry
- Open-door spice
Stellan is very good at being the right kind of irresistible to the wrong kind of man—it pays the rent, and that's the deal. But when one Chicago hotel lounge job ends with a career-ending photo of NHL star Matt Harkins and Stellan is fired for trying to stop it, the whole disaster gets filed under the worst day of his life.
Seven months later, Matt walks into a Seattle suit fitting and finds Stellan holding out the next jacket. Matt is blindsided and absolutely not over it... but the chemistry between them is undeniable. He knows he should walk away, but one stolen night turns into two, then more—and a closeted ice hockey captain with everything to lose is about to find out exactly how much he's willing to risk.
Game On is a sizzling MM hockey romance from a bestselling author, perfect for fans of Heated Rivalry . You can expect...
- Closeted athletes
- Forbidden romance
- Forced proximity
- Slow-burn chemistry
- Open-door spice
Audible Audio
Published September 15, 2026
About the author
Zarah Detand
39 books524 followersWriter of M/M romances. Chaos monkey. Coffee snob. Cheese is her love language.
People in love with other people is her jam, with a particular penchant for snappy dialogue and a slow burn that is all the more satisfying once it finally catches fire. Playing with tropes of the famous-meets-non-famous variation? Bring it on! Fake relationships? Yes, please. All's fair as long as everyone gets their happy ending.
People in love with other people is her jam, with a particular penchant for snappy dialogue and a slow burn that is all the more satisfying once it finally catches fire. Playing with tropes of the famous-meets-non-famous variation? Bring it on! Fake relationships? Yes, please. All's fair as long as everyone gets their happy ending.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 187 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
🏒🥅Second Chance Hockey Romance 👔🧥
A romance that should have been doomed to fail from the start -
a planned meeting that changed everything,
a forced outing that caused the loss of half a million dollars to keep quiet,
the loss of a career and shame of what had been done.
But a second chance meeting brings the men back together again, and it was just like the first time. Except now they're both living in the same city, things have changed, and it becomes too easy to start making choices they're worried they'll soon regret.
With the way this started, the way their lives are now, there's only one way it could possibly end...
It's too good to stop.
So, come what may,
Game On
Characters
Matt Harkins - Captain of Seattle Cascades. 26. Black hair, dark brown eyes, with a nice jawline that usually has light stubble. He has good shoulders and muscular thighs, thank you hockey. Very very in the closet.
Stellan - Brown hair, green eyes, and gentle (depending on the time of the day) curls. Stellan has a lot of layers to his character, or things revealed as the book goes on.
I'll leave just this small physical description until the book is released. (:
Personal Thoughts
Overall, I like this story. I got invested and was rooting for them so much.
The resolution was so sweet, very satisfying.
I didn't really get overly into it until 30%, after that it definitely picked up and flew by.
I like the side character Naomi, a good compliment to Stellan.
Reid was an interesting person, and damn good at his job.
I would have loved more time with Ronan, so protective.
Matt and Stellan were a sweet pair who truly fell in love at first sight.
They just took a long time, and made a few mistakes, to actually catch up to that fact.
Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this free ARC. Rating and review are voluntary - opinions given are always my own.
A romance that should have been doomed to fail from the start -
a planned meeting that changed everything,
a forced outing that caused the loss of half a million dollars to keep quiet,
the loss of a career and shame of what had been done.
But a second chance meeting brings the men back together again, and it was just like the first time. Except now they're both living in the same city, things have changed, and it becomes too easy to start making choices they're worried they'll soon regret.
With the way this started, the way their lives are now, there's only one way it could possibly end...
It's too good to stop.
So, come what may,
Game On
Characters
Matt Harkins - Captain of Seattle Cascades. 26. Black hair, dark brown eyes, with a nice jawline that usually has light stubble. He has good shoulders and muscular thighs, thank you hockey. Very very in the closet.
Stellan - Brown hair, green eyes, and gentle (depending on the time of the day) curls. Stellan has a lot of layers to his character, or things revealed as the book goes on.
I'll leave just this small physical description until the book is released. (:
Personal Thoughts
Overall, I like this story. I got invested and was rooting for them so much.
The resolution was so sweet, very satisfying.
I didn't really get overly into it until 30%, after that it definitely picked up and flew by.
I like the side character Naomi, a good compliment to Stellan.
Reid was an interesting person, and damn good at his job.
I would have loved more time with Ronan, so protective.
Matt and Stellan were a sweet pair who truly fell in love at first sight.
They just took a long time, and made a few mistakes, to actually catch up to that fact.
Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this free ARC. Rating and review are voluntary - opinions given are always my own.
August 2, 2026
Stellan's job is straightforward, and also not: He engineers opportunities for people to stray...and if they do, someone is in place to get photo proof. He does it because he's good at it, but also because it's one of few opportunities he could get as someone with an underprivileged background and limited education and resources. And that's fine...until he realizes that his current job doesn't involve catching someone cheating, but outing someone who isn't ready to be out.
Detand has yet to disappoint. This is a premise that would make me nervous in the hands of a lot of romance authors—actually, I've read a book with a very similar premise before (minus the queer outing), and it drove me batty, not in a good way, that the "hero" of that book spent most of the book hiding the fact that his job involved making public other people's indiscretions of various shapes and sizes...and once the heroine found out, it of course all still worked out fine, even though he'd been plotting to bring her down (not because there was anything wrong with what she was doing, but because $$$) for most of the book. And that's what interests me so much here: In so many books, Stellan would be hiding his role in things for a huge chunk of the book, at which point Matt would find out and there'd be a huge conflict. Instead, here, Matt knows more or less from the beginning who Stellan is and what role he played in those pictures of Matt...and that's something they have to find a way to work through (or not, as the case may be).
As ever with Detand's books, the dialogue and pace are tight and the characters ones you'd like to spend more time with. I'm going to have to go through her full backlist at some point (so much to read, so little time), but in the meantime I'm thoroughly enjoying reading what comes my way.
Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.
Detand has yet to disappoint. This is a premise that would make me nervous in the hands of a lot of romance authors—actually, I've read a book with a very similar premise before (minus the queer outing), and it drove me batty, not in a good way, that the "hero" of that book spent most of the book hiding the fact that his job involved making public other people's indiscretions of various shapes and sizes...and once the heroine found out, it of course all still worked out fine, even though he'd been plotting to bring her down (not because there was anything wrong with what she was doing, but because $$$) for most of the book. And that's what interests me so much here: In so many books, Stellan would be hiding his role in things for a huge chunk of the book, at which point Matt would find out and there'd be a huge conflict. Instead, here, Matt knows more or less from the beginning who Stellan is and what role he played in those pictures of Matt...and that's something they have to find a way to work through (or not, as the case may be).
As ever with Detand's books, the dialogue and pace are tight and the characters ones you'd like to spend more time with. I'm going to have to go through her full backlist at some point (so much to read, so little time), but in the meantime I'm thoroughly enjoying reading what comes my way.
Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.
September 22, 2026
I loved this book SO MUCH that I am at the point where I refuse to read anyone else's less-than-five-star reviews just to check whether there's something "not right" or "what didn't work for them," and whether I would agree with their points.
Because I just couldn't.
I thought this book was perfect for me.
Of course, the characters aren't without flaws, but I thought those flaws were exactly what made them fit so beautifully together. I loved how Stellan could see Matt for who he really was, and vice versa.
Zarah Detand has been a solid M/M romance author for me for the last couple of years. I think Detand is really GOOD at writing stories where "secrets" are involved - the possible power-abuse situation in Conflict of Interest, a London songwriter "hiding" in the Swiss Alps in Amid Our Lines, or a prince and his fixer in Wear It Like a Crown.
And I think that since Detand got a new publisher and stopped publishing her books independently, her stories have become "tighter." Maybe there's a better editor involved? I don't know exactly how it works, but that's how I feel about her last three books. And this one really showed it.
I loved the restraint in this story. Detand didn't go for some huge grand gesture at the end. Instead, we got a very good compromise that fit both of their personalities perfectly: Stellan, who is already comfortable with his sexuality but probably still has some insecurity about who he needs to be because of his different social background, and Matt, a closeted athlete who has to deal with all the consequences that would come with publicly coming out.
It was an ending that simply made me feel good about them.
In between, there were all those intimate conversations. Because Matt is closeted, there were so many moments that were just about the two of them. The situations felt so private that I almost felt like a voyeur who somehow got a first-class seat to watch these two people fall in love with each other. I even got teary eyed at a some point because I was so invested in their happiness ()
And then there were their friends and family, who rallied behind them like the best support system ever.
So yes.
This was a PERFECT read for me.
Hugs my Kindle very, very tightly.
Because I just couldn't.
I thought this book was perfect for me.
Of course, the characters aren't without flaws, but I thought those flaws were exactly what made them fit so beautifully together. I loved how Stellan could see Matt for who he really was, and vice versa.
Zarah Detand has been a solid M/M romance author for me for the last couple of years. I think Detand is really GOOD at writing stories where "secrets" are involved - the possible power-abuse situation in Conflict of Interest, a London songwriter "hiding" in the Swiss Alps in Amid Our Lines, or a prince and his fixer in Wear It Like a Crown.
And I think that since Detand got a new publisher and stopped publishing her books independently, her stories have become "tighter." Maybe there's a better editor involved? I don't know exactly how it works, but that's how I feel about her last three books. And this one really showed it.
I loved the restraint in this story. Detand didn't go for some huge grand gesture at the end. Instead, we got a very good compromise that fit both of their personalities perfectly: Stellan, who is already comfortable with his sexuality but probably still has some insecurity about who he needs to be because of his different social background, and Matt, a closeted athlete who has to deal with all the consequences that would come with publicly coming out.
It was an ending that simply made me feel good about them.
In between, there were all those intimate conversations. Because Matt is closeted, there were so many moments that were just about the two of them. The situations felt so private that I almost felt like a voyeur who somehow got a first-class seat to watch these two people fall in love with each other. I even got teary eyed at a some point because I was so invested in their happiness ()
And then there were their friends and family, who rallied behind them like the best support system ever.
So yes.
This was a PERFECT read for me.
