Playing With Fate

Admirals Hockey #1

by Ava Thorpe

This is an alternate cover edition - ASIN: B06XVJTXKP

“My future’s been planned for me for as long as I can remember, but I’ve never felt this alive until I met you.”

"I shouldn't want Carter, but I can't get him out of my mind."

Luke Bailey doesn't have time for a boyfriend. Between dog-walking, law school applications, and trying to get his music career off the ground, love doesn't stand a chance. Besides, his new customer's straight as they come, right? So why can't he stop thinking about Carter?

"I've never been with a guy. Why do I want Luke so bad?"

Carter Welling just needs a dog-walker. Big league hockey takes him away from home, and he can't take Puck everywhere he goes. What he doesn't need is a hot dog-walker who makes him think weird things about guys that he's never felt before.

"Fate brought us together. Can I afford to take the risk?"

Something just keeps pulling them back together, though, and it's not just the cuteness of Carter's dog. When Luke's dreams and Carter's hockey career seem to be splitting them apart, can they admit that what they want—no, need—is each other?

Playing With Fate is a standalone gay romance novel with no cheating, no cliffhangers, and a HEA.

Genres: Sports, M M Romance, Hockey, Romance, Contemporary, LGBT, M M Sports Romance

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 24, 2017

Reviews

[~Mindy Lynn~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carter is 22 and just beginning to play professional hockey, but he's a bit insecure about his place on the team. Carter has a cute lab named Puck which leads him to meeting Luke, his dog walker who he's starting to have romantic feeling's for. But Carter is straight... Right?

Luke is a college student studying music but intends on going into law which is not his first choice. But his father and grandfather and his great grandfather and so forth have all been lawyer's and his father expects him to follow the tradition. But Luke loves music. His has dreams of teaching it. While being a college student he also has a job as a dog walker. This is where he meets the sexy owner of Puck, Carter. He's attracted to Carter but knows nothing could ever come of the attraction because Carter is straight... Right?

Not so much it seems when him and Carter share a kiss. But Carter has mild freak out and asks Luke to leave. But it is short lived and the guys slowly start building a relationship.

I liked both MC's and they definitely had the connection and chemistry any good book needs. I guess my only issues were that is was a bit cheesy and predictable for me. Plus everything I wanted to read about happened off page. Like them going out to dinner or a walk. Anything that happened outside of that condo was something I wanted to read about but it was all left off. So that was disappointing. But there was also pluses. It was low on angst, there wasn't any insta love, and the relationship happened at a good speed. The sex didn't happen ASAP. There was definitely intimate sexy times, but the actual sex didn't happen until later in the book and it felt like that is when it should have happened. So the book had a good speed on how everything went.

This book is for those who want something easy and cheesy. LOL

Happy reading dolls! xx

[Gigi · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Well, this was just what the doctor ordered! A sweet, adorable part-time dog walker, a buff hockey player with a huge heart and a yellow lab named Puck.

Light relationship-only angst that worked, no misogyny, no gay bashing, Carter accepted his new status as bi-sexual with hardly a bat of his eye. Very politically correct and that was really refreshing.

Feels, hockey, a little sexy time and a goober of a yellow lab. What more could you possibly want?



Highly recommended.

This review is also posted at Gay Book Reviews

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars!

My first book by Ava Thorpe and loved it!



This was so sweet and sexy Luke/carter were adorable, loved how they became friends first, regardless of their attraction. Especially for Carter who's straight and finds himself wanting to be with Luke. But once Carter realizes his feelings for Luke he doesn't fight them and gives in to them.

What I loved about this book the most is that it doesn't focus too much on Carter denying or fighting his sexuality but instead the bumps between him and Luke are regular couple things.

Enjoyed it so much totally left me with a happy sigh! ❤

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I liked most of this book, even though it didn’t wow me, but near the end there were a couple of things that bothered me so much I ended up disliking it. That doesn’t mean this is a bad book, because it’s not. It just had some of my pet peeves and I react very strongly to some of them.

