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You Could Make a Life
The first thing Dan says to him is, “we’re in the NHL!”, because that’s how he’s been greeting anyone wearing a jersey, and Marc Lapointe, 'the future of the franchise', is wearing Dan's colours.
“I think you’re my new best friend,” Dan says, his excitement beating out common sense, social filters, the need to play it cool.
“It is nice to meet you, new best friend," Marc says, his mouth twitching.
In hindsight, Dan probably falls in love with him in that moment, Marc laughing at him and with him all at once, but it takes a little while to figure that out.
“I think you’re my new best friend,” Dan says, his excitement beating out common sense, social filters, the need to play it cool.
“It is nice to meet you, new best friend," Marc says, his mouth twitching.
In hindsight, Dan probably falls in love with him in that moment, Marc laughing at him and with him all at once, but it takes a little while to figure that out.
247 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 21, 2015
82 people are currently reading
1862 people want to read
About the author
Taylor Fitzpatrick
6 books787 followersTaylor Fitzpatrick was born in Toronto, Ontario. She declared to her mother at the age of three that she was going to grow up to be an author/illustrator. The illustration thing didn’t really pan out. She is an avid hockey fan, though to her brother’s eternal consternation she did not become one until after he stopped playing competitively. She has an Honours degree in English Literature from the University of Toronto. She currently lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 307 reviews
September 17, 2021
Finally. It took more than 2 months, but I have finally finished!
What a slog. I'm going chalk it up to 3rd-person/present-tense gone wrong. I can read any POV/tense combo, if the writing is good &/or the characters are compelling. But I've seen this particular failure mode with 3rd/present before: the story drags like a half-dead thing, joyless and dull. The characters feel depressed — and depressing. Why did not one but two people fall in love with Dan, the POV character? I have no idea. He had all the charisma of a mildewed washcloth. All the depth of a grease stain. All the pizazz of day-old roadkill. All the — you know what, never mind.
AT ANY RATE, moving on — I am still a devoted fan of the author, because she gave us (and is still giving us — it's a work-in-progress) Impaired Judgement, which I adore. She puts the 3rd/present POV to excellent use there. I think it really shows that this book is an earlier work. Perhaps her first?
I felt I *needed* to read it — and finish it, lord have mercy how I wanted to DNF — because her stories all take place in the same fictional world, and I intend to read them all. I want to understand who's who and how they all interconnect. It turned this into a homework assignment, but I finished it (yay!) and can move on now. What should I read next? Coming In First Place, maybe? Any advice from fellow fans? (If you all haven't ostracized me for disliking this one so much, that is. 🙃)
What a slog. I'm going chalk it up to 3rd-person/present-tense gone wrong. I can read any POV/tense combo, if the writing is good &/or the characters are compelling. But I've seen this particular failure mode with 3rd/present before: the story drags like a half-dead thing, joyless and dull. The characters feel depressed — and depressing. Why did not one but two people fall in love with Dan, the POV character? I have no idea. He had all the charisma of a mildewed washcloth. All the depth of a grease stain. All the pizazz of day-old roadkill. All the — you know what, never mind.
AT ANY RATE, moving on — I am still a devoted fan of the author, because she gave us (and is still giving us — it's a work-in-progress) Impaired Judgement, which I adore. She puts the 3rd/present POV to excellent use there. I think it really shows that this book is an earlier work. Perhaps her first?
I felt I *needed* to read it — and finish it, lord have mercy how I wanted to DNF — because her stories all take place in the same fictional world, and I intend to read them all. I want to understand who's who and how they all interconnect. It turned this into a homework assignment, but I finished it (yay!) and can move on now. What should I read next? Coming In First Place, maybe? Any advice from fellow fans? (If you all haven't ostracized me for disliking this one so much, that is. 🙃)
September 24, 2023
Re read September 2023
September 25, 2019
It's so hard not to compare this to the author's more recent work (why, oh why, did I read this so soon after? who stole my chill?) which was similar but so different. And yet this was still so good. Just not one the same level, in so many ways, that THROWN OFF THE ICE was.
First of all, the angst is way lower in decibel. There is no age gap. And this one didn't make me cry. But it was still sexy, funny, ridiculous, and had even more hockey than my first experience with Fitzpatrick's writing did. I've said it for other authors and I'll say it again : nothing makes me love a hockey romance more than when it is obvious the author is a true blue fan. This author definitely is.
"Oh my god. There is totally a Quebec Secret Society, you lied to me!"
"We are not a cult. We are a province."
Overall, if I had to recommend a reading order, even though I'm not sure they exist in the same universe (unless they do? I know she has other shorts and stories, seemingly all hockey based), I would recommend people start here. It's lighter on all topics, really, with less blunt force on both the emotional impact as well as lighter on the sexy times, too. It sort've follows a more traditional path, one many LGBTQIA+ sports romance readers will be familiar with, but with more depth, if that makes sense.
"He said you gave him a blowjob in Juniors and that it was terrible. [..]. Do not worry, I told him you are much improved at it now."
"Marc, don't talk about my blowjob skills on the ice."
" Why is it always me that hears this shit? "
The one (only?) major downfall to YOU COULD MAKE A LIFE is the beginning isn't as solid as the latter half. It felt a little more surface level, and I'm not sure I liked some of the early angst conflict, and how quickly it resolved, that whole transition read weird to me, and even in hindsight I'm not sure about it all, but the last 60% was great, strong, fun, and just emotional enough that you are invested when things aren't going right.