Hugs my Kindle very, very tightly.
September 30, 2026
3+
Czy czytałam lepsze hokejowe romanse? Jasne 😁
Czy był przewidywalny? No ba... oczywiście 😁
Jednak to całkiem niezłe czytadło, które nie udaje, że jest czymś innym.
W dodatku w cyklu amerykańskim - może nie błyszczy całkowicie nad innymi, ale jest tego blisko.
Czytało mi się dobrze i szybko 😁
Czy czytałam lepsze hokejowe romanse? Jasne 😁
Czy był przewidywalny? No ba... oczywiście 😁
Jednak to całkiem niezłe czytadło, które nie udaje, że jest czymś innym.
W dodatku w cyklu amerykańskim - może nie błyszczy całkowicie nad innymi, ale jest tego blisko.
Czytało mi się dobrze i szybko 😁
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Was the set up for the meet-cute cute? Yes. Was the conflict resolution in the third act even cuter? Yes. Unfortunately that's all I can say was interesting in this to me. Maybe it's because I've read a lot of hockey romances and they're all starting to bleed together, or maybe this book wasn't just up to par. I have enjoyed a lot of other Detand romances though so I'll still be on the lookout for more non-hockey ones.
Thank you Storm Publishing for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you Storm Publishing for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
ARC copy received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I've been a huge fan of Detand for years now, but I just felt this one lacked her signature wit and definitely the character development I've come to expect.
I'm putting this up top, as it frankly was the most important and most disappointing thing to me: I suspected this might be a bit of a grab onto the coattails of the Heated Rivalry and the book failed to convince me otherwise. In the past Detand has done a great job convincingly writing footballers (though I don't follow football and couldn't tell you a thing about it, so maybe I'm wrong there). Unfortunately, the same cannot be said here. Some elements of the sport were fine and seemed to be researched adequately, with only a few flubs here and there. The real miss was the culture of the sport and the league itself.
The premise that a player's entire NHL career would be Ruined Forever if a mildly suggestive photo was leaked in the year of our lord 2026 was silly on its face. I cannot stress how many photos and videos are on TikTok right this second of various active, famous, popular players cuddling each other in public, in way way more compromising positions than the staged photo from the start of this book (which was never released anyway).
I disliked both MCs, and the funny thing was that they seemed to agree. At no point in the story did I believe that they were in love, let alone actually even liked each other very much. Their meet cute was one setting the other up in the most contrived, convoluted way, which obviously began their relationship on a foundation of total distrust and dislike. Then they meet up again several years later, again, in a weirdly contrived way, and continue to snipe and fight and generally act coldly towards one another. The morally bankrupt MC's Giant Dark Secret is that he has a Tragic Backstory, and the other MC is just a giant brooding nothing of a man who does nothing, says nothing, and feels nothing.
The plot is nonexistent and incredible, which is a bummer, as Detand has actually previously written a pretty good actiony spy thriller and certainly has the chops to do it again, but the concept of this shadow blackmail organization basically completely fizzled and the culmination of the story was getting rich people to donate clothes to poor kids.
Two stars because the side characters were funny and massively enjoyable. I wish the book had been about Reid and Naomi.
I've been a huge fan of Detand for years now, but I just felt this one lacked her signature wit and definitely the character development I've come to expect.
I'm putting this up top, as it frankly was the most important and most disappointing thing to me: I suspected this might be a bit of a grab onto the coattails of the Heated Rivalry and the book failed to convince me otherwise. In the past Detand has done a great job convincingly writing footballers (though I don't follow football and couldn't tell you a thing about it, so maybe I'm wrong there). Unfortunately, the same cannot be said here. Some elements of the sport were fine and seemed to be researched adequately, with only a few flubs here and there. The real miss was the culture of the sport and the league itself.
The premise that a player's entire NHL career would be Ruined Forever if a mildly suggestive photo was leaked in the year of our lord 2026 was silly on its face. I cannot stress how many photos and videos are on TikTok right this second of various active, famous, popular players cuddling each other in public, in way way more compromising positions than the staged photo from the start of this book (which was never released anyway).
I disliked both MCs, and the funny thing was that they seemed to agree. At no point in the story did I believe that they were in love, let alone actually even liked each other very much. Their meet cute was one setting the other up in the most contrived, convoluted way, which obviously began their relationship on a foundation of total distrust and dislike. Then they meet up again several years later, again, in a weirdly contrived way, and continue to snipe and fight and generally act coldly towards one another. The morally bankrupt MC's Giant Dark Secret is that he has a Tragic Backstory, and the other MC is just a giant brooding nothing of a man who does nothing, says nothing, and feels nothing.
The plot is nonexistent and incredible, which is a bummer, as Detand has actually previously written a pretty good actiony spy thriller and certainly has the chops to do it again, but the concept of this shadow blackmail organization basically completely fizzled and the culmination of the story was getting rich people to donate clothes to poor kids.
Two stars because the side characters were funny and massively enjoyable. I wish the book had been about Reid and Naomi.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2026
Effortlessly attractive Stellan is at the ritzy Chicago hotel, awaiting his "mark." Stellan just needs to charm him enough to get a photo taken that looks compromising enough for blackmail purposes. "It wasn't my job to judge him. My job was to be the harmless chance he'd want to take." Yes, Stellan realizes his job is ethically .... not okay, but ethics don't pay rent and food.
Until he meets the mark Matt - broad shoulders, big hands, steady, guarded, yet very much interested. After a stumble into Matt's lap, Stellan feels .... "something real. Something that made the whole setup feel suddenly filthy even as a cold part of my brain went, There, that's your picture." Then Stellan learns that Matt is THE Matt Harkins, captain of the Seattle Cascades hockey team.
In Seattle, seven months later, Matt shows up at a very expensive tailor for a suit fitting, and meets the assistant - Stellan. And then, the plot takes a detour from what I'd sort of expected - this isn't a story of dealing with a forced outing, and a relationship that starts with angry fights and hate sex until they realize they love each other, followed by a HEA.
Anger is easy and taking a chance is a huge risk, but Matt is a good Minnesota boy who was raised right and Stellan made him feel seen. Matt wants to know if any of it was real and if he could actually have something for himself. Stellan comes with way too much baggage and has worked so hard to provide for his brother and himself for far too many years. But Matt makes him want to show up as himself and see if a relationship between them could possibly work.
There are a lot of characters here and each is richly developed and fleshed out, along with a subplot about Suit Up Wednesdays (which Stellan started to help young people with free donated clothes for interviews) that is all sorts of wonderful, but there are a few misses as well.
Matt's friend and manager sarcastic heart-of-gold Reid just came off as being too much in my view. The subplot with Stellan's nefarious former employer seems important until it isn't and is solved with "barely an inconvenience" and the teased relationship between Reid and Stellan's friend Naomi seems forced.
But the strength of this book is the relationship that Matt and Stellan carve out together. The on-page sex is not extensively detailed, but the hurts, the forgiveness and love, and their deep emotional bond is front and center. 4.5 stars.
I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Cross-posted at https://gayromance.org/2026/09/15/gam...
Until he meets the mark Matt - broad shoulders, big hands, steady, guarded, yet very much interested. After a stumble into Matt's lap, Stellan feels .... "something real. Something that made the whole setup feel suddenly filthy even as a cold part of my brain went, There, that's your picture." Then Stellan learns that Matt is THE Matt Harkins, captain of the Seattle Cascades hockey team.
In Seattle, seven months later, Matt shows up at a very expensive tailor for a suit fitting, and meets the assistant - Stellan. And then, the plot takes a detour from what I'd sort of expected - this isn't a story of dealing with a forced outing, and a relationship that starts with angry fights and hate sex until they realize they love each other, followed by a HEA.
Anger is easy and taking a chance is a huge risk, but Matt is a good Minnesota boy who was raised right and Stellan made him feel seen. Matt wants to know if any of it was real and if he could actually have something for himself. Stellan comes with way too much baggage and has worked so hard to provide for his brother and himself for far too many years. But Matt makes him want to show up as himself and see if a relationship between them could possibly work.
There are a lot of characters here and each is richly developed and fleshed out, along with a subplot about Suit Up Wednesdays (which Stellan started to help young people with free donated clothes for interviews) that is all sorts of wonderful, but there are a few misses as well.
Matt's friend and manager sarcastic heart-of-gold Reid just came off as being too much in my view. The subplot with Stellan's nefarious former employer seems important until it isn't and is solved with "barely an inconvenience" and the teased relationship between Reid and Stellan's friend Naomi seems forced.
But the strength of this book is the relationship that Matt and Stellan carve out together. The on-page sex is not extensively detailed, but the hurts, the forgiveness and love, and their deep emotional bond is front and center. 4.5 stars.
I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Cross-posted at https://gayromance.org/2026/09/15/gam...
October 3, 2026
4.25 stars
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I'm writing an honest review after receiving and ARC from NetGalley and the publisher.
Firstly, I'm just a huge Zarah Detand fan, as it is. There's just something about her writing style that I absolutely love. The humor always mixed in, just my style. I'm always here for it.
Stellan and Matt meet when Stellan is hired to do an unusual job. Try and get some dirt brought up in the form of pictures of hockey captain Matt Harkins. Stellan has a serious moral dilemma and the book jumps off months after that encounter. Stellan is an independent, gay man, living his life with his brother, after an early life in the foster care system. Matt's closeted, and wishing he couldn't be, but not able to fathom any way in which he can be out.
They run into each other again when Matt's getting fitted for a special event suit/tux, and although that snafu that Stellan took part in created a personal issue for Matt, it wasn't a career-blow-up issue. They strike up an unlikely arrangement and proceed to see each other periodically from then on.
Their relationship grows naturally and fairly organically through their arrangement. You get to watch them grow with each other, and as individuals: Matt becoming more of who he's always wanted to be; Stellan learning he can be cared for and not always having to take the lead. It's not forced or fast, it's a nice and sweet progression of their relationship into love.
There's inclusion of Stellan and Naomi's personal charity, Suit Up Wednesdays, which helps foster kids 'suit up' in donated professional clothing, and attitude to match, to help these kids get a better leg up in job interviews, job fairs, and other important areas of their life they may need help with.