Carter is a professional hockey player for the Admirals. He doesn’t have a lot of time to walk his dog, Puck, so he hires someone from a dog walking service. It is through that service that he meets Luke, his new dog walker. The two immediately hit it off after their first meeting and become fast friends.

Luke is starting to get a huge crush on Carter, even though he knows Carter is straight. He will just have to be happy being friends.

But what Luke doesn’t know is that Carter has been struggling with his feeling for Luke from the start, but he doesn’t know what to do about it, since he has never been interested in a guy before..

The first half of this story was pretty fluffy. It concentrates mostly on the growing friendship between these guys. But when they finally do start something, I was disappointed with the careful way they acted towards each other and how little they talked about their feelings.

What bothered me most about this was Carter. I had a very hard time liking him and I was annoyed at how hard he found it to come out, while everyone around him was so supportive. His teammates already suspected he was dating a guy and told him it was alright, but he still didn’t want to come out.

I was also very angry when he suddenly just broke up with Luke, without a word. He sent a text message that they shouldn’t see each other anymore and he called the dog walkers to get someone else to walk Puck. That was so freaking cowardly..

The misunderstandings killed me. Not that there were a lot, but I just never like it when my guys don’t communicate. Carter accidentally read a text about a meeting Luke had and immediately thought Luke was cheating on him (hence the break-up). And Luke didn’t tell Carter about the gig he had, singing in a bar, because he was intimidated by Carter and his job and thought of himself as just a small-time singer, going to a small-time bar to sing.

And I had a hard time with them both hiding their feelings for each other. I’m not a fan of the ‘Oh, I love him, but I can’t say anything because he doesn’t love me back’ thing.

This was definitely not a bad book, and I think a lot of people will enjoy this. I’m just very allergic to misunderstandings and break-ups of any kind. So please don’t let my opinion stop you from reading this book. Most of my friends enjoyed it.

[.Lili. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice fluffy read.

-It had a dog (always a plus :D)
-It's a sports romance
-The pace was steady
-Low to moderate steam

Probably would've rated 4 stars if wasn't for the "conflict" towards the end. I loathe miscommunication & the silent treatment.

I'd read this author again.

[Marion · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars! Pure sweet romance! I loved it! This is, of course, one of my guilty pleasures...GFY, M/C's that are lovable, low angst, hot sexy times, sports themed, adorable animals...all my boxes are being checked! This was a fun read, just what I needed!
Highly recommend.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say I loved this book! While Luke is gay, Carter is one of those people that have no clue that they swing the other way until they meet that special person, and for Carter, that special person is Luke. I love that Puck, Carter's lab brings them together, over and over again, until they both become friends and eventually boyfriends. Luke is in college going for a major in music, his passion, but his father wants him to go to law school. Carter is a hockey player for the Admirals in Ottawa, Canada and just hoping he gets to stay there and not get sent to minors again. They both have things they are dealing with in their lives, but when they're together, everything is perfect! They really make the cutest couple and they both have supportive friends that make their lives a little easier. It was great seeing them together and happy in the end, I would love to see more of them in the future. I think there may be stories in the future for Ash and Jared, both teammates of Carter. This was a great kickoff for a series surrounding the Admirals hockey team. Can't wait to see more...

[Justin · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars

*spoilers ahead*

I read this, in part, because of the high average and all of the 4 & 5 star ratings/reviews. This means that I'm obviously in the minority with my take on this book because I didn't like it at all.

I'm not sure why I didn't abandon this early on. I kept thinking I just needed to tough it out to get to the good stuff that made everyone else love it. The supposed good stuff never materialized for me. In fact the more I read the more I disliked the book and the main characters, Luke & Carter.

There were plot holes and time jump galore.

“I hope you don’t mind, I’ve been sleeping in your bed instead of the guest room.” He was blushing, like he was embarrassed by the admission.

The chapter before the scene above ended this way:

“That sounds good. I wasn’t sure if we were still going out, so I drove. I’ll follow you home?”
“Yeah, let’s do that. Let’s go home.”
Carter led him up the stairs, and they walked quietly towards the parking lot.
Home.
The word echoed in Luke’s head. It was startling, the realization of it all, but there was no denying the truth. Somehow, without him realizing it, Carter’s condo had slowly become his home.

