This was just okay for me. It didn’t give me a lot of feels, and was a quick and easy but somewhat flat read, with a lot more telling than showing.

For instance, telling about the Ryu and Emmitt’s relationships with their parents and explaining their parents past actions and feelings rather than showing them, as well as explaining to each other in dialogue what happened. It wasn’t exactly exciting. Active scenes and/or flashbacks could have helped to flesh out these stories and the characters.

Another example of telling more than showing was when Emmitt or Ryu would get into some commentary about racism in sports. I wanted more scenes that made me connect emotionally with the characters and less statements which were slightly preachy. It’s like I get it, now make me feel something.

Make me feel like the stakes in their relationship were so high I would cry if they split or had a misunderstanding, because there wasn’t enough buildup to the romance. They hooked up for casual sex and a couple weeks or a month later, they had feelings. The novel didn’t show how the feelings developed. But I liked how proud and supportive they were of each other, both in the net and out on the ice. I liked their ESPN highlight reel athletic heroism.

I liked the beginning and the end, which was the most emotional and intense part of the story, but the middle felt like the authors were just hitting the main plot points. There wasn’t a lot of action. The main tension in the novel was about which goalie would start in the playoffs, but when one of their teammates (Morley) put things in perspective, it seemed like common sense. I don’t know why Emmitt and Ryu hadn’t figured this out earlier. The revelation was kind of anticlimactic.

I also felt like Emmitt’s personality was too familiar, like I’d seen the snark and cockiness in a Scoring Chances novel. Not that it was bad, it was quite entertaining, but I kept thinking of Emmitt as Ethan. The characters weren’t very complex.

I wanted to like this book more but it just didn’t work for me.

Rainbows and Sunshine
Review published on September 25,2019
This is the second book in the series and can be read as a standalone.
✔Enemies to Lovers
✔Hockey players
✔Friends with benefits
✔Sizzling Chemistry
✔🔥🔥🔥Hot sex
✔ Dual POV
What is not to love??
I have a thing for enemies to lovers and add in hockey players and FWB, it’s a no-brainer. I loved this book! Both Ryu and Emmitt are men of colour. Diversity for the win. I very much appreciate the non white MCs.

Ryu and Emmitt have smoking hot levels of UST. This is enemies to lovers done right. I mean they are rival goalies playing for the same team!

We meet Tristan and Seb from the first book, which is exciting. But the character who stole my heart is the super chill, amazingly supportive Morley. Please tell me the next book is his story. Pretty pretty please?

*ARC provided by the author via A Novel Take PR and Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review

I loved it!

The first book in this series (Off the Ice) was my introduction to Avon Gale's and Piper Vaughn's writing. I loved that book so much I wondered how I could possibly like Goalie Interference as much. It's a totally different type of story – enemies-to-lovers – and I did love it just as much as the first albeit in a different way.

I don't think I've read a lot of books with the enemies-to-lovers trope, actually maybe none, so this was a great one to start with. When Ryu learns that he has to compete for the starting goalie position that he thought was his, he isn't happy and he can't stand Emmitt, the cocky newcomer who wants to take the spot away from him. Emmitt is thrilled to be playing in the NHL; he really wants to be the starting goalie for his new team.

When they can no longer fight the attraction that simmers between them, Ryu and Emmitt agree to an enemies-with-benefits deal to help rid themselves of their attraction to each other and to work off their sexual frustration. What neither of them expected was for their agreement to turn into a relationship.

Goalie Interference kept me glued to my e-reader into the wee hours of the morning. The story is fairly angsty but not overly so. Emmitt is bi-sexual and not afraid to have that be common knowledge; Ryu is more reserved and not out as gay. Ryu coming out isn't really a central theme in this book, though. The story is more about the competitiveness in professional sports and how two people who love each other handle their competition for the same spot on their team. It's also about POC (people of color) in a sport that is dominated by white males.

