In my quest to only ever read hockey romances, I was absolutely unhinged over Game Misconduct when I first read it (and on the second read, and the third…). When I received an ARC from @netgalley of Baran’s next book about absolutely weird bros Nate and Zach, I about lost my damn mind.

Nate and Zach are the sweetest, most earnest, dumbest hockey boys on Earth. They are so gone on each other and the way they arrange their lives around each other from basically day one is the most tender shit I’ve ever seen. I loved getting to see how they felt about themselves affect how they felt about each other, and their twisty turny road to get to a place where they saw everything clearly.

Delay of Game is full of wonderful, deeply beloved tropes. Best friends who didn’t realize they were dating? Check. Idiots to lovers? Check. We hooked up and won a bunch of hockey so I guess we gotta keep hooking up? Check. But if I’m being honest, the central conflict contained one of my least favorite tropes, and if the characters and mood and emotional depth had been any less masterful, it might have dragged the whole book down. But as it stands everything else about the book is so good, and the mindsets and relationship of the characters make that central conflict as believable as possible, and the entire thing is a tender, lovely joy to read despite that.

Overall, Baran’s essentially perfect character development, entertaining and exciting hockey, and the stark but equally good differences in tone from Game Misconduct makes for an emotional, enjoyable hockey romance.

Four point five stars out of five

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Excuse me, what was that?!
I absolutely loved the first book in this series, but this was even better somehow?
Absolute best friends to idiot lovers perfection. Can’t say how much I loved it, I went completely feral over these two!

✰3 stars✰

You know I love a hockey romance any day of the week. So this wasn't a bad read because I can always always always get behind hockey boys and love. I just think some of the writing style wasn't for me and it kept pulling me out of the story.
The best way I can describe it is that in parts it's written how Millennials and Gen Z talk casually with the word "like" in places that are unnecessary in the language. Now, I'm not shitting on talking like that... hell, I talk that way in real life with my friends. I'm a chronic "like" user. It just felt stunted in the text and kept throwing me out of the flow of text because I kept thinking "hmm, that word isn't meant to be there". The occasional use is totally fine and normal, but it was over and over and over. Maybe I'm being too picky but it was hard for me.

My other qualm with this story was that Nate and Zach POVs were almost indistinguishable at times. They weren't different enough or written differently enough to keep track of their characters as separate people.

Just because I had a hard time with this one doesn't mean you will, so don't let that dissuade you!

I really enjoyed this author's first hockey romance, Game Misconduct. Unfortunately, I found this one a bit lackluster. The friends-to-lovers angst and pining is enjoyable, the characters have good chemistry, and I enjoyed the initial set-up of them hooking up as part of their hockey superstition routines. The sex scenes themselves are sexy and character-driven. But the obstacles in their romance feel pasted on rather than organic (a complete and utter lack of communication), and while interesting character arcs or depth is hinted at, much of it is either skipped over (such as Zack's growth over the course of the time skip at the beginning) or sketchily developed on the page (Nate's relationship with his parents). The pacing in the last quarter of the book drags, and then the resolution comes too neatly and without any sign that they are prepared to handle similar issues together, or with an understanding of what their future together will be like, which left the triumphant ending falling a bit flat. But I look forward to trying this author's next book!

I really liked this hockey teammates, friends-to-lovers romance - but perhaps there was too much pining and miscommunication?  Still a solid steamy hockey romance, which I would recommend for those interested in the genre.

Nate and Zach were introduced in 𝙂𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩 (which I LOVED), so I was eager to read the latest installment.  The main theme is idiots-to-lovers.  My only knock would be that compared to the first, it was fairly light on the spice.  While I wasn't expecting the intensity as Mike and Danny in 𝙂𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩 as it wouldn't have fit Nate and Zach - I thought there could have been more.

They spent so much time in their heads, pining for each other... I liked them and thought they were good for each other - but also wanted to smash them together and tell them to talk about their damn feelings.  I felt the non/miscommunication fit the character and relationship arcs well, even though it's also my least favorite plot device.

Thank you to NetGalley, Carina Press and Ari Batak for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is a hockey MLM romance and in description has everything I typically enjoy in a sports romance. Where I feel this fell short was in its writing. Most of the writing in this book told the reader step by step what was happening instead of showing. A positive was there is a decent amount of spice.

