Second chance stories are a weak point of mine. I know they aren’t everyone’s cup of tea but maybe there’s a hopeless romantic hidden deep in me that enjoys seeing a pair of MCs find their way back to one another. Aiden and Matt cross paths with one another after 10 years apart. They’ve had fleeting moments with one another playing various games over the years but a chance evening brings them smack into each other’s lives.

Aiden is at a crossroads in his life. He’s retired from the sport that has consumed his life, the sport that prevented him from being all in during his first chance with Matt and the sport that’s held him back from figuring out the next step in life. He’s floundering through most of this book and Matt is so caught up in trying to keep this moment however fleeting he feels it might be while Aiden is staying with him in Montreal.

I really love how this author crafts their characters. They feel complete with flaws and laying all their imperfections out. Seeing the process of them work through the messy bits and how relationships aren’t as easy as sometimes romance books make them out to be is a nice change of pace.

Aiden’s struggle with his retirement and how it’s affected his mental health was definitely a reading journey. Matt’s faces his own struggles trying to balance having Aiden in his life again and how delicate it feels along with dealing with the twilight of his own career. How these two interact with one another was an enjoyable read!

Damn, Ari Baran holds no bars when it comes to deep hitting hockey romance! Aiden and Matt deal with really hard things- retirement, depression, anxiety and it’s portrayed so realistically. It made me really feel what the characters were going through and root for them harder. Definitely a good emotional read.

Can you believe the Penalty box series is coming to an end? I‘m honestly still ignoring this fact because otherwise I might cry! This series has carried me through this year and I loved every single book. I’m still trying to bribe Ari to write one more book!

Am I loving second chance romance after all?! Because hockey romance definitely saved this trope for me.
Finding the love of your life in a teammate in your 20s when you’re both playing professional hockey in NYC of course didn’t have a happy ending for Matt and Aiden. Meeting Matt in a bar 10 years later, freshly retired and without any plan for his future wasn’t on Aidens bingo card either. But the feelings aren’t gone even a little bit, so after a passionate night together, finding Aiden floating in Nowhereland, depressed and without any direction for the rest of his life Matt decides to take him in.

These two had my whole heart, Aiden completely lost, having had his whole life dictated by the sport, left without any routine or plans for the future. Matt being so close to retirement himself, refusing to face it at all even though his body is struggling to hold up. Both of them trying to make it work this time, but also so afraid of losing their person again.
The funniest thing was reading about Aiden and immediately clocking him as autistic, sliding into Aris DMs and them being like „yeah I figured some stuff out while writing this book I guess…“.
I loved how real these characters felt, the depression rep and the mention of therapy and medication. I can’t imagine what it must be like to give half your life to a sport, only to retire so young (in your 30s!) and then being completely lost without that one thing that was your every day life so far.
I think these two found each other again at the perfect time and while this was super angsty, it was also a really beautiful story about two guys I absolutely rooted for individually and together!
It was also really wonderful to read about these two in a mostly white dominated sport and book genre! I now want to eat all the food Aiden cooked!
If you loved Rachel Reid’s standalone books this is definitely a book for you.
I’ll go cry now in the corner, this series coming to an end feels like my personal NHL retirement!!!

This M/M hockey romance features a black cat/golden retriever (kind of) that spans rivals to lovers to exes to strangers to lovers. Be prepared to fall in love with a hockey skater and goalie who discover that a life beyond hockey is nothing if it isn't spent with someone they love. To find a soulmate who can put up with the bulls*it, tabloids, family drama, and ignorant players - it's time to make a choice. Do they have the courage to fight for their future?

Lots of spice, action both off and one the ice that left me wanting more after I flipped the last page. I can't wait to see which Ari Baran brings us in 2025.