Naomi and Reid are a freaking pair and I love their incessant banter.
The main and side characters are lovable, snarky, witty, and true to themselves. It's a HFN, that I hope turns into a HEA.
I hope this is a series that shows more characters in this world. I also hope that we'll get more progression as time goes on of Stellan and Matt, because I absolutely love their love. Even when things got hard, they were both adult enough to realize who they were, what they wanted, and to not settle for less....all while appreciating what they could have within their set of circumstances.
As always, written beautifully, with heart and humor.
I'm so thankful I got to read this ARC and review it!
Firstly, I'm just a huge Zarah Detand fan, as it is. There's just something about her writing style that I absolutely love. The humor always mixed in, just my style. I'm always here for it.
Stellan and Matt meet when Stellan is hired to do an unusual job. Try and get some dirt brought up in the form of pictures of hockey captain Matt Harkins. Stellan has a serious moral dilemma and the book jumps off months after that encounter. Stellan is an independent, gay man, living his life with his brother, after an early life in the foster care system. Matt's closeted, and wishing he couldn't be, but not able to fathom any way in which he can be out.
They run into each other again when Matt's getting fitted for a special event suit/tux, and although that snafu that Stellan took part in created a personal issue for Matt, it wasn't a career-blow-up issue. They strike up an unlikely arrangement and proceed to see each other periodically from then on.
Their relationship grows naturally and fairly organically through their arrangement. You get to watch them grow with each other, and as individuals: Matt becoming more of who he's always wanted to be; Stellan learning he can be cared for and not always having to take the lead. It's not forced or fast, it's a nice and sweet progression of their relationship into love.
There's inclusion of Stellan and Naomi's personal charity, Suit Up Wednesdays, which helps foster kids 'suit up' in donated professional clothing, and attitude to match, to help these kids get a better leg up in job interviews, job fairs, and other important areas of their life they may need help with.
Naomi and Reid are a freaking pair and I love their incessant banter.
The main and side characters are lovable, snarky, witty, and true to themselves. It's a HFN, that I hope turns into a HEA.
I hope this is a series that shows more characters in this world. I also hope that we'll get more progression as time goes on of Stellan and Matt, because I absolutely love their love. Even when things got hard, they were both adult enough to realize who they were, what they wanted, and to not settle for less....all while appreciating what they could have within their set of circumstances.
As always, written beautifully, with heart and humor.
I'm so thankful I got to read this ARC and review it!
August 5, 2026
Oh I loved this so much! From the first chapter you could feel the chemistry!
Matt and Stellans first meeting was electric stellan eorked for an agency who catches people in compromising positions for a price when he took the job he didn’t know who Matt was he was just a target what he didn’t know was that he was famous and in the closet and he tried to take it back but couldn’t
Fast forward 7 months later and Matt walks into stellans workplace getting fitted for a suit and Matt is pissed! Stellan tries to explain but he doesn’t believe him
But Matt can feel the intensity between them there’s something there something he’s never let himself have he’s a public figure he’s deeply in the closet but he’s trying to see what’s there
A nda no phone and suddenly Stellan is in Matt’s apartment and the chemistry and heat is instant
They are careful it’s no feelings no strings but that never works out cleanly and both catch feelings
Stellan likes watching Matt play hockey he likes how he takes control
Matt likes to see Stellan in his element when he’s working with the kids at his charity
What I loved so much was when the agency saw Stellan at Matt’s game they threatened him because he signed an nda and wasn’t supposed to be near Matt and Matt went into protective mode with his manager Reid
When Stellan offered to take the hit for Matt that changed something for Matt too and that meeeeeeting they both hit it out of the park
Casual hookups turned into sleep overs and toothbrushes left behind coffee in the morning and mutual pining!
Of course everything never goes smoothly so when Matt has the idea to have Stellan and Naomi attend their team fundraiser to get donations for stellans charity he tells himself it will be ok and it is for awhile until Matt’s teammate sees how they are interacting and how close they seem and Matt says something he shouldn’t and stellan heard him
Their conversation after was awful stellan explained how he couldn’t let himself be small he didn’t want Matt to come out to the world but wanted the people who mattered the most to know like his parents who were coming for thanksgiving! Stellan walked away to protect his heart
Matt tried but he broke down painting in his fury and his mom saw and he took the step he told them everything how he fell in love how he screwed it up and how he fell in love with a man! Oh my god the smile I had when his dad said so you’re giving up?
He went to Naomi and arranged something and when Stellan arrived with his brother Matt wanted to talk
He told him he told his parents and his friend how he wanted a life together that mattered that he rented a house to have all the people they loved in one spot together! And he finally told Stellan that he fell too that he loved him!
I feel like their love was earned it wasn’t easy but they finally let go and just be annnnnd that epilogue was adorable! They were skating at Christmas! And turns out they are going to be buying the house where their life in the open started and Matt and Stellan were going to live together!
Matt and Stellans first meeting was electric stellan eorked for an agency who catches people in compromising positions for a price when he took the job he didn’t know who Matt was he was just a target what he didn’t know was that he was famous and in the closet and he tried to take it back but couldn’t
Fast forward 7 months later and Matt walks into stellans workplace getting fitted for a suit and Matt is pissed! Stellan tries to explain but he doesn’t believe him
But Matt can feel the intensity between them there’s something there something he’s never let himself have he’s a public figure he’s deeply in the closet but he’s trying to see what’s there
A nda no phone and suddenly Stellan is in Matt’s apartment and the chemistry and heat is instant
They are careful it’s no feelings no strings but that never works out cleanly and both catch feelings
Stellan likes watching Matt play hockey he likes how he takes control
Matt likes to see Stellan in his element when he’s working with the kids at his charity
What I loved so much was when the agency saw Stellan at Matt’s game they threatened him because he signed an nda and wasn’t supposed to be near Matt and Matt went into protective mode with his manager Reid
When Stellan offered to take the hit for Matt that changed something for Matt too and that meeeeeeting they both hit it out of the park
Casual hookups turned into sleep overs and toothbrushes left behind coffee in the morning and mutual pining!
Of course everything never goes smoothly so when Matt has the idea to have Stellan and Naomi attend their team fundraiser to get donations for stellans charity he tells himself it will be ok and it is for awhile until Matt’s teammate sees how they are interacting and how close they seem and Matt says something he shouldn’t and stellan heard him
Their conversation after was awful stellan explained how he couldn’t let himself be small he didn’t want Matt to come out to the world but wanted the people who mattered the most to know like his parents who were coming for thanksgiving! Stellan walked away to protect his heart
Matt tried but he broke down painting in his fury and his mom saw and he took the step he told them everything how he fell in love how he screwed it up and how he fell in love with a man! Oh my god the smile I had when his dad said so you’re giving up?
He went to Naomi and arranged something and when Stellan arrived with his brother Matt wanted to talk
He told him he told his parents and his friend how he wanted a life together that mattered that he rented a house to have all the people they loved in one spot together! And he finally told Stellan that he fell too that he loved him!
I feel like their love was earned it wasn’t easy but they finally let go and just be annnnnd that epilogue was adorable! They were skating at Christmas! And turns out they are going to be buying the house where their life in the open started and Matt and Stellan were going to live together!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 22, 2026
I always get exactly what is promised when it comes to Zarah's books - she has yet to disappoint.
There's a cute meet-up, and they hit it off, but for Stellan it's just a job, which turns into his wake-up call instead when he realises what his actions could result in for Matt's life. So they only know each other for a few minutes, nothing serious. Fast-forward a few months, and they meet again. The tension is right there: unresolved issues, a closet that's about to burst, and a stiff hockey world that's never ready for anything out of the ordinary. What more could you want?
Sure, there's the usual third-act conflict and the cutest resolution ever. Do you know how everything will turn out while reading the book? Yes, of course. Is it still good? You bet. The dialogue is so powerful here, and the silence in between is even more so. I hugely enjoyed the banter not only between Stellan and Matt, but also among the secondary characters. Their respective circles are small but so interesting. I would gladly follow more of Reid and Naomi (there's something there, for sure, no matter how much Naomi protests!). And Matt's parents are pure gold, as is Stellan's brother. I'm glad it wasn't a family conflict that came into play here; for once, the family are the good, sensible guys.
It's emotional, cute, and sweet, with a splash of serious topics like foster care and charity work. A great read, especially for the upcoming autumn and winter evenings.
Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy.
There's a cute meet-up, and they hit it off, but for Stellan it's just a job, which turns into his wake-up call instead when he realises what his actions could result in for Matt's life. So they only know each other for a few minutes, nothing serious. Fast-forward a few months, and they meet again. The tension is right there: unresolved issues, a closet that's about to burst, and a stiff hockey world that's never ready for anything out of the ordinary. What more could you want?
Sure, there's the usual third-act conflict and the cutest resolution ever. Do you know how everything will turn out while reading the book? Yes, of course. Is it still good? You bet. The dialogue is so powerful here, and the silence in between is even more so. I hugely enjoyed the banter not only between Stellan and Matt, but also among the secondary characters. Their respective circles are small but so interesting. I would gladly follow more of Reid and Naomi (there's something there, for sure, no matter how much Naomi protests!). And Matt's parents are pure gold, as is Stellan's brother. I'm glad it wasn't a family conflict that came into play here; for once, the family are the good, sensible guys.
It's emotional, cute, and sweet, with a splash of serious topics like foster care and charity work. A great read, especially for the upcoming autumn and winter evenings.
Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy.
September 14, 2026
Game On delivers exactly what you want from a high-stakes, sizzling M/M hockey romance—no frills, just great chemistry and plenty of heart.
Stellan’s job is simple: flirt, get the photo, walk away. It pays the bills, and that’s all it needs to be. But when his target turns out to be NHL superstar Matt Harkins, things go sideways fast. Stellan tries to stop the shot that could end Matt’s career—and loses his own job for the trouble. He writes it off as the worst night of his life… until seven months later, when Matt walks into a Seattle tailor’s shop and finds Stellan holding his next suit.