However, the writing read as fanfiction in its pacing and level of edits at time which made it difficult to follow. Lastly, the chapters were divided into months, which made it difficult to enjoy with long-winded writing segments that felt very tangential.

Overall, I’m not sure if I would read from this author again, but with some more edits on future work your never know.

Delay of Game was the perfect M/M hockey romance and another great installment in the Penalty Box series. Mutual pining and a friendship-to-lovers dynamic makes this really satisfying overall and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a new hockey romance to read!

I loved this book! I devoured it in only a few sittings and wish there was more to read. The story line was paced very well and the characters were easy to love!

Delay of Game is the second book in Ari Baran’s Penalty Box series of hockey romances, and it’s a complete change of tone and pace from their début, Game Misconduct. That book was full of raw edges, an angry, sometimes violent, antagonists-to-lovers romance in which the characters were struggling with addiction, trauma and self-destructive behaviour. Delay of Game is a gentler, much quieter book; that’s not to say the characters don’t face personal challenges, but it’s not so much a story about two people falling in love as it is the story of two best friends finally working out they’ve been in love for ages.

Nate Singer and Zach Reed have played for the Philadelphia Constitution for the last three years and have been besties for almost as long. Nate has played for the Cons for his whole career and has been a model player and team member – he’s now team captain – where Zach was traded after the powers that be at his former team got fed up with the constant flow of PR headaches that followed him wherever he went. Furious at being traded from a top flight, cup-winning team to one that’s been languishing at the bottom of the league for years, he wasn’t particularly gracious to Nate – who he felt was way too earnest – and wanted to focus on proving to everyone that he’s still one of the best players out there, no matter how badly he fucked up.

Then we skip forward a couple of years and meet a Zach who has cleaned up his act. He still likes to party, but is much more self-aware and has managed to keep himself out of the headlines for the wrong reasons. The Cons has gradually been clawing its way up the rankings and Zach firmly believes that this is going to be their year and is absolutely set on winning Nate a cup because he wants to do something for him that nobody else has ever done. (Already, we see it’s all about Nate and not just the team for him!) Nate has become the best friend Zach has ever had, and their teammates are, by now, used to their being a package deal during the season; one rarely goes where the other isn’t, and on the ice, their chemistry and ability to read each other makes them a force to be reckoned with.

[As an aside: The Cons has a female player on the team named Bee (Beatrice). I know next to nothing about ice-hockey, but this seemed very odd to me.Are there mixed hockey teams, or is it just a bit of wish fulfilment?]

It’s clear, almost from the start, that Nate and Zach are head-over-heels for each other but neither of them realises it. Zach is bisexual, but Nate has had no real reason to suspect he might not be straight – a broken engagement to his long-term girlfriend mostly sums up his dating history and it’s simply never occurred to him to question his sexual orientation. It’s only when he realises he’s attracted to Zach that some past thoughts and feelings start to make sense, things he’s never really given a great deal of thought to before.

Zach and Nate make a cute couple and I liked their slow awakening to the fact that their feelings for each other go way beyond friendship, but there’s too much reliance on miscommunication or misconception in the story. The first time they hook-up they’re both more than a little drunk, so when, the next morning, Zach wakes alone to discover Nate calmly making breakfast, he immediately assumes Nate doesn’t remember what they did and decides the best thing he can do is to treat Nate in the same ‘bro’ fashion as he always does. Nate reads this as dismissive, because of course, someone as hot as Zach hooks up all the time and with people far more attractive than Nate, so what was earth-shattering for him must’ve been something run-of-the-mill for Zach. Thankfully, the author doesn’t allow this misunderstanding to go on for too long, and after they (drunkenly) hook up again, Zach comes up with a reason for them to keep doing it. Each time they’ve done it so far, the team has won their next game, so why break a winning streak? They should keep on having sex for good luck! It’s clear they’re both desperate to find an excuse to keep this new aspect of their relationship going – and also that they both assume sex is all it can ever be, and that there’s a natural expiration date to this… whatever it is between them. *insert gif of me headdesking*. As they both, individually, draw nearer to the conclusion that what they’re doing isn’t ‘just sex’ and that definite feelings are definitely involved, their inability to just talk to each other causes another, even Bigger Mis at around the three-quarters mark, which goes on almost until the end of the book.

