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Fairytale of LaGuardia
Once upon a time, a hockey player and a baseball player walked into a bar...
It wasn’t coincidence that brought Red to New York. It wasn’t coincidence that got him stuck there overnight either.
After taking a unscheduled detour on the way to his grandmother’s house, hockey player Red O'Reilly finds himself snowed in at the airport. What could have been a bleak Christmas Eve suddenly turns magical when Owen “the Wolf” Lindsay, a wicked pitcher with an irresistible charm who Red's been crushing on for years sits down next to him in the last open seat in the bar.
If Owen had left New York when he was supposed to, he wouldn't be trapped in the worst airport in the world. He also wouldn't have met the sexy, irrepressible young Red and that would have been a tragedy. Could it just be coincidence that they are both in the same place at the same time?
No, this has to be something much stronger than coincidence; they just might have a bonafide Christmas miracle on their hands.
It wasn’t coincidence that brought Red to New York. It wasn’t coincidence that got him stuck there overnight either.
After taking a unscheduled detour on the way to his grandmother’s house, hockey player Red O'Reilly finds himself snowed in at the airport. What could have been a bleak Christmas Eve suddenly turns magical when Owen “the Wolf” Lindsay, a wicked pitcher with an irresistible charm who Red's been crushing on for years sits down next to him in the last open seat in the bar.
If Owen had left New York when he was supposed to, he wouldn't be trapped in the worst airport in the world. He also wouldn't have met the sexy, irrepressible young Red and that would have been a tragedy. Could it just be coincidence that they are both in the same place at the same time?
No, this has to be something much stronger than coincidence; they just might have a bonafide Christmas miracle on their hands.
106 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 29, 2018
99 people are currently reading
202 people want to read
About the author
A.E. Wasp
42 books621 followersAfter time spent raising children, earning several college degrees, and traveling the world with the U.S. State Department, she is returning to her first love - writing.
A dreamer and an idealist, Amy writes about people finding connection in a world that can seem lonely and magic in a world than can seem all too mundane. She invites readers into her characters’ lives and worlds when they are their most vulnerable, their most human, living with the same hopes and fears we all have. An avid traveler who has lived in big cities and small towns in four different continents, Amy has found that time and distance are no barriers to love. She invites her readers to reach out and share how her characters have touched their lives or how the found families they have gathered around them have shaped their worlds.
Born on Long Island, NY, Amy has lived in Los Angeles, London, and Bangkok. She currently lives in Fort Collins, Colorado for who knows how long.
A dreamer and an idealist, Amy writes about people finding connection in a world that can seem lonely and magic in a world than can seem all too mundane. She invites readers into her characters’ lives and worlds when they are their most vulnerable, their most human, living with the same hopes and fears we all have. An avid traveler who has lived in big cities and small towns in four different continents, Amy has found that time and distance are no barriers to love. She invites her readers to reach out and share how her characters have touched their lives or how the found families they have gathered around them have shaped their worlds.
Born on Long Island, NY, Amy has lived in Los Angeles, London, and Bangkok. She currently lives in Fort Collins, Colorado for who knows how long.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
December 27, 2022
3.5 Stars
Fairytale of LaGuardia tells the story of how baseball superstar Owen meets and falls hard for up and coming ice hockey player Red, in an airport bar, during a snowstorm at Christmastime.
I enjoy stories that are all (mostly all) set in one place, like this story was set in LaGuardia airport. I also love sports romances, and this was especially interesting because it’s not often you get an MM sports romance with two men at an elite level in different sports, like Owen and Red here.
The title is also apt because it certainly read like a fairytale—the romance between Red and Owen coming fast and hard, with feelings of forever established in a mere few hours of meeting. Insta-love may have been potent here, but being a holiday romance, it was easy to suspend disbelief and get caught up in the strong connection these guys were feeling and just run with it.
Fairytale of LaGuardia tells the story of how baseball superstar Owen meets and falls hard for up and coming ice hockey player Red, in an airport bar, during a snowstorm at Christmastime.
I enjoy stories that are all (mostly all) set in one place, like this story was set in LaGuardia airport. I also love sports romances, and this was especially interesting because it’s not often you get an MM sports romance with two men at an elite level in different sports, like Owen and Red here.
The title is also apt because it certainly read like a fairytale—the romance between Red and Owen coming fast and hard, with feelings of forever established in a mere few hours of meeting. Insta-love may have been potent here, but being a holiday romance, it was easy to suspend disbelief and get caught up in the strong connection these guys were feeling and just run with it.
December 27, 2019
This story of two professional athletes who meet while stranded at LaGuardia airport was fun and definitely sweet. I loved both Owen and Red so much. Things were definitely super instalove but it worked for me.
December 17, 2018
4 stars!! 😍💕 Loved it!! Perfect novella about a jaded baseball player and a rookie hockey player who meet at the LaGuardia airport during a snowstorm induced airport shutdown. Having experienced a similar snowed-in Christmas Eve at the Chicago airport many years ago, minus the romantic angle 😉, I can vouch for a fact that you connect with amazing people and form unusual friendships with fellow travelers who are similarly delayed.