Neither has forgotten what happened. Matt is still angry, still wary—but the spark between them hasn’t faded one bit. One night becomes two, then more, and suddenly the league’s golden boy and closeted captain is facing a choice: keep his carefully built life safe, or risk everything for the one person who sees him beyond the fame.
If you loved Heated Rivalry, this will hit the same sweet spot. You get all the best bits: a pro athlete hiding who he really is, a connection that feels totally forbidden, time pushed together by circumstance, and that delicious slow-burn tension that makes every glance feel like something huge. And yes—when it heats up, it really heats up.
Gritty, tender, and impossible to put down. Perfect for anyone craving romance with real stakes and plenty of spice.
Stellan’s job is simple: flirt, get the photo, walk away. It pays the bills, and that’s all it needs to be. But when his target turns out to be NHL superstar Matt Harkins, things go sideways fast. Stellan tries to stop the shot that could end Matt’s career—and loses his own job for the trouble. He writes it off as the worst night of his life… until seven months later, when Matt walks into a Seattle tailor’s shop and finds Stellan holding his next suit.
Neither has forgotten what happened. Matt is still angry, still wary—but the spark between them hasn’t faded one bit. One night becomes two, then more, and suddenly the league’s golden boy and closeted captain is facing a choice: keep his carefully built life safe, or risk everything for the one person who sees him beyond the fame.
If you loved Heated Rivalry, this will hit the same sweet spot. You get all the best bits: a pro athlete hiding who he really is, a connection that feels totally forbidden, time pushed together by circumstance, and that delicious slow-burn tension that makes every glance feel like something huge. And yes—when it heats up, it really heats up.
Gritty, tender, and impossible to put down. Perfect for anyone craving romance with real stakes and plenty of spice.
October 11, 2026
🏒 HOT CHEMISTRY, FORBIDDEN DESIRE & A FINISH THAT NEEDED MORE! 🔥
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ GAME ON by Zarah Detand
Stellan and Matt’s story delivers the kind of forbidden M/M hockey romance that’s hard to put down! What starts with a disastrous encounter turns into undeniable chemistry, stolen moments, and complicated feelings as a closeted NHL captain risks everything for the man he can’t seem to forget.
I really enjoyed the compelling characters, the tension surrounding Matt’s career and sexuality, and the intrigue that kept the story moving. The chemistry between Matt and Stellan was a definite highlight, and I loved seeing their relationship develop despite the obstacles standing in their way.
My biggest disappointment? The ending. After investing in their journey, I wanted more closure and a more satisfying resolution. The story had so much potential, and the conclusion left me wanting more.
Overall, Game On was an enjoyable, steamy hockey romance with plenty of heart, tension, and chemistry. I loved the journey, but I needed more from the finish!
#GameOn #ZarahDetand #MMRomance #HockeyRomance #BookReview
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ GAME ON by Zarah Detand
Stellan and Matt’s story delivers the kind of forbidden M/M hockey romance that’s hard to put down! What starts with a disastrous encounter turns into undeniable chemistry, stolen moments, and complicated feelings as a closeted NHL captain risks everything for the man he can’t seem to forget.
I really enjoyed the compelling characters, the tension surrounding Matt’s career and sexuality, and the intrigue that kept the story moving. The chemistry between Matt and Stellan was a definite highlight, and I loved seeing their relationship develop despite the obstacles standing in their way.
My biggest disappointment? The ending. After investing in their journey, I wanted more closure and a more satisfying resolution. The story had so much potential, and the conclusion left me wanting more.
Overall, Game On was an enjoyable, steamy hockey romance with plenty of heart, tension, and chemistry. I loved the journey, but I needed more from the finish!
#GameOn #ZarahDetand #MMRomance #HockeyRomance #BookReview
September 29, 2026
Honestly this was the sweetest book - which you wouldn’t even think as it begins
Stellan has a job catch cheaters. Matt is his job - but he isn’t a cheater he is guilty of being gay.
Matt is the captain of his hockey team and a very closeted gay player. What starts as a hook up evolves as these things often do.
Very low on the hockey but very high on how much I loved them!
🏒🏒 it is really 1.5 hockey sticks
Stellan has a job catch cheaters. Matt is his job - but he isn’t a cheater he is guilty of being gay.
Matt is the captain of his hockey team and a very closeted gay player. What starts as a hook up evolves as these things often do.
Very low on the hockey but very high on how much I loved them!
🏒🏒 it is really 1.5 hockey sticks
October 20, 2026
Really enjoyed this one. Didn't get 'wham, bam, thank you ma'am' vibes from it even though things moved at quite a pace. Loved Stellan and Matt, not too keen on Reid, but Naomi and Ronan were also good characters. Reason I deducted 1/2 star was that I felt the ending was a tad rushed.
July 30, 2026
Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the arc!
Rtc
Rtc
September 5, 2026
A Boyfriend, Regrettably, Does Not Fit Into a Packing Cube: Reading Zarah Detand’s “Game On”
A meticulously controlled hockey captain discovers that desire, secrecy, and another human being are considerably less cooperative than his road-trip luggage
By Demetris Papadimitropoulos | September 4th, 2026
Dressed like money in a Chicago hotel lounge, Stellan is doing what he has learned to do best: become the version of himself a room will reward. The assignment is grubby but, in his mind, containable. Flirt with a stranger named Matt, let a hidden camera catch something compromising, collect the fee. Then a fan says Matt Harkins’s name, and the job changes moral category. The man Stellan has been steering toward a photograph is the closeted captain of the Seattle Cascades. A private response has become evidence. Zarah Detand’s “Game On” begins with attraction converted into leverage, then spends the rest of the novel worrying at a harder question: what would it mean to be seen without somebody else getting to own the meaning of the sight?
Even before Matt and Stellan have anything one could plausibly call a relationship, that problem has divided itself neatly between them. Matt is publicly overexposed and personally obscure: photographed, sponsored, cheered, marketed, and understood by thousands of strangers as a reassuringly uncomplicated masculine object. Stellan seems built on the opposite principle. He is quick, stylish, funny, socially fluent, the kind of man who can enter an expensive room and make it look as though the room was expecting him. Matt hides by becoming fixed. Stellan hides by becoming adaptable. One makes himself difficult to read; the other makes himself legible on command. Both have become very good at surviving other people’s interpretations.
Months later, they collide again in Seattle when Matt arrives for a private fitting and finds Stellan assisting the stylist. Calling this enemies-to-lovers would flatten the moral problem, because Matt’s anger has an invoice attached. The photograph cost him half a million dollars in a settlement with his former girlfriend, Talia, and, more corrosively, turned the first encounter in which desire for another man felt uncomplicated into material somebody else could trade on. Stellan insists he did not know who Matt was until too late and tried to stop the photographs once he understood. Matt does not believe him at once. Good. The book would be considerably cheaper if chemistry were allowed to do the work of accountability.
Eventually, trust accrues in household-sized evidence: a phone left in a coat, a fitting that slips free of professional cover, a game ticket, a night spent instead of escaped, a toothbrush appearing in Matt’s bathroom before either man is prepared to interpret it. Detand is shrewd about the debris by which relationships betray themselves. Matt and Stellan can call theirs casual for only so long before the apartment begins testifying against them. Their bodies are even less cooperative. Matt, who has spent years turning attraction to men into something abstract enough to manage, discovers that embodiment is an annoyingly efficient fact-checker.
Thought in “Game On” stays close to the skin. Detand favors first-person narration, short-to-medium sentences, clipped fragments, profanity, comic self-correction, and the little recoil after feeling has already escaped. Matt’s interiority often sounds like drills: assess, contain, reset. Stellan’s is more improvisational, quick with a joke before the tender part can make eye contact. The difference holds, though not completely. Their defenses are more individual than their syntax; both voices lean on similar fragments and rhetorical denials, and the recurrent rhythm of this means nothing followed by several pages proving that it means quite a lot can make them sound more alike than their histories do.
Rooms do more work here than decoration ever could. The Chicago hotel is aggressively reflective while Stellan performs wealth. Matt’s high-rise is made of glass, but privacy depends on leaving the lights off. Clothes become armor, class signal, professional competence, and eventually intimacy. Matt’s painted bedroom wall absorbs feelings he cannot yet say aloud. Even the recurring glasses of water after sex begin to look less like aftercare logistics than a domestic ritual neither man is ready to name. Ice shifts from workplace to refuge. None of these images asks to be admired for itself. They keep testing the same narrow border: between exposure and recognition, between hiding for safety and hiding so completely that safety begins to resemble absence.
Interview clothes give that pattern a social life. Through Suit Up Wednesdays, Stellan and Naomi help young people aging out of foster care dress for interviews, but Stellan knows a blazer cannot repair unstable housing, poverty, or a childhood spent expecting rejection. What it can alter is the first half minute in which a room decides whether you look as though you belong there. Clothing, in his hands, is neither vanity nor salvation. It is leverage of a less sinister kind: a way of helping someone enter a gatekeeping space without apologizing for taking up the chair.
Professional hockey has taught Matt a second dress code: what to laugh at, what not to reveal, and how to let heterosexual assumptions stand because correcting them would produce questions. Detand is too sensible to turn the locker room into a cartoon den of villains. Cole is decent; Reid, Matt’s manager and oldest friend, is ferociously loyal; Matt’s parents respond with love. Matt’s closet therefore consists less of elaborate lying than of hundreds of small noncorrections: a woman presumed, a joke allowed to pass, a question answered sideways. The mechanism is ordinary enough to become almost invisible to him, which is part of the danger. The easiest version of Matt is the one nobody has to reinterpret.
At the Cascades donor event, the difference between privacy and erasure stops being theoretical. Matt brings Suit Up Wednesdays into the room because he believes in the work and because, whether he will admit it or not, he wants Stellan there. Reid warns him that pulling Stellan closer changes the terms. He is right. When Cole notices Stellan’s interest and tries, kindly, to warn Matt not to become another straight man who enjoys a gay man’s attention until it becomes inconvenient, Matt panics. He denies not only romance but friendship. Stellan hears enough.
