I will read anything Avon Gale writes about hockey and after loving Goalie Interference I was really looking forward to another book in this series. Friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and I definitely enjoyed this sweet second chance romance.

While this book does center around Daniel the ex captain for the Venom, this definitely didn't feel like a hockey book. It was more about Daniel's relationship with his kids and his renewed relationship with Micah. I did miss reading about exciting hockey moments and felt all of Daniel's frustration about being on a losing team. And while it was definitely a hockey book it would have been nice to have more moments centered around Micah and his job. Micah stressed a lot about their relationship and I'm not a fan of when relationships are so one sided like that.

While I did e enjoy their love story, it was very sweet and liked the way it developed, it felt like there was very little excitement in their courtship. Compared to the explosiveness of Army and Mori, these two were very tame! I would have liked to see something a bit more dynamic but perhaps the authors just wanted to go in a different direction for Daniel's story.

Overall I enjoyed the book and I am definitely looking forward to more in this world but I felt like it was just lacking a little something. Still a very sweet and enjoyable second chance, friends to lovers romance.

As I noted in my review of the second book in the Hat Trick series - Goalie Interference: "Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn write beautifully about hockey - its sheer physicality, the rivalries and friendships, the intensity of community -" and in a nutshell, that is what is missing from "Trade Deadline."

Daniel Bellemy is recently amicably divorced from his wife Tabby after ten years together, and he has moved back to his Miami hometown to play for the Miami Thunder on a one-year contract. The team is at the bottom of the ratings and there are a lot of problems with team unity, unlike the close-knit Atlanta Venom. Daniel comes to the team - not as a captain - but as a calming experienced team player with hopes of pulling them together, but this subplot is quickly cast aside as the focus of the book moves away from hockey.

Daniel reconnects with Micah, his childhood best friend - and first crush / first kiss - and is finally able to explore his bisexuality without the intense media scrutiny of being part of a Stanley Cup winning team. Micah is living the dream as a marine biologist and his job is all kinds of cute (daily dolphin selfies!) and interesting; Daniel's involvement in youth hockey is also very sweet. But ...

There is little hockey in this book - and little in the way of close friendships with his new team. The story really focuses on the relationship between Micah and Daniel and while it is .... interesting ... I do not find it particularly compelling. There isn't a lot of tension and little standing in the way of their relationship since all their friends, Daniel's ex-wife Tabby and kids are very much okay with their romance.

I'm willing to admit this may be a case of "it's not YOU, it's ME" because while I found the story enjoyable, I desparately wanted more hockey and a pinch more tension. 3.5 stars and I'm pinning my hopes on the next book in the series which will hopefully be Morley's story.

I love all things hockey & get so excited when these ladies come out with a new book. Even though it is part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone. We have Daniel (Danny) who is the captain of the Atlanta Venom who are coming off a Stanley Cup win. Daniel is feeling every one of his 14 years as a player. The sport, as in a lot of sports, takes a lot out of a player both mentally & physically. Daniel knows his time is limited as he isn't as fast as he used to be, nor getting the goals like he once did. But he is having a hard time coming to grips with maybe leaving the only team he has ever played for in the NHL. Daniel is given an opportunity to move back to his home town & play for their team, and he makes the decision to do so. His ex is fine with picking up her life & moving w/their kids. Yes they are great friends & divorced under great terms, but that was kind of on the weird side as no matter how well a divorce is amicable, I can't see someone dropping their life and making that kind of move. Plus Daniel was willing to pay for everything, even her housing. Just weird. Anyway, his child hold best friend, first kiss & childhood crush, finds out he is moving back. Even though Micah knows nothing about hockey, he decides to go to Danny's first home game & see if maybe Danny remembers him. We then have a story of second chances with Danny & Micah finding out what would have happened if Danny hadn't moved away as a teen to chase his dream of being an NHL star. This was a really good, no real angst sweet read. Again I have to say I LOVE MORLEY!