Red and Owen's story is not that platonic however, 😊 they share sizzling chemistry and a love for sports. Whether their connection remains a fling or becomes something more long-term is the climax of the story and it's almost like a rom-com with its ending. 😍. Overall the story is light, sweet, sporty, romantic and full of holiday cheer and fervor.. Highly recommended 👍
Red and Owen's story is not that platonic however, 😊 they share sizzling chemistry and a love for sports. Whether their connection remains a fling or becomes something more long-term is the climax of the story and it's almost like a rom-com with its ending. 😍. Overall the story is light, sweet, sporty, romantic and full of holiday cheer and fervor.. Highly recommended 👍
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December 14, 20183.5 stars
You know this has to be a Christmas magic story, because if you've ever been in or even just near LaGuardia airport, you know there is nothing fairytale-like, romantic or sexy about it. It seems, however, that fate has intervened to put Red and Owen next to each other in an airport bar, when neither of them had really planned to be at that airport to begin with.
I really enjoyed the first half of this story as the two men get to talking, flirting and spending their departure delay together. This is definitely a strong case of insta-love. One of the men thinks the word forever shortly after their meeting. The second part had some serious conversation and an epilogue and a very different feel from the fun first part.
The story was enjoyable, but the relationship went from just met to love and commitment in the course of this day and it just was a bit much for me. I guess it's supposed to be like a fairytale, but I just felt it was rushed. If that's not something that bothers you then you'll probably like it even more than I did.
****
This cover model must be making some good money this season! He's all over the place in that suit.
You know this has to be a Christmas magic story, because if you've ever been in or even just near LaGuardia airport, you know there is nothing fairytale-like, romantic or sexy about it. It seems, however, that fate has intervened to put Red and Owen next to each other in an airport bar, when neither of them had really planned to be at that airport to begin with.
I really enjoyed the first half of this story as the two men get to talking, flirting and spending their departure delay together. This is definitely a strong case of insta-love. One of the men thinks the word forever shortly after their meeting. The second part had some serious conversation and an epilogue and a very different feel from the fun first part.
The story was enjoyable, but the relationship went from just met to love and commitment in the course of this day and it just was a bit much for me. I guess it's supposed to be like a fairytale, but I just felt it was rushed. If that's not something that bothers you then you'll probably like it even more than I did.
****
This cover model must be making some good money this season! He's all over the place in that suit.
December 13, 2018
3.25 stars!
Eh, sorry guys, I wasn't much of a fan of this one. I enjoyed Red as a character and Owen somewhat - mostly towards the end - but I didn't really connect with them. I've read great, even amazing novella's/short stories before, so I know it can be done and the shortness of their meeting and happy ending didn't have to play out quite like it did.
I didn't feel much chemistry, and they apparently fall in love not even within a day of knowing each other, but hours, maybe 12 at most. Maybe that's why I didn't feel the chemistry, because it was really, really rushed.
At first there was something, and I was intrigued, I'm not gonna lie, and their convo was cute and cheeky and fun, but then it just got so serious so fast out of nowhere.
Like maybe they could have had their fling, wanted to see more of each other and like said "hey call me and stuff" and then we could have gotten snippets over the next couple of months of them talking and falling in love, and then we get to the next Christmas and that's when they're in love and want to settle down with each other or something, what have you.
I feel like that would have been more believable for this story, and the chemistry might have come through more. It was there at first, no question, and as they were walking around the airport and shopping it was cute. But then by the time they're on their own and sneak off for some hanky panky, it felt rushed, way too rushed, and I started to lose interest.
Their sexytimes wasn't too chemistry filled or fun or interesting. If the sex scene feels generic or by rote, then why have it in there? I always say if you can't write a good sex scene - or at least, you're sex scene is pretty glossed over and generic, then why have it in there at all? It feels put in there just to please readers more than the author's wanting to write it and so it comes off pretty blah, imo.
Like the author or author's have to be pretty into it to make it a great and amazing sex scene worth being in the story, and when it's not...it falls flat.
I wanted more for Red (who I vaguely remember from the last book) than this story, he deserved more because he's cute and adorable and a sweetheart. Owen was really good for him, no doubt, but the story itself didn't do him justice, sorry to say.
An okay story with a pretty good beginning and a so-so middle and end. Not my favorite. Still fun at times, though.
Eh, sorry guys, I wasn't much of a fan of this one. I enjoyed Red as a character and Owen somewhat - mostly towards the end - but I didn't really connect with them. I've read great, even amazing novella's/short stories before, so I know it can be done and the shortness of their meeting and happy ending didn't have to play out quite like it did.
I didn't feel much chemistry, and they apparently fall in love not even within a day of knowing each other, but hours, maybe 12 at most. Maybe that's why I didn't feel the chemistry, because it was really, really rushed.
At first there was something, and I was intrigued, I'm not gonna lie, and their convo was cute and cheeky and fun, but then it just got so serious so fast out of nowhere.