Ryu and Emmitt have more in common than their position of goalie. Both of them have family standards to live up to. Ryu's father is an Olympic Gold Medal ice skater and his mother is a surgeon. They aren't really unhappy that he chose hockey for a career but there is a lot of pressure on him to be the very best.

Emmitt's father had a career in the NFL that was ended abruptly due to a career ending injury. He always wanted Emmitt to follow in his footsteps and has never made any attempt to understand hockey. Emmitt feels that his dad isn't proud of the things he's accomplished so he puts a lot of pressure on himself to win; he really wants to earn the starting goalie position and maybe that will finally make his father proud of him.

Trade Deadline is the next book in the series, coming in 2020, and I can't wait to read it.

A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.

***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***

Ryu and Emmitt are very different in personality and ethnicity. But the ways they are similar are so much more important and interesting.

They feel too much pressure from their parents (for Emmitt, it's his dad), they both want to highlight the need for diversity in their much loved sport, ice hockey, and they are both goalies.

Being goalies for the same team means they are competitors, but this just amplifies their attraction and the connection. Even if initially they appear to dislike each other, really it's a sub-conscious realisation of their physical desire for the other. It's pretty fun to read.

I thought the ending could have gone differently (the bit about the tandem job bit), but overall, I loved every minute I spent with this deserving couple.

Another one to come I hope. Probably will be Morley's story.

Thanks for advanced copy, Netgalley and Carina Press. Book is out September 30.

NOTE: This review is going to be posted on GoodReads tomorrow, as I've agreed to do with A Novel Take PR.

<b>*I was provided an ARC on <i>NetGalley</i> in exchange for an honest review*</b>

GOALIE INTERFERENCE is the second novel in the Hat Trick series, featuring players on a (fictional) hockey team based in Atlanta. The writing duo Avon Gale + Piper Vaughn is, to me, basically a guarantee I will thoroughly enjoy a book. I was not disappointed at all - quite the opposite. I LOVED THE SHEER <b>CUTENESS</b> OF THIS BOOK.

It’s got one of my favorite tropes: enemies to it’s-just-sex-because-you-make-me-too-mad to lovers. Emmit and Ryu are two rival goalies fighting for the NHL starting job for the Venom. They can’t be more different as goalies - I got a distinct Carey Price vibe from Ryu, while Emmit is more… out there, aggressive (when I find I comparison, I’ll edit it in). They also can’t be more different as people: while Ryu is extremely private, soft spoken, and generally emanates an air of aloofness, Emmit is… again, out there. Loud. Bold. HOWEVER, they share some common ground (aside for the obvious fact that they’re both hockey goalies, duh): they are different from most hockey players (Ryu is Japanese, Emmit is Black - and God knows the NHL needs more diversity, this book is a sweet fantasy); their sexual orientation is not what’s expected from mainstream, very macho-style, hockey culture (Ryu is gay, Emmit is bi); their parent(s) do not share their enthusiasm for their sport of choice. They fall in love as they discover this common ground, which I found super cute.

If you expect fire, this is not the book for you. There is a quiet calm of this love-story progressing, which is also a feature of the first book (OFF THE ICE - <b>READ THAT!</b>). There’s the sizzling of reciprocal attraction (hockey butts are extremely hot; long straight black hair - please, tell me <i>much</i>more); the burn of the beginning of a new relationship; the hotness of a 24/7 control freak (yes, why you ask, OF COURSE it’s Ryu); the sweetness of learning you can actually call the other person in the dead of the night and <i>they are very happy to hear from you, listen to your problems, and provide advice</i>; the maturity of learning that your job comes first, but so does your relationship. It’s all very romantic and cute. Did I say <i>cute</i> enough times? This book is extremely cute, and in the time I’ve had the ARC I’ve read it no less than five times. It’s just that soothing to read a love-story that’s normal, not over the top with drama (although there is drama), where both of the MC start and end as good people.

<spoiler>Do you think Emmit and Ryu slept with the Stanley Cup in between them? I would love to read a bonus story about THAT.</spoiler>

3.5 stars rounded up

This was a bit of a mixed bag for me.

