I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As Zuzu says below, this is enemies to lovers done right.

Aside from differing personalities, the MCs have the external obstacle of both being goalies for the same team.

The characters were both likeable and believable. I cared about them and their stories.

I have been having trouble finding books to enjoy lately, and this was a rare success for me.

Recommended!

I just loved Ryu and Emmitt’s story! I am a huge hockey fan, and I absolutely love sports romances. Throw in a closeted athlete and I’m sold! This was a must-read book for me that I’ve had on my “I cannot WAIT for this book to come out” list forever. The authors did not disappoint because this was everything I hoped it would be and more! It was definitely worth the suspense. This story had a lot of emotion that I didn’t expect, but really made the story that much more impactful for me! After all, what’s a good sports romance without emotion! I loved the competition between Ryu and Emmitt, but most of all I loved them getting to the point of showing their vulnerabilities to each other. If you love a good enemies to lovers story with a dose of hockey, closeted athletes, and quick wit then this a must-read for you too! I couldn’t recommend this book more. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us next from these two authors! I’m crossing my fingers on who gets the final story!

Even though we see Sebastian & Tristan from the first book, you can read this as a stand-a-lone. Ryu is an NHL goalie who is now ready to be the starter on the Atlanta Venom, he has earned it. Emmitt has been called up from the minors after having an amazing season. Ryu thinks that he is an automatic shoe-in as a starter, the coaches have other ideas. They are going to have to compete for the position. But what ends up happening is that they kind of tag team the position. Initially I did not like Emmitt at all. He was way to cocky for me. I know that athletes have large egos but he was a little to much. Real quick I have to say, I LOVE MORLEY! I hope he gets his own book as he needs to settle down. Anyway, we see these two battle for not only the Stanley Cup, but the starting position. They are also battling their attraction to each other, well Ryu more so as Emmitt is basically a man-whore. He is also bisexual & lets the team know in solidarity with Tristan. This makes Ryu guilty as he has not come out as gay & feels that he should have been the one to stand with Tristan. I really enjoyed the enemies to lovers here, as it wasn't overly done, as well as reading about the game itself as I love hockey. I'm glad that Emmitt's dad came around in the end as he has always given Emmitt the impression that he is disappointed in that he didn't go the football route. Also Ryu's parents come around as well showing their support finally for their son. I don't like that they are not out as a couple especially to the team.

This one worked pretty well for me. I love enemies-to-lovers anytime, and though they weren’t contentious for too too long I did get some good banter so I’m satisfied on that front. The relationship developed at a pretty good pace, but I would’ve enjoyed seeing a little more steam. Lots of mentioned sex but not too much on page.

You can spot the “big drama” coming from a mile awhile and I didn’t really buy into it at all. Also, they’re still in a secret relationship by the end of the book so it’s firmly HFN.

Overall it was a cute read and I’ll definitely be reading any more to come. Hopefully Morley next!

Emmitt and Ryu's story was a great second installment in the Hat Trick series, it was a fun, entertaining enemies to lovers read. I enjoyed seeing more from Tristan and Sebastian, the MCs from book one, and I like going along with Emmitt and Ryu as their relationship developed from adversarial to something a lot more smexy. All in all a very enjoyable read.

This is definitely enemies-to-lovers done right. Ryu Mori and Emmitt Armstrong are both goalies competing for the starting spot. Begrudging attraction and f-buddies turns into affection and love. I enjoy seeing the evolution of their feelings as they get to know each other. By the end, they take so much joy in encouraging and rooting for each other. In reality, I’m not sure how this relationship would and could play out but, for fiction, I really enjoyed the storyline. You also don’t need to be a hockey fan to enjoy the story!

I received a copy from Carina Press through NetGalley for an unbiased review.

I enjoyed this and would give it a solid 4 stars.

What I especially liked:
~ both Ryu and Emmitt -- I found both of them sympathetic, and I liked how we got both perspectives through dual POV.
~ all the hockey stuff -- I know others have found that aspect annoying, but I personally like the quick run-through of some of their games.
~ seeing Seb and Tristan again -- they're still my favorites, so I loved every interaction with them (I would've liked even more, truth be told).

What wasn't quite as strong:
~ the resolution -- it just didn't have the impact that Tris and Seb's story did for me. It was okay but not outstanding.
~ the connection between the two -- I liked their romance, but it seemed a little two-dimensional. I wouldn't say it was all based on sex, but I felt like a lot of the non-sexual aspects were skimmed over to the point that I wasn't quite sure how strong their friendship really was. Also, the climax/main conflict of their story seemed...weak? They both just kind of let it happen, and that definitely led to the weaker resolution.

All in all, I will read it again, and I enjoyed it enough to continue with the series (I'm hoping the 3rd book is about Bellsy/Bellamy :D).

As someone who has never played any sport in my life, I still can’t figure out my fascination for sports romances, especially hockey because I hardly know anything about it. But they just make me insanely happy and this book was no different.

