I am not a hockey fan, but I am a fan of hockey romances. I can’t explain it. I’ve never even seen a game. Maybe it’s the way the sheer physicality of hockey juxtaposes with the more intimate aspects of the romance that makes it such a great setting for romance. Season’s Change, by Cait Nary, is my new favorite in this sub-genre.

The novel starts at the beginning of training camp. Olly Järvinen is playing for a new team in DC after being traded by his home state team in Minnesota. What we learn as the novel progresses is that his transfer occurred after he was almost outed by a teammate for being gay. In the novel, he would have been the first gay professional hockey player, which is close to the truth in the real world. Luke Prokop, the first publicly gay NHL player, did not come out until last summer. Olly, however, is not ready to take on the massive responsibility of being the first. He comes to DC traumatized and bottled up, doing everything he can to hold it all in and not repeat the experience with his new team. He intends to keep his two worlds separate: hockey and who he is but has never really had much chance to be. Add on top of his situation an overbearing hockey Dad, and you have a recipe for crash and burn.

His roommate, Benji Bryzinski, is a rookie, three years younger, but with a better set of coping skills after years of therapy and a mindset to try things like yoga, deep breathing, and nutritious green shakes. He comes from his own set of familial problems: no Dad, poverty, and a mom he had to cut out of his life. He is the king of hookups, never seeing a woman for more than a night. But luckily for Olly, he is well set to be a guide and a caregiver, and eventually a lover.

Cait Nary does an awesome job of using the conversation between the two men, as well as their teammates, to show where their thinking is at: the friendships, the frustrations, and the resistance. The frequent razzing and guy talk makes the moments of tenderness feel even more meaningful.

There is a lot of hockey in this book, after all it does take place over a hockey season. The games are sometimes a counterpoint to the internal drama of Olly and Benji, and sometimes a reflection of their state of mind. I thought those passages worked really well in the novel, but others might not enjoy the highlight reels. A few of those scenes brought the drama to the ice, so I wouldn’t recommend skimming them!

I could not put this book down. I loved the way the relationship between these two men grew. The sex scenes were hot, but it was the quieter, daily intimacy that built between Olly and Benji that I couldn’t resist: the touch of a hand to ankle, the head on shoulder.

Grade: A
Kate H., Smexy Books

Another book that I really wish I liked more than I did. I am currently counting the days until the new Rachel Reid comes out, so I was excited to read this to fill that MM hockey romance gap in my life. Season’s Change follows Olly and Benji who are assigned as roommates at the start of the hockey season as they navigate a rough season and their growing attraction.

To start out, the book is about 100-150 pages too long, from what I can tell from my Kindle file, this book comes in at about a whopping 500 pages (100,000 words) and it feels that long. There were also serious problems with pacing. The book was past the 60% mark before it decided it wanted to be a romance. Up until that point the main characters were just bro-ing around being buds. The ending felt extremely rushed. Literally there were 490 pages of Olly being stressed about his teammates finding out he was gay and then everything was out and resolved without drama in the last 10 pages. I was also very happy that I actually understand hockey terminology and like the game because I would have been lost otherwise.

I want to be clear, that I did enjoy reading the book. I really liked Olly and Benji. I thought they were cute together and I liked the friends to lovers aspect of their relationship. I also really liked everyone on the hockey team and Olly’s family. I honestly don’t know what the next book will entail, if it will continue Olly and Benji’s story or if we’ll get a new set of main characters. I do plan on continuing to read the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC.

I thought I was going to like this book more than I did. Unfortunately it has few things that derailed my enjoyment.

The ratio hockey vs romance is unbalanced. Way too much hockey and too little couple romance . Season's Change isn't just a slow burn it crawls .

I would have been okay with it , if other things didn't happen BUT they did. The main one was that out of nowhere , there is a M/F/M scene where one of the heroes is so drunk his participation is nonconsensual.

My rating falls between a 2.5 and 3 stars.

