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Impaired Judgement
It’s kind of a shame someone that talented is that big a douche
1993 pages, ebook
Published December 27, 2023
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250 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
February 5, 2025
This story grabbed me from the very first chapter and I loved everything about it: the writing, the characters, and the relationship development. It was so wonderfully done, from the moment they meet for the first time, the animosity Jared feels towards Bryce, and how it develops into a true relationship. Just the way I like it.
The story is told from Jared's POV, and I cannot express how much I enjoyed reading his rambling thoughts. Even though we don't get Bryce's POV, both their personalities are so distinct and clear. Loved the whole cast of side characters, too – Jared's family, Elaine, and all their friends and teammates.
Things I'm endlessly grateful for:
I spent a lot of time reading this story, it's more than a thousand pages long, and now that I'm done I'm really going to miss these characters and just being a part of their world. Probably my favourite by this author, Taylor Fitzpatrick, when it comes to the relationship between two characters. It's unbelievable that you can read it for free on AO3.
The story is told from Jared's POV, and I cannot express how much I enjoyed reading his rambling thoughts. Even though we don't get Bryce's POV, both their personalities are so distinct and clear. Loved the whole cast of side characters, too – Jared's family, Elaine, and all their friends and teammates.
Things I'm endlessly grateful for:
I spent a lot of time reading this story, it's more than a thousand pages long, and now that I'm done I'm really going to miss these characters and just being a part of their world. Probably my favourite by this author, Taylor Fitzpatrick, when it comes to the relationship between two characters. It's unbelievable that you can read it for free on AO3.
January 26, 2025
I think I am well on my way to becoming a Taylor Fitzpatrick Stan account now (yes, I'm still too much of a coward to read THAT book).
This is one of her unpublished works and can be found with a simple google search and read for free on AO3 (madness). This literal gem of a book clocks in at 460,000 words and I cannot tell you how insane it is that it's just sitting there for free. This book completely usurped my life for nearly a week, and I am not remotely mad about it. If/when this gets published I would 100% be investing in a copy because it is truly just such a delight.
This is an in-depth slice of life hockey romance spanning across 8 (ish) years. The story follows 17-year-old Jared who, when attending hockey training camp, meets 20-year-old Bryce, fresh off some very controversial bad behaviour, and takes an immediate disliking to him. The reader then gets to follow along and watch the slow budding of their relationship, their growth into adulthood and their growth together as a couple.
This book is truly an amazing example of impressive character growth through strong character work. I was impressed by how gradual and organic the growth Jared and Bryce had across the story was. I especially thought the development of their confidence in themselves and their sexualities over the course of the books was great reflecting both the growth that comes with becoming an adult and finding yourself as well as the security that comes from a loving and supportive relationship. The conflicts in their relationships felt genuine and not just dropped in for dramas sake and each time the reconciliation led to them growing together and being stronger as a unit.
This has phenomenal black cat/golden retriever himbo energy. I find sometimes that the himbo line can be a little precarious for me because I don't like characters who are actually stupid, but Bryce walks the heart of gold himbo line to perfection. Their devotion to each other is truly just the cutest.
This is the second one of Fitzgerald's books where the relationships between the main characters and the supporting characters has really struck me as being very authentic and one of the biggest strengths of the book. All the character history and friendships in this book just feel REAL.
I think that some people may find the narrative structure of this to be not to their tastes. Because of both the slice of life genre and by virtue of it being uploaded on a chapter-by-chapter basis over three years, rather than a more traditional intro-rising action-climax- conclusion style story structure the story kind of maintains a pretty static level of real-life challenges and action. Which I loved (especially given the length) but I could image for some it might be a bit dull (but also this is not the book to read for a punchy story cause did I mention 460k words??). Also a few mistakes here and there, but see the above-mentioned fact it’s free, so I’m not even going to really count that as a consideration honestly.
Truly a delightful low angst, very wholesome, very sweet coming of age Hockey romance. Already easily an entry into my favourite reads of 2025. Also shout out to my wonderful GR friend Snjez, who did the hard work to convert this story into an Ebook and being generous enough to send it to me ❤️❤️
This is one of her unpublished works and can be found with a simple google search and read for free on AO3 (madness). This literal gem of a book clocks in at 460,000 words and I cannot tell you how insane it is that it's just sitting there for free. This book completely usurped my life for nearly a week, and I am not remotely mad about it. If/when this gets published I would 100% be investing in a copy because it is truly just such a delight.
This is an in-depth slice of life hockey romance spanning across 8 (ish) years. The story follows 17-year-old Jared who, when attending hockey training camp, meets 20-year-old Bryce, fresh off some very controversial bad behaviour, and takes an immediate disliking to him. The reader then gets to follow along and watch the slow budding of their relationship, their growth into adulthood and their growth together as a couple.
This book is truly an amazing example of impressive character growth through strong character work. I was impressed by how gradual and organic the growth Jared and Bryce had across the story was. I especially thought the development of their confidence in themselves and their sexualities over the course of the books was great reflecting both the growth that comes with becoming an adult and finding yourself as well as the security that comes from a loving and supportive relationship. The conflicts in their relationships felt genuine and not just dropped in for dramas sake and each time the reconciliation led to them growing together and being stronger as a unit.
This has phenomenal black cat/golden retriever himbo energy. I find sometimes that the himbo line can be a little precarious for me because I don't like characters who are actually stupid, but Bryce walks the heart of gold himbo line to perfection. Their devotion to each other is truly just the cutest.
This is the second one of Fitzgerald's books where the relationships between the main characters and the supporting characters has really struck me as being very authentic and one of the biggest strengths of the book. All the character history and friendships in this book just feel REAL.
I think that some people may find the narrative structure of this to be not to their tastes. Because of both the slice of life genre and by virtue of it being uploaded on a chapter-by-chapter basis over three years, rather than a more traditional intro-rising action-climax- conclusion style story structure the story kind of maintains a pretty static level of real-life challenges and action. Which I loved (especially given the length) but I could image for some it might be a bit dull (but also this is not the book to read for a punchy story cause did I mention 460k words??). Also a few mistakes here and there, but see the above-mentioned fact it’s free, so I’m not even going to really count that as a consideration honestly.
Truly a delightful low angst, very wholesome, very sweet coming of age Hockey romance. Already easily an entry into my favourite reads of 2025. Also shout out to my wonderful GR friend Snjez, who did the hard work to convert this story into an Ebook and being generous enough to send it to me ❤️❤️
March 20, 2023
December 2021 update:
I managed to hold out for 6 months before returning for my first reread. Such self-control, I amaze myself. In the meantime the story grew to 382,000 words — with no end in sight:
*happy sigh* How she manages to keep Bryce & Jared’s story fresh and fun, I do not know — but she does, and as long as she keeps writing it I’ll keep reading it.
This time around there was a whole new dimension to my enjoyment, because in the interim I’d become acquainted with more of the characters in her extended YCMAL universe. Name-drops that meant nothing to me the first time around were a source of delight this time. Crossover fun times! Jared meets his hockey hero, David Chapman (of Coming in First Place/Between the Teeth series) and… it does not go quite as he might have wished. Don’t worry Jared, if you live to be 100 you might eventually recover from your embarrassment. In an intersection with the timeline of It's a Setup, Jared (along with the rest of world) sees waaaaaay more of Joey Munroe’s dick than he ever wanted to, courtesy of those leaked pics that outed Joey. We get to see how very much everyone hates playing the Kansas City Scouts, and how deserving of his nickname their first-liner "Shithead" Simcoe is. All this stuff was there on my first read, of course, but this time around it was like finding easter eggs.
What am I going to do with myself now that I’m finished again? The story’s on a (temporary) hiatus, resting at the end of a story arc — oooh, that reminds me of something I wanted to say to potential readers who might feel intimidated by its length. Reading this was very much like reading the box set of a series. There are clear story arcs where, if she ever wrestles this into shape for publication, individual books will be broken out. As you’re reading it, you’ll find natural pausing places, just like how in a box set you’d find breaks between books. So! The equivalent of 1200 pages isn’t daunting after all! Right? Riiiiiiight? Trust me, it’ll go fast and be fun.
Okay, back to the burning question of “what am I going to do with myself now that I’m finished (again)”? Turns out there are approximately 120 supplementary short fics for IJ, spread across AO3 and Tumblr and the author’s Patreon. I’ve read every last one (and some of them are fantastic). So, sadly, I have no choice but to move on… I suppose I could finish up the half-dozen or so books I stalled out on in 2021 but hoped to finish and review before the end of the year? Nah, j/k, I’m going to reread It's a Setup again. Three times in six weeks isn’t unreasonable, right? I mean, it's not like I'm obsessed or anything.
Hey, look, I managed to update this review without inflicting any new eye-searing gifs on you! Talk about self-control. Just don’t scroll down any further if you value your eyeballs. 😁
Original review, June 2021:
We're going to need more stars here, please!
Reading this made me so damned happy. 368,000 words, aka 1000+ pages, and I never tired of it. In fact I stayed up into the wee hours of the night reading it. "Just one more chapter." Uh huh. Famous last words. Night after night.
I have no idea if I would have loved it as much if had been packaged as a novel. It's a work in progress (because obviously 368,000 words are simply NOT ENOUGH of Jared and Bryce) on AO3, and although it was a hassle to deal with the 140+ downloads involved, it was more than worth it. Reading it brought joy into my life. And when was the last time I could say that about a story? And 1000+ pages worth of joy? For free? Excuse me for just a moment, I feel some heart eyes coming on --
Okay, got that out of my system. Hehe, not really. But I'll try to get a grip. At least for the duration of the review.
The story* is part of the author's enormous interconnected You Could Make A Life hockey universe. My only previous visit was Thrown Off the Ice, but that was enough to mark her as a writer I needed to read more of. Did I mention that her universe is enormous? There's a Tumblr where she posts additional scenes. There's a Wiki! She also has a Patreon (which I've now joined) where more stories are posted. There's supplementary documentation created by fans, like timelines and chronologies -- let me tell you, THIS IS A RABBIT HOLE. And I have gone down it.
*Oh yeah, the story. I haven't described or explained it or said a single useful thing about it, and I apologize. I know it makes me a crappy reviewer, but I can't seem to get my act together and stop smiling goofily long enough to string meaningful words together. I mean, I waited a week! Thinking eventually I'd be coherent! But so far no luck! I promise I'll try to come back later and say something substantive, but I have to warn you not to get your hopes up.
Okay, back to the rabbit hole! If you never see me again, you'll know why.
I managed to hold out for 6 months before returning for my first reread. Such self-control, I amaze myself. In the meantime the story grew to 382,000 words — with no end in sight:
*happy sigh* How she manages to keep Bryce & Jared’s story fresh and fun, I do not know — but she does, and as long as she keeps writing it I’ll keep reading it.
This time around there was a whole new dimension to my enjoyment, because in the interim I’d become acquainted with more of the characters in her extended YCMAL universe. Name-drops that meant nothing to me the first time around were a source of delight this time. Crossover fun times! Jared meets his hockey hero, David Chapman (of Coming in First Place/Between the Teeth series) and… it does not go quite as he might have wished. Don’t worry Jared, if you live to be 100 you might eventually recover from your embarrassment. In an intersection with the timeline of It's a Setup, Jared (along with the rest of world) sees waaaaaay more of Joey Munroe’s dick than he ever wanted to, courtesy of those leaked pics that outed Joey. We get to see how very much everyone hates playing the Kansas City Scouts, and how deserving of his nickname their first-liner "Shithead" Simcoe is. All this stuff was there on my first read, of course, but this time around it was like finding easter eggs.
What am I going to do with myself now that I’m finished again? The story’s on a (temporary) hiatus, resting at the end of a story arc — oooh, that reminds me of something I wanted to say to potential readers who might feel intimidated by its length. Reading this was very much like reading the box set of a series. There are clear story arcs where, if she ever wrestles this into shape for publication, individual books will be broken out. As you’re reading it, you’ll find natural pausing places, just like how in a box set you’d find breaks between books. So! The equivalent of 1200 pages isn’t daunting after all! Right? Riiiiiiight? Trust me, it’ll go fast and be fun.