The story is told in alternating povs and I immediately liked Ryu and immediately disliked Emmitt. In a way though it helped with the enemies to lovers theme here. I totally understood why Ryu disliked Emmitt so much. I think the enemies to lovers part was really well done and it was a case where they genuinely disliked each other. (So often it's more like the mc's are pretending to dislike each other.)

They had a lot of chemistry together and how they wound up in each other's beds seemed realistic and I really enjoyed those parts of the book. Where things got a bit side ways for me was I never really understood how/when they fell for each other. Their dislike was shown on page and their sexy times were on page but then they are both thinking how much they care for each other and I'm not really sure how we got there. I didn't feel any love between them. Lot's of telling, little to no showing. This has been a consistent complaint of mine in all these author collaborations. I like Gale's solo books SO much better and I would be such a happy reader if she would go back to writing books on her own.

If I rated this just on the romance I would probably 2.5-3 star it. Where this book shined for me was the hockey. It's hockey filled. Lot's of time of them on the ice and at games and practices. Lot's of talk of goalie superstitions and rituals. It all felt really authentic. You can tell the author's genuinely love this sport. Their love of it shines through the story. Being that I also love the game I really dug this part and it tipped this book to a better overall feeling for me. I was willing to give some of the other stuff I didn't like a pass.

Another bonus for me was that both of the MC's are POC. Emmitt is black and Ryu is Japanese. There was some discussion about the lack of POC in hockey and it was woven in well.

I will note that the couple from the first book are in this a lot. Tristan is still playing on the Venom's team and he has to bring his asshat boyfriend with him all the time. Gah....I hate Sebastian. I hated him in his book and I hated him here. He's such a judgmental ass. I dislike him like he's a real person. So....if you liked book one you'll be happy. If you're me, not so much.

Overall I enjoyed this. I had far more things I liked about it than I disliked. I think it was weak romance wise but the rest was really good. I liked the overall plot, the various characters on there team and the hockey aspects.


**ARC provided through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Excellent writing as usual from Avon and Piper. The beginning was a little difficult to get into as I felt there were too many characters thrown in the mix at one time and the development of the enemies-to-lovers trope was a bit contrived and weak. But once they got together, I was fully invested in their journey. I found their relationship to be both sensual and sweet. This story is an excellent mix of great hockey narration and angsty, conflicted romance. I was a bit disappointed in the ending as I didn’t think it was right to leave them still hiding their relationship but hopefully that means we’ll get to see a little more of their story in the next book in the series (esp. since I’m not fully ready to let them go yet). I am looking forward to more by this author duo as always!

Really enjoyed this book by authors who are new to me. There is a nice balance between the romance element and the hockey element. A pet peeve of mine is purported “sports romances” that are light on the actual sports. The author’s here clearly have a love of and understanding of hockey and that adds significantly to the story.

The MCs are compelling in their differing from the usual...a black man and a Japanese man in competition for the role of starting goalie on an NHL team. The authors use an alternating POV which I enjoy. This enemies to lovers story is nicely paced and the emotion is well written...not over the top but you can feel it in your gut anyway. Emmitt’s brashness and Ryu’s cool reserve may be a bit of ethnic stereotyping but the way the characters are developed over the course of the story makes this easy to overlook. I enjoyed the way the authors used the family backgrounds, particularly expectations of athletically talented fathers, as a bonding point.

The crisis moment is well done, the ending is exciting and the HEA nicely accomplished. Especially liked the way one of the secondary characters plays a role in that.

Enjoyed this book so much that I’m definitely going back to read book one and will certainly read book two.

This was a damned fun read!!!

Thank you authors for providing us with two MCs of color! Diversity is sorely lacking in this romance sub genre and I heartily applaud the inclusion of people of color! 👏👏👏👏

I’m a huge fan of sports romances. My favorite of all is HOCKEY! Avon Gale is one of my favorite hockey MM romance writers and I gobble up everything she writes. This book was no different. I couldn’t finish it fast enough!!!