Thank you #netgalley the author and publisher for this ARC. Wow - what an emotional rollercoaster this was. Aiden and Matt’s story was beautiful. I’m not a fan of second chance romance but this was beautiful. Aiden’s struggle with mental health and retirement felt real and it felt raw. The connection and chemistry between Matt and Aiden was perfection. The emotional connection these two men had was something people in really life want. This was my first book by this author, and even though this was 4th in the series I did not feel like I was missing anything. I would totally recommend this book to other who love MM hockey romance books. As always check your triggers l to take care of your mental wellbeing as depression is a heavy part of the plot. Thank you for the pleasure of reading this book.

This was a rollercoaster of emotions.
Ari Baran is a new-to-me author and I was sure how I felt about this book most of the time. I think what I loved about it was also what made me want to take breaks so often? I was shocked to see the page count because this felt like a 500-page book, not a 362 one.
The mix between the sexual and emotional connection made me root for Matt and Aiden so hard, but I also felt that them being at such different points in their lives made Matt seem a little less fleshed out. Or maybe he was just too perfect and I was too frustrated by Aiden at times. The entire book, is more Aiden’s story and path to recovery from depression, really. I loved that mental health was so well described, but this also felt longer and more real than I expected for a hockey romance.
I also really enjoyed the neurodivergent representation but the fact that it was never named bugged me because I felt that it's something important. As an autistic person, I saw myself a lot in him and wished it was not left to interpretation so much.
Although their relation takes a long time to develop again, their new beginning lacks a bit of credibility for me because of how fast and abrupt it is, as does the “resolution” at the end. As for the sex part, I usually like sex scenes to be longer, but these were so true to the characters that I forgave it right away.
I guess I’m still not sure of how I feel about all of this even a week later, but I have to say that if you’re looking for a hockey romance that’s very focused on hockey (I adored this), but still will leave you raw and a bit emotional, that’s the one for you.

I’ve read a lot of hockey romance, but I’ve never felt romantic about hockey the way I feel romantic about baseball when I read KD Casey or KT Hoffman or Cat Sebastian… that is until Ari Baran. I started to get the tingle of feeling romantic about hockey with Home Ice Advantage, but it became much more real with Goal Tender Interference. Will I ever be a real life hockey fan? Probably not. But I have a new deep appreciation for it now.

There is so much I could say about why I loved this book. Ari Baran does such a good job hyping readers up with quotes and memes that you start to feel like you know a story or the characters even though you have no fucking clue. I was THIRSTY for this book, and for Aiden in particular… and it did not disappoint!

The banter!
Oh the banter. From everyone! It’s just a whole bunch of clever weirdos in this book.

This gem from Gabe right at the beginning sets the tone for the intimacy and humor we’re in store for:
“I owe you a lot, okay? So I really don’t wanna see you so sad all of the time.”
“I’m not sad.”
“Oh, right, Soupy, you were just hiding in your house for weeks and weeks not talking to any of us for no reason. Just some casual hermiting.”

The way they talk about each other.
Aiden and Matt talk about each other with such intense beauty and admiration, and pain and heartbreak. They see each other in such a poignant way.

Just a couple of heart wrenching examples:
Somehow, he was even more attractive than he had been when they were kids, all of the raw material he had weathered by time.

Forced himself to walk away from Aiden’s beautiful, soulless brownstone. Forced himself to walk away from beautiful, soulless Aiden.

The very real approach to health, mental and otherwise.
Another thing I love about Ari Baran’s writing is how deeply researched and personal it is, and how generously they share that with readers. This book has such relatable portrayals of anxiety, depression, and neurodivergence. Not because I can point to every instance and say “oh yeah, me too!” But because, even when it’s not my experience, it is abundantly clear that it is a someone’s very real experience. To be honest, I love that Aiden’s and Matt’s experiences diverge from my own because we need a richer diversity of how mental health is portrayed. They are just like me even when they’re not at all like me, and I’m a better ally to myself and any other mentally ill and neurodivergent person because of it.

The portrayal of sex
Ari Baran has a thing for deeply broken people processing their shit via under-negotiated kink. In the hands of another author that might be a disaster, but in the Penalty Box series, and particularly in Goaltender Interference, I think it’s managed well. No one is saying this is the healthiest way to communicate or fix something or understand something… but we’re all lying if we think people don’t have life changing revelations while on their knees or whatever.