This is one of those books without much plot, which would be fine, if there was plenty of character and relationship development, but there’s not a great deal of either. Given Zach’s flame-out in the prologue, I was expecting to read about him sorting himself out and turning things around, but instead he’s done all that by the time we meet him again. He’s still trying shed the remnants of his bad boy reputation and struggles a bit with self-esteem when it comes to his intellect, but we don’t see any of his reformation or, more importantly, any of the development of his friendship with Nate. The only time we’re given any of their history is in expositional ‘remember when’ asides, and by the time we hit Chapter One, they’re already best friends; they care deeply for each other, they talk through things together – they’re a couple in all respects except for the sex! And Nate’s body dysmorphia, his largely untreated anxiety and occasional dark moods aren’t really explored; there’s one scene in which he kicks back with a joint during the one week of the year he can switch off and spend mostly stoned because it’s “the only way he could deal with the crushing anxiety and responsibility that weighed him down during the year.” But we never really see him in situations that would support that statement, we’re only told how he feels.

In the end, I have mixed feelings about Delay of Game, because while the writing is good, the characters are likeable and their mutual pining is awesome, I was frustrated because there was so much unfulfilled potential. Every time there was a reference to how Nate and Zach became close and came to trust each other, or about how they supported each other through difficult times, I kept thinking ‘that’s what this book should be about!’ It could have been an emotional story about people overcoming genuine challenges and reaching a well-earned but satisfyingly happy conclusion; instead it’s a nice enough story about nice enough people, but there are no surprises, nobody changes or grows and too much of it is based around misconception and miscomunnication. I liked – but didn’t love – it, so I’m offering a qualified recommendation. If you’re in the mood for something low-key and aren’t put off by the Big Mis, you might enjoy Delay of Game a bit more than I did.

Rating: B- / 3.5 stars

I'm rounding this up from 3.5. I didn't read book one of this series so maybe I might have enjoyed this one even more. I am glad that I read it though.

DNFed at ¬25%. 2.5/5 stars

While I enjoyed Game Misconduct a lot, this one started off blandly after the first chapter and continued so for me. Even though I'm barely quarter through it it felt like a lot longer, I was more interested in what happened between Zach hating the thought of Nate and being a drunk angry disaster to being Nate's best friend and a diehard bro for him. I wanted to see the change in perception, the sulky hate to best friendship and their contrasting personalities more. This felt like all the parts I love in romances, the relationship building, was skipped with the time skip. Felt a bit misleading with the marketing in what I expected and what I was getting. I knew it was a friends to lovers situation but I thought there'd be a build up to that. Personal taste thing, I rarely enjoy best friends from the start to lovers stories.

But I was surprised and disappointed by the positive, though passing, mention of a summer camp that is loudly and proudly supportive of the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestine. It did ruin what else I managed to make myself read. Very disappointing and I don't have the energy to give people who could hold those views the benefit of the doubt when it's very easy to not make certain choices. Words hold power. Reading is political. This has been an issue for 75+ years.

I love a MM hockey romance but for some reason this one just fell flat for me. I couldn’t get into the characters and felt it as all very disjointed. The dialogue between seemed inconsistent and took me out of it. Now don’t get me wrong, the steamy scenes were still good but I just emotionally wasn’t invested in these characters.

I normally save my sports romance and especially hockey romance for the summer aka not in season both because I’ve got to get my sports fix somehow and rarely do authors truly get hockey correct. I know it’s fiction and adjustments to move the story forward but again that’s why I read them out of season. For some reason though I decided that Delay of Game couldn’t wait until the off season. It’s my first read by Ari Baran and it definitely won’t be my last.

Delay of Game’s melding on relatively realistic nhl hockey, friends to more, and main characters that are multi dimensional both within their relationship as well as outside of it made this one of my favorite reads this year. The tension, friendship, romance, and addressing some of the things that make hockey difficult for those that play it as well as realistic handling of anxiety, low self esteem, alcohol and drug use as individuals as well as with the added pressure of a profession athlete were extremely well done.

The major conflict stemming from miscommunication which is normally one of the things I hate most in books was so well done I can’t explain why I normally dislike it. Very much not a rom-com this biawakening romance still has its soft moments and is worth a read.

Thanks to @carinapress and @netgalley for the ARC.

First of all- thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a sweet read. I loved the main characters and every bit of their interactions. The romance is a bit insta-lovey, but I still loved it. The way time moves in Delay of Game really worked for me. I want to go and read the other book in this series now. And all future books.

This next part of my review has some !spoilers! so be warned.