I thoroughly enjoy this series! This was a sweet romance, with no trifling drama or emo angst, which in itself makes it a pleasure to read! Sometimes you just need chill. This was besties to lovers and I'm here for it. Also, I pretty much devour anything Avon Gale writes, so I am really pleased with this installment. Hockey and hot sexy times. Seriously, what's not to love? You honestly can't go wrong with this right here, unless you want your heart shredded, shifters, or bdsm on ice. Thanks again to Netgalley and Carina Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

❤️❤️❤️1/2
💋💋💋

This is a great read, the characters for the most part are believable and good.
The story was interesting on the whole but in some ways I felt it lacked something more, something that would have help influence me to give a better review.

The character of Danny I loved, he was great and I felt he really gelled with his brother players well.
Tammy and the kids too were good.
Micah I had problems liking and got fed up with his internal Moaning and his selfishness .
Danny had so much on his plate and all Micah could do was think, “but what about me”.
He did redeem himself in the end a bit , but the character was not one I could enjoy.

On the whole it was enjoyable and I would read more in the series.

I received an Arc copy of this book and chose to post this review

I had to DNF because this book is not working for me at all. Pacing, writing, I don't know what. I'm incredibly frustrated, but not gonna force myself to finish.

Thank you Carina Press for the early review copy!

I was really looking forward to this story. I immediately liked Daniel when he was introduced in the first book, and couldn't wait to read more about him. While I thought this book was cute, I felt like it was majorly lacking in chemistry. I thought Daniel and Micah were cute together, and I loved how they found each other again after so many years, but I didn't get the same chemistry I did in the first book. I actually think my favorite character in this book was Tabby.

A disappointment.

The first book in this series was good, the second book was okay, and this one...well, what was the point? There is zero actual conflict in this story. The principal characters are two boring guys who liked each other a long time ago and when they finally meet again, they STILL LIKE EACH OTHER . In fact, THEY LOVE EACH OTHER. Oh shit! Whatever will we do??!!

Wait, are you wondering if there's a catch? Nope, no catch. That's literally the plot of this story in a nutshell.

Daniel/Danny "Bellzie" Bellamy just won the Stanley Cup after eleven years slaving away on the fictional Venom hockey team. He's nearing retirement age but looking for a few more good years. Unfortunately, Venom isn't in the business of leaving less productive players in the line-up when the option of younger/faster/better is available. Um duh. They trade him to his hometown team. A happy resolution even if it isn't exactly what he hoped for.

Lucky for him, his ex-wife is super amazing and awesome, totally cool with his bisexuality and lack of romantic interest in her, AND she's willing to uproot her life (and their two kids lives) to follow him. Even better? She wants to do it on her own and won't accept any financial help from him. Because right, it's totally normal to divorce someone but move to be closer to them, and even though he's super wealthy and the father of your children, reject his offers of help and do it all on your own dime. Nothing to roll your eyes at here.

But hold on! In this story, Daniel is blessed with two amazing besties - Tabby, his ex, and Micah, his childhood best friend. Micah works at an aquarium in the job of his dreams (EVERYONE IS LIVING THEIR DREAM IN THIS NOVEL). He talks to dolphins, turtles and children - truly there is nothing he isn't AMAZING at. He's always crushed hard on Daniel, although it's never translated into any interest in knowing about hockey. Right. Anywho.

When Micah finds out Daniel is coming back to town, he finally goes to a game. And it's HILARIOUS how little he knows about hockey. Oh, the laughs. Fortunately, he's seated close enough to the bench to catch Daniel's eye and DANIEL IS JUST AS HOT AS HIS THE PICTURES IN HIS INSTA FEED. Lucky for Micah, Daniel recognizes him right away and sends someone to ask Micah to stick around afterwards.

Spoiler alert:
They fall in love.
Micah worries Daniel will get traded.
Tabby provides sage advice.
Friends high five Bellzie's hot new boyfriend

Trade Deadline is uneventful and boring, so earnestly overstuffed with inclusive/politically correct/inoffensive posturing on any issues the authors can possibly find a way to incorporate into the narrative, and chock full of 'perfect' people. Everyone loves each other - exes, new loves, teammates, friends...Oh, except the captain of Danny's new team. He's a dick.

Friends, I want to get behind this series but this book is a total fail. And setting up Morley - who is a BLATANT rip off of a famous character in another contemporary hockey series - isn't enough to keep me around for more.

I can't recommend this one.