Like maybe they could have had their fling, wanted to see more of each other and like said "hey call me and stuff" and then we could have gotten snippets over the next couple of months of them talking and falling in love, and then we get to the next Christmas and that's when they're in love and want to settle down with each other or something, what have you.
I feel like that would have been more believable for this story, and the chemistry might have come through more. It was there at first, no question, and as they were walking around the airport and shopping it was cute. But then by the time they're on their own and sneak off for some hanky panky, it felt rushed, way too rushed, and I started to lose interest.
Their sexytimes wasn't too chemistry filled or fun or interesting. If the sex scene feels generic or by rote, then why have it in there? I always say if you can't write a good sex scene - or at least, you're sex scene is pretty glossed over and generic, then why have it in there at all? It feels put in there just to please readers more than the author's wanting to write it and so it comes off pretty blah, imo.
Like the author or author's have to be pretty into it to make it a great and amazing sex scene worth being in the story, and when it's not...it falls flat.
I wanted more for Red (who I vaguely remember from the last book) than this story, he deserved more because he's cute and adorable and a sweetheart. Owen was really good for him, no doubt, but the story itself didn't do him justice, sorry to say.
An okay story with a pretty good beginning and a so-so middle and end. Not my favorite. Still fun at times, though.
March 14, 2020
This was a short quick read that I liked. Red is a hockey player on a call up to the NHL and Owen is a baseball pitcher towards the end of his career. When they meet they have a lot of chemistry. They’re stranded at LaGuardia airport at Christmas time as both of there flights have been cancelled. Both of these characters are wondering where there careers are going Owen who is 34 is thinking about retiring. Red who was called up from his AHL team. These two get hot and heavy but will it last. This was a short quick read that I liked. This book was well written with no errors in grammar or spelling.
nope
February 11, 2019Moving to the NOPE shelf & removing rating (review still avail under the tag). Double Dipping Author...and it's a shame I won't be reading any more of their works because I actually liked this one and was looking forward to a certain hockey series. I picked up one of them a while back - maybe when it first came out - and was holding onto it for when I needed it for a challenge; I won't return it but I won't be getting the rest.
August 1, 2024
5 'aww' stars.
I'm clearing drafts from On Top Down Under. This review was written in February of 2019 when I was still reading the author's books, but never published on the site. I'm publishing it here instead.
This story isn't listed anywhere as part of the Hot Off The Ice series but I knew when I saw O'Reilly as a last name of one of the main characters that it was likely in the same world. I wasn't wrong.
Nicholas "Red" O'Reilly has just been called up to play pro hockey with Seattle Thunder. His cousin, Liam, is an assistant coach for the Thunder. Liam's story is told in Boy Toys and Boy Next Door. A few of the others from the series (Alex, Sergei) also make cameos.
Red, twenty-four, has gone out of his way - as in across the country from his final destination - to get home for Christmas with his family. He's just been called up to play for the Thunder not knowing if it'll be for one game or more.
Owen, thirty-four, is a World Series winning pitcher for the New York Mets. After pitching the worst game of his career during the fourth game of the series, he's having a bit of a midlife crisis. The team may have won the rings, but that doesn't change the fact that he pitched horribly in one of the most important games in a player's career. Management has made it known that there's not a contract offer forthcoming, but his agent is convinced he's not done with Major League Baseball just yet.
Both men are about to be stuck at LaGuardia Airport during a major snowstorm.
Owen knew he should've left the day before. Red knew his 'let's fly across the country to see New York decorated for the holidays' was a dumb idea. Now they're both grounded until the weather clears.
Ah, but fate has plans for both men.
Red forces himself to speak to his idol, the great baseball player Owen Lindsay at an airport bar. He almost doesn't because of nerves. I mean, this man's poster used to hang on teenage Red's bedroom wall. There were a lot of, um, fantasies about the hot baseball player in the privacy of Red's bedroom. ;) Thankfully, Owen doesn't push Red away.
This begins a sweet, sweet story. Owen is at the end of his career in baseball where Red is just getting started with his in hockey. There's an instant connection but they simply go with the flow, not really expecting anything to come out of whatever they have together - not with both men in different sports and living across the country from each other. After talking for awhile they know they have to find somewhere to be alone together. And when they're alone... hello! They waste no time getting naked.
Owen goes from being a hardened, aging baseball player to thinking beyond pitches and batters the minute Red walks into his world. The ending before the epilogue... just awww.
That's all I can say without giving the whole story away.
This is total insta-love. As in, a few hours together and they know. If you don't buy into love at first sight, I suggest skipping this. If, like me, you're a hopeless romantic, I can't recommend it enough.
The Hot Off The Ice series is mostly hockey but baseball has been mentioned a few times. I like hockey. I know hockey. But my first love (outside of college football) is baseball. So to see a main character who was a baseball player was right up my alley - even if he did play for the wrong team. The Mets and Yankees don't exactly like each other. I'm a New York Yankee fan. Just sayin'. ;) I could be a stickler about some of the details but I won't be. It was a very nice, very sweet story. Even a couple of editing issues can't take my enjoyment away.
