Goalie Interference

by Marina Bennett

He was supposed to fix my game.

Instead, he changed my life.

Starting goalie Ashton Kincaid has never backed down from a fight. With the NHL draft looming, he's determined to prove he belongs between the pipes—even if it means ignoring the anger, injuries, and pressure threatening to consume him.

His new goalie coach is another problem entirely.

Retired NHL legend Thomas Thayer is older, patient, infuriatingly calm...and the only person who sees through Ash's walls.

One stolen moment becomes another.

Professional boundaries blur.

And before either of them realizes it, they're risking careers, reputations, and futures for a relationship that should never have happened.

Keeping their secret is hard.

Pretending they don't belong together is impossible.

Genres: Hockey Romance, Novella, Romance, Sports Romance

200 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 29, 2026

Reviews

[Tabitha Temple]

This book needed to be longer and more fleshed out. The pacing was all off especially for it's short length. I don't think the age gap was handled well. I also don't think the cheating aspect was necessary. It seemed like it was used just to have a moment of Ash being called a slur by his ex. The whole cheating part could have been taken out and not effected the story at all. He could have/should have broken up with his girlfriend before he explored his sexuality, or the author could have just had him not have a girlfriend. Even just having them be friends with benefits or fuck buddies would have been better. You can have a character who had previously only been with women without having them actively cheat on their girlfriend. This just perpetuates the stereotype that bisexual people cheat. Also, the way the narrative continually reminds us how bored Ash was with their relationship and how Callie is depicted just felt like the author justifying the cheating. There were multiple valid reasons for Ash to want to end things with Callie. It's fine that he was unsatisfied in their relationship, but none of it justified the cheating.

I feel like this book could have been so much better and ultimately it just disappointed me.

[MM Bookwrecked]

Coach/player, age gap, secret relationship, bi-awakening, hockey. All a win for me. It was a fun, sweet, short, spicy read with a sprinkle of tension in the third act. The relationship developed a bit too quickly and the cheating trope wasn't really necessary but overall I enjoyed this! I'm looking forward to the second book.

[* serena *]

i love my two gay boyfriends 🥰

[randa]

This book was so sweet 😭 Ash and Thayer are just the sweetest little beans just waiting to crash into one another and fall in love 🥰🥰🥰 I’ve read it twice now because it’s so sweet and the spice is 🫣🫣

So glad I got to read this early but forever pouting book two isn’t out for me to binge next.

[Corey]

*I did receive a free ARC of this book. However, this review is 100% voluntary and reflects my honest opinion*

Synopsis:
Ash has gone through several goalie coaches, but none of them were the right fit. But then Thayer is hired and he *sees* Ash; his anger, his drive, and the desires not even Ash was aware of.

Highlights:
- Enthusiastic Consent
- “Baby”
- Thayer is well aware of who’s really in charge in a D/S dynamic.

Recommend?
Yes. This is a short, sweet, and spicy read. It can be read in one sitting, but still tells a fulfilling story.

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

"Goalie Interference" by Marina Bennett is an MM College Hockey romance between a team's starting goalie (Ash) and the new goalie coach (Thayer).

Their relationship develops from mutual trust and attraction. However, it's not all smooth sailing, they have to keep their relationship a secret and when trust is broken, it threatens to ruin everything.

Ratings:
Overall: 4/5 hearts - I definitely enjoyed this book! It's short enough to read in one sitting but still contains all the things I like: Sexual tension, romance, and even a little bit of angst.

Peppers (Spice Quantity): 2/5 - I'm stuck between a 2 and 3 for this one. There's a lot of sexual tension and discussion of sex which I think makes it seem spicier than it really is.

Spice Quality: 4/5 - I love a good d/s dynamic and this book definitely gave me a taste of it. I also really enjoyed the little detail of Ash's injury and how it affects his physical ability to have sex. I think that's something all of us 30+ year olds can relate to.

Plot: 4/5 -
Storyline: The storyline itself is nice and simple. Just how I like my romance stories. From the beginning, I had a pretty good idea of how the story was going to play out, but Bennett still managed to make the anticipated events unfold with a great sense of tension that kept me eagerly flipping pages.

