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Linemates
Callan Jones is a bright new hockey star having the time of his life -- and the hard-hitting, goal-scoring, trash-talking winger has the whole league riled up in a hissy-fit. Only one thing could ever trip up the invincible youngster: the fact that he likes guys. Good thing he's managed to keep that secret under wraps ...right?
Ever since Tyler Vance lost the Cup by a goal, his team's been caught in a downward spiral -- with him at the helm. The fans gossip that the captain's heart isn't in hockey anymore. Who knows? Maybe they're right.
A shocking trade between two bitter rivals takes the hockey world by storm. Now it's up to Vance to make sure Jones fits in with his new team. Will the truth about Callan's trade come out? And will it have the power to change everything?
Ever since Tyler Vance lost the Cup by a goal, his team's been caught in a downward spiral -- with him at the helm. The fans gossip that the captain's heart isn't in hockey anymore. Who knows? Maybe they're right.
A shocking trade between two bitter rivals takes the hockey world by storm. Now it's up to Vance to make sure Jones fits in with his new team. Will the truth about Callan's trade come out? And will it have the power to change everything?
415 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 25, 2016
54 people are currently reading
364 people want to read
About the author
Van Barrett
18 books71 followersA lot of so-called straight guys think they're only into girls. Until they run into another hot boy who won't take no for an answer.
Hey, I'm Van Barrett, and that's exactly what I write: confused & curious straight boys who just can't resist another man's big, hard, and chiseled -- umm, bod -- and end up begging for it.
Me? Well, I'm a 30-somethin', outdoorsy, sporty kinda guy who used to live in the big city. Got tired of the hustle and bustle, so I moved out to the country and settled on a plot of land. When I'm not working the land, I'm writin' my stories. Hope you enjoy.
If you wanna be the first to hear about my new releases, be sure to sign up for the Van Barrett Newsletter at the link below:
http://bit.ly/1GAiecQ
Hey, I'm Van Barrett, and that's exactly what I write: confused & curious straight boys who just can't resist another man's big, hard, and chiseled -- umm, bod -- and end up begging for it.
Me? Well, I'm a 30-somethin', outdoorsy, sporty kinda guy who used to live in the big city. Got tired of the hustle and bustle, so I moved out to the country and settled on a plot of land. When I'm not working the land, I'm writin' my stories. Hope you enjoy.
If you wanna be the first to hear about my new releases, be sure to sign up for the Van Barrett Newsletter at the link below:
http://bit.ly/1GAiecQ
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
May 23, 2017
What a weird read because my enjoyment kept going up and down, up and down…
Callan is a young hockey player in the NHL and a closeted gay. After a sudden trade, he has to move from Winnipeg to Chicago and get accepted by his new team. This move is not easy on him, especially since he is concerned to be outed, but he can count on the support of his new captain, Vance, a seasoned player and his crush since he was a teen.
What I liked : No insta-love, no big drama, some good banter, a good team spirit and a nice resolution of the story, not to mention I really enjoyed the way Vance embraces his attraction to Callan.
What disturbed me : a lot of Hockey talk (a tad too much for me as I felt sometimes it took over the romance), the juvenile behaviour and dialogs that happened several times (and all the “haha”, “dude”,…meh for me), the alternating first person POVs that lost me a bit.
It was good enough that I read it fast, but not good enough for me to love it.
Callan is a young hockey player in the NHL and a closeted gay. After a sudden trade, he has to move from Winnipeg to Chicago and get accepted by his new team. This move is not easy on him, especially since he is concerned to be outed, but he can count on the support of his new captain, Vance, a seasoned player and his crush since he was a teen.
What I liked : No insta-love, no big drama, some good banter, a good team spirit and a nice resolution of the story, not to mention I really enjoyed the way Vance embraces his attraction to Callan.
What disturbed me : a lot of Hockey talk (a tad too much for me as I felt sometimes it took over the romance), the juvenile behaviour and dialogs that happened several times (and all the “haha”, “dude”,…meh for me), the alternating first person POVs that lost me a bit.
It was good enough that I read it fast, but not good enough for me to love it.