I'm clearing drafts from On Top Down Under. This review was written in February of 2019 when I was still reading the author's books, but never published on the site. I'm publishing it here instead.
This story isn't listed anywhere as part of the Hot Off The Ice series but I knew when I saw O'Reilly as a last name of one of the main characters that it was likely in the same world. I wasn't wrong.
Nicholas "Red" O'Reilly has just been called up to play pro hockey with Seattle Thunder. His cousin, Liam, is an assistant coach for the Thunder. Liam's story is told in Boy Toys and Boy Next Door. A few of the others from the series (Alex, Sergei) also make cameos.
Red, twenty-four, has gone out of his way - as in across the country from his final destination - to get home for Christmas with his family. He's just been called up to play for the Thunder not knowing if it'll be for one game or more.
Owen, thirty-four, is a World Series winning pitcher for the New York Mets. After pitching the worst game of his career during the fourth game of the series, he's having a bit of a midlife crisis. The team may have won the rings, but that doesn't change the fact that he pitched horribly in one of the most important games in a player's career. Management has made it known that there's not a contract offer forthcoming, but his agent is convinced he's not done with Major League Baseball just yet.
Both men are about to be stuck at LaGuardia Airport during a major snowstorm.
Owen knew he should've left the day before. Red knew his 'let's fly across the country to see New York decorated for the holidays' was a dumb idea. Now they're both grounded until the weather clears.
Ah, but fate has plans for both men.
Red forces himself to speak to his idol, the great baseball player Owen Lindsay at an airport bar. He almost doesn't because of nerves. I mean, this man's poster used to hang on teenage Red's bedroom wall. There were a lot of, um, fantasies about the hot baseball player in the privacy of Red's bedroom. ;) Thankfully, Owen doesn't push Red away.
This begins a sweet, sweet story. Owen is at the end of his career in baseball where Red is just getting started with his in hockey. There's an instant connection but they simply go with the flow, not really expecting anything to come out of whatever they have together - not with both men in different sports and living across the country from each other. After talking for awhile they know they have to find somewhere to be alone together. And when they're alone... hello! They waste no time getting naked.
Owen goes from being a hardened, aging baseball player to thinking beyond pitches and batters the minute Red walks into his world. The ending before the epilogue... just awww.
That's all I can say without giving the whole story away.
This is total insta-love. As in, a few hours together and they know. If you don't buy into love at first sight, I suggest skipping this. If, like me, you're a hopeless romantic, I can't recommend it enough.
The Hot Off The Ice series is mostly hockey but baseball has been mentioned a few times. I like hockey. I know hockey. But my first love (outside of college football) is baseball. So to see a main character who was a baseball player was right up my alley - even if he did play for the wrong team. The Mets and Yankees don't exactly like each other. I'm a New York Yankee fan. Just sayin'. ;) I could be a stickler about some of the details but I won't be. It was a very nice, very sweet story. Even a couple of editing issues can't take my enjoyment away.
January 21, 2019
Cute insta-love. 6 months epi, i hope they lived HEA
December 4, 2018
This was a short, typical holiday instalove story. It had it's moments but I think the rushed relationship and HUGE decisions made were really hard to buy into and get behind.
November 23, 2020
3.5 stars
Red takes a detour to New York from his California to Seattle trip because he wants to see New York at Christmas. While at the airport, he runs into Owen, a professional baseball player who Red had a crush on as a teenager. In spite of the fact that Owen's team won the World Series, Owen feels as though he has lost his love of his sport. He is heading to California to be with his family for Christmas when flights are cancelled because of weather. Red and Owen spend time getting to know one another while they are stuck in the airport.
Fairly run-of-the-mill holiday story. No big drama or anything, just two guys getting to know one another in a (very) short period of time. It was interesting to see the two athletes at different points in their careers. Everything was all wrapped together in a nice epilogue bow, though.
Red takes a detour to New York from his California to Seattle trip because he wants to see New York at Christmas. While at the airport, he runs into Owen, a professional baseball player who Red had a crush on as a teenager. In spite of the fact that Owen's team won the World Series, Owen feels as though he has lost his love of his sport. He is heading to California to be with his family for Christmas when flights are cancelled because of weather. Red and Owen spend time getting to know one another while they are stuck in the airport.
Fairly run-of-the-mill holiday story. No big drama or anything, just two guys getting to know one another in a (very) short period of time. It was interesting to see the two athletes at different points in their careers. Everything was all wrapped together in a nice epilogue bow, though.
November 27, 2020
This was a cute Christmas sports romance short. Red is a hockey player waiting for his shot at the NHL and Owen has had a career in the MLB for some time and just won a World Series. They get grounded at the airport and have a trist that turns into so much more. I loved that we got the epilogue 6 months later even though this was a short as that was really nice. I think the book could have definitely benefiting from some more editing and just longer as I wanted more. But overall it was a good book! I enjoyed the read.
November 21, 2020
Eh, I didn't love this.