Characters: With this being a shorter read, I do think the characters lacked a little bit of depth. But they still have their own unique personalities, make mistakes, and have interesting backstories.

Writing Style: I didn't love the writing style here. It flowed okay and always made sense to me. But the language itself felt "young" and while I didn't mind this in the POV of a 21 year old, it didn't feel right for Thayer who was in his 30's.

But it's a subjective thing and I'd much rather an interested reader read a sample from the book rather than take my opinion on it.

Conclusion: This is definitely a book worth reading if you're looking for a shorter-length "snack" to feed your inner book goblin. There's romance and spice and a nice storyline that felt emotional and real. While I didn't find it to be a "perfect" read for *me*, it was super enjoyable and made me excited to read more from Bennett.

As always, if you like this review and want to see more like it, check out my profile and/or visit me on my instagram (where I make half-decent graphics to go along with the reviews): @rainbow.reviews.mm

[still.up.reading]

✨ dom/sub relationship - sub awakening ✨

If you like Teddy by Emmy Sanders then you neeeed to read Goalie Interference by Marina Bennett!

✨✨✨✨✨

I started Goalie Interference thinking it would be a typical hockey romance. I love a good hockey romance, and the MMC is a goalie (I LOVE goalies!), so this was a no-brainer to get off my TBR. But I had no idea just how good this book would be, and you’ll see what I mean below. But first, the messages that I sent to my book bestie when we were parallel reading this:

“Crap. I just looked this up on goodreads. It said: highlights: “baby”. Why do I love that so much??!”

“Okay I only read the first chapter but I’m in this.”

“Just finished Thayer’s first chapter. Obsessed with him.”

“I don’t know why I didn’t think that the goalie coach would be a former goalie. This is the best.”

“Girl ... my eyeballs are exploding out of my head. Tell me exactly what part you are at.“

“Omg 🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵“

“Omg the epilogue. I have more to say but will refrain until you are finished.“

“I won’t say anything. But I want to say things. I’m exercising so much self-restraint right now. Like it’s taking everything in me not to text more.”

“I’ll make vague notes:
Plot
Epilogue
Next book”

✨✨✨✨✨

Now you might be wondering why I am telling you to read a hockey book if you liked Teddy. Teddy is about adult film star Teddy, who works at the Elite 8 studios, and his “wake up married in Vegas after a drunk night” relationship with Kipp (who is best friends with Niko, one of the other Elite 8 stars). Goalie interference is about Ash, a grumpy college goalie who has gone through four other goalie coaches before meeting Thayer, his new goalie coach who retired from the NHL too early because of repeated injuries. And yeah, those plots are pretty different 😂 But what is the same, and what I absolutely looooooved about each book, is the sub awakening that Kipp and Ash have, and the tender and protective way that Teddy and Thayer care for them. So if you too loved sweet Teddy the daddy dom who has it so bad for Kipp, and Kipp’s guided discovery of being a sub, then you need to read about Thayer and Ash.

From Chapter 1 I was immediately sucked in by Ash’s grump, and then in Chapter 2 Thayer's concern about Ash was already making me feel the feels. By chapter 3 I was completely hooked and rooting for them so hard. But thennnnnn Thayer started to hint that he is a dom. And that he thinks Ash is unknowingly a sub. And I about lost my ever-loving mind with giddiness as I thought about Teddy and hoped that Goalie Interference would be just as good. And boy was it!

This book gripped me so hard from start to finish! Marina is veeeery good at making the reader let down their guard. The plot was plotting! There's a lot more that I want to say but won't because of spoilers. But let's just say there is a LOT in this book. I literally could not put it down and read it in one sitting. It was honestly impressive how much happened in only 200 pages. Equally impressive was that the pacing was perfection and it didn't feel rushed at all. PLEASE message me after you've read this so we can talk about the plot-spoiler parts.

✨✨✨✨✨

Goalie Interference is book 1 in her The Penalty Series. On October 26th you can read Offside, book 2 in this series! I've already got it on my calendar and am dyyyyying to get it on my Kindle.

