Caspian is book 8 of 8 of the professional hockey Carolina Reapers series by Samantha Whiskey. I am a big fan and have read every book as well as her Raleigh Raptor (football) and Seattle Sharks (hockey) sports romance series. Samantha’s characters are all super sexy, loyal, and protective, and when they fall in love, they fall hard. They are not only devoted to their sport and their team, but to their better half, and are men of great character. I equally love the heroines in her romances as they are independent, strong, and smart, and have their own unique personalities and career goals.
Ryleigh Dunham and Caspian Foster grew up as neighbors in Cherry Creek, Iowa. Caspian and many of his teammates from the Reapers which are based in Charleston, South Carolina, are in town in their off season for his younger sister London’s wedding to their teammate and friend, Jansen Sterling.
I loved that their mothers were best friends, and all of the charm of small town life. Ryleigh is about six years younger than him, and the meddling moms ask for him to help her get over her ex, Chuck, who lives in town. The book is filled with neighbors not minding their business, working hard to make a living, pride in your home and family, local celebrations like their July 4th festival, and Caspian just being able to be himself without the demands of being a superstar.
Most of the author’s heroes had grand gestures, Axel being my all-time favorite. He left Sweden to move to the US to be with Langley, the PR director for the team. Bristol moved her company for Briggs, and Cannon married his wife twice. I loved all of the interconnected characters, Logan, Axel, Connell, Brogan, etc. and if you are a new reader, it’s very easy to pop in any of her books if one catches your eye. But if you have KU, I suggest you start at the beginning so you can enjoy them all.
SPOILER ALERT:
While I really like Caspian, and his relationship with his team, parents, and siblings, and I am happy that he and Ryleigh connected on such a deep level so quickly, their total lack of communication made this book my least favorite. I found it very immature on both of their parts to keep guessing how the other was feeling which often led to misunderstandings, and for them to just live in the moment, knowing he had a job to do in another state.
I did like how she wanted to help her mother after her father's passing, and how she worked through her feelings for Chuck, who kept popping up like a pimple, but wish she shared them with Caspian, but at only 22 she still had a lot of growing up to do. I realize that they only had a month together, but what he did at the end as his grand gesture was not realistic, totally irresponsible to his teammates, and short-sighted in my opinion.
In earlier chapters, he was working through ideas in his head how they could make a long distance relationship work, but never shared them with her so they could discuss it maturely. To voluntarily initiate a major career change to be near her while she attended a TEMPORARY two-year master’s program without ever speaking to her about it really upset me! And even though she tried to make amends to correct a misunderstanding, they were not honest with one another and she gave up way too quickly.
As a graduate student, she would have off summers (hockey players usually have off then too), a long winter and spring break, and he could fly to see her when there were no games, or fly her to him on a free day. Would they even want to stay in Minneapolis after she graduates?
A pro-hockey player has ten years at best, and then they could settle on a town they both liked, or where he got a coaching job. She is an industrial artist and could set up shop anywhere and sell her items. Their lack of communication and his decision were not how I personally wanted the book to go, especially that he “surprised” her with his decision instead of discussing their goals individually and as a couple and then make plans, like her possibly attending Savannah’s well-known school of College or Art and Design which is only a two hour drive south from Charleston.
I mean no respect to the author as this is not my story to tell, and I am sure she has a plan for the future. I was hoping to get Maxim’s story next, but am unsure now as Caspian’s book concludes this series with the Reapers. Even though I really liked Caspian's character, this particular book was just a miss for me. I will continue to read all of her books because I am a huge fan of her writing, characters, and storytelling.