Okay, back to the burning question of “what am I going to do with myself now that I’m finished (again)”? Turns out there are approximately 120 supplementary short fics for IJ, spread across AO3 and Tumblr and the author’s Patreon. I’ve read every last one (and some of them are fantastic). So, sadly, I have no choice but to move on… I suppose I could finish up the half-dozen or so books I stalled out on in 2021 but hoped to finish and review before the end of the year? Nah, j/k, I’m going to reread It's a Setup again. Three times in six weeks isn’t unreasonable, right? I mean, it's not like I'm obsessed or anything.
Hey, look, I managed to update this review without inflicting any new eye-searing gifs on you! Talk about self-control. Just don’t scroll down any further if you value your eyeballs. 😁
Original review, June 2021:
We're going to need more stars here, please!
Reading this made me so damned happy. 368,000 words, aka 1000+ pages, and I never tired of it. In fact I stayed up into the wee hours of the night reading it. "Just one more chapter." Uh huh. Famous last words. Night after night.
I have no idea if I would have loved it as much if had been packaged as a novel. It's a work in progress (because obviously 368,000 words are simply NOT ENOUGH of Jared and Bryce) on AO3, and although it was a hassle to deal with the 140+ downloads involved, it was more than worth it. Reading it brought joy into my life. And when was the last time I could say that about a story? And 1000+ pages worth of joy? For free? Excuse me for just a moment, I feel some heart eyes coming on --
Okay, got that out of my system. Hehe, not really. But I'll try to get a grip. At least for the duration of the review.
The story* is part of the author's enormous interconnected You Could Make A Life hockey universe. My only previous visit was Thrown Off the Ice, but that was enough to mark her as a writer I needed to read more of. Did I mention that her universe is enormous? There's a Tumblr where she posts additional scenes. There's a Wiki! She also has a Patreon (which I've now joined) where more stories are posted. There's supplementary documentation created by fans, like timelines and chronologies -- let me tell you, THIS IS A RABBIT HOLE. And I have gone down it.
*Oh yeah, the story. I haven't described or explained it or said a single useful thing about it, and I apologize. I know it makes me a crappy reviewer, but I can't seem to get my act together and stop smiling goofily long enough to string meaningful words together. I mean, I waited a week! Thinking eventually I'd be coherent! But so far no luck! I promise I'll try to come back later and say something substantive, but I have to warn you not to get your hopes up.
Okay, back to the rabbit hole! If you never see me again, you'll know why.
February 19, 2025
It all begins at a summer hockey training camp. This story is LOOOOONG, heartwarming and humorous. It can also be a bit immature and ott at times. Clocking in at almost 2000 pages and over 460,000 words, 178 chapters, it will keep you busy for HOURS of angst-free reading entertainment.
I have not read Taylor Fitzpatrick’s most popular story because I don’t know if my heart can survive the trauma, but she goes gentle on the readers with this one.
Bryce (20) is sincere, genuine, and completely transparent. He's a hockey genius but a bit (okay, a lot) naive when it comes to real life. Then there's Jared (17), wildly intelligent, snarky, and prone to overthinking everything. He is a complete hobgoblin. Jared can be selfish, but Bryce brings out the best in him, and together, they create a blend that’s completely endearing. They are grumpy/sunshine at its best.
One of the most refreshing aspects of this story is its organic unfolding. This is a coming-of-age, exploring sexuality, and falling in love. There are mistakes and miscommunications, just like in any healthy relationship, but nothing too dramatic or traumatic. No cheating, no third-act breakup, just lots of firsts and sweet moments together. It spans almost 8 years of their lives.
If I had one complaint, it's the heavy focus on the fear of being outed as a gay professional hockey player. Considering this was written in 2017-2023, that theme felt slightly outdated and repetitive.
If you're into seriously chonky books, and hockey romances with heartfelt character development, this story involving two young men, is definitely worth the read.
*I did not like the subplot with Erin, the bratty little sister, dating one of his friends.
Complete story can be read for free on AO3. https://archiveofourown.org/series/84...
I have not read Taylor Fitzpatrick’s most popular story because I don’t know if my heart can survive the trauma, but she goes gentle on the readers with this one.
Bryce (20) is sincere, genuine, and completely transparent. He's a hockey genius but a bit (okay, a lot) naive when it comes to real life. Then there's Jared (17), wildly intelligent, snarky, and prone to overthinking everything. He is a complete hobgoblin. Jared can be selfish, but Bryce brings out the best in him, and together, they create a blend that’s completely endearing. They are grumpy/sunshine at its best.
It actually scares the shit out of Jared how much Bryce loves him.
He’s so grateful for it all the same.
One of the most refreshing aspects of this story is its organic unfolding. This is a coming-of-age, exploring sexuality, and falling in love. There are mistakes and miscommunications, just like in any healthy relationship, but nothing too dramatic or traumatic. No cheating, no third-act breakup, just lots of firsts and sweet moments together. It spans almost 8 years of their lives.
The blue really brings out Bryce’s eyes. It’s like, stunning, how beautiful they look.
“Less talk about my eyes, more getting your dick in me,” Bryce says.
“You are the bossiest fucking bottom in the entire world,” Jared says. “I’m trying to pay you a compliment.”
Bryce opens his mouth, probably to demand less compliments, more dick, so Jared’s obligated to kiss him quiet.
If I had one complaint, it's the heavy focus on the fear of being outed as a gay professional hockey player. Considering this was written in 2017-2023, that theme felt slightly outdated and repetitive.
If you're into seriously chonky books, and hockey romances with heartfelt character development, this story involving two young men, is definitely worth the read.
Tomorrow they’ll probably wake up on different sides of the bed, Jared rolling away in his sleep from the heat of Bryce’s body, tomorrow they’ll trade showers, and eat breakfast, and go their separate ways for the day, and return to one another, but right now, right now he closes his eyes, and he holds Bryce close, the steady beat of Bryce’s heart reverberating through Jared’s chest.
*I did not like the subplot with Erin, the bratty little sister, dating one of his friends.
Complete story can be read for free on AO3. https://archiveofourown.org/series/84...
December 22, 2025
Wow. Just… wow. This might be my top read of 2025 and I’ve read some really fucking great books this year.
It’s impossible to give a summery of what happens here or point out specific plot lines, turns and events because there’s so many and I loved all of them. All. Of. Them.
I immediately fell in love with the writing and the characters. Especially the beginning gave me so many BUTTERFLIES.
And I know I just said I couldn’t point out specific things that stood out because it was all so good but can we, like, talk about Bryce? And like, Raf? And Chaz? And Julius? AND GABE?? And every friendship we witness? And every single interaction between the two leads here, which made me absolutely fucking weak in the knees? And their families? And the span of fucking YEARS we get to witness their relationship bloom and grow?? AND ALL THE HOCKEY?!?!? 😭
It’s an incredible art form to make the most mundane, every day life things so riveting, that you’re absolutely unable to put the book down. So unable in fact, that it costs you many nights with too little sleep, because… just one more chapter, yeah?
This was an absolutely immersive experience and I never wanted it to end - which means something because this story already is like.. 2000 pages long. Not even lying. And I could have easily read another 2000, that’s how much I loved it.
So if - like me - you were wondering if this is worth picking up, let me assure you, ASSURE YOU, it 100% is.
I laughed so much at their awkwardness, I sobbed my way through whole chapters, I swooned in a way I don’t think I’ve ever swooned before, I was giddy and angry and frustrated and hopeful and just completely immersed AND IN LOVE WITH EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING 😭 They feel like my family now, you know? And I miss them already 🥺
I just KNOW I will come back to this, because it absolutely screams comfort reread and I honestly can’t wait to reconnect with these characters.
Wow.
Is there an emotional support self help group for people who have read this and if yes HOW CAN I JOIN?? How can I move on from this omg I need help 😭😭
This is a 6⭐️ read for sure.
PS: the absolute HUGEST thanks goes to Kati and Snjez who took the time to make an actual epub out of the fanfic and gave it to me. This community is everything and I’m eternally grateful 💖
PPS: my original plan was to slowly read it throughout the entire NHL season, just a bit here and there but I COULD NOT for the life of me slow down. I forced myself to read something else in between so I’d have more of IJ but I couldn’t wait to get back to it every single time. I’m actually so heartbroken it’s finished, fuck 😭
It’s impossible to give a summery of what happens here or point out specific plot lines, turns and events because there’s so many and I loved all of them. All. Of. Them.
I immediately fell in love with the writing and the characters. Especially the beginning gave me so many BUTTERFLIES.
And I know I just said I couldn’t point out specific things that stood out because it was all so good but can we, like, talk about Bryce? And like, Raf? And Chaz? And Julius? AND GABE?? And every friendship we witness? And every single interaction between the two leads here, which made me absolutely fucking weak in the knees? And their families? And the span of fucking YEARS we get to witness their relationship bloom and grow?? AND ALL THE HOCKEY?!?!? 😭
It’s an incredible art form to make the most mundane, every day life things so riveting, that you’re absolutely unable to put the book down. So unable in fact, that it costs you many nights with too little sleep, because… just one more chapter, yeah?
This was an absolutely immersive experience and I never wanted it to end - which means something because this story already is like.. 2000 pages long. Not even lying. And I could have easily read another 2000, that’s how much I loved it.
So if - like me - you were wondering if this is worth picking up, let me assure you, ASSURE YOU, it 100% is.
I laughed so much at their awkwardness, I sobbed my way through whole chapters, I swooned in a way I don’t think I’ve ever swooned before, I was giddy and angry and frustrated and hopeful and just completely immersed AND IN LOVE WITH EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING 😭 They feel like my family now, you know? And I miss them already 🥺
I just KNOW I will come back to this, because it absolutely screams comfort reread and I honestly can’t wait to reconnect with these characters.
Wow.
Is there an emotional support self help group for people who have read this and if yes HOW CAN I JOIN?? How can I move on from this omg I need help 😭😭
This is a 6⭐️ read for sure.
PS: the absolute HUGEST thanks goes to Kati and Snjez who took the time to make an actual epub out of the fanfic and gave it to me. This community is everything and I’m eternally grateful 💖
PPS: my original plan was to slowly read it throughout the entire NHL season, just a bit here and there but I COULD NOT for the life of me slow down. I forced myself to read something else in between so I’d have more of IJ but I couldn’t wait to get back to it every single time. I’m actually so heartbroken it’s finished, fuck 😭
June 23, 2025
Read 01/2025
I could read another 28+ hours about Jared and Bryce and be happy.
I might have had a smile on my face for nearly the whole time reading.
It was beautiful to watch Jared and Bryce grow. The part I loved most of all was how much Jared and Bryce loved each other. How they never doubted their connection, but were strong together against everything life threw at them, like Jared's dad (I'm still mad at him), Bryce's team and management at the Flames, and injuries.
Jared's family, especially Jared's relationship with Erin wasn't something I really got used to, I admit, but I loved Elaine and Gabe and Stephen.
We get to follow Jared and Bryce for 7 years, from Jared age 17 (and Bryce 20) to Jared age 24 (Bryce 27). The story is told from one pov (Jared) third person present tense. I never missed Bryce's pov. And I could continue to read about their next decades, too. Are they going to be dads? I bet they are. I'd love to see them as a family.
Ps I get now why many readers say Catherine Cloud's writing reminds them of Taylor Fitzpatrick's writing, because they definitely are similar (there's on page sex here, though, while there's no on page sex in Catherine Cloud's stories).
Pps this is a completed series on AO3 available for free, published by "youcouldmakealife" (GR friends clued me in that it's Taylor Fitzpatrick ).
Pps Shout-out to my GR friend Snjez for creating an e-book out of the 176 (!!) chapters on AO3 and being the awesome friend she is and giving it to me, because I never would have been able to do that on my own. Thank you !! ♥️♥️♥️
I could read another 28+ hours about Jared and Bryce and be happy.
I might have had a smile on my face for nearly the whole time reading.
It was beautiful to watch Jared and Bryce grow. The part I loved most of all was how much Jared and Bryce loved each other. How they never doubted their connection, but were strong together against everything life threw at them, like Jared's dad (I'm still mad at him), Bryce's team and management at the Flames, and injuries.