"You are the Brangelina of hockey."
"I don't want to be the Brangelina of hockey."
"You are years too late for that, bud. You guys have a following. If you ever broke up you would make girls cry."
"I don't want to break up. Or make girls cry."
So much of Dan was different than Mike, so much of Marc different from Liam, but you can see feel the author's touch, her style, even after just one book. I love that. I'm glad this was different but still distinctive, with familiar tropes that are still made fun.
Dan's always been a Leafs fan — his Toronto citizenship would have probably been revoked if he wasn't one. <– hahah as a non-Leaf fan Torontonian, this killed me.
Even though I definitely dove into this too soon, and already kind of regret it, I'm so excited to have an author like this on my radar. If you're into queer romance, or hockey romances, and love when they intersect, you absolutely need to be watching, and reading, this author.
---
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
First of all, the angst is way lower in decibel. There is no age gap. And this one didn't make me cry. But it was still sexy, funny, ridiculous, and had even more hockey than my first experience with Fitzpatrick's writing did. I've said it for other authors and I'll say it again : nothing makes me love a hockey romance more than when it is obvious the author is a true blue fan. This author definitely is.
"Oh my god. There is totally a Quebec Secret Society, you lied to me!"
"We are not a cult. We are a province."
Overall, if I had to recommend a reading order, even though I'm not sure they exist in the same universe (unless they do? I know she has other shorts and stories, seemingly all hockey based), I would recommend people start here. It's lighter on all topics, really, with less blunt force on both the emotional impact as well as lighter on the sexy times, too. It sort've follows a more traditional path, one many LGBTQIA+ sports romance readers will be familiar with, but with more depth, if that makes sense.
"He said you gave him a blowjob in Juniors and that it was terrible. [..]. Do not worry, I told him you are much improved at it now."
"Marc, don't talk about my blowjob skills on the ice."
" Why is it always me that hears this shit? "
The one (only?) major downfall to YOU COULD MAKE A LIFE is the beginning isn't as solid as the latter half. It felt a little more surface level, and I'm not sure I liked some of the early angst conflict, and how quickly it resolved, that whole transition read weird to me, and even in hindsight I'm not sure about it all, but the last 60% was great, strong, fun, and just emotional enough that you are invested when things aren't going right.
"You are the Brangelina of hockey."
"I don't want to be the Brangelina of hockey."
"You are years too late for that, bud. You guys have a following. If you ever broke up you would make girls cry."
"I don't want to break up. Or make girls cry."
So much of Dan was different than Mike, so much of Marc different from Liam, but you can see feel the author's touch, her style, even after just one book. I love that. I'm glad this was different but still distinctive, with familiar tropes that are still made fun.
Dan's always been a Leafs fan — his Toronto citizenship would have probably been revoked if he wasn't one. <– hahah as a non-Leaf fan Torontonian, this killed me.
Even though I definitely dove into this too soon, and already kind of regret it, I'm so excited to have an author like this on my radar. If you're into queer romance, or hockey romances, and love when they intersect, you absolutely need to be watching, and reading, this author.
---
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
November 28, 2019
3.5 stars. If I had written this review immediately after the high this story left me with, I think I’d have been tempted to throw all the emotional stars at it. The second half was stronger than the first, and overall it was a good read, so this is one of those ratings that’s really an average.
My favorite things about You Could Make a Life were the story arc and relationship development. Atypical for a Romance™️, it didn’t stop with the couple getting together, but portrayed them navigating their lives and relationship as a pair of professional hockey players — including all the challenges that would entail. I LOVED that element. It was simultaneously less angsty but more profound, incorporating more content from their careers and environment, and I was rather fascinated by it.
I’ve tried, but unfortunately it’s impossible for me to evaluate my experience with this book without comparisons to my favorite read of the year. This one was published three years before, but since I read it second, I couldn’t shake the impression that it was trying for that same magic but not quite getting there. The writing style and narrative voice, which worked so amazingly well in TOTI, weren’t used quite as well here — and yet, they were too similar for me not to compare them constantly.
Even though Dan’s personality was intended to be different from Mike’s, the grumpy narrative voice was so alike that I kinda took it personally — as in, nope, this is Mike’s voice, no one else is allowed to have it, stop that. The trouble is, with a style that's heavy on the narrative and light on the dialogue, the characterizations are based almost entirely on that voice. So I couldn’t help seeing Dan as a distant shadow of Mike, and even though we were told that he had a different personality (well-liked, leader, younger), the voice didn’t support that.
The same problem extended to Marc’s characterization. Since most of what we knew of him was from Dan’s internal monologue, which sounded so much like Mike, Marc felt a bit like Liam. Not the same, but too many familiar things to ignore. So I liked Dan and Marc, but their characterizations were good-not-great.
However, for a debut novel, this was still head and shoulders above most, I do recommend it, and this author still owns me forever. The end.
My favorite things about You Could Make a Life were the story arc and relationship development. Atypical for a Romance™️, it didn’t stop with the couple getting together, but portrayed them navigating their lives and relationship as a pair of professional hockey players — including all the challenges that would entail. I LOVED that element. It was simultaneously less angsty but more profound, incorporating more content from their careers and environment, and I was rather fascinated by it.