Unfortunately, this book did not work for me. I've really liked most of both Gale & Vaughn's hockey romances (written together and separately), but Trade Deadline was missing a lot of their magic. The characters were incomplete--I felt like I was reading a draft. The relationship progression was hard to understand. Daniel & Micah were best friends when they were 13 years old, but their progression from reunited strangers to friends to being in love made no sense. I had no sense of their feelings or thoughts.

A lot of time was spent with Daniel's difficulties with his new team, which I enjoyed as a plot point, but then I felt like just .. disappeared.

Like I said, this felt like a draft. Some really great ideas for characters & relationships, but put together the pacing was off, some sections went on for too long, and others should have been cut altogether.

Two things I really appreciated: how Daniel's bisexuality was treated, and how his divorce/relationship with Tabby was dealt with.

I didn't hate it, but compared to what I know Gale & Vaughn can write it was disappointing.

**Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.**

I enjoyed this one but it was definitely less tension driven than the others in the series have been.

The main drama points came from uncertainty about Daniel's ice hockey future and Micah's internalising fears over their relationship long term.

That's not to say that it wasn't a good narrative though, I did still love the setting and I adored all the stuff with Micah's job as a marine biologist.

I also really appreciate it when authors have strong female characters and don't make ex wives of girlfriends into complete witches.

Tabby and the kids were a nice presence without being overwhelming or distracting the focus from the new relationship.

Loved seeing all the Venom guys and I liked that Daniel didn't have some unbelievable impact on his new team, but felt realistic about the challenges of moving to a new place.

Overall another successful entry in this sports romance series from Avon and Piper.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Trade Deadline is the third installment of Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn’s Hat Trick series. Although recurring characters from the first two make an appearance, this book absolutely works as a standalone.

The captain of the Atlanta Venom, Daniel Bellamy, has played with the Atlanta Venom for ten years; when an opportunity to sign a one-year contract with his hometown team, the Miami Thunder, is offered, he signs.

At the first game with his new team, he notices his former best friend, Micah Kelly, sitting in the stands. Micah only went, of course, to see Danny again. They rekindle their friendship which leads to dating.

The underlying tension of the story is Micah’s constant fear that Danny is going to be traded — despite having a no trade clause. This part is obnoxious and repetitive through too much of the book. Micah can’t just uproot his life because he has the perfect job, and he wouldn’t want to do long distance because; he worries about not having stability in the relationship.

In the end, the story is cute and enjoyable, but it lacked any real action. Not much actually happens.

I definitely enjoyed the first two books in the series more.
While this was unmistakably sweet, the rekindling of an almost childhood romance, there just weren't that many stakes for me or anything to really keep my attention - sweet, not quite so slow burn on the romance front and a hockey team that literally has no where to go but up.
i do have high hopes for the next one!

Coming off a winning hockey season with the championship ring on his finger left Daniel feeling empty. It was the culmination of his dream so why was he not happy? He accepts a trade to Miami, his hometown.

Micah has his dream job. Working for an aquarium that takes in injured sea creatures and rehabilitates them for return to the sea. When he see that his childhood friend is returning to play hockey in Miami, he hopes they can reconnect.

The authors writing was good as always. Sweet book with likable characters but I just never really got into their story. It seemed very quiet and slow. I was hoping for a bigger bang finish to this series I guess.

I LOVED Daniel and Micha’s story! I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately, and I knew if anything could break me out of the slump, it would be a sports romance. Specifically a steamy hockey romance. The authors did not let me down as they continued the Hat Trick series with Daniel “Bellzie” Bellamy’s story. Childhood friends to lovers is a favorite of mine, especially after being estranged for years. Such was the case with these two. There was so much I loved about this book! I loved how they came to meet again, Micha attending one of Daniel’s games and their eyes meeting through the glass. Swoon, what a re-meet cute! I love how their relationship unfolded and the natural way that Micha blended into Daniel’s family and life. It was so refreshing to see such a great co-parenting team that Daniel had with his ex-wife Tabby. I loved their evolved relationship and her easy and immediate acceptance of Micha as part of the family. I enjoyed the low-angst of Bellzie and Micha’s relationship and appreciated that Micha didn’t sit on his insecurities. He spoke up and discussed them with Daniel, rather than letting them fester and become a big issue. These two built such a solid foundation in their friendship as kids, that picking it back up and developing an intimate relationship read totally natural. Their relationship didn’t feel fast, or forced as a reader and as such I was sucked into their laughter and love. I love the choice that Daniel made, especially after having discussed them first with Micha. I absolutely loved the ending, and couldn’t have picked a better one for these two men. I couldn’t recommend this book, or the series more! I was so glad to see this isn’t the last co-writing effort from these authors!