Where has Luke been sleeping all of the time he's been staying at Carter's?...in the guest bedroom?
You mean after they have sex Luke goes to sleep in the guest bed?



The constant cock blocking by the dog was lame. ALL of the constant miscommunication seemed very, VERY contrived. And I can't begin to count all of the convenient coincidences the author used to move the plot in the intended direction.

The MC's made me crazy and at times I would become enraged. Their personalities would change from one page to the next. Carter would go from reserved teddy bear to cold-hearted asswipe in mere minutes. One of my status updates:

"Luke looked crushed. Hurt.
Carter hated himself a little for causing those emotions in Luke."

A little? You should feel like the biggest asshole in the world, you stupid fuck!"

Also, Carter did not come across as bisexual to me although that's the way he's described. He came across as a virgin who was coming to terms with being gay.

The sex was cheesy and not very realistic. For Carter's first time he seemed to know a lot about gay sex and the prep-work needed without any input from Luke. Luke was all "just fuck me". *snort*

There's so much more but I just can't be bothered to list it all. Again, I'm in the minority and this is just my opinion.

For me this statement from the end of the book sums up my feelings about these characters: “We deserve each other. We’re a couple of idiots, that’s for sure”

[Miriam still reading! HIATUS from GR · Rating 1 out of 5]

50% DNF. Boring! So far the MCs have kissed twice and both scenes lacked heat and were awkward and author ended them both abruptly. Their friendship is mostly developed through brief texts. When they are together their dialogue lacks depth. The author mostly just gives an overview of what they discussed. The MCs have heated thoughts about each other but those thoughts aren't physically expressed. So far the MCs have spent more time apart then together. Maybe the 2nd half of the book gets better but I am not going to waste my time with it.

[JenMcJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I think this might be a debut novel. Hockey seems to be the sport of choice at the moment. This one didn't get too involved with the actual game of hockey very often.

This was slow to start for me but once I got a few chapters in I liked it. The pacing got better and the story picked up but the ending felt rushed and the misunderstanding was terribly cliched. I was also confused about Carter's best friend that is also gay, on another team in the league and in a relationship with his teammate. This felt like I was meant to have read their story but, like I noted, this seems to be a debut novel. It was a headscratcher.

It had a few others issues, among them the ease of which Carter slid into the idea of a gay relationship. The book glossed over some important moments as well, like Carter coming out to his teammates.

I am invested enough to read the next in the series.

[Pjm12 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is pure swoony, pure happy, because even the angst is low key and resolved happily.

Dog-walker Luke falls first for Puck (the dog) and then Cater (the owner). But his own life is in disarray, so if Carter wants to distract him, Luke is on board with that.

It does take hockey player, Carter a good while to reconcile his feelings for Luke, alone and with no support (that's a bit hard to accept), but once he's on board with the physical intimacy, there's sexy times to be had.

There's lack of communication, an inability to commit, but all the while each man's thoughts are the full of feelings and desire. It's annoying, but makes for a fun story.

Max & Chase appear from nowhere, but when I got to the end, all was made clear.

[**KAYCEE** · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Very nice, low-angst love story.
Even though one of the MC is a hockey player, there is very little hockey in this book.
if you're looking for a good, relaxing, enjoyable read with little angst, give this a try!

[BR11 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good start for this Mm hockey romance. Carter is super sweet and takes his bisexuality on stride when he realizes that he’s attracted to David.
Except for a little drama because of a misunderstanding, these two had a great thing from the beginning.
Nice and sweet if not that steamy.

[DaisyGirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 (4.0) Stars

I was pleasantly surprised by this sweet gem. Carter is a professional hockey player and Luke is his part-time dog walker. The two start a tentative friendship that slowly develops into something more. Luke's familial pressures and perceived obligations as well as Carter's surprising realization that he's bi (for Luke), almost tears these two apart. The challenges they encounter create a number of stumbling blocks but the resulting angst still remained relatively low-level. What was a little surprising was that coming out to the hockey team played no part in the angst. Interesting. Regardless, I <3'ed this story. Plus ... dogs! Animals almost always make a story better.