After reading the first one in the series, I was hoping that this follow up would give me more. More heat, more likeable characters, more hockey. I got all of that!!

Two goalies. One competition for the starting job. One goalie is a loud, out and proud, bisexual cockier than anything sizzling hot black man. He’s fresh up from the minors starting his rookie year in the NHL. The other goalie is an introverted, closeted, cool and collected J-pop stylin’ Japanese American hottie.

They hate each other from the get go. So of course they decide that the best way to blow off steam from the stress of competing for the top goalie spot is to jump into bed—no strings attached. What a joy it is to see Ryu boss Emmitt around in bed. Our quiet goalie is all sorts of controlling!🔥🔥🔥

Well, the sex gets hot, heavy and messy, and tangles up the guys in feelings. Feelings they try to ignore. When that doesn’t work, they try to hide them from each other, because they are too competitive to give in first and admit these feelings.

Things happen. Hockey things and feeling a explode and it’s all good. Happy good. Winning good. Hot in bed good.

Then comes the part where hockey and a run for the Stanley Cup gets in the way of their relationship on and off the ice. I’ll admit that I shed a few tears here, but they were short-lived!

The feelings and hockey came into perfect alignment for the guys and they left us with a great HFN.

So, that’s all the good: sex, enemies to lovers, people of color!!

My favorite part?? Morley! He is a funny as hell character and hockey player—he needs his book! Do you hear me authors???? I LOVED HIM!

My least favorite part? I didn’t get the feels when tj guys got them—I got delayed feels. Something didn’t quite line up there. Maybe it was Ryu’s reserve. But I did get wrapped up with them and their story (remember the tears I mentioned earlier)? Also, more hockey—I can always use more hockey, but at least here I got more than in the first book.

My rec? Read it!!!

4 stars ⭐


This book is about:

A professional hockey player named Ryu who plays as a goalie for the Atlanta Venom and who, after a stellar season in his team, expects to be nominated as the starting goalie.

However, everything changes when he's informed he will be competing for the spot with a player from a lower league named Emmit and tension quickly arises between them.

Both players desperately want the spot, but the situation becomes trickier when their attraction to each other gets harder and harder to resist, especially when they realise how well they work together.


Pros:

One of my favourite aspects of this story is the tension between Ryu and Emmit because it added a lot more excitement to their romance. I also loved the incorporation of the hate to love trope which is one I always enjoy. 

In addition to that, this book manages to discuss important and serious topics, such as parents' expectations for their children and the pressure those put on them as well as racism. Both main characters are not white, Ryu is asian and Emmit is black, and this novel touches on how little POC are in NHL hockey teams.

Something else I noticed is the improvement of the writing: I read the first book of this series last month and that was one of my criticisms, but I've noticed an increase in its quality which makes me more eager to read the last book in this trilogy.


Another element worth noticing is these characters' friend group. As they are part of the same team, they have mutual friends and it made me so happy to read about how supportive they are in their own way to Ryu and Emmet.


Cons:

Just as I pointed out in my Off the Ice review, the sex scenes are not my preferred content. For this reason, I decided to skim/skip them in order to have a more enjoyable experience and I'm glad I did because that's what happened.

Unless I'm forgetting, I didn't find any more flaws in this book other than it just doesn't feature neither my favourite characters nor plot, those being reasons why its rating is not higher.


Final thoughts:

Overall, in my opinion, Goalie Interference is a great new adult m/m romance which I would definitely recommend to readers who are looking for a new couple to gush over.

Can I say two years as "a long time coming"?

The first book of this series <b><i>Off the Ice</i></b> was released in 2017 with a different publisher -- then the authors changed publisher, the first book being re-released, and this one was pushed back. Honestly, I already forgotten about who Ryu Mori was *laugh*. I am not one with strong memory (I read too many books) and I don't like re-reading.