Worth rereading? ✅ Definitely yes. I will absolutely be rereading this to prep for Offside!

You'll like Goalie Interference if you like:

✨ happily ever after
✨ hockey romance
✨ goalie + coach
✨ forced proximity
✨ dom/sub
✨ bi awakening
✨ "baby"

[Brittany Barbieri]

Goalie interference by Marina Bennett

What happens when you are the goalie of your college hockey team, burned through every goalie coach around and have anger issues? They bring in a new goalie coach! Thats what happened to Ash Kincaid! Until HE came in… Thomas Thayer!

Let me just say how much I loved Thomas and Ash’s banter right from the start! Poor Thomas, and having to win over Ash!

This book is really good, you have this player/ coach dynamic where the coach really isn’t trying to make the players life difficult in fact it’s quite the opposite. Thomas and Ash have this relationship that works on a give and take approach, and I loved them!

Ok so can I just say the spice in this book, wow ok so I love a good forbidden relationship probably my favorite trope really and this was done beautifully, you have Thomas trying so hard to deny himself while Ash is trying to figure out what this all means as far as why he craves this dominant relationship from Thomas it’s perfect!

I love a good dom / sub in the bedroom story this was perfect because you have Ash who’s kinda figuring it all out , and Thomas who’s so patient with him, and the pet names, I am a sucker for a pet name and when Thomas called him baby I melted.

This story is short and sweet and spicy and it hits all the right notes! I loved these two men they were both very sweet! This is a book I will be reading again and again, it had everything, it had a story line, it had that good forbidden romance and it had such good spice! I couldn’t ask for anything more!

[Kayleigh insta: mmbooksl_t]

4⭐️
3.5🌶️
REVIEW: Ash is an arsehole! He is the goalie for his college team and seems to be the only athlete among them who actually gives a shit about hockey. To help him achieve his NHL dreams, coach Reed has hired 5 different coaches who couldn’t handle him and ran away. That is until he hires Thomas Thayer 34 year old NHL goalie who retired 4 months ago with a hip injury. He immediately notices Ash favouring his left leg and offers to help massage the tight muscle.
Thayer is gay, out to his team and to Reed but not publicly. Before he massages Ash’s groin he makes sure Ash doesn’t think he’s crossing any boundaries but Ash is in too much pain to care - that is until he is moaning, hard and confused as hell.
Ash gets pulled from a game after throwing a tantrum because his team is fucking useless, and Thayer follows him to the locker room. Ash is furious until Thayer pulls out the dom card and taps into a submissive streak Ash didn’t know he had. Thayer is falling for Ash, but he’s risking his job and Ash’s NHL career so if they are going to do this it has to stay quiet. When Ash gets hurt on the ice, and Thayer can’t stay away, he’s got some explaining to do.

I enjoyed this book! When Ash let’s go of his anger the relief is almost palpable. What I love about this book is that Ash’s bi awakening wasn’t effortless. He was worried they wouldn’t work because Thayer is a strict top and Ash wasn’t sure he could be a permanent bottom. He wasn’t immediately a fan of rimming which never happens. Altogether I really loved this story.

[De Smith]

Oh my good hot hockey gods

This book was so different from what I thought it would be. And thank goodness for that. It was honestly so freaking good. I was drawn in to the story from the start. Hooked on the brooding and intense Ash. But what I was not prepared for was Thayer. He may be a soft Dom but that man is daddy all the way. He is so sweet and caring and understanding. But he’s also dominant and controlling (in the best and sexiest ways) and protective. The chemistry between Thayer and Ash was absolutely insane. It was intense and undeniable from their very first interaction. But it was their honest and genuine and true connection that sold me on their relationship. That intense need they have for one another outside of any sexual nature was beyond endearing. They are truly each other’s perfect complement. The other half of their soul. And I melted for them. This book also was so respectful in the way it portrayed D/s relationships and the various dynamics within them. These two were amazing together and I just couldn’t get enough of it. And that ending was pure perfection, utter gold. The only negative aspect of this book is that it ended. I wanted so much more. But that just shows you how good of a story it truly was.