I remember reading the first book in this series and liking it but it’s been a while, so I didn’t go in with a lot of expectations. I just wanted to have fun and this author duo gave me that. I haven’t read any other books by Piper Vaughn but I have really enjoyed other hockey romances by Avon Gale and this one has a very similar feel. The writing is so easy to get through right from the beginning and I flew through the book in a single sitting. The authors do such a wonderful job making us root for this enemies to lovers to friends to more romance and I just couldn’t get enough. There is also a lot of focus on the game itself, it’s pressures, the camaraderie of the team etc and I loved reading about it all. Even the conflict felt very realistic and made me all emotional. This love story has more like an HFN but it feels very organic to the characters themselves and I also liked that coming out was never a point of contention.

Its amazing to see two protagonists of color in a sport like hockey which is majority white. Ryu is Japanese American who is very reserved, driven, a perfectionist who expects too much from himself. Emmitt on the other hand is Black, who has a faced a lot of prejudice but has never let it get to him and has finally arrived at the NHL. He is also supremely confident, a bit cocky and loves posting shirtless selfies on his insta. They are just so different from each other and competing for the starting goalie puts them at odds, but there were too many sparks flying to be ignored. I loved how they slowly became friends and realized they had feelings for each other despite not wanting to. It was kinda sweet watching them together, bringing out the best in each other on the ice, and also bonding over the immense parental pressures they have faced.

I absolutely loved the team camaraderie here too. Even though I don’t remember much from the first book, it was cool seeing Tristan and Seb together, just being all sappy and adorable. Tristan is the nicest guy ever and Seb is a force of nature and I really wanna reread their book now. Morley is another defenseman who was a prominent side character and he was annoying at first with his typical dudebro attitude and just making offensive jokes all the time. But I quickly realized he is a great friend, just with a puerile sense of humor. He is also not a fan of labeling his sexuality but doesn’t seem to discriminate between genders and I didn’t expect him to be so open and accepting about it. I have a feeling he is going to be the protagonist of the next book and I can’t wait.

To conclude, this was a fun, intense and emotional love story which had both hockey and romance in equal measures and I loved it all. I laughed, I cried and I didn’t want it to end - what more can I expect from a lovely book. If you like sports romances, then I definitely recommend this book. This works perfectly well as a stand-alone too but I think you should also read the first. I hope the wait for the next book in the series won’t be as long as this time.

Goalie Interference was my first book by Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn and I really liked it. I love Ryu and Emmitt and their story. I'm certainly going to read more by this duo.

Actual rating: 3.5

For someone who doesn't like sports, I like sports books a surprising amount. So I was pretty sure I'd enjoy this, and I actually ended up liking this more than I expected. It was nice to see that hockey actually played a pretty big part in this and wasn't just a background.

I have to say the writing style wasn't quite up to par in my opinion. Sometimes the sentences felt forced or just incorrect, and this did take me out of the story a few times. But I really did love both of the main characters, who were quite well rounded, and their romance.

An additional thing that made me enjoy this book, is that I read Ryu as being autistic, which I'm not sure was intended but there are some very clear signs, like him being touch averse and disliking change, and just not being very social. There are so few good autistic characters that it's often nice to read characters as autistic even if they aren't necessarily written like that, although the signs were clear enough that maybe he was meant to just be undiagnosed.

Rep: gay Japanese MC, bisexual Black MC, m/m side couple

CWs: discussions of racism (in sports), homophobia and biphobia, some diet talk, alcohol consumption, graphic sex scenes

I fell in love with Ryu and Emmet. There was a beautiful build up to their relationship. Classic enemies to lovers. What starts as deep dislike and competition, turns into so much more. Their goalie skills were awesome too! Now that I know this series exists, I have to read the rest!

Goalie Interference is the third book of the Hat Trick series by Piper Vaughn and Avon Gale. Having read the previous books of this series, Goalie Interference follows the same team but times it’s Ryu’s turn to battle against the newcomer goalie Emmitt for his starter position and also maybe for his heart? This book has the tropes of dislikes him but oh shoot he’s hot and I want him which turns into shoot he’s hot I think I really like him. It’s a feel good sports romance about these two goalies and if you like hockey you’ll probably enjoy this. Also the Hyde and Crosby references had me grinning.

fun and sexy with just the right amount of angst and hockey drama.

emmit and ryu are in competition for the same starting spot as goalie. neither wants to be the other's back up and so a rivalry is born.

i actually really like rivals-to-lovers and this was especially great because theyre still teammates. they still work together. and it's that teamwork that eventually turns the rivalry into romance. of course it starts more with a hate-fuck and a no strings attached arrangement, but we all know how those turn out 😏

it was nice seeing the two of them soften from enemies to best friends. they really understand each other and love each other and it's just so nice.

i definitely liked this one more than the first book and im excited to know there will be one more book in this series!