I’ve tried, but unfortunately it’s impossible for me to evaluate my experience with this book without comparisons to my favorite read of the year. This one was published three years before, but since I read it second, I couldn’t shake the impression that it was trying for that same magic but not quite getting there. The writing style and narrative voice, which worked so amazingly well in TOTI, weren’t used quite as well here — and yet, they were too similar for me not to compare them constantly.
Even though Dan’s personality was intended to be different from Mike’s, the grumpy narrative voice was so alike that I kinda took it personally — as in, nope, this is Mike’s voice, no one else is allowed to have it, stop that. The trouble is, with a style that's heavy on the narrative and light on the dialogue, the characterizations are based almost entirely on that voice. So I couldn’t help seeing Dan as a distant shadow of Mike, and even though we were told that he had a different personality (well-liked, leader, younger), the voice didn’t support that.
The same problem extended to Marc’s characterization. Since most of what we knew of him was from Dan’s internal monologue, which sounded so much like Mike, Marc felt a bit like Liam. Not the same, but too many familiar things to ignore. So I liked Dan and Marc, but their characterizations were good-not-great.
However, for a debut novel, this was still head and shoulders above most, I do recommend it, and this author still owns me forever. The end.
October 20, 2019
This is the story of Riley and Lapoint - the couple mentioned offhand in Thrown Off the Ice as "came out years ago." They meet as young rookies in the NHL, and their story is told in the voice of Dan Riley - similar in style to the other book (one of my top 10 for the year) but different enough that I didn't feel like it echoed Mike (and not just because of fewer f-bombs.)
Dan Riley is a grinder, a hard worker who hovers on the edge of having NHL-level talent. He can make the team, if someone gets hurt or the roster is a bit thin, usually 4th line, putting all his effort into it. Marc Lapoint is a star talent, the kind of rookie who could end up winning the Calder. But it's Dan who knows how to connect with his teammates, while Marc is odd, a bit reclusive, prone to seem aloof or spout more than anyone wants to hear about obscure literature or films. Their fellow players appreciate Marc's talent, but only Dan wants to spend time with him.
And Dan has a hidden reason to want to be around Marc, which has nothing to do with goals scored, and everything to do with the way he laughs, and the vulnerability he shows in rare moments, and the shape of his ass. But this is hockey. Coming out is a scary thing, even to one person who might, maybe, not be upset about it. Dan isn't going to risk the new, exciting, NHL life he has, with almost everything he ever wanted including Marc's friendship, on a maybe. He can find sex elsewhere, but not a friend like Marc.
Even when they figure out that they are both gay, things aren't simple. Teammates and game pressures, injuries and possible trades, and the stress Dan feels of fighting every day to keep his place on the team, make a relationship fraught with tension. Marc is hard for Dan to figure out sometimes, and Dan tends to make assumptions. Marc is the one with the potential to become a star, and Dan will be damned if he gets in the way of that. There are many ways for the world to pull them apart.
This is real, sometimes warm, sometimes poignant, with a HEA that isn't polished and perfect, but a very plausible work and life in progress. There's not the intensity of TOTI, but it has two sympathetic main characters with some notable flaws, who find in each other something so valuable they will risk the career they want most for each other. I look forward to a reread.
Dan Riley is a grinder, a hard worker who hovers on the edge of having NHL-level talent. He can make the team, if someone gets hurt or the roster is a bit thin, usually 4th line, putting all his effort into it. Marc Lapoint is a star talent, the kind of rookie who could end up winning the Calder. But it's Dan who knows how to connect with his teammates, while Marc is odd, a bit reclusive, prone to seem aloof or spout more than anyone wants to hear about obscure literature or films. Their fellow players appreciate Marc's talent, but only Dan wants to spend time with him.
And Dan has a hidden reason to want to be around Marc, which has nothing to do with goals scored, and everything to do with the way he laughs, and the vulnerability he shows in rare moments, and the shape of his ass. But this is hockey. Coming out is a scary thing, even to one person who might, maybe, not be upset about it. Dan isn't going to risk the new, exciting, NHL life he has, with almost everything he ever wanted including Marc's friendship, on a maybe. He can find sex elsewhere, but not a friend like Marc.
Even when they figure out that they are both gay, things aren't simple. Teammates and game pressures, injuries and possible trades, and the stress Dan feels of fighting every day to keep his place on the team, make a relationship fraught with tension. Marc is hard for Dan to figure out sometimes, and Dan tends to make assumptions. Marc is the one with the potential to become a star, and Dan will be damned if he gets in the way of that. There are many ways for the world to pull them apart.
This is real, sometimes warm, sometimes poignant, with a HEA that isn't polished and perfect, but a very plausible work and life in progress. There's not the intensity of TOTI, but it has two sympathetic main characters with some notable flaws, who find in each other something so valuable they will risk the career they want most for each other. I look forward to a reread.
dnf
October 14, 2019
DNF at 24%
The book centers around rookies for the Leafs, Dan Riley (18) and Marc Lapointe (18). I had to quit this book simply because I know on the first page that the book wouldn't be for me. I couldn't connect with any of the character, perhaps because of the POV or the way it was written, but it just didn't work for me. I didn't feel anything for it, not the character because of the lack of connection. I need connection. There's also the fact that I didn't feel the chemistry between Dan and Marc. Ugh. Am I the only one who feels this way?
Rate: No rating as I didn't finish it.