Reviewed Season's Change by Cait Nary. #SeasonsChange courtesy of #CarinaPress and #NetGalley

This is the gooooooooood slowburn sports romance vibe that I love so much. A sports romance that embraces the sport too! 🙌🏻 This was a great hockey romance focusing on two team members that stole my heart. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

I really liked this M/M hockey romance. Olly is having a tough time when he transfers to the team and Benji is in his rookie season. When they become roommates, Benji does what he can to support Olly and they grow closer - much closer. I really liked how Benji just took everything in stride as their relationship developed and Olly had a lot of soul-searching to do to get himself in the right place mentally to truly have a real relationship with Benji. Would definitely read more in this series/by this author.

Season's Change is an incredibly slow burn, New Adult sports romance. It's heavy on character and world building but really doesn't structure itself as a typical romance. It definitely lays the groundwork of teammates and roommates to friends to lovers in a very slow pattern that won't be everyone's cup of tea. It features a lot of hockey and team building and also introspection and personal growth for Olly in particular and a very sweet build to the romance.

I enjoyed getting to know the boys, both the MC's and their friends on the team and as long as you know going in that this story is a long game and you truly enjoy a slow and not so steady build to the end, you will smile when you reach your destination.

The prose is well written and I could honestly see marketing this as a New Adult romance. I was a little thrown because of what I typically expect from a Carina Press book, but even though it's not what I expected, it was a good and enjoyable read.

This story was as compelling as it was frustrating.

***Minor spoilers and my frustrations ahead***

First of all, based on the blurb I was expecting quite another story. Olly at 24 I wouldn't call a veteran. Not one mention of kale. Olly is NOT a grumpy bastard but a very, Very, VERY depressed person and not once did he acted or described as grumpy. Sexy or heartfelt it was NOT (I'll explain more below). This sentence here <i>"ignoring their unspoken feelings isn’t making them go away. Acting on attraction is one thing, but turning a season’s fling into forever would mean facing the past..."</i> implies some kind of introspection going on from both MCs and realization of what they were doing but let me tell you very little of that happened and for one of them a person close to them had to buy them a clue.

Secondly, the POV was interchangeable between MCs and I would have appreciated a heads up before each change to know who's head I'm in especially since a lot of times, sentences would start like "Olly thought...." and it was Olly's POV.

Third, info in the story is coming and going and disappearing into the ether depending the needs of pushing the story forward, e.g. the fate of Eagles's goalie after his injury disappearing for a good half of the book.

Fourth:
<i><b>"You're twenty-one. And you've never had a girlfriend."</b></i> This is said with a bit of indignation and on behalf of Benji I have to say FU! He's 21 not 41!! And for someone that had to grind and grind and grind for where he is now I understand why he was "no distractions", especially with his home life being what it was.

Fifth, now that I mentioned Benji's home life, FU Krista!!! (Benji's sister). She was jealous and envious for where Benji is, while completely ignoring and disregarding how hard he worked for it. How guilty he felt, how he felt he had to push away his pride for everything that was given to him from his billet families, how he felt that if he didn't show his appreciation enough he would be cast aside or told he was ungrateful. And all that as a teenager too! Krista had her own shots but decided that being a WAG was better and every time Benji tried to be there for her and support her if she only left the psychologically abusive marriage she entered with her cheating husband, she shot him down and made him feel that he was a bad brother that doesn't know what it is to work for something since everything was handed to him. So yeah screw that B!

Sixth, here we enter the "no introspection happened whatsoever from both MCs" parts. For all that we had Benji's POV he never once inspected his feelings about Olly before shit hit the fan! He was thinking and comparing his kisses with Olly with his past hookups with women but that was that. And he never gave a thought about Olly's side of things. He never even went into introspection when Olly ask-told him that he was straight and would do the wife-kids one day. He was all "yeah, of course,, just not now, I'm only 21". He never thought "hmmm... I fooled around with other dudes and now with Olly... maybe I'm attracted to dude as well? Maybe I'm Bi?" NOPE!!! All that happened when Olly had a breakdown after Benji told him that Poiro guessed about them and left, and even then Alise and Darcy had to clue him in some!