Maybe it was the writing style I couldn't get into, or something, cause this had all the makings of a cute Christmas novella.
I didn't love the characters, and tbh, the instalove was waaay too soon for my liking. This was a case of instalove done cringey. Falling in love, true love, in an hour or two? I just can't believe it.
Maybe it was the writing style I couldn't get into, or something, cause this had all the makings of a cute Christmas novella.
I didn't love the characters, and tbh, the instalove was waaay too soon for my liking. This was a case of instalove done cringey. Falling in love, true love, in an hour or two? I just can't believe it.
March 15, 2022
I actually enjoyed this, however unbelievable. A chance meeting that sparks not only chemistry, but caring and warmth. Both having a realistic understanding of how the life of professional sports, dug deep to make it happen.
December 26, 2018
Owen and Red
Enduring lovely not too much angst holiday romance.
Two pro athletes find themselves stranded in the airport. They struck up an unlikely friendship as Owen was Red crush as a youngster .The connection could not be denied. Sweet romance.
Enduring lovely not too much angst holiday romance.
Two pro athletes find themselves stranded in the airport. They struck up an unlikely friendship as Owen was Red crush as a youngster .The connection could not be denied. Sweet romance.
January 16, 2020
I loved this Airport romance, the cover not so much.
December 24, 2018
I’m moving to LaGuardia
So freaking adorable!!!! Absolutely adored this Holiday Special 🖤 There’s just something about pro-athletes in love that just makes me swoon *sigh*
So freaking adorable!!!! Absolutely adored this Holiday Special 🖤 There’s just something about pro-athletes in love that just makes me swoon *sigh*
December 18, 2019
One big step of unbelievable, but...
...even so, this is too cute to skip. It's adorable as a litter of kittens (or puppies if that's your preference.) Yes, these things are possible and probably happen, but not very often. It is still satisfying to watch, so why not?
...even so, this is too cute to skip. It's adorable as a litter of kittens (or puppies if that's your preference.) Yes, these things are possible and probably happen, but not very often. It is still satisfying to watch, so why not?
December 4, 2018
Cute Christmas short. I would love to see more of these two!
December 4, 2019
I enjoyed the first part of this book but the second half was too much for me. I know, I know, it's a short story but still....strangers making life decisions based on a one day meeting? Not so much. Not a bad story but not really my cup of tea.
December 23, 2019
Wonderful!
This was a Wonderful short story! Owen and Red were perfect together and so supportive. I recommend this book to anyone who needs a holiday pick me up!
This was a Wonderful short story! Owen and Red were perfect together and so supportive. I recommend this book to anyone who needs a holiday pick me up!
November 30, 2018
I love this Christmas short! It’s so freakin cute and full of so much fluff and phew the chemistry between the mc’s is scorching. I need more of these guys !
December 26, 2018
2★'s = it was ok.
I just did not connect with this one. I am all for instalove, do not get me wrong, but even this was just too much for me. I just didn't feel it.
I just did not connect with this one. I am all for instalove, do not get me wrong, but even this was just too much for me. I just didn't feel it.
December 27, 2022
Look I realize this is on me, I don’t know why I expected this would be good, but here’s my list so far:
1. Owen lives near JFK and usually flies out of there. Instead he cabs it to LaGuardia… where he hands the driver a twenty?? Does he pay with a card and tip in cash?? Bc that is NOT what cab fare would cost.
2. “Years ago, he’d posed naked for [a poster] with only a strategically placed glove standing between him and a public indecency charge.” Look I realize the authors are trying to make this scenario a little racier by alluding to a sex crime, but if Owen posed naked it was presumably 1) on a set, so not in public, or 2) the photographer/etc did whatever they needed to do to ensure the sports star they were photographing in public didn’t get arrested for posing for their promo photos. So this statement just doesn’t make logical sense.
The allegedly comedic public indecency charge reference is one I’ve come across in multiple other m/m romances and it is particularly uh odd given the history of indecency charges/homophobia etc. Is the idea to somehow reference back to that but in a jokey way? If so, it just feels very “I ticked a gay box” without any deeper thought or consideration about the significance of the reference. But it’s that, or these authors just dropped it in because it’s in the m/m romance formula and it means nothing to them, which is kind of worse. (Or it’s in all the romance formulas? Do I just not read enough m/f to know that those authors also like to joke that their character almost got charged with a sex crime? That’s even bleaker tbh.)
3. Additional basic logic issues which are tiny - but frustrating bc they’re so easily fixable. For example:
“My mom still texts me pictures of the house down the street she wants me to buy,” Owen admitted. “So no, not just you.”
“I take it you’re not going to buy it then?”
“Oh, I bought it. I just have no intention of moving back to LA.”
See, again, this is supposed to be humor(?). But because “wants” in the first sentence is present tense, it doesn’t make sense. Why does Owen’s mom still want him to buy it (now, in the present) if he’s already bought it? They should have written “the house down the street she wanted me to buy,” which first seems to imply that she wanted him to buy it in the past but he didn’t and she mostly gave up hope, but then you realize she wanted him to buy it in the past because she got what she wanted since he did in fact buy the house. See - it’s so fixable! Why was it not fixed??