The book centers around rookies for the Leafs, Dan Riley (18) and Marc Lapointe (18). I had to quit this book simply because I know on the first page that the book wouldn't be for me. I couldn't connect with any of the character, perhaps because of the POV or the way it was written, but it just didn't work for me. I didn't feel anything for it, not the character because of the lack of connection. I need connection. There's also the fact that I didn't feel the chemistry between Dan and Marc. Ugh. Am I the only one who feels this way?
Rate: No rating as I didn't finish it.
October 24, 2021
Back in the summer, I've read Taylor Fitzpatrick's Thrown Off the Ice and I was left completely speechless. TOTI is simply one of the best novels I've ever read - sad, funny, romantic and so very real.
Given this precedent, I approached You Could make a Life with some trepidation. Will it be equally good? Will I fall in love with the characters and the writing style? The answer is, yes. I did love YCMAL and it did bring me heartwarming feelings and joy in an otherwise frightening period. Perhaps I wasn't as blown away as with TOTI, but this was a very rewarding read nonetheless.
Dan and Marc are two lovely and well-rounded MCs. Dan was in my mind a sort of prototype for Mike Brouwer. His incessant internal monologue, the sarcasm through which he looks at the world around him, really made me think of my beloved Mike. Marc also presents some traits that were further developed in the character of Liam in TOTI. He's cocky, pretty much incapable of keeping his mouth shut but honest and steadfast.
Together, Dan and Marc form a lovely match and the nicest aspect in the book for me was to see them work hard to protect their relationship from all the blows and shakes coming from the outside world.
YCMAL is also infused with a lovely sense of humour - Dan's remarks and the secondary characters (from families to teammates) provide levity and a sense of delightful awkwardness to the plot.
Discovering Taylor Fitzpatrick has been one of the highlights of the past reading year for me - she has constructed an AU of characters and stories that move in and out of books, meet each other and expand in different directions. Ah, and she helped me become an ice hockey fan (and, being a lover and practitioner of figure skating, I don't say this lightly!)
Really recommended and if you still can, read You Could Make a Life before Thrown Off the Ice.
Given this precedent, I approached You Could make a Life with some trepidation. Will it be equally good? Will I fall in love with the characters and the writing style? The answer is, yes. I did love YCMAL and it did bring me heartwarming feelings and joy in an otherwise frightening period. Perhaps I wasn't as blown away as with TOTI, but this was a very rewarding read nonetheless.
Dan and Marc are two lovely and well-rounded MCs. Dan was in my mind a sort of prototype for Mike Brouwer. His incessant internal monologue, the sarcasm through which he looks at the world around him, really made me think of my beloved Mike. Marc also presents some traits that were further developed in the character of Liam in TOTI. He's cocky, pretty much incapable of keeping his mouth shut but honest and steadfast.
Together, Dan and Marc form a lovely match and the nicest aspect in the book for me was to see them work hard to protect their relationship from all the blows and shakes coming from the outside world.
YCMAL is also infused with a lovely sense of humour - Dan's remarks and the secondary characters (from families to teammates) provide levity and a sense of delightful awkwardness to the plot.
Discovering Taylor Fitzpatrick has been one of the highlights of the past reading year for me - she has constructed an AU of characters and stories that move in and out of books, meet each other and expand in different directions. Ah, and she helped me become an ice hockey fan (and, being a lover and practitioner of figure skating, I don't say this lightly!)
Really recommended and if you still can, read You Could Make a Life before Thrown Off the Ice.
January 20, 2025
3,25 stars.
I like the author's writing style, it's similar to Catherine Cloud's writing (that I adore).
Sadly here I didn't feel much connection between the MCs Dan and Marc. I was told they fell in love, and I saw them being in love, but I wasn't shown why they were attracted to each other in the first place, and why they fell for each other.
Maybe I shouldn't have read this one directly after the delight that was Impaired Judgement.
I'm looking forward to reading the author's Between the Teeth series, though, as I anticipate there's more character development and relationship development than in this book.
I like the author's writing style, it's similar to Catherine Cloud's writing (that I adore).
Sadly here I didn't feel much connection between the MCs Dan and Marc. I was told they fell in love, and I saw them being in love, but I wasn't shown why they were attracted to each other in the first place, and why they fell for each other.
Maybe I shouldn't have read this one directly after the delight that was Impaired Judgement.
I'm looking forward to reading the author's Between the Teeth series, though, as I anticipate there's more character development and relationship development than in this book.
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March 26, 2021
I read 'You Could Make a Life' in the wake of devouring Impaired Judgement, an AO3 story by the same author. That meant I went into this book with sky high expectations. Which is never a good thing.
YCMAL features Dan and Marc as the main couple, and takes place in the same hockey world as IJ. The writing was great and the characters too, but their story didn't reach quite wow level the way Jared & Bryce's romance did.
Overall 4 star nice but I missed the intensity of the plot in IJ, and somewhat more sparkles of chemistry between the MCs as well. They seemed great friends but lukewarm lovers? Could be that the choice to keep the intimate scenes not very detailed or to happen off page was the thing that was missing for me in this regard. I'm glad to say this issue was remedied in the bonus scene epilogue, published under the title 'A Belated Gift'. Very much steam in that little morsel.
The bonus epilogue is available on AO3:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/912044
YCMAL features Dan and Marc as the main couple, and takes place in the same hockey world as IJ. The writing was great and the characters too, but their story didn't reach quite wow level the way Jared & Bryce's romance did.