ANYWAY, from the start <b><i>Goalie Interference</i></b> introduced two men with different traits. Ryu Mori, the 'original' goalie for the Atlanta Venom is more reserved and can comes off as rather cold or slightly anti-social. Emmitt Armstrong, the new goalie traded to be Ryu's tandem is a complete opposite. He's loud, brattish, and proud. But hey, there's a reason why we have the term opposites attract, right? Because despite their high competitive nature on the ice, where both men want to be the Venom's starting goalie, they also attract SPARKS.

I was rather worried in the beginning when Ryu and Emmitt decided to burn the tension between them with sex rather quickly in the book. Then another sex scene. And another. I will always prefer books with less sex content, so I was ready to skim a LOT of pages (which kinda disappointing). Luckily, the authors also provide other 'heart-to-heart' moments that more appealing to me as a reader. Like when they decided to do ask/answer personal things while doing Jenga. Or those night talks and texts. I loved those!

I still don't understand about the management/coach decision to do the tandem format, and then "destroy" it by telling these two that one WILL be the starter goalie. I can easily guess how THAT goes with our heroes. It's too predictable. Then the resolution of THAT conflict was rather disappointing. It made me angry with the management/coach to be honest.

Oher than that, it was an enjoyable enemies-to-lovers story. I hope book #3 will come sooner than two years

Another great book from Gale and Vaughn. Well written and developed characters round out a great hockey story and romance. So entertaining and passionate, a must read.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley who provided me with an ARC in exchange for a review

I’ve been on a massive hockey romance binge lately. It’s not a sport I’m super familiar with as it’s not popular in Australia, for obvious reasons. But after reading god knows how many books, I’ve come to love these warriors on the ice. One thing has become very clear though, and that is there’s not that many players of colour in the sport.

Goalie Interference is book two in the series but you could read it as a stand-alone if needed. It’s enemies to lovers, opposites attract, out and closeted. There’s a lot in this book to unpack.

Ryu Mori is a Japanese-American with J-pop looks and an icy demeanor. He’s certain this season he’ll be the starting goalie but when they announce that he and the new rookie goalie Emmit Armstrong will be playing in tandem instead he’s determined to put this annoying brat in his place.

Emmit, fresh up from the AHL has a lot to prove, and is determined to show that he’s got the stuff to be starting goalie for an NHL team.

They get off to a rocky start but soon find common ground with hard to please parents and genuine affection and love.

I loved both of these guys. I just wanted to wrap touch-averse Ryu up in a big hug (although he would hate that) and Emmit was a laugh, so beautiful and open.

I read this directly after the first book and while it does help knowing the back story it isn’t necessary to enjoy this one.

The authors have put together a very enjoyable tale here and I prove that even if you’re not that into sports or don’t particularly know the game well you can enjoy men loving men in any situation.

Highly recommended.

3.5 Stars

Ryu Mori is the intriguing friend I’d like to know more from the previous entry of Gale/Vaughn’s “Hat Trick” series. So of course I was eager to read GOALIE INTERFERENCE upon learning he’d star it with a new goalie to the team, Emmitt Armstrong.

The promise of enemies-to-lovers mixed with lust-to-love was really strong and the ruckus started off well with both men holding back. In case of Ryu, at least. I’m with him in thinking Emmitt’s confidence was a bit too much. Personally, I sympathized with Ryu and his not-prone-to-display-emotion disposition. Most of the time, I felt Emmitt provoked the heck out of Ryu that even got me annoyed.

I guess the above showed that I leaned more to Ryu’s side on this “friendly” battle between the two goalies. I’m subjective like that while reading, getting attached to either one or more character. And in that sense, I thought this book was pretty engaging and relatable. However, I felt the story wasn’t delved deep enough for the characters to truly work out the (personal) issues they had. The shift in their feelings and relationship seemed rash (plus the balance between their wanting to stay private yet not really taking precaution to avert outsiders (and press) saw them together didn’t feel right). On the other hand, after quite a steamy affair they had, the conclusion to their predicament felt too lukewarm.

