I've been waiting for this book FOR YEARS and it did not disappoint! Throughout the book, I wondered how the conflict between Ryu and Emmitt would play out and I was very satisfied with the resolution. Raising the profile of players of color in the NHL was interesting and I appreciated seeing how both Ryu and Emmitt handled that challenge. I was glad to see Sebastian and Tristan as well as Morley and Bellzie. Now comes the long wait for TRADE DEADLINE. I have my suspicions over who will be the main characters and I can't wait to see what Avon and Piper do next!

4* I started off not liking the rather cocky Emmitt, but the authors gave us his, rather than Ryu's, thoughts, winning me over.

This was a case of opposites attract in some ways, and also like drawing out like in others. Emmitt - Army - was the newbie to the team and whilst I admired his confidence, and saw behind his brashness, I thought he was a bit too cocky and too ready to find his place in the team. Or, maybe that was the best way to do it, to make his intentions clear and state his piece, show that despite being the newbie, he wasn't up for having to prove himself; he'd show that via his actions on the ice? In the end, he turned out to be the guy who melted Ryu's ice and cool, understated confidence, though his arrival brought doubt and then stress to Ryu's life.

I did like that Ryu came to life with Army, initially through hating his confidence/cockiness and then later, when they fell for each other. I didn't get to see as much of inner-Ryu than I expected, but that's because the authors gave us the tale from Army's side more. We got to hear Army admit what he wanted, voice his love, try to repair them when he thought they were in a bad place, and it made me see that he was a decent guy, just a not unreasonably ambitious one. The guys also connected in their family histories, a little. They loved their parents, were only children, and had stilted relationships with them, other than Army being close to his mother. His father seemed to be holding on to his glory days and couldn't see Army as a successful guy in his own right, and Ryu's Japanese parents were ambitious, driven, wanting their son to be the best and match their achievements, but they didn't show any of that. They came across as detached and cool (not cold, but not showing emotions), portrayed as being traditionally Japanese, I believe, but these guys were Americanised and Ryu was US-born, so I struggled with that aspect a little...

The character in this tale that stood out the most for me was Tripod, whose actual name I can't recall, and who was a bit of an overgrown giant puppy here, as well as a bit of a manwhore. He had a great heart, was really generous and protective and without much of a filter on his thoughts and thought pattern/process, and I found myself hoping he'll get a story of his own. I'm not sure that'll be the case, as the captain, Bellzie, is divorced now and I'm pretty sure he's being set up as a future lead, but there were no scenes between these two guys and I'm not sure they're for each other. There is mention of a fellow league player, briefly, in a scene where naming him was justified, and I suspect he'll be a lead. Hmm. Now that I think about it, given Tripod's... ahem... preferences, I wonder if the final book in the series might end up being an MMM tale? Could that be possible in the NHL? I mean, at the end of this tale, Ryu and Army were out to the leads from book 1, and Army had hinted to Tripod that he was seeing a fellow player, but they weren't out officially, so... would the NHL be ready for guys in a triad relationship? I wonder. Something to look forward to, for sure.

ARC courtesy of Carina Press and NetGalley, for my reading pleasure.