Overall 4 star nice but I missed the intensity of the plot in IJ, and somewhat more sparkles of chemistry between the MCs as well. They seemed great friends but lukewarm lovers? Could be that the choice to keep the intimate scenes not very detailed or to happen off page was the thing that was missing for me in this regard. I'm glad to say this issue was remedied in the bonus scene epilogue, published under the title 'A Belated Gift'. Very much steam in that little morsel.
The bonus epilogue is available on AO3:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/912044
August 16, 2019
4.5 STARS I had this book on my kindle forever, I LOVED THIS now I am obsessed with everything in the Tylor Fitzpatrick writing universe. Right after finishing this one I was on AO3, and the author tumblr page reading everything Dan & Marc. I just finished another one of her books Between the Teeth, I think she is releasing that one shortly.....but WOW!!! Loved that one even more. Did I say obsessed, reading it ALL!!!
June 17, 2022
I think this was this author’s debut novel and while I really liked it, I didn’t love it as much as her other books.
I loved Dan and Marc. I love how real and imperfect they are. The initial crush. The long distance struggles. The hockey. Their love, how it was stronger than the struggles, but they still had to work at it. Hard. Be warned.
There is a lot of hockey. And not much really happens for long stretches of the book, other than super detailed hockey games. As a hockey fan, I enjoyed it but it might be painful for some.
What bothered me though was the casual francophobia thrown around. Montreal is described as a super French place, where nobody else can fit in. I’m not even francophone and I was offended. I love this city, and this province, and I’d like my romances free of Quebec bashing.
I loved Dan and Marc. I love how real and imperfect they are. The initial crush. The long distance struggles. The hockey. Their love, how it was stronger than the struggles, but they still had to work at it. Hard. Be warned.
There is a lot of hockey. And not much really happens for long stretches of the book, other than super detailed hockey games. As a hockey fan, I enjoyed it but it might be painful for some.
What bothered me though was the casual francophobia thrown around. Montreal is described as a super French place, where nobody else can fit in. I’m not even francophone and I was offended. I love this city, and this province, and I’d like my romances free of Quebec bashing.
November 2, 2024
*re-reading because it’s been a while and I want to be in a world that Taylor Fitzpatrick created. October 2024.
OMG, I totally fell in love with Dan and Marc again! They are the cutest, most adorable couple in the world! I highlighted half the book, and i’m even sure I appreciated it better the second time around. Loved it!!!*
*original review May 2020*:
It took me a couple of pages to get used to the different writing style, but once I was, I couldn't put it down. I loved everything about it; I loved Dan and Marc, I loved the dialogues and I loved the way they fell in love.
Dan always knew he was gay and when he meets Marc, he almost immediately falls in love with him, but thinking Marc is straight, he already accepts he doesn't stand a chance of ever being more than a friend to him. But then something happens and it appears Marc had the same feelings for him all along and they start acting upon it. In secret, of course, because Dan doesn't want to think of what could happen if someone would find out he was gay. Being a hockey player in one of the main teams in Canada a lot could go wrong when that would happen.
It happens anyway and Marc is dealing a lot better with it than Dan does.
This story doesn't stop when their relationship develops into a lot more than just sexual attraction. It shows all the gravel roads they have to take, the bumpy rides they need to take before they can be out and proud together. It doesn't help that Marc is a better hockey player than Dan is, that they are quite different in approaching things, that Dan's family even seems to love Marc more than their own son or brother. I loved his sister Sarah, by the way. She was a wonderful character!
And then the last chapter and that epilogue...I could have read those pages like forever. They were just the best ending to this awesome story, so sweet and still so very much Dan and Marc.
The whole story is told from Dan's POV, which is fine, though sometimes it would have been nice to get into Marc's head too.
I have merely just one complaint about this book: why fading the sex scenes? I would have liked to have witnessed a little more of their lovemaking, of their angry sex sometimes. That would have made this story just a slightly bit better for me ;)
Still, highly recommended!!
OMG, I totally fell in love with Dan and Marc again! They are the cutest, most adorable couple in the world! I highlighted half the book, and i’m even sure I appreciated it better the second time around. Loved it!!!*
*original review May 2020*:
It took me a couple of pages to get used to the different writing style, but once I was, I couldn't put it down. I loved everything about it; I loved Dan and Marc, I loved the dialogues and I loved the way they fell in love.
Dan always knew he was gay and when he meets Marc, he almost immediately falls in love with him, but thinking Marc is straight, he already accepts he doesn't stand a chance of ever being more than a friend to him. But then something happens and it appears Marc had the same feelings for him all along and they start acting upon it. In secret, of course, because Dan doesn't want to think of what could happen if someone would find out he was gay. Being a hockey player in one of the main teams in Canada a lot could go wrong when that would happen.
It happens anyway and Marc is dealing a lot better with it than Dan does.
This story doesn't stop when their relationship develops into a lot more than just sexual attraction. It shows all the gravel roads they have to take, the bumpy rides they need to take before they can be out and proud together. It doesn't help that Marc is a better hockey player than Dan is, that they are quite different in approaching things, that Dan's family even seems to love Marc more than their own son or brother. I loved his sister Sarah, by the way. She was a wonderful character!
And then the last chapter and that epilogue...I could have read those pages like forever. They were just the best ending to this awesome story, so sweet and still so very much Dan and Marc.