Now for Olly's not introspection. So the dude was always under immense pressure when it came to hockey and add in his sexuality and yeah you have yourself a time bomb. But Olly internalized everything. I seriously wonder where his mother was in all this. When his father was criticizing every success and mistake equally. When his brothers ostracized him because he was dad's favorite. When he was dying inside because of all the homophobic BS in the Wolves's locker room. When shit hit the fan with the Wolves and the NAHA. When his father accused him of being a quitter and he was literally wasting away. He was a depressed black hole and the only thing that changed at the end was that he wasn't a black hole anymore. Depressed he remained and only at the end he had started climbing out of it, because he had Benji's support, his family's (mended relationships between him and his father and brothers) support and his team's. Up till Benji entered his life, Olly was doing absolutely nothing to come to grips with his sexuality and what happened with the Wolves. He was just pushing everything down and puking when those things were pushing towards the surface. He was wasting away and entertaining thoughts of retiring, although I doubt he would have reached that point alive. Self-destructive mode was well and truly activated. But Benji being the force he is and with his self as an example he pushed Olly towards Yoga and therapy. And they helped, even though Olly was still holding parts of himself back, but I think the most major thing was Benji's unwavering support.

Seven, let's go for that sexy, don't we. For me Benji and Olly didn't have chemistry. Oh they clicked and they worked together, they were a great couple, but in the way of sloooow burn. Of two people being thrown together because of circumstances and through grind and stuff that they went through, being together just works!

The two of them, before the finale, exchanged quite a few HJs and BJs and frottage for the win but the story wasn't explicit. There was a bit of power exchange as well since Olly liked giving control over to Benji.

Eight, the heartfelt... I have to say I felt for both of the MCs! Each of them had a hard life and there was comfort for both of them, even though some times it didn't seem to reach Olly because of how deep his hurts went and how closed off he was. Was it enough for everything that was packed emotion-wise into this story? NOPE! Was it frustrating when help was there but they didn't want to help themselves? HECK YES!!! So the heartfelt was lagging behind a bit.

Also, I believe in those two. I think they love each other but I never felt like they are in love with each other. Their falling was drowned by Olly not letting himself believe in it because he was sure he was a fling for Benji and I'm sorry but all of Benji's realizations about what he was doing with Olly had more to do with a broadening of his sexuality and admitting to himself that he liked both males and females than examining what he was feeling about Olly.

Ninth:
<i><b>"could have gotten fucked for the first time by someone who didn't hate himself, and hate Olly for the things he made him feel.</b></i>"
There's a heck of a lot that needs to be unpacked here, but once more the author is dropping a bomb and leaves it at that.

And finally below the thing that, in one of the most pivotal scenes in the book, threw me so completely out of the story and the feelings of the moment, that I was left dizzy and reeling!
<i><b>[...]the confident way he pressed his fingers against <u>the hole of Olly's body.</u></b></i>
THE HOLE OF OLLY'S BODY!!! WHAT THE HECK?! WHAT THE F?!! It's not a hole in a thing!!! FFS!!!

As I said this was a good, compelling read but it was frustrating as all get out as well.

<i>I received an ARC from NetGalley and Harlequin and this is my honest review.</i>

P.S.: There's a typo that annoyed me in the book and I hope it's corrected before the book is released. And there are also a lot of nicknames and shortened words in the story so much so that I thought the author was Australian since I've never come across so many of them from US authors.

Wow.


Season’s Change by Cait Nary is the first in her Trade Season series and her Carina debut. It is an excellent friends-to-lovers hockey romance. Olly Järvinen and Benji Bryzinski end up assigned as roommates coming into a new season. Olly is newly traded to the team but not to the league, while Benji is a rookie.

Cait Nary does an incredible job portraying their friendship and the connections between their teammates in way that feels very real. Olly and Benji clearly connect as friends, as the sunny Benji gently coaxes the more reserved and tightly strung Olly into casual conversation, shared outings with teammates, and healthy meals.

Ms Nary also writes hockey in a way that caught this non-hockey-watcher up in the excitement and flow of the games and season. I loved just about everything about Season’s Change and can’t wait for more from this talented author.

I'm a huge fan of hockey .... and an equally huge fan of M/M hockey stories. And I honestly wish I could say I'm a huge fan of this book, but this story just did not work for me personally.

The book has good bones - a hockey team chock full of great characters, some pretty good hockey action, interesting family dynamics for both MCs, and a "budding friendship / bromance / something more?" between a veteran player and a D-man rookie who has always given hockey his all because it's his only way to rise up from his childhood.