Goalie Interference stars Emmitt and Ryu, two goalies on the same NHL team who are in competition for the starting spot on the roster. As a fan of hockey, this book did a great job of exploring the comradeship and rivalries that permeate team sports, while also making the game accessible for the average reader to understand. Enemies to lovers to friends is one of the tropes nearest and dearest to my heart, so to say I enjoyed this book would be an understatement. I only wish that it had been a tad bit longer and that the "to friends" part (aka when Ryu and Emmitt actually started the non-hatesex portion of the relationship) had been better fleshed out.

A special thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Hard for me to put into words how much I loved this book. These 2 authors create some serious magic when they team up. I loved the level of angst between Ryu and Emmit. Enemies to lovers is a favorite trope of mine and these two had quite the rivalry. It was all fantastic!

This is a classic enemies-to-lovers setup, with a fresh and emotionally resonant story. Ryu and Emmit start out as rivals who both want to be the starting goalie for their NHL team. They find common ground as players of color in an overwhelmingly white sport, come together as friends with benefits, but eventually develop a deep relationship as boyfriends who support each other on the ice.

This was an entertaining read although I must admit, it's getting difficult to tell all of the sports romances apart, regardless of whether they are M/M or M/F romances. The arrogant, hot shot player? Check. The quiet, aloof player who is unamused by the hot shot? Check. The loud, brash, socially inappropriate, but friendly to everyone friend? Check. Just a bit too much sports play by play? Check.

The two main characters were both endearing and sort of charming, so this one was more palatable than some I have read. However, I found their trajectory from active dislike to fuck buddies to romantically involved boyfriends unrealistically fast. Especially the path to their first sex scene. In addition, I didn't find it convincing that Emmett would have felt comfortable calling Ryu, at that stage in their relationship, to talk about something as emotionally fraught as his relationship with his dad.

I very much appreciated that there was a female goaltending coach, and that she was described and treated with a lot of respect. I also appreciated that the men were not all shameless sex hounds, and no-one shamed Ryu for not hooking up constantly.

Overall, though, it was a fun and enjoyable, if fluffy, read.

This review was provided in exchange for a free copy via Netgalley.

I love hockey books, but all too often the hockey is so tangential that the characters are really only hockey players in name. Usually, the relationship conflict comes from some issue outside the game. What I loved about this book is that the issues between Ryu and Emmitt come from being in competition as players on the same team. It's a trope I haven't seen before and added a level of stress I wasn't expecting. Often, I can see how the conflict is going to be resolved halfway through the book, but I didn't figure this one out. Although the Enemies to Lovers path is clear here, the way the two characters fit together and respect each other's boundaries are great. Their respective relationships with their families offered a lot of depth and I was glad that Ryu's prickly nature wasn't "fixed" by Emmitt. Although he let Emmitt in, his basic personality never changed. That's such an irritation for me in a lot of books.

Beyond the main romance, it was nice to see Tristan and Seb again. I really hope Morley is getting his own book because he's great. I have a real soft spot for that "frat boy with a heart" kind of character.

Rivalry blooms and tension runs high in the sequel to Off the Ice. Ryu was sure he would be named as the starting goalie for the Venom for the season, instead he’s playing tandem with Emmitt, the new transfer. Now Ryu and Emmitt are playing for the same spot. The tension on the ice soon boils over to some stress relief off it, and everything gets that much more complicated as it gets harder and harder to untangle themselves from each other.

I have been eagerly awaiting Goalie Interference for a while now, ever since I fell in love with Tristan and Sebastian in Off the Ice, and it did not disappoint. It was so wonderful to watch Ryu and Emmitt come together, first with antagonism and then with feelings. Honestly, I’ll never be over the ‘lets just ease the tension with casual sex, oh no there’s feelings’ trope.

I really liked how Gale & Vaughn handled the conflict between Ryu and Emmitt. With both of them going for the same spot in a highly competitive sport, there is obviously going to be tension there even without a romantic relationship on the cards. There can be a fine line between conflict and unnecessary drama, the latter of which I’m not a fan of, but it’s not the case here. It’s understandable without being over the top or contrived and it was really nice to see Emmitt and Ryu sort it out maturely.

I loved how much we got to see of Sebastian and Tristan, along with the rest of the team. Gale & Vaughn don’t leave their side characters or previous leads behind. Sometimes books in series can feel like each title is in its own bubble and although it’s a continuation it ends up feeling too separate from the rest of the books but that doesn’t happen here.

The last part of the book did seem to speed up and then end quickly, however, I really enjoyed Goalie Interference and finished with a huge grin on my face! I love this series and can’t wait for book three.

Goalie Interference hit just the right spot! I needed some good hockey, and I have to say the competition between Ryu and Emmit really got me going. Instead of having one starting goalie, the Venom decided to play it by ear and have Ryu and Emmit play as a tandem. That sure made things a bit awkward between them in the beginning. Then again, it also made things difficult for them when they stopped thinking they hated each other.

This story is very well written, and I loved that while Ryu and Emmit seemed very different on the surface, they had much more in common than they thought. I also enjoyed the fact that Tristan and Sebastian from the first book were present several times, and how the team as a whole was accepting of having gay players on the ice with them.

If you want a hot story with lots of sports and even more tension, Goalie Interference is definitely for you!