January 8, 2017
In spite of putting this down, not once, but twice, due to the writing, I finally picked this back up for good, and it was surprisingly good!
Yes, it was longer than it needed to be, could stand a good, hard edit. Not that the editing was BAD, it just could have been refined a great deal. I also noticed some confusing changes in tense a few times, going from "we're" to "we'll", that sort of thing.
But all in all, this was a great surprise. The story was solid, and I liked the characters. There's a lot of on page hockey, which I didn't mind, in spite of knowing next to nothing about the sport. It was VERY slow burn, since this was a long book, but I wasn't bothered by it. I thought the guy's relationship grew naturally, and I liked that there wasn't a bunch of angst on Tyler's part, once he realized he liked Cal that way. Sure, he didn't jump in immediately, but he didn't dither around half the book, either, which I liked. I also liked that you always had little niggles that things weren't quite there for Tyler, when it came to girls. He never out and out thought about being with a guy, but something was always missing when he was with a girl. This made sense to me, and I liked how it was done.
All in all, good, solid effort, and I will be reading more hockey stories from this author.
Yes, it was longer than it needed to be, could stand a good, hard edit. Not that the editing was BAD, it just could have been refined a great deal. I also noticed some confusing changes in tense a few times, going from "we're" to "we'll", that sort of thing.
But all in all, this was a great surprise. The story was solid, and I liked the characters. There's a lot of on page hockey, which I didn't mind, in spite of knowing next to nothing about the sport. It was VERY slow burn, since this was a long book, but I wasn't bothered by it. I thought the guy's relationship grew naturally, and I liked that there wasn't a bunch of angst on Tyler's part, once he realized he liked Cal that way. Sure, he didn't jump in immediately, but he didn't dither around half the book, either, which I liked. I also liked that you always had little niggles that things weren't quite there for Tyler, when it came to girls. He never out and out thought about being with a guy, but something was always missing when he was with a girl. This made sense to me, and I liked how it was done.
All in all, good, solid effort, and I will be reading more hockey stories from this author.
September 27, 2017
Loved this one
I love a story where the biggest challenge is that of changing attitudes and kicking against the grain and this book does just that.
Personally I though it may have worked a bit better if Cal had been slightly older, having him be 21 to Ty's 29 wasn't a big age gap but more a case of him not having had time to settle into himself, especially with the additional backstory of his gran raising him.
But that's just a tiny niggle for me personally, it doesn't stop the story from working.
I love a story where the biggest challenge is that of changing attitudes and kicking against the grain and this book does just that.
Personally I though it may have worked a bit better if Cal had been slightly older, having him be 21 to Ty's 29 wasn't a big age gap but more a case of him not having had time to settle into himself, especially with the additional backstory of his gran raising him.
But that's just a tiny niggle for me personally, it doesn't stop the story from working.
May 7, 2016
Great chemistry, smokin scenes and a really great storyline. I really enjoyed this book and will happily check out more from this author. ❤️
May 15, 2016
Well Worth A Read.
I don't know huge amounts about hockey, is there really that much fighting? Regardless, this was a really enjoyable story. Told in first person point of view, the author does a great job in maintaining the characters voice throughout the entire narrative. The ooohing and aaahing was a little off putting but that's about the only criticism I'd have.
I don't know huge amounts about hockey, is there really that much fighting? Regardless, this was a really enjoyable story. Told in first person point of view, the author does a great job in maintaining the characters voice throughout the entire narrative. The ooohing and aaahing was a little off putting but that's about the only criticism I'd have.
April 23, 2017
2.5 stars but debating between rounding up or down.... Up I guess. It wasn't horrible, just a bit better than meh. Lots of hockey talk, which I love. So, round up.