All things considered, I had mixed feelings for this entry. I’m all for the alternate POVs that allowed (me, readers) insight to the men’s thought and feeling; much of those the turmoil they had when their competitive streak battled with the pride over the other’s achievement. That part made for convincing dilemmas for both Ryu and Emmitt. But it did feel as if this installment was not fully explored. I shall just try to think positive and hope that (maybe) more of these guys story would spill into the next book. Or some sort of (standalone) coda of the series? 🤷🏽‍♀️who knows🤷🏽‍♀️

I was highly anticipating this book coming out, but can't help but feel kind of disappointed in it now that I've read it? There are some things that I really loved about it, like the fact that this book stars two POC love interests in a hockey romance book - Ryu is Japanese-American and Emmitt is Black. But it's also for that same reason that I've kind of feeling a bit iffy because of the rep in this story? So, I definitely have mixed feelings about the whole situation.

We met Ryu in the last book as Tristan's friend and backup goalie for the NHL team, the Atlanta Venom. Ryu gets his chance at being the starting goalie for the team now that their starting goalie got traded off, and they have a rookie coming in. Obviously, the spot should go to the more experienced member of the team, right? Well, it appears that no decision has been made and it becomes a rivalry between Ryu and the rookie, Emmitt, to battle it out.

Emmitt had been playing in the AHL and helped bring his team to victory and winning the Calder Cup last season. Getting traded is expected in professional hockey, but he just wasn't expecting to get traded to the Venom. Emmitt is loud and mouthy, but overall has a friendly personality that grates on Ryu's more reserved and introverted personality when they first meet. And having the two goalies fighting for the starting spot doesn't make them fast friends. 

This book could be considered enemies-to-lovers, I suppose? Ryu definitely hates Emmitt at first, even if Emmitt doesn't entirely know what Ryu's deal is. Emmitt comes out early on to the Venom team as bi, and I did like that this story wasn't another coming out story. Ryu isn't out to the whole team, but I liked that it doesn't turn into a big deal in this story. Ryu and Emmitt start off having sex to work off the adrenaline and stress of hockey out of their system with no strings attached, because that always works out for characters in a romance book.

I really don't know all that much about hockey, but what are the chances that a hockey team would delay appointing a starting goalie for nearly an entire season and pit their two goalies against one another to see who'd come out on top? I think Ryu and Emmitt really brought their all to the games and practices and that challenged the other to play even better, but it doesn't seem healthy for the team to have that sort of animosity building between their goalies. It seems like there would be too much on the line and pressure to win the Stanley Cup to put off choosing a starting goalie until the playoffs.

And I kind of expected this based off of reading Off the Ice, but for a book with TWO hockey love interests, it's disappointing there isn't more on the ice action. We get a lot of the games told to us rather than showing us what it's like. The hockey itself kind of just got lost in all the romance drama, and I know most romance readers don't care, but I do? Give me 10 pages of nothing but play-by-play action in a hockey game and make me feel the intensity of the game rather than just telling me that, oh, this list of things happened during the game and they won. The most hockey thing you'd get from this book is name-dropping famous hockey players. I have no idea who any of them are, but if you're a hockey fan, I guess the references will make sense.

Speaking of the romance, there's all this build up and sexual tension between Ryu and Emmitt and there ARE sex scenes. BUT. I feel like I should mention this because it's so weird to see a romance book do this, but we only get sex scenes when they first start hooking up and then we don't have any other sex scenes in the book until almost the end? We get mentions that the two are having sex constantly or a chapter will end like it's building up to a sex scene in the next chapter, but then...there's nothing and we've moved on to something else entirely. I think it feels weird because this book starts off dirty and then shifts to being more chaste than most upper YA books these days, and I just don't understand it.