Jared's family, especially Jared's relationship with Erin wasn't something I really got used to, I admit, but I loved Elaine and Gabe and Stephen.
We get to follow Jared and Bryce for 7 years, from Jared age 17 (and Bryce 20) to Jared age 24 (Bryce 27). The story is told from one pov (Jared) third person present tense. I never missed Bryce's pov. And I could continue to read about their next decades, too. Are they going to be dads? I bet they are. I'd love to see them as a family.
Ps I get now why many readers say Catherine Cloud's writing reminds them of Taylor Fitzpatrick's writing, because they definitely are similar (there's on page sex here, though, while there's no on page sex in Catherine Cloud's stories).
Pps this is a completed series on AO3 available for free, published by "youcouldmakealife" (GR friends clued me in that it's Taylor Fitzpatrick ).
Pps Shout-out to my GR friend Snjez for creating an e-book out of the 176 (!!) chapters on AO3 and being the awesome friend she is and giving it to me, because I never would have been able to do that on my own. Thank you !! ♥️♥️♥️
![Profile Image for annob [on hiatus].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1674812294i%2F68231680._UX200_CR0%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
June 7, 2021
After spending a glorious couple of days reading 'Impaired Judgement', I can't find enough superlatives to express my enjoyment properly. I loved, loved, loved everything about it; how the two MCs first met, the progression from intense dislike to reluctantly falling in love, and the fact that we get to follow them for several years past the normal romance novel HEA.
The hockey theme was detailed, I got the impression the author really know the sport, yet kept it fairly simple for non sport readers like me. I truly liked that every single character had flaws, as real humans do. But most of all I loved Jared and Bryce. As individuals as well as a romantic couple. Great chemistry between them and wow, the start of their relationship was a proper enemy to lovers arc, handled superbly.
The story in chapter form is published for free on AO3 (which is a fanfic publisher, not a piracy site), and I highly recommend it.
https://archiveofourown.org/series/84...
The hockey theme was detailed, I got the impression the author really know the sport, yet kept it fairly simple for non sport readers like me. I truly liked that every single character had flaws, as real humans do. But most of all I loved Jared and Bryce. As individuals as well as a romantic couple. Great chemistry between them and wow, the start of their relationship was a proper enemy to lovers arc, handled superbly.
The story in chapter form is published for free on AO3 (which is a fanfic publisher, not a piracy site), and I highly recommend it.
https://archiveofourown.org/series/84...
July 15, 2023
re-read 07/15/2023: It didn't feel as long as the first time. I actually think it has a good pace. A thousand stars for this.
Also, getting obsessed with hockey in the middle of the summer is not fun. 88 days til puck drop. Go Penguins! (Sorry Canucks!)
___________
I love these boys so much! Gah! Jared with all the snide comments and nervous rambling; Bryce with his romantic heart and adorable sulking when he doesn't get his way. But he usually does, coz who could say no to that pout. :)
To give you an impression, and I hopefully wont end up underselling this book, but it's kind of like a high school sweethearts story?, except they didn't go to high school together and no one gets knocked up while young and career-wise they are both doing great.
So far the story spans over 4 years from the time when Jared was 17 and Bryce 21.
It's astonishing how little I understand hockey still after about 20 books, but definitely know more compared to what I knew after the fifth. So. Progress! :) And I especially enjoyed all the hockey stuff here, I was on the edge of my seat, whenever something life-altering was about to happen.
It's a very hockey-focused book with strong characterization and lots of romance. It's a serialized story, currently sitting at chapter 138. It took me 4 days to read it and I was reading almost constantly when I wasn't sleeping (and I didn't even want to sleep), so yeah it's a long one, but so worth it.
Best read of 2021 so far.
Also, getting obsessed with hockey in the middle of the summer is not fun. 88 days til puck drop. Go Penguins! (Sorry Canucks!)
___________
I love these boys so much! Gah! Jared with all the snide comments and nervous rambling; Bryce with his romantic heart and adorable sulking when he doesn't get his way. But he usually does, coz who could say no to that pout. :)
To give you an impression, and I hopefully wont end up underselling this book, but it's kind of like a high school sweethearts story?, except they didn't go to high school together and no one gets knocked up while young and career-wise they are both doing great.
So far the story spans over 4 years from the time when Jared was 17 and Bryce 21.
It's astonishing how little I understand hockey still after about 20 books, but definitely know more compared to what I knew after the fifth. So. Progress! :) And I especially enjoyed all the hockey stuff here, I was on the edge of my seat, whenever something life-altering was about to happen.
It's a very hockey-focused book with strong characterization and lots of romance. It's a serialized story, currently sitting at chapter 138. It took me 4 days to read it and I was reading almost constantly when I wasn't sleeping (and I didn't even want to sleep), so yeah it's a long one, but so worth it.
Best read of 2021 so far.
May 1, 2025
4.75***** stars
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, despite its 460k words length in 175 chapters —or maybe even because of it. It’s the longest I’ve spent with a book in a very, very long time and I regret not one minute of spending on it.
The main part of the book (no idea what year the last chapter takes place) spans around seven years that starts with Bryce Marcus, a 20yrs old NHL player with a bad reputation who’s actually the most adorable Golden Retriever and Jared Matheson, a then 17yrs old pro Hockey prospect and snarky grump, meeting at a hockey camp. It then goes on on how they get together as a couple (which will be supremely recited at their wedding), Jared’s way to the NHL, them both making it work on two pro hockey schedules, making it work long-distance and even enduring the longing on an even longer distance, of them being lovers in private and strangers in the eye of the public.
These two building a life together and facing all the small and big challenges thrown their way was so satisfying to watch, made me laugh and my heart grow big. And Taylor Fitzpatrick’s writing style made it all engaging and captivating from first to last page, especially thanks to the excellent cast of supporting characters. ♡
My Highlights
🏒 Jared and Bryce, of course
🏒 the sulking room
🏒 Raf, Chaz and Julius, of course
🏒 Erin’s trending on Twitter. Twice.
🏒 Erin Matheson in general and all the love lost between the siblings
🏒 Bryce and Erin
🏒 that ONE MOMENT Don never quite let Bryce live down
🏒 Don Matheson and his inevitable change in attitude
🏒 Susan Matheson constantly calling out her son on his bs
🏒 Don Matheson takes over cooking. For life.
🏒 the nice Mathesons and Saint Elaine
🏒 Bryce and Jared making their agents work for it
🏒 Gabe figuring it out (in like ten seconds flat)
🏒 Stephen. Full stop.
🏒 Brian Foster, the GM
🏒 Bryce’s way of texting
It’s a puzzle to be solved every time all over again. *lmaooo
I didn’t know this was a whole kind-of-connected universe Taylor Fitzpatrick built there for all of her books (there is even a whole wiki for it)—officially published as well as AO3 only—but I thought Mike Brouwer and the Oilers sort of sounded familiar (lol and also col, meaning crying out loud because yes, he’s from THAT book) but now I’m def going to track down Gabe and Stephen’s story!!
***********
From Taylor’s universe
Thrown Off the Ice - 4.5 stars
Impaired Judgement - 4.75 stars
⇢ Fandom:
You Could Make a Life Wiki
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, despite its 460k words length in 175 chapters —or maybe even because of it. It’s the longest I’ve spent with a book in a very, very long time and I regret not one minute of spending on it.
The main part of the book (no idea what year the last chapter takes place) spans around seven years that starts with Bryce Marcus, a 20yrs old NHL player with a bad reputation who’s actually the most adorable Golden Retriever and Jared Matheson, a then 17yrs old pro Hockey prospect and snarky grump, meeting at a hockey camp. It then goes on on how they get together as a couple (which will be supremely recited at their wedding), Jared’s way to the NHL, them both making it work on two pro hockey schedules, making it work long-distance and even enduring the longing on an even longer distance, of them being lovers in private and strangers in the eye of the public.
“I sit two stalls away from yours,” Bryce says, and Jared looks up. “Do you,” Jared says. “Nice to see you again, Matheson,” Bryce says, and it is very hard not to smirk, but Jared does his best. Like, yeah, nice to see you since this morning, see you at home in an hour. Fucking dork.
These two building a life together and facing all the small and big challenges thrown their way was so satisfying to watch, made me laugh and my heart grow big. And Taylor Fitzpatrick’s writing style made it all engaging and captivating from first to last page, especially thanks to the excellent cast of supporting characters. ♡
My Highlights
🏒 Jared and Bryce, of course
🏒 the sulking room
🏒 Raf, Chaz and Julius, of course
🏒 Erin’s trending on Twitter. Twice.
🏒 Erin Matheson in general and all the love lost between the siblings
🏒 Bryce and Erin
🏒 that ONE MOMENT Don never quite let Bryce live down
🏒 Don Matheson and his inevitable change in attitude
🏒 Susan Matheson constantly calling out her son on his bs
🏒 Don Matheson takes over cooking. For life.
🏒 the nice Mathesons and Saint Elaine
🏒 Bryce and Jared making their agents work for it
🏒 Gabe figuring it out (in like ten seconds flat)
🏒 Stephen. Full stop.
🏒 Brian Foster, the GM
🏒 Bryce’s way of texting
shit tly frgt u wr bk brt sry, Bryce
It’s a puzzle to be solved every time all over again. *lmaooo
I didn’t know this was a whole kind-of-connected universe Taylor Fitzpatrick built there for all of her books (there is even a whole wiki for it)—officially published as well as AO3 only—but I thought Mike Brouwer and the Oilers sort of sounded familiar (lol and also col, meaning crying out loud because yes, he’s from THAT book) but now I’m def going to track down Gabe and Stephen’s story!!
***********
From Taylor’s universe
Thrown Off the Ice - 4.5 stars
Impaired Judgement - 4.75 stars
⇢ Fandom:
You Could Make a Life Wiki
“So Bryce asks Jared to go for a ride—” Raf says, rudely ignoring him, while Erin only spares Jared enough attention to flash him an absolutely shit eating grin that tells him she is never, ever going to quit using this story as ammunition. “And it’s obvious he’s asking Jared on a date, or at least obvious to me, but Jared is just completely oblivious, keeps going on about how Bryce is going to kill him and dump the body, while Bryce is just… longingly looking at him from across the rink—”
November 30, 2024
I don't think there's a feasible way to write an exhaustive review for a 1,993 paged book. So I'll just say this—if there were 1,993 more pages of THIS story? I'd start on them TODAY.
First things first. My deepest apologies to Ilya Rozanov because I legitimately didn't think it could ever be done but....here we are. I've found a new golden standard for hockey romance.
I'm sorry in advance for any hockey romance I read after this. Nothing that came before compares, and I'd be incredibly surprised if any that comes after can.
Baby gets what baby wants. Basically the synopsis for this book. And Jared complaining that he doesn't want Bryce to just DO things to make Jared happy, but making Jared happy IS what Bryce wants. So💀
“Like, you’re so smart,” Bryce says. “So I don’t know how you still haven’t figured out that whatever you want, I’ll do it.”
This coming from a man who's deathly afraid of coming out btw.
“I’m just saying like, if it involves things I don’t want to do, that’s — it’s worth it, for me. Getting to be your husband would be worth it.”
Bryce signing a six year contract with an NHL team he HATES...
“I did it to be with you,” Bryce says. “But I didn’t do it for you, you know? That’s what I wanted — I wanted to be with you more than like, anything. That’s what mattered most to me. Like, I did it because of you, but you’re making it sound like I — I did it for me. Or like, us.”
“Okay, but that’s still a massive career sacrifice because of me,” Jared says. “So my point kind of stands here.”
There's nothing Bryce wouldn't do for Jared. LITERALLY nothing.
"If it's the price I have to pay, you're worth it."
Goes ahead to prove it a hundred times over.
And he's so EARNEST about it too.
“Stop thanking me for being like, a bare minimum husband,” Jared says.
“You’re a maximum husband,” Bryce says earnestly.
Bryce is a beamer. Around Jared. Beaming is not a particularly common thing to do ALL the time so the fact that 90% of the time he's around him, he's beaming says A LOT. He's just so, SO happy to be with Jared.