This book just scratched every itch I needed it to. It’s so clear how alive these characters are for the author and the story is going to sit in my soul.

A generous three stars. This was so boring!! I understand the relationship had the ups and downs, but seriously both were annoying characters. And the topic of depression was sad to read. Glad it was represented in the kind way it did. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC.

I have read of in this series and so I was excited to receive an ARC for Goaltender Interference.

This book is messy. Aiden has recently retired from a very successful career as a professional goal tender and has no idea what to do now. Aiden broke up when Matt proposed. Aiden couldn't see a future where hockey players on opposing teams could be out and happy and continue their careers. This breakup broke both men for years.... but when Aiden is floundering now that he lost hockey, the one thing he gave up everything for... he ends up turning to Matt. Will they be able to take this second chance or will Aiden's self-doubt sabotage everything again?

I love a hockey romance, I love a second chance, and I love seeing "older" love interests. Aiden and Matt where both fully fleshed out characters, that were messy and awkward and human. Aiden's hyperfixation on hockey as his purpose and identity and collapse afterwards, along with his self-doubt I found really relatable. On the one hand, it felt a bit like the pacing on Aiden's self-discovery was a bit slow, but at the same time, that was pretty much the point of the entire story. It would have been a lot less believable if Aiden went "oh look, I did a therapy, and now I am a fully self-actualised human!". He's messy for a lot of the plot with little visible progress. Good thing Matt is a bit more patient than I am.

On a personal note, I love seeing a happily ever after once "the dream" is over.

If you love good, hot MM hockey romances, this is a great one to check out.

Aiden has recently retired from professional hockey and is lost without direction or any idea of what he wants to do with his life. Matt is a former boyfriend of Aiden’s that plays for a rival hockey team.

The men reconnect unexpectedly and things start to get interesting. They haven’t been together in many years, but maybe there is still something there?

The book tackles some pretty strong depression for Aiden and contains some pretty steamy scenes as well.

It has great writing and you really get drawn in to the lives of the two men and their struggles of reconnecting after so many years.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher/author for this copy of the book.

I’ve been in a truly horrific reading slump for months, so as excited as I was to get this ARC, I was sure nothing could pull me out.

Wrong! Ari Baran always delivers, ‘Goaltender Interference’ is absolutely breathtaking. The complete embodiment of “bittersweet and strange, finding you can change, learning you were wrong” from Beauty and the Beast. Aiden and Matt have both been through so much because of the other (and themselves) but they’re still trying, even though it’s so hard. I love how Ari Baran introduces therapy as something essential to the individual but not an end all be all to “fix” the relationship. Their characters are so real and I love it. This second chance romance feels heart wrenching but ultimately so deserved as the characters work so hard for each other, even through mistakes.

I wasn’t sure ‘Home Ice Advantage’ could be beaten as my favorite in this series but ‘Goaltender Interference’ is so close in my heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin/Carina Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not usually a second chance girlie, but there was something about this book and Matt and Aiden that really worked for me. I also liked how relatively quiet this book was, and the focus on a character right after retirement.

Ari Baran has a gift for writing sexual connection -- I mean sex scenes that are hot because they're convincing, and also emotionally convincing because they're hot. That was true of Game Misconduct and Home Ice Advantage (in which the relationship narrative really takes off once the MCs start sleeping together), and it's true here -- with a twist, which is that both MCs, Aiden and Matt, use their sexual connection as an avoidance mechanism. Conversation getting too close to the bone? Cut it off with a kiss, and for the love of all that's holy keep on going until the bed is wrecked. Points to the author for leaving us to notice the pattern, rather than beating it into our heads.