Olly Järvinen is gay. He was harrassed by his homophobic roommate with his former team, and suffers from extreme anxiety / PTSD. Benji Bryzinski "was just a dumbass from Duncannon, Pennsylvania, but he had arrived." He's a good bro, and shortly everyone on the team is his bro, and he takes nervous twitchy Olly under his 6' 5" wing.

But at 377 pages, Olly's terror about being outed and Benji's dude-bro goodness grows thin after a while. There is a lot (a lot) of internal monologues from both MCs and nothing happens between the two MCs for the first half of the book. Finally, they begin a sexual relationship, with Olly believing that Benji is mostly straight-ish and will leave him for a woman eventually, and Benji doesn't really figure out until almost the end that he's probably bisexual. Sigh ....

I suppose it's unusual to have a M/M hockey romance where the two MCs and their relationship is the least interesting aspect of the book. The Washington Eagle's team is really well done, and I liked reading about how the players really care about one another; the hockey itself is well-written; the family dynamic between Olly and his brothers is touching; I really want Benji's sister Krista to wake up and realize she can do much better than her unfaithful husband; I like the way Benji works so hard to move from the trailer park to the NHL; and the author really does a good job on showing how Olly is helped during his therapy.

Overall I would give all these aspects of the story a strong 4 stars, but the relationship angst is 2 stars, so I'm giving 3 stars to Season's Change and hoping that the second book in the series will improve on the good bones of this book.

Oh, and as a side note, if Olly's family lives in Duluth, they aren't going to have a cabin on Lake Vermillion. For us Minnesotans, the North Shore area is God's country and most of us dream about having a cabin around Grand Marais or close to Lake Superior.

Season's Change by Cait Nary was a very slow burn. Overall, this is a solid debut, but Rachel Reid is one of my favorite romance writers and it's hard to measure up to her work and inevitably I compare any hockey romance to Reid's work. I liked how the two leads, Benji and Olly, were very different from each other and complemented each other well. But the attraction between them didn't feel palpable and the buildup of even their friendship happens very slowly, although it did feel realistic. I also felt that at points the prose was description-heavy and I prefer stories driven by dialogue and plot developments.

I enjoyed Olly and Benji. Olly was so hurt and broken, afraid to open himself up. Benji was the light that he needed. They had great chemistry as both friends and lovers. Benji peels Olly's protective layers off bit by bit. Great world creation with interesting secondary characters. The author did a wonderful job of making us actually feel all the characters' emotions and kept us in the story. Highly recommend!!

2.5 / 2.75 stars? I feel bad as I write this but this book missed the mark for me. It was a lot of telling without the showing. The majority of the book is inner monologues of the MCs. The other part is hockey talk, which if you're not a real fan of the sport you may find yourself skimming. The romance is non existent the entire first half of the book. It is riddled with internalized homophobia and mental health issues that we're told have been worked through, but don't really get a front row seat to it. We only see the suffering aspect. I may be splitting hairs here, but there is also a scene that some might consider dubious consent...And it involves a woman.

The second half of the book is Benji and Olly hooking up, but it's not until the very end they finally admit their feelings. As in, they admit their feelings and the book ends. I wanted to see them together, navigating life as a couple. I was invested enough to want to see Olly healthy and realizing he can have all the things he dreamed of having with Benji. I wanted a strong HEA for them so bad after all the hell they went through. I also wanted things to wrap up with Benjis sister, but that was kind of left hanging somewhere.

I did love the side characters. The teammates were awesome. Their banter was so fun and you could tell they all wanted the team to succeed and be like a big happy family. They continually checked on each other if they felt something was wrong with another teammate. The coach was fabulous. All these were good things about the book and kept it off my DNF shelf. There was so much potential here and I think if book 2 continues with the same couple it might place this closer to the 3 stars. If this is the end of Olly and Benji then well, the puck didn't exactly make it in the net.

This was an enjoyable read that offered a realistic love story between teammates who were in a very complicated situation. I enjoyed the light and darker moments of this story and cannot wait to read more from this author.

A truly incredible book. Simply the best sport romance I have ever read.

I was enthralled the entire time and could barely put the book down. Benji and Olly are both such charming and fully-realized characters and I thoroughly enjoyed both of their POVs, which is super rare for me, someone who is kind of fussy about alternating POVs. Nary's character work is masterful--not only were all of the side characters unique and memorable, but I was actively invested in them and loved seeing how they interacted with the main characters, and each other.