And let's not forget Jared, whose love is less beam-y and more 'I will kill a bitch to keep Bryce happy.'
Goes for his parents.
Goes for his friends.
Goes for his team(s).
Goes for reporters.
Goes for his agent.
Murder-face is his baseline when it comes to anyone fucking with Bryce.
I can't overstate how EXHILARATING it is to fall in love with two MCs and know you have a ton of pages of their love story to get through, and yet find yourself reading it really slowly because you don't want to ever get to the end.
Like I said, there's way too much to review, but without exaggeration, this is the pinnacle of hockey romance to me. And this includes the other hockey romances written by this author, which I ALSO thought were pretty great.
So.
@ancientreader this one knocked it out of the park. I'll be awaiting instructions on where to go next.
First things first. My deepest apologies to Ilya Rozanov because I legitimately didn't think it could ever be done but....here we are. I've found a new golden standard for hockey romance.
I'm sorry in advance for any hockey romance I read after this. Nothing that came before compares, and I'd be incredibly surprised if any that comes after can.
Baby gets what baby wants. Basically the synopsis for this book. And Jared complaining that he doesn't want Bryce to just DO things to make Jared happy, but making Jared happy IS what Bryce wants. So💀
“Like, you’re so smart,” Bryce says. “So I don’t know how you still haven’t figured out that whatever you want, I’ll do it.”
This coming from a man who's deathly afraid of coming out btw.
“I’m just saying like, if it involves things I don’t want to do, that’s — it’s worth it, for me. Getting to be your husband would be worth it.”
Bryce signing a six year contract with an NHL team he HATES...
“I did it to be with you,” Bryce says. “But I didn’t do it for you, you know? That’s what I wanted — I wanted to be with you more than like, anything. That’s what mattered most to me. Like, I did it because of you, but you’re making it sound like I — I did it for me. Or like, us.”
“Okay, but that’s still a massive career sacrifice because of me,” Jared says. “So my point kind of stands here.”
There's nothing Bryce wouldn't do for Jared. LITERALLY nothing.
"If it's the price I have to pay, you're worth it."
Goes ahead to prove it a hundred times over.
And he's so EARNEST about it too.
“Stop thanking me for being like, a bare minimum husband,” Jared says.
“You’re a maximum husband,” Bryce says earnestly.
Bryce is a beamer. Around Jared. Beaming is not a particularly common thing to do ALL the time so the fact that 90% of the time he's around him, he's beaming says A LOT. He's just so, SO happy to be with Jared.
And let's not forget Jared, whose love is less beam-y and more 'I will kill a bitch to keep Bryce happy.'
Goes for his parents.
Goes for his friends.
Goes for his team(s).
Goes for reporters.
Goes for his agent.
Murder-face is his baseline when it comes to anyone fucking with Bryce.
I can't overstate how EXHILARATING it is to fall in love with two MCs and know you have a ton of pages of their love story to get through, and yet find yourself reading it really slowly because you don't want to ever get to the end.
Like I said, there's way too much to review, but without exaggeration, this is the pinnacle of hockey romance to me. And this includes the other hockey romances written by this author, which I ALSO thought were pretty great.
So.
@ancientreader this one knocked it out of the park. I'll be awaiting instructions on where to go next.
December 28, 2023
ORIGINAL REVIEW, January 2023:
we had a long weekend and I spent approx. 97% of it reading this big boy. 420k, WORK IN FUCKING PROGRESS. that's over a thousand pages, and it's not even done!! I have an office job where I stare at a computer screen for 8 hours and still I spent days (and nights) reading this on my phone like the fucking gremlin I am. do my eyes kinda hurt now? yes. do I regret it? yeah, a bit, eyesight is important!! but still. this shit slapped.
at this point in my life I have spent years on ao3, to the point that I've read some of my favourite works of fiction on there. does this cute hockey romance measure up to the most profound and transformative stuff I've enjoyed on ao3? definitely not. did it make me really freaking happy? fuck yes. and it kind of caught me by surprise?! bcs for the first quarter or so I was really sucked into the story, but I wouldn't say I was enamoured. reading it felt like eating potato chips - tasty and addictive af, but not exactly filling. but then at some point over the hundreds of pages (and actual years in ms fitzpatrick's writing/publication schedule!), something clicked for me, and I found myself just...adoring all of these fictional people. julius halla alone...the iconicness is just too much!! jared and bryce are THE grumpy/sunshine pairing, they are so precious. and stephen....STEPHEN!! that's it that's the tweet.
5 stars to Impaired Judgement for making me happy!! can't wait for future updates!
EDIT April 2023:
lowering this to 4 stars bcs I just read Superstition Hockey (which is not on GR bcs the author doesn't want it to be, so I sadly can't go and give it a rave review and 5-star rating), and however much I love and respect Ms. Fitzpatrick and her hockey boys, there is no universe in which something as indulgent and bloated as IJ gets the same rating from me as the majestic perfection that is Superstition.
EDIT December 2023:
aaaaand that's a wrap!! clocking in at a little over 46o ooo words, Impaired Judgement is 11o 000 words longer than Anna fucking Karenina. is this absolutely batshit insane? yes. did anything even really happen in those last 100k? not much tbh. did i even grow to resent Taylor a bit for dragging it out as long as she did? mhmmm. and yet!
it is undeniably a baller move, to write a young man's epic coming of age story, full of love, loss and growing pains, and have the narrator of the story be the young man's *love interest* who is deliberately written to be as Mary Sue as they get. our Taurus-coded king Jared does not change, he does not grow, he's the same annoying, smug little gremlin he was when Taylor started this in 2017. it's just that now he's gone from being a teenager with a messy older boyfriend to being a man with an accomplished and emotionally expressive husband. and good for him!! on the other hand, it will never stop being funny that back in 2017 Taylor first conceived of Bryce as the bad boy love interest and then he turned out to a) arguably be the actual protagonist of the story and b) somehow be a Care Bear but like, with abs.
even though the whole plotless and interminable final arc definitely disqualifies IJ from being one of my favorite romance reads of the year (hell, it's not even in the top 5 ycmal stories I've read), I will always have a soft spot for it bcs it ushered in my hockey-rom - and broadly speaking, sports-rom - era! to think, just a year ago i had no idea there was such an abundance of original fiction on ao3!?? and look at me now. crying over theundiagnosable in Kathleen's DMs, reccing Superstition to all and sundry. it's been a good reading year, folks! and here's to an even better 2024 ❤️
we had a long weekend and I spent approx. 97% of it reading this big boy. 420k, WORK IN FUCKING PROGRESS. that's over a thousand pages, and it's not even done!! I have an office job where I stare at a computer screen for 8 hours and still I spent days (and nights) reading this on my phone like the fucking gremlin I am. do my eyes kinda hurt now? yes. do I regret it? yeah, a bit, eyesight is important!! but still. this shit slapped.
at this point in my life I have spent years on ao3, to the point that I've read some of my favourite works of fiction on there. does this cute hockey romance measure up to the most profound and transformative stuff I've enjoyed on ao3? definitely not. did it make me really freaking happy? fuck yes. and it kind of caught me by surprise?! bcs for the first quarter or so I was really sucked into the story, but I wouldn't say I was enamoured. reading it felt like eating potato chips - tasty and addictive af, but not exactly filling. but then at some point over the hundreds of pages (and actual years in ms fitzpatrick's writing/publication schedule!), something clicked for me, and I found myself just...adoring all of these fictional people. julius halla alone...the iconicness is just too much!! jared and bryce are THE grumpy/sunshine pairing, they are so precious. and stephen....STEPHEN!! that's it that's the tweet.
5 stars to Impaired Judgement for making me happy!! can't wait for future updates!
EDIT April 2023:
lowering this to 4 stars bcs I just read Superstition Hockey (which is not on GR bcs the author doesn't want it to be, so I sadly can't go and give it a rave review and 5-star rating), and however much I love and respect Ms. Fitzpatrick and her hockey boys, there is no universe in which something as indulgent and bloated as IJ gets the same rating from me as the majestic perfection that is Superstition.
EDIT December 2023:
aaaaand that's a wrap!! clocking in at a little over 46o ooo words, Impaired Judgement is 11o 000 words longer than Anna fucking Karenina. is this absolutely batshit insane? yes. did anything even really happen in those last 100k? not much tbh. did i even grow to resent Taylor a bit for dragging it out as long as she did? mhmmm. and yet!
it is undeniably a baller move, to write a young man's epic coming of age story, full of love, loss and growing pains, and have the narrator of the story be the young man's *love interest* who is deliberately written to be as Mary Sue as they get. our Taurus-coded king Jared does not change, he does not grow, he's the same annoying, smug little gremlin he was when Taylor started this in 2017. it's just that now he's gone from being a teenager with a messy older boyfriend to being a man with an accomplished and emotionally expressive husband. and good for him!! on the other hand, it will never stop being funny that back in 2017 Taylor first conceived of Bryce as the bad boy love interest and then he turned out to a) arguably be the actual protagonist of the story and b) somehow be a Care Bear but like, with abs.
even though the whole plotless and interminable final arc definitely disqualifies IJ from being one of my favorite romance reads of the year (hell, it's not even in the top 5 ycmal stories I've read), I will always have a soft spot for it bcs it ushered in my hockey-rom - and broadly speaking, sports-rom - era! to think, just a year ago i had no idea there was such an abundance of original fiction on ao3!?? and look at me now. crying over theundiagnosable in Kathleen's DMs, reccing Superstition to all and sundry. it's been a good reading year, folks! and here's to an even better 2024 ❤️
December 28, 2023
Update 27 Dec 2023: This wonderful series just had its final installment today, and I am feeling my feelings hard. Was the final arc unnecessary? Absolutely. Did that keep me from devouring every update? Not a chance. Jared and Bryce, my sweet, sarcastic, soft boys. ❤️ you forever.
Update Feb 2023: It has not even been a month and I am already midway through a "this is not a total re-read oh who am I kidding, this is absolutely a total re-read," send help
I just read 418,449 words in 4 days. I have no regrets.
I love Jared and Bryce WITH MY ENTIRE SOUL!!!!!!
(and Chaz and Ash and Raf and Grace and Julius and Erin and Gabe and Stephen and Elaine and Susan and Don (sometimes) and even poor long-suffering/ sneaky Summers and Greg)
Can't wait for the next installment. Thankfully there is a sizable verse out there to read even though I'm probably not going in the optimal order, not sorry. (Suggested reading order can be found on the YCMAL wiki here.)
Only one flaw: Jared purportedly having an early-April rather than late-April birthday, this is clearly a mistake, canon is fallible. There is NO WAY that stubborn judgmental homebody gremlin isn't a Taurus. Like recognizes like, man.
418,449 words. My face hurts from all the smiling. ENTIRE SOUL!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️😍🥰🥰
Thanks so much to Teal for the rec!
Update Feb 2023: It has not even been a month and I am already midway through a "this is not a total re-read oh who am I kidding, this is absolutely a total re-read," send help
I just read 418,449 words in 4 days. I have no regrets.
I love Jared and Bryce WITH MY ENTIRE SOUL!!!!!!
(and Chaz and Ash and Raf and Grace and Julius and Erin and Gabe and Stephen and Elaine and Susan and Don (sometimes) and even poor long-suffering/ sneaky Summers and Greg)
Can't wait for the next installment. Thankfully there is a sizable verse out there to read even though I'm probably not going in the optimal order, not sorry. (Suggested reading order can be found on the YCMAL wiki here.)
Only one flaw: Jared purportedly having an early-April rather than late-April birthday, this is clearly a mistake, canon is fallible. There is NO WAY that stubborn judgmental homebody gremlin isn't a Taurus. Like recognizes like, man.
418,449 words. My face hurts from all the smiling. ENTIRE SOUL!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️😍🥰🥰
Thanks so much to Teal for the rec!
June 3, 2023
OMG this story really is still updating! I mean it's great, but...wow!
This is a mega-fic currently 163 chapters and still updating. There's been a few places where the story could have finished, but I'm here for the long haul. Well realised characters and verse. The world is huge and daunting but well worth sampling. Highly recommend.