Bottom line: I can't wait to read more by Ava Thorpe.

[ash · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars because this was fun in places and I particularly liked the scene where Carter doesn't understand that his captain is telling him that it's okay if he's gay, but marking DNF at 53% because there's too much dog and not enough narrative tension in the relationship now that it's been consummated. I skimmed most of Luke's chapters and I wish, so badly, that this had just been from Carter's POV. I truly understand why romances alternate so often, but I genuinely think it makes for much less interesting books. Also, either Thorpe doesn't quite understand how hockey works or she forgot Carter was a d-man about a third of the way in. Either way there wasn't enough story to distract me from it and that seemed like a bad sign.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Der talentierte Eishockey-Spieler Carter Welling hat einen Job bei den Admirals in Ottawa ergattert und will diesen natürlich auch behalten. Allerdings hat er auch einen jungen Hund, den er aber nicht adäquat betreuen kann. Also engagiert er über eine Agentur einen Dog-Walker. Eines Tages findet er jedoch einen Fremden in seiner Wohnung vor, der ihn vom ersten Moment an fasziniert.

Dog-Walker Luke hat mit Eishockey nicht viel am Hut und kennt den aufstrebenden Jungstar auch nicht. Doch er ist für dessen Hund Puck zuständig, nachdem ein Personalengpass eingetreten ist. Luke und Carter freunden sich mit der Zeit an und beginnen Anteil am Leben des anderen zu nehmen. So kämpft Luke gegen die Erwartungen der Eltern an, die von ihm erwarten in die Fußstapfen seiner männlichen Vorfahren zu treten. Anwalt soll er werden. Doch Lukes Herz schlägt für die Musik und viel lieber würde er diese machen und auch unterrichten.

Carter hingegen plagen ebenfalls Sorgen, die seine Zukunft betreffen. Er muss unbedingt sein Level halten, sonst muss er das Team wieder verlassen und in einem kleineren, unwichtigem Team spielen. Das will er auf gar keinen Fall. Und dann kommt auch noch diese Sache mit Luke so ungebeten in sein Leben. Nie zuvor hat er für einen Mann etwas empfunden. Doch Luke wird immer wichtiger für ihn und ein Kuss verändert plötzlich alles.

Schon länger bin ich um dieses Buch herumgeschlichen. Und endlich habe ich es gelesen. Die Protagonisten sind wirklich toll und verhalten sich ihrem Alter und ihrer Vorgeschichte entsprechend nachvollziehbar. Vor allem Carter kämpft mit den Gefühlen, Sehnsüchten und Erwartungen. Aber auch Ängste tauchen immer wieder auf und er weiß genau, dass er sich als Sportler niemals outen kann. Zumindest nicht in seiner aktiven Zeit.

Bei Luke kommt ein anderer Druck zum Tragen. Eben die Erwartungshaltung seiner Eltern. Sie sind jetzt nicht böse oder so. Sie wollen einfach nur das Beste für ihr Kind und erkennen aber gar nicht seine wahren Talente und Träume. Die Geschichte hat mir wirklich gut gefallen, auch wenn die Helden noch jung sind und es ihnen noch an Lebenserfahrung und Reife fehlt. Aber sie sind sympathisch und es hat mir wirklich Spass gemacht. Ihre Probleme sind jetzt nicht künstlich herbeigeführt, sondern ergeben sich einfach aus ihrem Alltag heraus. Und dass Carter schon mal die Nerven verliert und übereilte Handlungen setzt, das ist ebenfalls nachvollziehbar – angesichts des Drucks, unter dem er steht.

[Anu · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cute hockey romance debut novel.

Carter is a hockey player on his rookie season in the majors. Luke is a part-time dog walker/college student who takes over the care of Carter's dog. Luke is openly gay but Carter has never felt attraction towards another man before. The two bond first over Carter's dog but soon spend more time together and start to develop feelings for one another. What follows is a sweet young adult romance (Carter is 22 and Luke seems to be similar age though it's not detailed), that grows over several months and has a very satisfactory happy ending.