[369Pages]

3.25⭐️
Ash is a college goalie who loves hockey, but has hated every coach he’s ever had. Enter recently retired NHL goalie and new goalie coach Thomas Thayer. Ash is hesitant and combative at first, but a very effective massage is the catalyst that sends these two into a relationship that is not only trusting, but romantic.

This novella has:
-coach/player forbidden romance
-age gap (13 years)
-hockey
-hidden relationship
-light d/s themes

This book has a lot of potential, but I feel like there was just so much that wasn’t properly explored. It made the pacing seem strange and rushed. It didn’t allow us to love Ash, as I truly feel he was probably mostly misunderstood, but a lot of his actions just kind of made him seem like a dick.

There were some fun tropes, and I loved some of the aspects of their dynamic. I just felt it wasn’t properly hashed out and not given time to develop. If this was a fuller length novel, I think I would have enjoyed it more.

Still, if you’re looking for a fast and steamy hockey romance with a slice of forbidden romance, then you’ll enjoy this.

[Amanda]

Cute book and storyline. Found this book due to a kindle unlimited challenge. It was about 200 pages, so I quick read that held my attention and made we want to keep reading. Shorter chapters in dual POV which I liked and helped the flow of the story. Is it a perfect story? Heck no but low angst and an easy read. 3.5 star read rounded to a 4.

Ash is his university’s #1 hockey goalie and Thayer is hired to be his 5th coach. Ash has trouble controlling his anger (which is a theme throughout the story) and has run through coaches. But Thayer is finally someone able to help that. They fall in love pretty quickly and although more development there would have been nice, it’s a novella so not much time. Ash technically cheated on his girlfriend but she hadn’t returned his texts or calls in weeks, so not sure why she gets so angry at him. She was ghosting him. Story did get a little mushy at about the 80% mark after Ash’s injury but it was pretty funny.

Overall it was a cute story.

[Erica Chilson]

KU read, part of the summer challenge (Single Scoop achievement)

I struggled with either the formatting or the lack of editing. Dialogue by the same character would be split onto multiple lines.

Example: (made up by yours truly)
"I love hockey coaches."
"Who know my off switch"
"One touch & I'm done."

Vs "I love hockey coaches who know my off switch. One touch & I'm done."

This happened throughout the novel, making it hard to track who was speaking the lines. There weren't any "Thayer said" to denote who was speaking. This happened several times per page. It made it hard to follow along. There was no reason to break up what was continuing speech about the same topic. I don't believe this is a formatting issue since each line was bracketed by quote marks.

Note to author: either put all the dialogue together in the paragraph or end the paragraph hanging (without ") and begin the new paragraph with " to denote the dialogue continues.

[Natalie Reed]

3.5 ⭐️
It was a good little novella for taking a brief intermission from spooky season reads to get hype for hockey season.

It was hot and spicy with the D/s and coach/ player dynamic and because of the length of the story it was very insta love which I enjoyed. I was entertained for the few hours it took me to knock it out.
I didn’t really like how the girlfriend situation was written and I think the story could have gone without the cheating trope. It wasn’t necessary to the plot and was just kind of off putting.

Overall it wasn’t one of my favorite hockey romances, but I’m not mad I spent my day reading it.

[Gabs]

Reading this felt like getting a sweet snack after a long day at work. Fun, spicy and short!

It is a story with a lot of sexual tension and a very clear soft dom/sub dynamic and I really enjoyed how the author showcased that. Ash and Thayer were fun to read and I would’ve loved more moments of them together.

Being honest, I did not expect much apart of a simple erotic romance given that it is a novella. But I even got kind of emotional for a moment there!

Beware, this is an age gap with a coach/player power imbalance so if you don’t enjoy those, you might not like this.

[Inda Deleon]

it was cute

I think that the plot was maybe unrealistic which is what didn’t make this 5 stars for me. The age gap wasn’t an issue and neither was the d/s type of relationship. I just think that it was too perfect that it all worked out without any consequences considering the forbidden aspect of their relationship. It also threw me off that the actual romance between would happen off page and the only thing on page was the sexual relationship, at least until nearly the end. Which again, just made it not as realistic. Overall, a good story. Just not my favorite.