-- -- -- --
I've binge read this, it's amazing for a free fic, hell for any fic; 149chapters and I believe still going! Yet still invested in the characters and wanting more. They're neither perfect but both likeable which makes them seem real.
Bryce and Jared's personalities are so clear and consistent. Frustrating, funny and endearing with plenty of snark.
There's a few side characters but it's kept controlled so you get the comraderie and chirps without the story is being overwhelmed by full teams.
The hockey gives an interesting structure to the story, with the pressure, travel, money, media. Enjoyed this without knowing the first thing about hockey. I think there's enough to show how big it is in their lives but again without loosing sense of the characters.
This is a mega-fic currently 163 chapters and still updating. There's been a few places where the story could have finished, but I'm here for the long haul. Well realised characters and verse. The world is huge and daunting but well worth sampling. Highly recommend.
-- -- -- --
I've binge read this, it's amazing for a free fic, hell for any fic; 149chapters and I believe still going! Yet still invested in the characters and wanting more. They're neither perfect but both likeable which makes them seem real.
Bryce and Jared's personalities are so clear and consistent. Frustrating, funny and endearing with plenty of snark.
There's a few side characters but it's kept controlled so you get the comraderie and chirps without the story is being overwhelmed by full teams.
The hockey gives an interesting structure to the story, with the pressure, travel, money, media. Enjoyed this without knowing the first thing about hockey. I think there's enough to show how big it is in their lives but again without loosing sense of the characters.
January 19, 2024
Original 2021 review: 4.5 stars for sheer enjoyment. I loved this. I generally prefer to wait for the finished product, but I lucked out and read it at a perfect time. It's currently 138 very satisfying chapters. (I would have been cursing myself if I read this at Ch. 136, like I thought I was!! I have never been so relieved by the "next chapter" button!)
I laughed and smiled so much while reading this. I don't know why I waited so long to get to Taylor Fitzpatrick's AO3 stuff, but I'm kinda glad I did. I really needed something good, and this has definitely been a highlight of the year. I will for sure do a re-read at some point after it's finished.
You can find it online here
I laughed and smiled so much while reading this. I don't know why I waited so long to get to Taylor Fitzpatrick's AO3 stuff, but I'm kinda glad I did. I really needed something good, and this has definitely been a highlight of the year. I will for sure do a re-read at some point after it's finished.
You can find it online here
February 21, 2025
I absolutely adored Jared and Bryce. Young, grumpy, antisocial, sarcastic Jared. Sweet, romantic, naive, loving Bryce. The hockey. Their families. Their friends. The teams. The whole journey. Their arguments. Their growth. Taylor’s writing.
It’s long. Very long. Very very long. So there’s that. But you should still read it.
It’s long. Very long. Very very long. So there’s that. But you should still read it.
December 5, 2025
HOLY FUCK HOLU FUCK HOLU FUCK
first of all. it is incredible that taylor fitzpatrick managed to write 460,000 words of romance without it never getting boring. second. i read this in four days. this book is longer than stephen king’s IT, about the same length as the count of monte cristo. i could not fucking stop for anything. i think the longest stretch i did not read this when i wasn’t sleeping was 5 hours (and that was to head to a game at the ‘dome … where a lot of this story takes place).
point is: i adored this so so so so so much. part of it is hometown bias admittedly — i grew up in calgary and this is very calgary and very albertan — but also i thought at the beginning, “it is going to be very hard to win me over to this,” and i am now besotted with jared matheson and bryce marcus. i laughed, i cried, i am so fucking enamoured with this story, and i’m so sad it’s over that i’m tempted to go back to the beginning and read it again. it's incredible that we can spend longer than the lord of the rings trilogy with jared and bryce and have it feel like nothing.
because there are first impressions, and the first impression was, let's be real, not comfortable bordering on uncomfortable, not a meet-cute, and definitely had me asking how fitzpatrick was going to sell this relationship to me. jared meets bryce a couple months after his seventeeth birthday. bryce is nearing twenty-one, and though jared is probably the more emotionally mature one at that point, he's also a juniors league hockey player and a minor who gets romantically involved with an nhl player who's been arrested twice and makes millions of dollars and, oh, was staff during jared's hockey camp. and then bryce ties the whole impression up by being a veritable asshole. but taylor fitzpatrick sold it to me and more; the character development is at its absolute pinnacle here. jared just becomes more jared, but bryce does a complete 180 over the 6 or so years that this story covers. and like. it's not easy or cute 100% of the time, but it's so easy to read about, and byrce is the sappiest sap to ever exist and he's trying so hard.
fitzpatrick also does some of the best hockey writing and worldbuilding i've seen to where being Invested in the ycmal hockey-verse has by association gotten me into real hockey and understanding of how the nhl works. it helps that these books toe the line between fanfiction and original fiction so that we’re using mostly real and historical teams. and as a flames fan jared constantly talking about how much the oilers suck had me HOWLING.
(side note but i dropped the ball on an assignment for the first time in seven years cuz i was reading this. literally did not look up from ao3 till sunday and shit was due on friday. oops!)
first of all. it is incredible that taylor fitzpatrick managed to write 460,000 words of romance without it never getting boring. second. i read this in four days. this book is longer than stephen king’s IT, about the same length as the count of monte cristo. i could not fucking stop for anything. i think the longest stretch i did not read this when i wasn’t sleeping was 5 hours (and that was to head to a game at the ‘dome … where a lot of this story takes place).
point is: i adored this so so so so so much. part of it is hometown bias admittedly — i grew up in calgary and this is very calgary and very albertan — but also i thought at the beginning, “it is going to be very hard to win me over to this,” and i am now besotted with jared matheson and bryce marcus. i laughed, i cried, i am so fucking enamoured with this story, and i’m so sad it’s over that i’m tempted to go back to the beginning and read it again. it's incredible that we can spend longer than the lord of the rings trilogy with jared and bryce and have it feel like nothing.
because there are first impressions, and the first impression was, let's be real, not comfortable bordering on uncomfortable, not a meet-cute, and definitely had me asking how fitzpatrick was going to sell this relationship to me. jared meets bryce a couple months after his seventeeth birthday. bryce is nearing twenty-one, and though jared is probably the more emotionally mature one at that point, he's also a juniors league hockey player and a minor who gets romantically involved with an nhl player who's been arrested twice and makes millions of dollars and, oh, was staff during jared's hockey camp. and then bryce ties the whole impression up by being a veritable asshole. but taylor fitzpatrick sold it to me and more; the character development is at its absolute pinnacle here. jared just becomes more jared, but bryce does a complete 180 over the 6 or so years that this story covers. and like. it's not easy or cute 100% of the time, but it's so easy to read about, and byrce is the sappiest sap to ever exist and he's trying so hard.
fitzpatrick also does some of the best hockey writing and worldbuilding i've seen to where being Invested in the ycmal hockey-verse has by association gotten me into real hockey and understanding of how the nhl works. it helps that these books toe the line between fanfiction and original fiction so that we’re using mostly real and historical teams. and as a flames fan jared constantly talking about how much the oilers suck had me HOWLING.
(side note but i dropped the ball on an assignment for the first time in seven years cuz i was reading this. literally did not look up from ao3 till sunday and shit was due on friday. oops!)
April 6, 2025
5 stars ⭐️
Finally, I finished this book, and wow, it was long. It took hours and hours, days and days to get through, but every single minute was absolutely worth it.
I loved everything about it. Jared and Bryce are true soulmates, and watching them grow up together, facing both the highs and lows of life, was such an emotional journey. Their love felt real, raw, and beautiful. I also adored their families and friends, who were always there with unwavering support.
I’m genuinely so glad I read this book. Huge thanks to Snjez for sharing the epub version with me, without it, I wouldn’t have been able to read it on AO3. Forever grateful!
Finally, I finished this book, and wow, it was long. It took hours and hours, days and days to get through, but every single minute was absolutely worth it.
I loved everything about it. Jared and Bryce are true soulmates, and watching them grow up together, facing both the highs and lows of life, was such an emotional journey. Their love felt real, raw, and beautiful. I also adored their families and friends, who were always there with unwavering support.
I’m genuinely so glad I read this book. Huge thanks to Snjez for sharing the epub version with me, without it, I wouldn’t have been able to read it on AO3. Forever grateful!
July 5, 2023
Holy Moly is this fantastic. As of march 2021 it is still being written, and I hope she keeps writing it forever. I have reread it a few times over the last year or two.
When a chapter of it turns up in my inbox, my day is brighter.
When a chapter of it turns up in my inbox, my day is brighter.
July 11, 2022
*4.5 stars*
I hope we see more of these two in the future!
I hope we see more of these two in the future!
December 8, 2025
Reread - December 2025
This book is just SO FUCKING PERFECT AND WERE SO LUCKY TO HAVE IT AND I CANNOT BELIEVE IT EXISTS. I am crying because it’s over. I am grieving. I love them so much. This story is so fulfilling it’s insane. A masterpiece.
Reread - …December 2024 lol
Ha ha ha, so ya I finished this and then spent a day whining about how good it was and how can I possibly be expected to read anything else, until I realised I could just reread it…so I did hahaha oops!
I kept saying to myself, “oh I’ll just read to this part, it’s my most favourite part!” Over and over until I finished the entire thing, so…take that as one of the most glowing reviews I’ve ever written in my entire life. Because that’s exactly how I mean it.
Original Review - December 2024:
This is probably, in my opinion, the best thing Taylor Fitzpatrick has ever written. I’m not even kidding, if I died right now I’d be honoured that this was the last thing I read.
And for free?!?!?!
I smiled nearly this entire story. The only time I wasn’t smiling, I was crying tears of joy. This was incredible. Give me more!!!!!!!! Gah.
This book is just SO FUCKING PERFECT AND WERE SO LUCKY TO HAVE IT AND I CANNOT BELIEVE IT EXISTS. I am crying because it’s over. I am grieving. I love them so much. This story is so fulfilling it’s insane. A masterpiece.
Reread - …December 2024 lol
Ha ha ha, so ya I finished this and then spent a day whining about how good it was and how can I possibly be expected to read anything else, until I realised I could just reread it…so I did hahaha oops!
I kept saying to myself, “oh I’ll just read to this part, it’s my most favourite part!” Over and over until I finished the entire thing, so…take that as one of the most glowing reviews I’ve ever written in my entire life. Because that’s exactly how I mean it.
Original Review - December 2024:
This is probably, in my opinion, the best thing Taylor Fitzpatrick has ever written. I’m not even kidding, if I died right now I’d be honoured that this was the last thing I read.
And for free?!?!?!
I smiled nearly this entire story. The only time I wasn’t smiling, I was crying tears of joy. This was incredible. Give me more!!!!!!!! Gah.
June 15, 2025
B/J are swoony.
Played hooky from work to read.
Rich, nuanced, gorgeous.
Played hooky from work to read.
Rich, nuanced, gorgeous.
Want to read
January 19, 2025ig this is what my ao3 acc is for. seriously tho, 512 ow's; 461k words?? that's ~1350 pages??
December 28, 2023
UPDATE #2 (DEC 27 2023)
Final count:
175 Chapters
461,401 words.
OMG. I can't believe it's over.
I started reading this on jan 1 2023, when the fic had already been going on for years (started in 2017), and it seems so fitting that it has ended a few days shy of the end of the year. I have literal tears in my face as I just finished reading the last chapter. I am a mess. But in the best way possible. In the best way possible!!