Very adorable book, bonus points for the hockey element (though that could have been more prominent). This looks to be first in a series, look forward to reading the other instalments.

[Mateo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story, not too much drama but a good story. The end could be better.

[AngelFire]

DNF @ 13%. No rating.

There were two things near the beginning of the story that made me really excited about it:

1. The story takes place in Canada and the author doesn't shy away from putting evidence of that on the page

2. THE HOCKEY TEAM'S COACHES WERE WOMEN WHO ARE NAMED AFTER CURRENT PROFESSIONAL FEMALE HOCKEY PLAYERS!! I have no idea if anybody else noticed this, but I did and I LOVED IT!! To anybody wondering - Coach Lacasse was very likely named after Genevieve Lacasse who plays for Team Canada and is currently one of the best goalies in women's hockey. Assistant Coach Bellamy was surely named after Kacey Bellamy who is an American defenceman and currently plays in the NWHL and Team USA.

Unfortunately, the rest of the story wasn't my cup of tea. The writing was amateur with tons of unnecessary details, lots of telling instead of showing and many paragraphs consisting of choppy, awkward sentences where it seemed like the author tried to say the same thing a bunch of different ways. The whole vibe of the story was also kind of slow and boring. It felt very generic and when I checked on reviews, that's definitely what this story is supposed to be. Very predictable, very generic and that's exactly what some people want in their romance but not me.

But huge kudos to the author for the shout out to Lacasse and Bellamy! Wouldn't it be the most awesome thing in the world if either of them happen to be MM romance readers and they randomly came across themselves playing roles in the story? That would be wild and I'm sure they'd love it! In particular, Lacasse would spend the rest of her life telling the entire world about it.

[Maureen Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was written in the stars and neither of them could resist it!
I love, love loved this book! The fates were working overtime when Carter and Luke met each other. It was instant attraction on both sides but both men were too scared to make the first move. Carter because he was supposed to be straight and did not know what to do with all these new feelings for his irresistible new dog walker. Luke because he was sure that Carter was straight and he had been down that road before, thank you very much…and oh yeah, did I mention that Carter is a professional hockey player – everyone knows they can never come out and that is not the life that Luke wants.
Despite the obstacles to their relationship – college, straight MC, hockey, travel, misunderstandings and communication issues – and against all odds, their friendship turned into love very quickly and neither of them could resist it.
What I found most refreshing is that it was the straight hockey player who would have to stay locked in the closet who admitted his feelings first, even if it was only to himself. He was so open for it that it would not have mattered if Luke made the first move or not, this was going to happen. Like a boulder rolling down hill, Carter would not be stopped and he got his man.
Read this book in one sitting, while I was supposed to be at work. This is my first Ava Thorpe novel, but it will not be my last. She has a smooth, easy style of writing that brings you right into the story along with the characters. The believability factor is top notch here. Engaging and entertaining. Highest recommendations possible.

[Cynster · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book in advance for an honest opinion and I'm giving it 3.75 stars.

What did I like about it?
- I liked Carter. He felt real, sexy as hell, caring and he wins anyway with the cute dog he has.
- I liked that we got the see the friendship first, before we got the first kiss. There was insta-interest but no insta-sex. I loved the messages they were sending each other
- I loved the story, with the different kind of lives the MCs were leading, and how they got to know each other.

So why 3.75 stars and not 5 stars?
- I didn't like Luke, the other MC. He felt very judgmental to me. There was one scene with the list he's having, as in what he's expecting from a partner (stuff like being intelligent etc.), when he decides that Carter doesn't fit the list. Hello? How can you say that when you don't know him? Other thing was stuff like "they're not bad people...for engineers", which tried to be funny, I guess, but felt very judgmental.
- Luke was expecting too much, too soon after the first kiss. Give the poor guy a break - he just discovered that he possibly likes men! You can't just "break" into his home and demand a conversation, a definitive yes or no answer.
- The sex was pretty tame, I want more explicit scenes.

This is an promising author as her writing style flows nicely and I'm looking forward to her future releases!