Speaking of fussy, as a pretty big hockey fan, I'm very particular about how hockey is portrayed in books. The author really knocks that out of the park with this one! Detailed enough that as a hockey fan I was pleased, but not so jargon-heavy that it would be difficult for a non-sports fan to enjoy the story.

I also thought all of the discussions and portrayals of mental health in this book were very empathetic and well thought out. I'm not generally one for a closeted character story, but the emotions and struggles that Olly went through in this book were very realistic. I cheered for his successes, and emphasized with his struggles.

I also appreciated that the third act conflict felt very realistic to how the characters had been acting all book, and not some sudden drama drop that would make me frustrated with the abrupt change in character.

I could go on for ages about this book, but honestly: this was my first book of the new year, and it's certainly going to be a tough one to beat! I look forward to whatever Nary writes in the future, and I would heartily recommend this book to sports romance and novices alike.

First, let me start with my decision for a two star review. Ordinarily, I might have given it three, but when it came down to it: I didn't like this book. I liked Olly. I liked Benji. I liked their vibe. But the book itself... Ugh. It felt like Jonsey and Reilly from Letterkenny were taking over every time there was a Hockey Bro talk. It seriously detracted from the likability of basically any other character. It was also just so long... it took nearly half the book for them to finally kiss and all the steamy bits were vague. Which is fine, if the rest of the book has something going for it. But this one didn't. I was done reading about a 100 pages before it *actually* finished...but I pressed on just to write this review.

Pros: Olly deals with some real issues, the characters are likeable, and the premise itself isn't one that I've read a dozen times already as I'm burning my way through every gay hockey novel there is.

Cons: I already mentioned the Broski speak. The side-plot with Krista seems to just dangle to the side and doesn't actually add anything but angst. Also, I'm just gonna say it: the characters are bi-phobic. I hope that isn't the intent of the author (as Benji is clearly bi or pan --and YES those are two different things), but really... if Benji has the self awareness to know that he likes having threesomes with another dude...he should have the self-awareness that he's into guys.

My last complaint is that I didn't see a lot of character growth in either of the two main characters and they both needed it. Olly needed desperately to handle his shit; he made steps to doing so, but then...never had the conversation with Benji about what happened with the Wolves (to be honest, I'm not sure that *I* completely understand other than the homophobic coach). It's good that he finally came out to his family, but that's about it. He ghosted his therapist when he needed her both, and yoga is only going to do so much, my dude.

This is the start of a new series and I honestly can't say whether or not I'll read another one. It might come down to who the next pair is (considering the series title is Trade Season, my guess is Stormy and we'll be going on to his next team? Or perhaps some new trade to the team that I just don't recall because at that point I had zero fucks left). I definitely wouldn't pay to read another one, that's for sure. (...Thank goodness for Netgalley and libraries).

My favorite types of books are those that you go in thinking "oh is going to be a fun read" and then by the end it absolutely knocks it out of the park and you go "oh, I don't just like this, I love it. This is everything."

Season's Change is one of those books, chock full of surprises.

I went in knowing this was a sports romance, but how was I supposed to know that there would be miles and miles of yearning? A slow burn in every sense. A slow burn friendship, a slow burn romance - each so lovingly crafted that it hurt me and made me want to pull my hair out. A slow burn that eventually grew into a full on blaze, so worth it every step of the way.

How was I supposed to know that a sports romance would have some of the best mental health rep I've ever seen? With some of the best and more accurate portrayals of therapy and how helpful and important it is. Olly and Benji's story really drives home the point that love doesn't magically fix things, but that unwavering support and understanding makes a person feel seen, heard, and valid which is so much more powerful. Through the course of the story, Olly (a new fave character! ready to protect him with my life!) works through so much trauma and its written in such a wonderfully human way - flawed, but trying.

Season's Change was a delight and a shocker, and I say this very affectionately. I'll be thinking of this one for a long time.

☼ thank you to netgalley and carina press for an arc of season's change in exchange for an honest review.

i haven't read a hockey romance in a long while and although i love sports romances, i stick to authors i know. i am so so so happy i ventured to new authors with cait nary because the author delivered all i wanted from sports romances.