I think one of my favorite scenes in the book has to be when Zach goes to Mike's house and has a cry there and then later when finally, finally Zach and Nate are able to make up. There's so much about Zach and Nate's romance I loved. It was so cute when Nate would cook for Zach- and that one time Zach tried to cook for Nate

I would definitely recommend this book!

MY RATING 3,75/5 STARS

I read the first book in this series earlier this year, and I immediately knew I had to read a book about Zach and Nate too!

This was the ultimate “dumbasses to lovers” book, and it was so much fun seeing these two disaster boys realising and coming to terms with their feelings for each other! Both men are however way too scared of ruining their relationship and friendship, so they both decide to not comment on the fact that they’ve basically been dating all along.

Nate deals with anxiety and it was written and dealt with really well! Talking about mental health can always be difficult, so it was really nice to see Zach always being super supportive whenever Nate needed it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Carina Press for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

I loved this book. I'm a big fan of hockey romances and this one just hit that sweet spot for me. Zach is a star player who got wild and is traded to the worst team in the league. Nate is the strong and steady young captain of that team. The book picks up three years into their friendship, when they've become best friends who hand out all the time, sleep over at each other's houses, and sometimes in each other's hotel rooms.

Zach has had issues with substance use in the past. Nate has continuous struggles with anxiety and body image. So they're not perfect.

They're also idiots. Everyone else knows that they're basically in love with each other, but they are terrible at communicating with each other about their relationship.

The spicy times are extremely spicy. And it's deeply emotional because these two dummies can't figure each other out. It's just great. If you liked the Game Changers series from Rachel Reid, definitely check this one out.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3 stars

As with book one, I couldn't connect with our main characters. I feel it's part that some side characters stole the show but also because I didn't feel the connection between them. And although the steamy scenes were great, with the romance part I struggled.
I'm sad that this didn't fully work for me because the story does have potential but something wasn't working. Still I'm looking forward to read more of this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was quite enjoyable. Adorable idiots that are absolutely clueless.
I like the level of angst that this author puts into their books. Whilst I wouldn’t call this book action packed, it definitely has a nice simmering quality that is enjoyable and keeps you invested all the way through.

The good
+ The deep connection and trust between Nate and Zach
+ Zach's attempts at romancing Nate
+ "Keeping it bros"
+ Nate being a dad to the rookies
+ The team
+ Nate's character. He felt so real


The neutral
o I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. My review remains honest and unbiased
o I didn't realize this was the second book in a series until after I got it (which is completely my own fault, since it's in the damn blurb), so I mixed up some characters in my head sometimes. But overall I think this can be enjoyed as a standalone
o There were a few mentions of 'the k-word'. I had never heard of this before, so I googled it to find out what it meant. Now I've learned a new slur (not that I'll ever use it), and I can't help but think that I never would have learned this word in the first place if it wasn't mentioned here. If 'a slur' was used instead of 'the k-word', the text would have remained exactly the same and readers wouldn't be learning any new slurs
o There was a lot of alcohol use, but I won't hold it against the book because it was clearly mentioned in the warnings. I just throught it was too much and even made their relationship feel a bit dubious. But well, I don't understand hockey, so I also thought there was too much hockey. In a hockey book. So maybe don't listen to me...


The bad
- The communication between the MCs was abysmal
- Nate had anxiety. He coped really well, but it wasn't easy. And Zach knew about this. He knew about Nate's anxiety, but he was often the source of Nate's spiraling thoughts anyway, even those he could have easily predicted and prevented
- Zach complained that it was frustrating how people had fireworks despite it being illegal, because he had dogs and they went crazy when there were fireworks. He thought this on New Year's Eve, when instead of being at home with his dogs, he was with Nate. Why did he have to mention the dogs?! Now I was worried about the dogs the whole time!


Quotes
He started to walk back toward the kitchen, but that required effort, so Nate sat down on the floor.
Then he lay down on the floor.
That seemed like a good way to handle things.



This book was alright. I didn't love it as much as I hoped I would, because I'm a fan of good communication and clear consent. I got really excited when Zach decided to romance Nate. I also really liked Nate's character. It just didn't slot together the way I hoped it would, which is a pity. But objectively, this is not a bad book. If you liked the first book in the series, you should definitely give this one a try.



This is a copy of my original Goodreads review (found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5973806507). Any spoilers have been removed.