4. The fatal flaw of bad sports romances - boring info about professional athletes as filler. “The divorce rate among pro athletes was around seventy-five percent.” Neither of our MCs is divorced tho so who gaf. Or “It was especially apparent in sports like hockey that had a salary cap. Each team only had so much money to spread among all their contracted players.” Blah blah blah. This is totally irrelevant to this story about two people stuck at an airport when their flights get canceled. (Yes I checked, they don’t get out of the airport until the epilogue. Unless there’s a heated contract negotiation subplot somewhere in these 100 pages for the hockey player character who already has a solid job situation and no apparent concerns about his pay, this info is useless, clearly just there to pad the word count and add an ambience of ~sports~.)
At this point I’ve spent longer writing this review than I did reading this book since I DNFed at 35% after they stopped for multiple pages (in, again, this hundred page book!) to watch a random child sing Christmas carols. So I will stop here haha.
1. Owen lives near JFK and usually flies out of there. Instead he cabs it to LaGuardia… where he hands the driver a twenty?? Does he pay with a card and tip in cash?? Bc that is NOT what cab fare would cost.
2. “Years ago, he’d posed naked for [a poster] with only a strategically placed glove standing between him and a public indecency charge.” Look I realize the authors are trying to make this scenario a little racier by alluding to a sex crime, but if Owen posed naked it was presumably 1) on a set, so not in public, or 2) the photographer/etc did whatever they needed to do to ensure the sports star they were photographing in public didn’t get arrested for posing for their promo photos. So this statement just doesn’t make logical sense.
The allegedly comedic public indecency charge reference is one I’ve come across in multiple other m/m romances and it is particularly uh odd given the history of indecency charges/homophobia etc. Is the idea to somehow reference back to that but in a jokey way? If so, it just feels very “I ticked a gay box” without any deeper thought or consideration about the significance of the reference. But it’s that, or these authors just dropped it in because it’s in the m/m romance formula and it means nothing to them, which is kind of worse. (Or it’s in all the romance formulas? Do I just not read enough m/f to know that those authors also like to joke that their character almost got charged with a sex crime? That’s even bleaker tbh.)
3. Additional basic logic issues which are tiny - but frustrating bc they’re so easily fixable. For example:
“My mom still texts me pictures of the house down the street she wants me to buy,” Owen admitted. “So no, not just you.”
“I take it you’re not going to buy it then?”
“Oh, I bought it. I just have no intention of moving back to LA.”
See, again, this is supposed to be humor(?). But because “wants” in the first sentence is present tense, it doesn’t make sense. Why does Owen’s mom still want him to buy it (now, in the present) if he’s already bought it? They should have written “the house down the street she wanted me to buy,” which first seems to imply that she wanted him to buy it in the past but he didn’t and she mostly gave up hope, but then you realize she wanted him to buy it in the past because she got what she wanted since he did in fact buy the house. See - it’s so fixable! Why was it not fixed??
4. The fatal flaw of bad sports romances - boring info about professional athletes as filler. “The divorce rate among pro athletes was around seventy-five percent.” Neither of our MCs is divorced tho so who gaf. Or “It was especially apparent in sports like hockey that had a salary cap. Each team only had so much money to spread among all their contracted players.” Blah blah blah. This is totally irrelevant to this story about two people stuck at an airport when their flights get canceled. (Yes I checked, they don’t get out of the airport until the epilogue. Unless there’s a heated contract negotiation subplot somewhere in these 100 pages for the hockey player character who already has a solid job situation and no apparent concerns about his pay, this info is useless, clearly just there to pad the word count and add an ambience of ~sports~.)
At this point I’ve spent longer writing this review than I did reading this book since I DNFed at 35% after they stopped for multiple pages (in, again, this hundred page book!) to watch a random child sing Christmas carols. So I will stop here haha.
December 28, 2019
It's Christmastime, thus, I've been reading seasonally appropriate smut.
...
And I almost didn't read this.
...
Because I'm an idiot.
Luckily, my stressed out Christmas Eve brain made the right decision and devoured this whole before I passed out for the traditional three hours sleep I get before the big day - my brain might make wise smut-based decisions but it also likes to keep me sleep deprived at inappropriate times, so there's that.
...
That smut though.
And there isn't even , which is a first for me, I think.
And you know what? It made something abundantly clear: I do not need sex in my romance.
I always think I need it. I enjoy it immensely when it's there - I certainly did with Owen and his, frankly, fucking adorable fiery mallow-muffin, Red. And sometimes it's absolutely necessary to the story. But actually? It's the build up that makes me all stupid in the heart and the head.
The flirting and the tentative touches, if done well, are so much more meaningful than banging one out. And the quick development of feelings between Owen and Red is a gorgeous thing to behold.
They're so damn playful and cute; and even when the minimal amount of angst does come up, it's still met with humour and softness.
...
That's it.
That's what I've been rambling on about.
This love story is soft. My favourite thing.