Painful as that scene is, the breakup that follows works because nobody has misunderstood the essential facts. Stellan knows Matt cares about him. He knows Matt is frightened. He even knows Matt is not ashamed of him in the simple, melodramatic sense. None of that makes the arrangement livable. He can spend four nights a week in Matt’s bed, know his coffee, touch his body, understand his silences, and still vanish the moment parents or teammates enter the frame. Stellan has already spent too much of his life learning to be easy and small inside other people’s houses. Love, he finally decides, cannot require the same professional skill.
And Detand resists the obvious grand gesture. Stellan does not demand cameras, headlines, or a declaration to the hockey world. He does not turn disclosure into a purity test. What he wants is some territory in which the relationship can tell the truth about itself. Matt’s answer is proportionate: he tells his parents, corrects Cole, rents a house, and invites the people who matter to both men into one warm room. It is a coming-out party without banners, and better for the lack of them. Intimacy does not become public property; it simply stops having to impersonate nothing.
Distance in this romance can be measured in square footage. It moves from a surveilled hotel to a fitting room, a dark apartment, an arena, Stellan’s cramped but inhabited home, a charity space, a donor event, a breakup in darkness, then an illuminated house and finally an open frozen lake. None of this is formally radical. The dual first-person chapters are recognizable romance engineering, and the plot hits expected beats. But the geography gives those beats pressure. The question is repeatedly not only whether these men are together, but where they are allowed to be together and who is permitted to understand what that togetherness means.
If the rooms track permission, the alternating points of view track knowledge. We know Stellan’s complicity in Chicago was not as total as Matt fears before Matt can trust that fact. We know Matt’s supposedly casual arrangement has become emotionally absurd while Stellan is still preparing himself to be disposable. Each man specializes in managing his surface; the form quietly defeats that management by giving us access to both interiors. The reader becomes the one witness neither man can edit.
Much of the pleasure comes from that informational advantage, though Detand occasionally presses it too long. The middle settles into a recognizable circuit: sex, water or food, a vulnerable conversation, the realization that the relationship is not casual, then another attempt to call it casual anyway. Psychologically, the repetition is plausible. People can be astonishingly industrious when avoiding the obvious. Narratively, a few of these scenes confirm rather than deepen what earlier scenes have already made plain.
Images this coherent ought to buy a writer some trust, but the narration does not always spend it. “Game On” returns insistently to being seen, fitting, hiding, becoming small, compartmentalizing, and making room. These are the right ideas, and Detand has built convincing objects and spaces around them. Her weaker moments arrive when the prose names the significance once more, as though worried the reader might have missed the wall, the window, the suit, the darkened room, and the entire conversation taking place inside it. The problem is not thinness of feeling but surplus explanation.
Trouble arrives when the book turns from romantic psychology to institutional threat. Aster Private, the agency that employed Stellan, initially appears comfortably menacing: fluent in secrecy, rich clients, pressure, and legal threat. Yet when Matt, Reid, Naomi, and Stellan push back, the institution retreats with gratifying efficiency. The confrontation works emotionally because Stellan gets to tell the people who recruited him when he was desperate that they no longer own him. As institutional drama, it is thinner. Talia, too, remains more useful than fully rendered. There is a thornier novel briefly visible in her anger: she spent a year inside a relationship Matt hoped could prove something to himself, only to discover that his effort was never desire.
Rachel Reid’s “Heated Rivalry,” which the publisher itself invokes, supplies the obvious market coordinate: secret desire under hockey’s bright lights. Detand, however, is after a stranger moral knot. What happens when the person who first made you feel seen is also implicated in the machinery that made being seen dangerous? “Game On” is not distinguished by linguistic virtuosity or formal novelty, but by how stubbornly it keeps that contradiction alive inside an otherwise familiar romantic shape. The answer requires more than chemistry and less than absolution. Forgiveness has to follow evidence of change, not merely heat.
Ordinary dinner, rather than declaration, makes that change credible. Stellan has to stop mistaking adaptability for belonging; Matt has to stop mistaking control for safety. Their trajectories meet at a table where nobody needs a cover story. Matt’s mother asks about Suit Up Wednesdays. His father worries about food. Reid and Naomi spar. Cole laughs. Stellan can mention Matt’s coffee without anyone wondering how he knows. No one pauses to translate him into stylist, friend, guest, or convenient fiction. The scene is almost aggressively uncinematic, which is precisely why it feels earned.
Perhaps the book’s best running joke is that Matt, a man whose professional life depends on knowing exactly where everybody belongs on the ice, is hopeless at arranging the emotional equivalent. He can captain a team, manage his nutrition, memorize systems, survive cameras, and pack for road trips with ruthless efficiency. A boyfriend, regrettably, does not fit into a packing cube. Detand’s warmth keeps the joke from turning cruel. Matt is not punished for taking time to understand himself; he is required to notice that his delay has been charging interest to somebody else.
On a 100-point scale, “Game On” earns 83/100 and 4/5 stars. The score leaves room for the repetitive middle, the occasional need to explain an image after the image has already landed, and the ease with which some external threats dissolve. It also recognizes what Detand gets right: two persuasive central characters, a breakup rooted in incompatibility rather than contrivance, and an ending that answers the problem the novel actually posed. She does not reinvent queer sports romance. She gives one version of it a precise pressure point: the difference between being wanted in private and being given a place.
Under the pale Minnesota morning of the epilogue, hockey briefly loses everything professional hockey has piled onto Matt: money, sponsorship, expectation, masculine performance, noise. He is back where he learned to skate, teaching Stellan how not to fall. The arena has contracted to a frozen lake. The crowd is gone. Stellan wobbles. Matt catches him.
Later they drink hot chocolate and talk, with all the subtlety of a brick, about a house, Matt’s painted wall, and a couch they might choose together. It is a wonderfully small proposal after a novel preoccupied with enormous visibility. “Game On” began with a camera turning a private moment into somebody else’s evidence. It ends with two men choosing furniture for a life in which neither needs to edit himself into acceptability.
A meticulously controlled hockey captain discovers that desire, secrecy, and another human being are considerably less cooperative than his road-trip luggage
By Demetris Papadimitropoulos | September 4th, 2026
Dressed like money in a Chicago hotel lounge, Stellan is doing what he has learned to do best: become the version of himself a room will reward. The assignment is grubby but, in his mind, containable. Flirt with a stranger named Matt, let a hidden camera catch something compromising, collect the fee. Then a fan says Matt Harkins’s name, and the job changes moral category. The man Stellan has been steering toward a photograph is the closeted captain of the Seattle Cascades. A private response has become evidence. Zarah Detand’s “Game On” begins with attraction converted into leverage, then spends the rest of the novel worrying at a harder question: what would it mean to be seen without somebody else getting to own the meaning of the sight?
Even before Matt and Stellan have anything one could plausibly call a relationship, that problem has divided itself neatly between them. Matt is publicly overexposed and personally obscure: photographed, sponsored, cheered, marketed, and understood by thousands of strangers as a reassuringly uncomplicated masculine object. Stellan seems built on the opposite principle. He is quick, stylish, funny, socially fluent, the kind of man who can enter an expensive room and make it look as though the room was expecting him. Matt hides by becoming fixed. Stellan hides by becoming adaptable. One makes himself difficult to read; the other makes himself legible on command. Both have become very good at surviving other people’s interpretations.
Months later, they collide again in Seattle when Matt arrives for a private fitting and finds Stellan assisting the stylist. Calling this enemies-to-lovers would flatten the moral problem, because Matt’s anger has an invoice attached. The photograph cost him half a million dollars in a settlement with his former girlfriend, Talia, and, more corrosively, turned the first encounter in which desire for another man felt uncomplicated into material somebody else could trade on. Stellan insists he did not know who Matt was until too late and tried to stop the photographs once he understood. Matt does not believe him at once. Good. The book would be considerably cheaper if chemistry were allowed to do the work of accountability.
Eventually, trust accrues in household-sized evidence: a phone left in a coat, a fitting that slips free of professional cover, a game ticket, a night spent instead of escaped, a toothbrush appearing in Matt’s bathroom before either man is prepared to interpret it. Detand is shrewd about the debris by which relationships betray themselves. Matt and Stellan can call theirs casual for only so long before the apartment begins testifying against them. Their bodies are even less cooperative. Matt, who has spent years turning attraction to men into something abstract enough to manage, discovers that embodiment is an annoyingly efficient fact-checker.
Thought in “Game On” stays close to the skin. Detand favors first-person narration, short-to-medium sentences, clipped fragments, profanity, comic self-correction, and the little recoil after feeling has already escaped. Matt’s interiority often sounds like drills: assess, contain, reset. Stellan’s is more improvisational, quick with a joke before the tender part can make eye contact. The difference holds, though not completely. Their defenses are more individual than their syntax; both voices lean on similar fragments and rhetorical denials, and the recurrent rhythm of this means nothing followed by several pages proving that it means quite a lot can make them sound more alike than their histories do.
Rooms do more work here than decoration ever could. The Chicago hotel is aggressively reflective while Stellan performs wealth. Matt’s high-rise is made of glass, but privacy depends on leaving the lights off. Clothes become armor, class signal, professional competence, and eventually intimacy. Matt’s painted bedroom wall absorbs feelings he cannot yet say aloud. Even the recurring glasses of water after sex begin to look less like aftercare logistics than a domestic ritual neither man is ready to name. Ice shifts from workplace to refuge. None of these images asks to be admired for itself. They keep testing the same narrow border: between exposure and recognition, between hiding for safety and hiding so completely that safety begins to resemble absence.
Interview clothes give that pattern a social life. Through Suit Up Wednesdays, Stellan and Naomi help young people aging out of foster care dress for interviews, but Stellan knows a blazer cannot repair unstable housing, poverty, or a childhood spent expecting rejection. What it can alter is the first half minute in which a room decides whether you look as though you belong there. Clothing, in his hands, is neither vanity nor salvation. It is leverage of a less sinister kind: a way of helping someone enter a gatekeeping space without apologizing for taking up the chair.