For fans of the previous two books in Gale and Vaughn's hockey Hat Trick series, who expected strong push-pull of attraction and lots of hockey matches, will probably be disappointed with this latest installment.

In Trade Deadline, Atlanta Venom Captain, Daniel "Bellzie" Bellamy decide to move back to his hometown, and joins the last-position team in the NHL, Miami Thunder. So those close brotherhood of the Venom players are gone. Instead we have Daniel musing about what he wants to do next with his new team that apparently lacks of chemistry and motivation to win -- whether he should retire instead, after fourteen years of career in hockey.

While in the romance department, Daniel reunites with his childhood best friend, marine biologist Micah Kelly, who is now head animal researcher for rescue and rehab program in Biscayne Bay Aquarium... so it's quite an 'easy' friends-to-lovers relationship. Daniel and Micah acknowledge their first crushes and decide, mutually, to explore the romance now that they're adults.

The biggest conflict is probably with Micah's slight lack of confidence being the boyfriend of famous hockey player, winner of the Stanley Cup, and his not being a fan of both the sport or what comes with it. Oh,and Micah is also not big on long-distance relationship, if it comes to that.

So yes, it may be not as intense... but I, personally, LOVE it for exactly that reason. I love that Daniel and Micah quickly get their closeness back without any awkwardness. I also ADORE the positivity that this book has, in terms of Daniel's good relationship with his ex-wife, Tabby. Tabby is Daniel's best friend even if they're no longer married and in love with one another, and she is a big part of his life (as well as his cute kids).

It feels like a gentle blanket of comfort... and after several not-so-good books, I highly appreciate this story in my life. Plus, it has DOLPHIN 🐬. I mean, really! Silver the dolphin gets his own extra star rating

Trade Deadline is the 3rd installment from the Hat trick series. Where Off the Ice was filled with a yummy hot-for-teacher and a side of kink and Goalie Interference had the enemies-to-lovers animosity chemistry, Trade Deadline is a sweet, sweet sexual exploration between a man-virgin who always knew he was bi but never persued it and his childhood first love.

Daniel Bellamy or Bellzie to his teammates has reached the professional peak after his recent Stanley Cup win. As the new season dawns, his upcoming contracts, age in professional sports, and his future beyond professional hockey come to the forefront of his focus. He realizes it's time to make some changes in the direction of retiring. He jumps at the opportunity to play for his hometown team and hopefully brings some of his Stanley Cup-winning magic to a dead-last team. When he runs into his childhood best friend and first love he can't help but get pulled back into Micah's orbit.

Daniel was always a super bang-up guy in the previous books. I loved his wife, now ex-wife, and how close and supportive they remained. *sigh* If only all divorces could be that rational. The main attention was on the relationship rather than being just another hockey book with a romance on the side was a plus for me. I also really enjoyed that the new team was allowed to fail and not have some miraculous Mighty Duck style turn around but the original teammates were involved and continued to interact and support one another.

Daniel's is bi-sexuality was really a huge non-issue with his kids and ex as well as friends and family. The relationship being non-traditional (M/F) in regards to his active team was a non-issue and I found that really rather refreshing. The support from not only the friends and family but also the previous teammates was awesome. Micah was fun a sweet. I enjoyed all the throwbacks to their earlier childhood traditions and that there really were no major freakouts. It ends up being really very sweet and some fun steamy times. Very low to no angst.

Overall, I found the book to be sweet and refreshing. But... compared to the other two, I can see where people might be missing their pop and flash. Not every story has to be a Michael Bay film... at least in my book. I absolutely enjoyed Trade Deadline and I cannot wait for more in the Hat Trick series (if there is more. Please, please, please!)

I've been hearing about this series for years and only now picked up this latest installment. What was my deal??! This is such a great, fun romance, and I love that it's a gay romance for sports romance fans. Just absolutely perfect.