So, one of my other issues with this book is the diversity rep. The authors note at the end said there were sensitivity readers for this book, and I know that everyone will read books a different way. I can't speak for Emmitt, and will look for some #ownvoices reviewers on him. Instead, I'm going to focus a little bit on Ryu. I'm Chinese-American, so I understand this isn't entirely the same. But I did feel like Ryu was displayed too stereotypically in this book? He comes from a family who has high expectations, he's constantly compared to a Japanese rock star, and he's emotionally closed off and hides his feelings from everyone. He also only eats the most traditional Japanese foods when he visits his aunt. It's like the book is constantly trying to remind you that he's Japanese, just in case you forgot.

Then there's this oversight in the book - Ryu is raised in a very rigid-sounding household where he even greets his parents in Japanese, but I'm supposed to believe when he first goes to Emmitt's home for the first time, Ryu just walks around with his shoes on? At the very least, he should have asked if he needed to take his shoes off instead of wandering around someone's home with his shoes on.

And just as a side note, but it's SO weird that we're told Ryu's aunt is married to a woman, but it's a blink-and-you-miss it scenario where his aunt's wife is even mentioned having a name. They're almost always referred to as "his aunt and her wife". Ryu's wife is Jun and we eventually find out Jun's wife is Susan. I know I completely missed finding out her name until going back to the book and doing a search while writing this review.

I did like Trevor Morley, another player for the Venom who is either bi or pan and lives in a huge mansion. He's sweet and outrageous, but I can see his name getting confusing on an audiobook when Morley and (Ryu) Mori are in the same scene together and only referred by their last names.

Overall, while I had issues with Off the Ice, I still recall enjoying that book more than I did this one. I just found myself growing more and more annoyed with this book while I read it. The angst and tension between Emmitt and his dad (who would rather have his son playing in the NFL in his footsteps) and Ryu and his parents mostly peters out in the book, despite it being a factor that connects Ryu and Emmitt in the beginning. The ending is rushed and the epilogue seems like more like a HFN than a true HEA for Ryu and Emmitt since the same problems they had this season will only come back up in the next season. So, my feelings on this book is that it could have been great, but in the end, I just felt disappointed.

***Thanks so much to Carina Press for giving me an e-ARC on NetGalley to read and review***

Goalie Interference is an enemy to lovers hockey romance. It's about two goalies vying for the top position on their team. Emmitt and Ryu think that they deserve the position because of their status. Ryu is attractive, independent, determined, and focused. Emmitt is the opposite, fun, self-confident, and a self-starter. They are attracted to one another from the start and the chemistry is jumping off the pages. Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn did a great job with this book.

Want some fun, awesomely written rivals-to-lovers romance?  Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn serve up some delicious hockey-based sexual tension with Goalie Interference, a story where competition moves from the ice to the bedroom to the battlefield of the heart.

Emmitt Armstrong wakes up from a Cabo San Lucas–based tequila coma to some bad news – he’s being traded.  Enraged because he led the Chattanooga Raiders to the Calder Cup, he’s somewhat mollified to learn that the best offer has come from the Atlanta Venom, an NHL team that apparently needs a new lead goalie, which will bump him up to the best league in the world.

Striding into the Venom’s locker room like he owns the place, Emmitt attracts the attention of Ryu Mori, who goal-tended for the Venom the previous season, helping them to stellar scoreboard numbers.  Ryu is turned off by Emmitt’s arrogance and attracted to his handsome face, but both men have to put their lust aside - the coach hasn’t decided who’s going to be the starting goalie for the Venom this year.  Battling on the ice for the plum position, Ryu and Emmitt fall into respect, then lust, then love with one another.  But who will be the Venom’s goalie?  And will the decisions tear these two new lovers apart?  Well, may the best man win!

Goalie Interference is a fun love story with plenty of heat and chemistry between its leads.  Ryu and Emmitt are two different kinds of people; Ryu is more thoughtful and considerate of others, while Emmitt is the cockiest jock to walk the block.  Together they balance each other out. On ice, they’re magic.  But naturally there’s a ton of push and pull that gets them there.