Professional hockey has taught Matt a second dress code: what to laugh at, what not to reveal, and how to let heterosexual assumptions stand because correcting them would produce questions. Detand is too sensible to turn the locker room into a cartoon den of villains. Cole is decent; Reid, Matt’s manager and oldest friend, is ferociously loyal; Matt’s parents respond with love. Matt’s closet therefore consists less of elaborate lying than of hundreds of small noncorrections: a woman presumed, a joke allowed to pass, a question answered sideways. The mechanism is ordinary enough to become almost invisible to him, which is part of the danger. The easiest version of Matt is the one nobody has to reinterpret.
At the Cascades donor event, the difference between privacy and erasure stops being theoretical. Matt brings Suit Up Wednesdays into the room because he believes in the work and because, whether he will admit it or not, he wants Stellan there. Reid warns him that pulling Stellan closer changes the terms. He is right. When Cole notices Stellan’s interest and tries, kindly, to warn Matt not to become another straight man who enjoys a gay man’s attention until it becomes inconvenient, Matt panics. He denies not only romance but friendship. Stellan hears enough.
Painful as that scene is, the breakup that follows works because nobody has misunderstood the essential facts. Stellan knows Matt cares about him. He knows Matt is frightened. He even knows Matt is not ashamed of him in the simple, melodramatic sense. None of that makes the arrangement livable. He can spend four nights a week in Matt’s bed, know his coffee, touch his body, understand his silences, and still vanish the moment parents or teammates enter the frame. Stellan has already spent too much of his life learning to be easy and small inside other people’s houses. Love, he finally decides, cannot require the same professional skill.
And Detand resists the obvious grand gesture. Stellan does not demand cameras, headlines, or a declaration to the hockey world. He does not turn disclosure into a purity test. What he wants is some territory in which the relationship can tell the truth about itself. Matt’s answer is proportionate: he tells his parents, corrects Cole, rents a house, and invites the people who matter to both men into one warm room. It is a coming-out party without banners, and better for the lack of them. Intimacy does not become public property; it simply stops having to impersonate nothing.
Distance in this romance can be measured in square footage. It moves from a surveilled hotel to a fitting room, a dark apartment, an arena, Stellan’s cramped but inhabited home, a charity space, a donor event, a breakup in darkness, then an illuminated house and finally an open frozen lake. None of this is formally radical. The dual first-person chapters are recognizable romance engineering, and the plot hits expected beats. But the geography gives those beats pressure. The question is repeatedly not only whether these men are together, but where they are allowed to be together and who is permitted to understand what that togetherness means.
If the rooms track permission, the alternating points of view track knowledge. We know Stellan’s complicity in Chicago was not as total as Matt fears before Matt can trust that fact. We know Matt’s supposedly casual arrangement has become emotionally absurd while Stellan is still preparing himself to be disposable. Each man specializes in managing his surface; the form quietly defeats that management by giving us access to both interiors. The reader becomes the one witness neither man can edit.
Much of the pleasure comes from that informational advantage, though Detand occasionally presses it too long. The middle settles into a recognizable circuit: sex, water or food, a vulnerable conversation, the realization that the relationship is not casual, then another attempt to call it casual anyway. Psychologically, the repetition is plausible. People can be astonishingly industrious when avoiding the obvious. Narratively, a few of these scenes confirm rather than deepen what earlier scenes have already made plain.
Images this coherent ought to buy a writer some trust, but the narration does not always spend it. “Game On” returns insistently to being seen, fitting, hiding, becoming small, compartmentalizing, and making room. These are the right ideas, and Detand has built convincing objects and spaces around them. Her weaker moments arrive when the prose names the significance once more, as though worried the reader might have missed the wall, the window, the suit, the darkened room, and the entire conversation taking place inside it. The problem is not thinness of feeling but surplus explanation.
Trouble arrives when the book turns from romantic psychology to institutional threat. Aster Private, the agency that employed Stellan, initially appears comfortably menacing: fluent in secrecy, rich clients, pressure, and legal threat. Yet when Matt, Reid, Naomi, and Stellan push back, the institution retreats with gratifying efficiency. The confrontation works emotionally because Stellan gets to tell the people who recruited him when he was desperate that they no longer own him. As institutional drama, it is thinner. Talia, too, remains more useful than fully rendered. There is a thornier novel briefly visible in her anger: she spent a year inside a relationship Matt hoped could prove something to himself, only to discover that his effort was never desire.
Rachel Reid’s “Heated Rivalry,” which the publisher itself invokes, supplies the obvious market coordinate: secret desire under hockey’s bright lights. Detand, however, is after a stranger moral knot. What happens when the person who first made you feel seen is also implicated in the machinery that made being seen dangerous? “Game On” is not distinguished by linguistic virtuosity or formal novelty, but by how stubbornly it keeps that contradiction alive inside an otherwise familiar romantic shape. The answer requires more than chemistry and less than absolution. Forgiveness has to follow evidence of change, not merely heat.
Ordinary dinner, rather than declaration, makes that change credible. Stellan has to stop mistaking adaptability for belonging; Matt has to stop mistaking control for safety. Their trajectories meet at a table where nobody needs a cover story. Matt’s mother asks about Suit Up Wednesdays. His father worries about food. Reid and Naomi spar. Cole laughs. Stellan can mention Matt’s coffee without anyone wondering how he knows. No one pauses to translate him into stylist, friend, guest, or convenient fiction. The scene is almost aggressively uncinematic, which is precisely why it feels earned.
Perhaps the book’s best running joke is that Matt, a man whose professional life depends on knowing exactly where everybody belongs on the ice, is hopeless at arranging the emotional equivalent. He can captain a team, manage his nutrition, memorize systems, survive cameras, and pack for road trips with ruthless efficiency. A boyfriend, regrettably, does not fit into a packing cube. Detand’s warmth keeps the joke from turning cruel. Matt is not punished for taking time to understand himself; he is required to notice that his delay has been charging interest to somebody else.
On a 100-point scale, “Game On” earns 83/100 and 4/5 stars. The score leaves room for the repetitive middle, the occasional need to explain an image after the image has already landed, and the ease with which some external threats dissolve. It also recognizes what Detand gets right: two persuasive central characters, a breakup rooted in incompatibility rather than contrivance, and an ending that answers the problem the novel actually posed. She does not reinvent queer sports romance. She gives one version of it a precise pressure point: the difference between being wanted in private and being given a place.
Under the pale Minnesota morning of the epilogue, hockey briefly loses everything professional hockey has piled onto Matt: money, sponsorship, expectation, masculine performance, noise. He is back where he learned to skate, teaching Stellan how not to fall. The arena has contracted to a frozen lake. The crowd is gone. Stellan wobbles. Matt catches him.
Later they drink hot chocolate and talk, with all the subtlety of a brick, about a house, Matt’s painted wall, and a couch they might choose together. It is a wonderfully small proposal after a novel preoccupied with enormous visibility. “Game On” began with a camera turning a private moment into somebody else’s evidence. It ends with two men choosing furniture for a life in which neither needs to edit himself into acceptability.
Did Not Finish
September 17, 2026Soft DNF @ 24%
I might come back to it, I might not. It was pretty generic
I might come back to it, I might not. It was pretty generic
September 24, 2026
Came for the banter and the not-so-cute-meet. Stayed for the characters in this not-quite coming-out of a professional hockey player.
Zarah Detand always manages to put smiles on my face.
Zarah Detand always manages to put smiles on my face.
August 21, 2026
Read. This. Book. Now! Ohhhh if there was ever a redemption story, this would be it! You know how a romcom could start with a meet-cute? Stellan and Matt have a meet-ugly. And it just goes downhill from there :-) Seriously though, I’m not sure how I would call the beginning: “haters” with benefits with the side of a very unusual history? You’ll see the unique setup right away … and how the guys think: “Fine. Everything is fine. This is fine. Casual. We can do casual, right? Nooooo problem at all.” We move on from there to so much pining … domestic moments … loads of support and understanding … and feelings that seem hopeless in a way that hurt my heart. This was such an interesting plot; both Matt and Stellan have the ability to really ‘see’ the other … their conversations gave me the biggest heart squeezes. The spice was spicing, Detand’s writing style is easy, fluid, casual … but occasionally she drops a truth bomb that will just stop you in your tracks. Also, this book has the BEST side character friend … best agent too! An ending that feels real in the most satisfying way! This was one of those books that I just wanted to read again the moment I finished it.
I’ve received a copy of this book from the author/Storm Publishing via NetGalley, and this is my honest review.
I’ve received a copy of this book from the author/Storm Publishing via NetGalley, and this is my honest review.
October 6, 2026
so many lines in this book SCREAM ai to me. it’s entirely possible that they’re naturally that cliche and robotic, but either way, it really got under my skin.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
It took me around 25-30% of the book to get into the story - past it the pages flew, the chemistry exploded, the side characters were scene-stealers and you couldn't stop yourself from rooting for a happy resolution!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
I had never heard of Zarah until I saw this book on NetGalley (thanks for the early copy, by the way) but now I'm afraid I'm going to have to dive into her catalog of books.
This was so cute in all the right ways. And I'm so glad they met early into the book and hit the ground running. I love the found family (and actual family) in this and the coming out story. The agency stuff was a little anticlimactic and didn't feel that fleshed out but whatever. Overall I'm really pleased.
I had never heard of Zarah until I saw this book on NetGalley (thanks for the early copy, by the way) but now I'm afraid I'm going to have to dive into her catalog of books.
This was so cute in all the right ways. And I'm so glad they met early into the book and hit the ground running. I love the found family (and actual family) in this and the coming out story. The agency stuff was a little anticlimactic and didn't feel that fleshed out but whatever. Overall I'm really pleased.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I think I have to conclude that this author's writing isn't for me. The first book I read by her was Be My End Game, and I enjoyed it a lot, even though I had to ignore the cognitive dissonance of the English characters referring to their sport as "soccer" instead of "football". I am American, and that immensely bugged me.
Game On, like other works by this author, is a quick read. It moves quickly, but not much is actually happening. And I couldn't get down with the MMCs. I didn't buy their chemistry, and they aren't particularly likable.
Game On, like other works by this author, is a quick read. It moves quickly, but not much is actually happening. And I couldn't get down with the MMCs. I didn't buy their chemistry, and they aren't particularly likable.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Morally grey character discovers actions have consequences and regrets his unethical job. Closeted Hockey player struggles to come out amidst pressures of the league and homophobia. The two intersect and form a messy relationship that ends very happily.