June 14, 2016
Ignoring the God awful cover, I picked this up hoping to get some Him feels. Because let's be honest, Jamie and Wes are still my everything. Well, Linemates is nowhere close to giving me any sort of Jamie and Wes vibe. The good; it was fun and quick. Involved a lot of hockey. The relationship between Cal and Tyler had a lot of time to develop. Beyond that, the dialogue was lackluster and repetitive. Like seriously juvenile responses, a lot of "hehs" "duhs" that kind of shit. This is supposed to be a hot romance, yea that does the opposite of making me fan myself. I was eye rolling all over the place. Also, I found the talk from Cal and Tyler surrounding Cal being in the closest to be super passe. And downright insulting at times. Tyler and other people some pretty rude things about being gay or Cal being gay and Cal just shrugs it off. Especially when it comes to Tyler. I'm pretty sure you're not going to sit back and let some insult you or take advantage of you, laugh about it. For a romance story that is supposed to be fluff, I definitely find myself pissed off more than enjoying some steaminess between two hot as hell hockey players.
May 10, 2016
Loved it!!
December 5, 2021
I loved that the relationship between the MC’s was one that built overtime but I didn’t find myself truly enjoying the book until the romance began… well, sort of. Callan—who’s character sometimes felt just a bit too much—and Tyler both had things to work through. So things got off to a rocky start, but I loved them when they were solid in their relationship.
Near the end, I started skimming the sex scenes not necessarily because there were too many—though there were a lot—but because I wanted to know how things played out. While I could guess at the ending, I didn’t quite know how’d we get there and so I kept reading.
This was a read I liked, but didn’t love.
Near the end, I started skimming the sex scenes not necessarily because there were too many—though there were a lot—but because I wanted to know how things played out. While I could guess at the ending, I didn’t quite know how’d we get there and so I kept reading.
This was a read I liked, but didn’t love.
January 14, 2018
I was very pleasantly surprised by this new-to-me author! The first half of the book develops the characters. We meet the hockey players and learn about Callan and Tylers' struggles, before these two get together or are even on the same hockey team. I loved that the author took his time and laid the groundwork. That really paid off because once these two get together the story is hot and intense. The writing can make or break a book for me and the writing here was very engrossing. It was easy to get drawn into the story and the dialogue felt authentic.
April 16, 2024
I knew, a couple of chapters in, this wasn’t going to be anything to write home about. The writing itself is pretty mediocre, although you get used to it. The narrative voice for both main characters read way too similar, and the book could’ve used more revision — not only is the format itself repetitive, with the constant POV changes (sometimes 3 times on the same scene) and the author writing the same situations twice so you get both points of view, but phrases and ideas get hammered onto the reader multiple times in the same chapter.
There’s a fair amount of hockey talk, and the author does a lot explaining of terms and rules in the first few chapters, in my opinion unnecessarily so. You can write a hockey romance and have an audience that doesn’t watch hockey without spoon-feeding the reader with information dumps. The author goes out of their way to explain stuff as innocuous as what roommates are. It was distracting but not too bad, and I almost figured this could be a good rec for someone that has no idea how hockey works, until I kept reading it.
The thing is, you can tell the author loves hockey. But I just don’t get how you can have any knowledge of how the NHL (or really any major sports league) work and still write something so beyond reasonable that it completely shoots out any plausibility necessary for the story to work.
So alright, time to get on my soapbox.
The major conflict of this book is being a queer, closeted athlete. That’s a very common plot point for a lot of M/M sports books, and I generally allow authors a certain degree of wriggle room in how accepting or not their version of our universe is with those characters. In some books, it’s all very sweet and idealistic, and I respect that, as unrealistic as it might be — it’s a comfort and escapism. This book goes in the complete opposite direction, and I was excited for it too, only to be disappointed by how much it missed the spot.
The thing is, although I can believe that a player would get traded after being caught at a gay bar — especially when he’s been pissing off his team anyways — the villainous depiction of random guys desperate to out Callan made no sense to me. Especially in the last 40% or so, where it all got amped up to public blackmailing. But, let’s just assume that all happened — here is a much more realistic version of how things would unfold:
1. Some mainstream sports media might pick up Tyler’s story, and might bring it up during interviews. But every reporter, on every interview? During the playoffs? That’s ridiculous. Not every sports media is a gossip magazine. They are not going to be discussing some random dude talking about how a player sucked his dick for hours on their very serious and very macho TV programs. Partly because they won’t want to “sully” themselves with discussing it, but also because their networks are not interested in being sued or dragged through the mud for being discriminating.