The whole story is told from Dan's POV, which is fine, though sometimes it would have been nice to get into Marc's head too.
I have merely just one complaint about this book: why fading the sex scenes? I would have liked to have witnessed a little more of their lovemaking, of their angry sex sometimes. That would have made this story just a slightly bit better for me ;)
Still, highly recommended!!
June 18, 2020
Sooo.... DNF @ 35%, but it's enough that I KNOW beyond the shadow of a doubt that 3 stars would be on the high end.
I am inclined to give this the high end rating because I got it free from a generous GR friend. If I had paid full price for it, I would have returned this book at 35%.
See status below on the "technical" issues I had with this book. That in of itself is enough for at least 1 star down.
Then, the MCs themselves... the chemistry and love story -- it just wasn't there like my 5 star book by this author was.
Dan is not a compelling Hero to me, not the least of which bc he's a bit of a manwhore. Not so much in the sense that he's a sexy freak and flirts like crazy but that he always has an "itch" and f*cking is his outlet. That and drinking.
Granted, this is before he and Marc becomes an item, so OK. And we never get details about his hookups, so OK. And I never read far enough to see if he ever cheats, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. But still. I don't like these type of Heroes.
Then Marc... at 35% I would have wanted a better sense of him, but honestly, besides being a French phenom erudite hockey player, I really can't see how Dan fell so head over heels in love with him. They simply have chemistry perhaps. They get along with each other's family, perhaps. But again, compared to the 5 star book I like by this author, plot and character development are miles apart between these books. MILES.
OK I have to take it down to 2 stars. Maybe 2.5 rounded down. Because here's my 3rd big hangup: NO SEX SCENES! Lots of talk about Dan having all kinds of hookups and also sex with Marc for the first time ever, but nothing is described. It's 2 sentences and then it's "Afterward..."
Is it bc this is YA?? Why didn't anyone tell me it's YA?? Well, it does say the MCs are 18, but still!
I should have read more detailed reviews. I was too happy with the 5 star book to read the reviews in depth...
On to the next book I borrowed. And thank goodness I'm not paying for that one either or I would never start!
I am inclined to give this the high end rating because I got it free from a generous GR friend. If I had paid full price for it, I would have returned this book at 35%.
See status below on the "technical" issues I had with this book. That in of itself is enough for at least 1 star down.
Then, the MCs themselves... the chemistry and love story -- it just wasn't there like my 5 star book by this author was.
Dan is not a compelling Hero to me, not the least of which bc he's a bit of a manwhore. Not so much in the sense that he's a sexy freak and flirts like crazy but that he always has an "itch" and f*cking is his outlet. That and drinking. Granted, this is before he and Marc becomes an item, so OK. And we never get details about his hookups, so OK. And I never read far enough to see if he ever cheats, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. But still. I don't like these type of Heroes.
Then Marc... at 35% I would have wanted a better sense of him, but honestly, besides being a French phenom erudite hockey player, I really can't see how Dan fell so head over heels in love with him. They simply have chemistry perhaps. They get along with each other's family, perhaps. But again, compared to the 5 star book I like by this author, plot and character development are miles apart between these books. MILES.
OK I have to take it down to 2 stars. Maybe 2.5 rounded down. Because here's my 3rd big hangup: NO SEX SCENES! Lots of talk about Dan having all kinds of hookups and also sex with Marc for the first time ever, but nothing is described. It's 2 sentences and then it's "Afterward..."
Is it bc this is YA?? Why didn't anyone tell me it's YA?? Well, it does say the MCs are 18, but still!
I should have read more detailed reviews. I was too happy with the 5 star book to read the reviews in depth...
On to the next book I borrowed. And thank goodness I'm not paying for that one either or I would never start!
April 3, 2025
I don't know what to tell you. It's another Taylor Fitzpatrick book, and so good I really have nothing to say about it, other than it continues to be a mystery to me why these work so well. There's nothing I really recognize as a traditional plot structure, (romance or otherwise). [And both the scope and timeframe are much too large for me to categorize it as "slice of life".] There's a fair amount of wordage dedicated to stuff I could not care less about (sports) other than recognizing it means something to the characters. It's present tense, never my favorite. Yet somehow Fitzpatrick makes it amazing.
December 3, 2024
Still good the second time. But if you liked this, I have to ASSERTIVELY insist that you read Impaired Judgement, because this one's got nothing on it.
***
A much less traumatic story where FEWER PEOPLE DIE and the MCs choose each other again and again, over everything else- and what a lot of 'everything else' they were up against.
A rare balance where I'm not left feeling like one sacrificed more than the other for the relationship to work.
Loved. Mostly because, again, fewer people died. Yes. Still traumatized.
***
A much less traumatic story where FEWER PEOPLE DIE and the MCs choose each other again and again, over everything else- and what a lot of 'everything else' they were up against.
A rare balance where I'm not left feeling like one sacrificed more than the other for the relationship to work.
Loved. Mostly because, again, fewer people died. Yes. Still traumatized.
October 7, 2024
Come out! Closets suck.
Open, honest, young, loving.
All the Taylor feels.
Open, honest, young, loving.
All the Taylor feels.
September 13, 2019
4.5 stars from me. Yes, the style of writing takes some getting used to, but I loved these two Canadian boys growing into men. There is an absolute shedload of hockey, little to no sex and the character development of the two together with their various team and family members is terrific. The politics of hockey not so much, but everyone accepts going in that there may be trade-offs...even to teams they hate. Marc refuses to be anything but staunchly French Canadian and Dan struggles with anything in French really...it's a match made in heaven 😏. Loved it.