And I know that TF is gonna keep writing about Jared and Bryce in her Patreon, because she became one of us, extremely reluctant to let them go (bless her!) and boyo I have never been happier to throw money at an author because Taylor's Patreon is the equivalent of Disneyland for any hockey fan who also happens to love books (which apparently according to some people is very different than being a book lover that also happens to like hockey, which I will never understand but I guess it means I have extremely high standards with my hockey books because I can sniff from miles away when someone doesn't know puck and just wrote a hockey book to jump on a trend, which totally ruins my reading experience and triggers potential physically harming eye rolls because a FORWARD and a DEFENSE player are NOT interchangeable in a line-up and there is no amount of suspension of disbelief that can make me accept it, no matter how much someone tries to disguise that crap with purple prose and smut lol)... what was i saying? Yeah, I know it is not really over because we will still see lots of snippets of their life together, and we have COTT right now (I know TF said it is not really an upper case story, more like a lower case but with a happy ending, but in my heart is upper case because there is no bad ending and I am manifesting the good stuff, ok?) and soon Brandon and Milan are gonna be starting (Gritty!), but that's not the point. Jared and Bryce have been my emotional support couple for an entire year. When I was down, I read IJ. When I wanted to laugh, I read IJ. When I went through hockey withdrawal because playoffs ended, I read IJ. I am not quite sure what to do now. Another full read, maybe every couple of months?
I stand by what I said in my original review. This is better than 99% of the books you will ever read in your life. If you like epic love stories, that span for years and years, and will make you feel unmeasurable contentment with their hard earned HEA you NEED to read this. If you love hockey, you MUST DEFINITELY HAVE to read this! No one does it like TF. No one.
I OWE YOU MY LIFE TAYLOR FITZPATRICK!!! THANK YOU!!!!😭❤
STANDING OVATION.
.
.
UPDATE (JULY 2023):
Welp, it only took Kari to reach to the trade part for me to turn the Oh, I'm only kinda skimming through it to go along with Kari into Oh, Yezusf*ck, of course I am doing a full re-read and I AM NOT EVEN SORRY. I haven't stopped giggling... Don't send help! I am good. It's just IJ.
I JUST LOVE JARED AND BRYCE A STUPID AMOUNT!!!
.
.
.
Jan 2023
159 Chapters (so far)
418k words (so far)
Outstandingly better than 99.9999999% of the books I've actually paid money for, and it is FREAKING FREE! I am in utter desbelief. No. Scratch that. Not outstandingly better, OUTSTANDINGLY BRILLIANT!!
Jared and Bryce are so swoony. Their love is so beautiful and makes me so giddy, and yet they are both so incredibly ridiculous in their own ways that I can say with absolute certainty I've exercised my face muscles more in this past week than probably I have in years. Years! It certainly feels like that. Truth is I never had a chance. I was doomed to love them since the very first chapter. Oh boy, I love them!
Your honour, these are my emotionally support doofuses in love!!
Yeah, I know I am making ZERO sense, but trust me. You would understand it if you read IJ. You would also have the time of your life.
I really, really, really, really hope TF never stops writing about Jared and Bryce, although I honestly believe at this point, having read all of her books and stories in AO3/ Tumblr/ Patreon except for It's a Setup (it's the next one on my list and last one before I do a coin toss and decide if after reading TOTI less than a month ago I'm emotionally stable enough to deal with her more angsty ones, yeah I mean BAIT *cries in Robbie and Georgie* and... nope, I am not reading about Luke and Nikita, you are dead to me Nikita, OK? This is Team Andreas here and we like to pretend Nikita NEVER HAPPENED. Also, HOW DARE YOU?)... anyway, the point is whatever TF writes I know I will be utterly obsessed and I know she won't let me down. Break my heart a bit? Maybe, with her is always a gamble. Disappoint me? Never.
Anyway, back to IJ, WHAT AN AMAZING LOVE STORY! BEST FREAKING WAY TO START 2023!!
Final count:
175 Chapters
461,401 words.
OMG. I can't believe it's over.
I started reading this on jan 1 2023, when the fic had already been going on for years (started in 2017), and it seems so fitting that it has ended a few days shy of the end of the year. I have literal tears in my face as I just finished reading the last chapter. I am a mess. But in the best way possible. In the best way possible!!
And I know that TF is gonna keep writing about Jared and Bryce in her Patreon, because she became one of us, extremely reluctant to let them go (bless her!) and boyo I have never been happier to throw money at an author because Taylor's Patreon is the equivalent of Disneyland for any hockey fan who also happens to love books (which apparently according to some people is very different than being a book lover that also happens to like hockey, which I will never understand but I guess it means I have extremely high standards with my hockey books because I can sniff from miles away when someone doesn't know puck and just wrote a hockey book to jump on a trend, which totally ruins my reading experience and triggers potential physically harming eye rolls because a FORWARD and a DEFENSE player are NOT interchangeable in a line-up and there is no amount of suspension of disbelief that can make me accept it, no matter how much someone tries to disguise that crap with purple prose and smut lol)... what was i saying? Yeah, I know it is not really over because we will still see lots of snippets of their life together, and we have COTT right now (I know TF said it is not really an upper case story, more like a lower case but with a happy ending, but in my heart is upper case because there is no bad ending and I am manifesting the good stuff, ok?) and soon Brandon and Milan are gonna be starting (Gritty!), but that's not the point. Jared and Bryce have been my emotional support couple for an entire year. When I was down, I read IJ. When I wanted to laugh, I read IJ. When I went through hockey withdrawal because playoffs ended, I read IJ. I am not quite sure what to do now. Another full read, maybe every couple of months?
I stand by what I said in my original review. This is better than 99% of the books you will ever read in your life. If you like epic love stories, that span for years and years, and will make you feel unmeasurable contentment with their hard earned HEA you NEED to read this. If you love hockey, you MUST DEFINITELY HAVE to read this! No one does it like TF. No one.
I OWE YOU MY LIFE TAYLOR FITZPATRICK!!! THANK YOU!!!!😭❤
STANDING OVATION.
.
.
UPDATE (JULY 2023):
Welp, it only took Kari to reach to the trade part for me to turn the Oh, I'm only kinda skimming through it to go along with Kari into Oh, Yezusf*ck, of course I am doing a full re-read and I AM NOT EVEN SORRY. I haven't stopped giggling... Don't send help! I am good. It's just IJ.
I JUST LOVE JARED AND BRYCE A STUPID AMOUNT!!!
.
.
.
Jan 2023
159 Chapters (so far)
418k words (so far)
Outstandingly better than 99.9999999% of the books I've actually paid money for, and it is FREAKING FREE! I am in utter desbelief. No. Scratch that. Not outstandingly better, OUTSTANDINGLY BRILLIANT!!
Jared and Bryce are so swoony. Their love is so beautiful and makes me so giddy, and yet they are both so incredibly ridiculous in their own ways that I can say with absolute certainty I've exercised my face muscles more in this past week than probably I have in years. Years! It certainly feels like that. Truth is I never had a chance. I was doomed to love them since the very first chapter. Oh boy, I love them!
Your honour, these are my emotionally support doofuses in love!!
Yeah, I know I am making ZERO sense, but trust me. You would understand it if you read IJ. You would also have the time of your life.
I really, really, really, really hope TF never stops writing about Jared and Bryce, although I honestly believe at this point, having read all of her books and stories in AO3/ Tumblr/ Patreon except for It's a Setup (it's the next one on my list and last one before I do a coin toss and decide if after reading TOTI less than a month ago I'm emotionally stable enough to deal with her more angsty ones, yeah I mean BAIT *cries in Robbie and Georgie* and... nope, I am not reading about Luke and Nikita, you are dead to me Nikita, OK? This is Team Andreas here and we like to pretend Nikita NEVER HAPPENED. Also, HOW DARE YOU?)... anyway, the point is whatever TF writes I know I will be utterly obsessed and I know she won't let me down. Break my heart a bit? Maybe, with her is always a gamble. Disappoint me? Never.
Anyway, back to IJ, WHAT AN AMAZING LOVE STORY! BEST FREAKING WAY TO START 2023!!
December 19, 2024
Ok, so I generally love this author, and this particular story is a favorite of several of my GR friends, all but one of those who have read it having given it 5 stars, so I’m going to disappoint some people, but I don’t get it.
The first quarter of this, was pretty boring. And given it’s over 460,000 words long, that’s an entire regular book’s worth of boring. Past experience with the author, and her usual good writing was sufficient to keep me going though.
I can point to two specific reasons why this was not working for me, at least through the first quarter.
First: Jared.
The narrator, Jared, aside from being oddly mature for his age, is the most boring, generic version of gay athlete I can imagine. Utterly unrelatable, and uninteresting. This isn’t the first time I’ve encountered this with the author, but the books by her that have worked the best for me have all featured characters with quirks or issues that I can relate to to some degree. Later in the book it’s clear he’s supposed to be a sort of sarcastic, snide type, who’s a bit standoffish, but this did not come across to me in the first quarter.
In fact, early on I was thinking she’d made a big mistake and chosen the wrong pov character. The love interest, Bryce, has got issues, and would have been a far more interesting character for me, but we only see him through Jared’s eyes, and Jared never asks, or even seems to wonder about what’s going on in Bryce’s head, so Bryce’s potential interestingness never really manifested on page in any significant way.
Looking back on the whole thing, I can see that taking Bryce’s pov would have resulted in such a massively different book, that perhaps it didn’t suit the atmosphere/tone she wanted to create, but I wish I could read that book. Bryce isn’t autistic like David, but I can see this as a sort of inverse of Between the Teeth. Both characters (at least initially) are existing, isolated, in a little bubble of terror due to anticipated homophobia. Impaired Judgement suggests to me what it would be like had David’s books been told from Jake’s pov, only you’d taken away Jake’s David-whisperer skills and moments of emotional intelligence leaving him a generic American male stereotype.
Second: There’s no plot.
I tend to think of Taylor Fitzpatrick’s stories as “gay sports romance”, but they’re not really standard romances, and this one absolutely does not follow a typical romance plot structure. It’s a more a slice of life type story. The kind for people who just like to chill with likeable characters for a while. I suppose there’s a hint of bildungsroman / coming-of-age / new adult issues in the the book as well, but that didn’t really do anything for me. Personally, I like a story to have problems, issues, conflicts. I’d usually rather read about f’d up toxic bastards than well-adjusted people in a healthy relationship. The conflicts in the first quarter of this are so insignificant and brief I wrote this in my status at 22%:
Now, I hate sports. And if I was going to willingly read about a sport (lol) it sure as hell wouldn’t be a team sport. So I was pretty shocked to move into the second quarter of this book and realize all the hockey stuff, the games, the seasons, the playoffs, all that nonsense that I typically pay no attention to in her books, (sometimes I can’t even remember what teams the MCs are on) was providing a desperately needed structure. Sure, I didn’t care about the hockey stuff, but they did, and that, along with the characters being forcibly separated by their jobs was a major improvement from the “warm and fuzzy” boredom of the first quarter.
What I’d consider “the main” story here kind of ties off around the 61% mark, and is followed by a number of shorter arcs, though they were welcome and didn’t feel like padding. Only the very last chapter had an “epilogue” feel, and it’s main flaw was that it jumped ahead a year but in a way that wasn’t as obvious as her regular transitions and I got confused and had to reread a bit.
From the second quarter, and especially the later 40% of the book felt much more like the author’s typical stuff, and that last 40% was in 5 star territory for me. I read much faster in the back half, having frequently found myself preferring to pick up non-fiction or online articles, etc to read instead during the early part of the book. I liked seeing Gabe and Stephen (from “no expectation of returns”) again, they’re significant characters in the later part of the book. I generally like the character overlaps in this author’s work, it never feels like a distraction.
So, thumbs up in the end, but I can’t give it full marks. Bryce is the one that grows, but we’re stuck in Jared’s head the whole book.
PS: I want to know what became of Sam! (Jared’s roommates were more interesting than him. :P) (Make him gay obviously.)
The first quarter of this, was pretty boring. And given it’s over 460,000 words long, that’s an entire regular book’s worth of boring. Past experience with the author, and her usual good writing was sufficient to keep me going though.
I can point to two specific reasons why this was not working for me, at least through the first quarter.
First: Jared.
The narrator, Jared, aside from being oddly mature for his age, is the most boring, generic version of gay athlete I can imagine. Utterly unrelatable, and uninteresting. This isn’t the first time I’ve encountered this with the author, but the books by her that have worked the best for me have all featured characters with quirks or issues that I can relate to to some degree. Later in the book it’s clear he’s supposed to be a sort of sarcastic, snide type, who’s a bit standoffish, but this did not come across to me in the first quarter.