2. But let’s say they are that interested in the story. Then, the further Tyler goes, the less I believe they’d keep running it — especially when it starts openly depicting blackmail. Which is a crime, by the way. I can’t genuinely believe any of the media or general public would feel totally comfortable with this dude talking about how he’s been terrorizing and blackmailing a player for no good reason.
3. Which leads me to the next topic: It appears as if this Hawks team has no other employees but the players and the GM. Where the fuck are your PR and Legal people? Because I’m telling you, in reality, the second this started to pick up steam, the team’s PR department would have been on top of it. In no circumstances would it have been allowed to run for so long without damage control, not when it’s actively hurting the player and therefore the organization. And of course both Tyler and Burk would’ve have their asses sued.
4. And speaking of Burk, how is it possible that a player can openly blackmail another player into coming out against his will and not face any repercussions from the league. Especially the NHL, who has been going out of their way for years to pretend to be more inclusive than it actually is. Had this happened in private, I could buy the league turning a blind eye, but in front of the cameras? It’d be a PR nightmare, especially with an organization that wants so bad to appear progressive.
5. I can’t miss the press conference, of course. What player is making an announcement in a podium like they’re the president? It would be a regular conference table. The GM would’ve been there as a show of support. Perhaps the coach, as well. The PR team would’ve coordinated everything, and the Jets would not have allowed it to happen on their stadium, because it would mean the organization condoning blackmail from its captain.
6. And the main thing is, this book completely ignores the existence of good natured and not bigoted people who watch and follow sports. People who would’ve been loudly against some of the more absurd things that unfolded in this story. And, the more absurd it got, all of the normal, level-headed individuals who would think ‘well, that’s a step too far’ or even ‘who the fuck cares’. It’s like everyone was against Callan until the conference, and only then people woke up to common sense.
There’s a lot of small inconsistencies throughout this book, but it was the way the conflict was handled for the second and third act that really grinded my gears. The only reason this is not getting rated lower is that the smut is very hot, and I was really into it. There’s a lot of dubious aspects to it, of course, such as nearly every scene being in public (exhibiting kink much?) and some supernatural stamina, but I can be more lenient in the name of saving the book.
There’s a fair amount of hockey talk, and the author does a lot explaining of terms and rules in the first few chapters, in my opinion unnecessarily so. You can write a hockey romance and have an audience that doesn’t watch hockey without spoon-feeding the reader with information dumps. The author goes out of their way to explain stuff as innocuous as what roommates are. It was distracting but not too bad, and I almost figured this could be a good rec for someone that has no idea how hockey works, until I kept reading it.
The thing is, you can tell the author loves hockey. But I just don’t get how you can have any knowledge of how the NHL (or really any major sports league) work and still write something so beyond reasonable that it completely shoots out any plausibility necessary for the story to work.
So alright, time to get on my soapbox.
The major conflict of this book is being a queer, closeted athlete. That’s a very common plot point for a lot of M/M sports books, and I generally allow authors a certain degree of wriggle room in how accepting or not their version of our universe is with those characters. In some books, it’s all very sweet and idealistic, and I respect that, as unrealistic as it might be — it’s a comfort and escapism. This book goes in the complete opposite direction, and I was excited for it too, only to be disappointed by how much it missed the spot.
The thing is, although I can believe that a player would get traded after being caught at a gay bar — especially when he’s been pissing off his team anyways — the villainous depiction of random guys desperate to out Callan made no sense to me. Especially in the last 40% or so, where it all got amped up to public blackmailing. But, let’s just assume that all happened — here is a much more realistic version of how things would unfold:
1. Some mainstream sports media might pick up Tyler’s story, and might bring it up during interviews. But every reporter, on every interview? During the playoffs? That’s ridiculous. Not every sports media is a gossip magazine. They are not going to be discussing some random dude talking about how a player sucked his dick for hours on their very serious and very macho TV programs. Partly because they won’t want to “sully” themselves with discussing it, but also because their networks are not interested in being sued or dragged through the mud for being discriminating.
2. But let’s say they are that interested in the story. Then, the further Tyler goes, the less I believe they’d keep running it — especially when it starts openly depicting blackmail. Which is a crime, by the way. I can’t genuinely believe any of the media or general public would feel totally comfortable with this dude talking about how he’s been terrorizing and blackmailing a player for no good reason.