Want to read
November 13, 2020Thank you for the gift, Kreacher the Flaming North Pole Dancing Elf!
July 5, 2024
Eh. An early effort, I guess, and it shows: baggy and saggy and, once Dan and Marc get together, not much tension despite that near-miss with Alex. (I would like to read Alex's book, though.) I think that if I hadn't already read Impaired Judgment and ScratchnMoney I'd be regretting my purchase of the BTT trilogy. On to which I go.
2.5 stars, rounded up.
2.5 stars, rounded up.
February 27, 2016
So I've read anything by this author I could get my hands on and I love all of it!
All her stories are set in the NHL and centered around stupid hockey players who fall in love with each other. If that's not your cup of tea, you won't like this, but I love it.
Personally, I don't think this is her best work, but as far as I know, it's also one of her earliest. (My favourite is probably between the teeth, which is still a work in progress on ao3.)
Fair warning though, this reads a little like a series of connected short stories, which, to be fair, is what it started as.
All her stories are set in the NHL and centered around stupid hockey players who fall in love with each other. If that's not your cup of tea, you won't like this, but I love it.
Personally, I don't think this is her best work, but as far as I know, it's also one of her earliest. (My favourite is probably between the teeth, which is still a work in progress on ao3.)
Fair warning though, this reads a little like a series of connected short stories, which, to be fair, is what it started as.
September 3, 2019
I didn't like the fade to black intimate scenes but I still really enjoyed this story.
March 9, 2020
4.3 Stars!! RTC
February 6, 2023
3.5 ⭐️
Sooooooooooo
Taylor Fitzpatrick's writing really works for me. The 3rd person close present, the humor, the detail and care that goes into the universe, the equal attention paid to both the mundanity and the high drama of life as a professional hockey player. This past month I've been squealing all over these intertubes about the glory that is Impaired Judgement, an ongoing fic that has basically taken over my life and will continue to take over my life for the foreseeable future.
But the thing is
this is no Impaired Judgement.
I mean, obviously not. I don't know if YCMAL is the very first fic in this universe -- the chronology of both the verse and the many, many fics is equally baffling to me -- but it gave the verse its name and was one of the first to make the leap from AO3 to book form. (I ordered this directly from the author via her tumblr page; you get both the cut version sold on amazon and a slightly longer, uncut version, and this review is of the uncut version.) And it definitely reads as a more immature work. While a lot of the same themes are there -- homophobia (both internalized and in professional sport), the dedication required to be a professional athlete, the unpredictability of a life where you could be traded or sent down or injured at any point, the strains of long-distance and of living in secret, the fact that the MCs are living on their own and making shitloads of money when they're so. damn. young -- what's missing from YCMAL is the incredible character work that defines IJ from the very first paragraph.
And while I don't want to make this review all about IJ, I kind of can't help it? Because it's an illustrative contrast. In IJ, we are close on Jared, and holy shit, do we imprint on him immediately. Over the course of the 400,000+ words, Jared is both entirely and consistently himself -- he is a total hobgoblin and we adore his sarcastic, funny, loyal, secretly-soft gremlin self -- while also maturing massively and going through stuff and growing so much as a person and partner and player. And Bryce. We're not close on Bryce, but damn, do we know him through his actions and words and interaction with Jared and his vulnerability and defensiveness and bravery and dedication and overwhelming love and the journey he is on and MY GOD I LOVE BRYCE SO MUCH!!!
And this just wasn't the case for YCMAL. I kind of got a sense of Marc, who we're seeing through Dan's lovestruck eyes. But it was more a collection of traits and quirks than a personality. And then, Dan. Dan is basically a black hole, even though he's the one we're following. I seriously had no sense of Dan at all, which makes it hard to understand what Marc sees in him. He's not bad; he seems, if anything, aggressively average. Just kind of a non-entity? And that inevitably makes the romance feel under-developed.
But like I said, I love Taylor Fitzpatrick's writing. So much so that I was super absorbed in this, laughing and angsting (and, ok, mentally comparing it to IJ, but with the allowance that this is a fraction of the length and therefore we can't expect the same granular relationship and hockey detail). So much so that it wasn't until the final third of the book that I realized that Dan is a void at the heart of it. And then once I noticed it, I couldn't un-notice it. So, um, sorry? Because now I've noticed it for you. Go back, go back!
Thus: 3.5 stars rounded down because I did enjoy this, right up until the moment my brain started being a critical asshole. And also, I love the wider YCMAL-verse of which this is a foundational text, so in that sense I'm glad I read it.
Seriously, though. Go read Jared and Bryce.
Sooooooooooo
Taylor Fitzpatrick's writing really works for me. The 3rd person close present, the humor, the detail and care that goes into the universe, the equal attention paid to both the mundanity and the high drama of life as a professional hockey player. This past month I've been squealing all over these intertubes about the glory that is Impaired Judgement, an ongoing fic that has basically taken over my life and will continue to take over my life for the foreseeable future.
But the thing is
this is no Impaired Judgement.