This book was good but not my personal favourite of Zarah’s. As a huge fan, I felt that Stellan’s and Matt’s story to be somewhat lacking in wow factor.
Thanks Netgalley for my copy of the book.
This book was good but not my personal favourite of Zarah’s. As a huge fan, I felt that Stellan’s and Matt’s story to be somewhat lacking in wow factor.
Thanks Netgalley for my copy of the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC. I received the copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This is a standalone M/M hockey romance and I‘ll start with what worked: it‘s genuinely tight and readable – nothing dragged, and I moved through it quickly. I also liked that the book seemed to be
But I don‘t usually notice writing style while reading. Most of the time I‘m just in the story, I only notice the prose when it‘s stunning, or when something isn‘t working. This was the second kind, sadly.
There‘s a constant decision of the author to give a big emotion its own line – "Ha. Ha. Ha.", "Jesus.", "Aww." – almost once a page. I never understood why. It gives one-word reaction a weight it hasn‘t earned. I could see it working in a lighter book but not here, in a more dramatic story. Ellipses mid-sentence were also distracting, I stumbled every time one showed up.
The dialogue is sharp, maybe too sharp. Every exchange has the wittiest possible comeback, and so I missed moments of real friction. Everyone had ready response, no one fumbled, no one let a line sit awkwardly.
As someone who watches a lot of hockey, I caught an error: a handshake line (which is a playoff-only tradition) after a regular season game. More significantly regarding the hockey setting,
There‘s also a consistency problem with Matt‘s behaviour.
The narration kept telling me Matt and Stellan had chemistry, but the problem is it told, not shown, I never felt it. By the end, I felt like the book was written, then read by someone else, then retold to me: events through a fog rather than experienced directly. And the whole thing sat on one emotional wave – no highs, no lows, even in scenes that meant to feel angsty. And I should mention a characterization problem: I know what the main characters do but not who they are: what they like, what makes them laugh, who they are in small things, what are their quirks. I wasn‘t rooting for them, romantically or otherwise. Yes, later the author one thing about Matt but it still felt "this is what he does", not "this is who he is".
If you like high-drama sports romance and don‘t mind that often emotional moments were told, not shown, this could work for you. For me, it was very competent and readable but I never felt the connection.
This is a standalone M/M hockey romance and I‘ll start with what worked: it‘s genuinely tight and readable – nothing dragged, and I moved through it quickly. I also liked that the book seemed to be
But I don‘t usually notice writing style while reading. Most of the time I‘m just in the story, I only notice the prose when it‘s stunning, or when something isn‘t working. This was the second kind, sadly.
There‘s a constant decision of the author to give a big emotion its own line – "Ha. Ha. Ha.", "Jesus.", "Aww." – almost once a page. I never understood why. It gives one-word reaction a weight it hasn‘t earned. I could see it working in a lighter book but not here, in a more dramatic story. Ellipses mid-sentence were also distracting, I stumbled every time one showed up.
The dialogue is sharp, maybe too sharp. Every exchange has the wittiest possible comeback, and so I missed moments of real friction. Everyone had ready response, no one fumbled, no one let a line sit awkwardly.
As someone who watches a lot of hockey, I caught an error: a handshake line (which is a playoff-only tradition) after a regular season game. More significantly regarding the hockey setting,
There‘s also a consistency problem with Matt‘s behaviour.
The narration kept telling me Matt and Stellan had chemistry, but the problem is it told, not shown, I never felt it. By the end, I felt like the book was written, then read by someone else, then retold to me: events through a fog rather than experienced directly. And the whole thing sat on one emotional wave – no highs, no lows, even in scenes that meant to feel angsty. And I should mention a characterization problem: I know what the main characters do but not who they are: what they like, what makes them laugh, who they are in small things, what are their quirks. I wasn‘t rooting for them, romantically or otherwise. Yes, later the author one thing about Matt but it still felt "this is what he does", not "this is who he is".
If you like high-drama sports romance and don‘t mind that often emotional moments were told, not shown, this could work for you. For me, it was very competent and readable but I never felt the connection.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Although hockey romance became saturated due to the recent success of Heated Rivalry and other books using hockey as a plot device, Game On still remains a pleasing addition to this growing works of fiction. The uniqueness of plot, believable characters who make mistakes yet realistic and relatable, syntax and usage of streams of consciousness, and well-explained premise made the development and sequencing an engaging story.
This is a story of Matt, the hockey superstar who lived a life being wanted but never quite held, by the industry that made him famous, and adored by fans who adored him from a safe distance. Living this life brought a fair share of success and wealth at the cost of his self-authenticity and attainment of true love that makes him truly accepted. Stellan, an agent meant to uncover Matt’s secret as part of his sketchy job, eventually shifted gears and tried to make amends with the mistake he’d done to Matt. A fateful encounter after the sabotage led them to confront their unfinished conversation, to which we follow the story’s development.
What I liked about this story was seeing how much the protagonist changed. At the beginning, he is deeply closeted and understandably afraid of what revealing his sexuality could mean for his career and reputation. But as the story progresses, he stops allowing that fear to dictate his choices.
The story didn’t treat coming out as a simple matter of “be brave and everything will be fine.” His career is still at risk, and there are critics and blackmailers who could potentially use his sexuality against him. Instead of simply running from those threats, he starts thinking strategically about how to deal with them and how to take away their power.
And I think that made the romance much more meaningful. The person he falls in love with doesn’t magically “fix” him. Instead, their relationship gives him the courage to finally face something he has been running from for years, and ultimately decide that the person he loves is worth fighting for.
I also appreciated that the author didn’t milk the characters’ traumatic pasts for endless angst. The story acknowledges what they’ve been through, but it doesn’t get stuck there or rely on dramatic exposition to manufacture emotion. It chooses to deal with the present.
And honestly, I think that made the characters’ growth more meaningful. Their past explains them, but it doesn’t define them. What matters is what they choose to do now: whether that’s confronting their sexuality, protecting the person they love, or finding ways to deal with the people trying to weaponize their secrets against them.
Overall, I really enjoyed the progression from secrecy and self-denial to acceptance, courage, and action. It’s a story about sexuality and coming out, but also about gradually taking back control of your own life when other people try to fit you in a model you are not. This is more of a story leaning towards character development, attraction, and realistic depiction of their relationship dynamics. Hence, readers shouldn’t expect that the plot will progress compared to other hockey romance books out there.
Many thanks to Storm Publishing, Zarah Detand, and NetGalley for the ARC.
This is a story of Matt, the hockey superstar who lived a life being wanted but never quite held, by the industry that made him famous, and adored by fans who adored him from a safe distance. Living this life brought a fair share of success and wealth at the cost of his self-authenticity and attainment of true love that makes him truly accepted. Stellan, an agent meant to uncover Matt’s secret as part of his sketchy job, eventually shifted gears and tried to make amends with the mistake he’d done to Matt. A fateful encounter after the sabotage led them to confront their unfinished conversation, to which we follow the story’s development.
What I liked about this story was seeing how much the protagonist changed. At the beginning, he is deeply closeted and understandably afraid of what revealing his sexuality could mean for his career and reputation. But as the story progresses, he stops allowing that fear to dictate his choices.
The story didn’t treat coming out as a simple matter of “be brave and everything will be fine.” His career is still at risk, and there are critics and blackmailers who could potentially use his sexuality against him. Instead of simply running from those threats, he starts thinking strategically about how to deal with them and how to take away their power.
And I think that made the romance much more meaningful. The person he falls in love with doesn’t magically “fix” him. Instead, their relationship gives him the courage to finally face something he has been running from for years, and ultimately decide that the person he loves is worth fighting for.
I also appreciated that the author didn’t milk the characters’ traumatic pasts for endless angst. The story acknowledges what they’ve been through, but it doesn’t get stuck there or rely on dramatic exposition to manufacture emotion. It chooses to deal with the present.
And honestly, I think that made the characters’ growth more meaningful. Their past explains them, but it doesn’t define them. What matters is what they choose to do now: whether that’s confronting their sexuality, protecting the person they love, or finding ways to deal with the people trying to weaponize their secrets against them.
Overall, I really enjoyed the progression from secrecy and self-denial to acceptance, courage, and action. It’s a story about sexuality and coming out, but also about gradually taking back control of your own life when other people try to fit you in a model you are not. This is more of a story leaning towards character development, attraction, and realistic depiction of their relationship dynamics. Hence, readers shouldn’t expect that the plot will progress compared to other hockey romance books out there.
Many thanks to Storm Publishing, Zarah Detand, and NetGalley for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
⭐️4.5
Game On by Zarah Detand is a hockey romance that turned out to be a lot heavier than the premise let on. Stellan is very good at being exactly the right kind of irresistible to the wrong kind of man, and it pays the rent. Then a job in a Chicago hotel lounge goes sideways when the stranger turns out to be the most famous player in the league, and the photo that comes out of it costs them both. Seven months later Matt Harkins walks into a Seattle suit fitting and there's Stellan, holding out the next jacket. It sounds like a setup for a messy second chance story, and it is, but what Detand actually writes is much quieter than that.
What stayed with me is how she handles Stellan's time in foster care. She doesn't use it as a sad backstory he outgrows by the third act. You see it in how he reads a room, in what he expects from people, in the things he assumes he isn't allowed to keep. She never stops the book to explain any of it, which is much harder to do well.
The scenes with the kids are my favorite part of the whole book. That's where you get to see who Stellan is when nobody is paying him to be charming, and Detand lets him be soft there without making a point of it.
The banter is Detand at her best. Fast and funny and never straining for it. She's always been good at building people you love in spite of their flaws, and these two have plenty. They make bad calls, they protect themselves in all the wrong ways, and you're on their side the entire time.
I loved the side characters too. None of them are filler, and none of them exist just to nudge the plot forward. Every one of them changes the temperature of a scene and pulls something different out of the leads. The book feels lived in because of them.