3. Which leads me to the next topic: It appears as if this Hawks team has no other employees but the players and the GM. Where the fuck are your PR and Legal people? Because I’m telling you, in reality, the second this started to pick up steam, the team’s PR department would have been on top of it. In no circumstances would it have been allowed to run for so long without damage control, not when it’s actively hurting the player and therefore the organization. And of course both Tyler and Burk would’ve have their asses sued.
4. And speaking of Burk, how is it possible that a player can openly blackmail another player into coming out against his will and not face any repercussions from the league. Especially the NHL, who has been going out of their way for years to pretend to be more inclusive than it actually is. Had this happened in private, I could buy the league turning a blind eye, but in front of the cameras? It’d be a PR nightmare, especially with an organization that wants so bad to appear progressive.
5. I can’t miss the press conference, of course. What player is making an announcement in a podium like they’re the president? It would be a regular conference table. The GM would’ve been there as a show of support. Perhaps the coach, as well. The PR team would’ve coordinated everything, and the Jets would not have allowed it to happen on their stadium, because it would mean the organization condoning blackmail from its captain.
6. And the main thing is, this book completely ignores the existence of good natured and not bigoted people who watch and follow sports. People who would’ve been loudly against some of the more absurd things that unfolded in this story. And, the more absurd it got, all of the normal, level-headed individuals who would think ‘well, that’s a step too far’ or even ‘who the fuck cares’. It’s like everyone was against Callan until the conference, and only then people woke up to common sense.
There’s a lot of small inconsistencies throughout this book, but it was the way the conflict was handled for the second and third act that really grinded my gears. The only reason this is not getting rated lower is that the smut is very hot, and I was really into it. There’s a lot of dubious aspects to it, of course, such as nearly every scene being in public (exhibiting kink much?) and some supernatural stamina, but I can be more lenient in the name of saving the book.
January 8, 2018
Holy shit, I am tapping out at around 60% [i.e. DNF]!! I can't anymore, I can't!!! This author ... I feel like I'm about to break into hives right now!! Just NO!! It's been a long time since an author's writing/plot irritated me as much as this one does :-/!!
*****************
I really hope this book is much MUCH better than the book I just read [by the same author], though to be honest, the instructions on the back of a bottle of bleach is more titillating than the book I just read, but still! Book, please, please, PLEASE don't let me down! I own you and have to read you, so PLEASE be good!!!
*****************
May 11, 2016
2.5 stars
This was an okay read. A gay for you, coming out, hockey story. Mostly predicatable with a few highlights. Plenty long enough that the relationship was well developed even if the characters weren't.
Both Callum and Tyler unfortunately sounded the same, which sometimes got me lost with the alternating first person POVs (occassionally edging into second person). Personally I think this might have been better as a third person pov story, but that's my opinion.
Probably the number of errors per length ratio was okay, though every darn one of them pulled me out of the story.
This was an okay read. A gay for you, coming out, hockey story. Mostly predicatable with a few highlights. Plenty long enough that the relationship was well developed even if the characters weren't.
Both Callum and Tyler unfortunately sounded the same, which sometimes got me lost with the alternating first person POVs (occassionally edging into second person). Personally I think this might have been better as a third person pov story, but that's my opinion.
Probably the number of errors per length ratio was okay, though every darn one of them pulled me out of the story.
May 1, 2016
Loved Callan and Tyler's story, but the writing could've had a run through with a content editor. There were a lot of unnecessary scenes and long-winded paragraphs that slowed the story way down. For a book that's over 100,000 words, it could've easily been reduced.
The hahas and heh hehs in dialogue were ridiculous and shouldn't be in fiction writing at all, so drove me nuts.
But the chemistry and story between the two MCs kept me reading. They were great.
The hahas and heh hehs in dialogue were ridiculous and shouldn't be in fiction writing at all, so drove me nuts.
But the chemistry and story between the two MCs kept me reading. They were great.
June 8, 2016
M/M hockey romance between a young gay player who fears his career will be ruined if he's outed and an older, established player who finally realizes what his true inclinations are (and probably always have been) when he becomes friends with the young player. The writing is crisp, some humor and some drama, and lots of steamy steam.
nope-not-for-me-not-interested
October 8, 2017DNF 19% No rating.