A sweet, low-conflict romance. Childhood best friends meet in adulthood and rekindle the feelings that they were just beginning to understand first time around. Kind and soothing and just the thing for These Weird Times.

Voici donc le troisième tome de la série Hat trick, cette fois consacré à Bellzie (Daniel), joueur star et désormais ex capitaine des Venom. Au début du roman, il revient sur les terres de son enfance, et est transféré dans l'équipe de Miami. Le moins qu'on puisse dire, c'est qu'il chute brutalement de son petit nuage et sort de sa zone de confort en intégrant cette équipe qui est très loin d'avoir le niveau des Venoms !

De l'autre côté, nous avons Micah, le geek/nerd par excellence, biologiste marin de son état et accessoirement meilleur ami (et premier baiser !) de Daniel lorsqu'ils étaient ados. Évidemment, il va être tout émoustillé à l'idée de retrouver son ami de l'époque ...

Les autrices vont donc exploiter ici le thème du friends to lovers/des retrouvailles, avec ce combo entre un sportif et un nerd., ce qui donne en fait lieu à un roman est assez ... banal et finalement assez plat. Les personnages sont mignons, leur romance est gentillette, mais l'ensemble est quand même fort basique. Ce n'est pas un "mauvais" livre, ni une histoire "nulle", c'est juste que j'ai trouvé qu'il n'y avait pas beaucoup d'enjeux dans la romance, et le versant sportif de l'histoire est super frustrant

Typiquement, ce n'est pas le livre qui m'a donné des papillons dans le ventre, et purée, j'ai vraiment besoin de ça quand je lis une romance, même un minimum ...
Une lecture un peu décevante donc. :/

You may remember a long time ago, almost three years now, I reviewed a book called Off the Ice, the first book in the Hat Trick series by Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn. Finally, the series has come to it’s long awaited end, following a character we met in that first book, Bellzie, who was the captain on the hockey team he played for.

I’d liked Bellzie, or Daniel, from the beginning. When I’d found out there would eventually be a book about him finding love, I was definitely interested. I didn’t think it would be this long of a wait but I can say it was worth it.

Trade Deadline is a book I really enjoyed. One aspect in the book that I really loved was how the authors chose to not succumb to the Evil Ex trope through Daniel’s ex wife, Tabby. We are told that she is Daniel’s best friend and the book affirms that throughout, even showing a healthy friendship between Tabby and Daniel’s love interest, Micah. She and their kids were one of the most enjoyable parts of the book. It also allowed us to see what a great father Daniel was since it was made apparent that he really loved his kids, as shown through how involved they were in his life.

Micah was a new character and I liked him from the beginning. He was a sweet person and I liked seeing his work as a marine biologist. I especially loved how he used that to his advantage when he eventually met Daniel’s kids.

The story itself is about two people who knew each other as kids meeting again, reconnecting, and falling in love. It is at its core a childhood friends to lovers story where those childhood friends had been separated for many years. Because of that past connection where they were best friends and the other’s first crush and kiss, it was made believable as they also had the chance to fall in love for real as adults. It was further improved by how good of communicators they both were. That is something that I will always look for in romance books, good comminication. I feel that can be missing in many romances, and it’s less about it fitting the character’s own personality and more about as an easy way to create conflict.

This book for the most part is conflict free. The biggest there is was how Daniel’s new hockey team is on a losing streak and he’s unsure what to do when his one year contract on the team ends. This doesn’t create substantial conflict in Micah and Daniel’s relationship, instead it is an eventual conversation. That’s one of the best points in the book for me, how communication is in it throughout the whole story.

One drawback of this book was that the latter third was a little slow. The book was less about passion and more about relationships and life, which is perfect for people who prefer those kinds of romances instead of steamy or intense ones. This book does have sex but Daniel and Micah’s relationship was more focussed on their emotional connection.

I definitely recommend this book if you read and enjoyed the first two, and for more than the cameos of previous characters. They do make the story a little more fun but there is more to this story than that.

I enjoyed this book and I now want to go back and read the second book since I did enjoy seeing the characters from that book the most. I can’t wait to see more of Gale and Vaugh’s collaborative works.