[Mazmum · Rating 4 out of 5]

With many thanks to my Goodreads friend Gigi who was reading this recently and made me aware this book existing. This was exactly what I wanted to read - a sweet sports romance read, light on angst to warm my cockles.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed. Very generic characters and story. Extremely meh.

[Cheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were things about this book I liked. I enjoyed the characters. I loved the premise.

There were things I really didn't like. Time really jumped forward strangely to me. There were weird gaps. The fact that this was a hockey story and yet I felt like the author really didn't understand hockey. (The thing that stood out to me so many times was that she talked about Jared being his defensive partner, implying that Carter is a defenceman, but then talks about him being on a forward line with the captain and another player, and that Carter is all upset that he doesn't have enough points.)

I also felt like a lot of the conflict was never really resolved to my satisfaction. It was there, this huge issue, and then everything was okay and everyone was happy.

[Morgan Skye · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a new author for me, which is always exciting! I love hockey and books about hockey players so… I think all in all this was a great intro for me to the author, though I wasn’t blown away.

We start with a guy who’s never had (or acknowledged to himself) an attraction to men who works as a professional hockey player. Suddenly he finds himself attracted to his dog walker and inexplicably they begin a friendship that deepens.

Over time our two MCs struggle with “Defining their relationship” and deciding whether or not to be “out”. There was a lot of time with our guys separated as Carter’s team was on the road, this was also a hurdle to their budding relationship. However, there is a LOT of really cute dog/cute guy interaction and that totally aided these guys in coming together.

On the one hand I felt like Carter’s introspection about “am I gay” was both not deep enough and at the same time it felt drawn out. He was quick to dive in and explore and didn’t seem as bewildered by this new attraction as I’d imagine someone would be. However, once involved he waffled – a lot – about what to do now that he was involved with a man. That seemed backward to me.

The smexy times were fairly low steam, and the focus on the MCs time together was definitely centered on developing their relationship. That felt very authentic to me, especially considering Carter’s newness to the whole situation.

Luke has some drama in his life and it gets some attention, but this was definitely more Carter’s story and I wish we’d spent more time with Luke and his music.

Overall this was an easy read, with a lot of great potential that met most of my expectations and will appeal to fans of dogs, hockey, GFY and low-steam romances.

3 of 5 stars

[Dani Hodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

FUN, SWEET, & SEXY!

This is the first book I have read by Author Ava Thorpe. I stumbled across her book on Amazon, and am so glad I was able to pick it up and read it! For a Debut Novel, Playing with Fate was great! Luke and Carter are amazing guys, and they are truly perfect for each other. I am a HUGE fan of GFY books, and I adored this little gem!

If your looking for a light, heartfelt story, and enjoy M/M books I highly recommend picking this book up! Great start to a new series! Can't wait to see what Ava puts out next!

[Kk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like I am being generous with 3 stars.

This has all the makings of a really good story. Not great because it follows the 'gay for you' trope very unimaginatively. Carter's angst over his job performance felt real but the author failed to draw me into his indecision over entering into a homosexual relationship.

The sentence and word choice could be cleared up with better editing. Same words used over and over in back to back sentences is redundant. Plus, its ok to use pronouns...really, it is.

[Suzy · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 40%, which was when Carter - a defenceman - was put on a top line with two forwards. And then came home to find his puppy muddy from jumping in a puddle. In Ottawa, In the *winter*. Really??

There were just so many inaccuracies and false notes. I understand that romance comes before hockey, but the author could have least do some solid research about the deux ex machina before trying to write about it.

[Elithanathile · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author, more and more, is seeming like the new author to look out for :-)!!

OH and how fucking adorable is it that she [Ava Thorpe] has a cat named Sidney Pawsby!! ADORE!!!!!
#SuperProudCanadian #TotallyTeamPenguins #HockeyIsTheBestSportEver!!

Already purchased the 2nd book in this series and am excited to know what's next :-) ... !!

[Dawn B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this author quite accidentally, but I'm so glad I have this book a go.

Yes, it's a familiar theme, but I enjoyed it. In fact I found it reminiscent (in a good way) of a couple of my favourite authors, A. E. Wasp, and Sean Ashcroft. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on Miss Thorpe in the future.