The way this is written was grating. It's choppy and impersonal and didn't endear me to either character.
Maybe it gets better. *shrugs* It was hard enough work getting this far.
The way this is written was grating. It's choppy and impersonal and didn't endear me to either character.
Maybe it gets better. *shrugs* It was hard enough work getting this far.
dnf-for-good
November 2, 2016DNF. Not rating because I stopped at chapter three. Not really impressed with the writing. So far is rambling monologue.
July 16, 2017
if you can get past the blatant bi erasure, the amateurish writing, immature characters and unrealistic settings, the book's okay.
December 28, 2019
3.5 Stars
"Are you sure you're gay?" . . . .
"Yes," he laughs bitterly. "Believe me, if it was a choice like some people swear it is, I'd choose not to have this fucking thing hanging over me. I'd love to have a 'normal' life, so I could have a normal career and not be judged for who I am."
Tyler and Callan
Two of my guilty pleasures are sports romances and MM so the combo always wins me over especially when its hockey because being gay in hockey in real life is still so taboo. Plus being a Winnipeger having one of the hockey stories here being about Winnipeg I was sold since I haven't read this author before.
Normally my beef with hockey novels is it grossly unrepreseneted on the reality of what goes on behind the scenes and hockey really works. Having a few friends playing the league has caused me over the years to get more jaded because when I asked them a detail about something that happens in the story and they always tell me that is not how it works which irks me more and more but reading Linemates it was like talking to my friends minus the MM part.
"Are you sure you're gay?" . . . .
"Yes," he laughs bitterly. "Believe me, if it was a choice like some people swear it is, I'd choose not to have this fucking thing hanging over me. I'd love to have a 'normal' life, so I could have a normal career and not be judged for who I am."
Tyler and Callan
Two of my guilty pleasures are sports romances and MM so the combo always wins me over especially when its hockey because being gay in hockey in real life is still so taboo. Plus being a Winnipeger having one of the hockey stories here being about Winnipeg I was sold since I haven't read this author before.
Normally my beef with hockey novels is it grossly unrepreseneted on the reality of what goes on behind the scenes and hockey really works. Having a few friends playing the league has caused me over the years to get more jaded because when I asked them a detail about something that happens in the story and they always tell me that is not how it works which irks me more and more but reading Linemates it was like talking to my friends minus the MM part.
November 14, 2023
Enjoyed this story
I enjoyed reading the book despite my frustrations with some of the story elements and some writing issues. I appreciated the actual hockey action as so many sports stories don’t actually and knowledgeably include the ins of outs of playing the game and being a professional athlete…they seem to use it as a background setting instead.
Several of the story issues that bothered me I can’t go into here as they would be spoilery. I just found myself talking back to the book and that takes my head out of my read which is definitely a demerit in my world. The writing issues centered mainly on tense changes and voice/POV changes. This was especially true in the epilogue. Present tense, past tense, active voice, passive voice, MC POV, third party narrator…all in the same chapter. It was jarring and annoying. But it was mostly at the end so it did ‘t wreck my enjoyment of the book. If that had occurred as drastically earlier I probably would have DNFed the book. At the end it was easier to grumble through.
I enjoyed reading the book despite my frustrations with some of the story elements and some writing issues. I appreciated the actual hockey action as so many sports stories don’t actually and knowledgeably include the ins of outs of playing the game and being a professional athlete…they seem to use it as a background setting instead.
Several of the story issues that bothered me I can’t go into here as they would be spoilery. I just found myself talking back to the book and that takes my head out of my read which is definitely a demerit in my world. The writing issues centered mainly on tense changes and voice/POV changes. This was especially true in the epilogue. Present tense, past tense, active voice, passive voice, MC POV, third party narrator…all in the same chapter. It was jarring and annoying. But it was mostly at the end so it did ‘t wreck my enjoyment of the book. If that had occurred as drastically earlier I probably would have DNFed the book. At the end it was easier to grumble through.
June 18, 2018
This is a really hard one for me to review..... I'm going to say 2.5 stars.