It doesn't ask too much of you and delivers so much more than you could ever expect.
Hence, why I can't stop thinking about it.
I need more, dammit.
Expanded story, please?
Ps. I need a Red. I need one bad. Send me a redheaded, mallowiest of the mallows, hockey player for New Years? No? Well, fuck you very much, universe.
..
Fictional men are ruining me.
...
And I almost didn't read this.
...
Because I'm an idiot.
Luckily, my stressed out Christmas Eve brain made the right decision and devoured this whole before I passed out for the traditional three hours sleep I get before the big day - my brain might make wise smut-based decisions but it also likes to keep me sleep deprived at inappropriate times, so there's that.
...
That smut though.
And there isn't even , which is a first for me, I think.
And you know what? It made something abundantly clear: I do not need sex in my romance.
I always think I need it. I enjoy it immensely when it's there - I certainly did with Owen and his, frankly, fucking adorable fiery mallow-muffin, Red. And sometimes it's absolutely necessary to the story. But actually? It's the build up that makes me all stupid in the heart and the head.
The flirting and the tentative touches, if done well, are so much more meaningful than banging one out. And the quick development of feelings between Owen and Red is a gorgeous thing to behold.
They're so damn playful and cute; and even when the minimal amount of angst does come up, it's still met with humour and softness.
...
That's it.
That's what I've been rambling on about.
This love story is soft. My favourite thing.
It doesn't ask too much of you and delivers so much more than you could ever expect.
Hence, why I can't stop thinking about it.
I need more, dammit.
Expanded story, please?
Ps. I need a Red. I need one bad. Send me a redheaded, mallowiest of the mallows, hockey player for New Years? No? Well, fuck you very much, universe.
..
Fictional men are ruining me.
December 13, 2020
This was the cutest shit, and boosted up my serotonin levels to maximum capacity. I'm usually a cynical bitch, but I recognize in myself that I read romance as an escape from reality and that at heart, I'm a misshapen lump of a romantic who daydreams about adorable scenarios that could only happen in these stories. This served up all the feels that I wanted out of the holiday miracle romance genre.
Being stuck in an airport on Christmas Eve with your flight canceled indefinitely is not a fun situation, but I love here that this older famous baseball player Owen and younger hockey player Red at the start of his career, meet serendipitously and have their meet-cute unfold over the course of this short story. They spend the miraculous window of time they have together flirting, falling in love, naturally indulging their lust together in magically found convenient empty spaces of the airport, all while there are bits of holiday cheer and random friendliness with random people around them as a backdrop. The evolving of their romance felt realistic to me despite the heightened time crunch and it all just feels very swoonworthy and Christmas miracle-like. The tried but true cliche really resonates here, of seizing the signs the universe hands to you within that window of opportunity, listening to your wants and needs, and fully going after them to achieve your happiness.
It's been a year or so since I've read the AE Wasp's hockey romance series (one of the first ones I delved into where I am now deep into this niche genre). So Nicholas "Red" O'Reilly's name sounded familiar, but I didn't quite put two and two together until the story was almost over, that he was related to the prominent family featured in that series (cousin!), this story is connected to that wider universe, and that he was being called in to the Seattle Thunder team from the main series! That was a nice surprise, made me want to go back to those books and have a little re-skim to refresh my memory.
Being stuck in an airport on Christmas Eve with your flight canceled indefinitely is not a fun situation, but I love here that this older famous baseball player Owen and younger hockey player Red at the start of his career, meet serendipitously and have their meet-cute unfold over the course of this short story. They spend the miraculous window of time they have together flirting, falling in love, naturally indulging their lust together in magically found convenient empty spaces of the airport, all while there are bits of holiday cheer and random friendliness with random people around them as a backdrop. The evolving of their romance felt realistic to me despite the heightened time crunch and it all just feels very swoonworthy and Christmas miracle-like. The tried but true cliche really resonates here, of seizing the signs the universe hands to you within that window of opportunity, listening to your wants and needs, and fully going after them to achieve your happiness.
It's been a year or so since I've read the AE Wasp's hockey romance series (one of the first ones I delved into where I am now deep into this niche genre). So Nicholas "Red" O'Reilly's name sounded familiar, but I didn't quite put two and two together until the story was almost over, that he was related to the prominent family featured in that series (cousin!), this story is connected to that wider universe, and that he was being called in to the Seattle Thunder team from the main series! That was a nice surprise, made me want to go back to those books and have a little re-skim to refresh my memory.
April 23, 2022
Puck 'n Ball
Major league's NY pitcher Owen Lindsay is down on himself. Ashamed of his World Series fourth game performance, 34 year-old Owen thinks his career is over. Now his flight out of LaGuardia is probably going to be delayed or canceled because of the impending bad winter storm. His mother is going to be disappointed at his delayed Christmas visit.
While at an airport bar, he doesn't realize the man he's seated next to is going to change his life. That man is Nicholas "Red" O'Reilly, a minor league hockey player being called on to play a major league game.