I mean, obviously not. I don't know if YCMAL is the very first fic in this universe -- the chronology of both the verse and the many, many fics is equally baffling to me -- but it gave the verse its name and was one of the first to make the leap from AO3 to book form. (I ordered this directly from the author via her tumblr page; you get both the cut version sold on amazon and a slightly longer, uncut version, and this review is of the uncut version.) And it definitely reads as a more immature work. While a lot of the same themes are there -- homophobia (both internalized and in professional sport), the dedication required to be a professional athlete, the unpredictability of a life where you could be traded or sent down or injured at any point, the strains of long-distance and of living in secret, the fact that the MCs are living on their own and making shitloads of money when they're so. damn. young -- what's missing from YCMAL is the incredible character work that defines IJ from the very first paragraph.
And while I don't want to make this review all about IJ, I kind of can't help it? Because it's an illustrative contrast. In IJ, we are close on Jared, and holy shit, do we imprint on him immediately. Over the course of the 400,000+ words, Jared is both entirely and consistently himself -- he is a total hobgoblin and we adore his sarcastic, funny, loyal, secretly-soft gremlin self -- while also maturing massively and going through stuff and growing so much as a person and partner and player. And Bryce. We're not close on Bryce, but damn, do we know him through his actions and words and interaction with Jared and his vulnerability and defensiveness and bravery and dedication and overwhelming love and the journey he is on and MY GOD I LOVE BRYCE SO MUCH!!!
And this just wasn't the case for YCMAL. I kind of got a sense of Marc, who we're seeing through Dan's lovestruck eyes. But it was more a collection of traits and quirks than a personality. And then, Dan. Dan is basically a black hole, even though he's the one we're following. I seriously had no sense of Dan at all, which makes it hard to understand what Marc sees in him. He's not bad; he seems, if anything, aggressively average. Just kind of a non-entity? And that inevitably makes the romance feel under-developed.
But like I said, I love Taylor Fitzpatrick's writing. So much so that I was super absorbed in this, laughing and angsting (and, ok, mentally comparing it to IJ, but with the allowance that this is a fraction of the length and therefore we can't expect the same granular relationship and hockey detail). So much so that it wasn't until the final third of the book that I realized that Dan is a void at the heart of it. And then once I noticed it, I couldn't un-notice it. So, um, sorry? Because now I've noticed it for you. Go back, go back!
Thus: 3.5 stars rounded down because I did enjoy this, right up until the moment my brain started being a critical asshole. And also, I love the wider YCMAL-verse of which this is a foundational text, so in that sense I'm glad I read it.
Seriously, though. Go read Jared and Bryce.
February 8, 2024
This was such a lovely read.
It was soft and tender, a great depiction of what you can do to make a life for yourself out of the circumstances you were given.
I also liked the way it was written, the narrative voice was a little mocking and funny, bewildered at times, charming not-the-less and even though it was a third person it still menages to convey depth.
I loved the secondary characters, they were so vivid and Dan and his relationship with his family was so well depicted and at times funny i couldn't help and be charmed all over again.
I found this book beautiful, quiet and poignant in the way it was not afraid to point out flaws, but also point out that sometimes those are the the things we love most in others.
It was soft and tender, a great depiction of what you can do to make a life for yourself out of the circumstances you were given.
I also liked the way it was written, the narrative voice was a little mocking and funny, bewildered at times, charming not-the-less and even though it was a third person it still menages to convey depth.
I loved the secondary characters, they were so vivid and Dan and his relationship with his family was so well depicted and at times funny i couldn't help and be charmed all over again.
I found this book beautiful, quiet and poignant in the way it was not afraid to point out flaws, but also point out that sometimes those are the the things we love most in others.
March 21, 2017
I have read this book approximately 8 times at this point. I haven't been counting but I love the characters, the plot, the writing style and everything else about it so I keep coming back to it.
The best part of this novel is that it is part of a much larger universe. Fitzpatrick has 12 other novels of various lengths and all of them are really fantastic reads.
She also has a tumblr (http://youcouldmakealife.tumblr.com) with extra short stories set in her universe, answers to fan questions and lots of other stuff. She's incredibly prolific and always willing to engage with readers.
You Could Make a Life is an excellent purchase for anyone and apart from being an excellent novel, is also the best way to get into a universe full of fascinating narratives and wonderful characters.
The best part of this novel is that it is part of a much larger universe. Fitzpatrick has 12 other novels of various lengths and all of them are really fantastic reads.
She also has a tumblr (http://youcouldmakealife.tumblr.com) with extra short stories set in her universe, answers to fan questions and lots of other stuff. She's incredibly prolific and always willing to engage with readers.
You Could Make a Life is an excellent purchase for anyone and apart from being an excellent novel, is also the best way to get into a universe full of fascinating narratives and wonderful characters.
September 26, 2023
this was cuuuuute 😫 i love gay hockey
June 21, 2025
4.5 stars
December 2, 2023
This is my favorite book by Taylor Fitzpatrick. It felt real; it did not feel too raw like others.
May I interest you in:
🍁 MM sports romance
🍁 hockey
🍁 single POV
🍁 low steam
🍁 coming out
🍁 growing up together
May I interest you in:
🍁 MM sports romance
🍁 hockey
🍁 single POV
🍁 low steam
🍁 coming out
🍁 growing up together
Want to read
November 17, 2019My first gift of the 2019 gift exchange, from my sweet friend Josy, which made it even more special. <3 Thank you!! xx
March 1, 2023
Fitzpatrick writes wonderful characters and stories.
Merged review:
This book should be much longer.
Merged review:
This book should be much longer.
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