[Kristina Buhay]

3.5 rounded up to 4.

Ash is a goalie for his college’s hockey team. He has a short temper and has been through several goalie coaches. Enter Thayer, a retired pro goalie and Ash’s newest coach. Thayer sees Ash and knows how to get through to him.

Mutual trust and attraction is the base for any healthy soft dom/sub relationship and Thayer and Ash have that in spades. They his a rough patch where trust is broken and it threatens to destroy their relationship.

This story is short, sweet, and spicy. It’s perfect for someone who wants a quick read that’s high in spice and low in angst.

[Tris]

This book started off slow and I was a little turned off by the depiction of Ash, our MC, with his “girlfriend” Callie - truly if that was what I wanted to read about I would’ve gotten myself an MF book.

I was curious so I persisted with the story and whilst the story between Thayer and Ash was quite good it also came off as a little 1 dimensional.

Then there came the “cheating” which gave me WTF moments. Then the badly made third act break up.

I don’t know. It was a good book relationship-wise; with some bad tropes.

[Kaycee]

3.5⭐️ but rounded up to 4.

This book gave me exactly what I expected. I loved the connection and spice we got from Ash and Thayer. Goalies are my favorite so that was a plus. It had age gap and dom/sub which I also love. A lot was missing story wise and you really never see the relationship evolve outside of the bedroom.

Overall this was a fun quick read. I am looking forward for what the author comes out with next in this series.

[Haley Richardson]

Omggggg Ash and Thayer were soooo cute!

I loved this one so much! I love a good hockey book lol.
And an age gap too! D/s dynamic! Bi-awakening! How can I say no?!

I think I read this in techincally less than a day so yeah I loved it! 🥰🫶 I really needed these two in my life! Def a fun read if you are into any of that stuff up top!

[Robyn]

I only read this for the Kindle summer reading challenge, otherwise I would have absolutely DNF'd it when Ash kept trying to convince himself he was definitely turned on by his hot girlfriend, even though "she was crazy" and he had no problem with cheating on her with his hockey coach until after the fact.

This read like it was written by a teenager on AO3 and not in a good way.

[Norman Spool]

An excellent novella with plenty of humor, romantic lust, and attention to detail. Overjoyed to have discovered such a pleasantly new surprise and I’m eager to see what the author conjures up next. Five stars!

[Marcia Wesle]

Ashy & Thay

The dynamic between Ash and Thayer was breathtaking from the start. The hot-headed, snarky college goalie meets his new coach, the recently retired NHL goalie and they both catch feelings which they shouldn’t pursue, but they do.

[Christine]

Omg

So im in love with this book. We all need a Green flag like coach. This will definitely We a comfort read for me and I cant wait for the next one!

20/10 would recommend
Spice 🌶 🌶 🌶

[Katie Lou Nichols]

Sweet and a slightly kinky

Loved this book.

Ash, the badass that only softens for his man. Thayer, the retired, caretaking dom. An age gap and power imbalance. Spice. Bi awakening. Worth the read.

[Anna Pastori]

Loved the idea but I think it would’ve been better if it had been made into a proper book instead of a novella. In my opinion everything happens way too quickly because there was no space to let things develop organically. The characters are nice if a bit contradictory in some parts.

[Tiffany]

I absolutely adored this book. It was full of hurt/comfort, soft dom and subbiest sub vibes and a VERY sexy massage! Quick read with a great couple, definitely recommend!

[Lisa Neumann]

Can't wait for the next book in the series!

[Kaylie]

Yes just yes

This, this was just the most adorable book and relationship ever. I had seen promotions for it all over my social media and gave it a go and so glad I did!

[Syd]

Closer to 3.5 ⭐️

I liked this, but I just felt like it was missing something and the pacing was a bit off.

[Lisa L]

Loved it!

Ash and Thayer! This was a great read. Good chemistry. Liked the plot, length, and lack of angst. Looking forward to more by Marina Bennett.