LaGuardia is shut down due to the severity of the winter storm. Both men get to know each other and even with their age difference, it's easy to be together. Much flirting is bandied. There is a very high steam scene.
Soon after, LaGuardia opens as the storm abates. Each get an update on their delayed flights. Saying goodbye is difficult.
This is a high quality Christmas story. The writing is en-pointe, the imagery is vividly descriptive, and the characters are well-developed. One can tell that the authors put in considerable effort to make this a captivating and rich read! I thoroughly enjoyed this and highly recommend this book!
Major league's NY pitcher Owen Lindsay is down on himself. Ashamed of his World Series fourth game performance, 34 year-old Owen thinks his career is over. Now his flight out of LaGuardia is probably going to be delayed or canceled because of the impending bad winter storm. His mother is going to be disappointed at his delayed Christmas visit.
While at an airport bar, he doesn't realize the man he's seated next to is going to change his life. That man is Nicholas "Red" O'Reilly, a minor league hockey player being called on to play a major league game.
LaGuardia is shut down due to the severity of the winter storm. Both men get to know each other and even with their age difference, it's easy to be together. Much flirting is bandied. There is a very high steam scene.
Soon after, LaGuardia opens as the storm abates. Each get an update on their delayed flights. Saying goodbye is difficult.
This is a high quality Christmas story. The writing is en-pointe, the imagery is vividly descriptive, and the characters are well-developed. One can tell that the authors put in considerable effort to make this a captivating and rich read! I thoroughly enjoyed this and highly recommend this book!
February 1, 2020
I'm a huge Hockey and Baseball fan, so I couldn't wait to dive into this holiday story! For the most part I loved it. I loved the MCs... Red & Owen, I loved their interlude while stranded at the airport and I loved how sweet it was but the team names kept tripping me up. They were real life team names (sort of...sometimes) with real life team cities (again sort of). My personal wish would be to have team names that were completely fictional (not from an existing NHL or MLB team or their farm teams) then it wouldn't put my brain in a tizzy. LOL This is totally me it's no fault of authors that use real-ish teams.
I did love the story, I wish it were longer or maybe a sequel to see how the guys are doing? But again, that's a personal thing.
One other note... the cover doesn't represent stranded at the airport at Christmas nor does it represent athletes. It's adorable but maybe just not for this story.
TAGS
-- Holiday/Christmas -- sports/Hockey/Baseball -- very sweet -- airport interlude -- insta love/lust -- loved the MCs... Red & Owen -- want more
I did love the story, I wish it were longer or maybe a sequel to see how the guys are doing? But again, that's a personal thing.
One other note... the cover doesn't represent stranded at the airport at Christmas nor does it represent athletes. It's adorable but maybe just not for this story.
TAGS
-- Holiday/Christmas -- sports/Hockey/Baseball -- very sweet -- airport interlude -- insta love/lust -- loved the MCs... Red & Owen -- want more
December 9, 2018
Engaging book with 2 sports heroes
I've spent too much time at LaGuardia airport so this was fun to read about others having to be stranded there during a blizzard. Red is a hockey player on a call up to the NHL and Owen is a baseball pitcher towards the end of his career. When they meet, there is chemistry galore which is fun to see as if a 'fly on the wall'. In spite of the challenges, they choose to try to continue to see each other and both seem to recognize they have something worth working towards.
Super fun and exciting book watching their initial meeting and subsequent romance. Christmas just sort of is what time of year it is, not super involved with the holiday. But the interaction between the guys makes up for the lack of Christmas baubles. Take a chance and read this story; I enjoyed it.
I've spent too much time at LaGuardia airport so this was fun to read about others having to be stranded there during a blizzard. Red is a hockey player on a call up to the NHL and Owen is a baseball pitcher towards the end of his career. When they meet, there is chemistry galore which is fun to see as if a 'fly on the wall'. In spite of the challenges, they choose to try to continue to see each other and both seem to recognize they have something worth working towards.
Super fun and exciting book watching their initial meeting and subsequent romance. Christmas just sort of is what time of year it is, not super involved with the holiday. But the interaction between the guys makes up for the lack of Christmas baubles. Take a chance and read this story; I enjoyed it.
January 9, 2019
Sporty holiday MM Romance
2.5 stars
This book takes place in the Hot off the ice world created by A.E. Wasp and has mentions of characters from that series. MC Red is related to the o'riley clan.
This book started off great. A meet cute at the airport during a snow storm that grounds all flights but it quickly devolved into instalove. I really don't think you can say you are falling for someone after a few hours being stuck together at an airport.
This book also could use a bit more editing as there were some errors noted.
Overall, it wasn't something I'd want to read again.
2.5 stars
This book takes place in the Hot off the ice world created by A.E. Wasp and has mentions of characters from that series. MC Red is related to the o'riley clan.
This book started off great. A meet cute at the airport during a snow storm that grounds all flights but it quickly devolved into instalove. I really don't think you can say you are falling for someone after a few hours being stuck together at an airport.
This book also could use a bit more editing as there were some errors noted.
Overall, it wasn't something I'd want to read again.
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