So the thing is, I work night shifts/24 hours once or twice a week. And I don't really sleep that well in the day, so I'm tired and grumpy and I generally end up binge reading. Sometimes, I'll pick the book up to continue reading the next day and... it's not pretty. So I actually have bucket loads of DNF's that will never surface again.
This one I didn't need to put down, because I quite enjoyed the slow development of the relationship and the story line. The hockey aspect was well written as well!
But I did have some issues that probably would have prevented me from getting into it if I hadn't been so tired. The writing was a bit too conversational at times, there were a few errors and the sexual stuff was a bit... odd. Not quite for me.
But I really enjoyed Callan and Tyler anyway.
So the thing is, I work night shifts/24 hours once or twice a week. And I don't really sleep that well in the day, so I'm tired and grumpy and I generally end up binge reading. Sometimes, I'll pick the book up to continue reading the next day and... it's not pretty. So I actually have bucket loads of DNF's that will never surface again.
This one I didn't need to put down, because I quite enjoyed the slow development of the relationship and the story line. The hockey aspect was well written as well!
But I did have some issues that probably would have prevented me from getting into it if I hadn't been so tired. The writing was a bit too conversational at times, there were a few errors and the sexual stuff was a bit... odd. Not quite for me.
But I really enjoyed Callan and Tyler anyway.
August 1, 2023
Okay, I started reading this book as a joke, and here is why it gets three stars...
Callan is a rat
It has a good plot
It is not a Patrick Kane and Jonathan Towes inspired fanfic even though the team is probably the Chicago Blackhawks.
My Complaints:
The WHL's age range is 15-20 and these dudes are 21&29 also the teams cause I don't see them playing on the Brandon Wheat Kings... they are playing actual NHL teams I think he meant the NHL
The Chicago Blackhawks could never play the Winnipeg Jets in the playoffs due to their division, and the Winnipeg Tigers are not a real team which is odd cause every other team is real. At that time the Bridgeport Sound Tigers were still a real AHL affiliate and that is the closest team I can envision, but AHL and NHL teams never face off.
Some of the smut was overused
Callan is a rat
It has a good plot
It is not a Patrick Kane and Jonathan Towes inspired fanfic even though the team is probably the Chicago Blackhawks.
My Complaints:
The WHL's age range is 15-20 and these dudes are 21&29 also the teams cause I don't see them playing on the Brandon Wheat Kings... they are playing actual NHL teams I think he meant the NHL
The Chicago Blackhawks could never play the Winnipeg Jets in the playoffs due to their division, and the Winnipeg Tigers are not a real team which is odd cause every other team is real. At that time the Bridgeport Sound Tigers were still a real AHL affiliate and that is the closest team I can envision, but AHL and NHL teams never face off.
Some of the smut was overused
October 14, 2017
The quote: People will see what they wanna see, man. You can't change that. If they wanna be bigoted, fuckin' assholes, then fine. Let 'em! You don't have to listen or care. All you can do is be yourself. - Tyler Vance
I liked Linemates. There is serious appeal in the characters and the situations they find themselves in. I love that it doesn't feel unrealistic, not the emotion, their reactions, the secrecy. or their superstition.
It's been said and I'll say it too. The roof top scene is just hot. I would recommend it for that alone. The chemistry between Tyler and Callan is electric, perfect for this kind of romance.
It's a fast read, predictable but entertaining though the writing does fail it a little.
I liked Linemates. There is serious appeal in the characters and the situations they find themselves in. I love that it doesn't feel unrealistic, not the emotion, their reactions, the secrecy. or their superstition.
It's been said and I'll say it too. The roof top scene is just hot. I would recommend it for that alone. The chemistry between Tyler and Callan is electric, perfect for this kind of romance.
It's a fast read, predictable but entertaining though the writing does fail it a little.
June 23, 2020
Really enjoyed the story within this book. At first I wasn't too keen on the writing style, personally it read a bit like fan fiction but it got better throughout the book and I adapted to the style. The sex scenes were steamy and very much to my liking and even the plot was a little different to the usual MM hockey romance, however the ending was a bit much for me. It described the concept of soulmates and just seemed a little forced which took away some of my enjoyment. Similarly, the tying every loose end was a bit much as some things weren't necessarily needed as I had forgotten about the small details so finishing them off was a bit too much personally. If not really good book, just didn't need so much in the ending.