In fact, early on I was thinking she’d made a big mistake and chosen the wrong pov character. The love interest, Bryce, has got issues, and would have been a far more interesting character for me, but we only see him through Jared’s eyes, and Jared never asks, or even seems to wonder about what’s going on in Bryce’s head, so Bryce’s potential interestingness never really manifested on page in any significant way.
Looking back on the whole thing, I can see that taking Bryce’s pov would have resulted in such a massively different book, that perhaps it didn’t suit the atmosphere/tone she wanted to create, but I wish I could read that book. Bryce isn’t autistic like David, but I can see this as a sort of inverse of Between the Teeth. Both characters (at least initially) are existing, isolated, in a little bubble of terror due to anticipated homophobia. Impaired Judgement suggests to me what it would be like had David’s books been told from Jake’s pov, only you’d taken away Jake’s David-whisperer skills and moments of emotional intelligence leaving him a generic American male stereotype.
Second: There’s no plot.
I tend to think of Taylor Fitzpatrick’s stories as “gay sports romance”, but they’re not really standard romances, and this one absolutely does not follow a typical romance plot structure. It’s a more a slice of life type story. The kind for people who just like to chill with likeable characters for a while. I suppose there’s a hint of bildungsroman / coming-of-age / new adult issues in the the book as well, but that didn’t really do anything for me. Personally, I like a story to have problems, issues, conflicts. I’d usually rather read about f’d up toxic bastards than well-adjusted people in a healthy relationship. The conflicts in the first quarter of this are so insignificant and brief I wrote this in my status at 22%:
Oh, a second tiny spat. These boys need David or Robbie to come teach them how to drama. This book is literally the length of The Count of Monte Cristo, but with all the plot twists and tension of Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go! And I'll have you know I spent several minutes on that joke trying to think of a children's book that wasn't MORE dramatic than this. :(
Now, I hate sports. And if I was going to willingly read about a sport (lol) it sure as hell wouldn’t be a team sport. So I was pretty shocked to move into the second quarter of this book and realize all the hockey stuff, the games, the seasons, the playoffs, all that nonsense that I typically pay no attention to in her books, (sometimes I can’t even remember what teams the MCs are on) was providing a desperately needed structure. Sure, I didn’t care about the hockey stuff, but they did, and that, along with the characters being forcibly separated by their jobs was a major improvement from the “warm and fuzzy” boredom of the first quarter.
What I’d consider “the main” story here kind of ties off around the 61% mark, and is followed by a number of shorter arcs, though they were welcome and didn’t feel like padding. Only the very last chapter had an “epilogue” feel, and it’s main flaw was that it jumped ahead a year but in a way that wasn’t as obvious as her regular transitions and I got confused and had to reread a bit.
From the second quarter, and especially the later 40% of the book felt much more like the author’s typical stuff, and that last 40% was in 5 star territory for me. I read much faster in the back half, having frequently found myself preferring to pick up non-fiction or online articles, etc to read instead during the early part of the book. I liked seeing Gabe and Stephen (from “no expectation of returns”) again, they’re significant characters in the later part of the book. I generally like the character overlaps in this author’s work, it never feels like a distraction.
So, thumbs up in the end, but I can’t give it full marks. Bryce is the one that grows, but we’re stuck in Jared’s head the whole book.
PS: I want to know what became of Sam! (Jared’s roommates were more interesting than him. :P) (Make him gay obviously.)
August 7, 2023
Ale to jest fajne 😉.
Gdybym miała porównać czytanie tej historii do czegoś to byłoby to porównanie do oglądania świetnego serialu.
Kocham Jaredai Bryce, kocham ich przekomarzenia. Dawno nie śmiałam się do telefonu. Serdecznie polecam tym którzy kochają hokeistow, sportowców,młodzieńczą miłość i cięty język, i maslane oczy...
Gdybym miała porównać czytanie tej historii do czegoś to byłoby to porównanie do oglądania świetnego serialu.
Kocham Jaredai Bryce, kocham ich przekomarzenia. Dawno nie śmiałam się do telefonu. Serdecznie polecam tym którzy kochają hokeistow, sportowców,młodzieńczą miłość i cięty język, i maslane oczy...
August 17, 2021
Every sports romance fan should read this book. It's a perfect hockey romance novel, and a gem of the genre. And it's completely free, being posted on Archive Of Our Own (AO3). The author, also known as Taylor Fitzpatrick of Thrown Off The Ice fame, knows her hockey very well. I felt like I really was there , lived, ate and drank hockey with the MCs.
At a freaking 1000+ pages, this book took me nearly a week to finish it, but I really didn't want it to end. I love Ms Fitzpatrick's writing very much, her humour, her eloquence of describing emotions, her witty dialogue, her characterization, all top-notch. Really, I'm amazed at the quality of this free book, it's way better than tons of other books I have to pay for.
The book follows the love story of 2 NHL players through the ups and downs of their hockey careers. They met at a hockey training camp, when one of them, Jared, was 17, and the other, Bryce, 21, was already a famous pro player, coming to the camp as an assistant coach. Jared felt an instant dislike to Bryce, but they came to know each other better, and started one of the most beautiful romances I've ever read. The first few chapters were, I admit, a bit painful to read, but once you understand the MCs well, you got glued to their story. The whole book is told from Jared's POV, and God, how I love to be inside Jared's mind. He's snide and sarcastic, but funny, and cute, and a man of integrity and determination. And he loves Bryce wholeheartedly and unconditionally. I was enthralled by their love, couldn't help but feel privileged witnessing their life together.
Their life together was not all rosy, as it happened. They got supporting friends and family, but they faced an uphill battle against homophobia in the professional hockey community. Their hockey careers were not painted in rosy colors as well. We saw more disappointments, more losses than wins. Jared was not portraited as a superstar; instead, he was an average player, promising and industrious rather than super talented. And the ups and downs of his career were realistically chronicled, not a simple tale of pains and gains, but a long journey of overcoming obstacles, of frustrations and agonies, of undecided future and fears of failure. But through it all, the determination to achieve his dreams, supported by Bryce's devotion and love, gives readers hope that all will be well at the end of the day.
The thing I love most about this book is the humour. Each character is built to have a specific humourous quality, but Jared's family, the Mathesons, or the hobgoblins as he called them, is the best of the bunch. I'm especially fond of Erin, the emo sister, who made me cackle with laughter every time she made an appearance.
Once in a while you come across an author that clicks with you so well you'd like to read all of their works instantly. That author, to me, is Taylor Fitzpatrick/youcouldmakealife. I can't wait to discover more joys awaiting me in her other books.
At a freaking 1000+ pages, this book took me nearly a week to finish it, but I really didn't want it to end. I love Ms Fitzpatrick's writing very much, her humour, her eloquence of describing emotions, her witty dialogue, her characterization, all top-notch. Really, I'm amazed at the quality of this free book, it's way better than tons of other books I have to pay for.
The book follows the love story of 2 NHL players through the ups and downs of their hockey careers. They met at a hockey training camp, when one of them, Jared, was 17, and the other, Bryce, 21, was already a famous pro player, coming to the camp as an assistant coach. Jared felt an instant dislike to Bryce, but they came to know each other better, and started one of the most beautiful romances I've ever read. The first few chapters were, I admit, a bit painful to read, but once you understand the MCs well, you got glued to their story. The whole book is told from Jared's POV, and God, how I love to be inside Jared's mind. He's snide and sarcastic, but funny, and cute, and a man of integrity and determination. And he loves Bryce wholeheartedly and unconditionally. I was enthralled by their love, couldn't help but feel privileged witnessing their life together.
Their life together was not all rosy, as it happened. They got supporting friends and family, but they faced an uphill battle against homophobia in the professional hockey community. Their hockey careers were not painted in rosy colors as well. We saw more disappointments, more losses than wins. Jared was not portraited as a superstar; instead, he was an average player, promising and industrious rather than super talented. And the ups and downs of his career were realistically chronicled, not a simple tale of pains and gains, but a long journey of overcoming obstacles, of frustrations and agonies, of undecided future and fears of failure. But through it all, the determination to achieve his dreams, supported by Bryce's devotion and love, gives readers hope that all will be well at the end of the day.
The thing I love most about this book is the humour. Each character is built to have a specific humourous quality, but Jared's family, the Mathesons, or the hobgoblins as he called them, is the best of the bunch. I'm especially fond of Erin, the emo sister, who made me cackle with laughter every time she made an appearance.
Once in a while you come across an author that clicks with you so well you'd like to read all of their works instantly. That author, to me, is Taylor Fitzpatrick/youcouldmakealife. I can't wait to discover more joys awaiting me in her other books.
May 23, 2022
5 stars
Read
January 11, 2023So I started reading this and while it has that third person present tense, naturalistic, almost stream of consciousness writing style which I find very soothing and compelling, there were some things that kept pulling me out of the story. I kept pausing to think about why that was, and ended up doing a lot of mental comparing of Taylor Fitzpatrick’s work to KD Casey’s baseball romances, which are written in a very similar style - but slightly better for character/structural reasons, imo.
(My apologies for creating a totally unnecessary rivalry lol, this isn’t about only one winning since I’ve enjoyed both authors’ work in the past - I just find it interesting to compare and contrast and see what comes out of that. And as you will see below I don’t actually compare that much but it helped me worth through my thoughts.)
So, why didn’t this work for me? (For context, I DNFed at Part 16.)
**The Age Gap**
Is it the age thing? Because in this particular story, it’s *definitely* not working for me - Jared is 17 and Bryce is 20 (and hey, maybe it’s that I hate the name Bryce so much, who can say), which would be a decent age gap even before the fact that Bryce is rich, famous, and a coaching assistant, ie, in a position of power over Jared.
The story tries to acknowledge this - Jared’s parents’ negative reaction to finding out about the two of them - but the way it plays out, at least so far, is definitely crafted to make the reader think “it’s okay, because they’re in love/OTP/going to live HEA, and Jared’s dad [or insert critic here] just doesn’t get that yet.”
In other words, the romance novel trap of “I’ve written it so these characters totally consent all the time, so there are no issues with consent, see? It all works out!” Particularly the way Jared, the 17yo, is written as more sexually forward because the author and we as readers all know this would feel a lot less fun if he were the unsure one and the older guy was pushier… which imo is kind of a copout.
(And I didn’t love how the parents instantly caved on reporting Bryce to the coaches… because they didn’t want gay/sexual assault rumors to ruin Jared’s NHL chances? That is very bad parenting of your minor child and it seems clear from within the narrative of the story we’re just supposed to accept that’s “the way things are” - don’t report sexually coercive behavior by people in positions of authority bc reporting will just hurt the victim. :/ That can definitely be true sometimes but it was odd how this conclusion was treated as nbd by the story and everyone in it. The decisions about when to include “realistic” homophobia and when not to is… a guess a tricky one but I don’t know if I think it was done well here.)
(And I have to say now that I’m thinking about it, the situation with Jared’s parents is the exact same way this specific scenario played out in Pretty Little Liars, a show that famously was team pedophile English teacher - #ezria - which is… not a good look.)
And… not to be a spoilsport but a lot of people in inappropriate relationships justify it to themselves as being okay because they’re “in love” so I’m a little leery of that being treated as a legitimate reason for why their relationship is okay. Jared is 17, still in high school, living at home with his parents and his younger sister. I’m not saying it would be impossible to write this premise well, but there’s just something about the way it’s written *here* that doesn’t work for me at all.
**The Age Thing**
And that leads into a broader issue for me - why write about these characters as teenagers/people in their early 20s at all?? This was a major critique I had of Fitzpatrick’s You Could Make a Life too - because she started the story with them so young, she was marrying them off by their early 20s! Honestly wild.
Look, I know why - the author wants to write stories where the first love and the one true love (and the husband) can all be the same person. I realize that’s an incredibly common approach in romance. But there’s a way to do it organically… and I think she’s just not there? The emotional tones and storylines she’s giving these characters just *don’t match* the ages she’s giving them. For this story and YCMAL I had to keep mentally adjusting their ages just so that they felt like realistic human beings.