This is a book about learning both how to be part of a team and how to love others.  Emmitt has a lot to learn after his divo-ish behavior led to his trade, and sometimes you’ll want to slap your forehead as he learns to support Ryu on the ice.  But he’s well-rounded, and eventually he leaves arrogance behind (well, most of it) in favor of teamwork.

Ryu, meanwhile, is a kinder, more methodical guy, he’s already a team player who fits well into his team, and understandably doesn’t want to risk his heart on a heartbreaker like Emmitt.  Watching them grow together is pretty delightful.

The book’s only real problem is the hefty size of its supporting cast.  Of course, it’s natural that there are many Venom players to introduce – both to establish the team and because hockey teams have many players.  But there are quite a few people who act as support to the guys here, and that may be a lot for readers to get used to.

But that’s a minor quibble.  Goalie Interference is a good hockey romance – a great skate that’s a lot sexy, a little funny, a bit heartbreaking, and all hard-nosed action.

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This book was everything I needed to survive waiting for the new season to start.
Hate to love, hockey on the page, real talk, and so much fun.
I loved the diversity in this, my Japan obsessed side was screaming every time Ryu was talking and I was salivating when Jun mentioned onigiri with umeboshi. Good job!

There were a couple of times during reading where I was confused with the lack of editing: some repetition; moments when characters should have been already naked and it was mentioned they were stripping again, or little things that I think will be fixed in the final copy!

Characters 10
Atmosphere 8
Writing style 8
Plot 9
Intrigue 8
Logic 9
Enjoyment 9

I appreciated a great many things about this title, but it didn't quite score a goal for me, pun intended. The pros were that the book is wonderfully diverse of characters, was sensitively written, and covered a fun subject matter with likable characters. Those were all aspects that really made me want to continue reading, but the writing style and pacing felt bland, making for a predictable read with no real surprises or excitement. While there is certainly nothing offensive about this book, and m/m fiction desperately needs more multicultural, diverse characters and subject matter, especially those featuring sports and athletes, it somehow just came across as mediocre, rather than a memorable addition to the genre. The storytelling lacked sparkle or individuality, with no particular voice or character shining through in the writing style or dialogue. Romance fans (and fans of Piper Vaughn and Avon Gale) looking for a light read, however, or fans of hockey stories, might appreciate the approachable writing and subject matter.

Y'all know I love me a good M/M hockey romance. Especially when there's a rivalry going on. And I don't know what it is about them, but I definitely have a thing for goalies. Get a little enemies to lovers, no strings attached until -oops- we developed unwanted FEELINGS in there and Goalie Interference is hockey romance gold.

I really love the contrasts between the two leads. First you have Ryu Mori, the serious-faced, J-pop-handsome Japanese American goalie for the venom who has been serving his time as backup goalie and is ready for the starter position. Then there's Emmitt Armstrong, the rookie upstart African American goalie who was just traded up to the Venom's NHL team from his former AHL team. They're both vying for the open starting position, and they're both excellent at what they do even though they have very different approaches. (Honestly, their different styles reminded me a lot of The Cutting Edge - "Toe pick!") Sparks fly between them, but is that intense atmosphere enmity - or attraction? MAYBE BOTH! *throws confetti*

It's great seeing both some bi rep as well as men of color in hockey in this book. I'd never really noticed before picking up this book how completely white-washed hockey romance tends to be (rather like Regency hist-rom...) It seems like there are more sports romances about people of color in the football and baseball sub-sub genres, but hockey romances tend to be pretty white. I love to see the intersectionality of queer men of color here as well. Gale and Vaughn also address some of the stigmas about bisexual people coming across as people who just like to have lots of promiscuous sex. I'm hoping that the next book in the series will be about Morley finally finding someone he wants to settle down with, because he is HILARIOUS.

Goalie Interference is the second book in the Hat Trick series, but can be read as a stand alone. Now I need to go back and read the first book, Off The Ice, because I NEED more of Tristan and Sebastian right now!!