October 9, 2017
When Callan Jones was traded, he thought that his career was over. Tyler Vance lost the cup years ago and has been in a slump ever since. Becoming fast friends, both discover hidden secrets they didn't know. Will Callan and Tyler have a chance? Will their team accept them?
LOVED this story! This is the first by this author I have read and I will definitely be going back for more! The fact that this touched on the stigma of the problems that gays face when playing sports was great. Personally loved Callan's and Tyler's characters both. I thought they both had a lot of guts to stand up and admit that they were different than their teammates. Great book!
LOVED this story! This is the first by this author I have read and I will definitely be going back for more! The fact that this touched on the stigma of the problems that gays face when playing sports was great. Personally loved Callan's and Tyler's characters both. I thought they both had a lot of guts to stand up and admit that they were different than their teammates. Great book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 25, 2023
FIRST, I AM SO SORRY THIS COVER IS PARTICULARLY HORRENDOUS.
So this is a 2.5 read because what the fuck. I fucking hated Vance's character, he was kind of a lying manipulative asshole to literally everyone around him before he stepped up at the end of the book. Callan was lovely and he deserved more?? The romance was so weird and unconvincing....
Also the mysogyny was insane how are you going to actively slut shame all the girls you are mentioning in the book? Red flag!!!!!! Also the smut wasn't that good, still laughing at the "manly cock" line pleaseeeee.
Ok so maybe it's a 2 stars read... but Callan was really really cute and I want the best for him!!!!!!!!
So this is a 2.5 read because what the fuck. I fucking hated Vance's character, he was kind of a lying manipulative asshole to literally everyone around him before he stepped up at the end of the book. Callan was lovely and he deserved more?? The romance was so weird and unconvincing....
Also the mysogyny was insane how are you going to actively slut shame all the girls you are mentioning in the book? Red flag!!!!!! Also the smut wasn't that good, still laughing at the "manly cock" line pleaseeeee.
Ok so maybe it's a 2 stars read... but Callan was really really cute and I want the best for him!!!!!!!!
September 28, 2017
3.5 stars. I liked this book a lot. A couple of hockey mistakes, which was a little annoying, but didn't take away from my enjoyment of it. It was a little long, and suffered at times from too much description. I did find it interesting that the author used real team names, as you don't often see that in hockey romance. What ultimately brought this down from a 4 star was the epilogue, which didn't match the tone of the book at all. Why change from 1st person narration in the epilogue? It was off-putting and unnecessary.
November 15, 2017
Good read
This was a solid 3 for me. I liked the story line and characters there was just something that didn't completely connect/jive for me. Something was off but it didn't detract from the story too much. I liked the slow build as we got to know the characters well before things started happening between them. I liked that the sport and games played such a big part of the story. Overall, I enjoyed reading it.
This was a solid 3 for me. I liked the story line and characters there was just something that didn't completely connect/jive for me. Something was off but it didn't detract from the story too much. I liked the slow build as we got to know the characters well before things started happening between them. I liked that the sport and games played such a big part of the story. Overall, I enjoyed reading it.
July 26, 2020
Unfinished Business
This book was a good read with the story set from both POV of the lead characters. As hockey romance goes it a good story that I felt was a little unfinished In regards to the character Birky.
I would have liked to see him suffer some consequences for blackmailing and threatening a teammate's career, it was just too glossed over for me.
I do recommend. This book.
This book was a good read with the story set from both POV of the lead characters. As hockey romance goes it a good story that I felt was a little unfinished In regards to the character Birky.
I would have liked to see him suffer some consequences for blackmailing and threatening a teammate's career, it was just too glossed over for me.
I do recommend. This book.
September 28, 2017
I really enjoyed this book and learning about the camaraderie and competition between players. I know some reviews mention they thought the beginning was slow going but to me I like the build up because it makes the novel and relationship more realistic. I actually had a hard time putting this book down, fantastic read for me!! ;-)
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