And I think it really is okay, if you write a romance about people who are 17-20, for them not to end up married to each other in 1-5 years! Paris Daillencourt Is Going to Crumble by Alexis Hall is a book that did this really well recently imo - I doubt those characters would stay together in the long term and that’s fine and normal. You don’t need to commit forever to the person you date when you’re 20… and fictional characters don’t need to either! Trying to force some virginity-to-altar plotline into a modern-day story just doesn’t work… and it definitely doesn’t when the characters are male pro hockey players.
**The Hockey Players**
And maybe it’s also just my familiarity with hockey players, especially high school-aged hockey players. Look, I grew up in the Upper Midwest, hockey was THE sport and my high school had one of the top hockey programs in the state. I went to school with these guys! And let me tell you, it would take most of them another decade or two of life experience to even *begin* to approach the level of maturity and thoughtfulness and self-acceptance Jared is written with. (Not to mention the way being gay/homophobia are treated by pretty much all the characters thus far.) The way that Fitzpatrick writes these players is just not realistic to their age and setting and life experiences.
Which, okay, realism isn’t always necessary - but when the writing style and the plotlines are trying to be as naturalistic as possible, it feels discordant for that not to hold true for the characters as well. And in particular when you’re writing these high school students like they’re in their mid-20s at the youngest…. For people this age that’s a massive gap in emotional growth that you really can’t handwave away.
Seriously - why not just write these characters as all in their 20s to start with! How would the narrative be damaged by having them be graduating from college rather than high school when these stories start?
**The KD Casey comparison**
I mentioned KD Casey because their books are very very similar in genre and writing style to Fitzpatrick’s, but somehow they avoid most of these problems (per the ones I’ve read).
The characters aren’t teenagers - the youngest MC I can think of, and the only one where age was a thing, was the rookie in One True Outcome, and he was *26* - so as the reader I didn’t have to be worrying about someone in their 20s trying to date a 17 year old, and whether/how that was going to come up in the plot, and whether it would be easier to just mentally add five years to both characters’ ages whenever they’re mentioned - and the characters feel true to their ages because there’s no attempt to put them in a time in life that’s just not realistic to their personal maturity level as depicted.
Otoh I do wonder if some of why I think KD Casey is a little bit better is because of my LACK of familiarity with baseball. In their books I can just soak up the details without knowing anything about the culture of the sport. Hockey… yeah, I already know the culture so the lack of realism might bug me a bit more?
**The Conclusion**
I am always iffy about giving this much critique when I haven’t read the whole thing - I DNFed this at Part 16 - but this is too long lol, and honestly when I got to the sex scene the age thing just… was an issue for me. And same iffiness re. the generalizations I’m making about both of these authors’ entire oeuvres since I have not fully read them haha.
That said, I guess I’m curious if my thoughts still make sense if you’ve read the entire thing? I do think Fitzpatrick is a very compelling author, but there are these character/plot/story choices she’s making that are just… unnecessary while also being detrimental to what she is trying to do.
(My apologies for creating a totally unnecessary rivalry lol, this isn’t about only one winning since I’ve enjoyed both authors’ work in the past - I just find it interesting to compare and contrast and see what comes out of that. And as you will see below I don’t actually compare that much but it helped me worth through my thoughts.)
So, why didn’t this work for me? (For context, I DNFed at Part 16.)
**The Age Gap**
Is it the age thing? Because in this particular story, it’s *definitely* not working for me - Jared is 17 and Bryce is 20 (and hey, maybe it’s that I hate the name Bryce so much, who can say), which would be a decent age gap even before the fact that Bryce is rich, famous, and a coaching assistant, ie, in a position of power over Jared.
The story tries to acknowledge this - Jared’s parents’ negative reaction to finding out about the two of them - but the way it plays out, at least so far, is definitely crafted to make the reader think “it’s okay, because they’re in love/OTP/going to live HEA, and Jared’s dad [or insert critic here] just doesn’t get that yet.”
In other words, the romance novel trap of “I’ve written it so these characters totally consent all the time, so there are no issues with consent, see? It all works out!” Particularly the way Jared, the 17yo, is written as more sexually forward because the author and we as readers all know this would feel a lot less fun if he were the unsure one and the older guy was pushier… which imo is kind of a copout.
(And I didn’t love how the parents instantly caved on reporting Bryce to the coaches… because they didn’t want gay/sexual assault rumors to ruin Jared’s NHL chances? That is very bad parenting of your minor child and it seems clear from within the narrative of the story we’re just supposed to accept that’s “the way things are” - don’t report sexually coercive behavior by people in positions of authority bc reporting will just hurt the victim. :/ That can definitely be true sometimes but it was odd how this conclusion was treated as nbd by the story and everyone in it. The decisions about when to include “realistic” homophobia and when not to is… a guess a tricky one but I don’t know if I think it was done well here.)
(And I have to say now that I’m thinking about it, the situation with Jared’s parents is the exact same way this specific scenario played out in Pretty Little Liars, a show that famously was team pedophile English teacher - #ezria - which is… not a good look.)
And… not to be a spoilsport but a lot of people in inappropriate relationships justify it to themselves as being okay because they’re “in love” so I’m a little leery of that being treated as a legitimate reason for why their relationship is okay. Jared is 17, still in high school, living at home with his parents and his younger sister. I’m not saying it would be impossible to write this premise well, but there’s just something about the way it’s written *here* that doesn’t work for me at all.
**The Age Thing**
And that leads into a broader issue for me - why write about these characters as teenagers/people in their early 20s at all?? This was a major critique I had of Fitzpatrick’s You Could Make a Life too - because she started the story with them so young, she was marrying them off by their early 20s! Honestly wild.
Look, I know why - the author wants to write stories where the first love and the one true love (and the husband) can all be the same person. I realize that’s an incredibly common approach in romance. But there’s a way to do it organically… and I think she’s just not there? The emotional tones and storylines she’s giving these characters just *don’t match* the ages she’s giving them. For this story and YCMAL I had to keep mentally adjusting their ages just so that they felt like realistic human beings.
And I think it really is okay, if you write a romance about people who are 17-20, for them not to end up married to each other in 1-5 years! Paris Daillencourt Is Going to Crumble by Alexis Hall is a book that did this really well recently imo - I doubt those characters would stay together in the long term and that’s fine and normal. You don’t need to commit forever to the person you date when you’re 20… and fictional characters don’t need to either! Trying to force some virginity-to-altar plotline into a modern-day story just doesn’t work… and it definitely doesn’t when the characters are male pro hockey players.
**The Hockey Players**
And maybe it’s also just my familiarity with hockey players, especially high school-aged hockey players. Look, I grew up in the Upper Midwest, hockey was THE sport and my high school had one of the top hockey programs in the state. I went to school with these guys! And let me tell you, it would take most of them another decade or two of life experience to even *begin* to approach the level of maturity and thoughtfulness and self-acceptance Jared is written with. (Not to mention the way being gay/homophobia are treated by pretty much all the characters thus far.) The way that Fitzpatrick writes these players is just not realistic to their age and setting and life experiences.
Which, okay, realism isn’t always necessary - but when the writing style and the plotlines are trying to be as naturalistic as possible, it feels discordant for that not to hold true for the characters as well. And in particular when you’re writing these high school students like they’re in their mid-20s at the youngest…. For people this age that’s a massive gap in emotional growth that you really can’t handwave away.
Seriously - why not just write these characters as all in their 20s to start with! How would the narrative be damaged by having them be graduating from college rather than high school when these stories start?
**The KD Casey comparison**
I mentioned KD Casey because their books are very very similar in genre and writing style to Fitzpatrick’s, but somehow they avoid most of these problems (per the ones I’ve read).
The characters aren’t teenagers - the youngest MC I can think of, and the only one where age was a thing, was the rookie in One True Outcome, and he was *26* - so as the reader I didn’t have to be worrying about someone in their 20s trying to date a 17 year old, and whether/how that was going to come up in the plot, and whether it would be easier to just mentally add five years to both characters’ ages whenever they’re mentioned - and the characters feel true to their ages because there’s no attempt to put them in a time in life that’s just not realistic to their personal maturity level as depicted.
Otoh I do wonder if some of why I think KD Casey is a little bit better is because of my LACK of familiarity with baseball. In their books I can just soak up the details without knowing anything about the culture of the sport. Hockey… yeah, I already know the culture so the lack of realism might bug me a bit more?
**The Conclusion**
I am always iffy about giving this much critique when I haven’t read the whole thing - I DNFed this at Part 16 - but this is too long lol, and honestly when I got to the sex scene the age thing just… was an issue for me. And same iffiness re. the generalizations I’m making about both of these authors’ entire oeuvres since I have not fully read them haha.
That said, I guess I’m curious if my thoughts still make sense if you’ve read the entire thing? I do think Fitzpatrick is a very compelling author, but there are these character/plot/story choices she’s making that are just… unnecessary while also being detrimental to what she is trying to do.
December 8, 2025
Series by Taylor Fitzpatrick on AO3 (original work)
It's very, very slice-of-life and incredibly long (175 chapters, 460 K words), quite low angst - which is so not me - but it never felt boring. It's also so heartwarming and I absolutely loved it (and could probably keep reading another 200 chapters in this universe). The series spans about 8 years in Jared and Bryce's relationship, from the moment they meet at a summer hockey camp until years after they get married. I really enjoyed their journey together and their incredible character growth. The story is told from Jared's POV and he is just my type of character- prickly, snarky, smart and a complete overthinker.
"He can’t exactly retort that he has bad taste in friends, because he doesn’t. His friends are excellent, or they wouldn’t be his friends. Jared refuses to befriend people due to proximity and career and other things completely out of his control. People have to be worth his time."
Jared's friends and family were another highlight - sometimes side characters are not that interesting or don't get enough development. Not the case here, I really enjoyed all of them (and special mention to Stephen, who was even snarkier than Jared, so of course I loved him)
“But I am besotted,” Bryce says. “So I don’t like, see the problem. You should be besotted with your husband, shouldn’t you? That’s like, the point of marriage.”
“Oh my god, stop saying besotted,” Jared says. “I feel like I’m in a Jane Austen novel or something.”
“Does that make me Mr. Darcy?” Bryce asks.
“You’re not cool enough to be Mr. Darcy,” Jared says.
Bryce gives him a hurt look. “Yes I am.”
“Bryce, come on,” Jared says.
Bryce continues to look sad, and Jared refuses to cave on this just because Bryce is upset he isn’t as cool as Mr. Darcy. That dude’s been a symbol of romance for like, two hundred years or whatever. It’s an incredibly high bar to clear.
It's very, very slice-of-life and incredibly long (175 chapters, 460 K words), quite low angst - which is so not me - but it never felt boring. It's also so heartwarming and I absolutely loved it (and could probably keep reading another 200 chapters in this universe). The series spans about 8 years in Jared and Bryce's relationship, from the moment they meet at a summer hockey camp until years after they get married. I really enjoyed their journey together and their incredible character growth. The story is told from Jared's POV and he is just my type of character- prickly, snarky, smart and a complete overthinker.
"He can’t exactly retort that he has bad taste in friends, because he doesn’t. His friends are excellent, or they wouldn’t be his friends. Jared refuses to befriend people due to proximity and career and other things completely out of his control. People have to be worth his time."
Jared's friends and family were another highlight - sometimes side characters are not that interesting or don't get enough development. Not the case here, I really enjoyed all of them (and special mention to Stephen, who was even snarkier than Jared, so of course I loved him)
“But I am besotted,” Bryce says. “So I don’t like, see the problem. You should be besotted with your husband, shouldn’t you? That’s like, the point of marriage.”
“Oh my god, stop saying besotted,” Jared says. “I feel like I’m in a Jane Austen novel or something.”
“Does that make me Mr. Darcy?” Bryce asks.
“You’re not cool enough to be Mr. Darcy,” Jared says.
Bryce gives him a hurt look. “Yes I am.”
“Bryce, come on,” Jared says.
Bryce continues to look sad, and Jared refuses to cave on this just because Bryce is upset he isn’t as cool as Mr. Darcy. That dude’s been a symbol of romance for like, two hundred years or whatever. It’s an incredibly high bar to clear.
August 25, 2025
This took me an entire week to read but it was worth it 🤩
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