A queer YA hockey story between two players?? ABSOLUTELY up my alley, and overall this book really did not disappoint!!

The main character is Mickey James III, who is playing college hockey for a year before he can be drafted into the NHL. He's third generation of hockey royalty with his father and grandfather having their numbers retired with the Sabres (the author is a huge sabres fan which I thought was super funny they said its my book and I wanna talk about the sabres!!! huge respect). He's also got anxiety and depression AND unresolved daddy issues, which he is trying to deal with while being crushed under the weight of expectations.

His rival/love interest is Jaysen, pretty much the only thing standing in the way of his #1 draft slot and the complete opposite player to him (charismatic, tall, physical, ect).

This is the setup for what turned out to be a pretty sweet, uncomplicated rivals-to-lovers story. Jaysen is Black and gay, and Mickey is bi, so homophobia and racism in the NHL is mentioned and discussed but there's no discriminatory language or behavior on page. Nothing bad really even happens, haha. No real complaints from me about that, its kinda nice to read a YA book with queer characters where no one gets hate crimed.

I appreciated that the story was set in college, and as a hockey fan I enjoyed that hockey was front and center and not just a background prop for the characters' relationships. If you don't know anything about hockey this will still be very easy for you to read! You may just need to google Gary Bettman, who actually gets namedropped a lot (he's the NHL commissioner).

This is really more of a character-focused book and I genuinely loved and was interested in all of them! I'd pick up a story about any of them in a heartbeat. (Dori and Barbie?? zero and kovy?) The relationship between mickey and his sisters was really special, and I enjoyed all the scenes they were in. If you're looking for a gripping plot, this is not the book for you.

If I've got any nitpicking with the book, it's that I wish Jaysen got more time in the spotlight. His family gets mentioned, but I really wish we got to see more of them! Also that hockey in the second half of the book is more background as Mickey focuses on his mental health and new relationship. I also wasn't completely satisfied with the ending, but I don't think it's a bad one necessarily.

Overall, a very enjoyable debut from this author! I will be picking up their next book, whatever it ends up being. And if y'all love hockey, or sports stories featuring queer characters, or just want a sweet, low-stakes YA read, definitely pick this up in January 2022!!

The incredibly wholesome, queer, enemies-to-lovers sports romance we all needed.

Mickey James is a hockey legacy starting his freshman year in college. Jaysen Caulfield (Cauler) is just some guy who only started playing hockey when he was 9 - and Mickey's biggest competition for being first draft pick in the NHL. Inconveniently, they're on the same team, and that team has very little tolerance for the unfriendly competition between the two. As it turns out though, Mickey and Cauler have more than one type of tension between them to address.

Aside from being an incredibly sweet romance wherein absolutely nothing goes wrong, this book does amazing things. Mickey is depressed and ends up starting medication, one of his sisters is queer and another one is in a polyam triad, and Cauler is Black (with the overwhelming whiteness of hockey being explicitly called out). The plot is fast-paced enough to remain interesting but ultimately this is a very character-driven book, with exceptionally well fleshed out characters all around. Mickey's depression is dealt with fantastically, especially with his feelings on how he shouldn't be depressed given how privileged he is. There is minor family conflict, but ultimately his family is very supportive of him as a person, and his sexuality goes unremarked upon despite his anxiety over it.

Highly recommend for fans of Julian Winters, anyone who enjoyed FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES FROM THE SUN, and everyone who wants a fluffy, quick read.