Matt is where the tenderness lives. Small touches, quiet moments when nobody's watching, the care he takes around a man who has every reason to keep his guard up. These two meet in about the most complicated way possible, and the way they rebuild trust actually feels earned. A closeted captain with everything to lose gives that slow burn real stakes.
The spice is beautifully done. Sensual and intentional, never gratuitous, and always tied to where the two of them are with each other instead of dropped in for heat.
If you want a hockey romance with real emotional weight, sharp dialogue, a cast worth spending time with, and a love interest whose past is handled with genuine care, this one is for you. If Heated Rivalry is your benchmark, it clears it.
ARC received in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early!
Game On by Zarah Detand is a hockey romance that turned out to be a lot heavier than the premise let on. Stellan is very good at being exactly the right kind of irresistible to the wrong kind of man, and it pays the rent. Then a job in a Chicago hotel lounge goes sideways when the stranger turns out to be the most famous player in the league, and the photo that comes out of it costs them both. Seven months later Matt Harkins walks into a Seattle suit fitting and there's Stellan, holding out the next jacket. It sounds like a setup for a messy second chance story, and it is, but what Detand actually writes is much quieter than that.
What stayed with me is how she handles Stellan's time in foster care. She doesn't use it as a sad backstory he outgrows by the third act. You see it in how he reads a room, in what he expects from people, in the things he assumes he isn't allowed to keep. She never stops the book to explain any of it, which is much harder to do well.
The scenes with the kids are my favorite part of the whole book. That's where you get to see who Stellan is when nobody is paying him to be charming, and Detand lets him be soft there without making a point of it.
The banter is Detand at her best. Fast and funny and never straining for it. She's always been good at building people you love in spite of their flaws, and these two have plenty. They make bad calls, they protect themselves in all the wrong ways, and you're on their side the entire time.
I loved the side characters too. None of them are filler, and none of them exist just to nudge the plot forward. Every one of them changes the temperature of a scene and pulls something different out of the leads. The book feels lived in because of them.
Matt is where the tenderness lives. Small touches, quiet moments when nobody's watching, the care he takes around a man who has every reason to keep his guard up. These two meet in about the most complicated way possible, and the way they rebuild trust actually feels earned. A closeted captain with everything to lose gives that slow burn real stakes.
The spice is beautifully done. Sensual and intentional, never gratuitous, and always tied to where the two of them are with each other instead of dropped in for heat.
If you want a hockey romance with real emotional weight, sharp dialogue, a cast worth spending time with, and a love interest whose past is handled with genuine care, this one is for you. If Heated Rivalry is your benchmark, it clears it.
ARC received in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.5 stars rounding up
I've come to enjoy Zarah Detand's writing and usually I jump on every opportunity to review an ARC by her. 'Game On' had a blurb though, that left me deeply suspicious because it hinted at one of the protagonists was involved in something so morally questionable that I nearly passed this on.
In retrospect, I'm glad I did. In some ways, 'Game On' is a typical sports romance: closeted hockey-player who cannot afford at all costs, to come out. But Matt Harkins and Stellan meet in such a unique way that defy all expectations and this small but transformative encounter leads to far-reaching consequences for the both of them. It also leads to a few personal revelations that set the ball rolling for them to meet again, seven months on, each changed in different ways because of what happened during that pivotal moment in time.
I really enjoyed their unconventional beginning though, rocky as it is (there's quite a degree of experimentation here), and the gradual build-up that follows. The relationship unfolds as a journey of self-discovery, with every tentative step Matt takes bringing him closer to redefining both his identity and his sexuality.
Detand does tease out the nuances of this relationship: Matt is too much of a hgh-profile sports figure so publicly loved that there isn't a way to live authentically the way he wants to and not face the repercussions of doing so. Stellan in contrast, is open and out, and is well aware that whatever arrangement that he and Matt have going on, must absolutely work around these restraints. Neither is willing to define what they are becoming to each other, but as with stumbling into unexpectedly good things, something must eventually give.
This tension though, of juggling the personal and the professional, is threaded throughout the book and isn't brought to fruition by the end. Instead, the ending swerves around the issue, in favour of a HFN with an injected dose of realism.
There isn't a public reckoning from Matt coming out (it seems like he's closeted to everyone else still but to his close friends and family) and his relationship with Stellan is still unsettlingly pitched as a work in progress than one with a sense of permanence. A more conclusive ending perhaps, was what I'd hoped for but didn't exactly get. By the epilogue I found myself wondering whether I had somehow missed a chapter or whether the story was deliberately setting up a sequel.
*ARC by the publisher via Netgalley
I've come to enjoy Zarah Detand's writing and usually I jump on every opportunity to review an ARC by her. 'Game On' had a blurb though, that left me deeply suspicious because it hinted at one of the protagonists was involved in something so morally questionable that I nearly passed this on.
In retrospect, I'm glad I did. In some ways, 'Game On' is a typical sports romance: closeted hockey-player who cannot afford at all costs, to come out. But Matt Harkins and Stellan meet in such a unique way that defy all expectations and this small but transformative encounter leads to far-reaching consequences for the both of them. It also leads to a few personal revelations that set the ball rolling for them to meet again, seven months on, each changed in different ways because of what happened during that pivotal moment in time.
I really enjoyed their unconventional beginning though, rocky as it is (there's quite a degree of experimentation here), and the gradual build-up that follows. The relationship unfolds as a journey of self-discovery, with every tentative step Matt takes bringing him closer to redefining both his identity and his sexuality.
Detand does tease out the nuances of this relationship: Matt is too much of a hgh-profile sports figure so publicly loved that there isn't a way to live authentically the way he wants to and not face the repercussions of doing so. Stellan in contrast, is open and out, and is well aware that whatever arrangement that he and Matt have going on, must absolutely work around these restraints. Neither is willing to define what they are becoming to each other, but as with stumbling into unexpectedly good things, something must eventually give.
This tension though, of juggling the personal and the professional, is threaded throughout the book and isn't brought to fruition by the end. Instead, the ending swerves around the issue, in favour of a HFN with an injected dose of realism.
There isn't a public reckoning from Matt coming out (it seems like he's closeted to everyone else still but to his close friends and family) and his relationship with Stellan is still unsettlingly pitched as a work in progress than one with a sense of permanence. A more conclusive ending perhaps, was what I'd hoped for but didn't exactly get. By the epilogue I found myself wondering whether I had somehow missed a chapter or whether the story was deliberately setting up a sequel.
*ARC by the publisher via Netgalley
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4.5 stars
"I thought we'd have room here," he said, voice dipping low and careful. "A chance to be honest with the lights on."
Yet again, I love this author. This is the third book I've read by her and I've loved all three.
I feel like I should also put a caveat here: this isn't a hockey book. This is a book that has a hockey player as an MC. Don't expect a lot of on-ice action.
Stellan has a shady ass job. He works for an agency that's hired to set up people to make it seem like they're cheating while a photographer from the agency takes photos. It's like a private investigator mixed with bait to get the "evidence" you need.
That's how he meets Matt. They meet at a bar after the company he works for was hired to catch Matt in the act of cheating. Nothing really happens in the bar beyond some chatting and a few moments of closeness that a picture can construe as something more than it is. Stellan has no idea who he's setting up.
Until a fan of Matt's comes over to ask for a picture. Stellan begins internally panicking when he realizes that he's setting up to out someone and this someone is also a famous hockey player. He quickly ends the interaction and tries to get the pictures deleted so he can stop it, but it's too late.
He quits his job and gets one with a stylist. Several months later, Matt ends up coming in needing a suit and Stellan is the assistant stylist. Matt is rightfully pissed off at Stellan, but also attracted to him.
The rest unfolds in a story full of yearning, secret hookups, and denied feelings.
I love Detand's writing style. She's able to make things sound so beautiful and vivid.
As soon as I pick up one of her books, I don't want to put it down. That's such a rare thing for me now that I also want to savor them when I do get a book of hers.
This book also had a more satisfying ending than the other two books I've read by this author. It didn't end as abruptly and I felt like I got a real glimpse at them being able to survive the future.
I can't wait for more from this author. I'm also really hoping she goes back to the Devon Memorial series. I'd also love more hockey stories as well! I'm excited to see what she releases next.
"I thought we'd have room here," he said, voice dipping low and careful. "A chance to be honest with the lights on."
Yet again, I love this author. This is the third book I've read by her and I've loved all three.
I feel like I should also put a caveat here: this isn't a hockey book. This is a book that has a hockey player as an MC. Don't expect a lot of on-ice action.
Stellan has a shady ass job. He works for an agency that's hired to set up people to make it seem like they're cheating while a photographer from the agency takes photos. It's like a private investigator mixed with bait to get the "evidence" you need.
That's how he meets Matt. They meet at a bar after the company he works for was hired to catch Matt in the act of cheating. Nothing really happens in the bar beyond some chatting and a few moments of closeness that a picture can construe as something more than it is. Stellan has no idea who he's setting up.
Until a fan of Matt's comes over to ask for a picture. Stellan begins internally panicking when he realizes that he's setting up to out someone and this someone is also a famous hockey player. He quickly ends the interaction and tries to get the pictures deleted so he can stop it, but it's too late.
He quits his job and gets one with a stylist. Several months later, Matt ends up coming in needing a suit and Stellan is the assistant stylist. Matt is rightfully pissed off at Stellan, but also attracted to him.
The rest unfolds in a story full of yearning, secret hookups, and denied feelings.
I love Detand's writing style. She's able to make things sound so beautiful and vivid.
I lost my breath and fell, tumbling through endless space inside my mind, body locking up then going loose. Head against his throat as I shook apart. Nerves singing.
Fuck.
Felt like I'd been sliced open, chest cracked wide apart. The taste of primary colors on my tongue, bold swirls of yellow and blue.
As soon as I pick up one of her books, I don't want to put it down. That's such a rare thing for me now that I also want to savor them when I do get a book of hers.
This book also had a more satisfying ending than the other two books I've read by this author. It didn't end as abruptly and I felt like I got a real glimpse at them being able to survive the future.
I can't wait for more from this author. I'm also really hoping she goes back to the Devon Memorial series. I'd also love more hockey stories as well! I'm excited to see what she releases next.
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