I have objections, because of course I do. We learn that Matt went to pieces after the first time Aiden dumped him, and that alcohol, player assistance, and therapy were involved, but we don't get any flashbacks to that time. We don't get those for Aiden, either, though we're told he was also a wreck, but because Aiden is still a wreck (only even worse off than after the breakup, because he had no idea of a self beyond hockey and at the book's opening has just retired) his post-Matt misery seems tangible. Matt appears from the outset as pretty much self-actualized apart from the small matter of still being in love with Aiden, with the result that his characterization is somewhat flatter. (It doesn't help that he's a fan of Marcus Aurelius, possibly the first known author of an overrated self-help book. Don't @ me: Mary Beard and I are on the same page here.)

Aiden and Matt run into each other in NYC after not speaking for a decade; Matt shows up at Aiden's house and they have sex; rinse and repeat, though Aiden barely speaks to Matt during these encounters; and then Matt invites Aiden to come stay with him in Montreal, even though the last time they had sex in NY Aiden threw him out afterward. There's a credibility hoop to jump through, here, and I don't think Ari Baran quite makes it -- we need a little more, I think, of Aiden doing something appealing or affectionate with Matt during this phase for it to be clear why Matt doesn't cut his losses once and for all.

But get past that, and their life together in Montreal is more persuasive. Aiden makes taking care of Matt the center of his life, as hockey was once the center of his life; because he's profoundly depressed, though, he eventually commits a kind of emotional suicide, becoming convinced that Matt's life is worse with him in it so he should remove himself. I kept waiting for a literal suicide attempt, which thankfully didn't come; instead, Aiden gets a couple of talkings-to and marshals his remaining resources to go back to Matt and to get help. (I suppose all that technically qualifies as a spoiler, but this is a romance novel, so we know going in that the story will end well.)

A few more words about Aiden. He can easily, perhaps accurately, be read as autistic (Baran's newsletter has some interesting things to say about that), but whether or not we see him that way, it's also clear that aspects of his personality intersect with the isolation of goalies and the especially extreme pressures on them to leave him especially vulnerable to the depression he falls into once hockey is no longer available to him. I found Aiden's characterization complicated and satisfying, head and shoulders above most portrayals of people falling into serious mental illness.

As usual, I could have done without the epilogue in the last chapter. I will always, always prefer the openness of an ending that's a hopeful beginning, and I would have believed in Aiden and Matt's success without seeing it all tied up with bow. Oh, well.

Thanks to Carina Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

This installment in the series destroyed me, emotionally, and I loved every second of it.

Aiden and Matt are so deeply flawed and devastating in their own ways but MAN, I was rooting for them the entire time.

i have been a fan of baran's work in this series. and this was no exception, it was also pretty thoughtful and real about depression and being stuck while stil finding love.

Aiden never expected to see his ex , Montreal team captain Matt, again, let alone almost immediately after retiring from professional hockey, but a chance encounter in a bar sends them catapulting back into each other's orbits.

First I want to say that I did really enjoy this book! I think it will find a place in my hockey romance books to re-read when I need to feel something, right beside Rachel Reid's Heated Rivalry, naturally. On a line by line level, I think Baran is a good writer on a sentence-craft level which is a massive positive for this book too. I didn't find the language awkward or stilted at all.

What I think this book does incredibly well is show Aiden's depression, and the deep listlessness that can come with it. He's not just sad, he's frozen in place and can't seem to find a way to get moving again. I thought that it was a heart breakingly accurate portrayal and I loved it so much. I also think this book does second chance romance well. They were young and they were dumb the first time around. They're older now, is it going to be the right time for them this time? (This is in fact a romance novel, don't worry)

Some things I'm torn about: I wish the reader had more back story about their relationship the first time around. That felt a little bit glossed over and I wished I had more of it to sink my teeth into. I wish that there had been more communicating in one way or another. A lot of this felt at least a little propped up by spicy moments. (I'm actually deeply torn about this, because I understand what the author was trying to do. See below for more spoilery thoughts), but if you're someone who wants to scream "Just talk to each other and everything will be fine", then you might be frustrated.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book, Baran is a great writer, although I wish that there was more depth and development in the middle and less reliance on intimacy to drive the whole book.