1. the dynamic between the teammates is immaculate. i grew so fond and passionate for the antics and hilarity that ensued every time the team was together.

2. the slow freaking burn was disgustingly good. i was frothing at the mouth at how good they were as friends and how their feelings agonizingly developed. superb job.

3. the fear of coming out was executed so realistically and yes, i might have found it supremely nerve-wracking to read, i didn't this time because i had content warnings from other reviewers, thank you so much, guys! and i think nary wrote from a very thoughtful place because i loved olly and i rooted for him so strongly.

4. the family relationships chosen and blood were so moving i loved every bit of it especially olly's brothers. i love that some of the messy family ties weren't smoothed over with a 'it all went superbly' because that's just not how it goes in real life.

5. olly and benji's friendship meant so much to me. the fact that their relationship is so strong made so much sense to me because they were so so so good to one another. the inside jokes. the mom and dad relationship. the way benji was so adoring of olly and affirming and olly pulled through and sought out help outside his friendship so he could be a better partner and friend to benji...such a gorgeous, gorgeous book.

i loved every word in this book. it's thoughtful, comforting, and so so romantic. you'll fall soooo hard for benji and olly.

Fan’s of Rachel Reid should check out this series debut. Olly’s mental health is not good. Traded from his hometown team after a hushed up off-ice incident, withdrawn from his family, and now starting with a new team, and rooming with a sunny (and hot) rookie defenseman. Benji’s worked through a lot if his own issues and might just be able to help his roommate back off the edge. VERY slowburn but worth the time.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

I’ve recently discovered that one of my fave sports romance tropes is rookie + the veteran 🤤 & Cait Nary’s Season’s Change offers that plus great mental health rep, sunshine & the loner, & roommates/friends falling in love.

Olly & Benji’s journey to a love declaration isn’t easy for lots of reasons, including the fact that hockey veteran Olly isn’t publicly out—he hasn’t even told his family yet—& Benji isn’t much for introspection & is overall pretty slow in recognizing/understanding his feelings for Olly.

Beyond this, Olly has experienced what I would call severe anxiety & perhaps even depression over how people associated with his previous team treated him after someone saw him trying to hookup with another man.

Needless to say, this isn’t a light read. There’s quite a lot of angst. But it is a wonderful story about friendship turning to love, about supporting someone & encouraging them through moments of emotional turmoil.

The steam doesn’t hurt (understatement); neither do the two MCs, who are sweet, well-meaning, & refreshingly “flawed” (ie human). I’m really looking forward to seeing what Cait Nary puts out into the world next.


4.5 ⭐️. Release date: 02/01.

[CWs: Olly’s dad has put a lot of pressure on him throughout his life. Severe anxiety episodes. Homophobic members of the hockey community who treat Olly horribly as well as “jokes” made by his new teammates which don’t seem meant maliciously but which do cause Olly (at least) emotional distress (ie a player might refer to another player’s close friend on the team as a “wife”). When Olly & Benji first hook up it’s in a threesome. Benji kisses & tells—at the beginning of the book he brags about oral sex he received.]

[ID: the ebook rests on a fluffy white blanket. On the left is a sparkly white ornament & on the right another sparkly white ornament is on a bright blue toboggan.]

*3.5 stars

This was my first book by Cait Nairy and I am sure that I will read many more books by her in the future. I love the grumpy-sunshine trope and even though I think it was only executed to a certain level in this story, I still adore that dynamic.

Now, Ollie is the veteran hockey player who just traded teams and his current roommate situation is the rookie Benji who is like happiness personified. I liked how their friendship evolved, but it was a bit frustrating when Ollie always retreated into himself whenever he got smacked by the reality and all the possibilities of what might happen. I definitely appreciate that mental health is included in the story, but I don't want it there just to add to the story. I want the story to dive deeper into it and actually recognize the problem and the long, hard way back to recovering.

Also, how obvious wasn't it to everyone else but Olle and Benji what their relationship actually evolved into?? I mean, it wasn't really a surprise to their families or teammates in the end.

Overall, an enjoyable read that grabbed me from the start, but at times it felt more like two steps forward and one back all over again. In the end, I would definitely recommend it!