Spoilers below
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I really loved that this book didn't rely on Matt to "fix" Aiden. I felt like it was a genuinely decent portrayal of how a partner or companionship can help depression, but only so much as it really just hides the problem behind affection and a distraction. Aiden ultimately had to make the decision to really try on his own, away from Matt. Matt was there to support him through the book, but he didn't solve all of Aiden's problems and a relationship didn't solve Aiden's problems.

I feel like Baran was trying to convey the way Aiden preferred to distract himself from messy thoughts with sex, and Matt let him because pushing him to talk seemed like the fastest way to push him straight out the door and back to New York. But I still wished that they talked more. Even if they couldn't talk about what Aiden was doing, I really wished that they'd been slightly more clear with each other about their relationship to each other, on page. I also really wished we got more background about their first break up and relationship because all we really got was the fallout they both experienced. I wish that the whole thing hadn't been propped up quite so much by spice.

I typically don't enjoy second chance romances but I liked this one. I think the author did a good job of convincing you of the main character's reason for ending the relationship in the first place and I liked the character coming to understand his depression. What I find an annoying trend in books is having one character display all the traits of a mental diagnosis (in this case autism but usually it's ADHD) and those traits greatly effect the character and are constantly pointed out but they aren't already diagnosis and never gets diagnosed. Don't put this in a book if there isn't a point to it. It feels like an editor told the author they can't discuss specific mental illnesses in their book so they dance around it instead.

I share this account with a friend and Evelyn read and reviewed this.

I can just imagine the looks on Matt's family's faces when he tells them he's back on with Aiden. They're going to think he's the dumbest MF on earth 💀

Hell, even I think that, and I KNOW Aiden. So.

"You don't think this is a terrible idea that could potentially end in disaster?"
"When has that ever stopped us, Matty?"

I really wanted to hate Aiden but I understood so much where he was coming from that writing this review has been a mindfuck.

You know how someone commits Advanced Tactical Emotional Terrorism™ but their reasons are extenuating so you can't quite hate them even though you'd like to?

That's Aiden.

Without getting into spoiler territory, Ari Baran has once again written a compelling book with really good representation for mental health struggles.

This author writes about hockey in a way that gives me goosebumps. And I HATE sports in sports romance (yeah, I know 🙈)

The way Matt speaks of the Royal's history? It sounds like a game I should get into, and not just for the phenomenal butts.

I really adored Matt. But.....how do I say this? He's the kind of lover you want to have but wouldn't aspire to be. There have got to be limits somewhere.

Also, I love the running theme with this author where people struggling with mental health issues don't have to be 'fixed' first before they deserve happy endings.

My feelings on Aiden are complicated. My feelings on Matt are not. Top tier green flag MC.

Dumb AF when it comes to Aiden, though.

Thankfully, I'm not. Docking a star for Aiden's shenanigans and not NEARLY enough of an apology tour💀

A smooth criminal is STILL a criminal

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc! I give this 5 stars and 4 chili peppers for spice. This was my first book by this author and I read it as a standalone. I loved it! Your heart just ached for Matt and Aiden. Their emotions were so real and I loved the second chance trope. Aiden’s battle with depression and feeling lost after such a successful career was so real. I also loved that Matt wasn’t afraid to forgive Matt and tried to do everything to help him out instead of just giving up. I really did love these two. I almost wish we would have gotten more of the first part of their relationship. Like actual flashbacks because I just loved them and could have kept reading about them. I hope there are more books in this series because I also fell in love with the side characters.

I was promised sad gay hockey, and sad gay hockey was delivered.

Second chance romance with older MCs trying figure out what to do with their life after having used hockey as their focus and identity for decades. This was a solid standalone with really good representation for mental health struggles, and those in your life wanting to help (but not knowing how).

For a book that didn't have a lot of hockey game play, it was still incredibly hockey focused and detailed for life and items off the ice. You can tell Ari loves and knows their stuff about this sport.