I really enjoyed Game Plan

it took me a little while to get used to this narrator, but as I got pulled into the story between Matt and Pierce I started to enjoy the narration. There were times I wasn't sure who's chapter it was at first but it became clear soon after. Matt and Pierce made such a great couple and I'm glad they got a second chance at making a go of things, they were definitely meant to be together. I thought the author dealt with Pierce's mental health in an empathetic way and liked that he had the support of those he cared for once they knew what he'd been going through. I'm looking forward to book 2.

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Second chance hockey romance

Start of a new hockey series. This deals with a feeder team for the NHL and is set in Canada.
This is a second chance romance between the head coach and the dad of one of his players..
I found Matt far too accepting of Pierce's behaviour when they split up originally. I thought that mental illnesses was used as a 'get out of jail free' card to absolve Pierce of all his bad behaviour. Matt should have made him work harder for a second chance. I remembered Matt from when I read Game Changer and it was great to see Blair and Charlie (individually) pre relationship.

This is a new to me narrator and they did a good job with the performance. I'd have liked a little more difference between character voices but that's just my personal preference.

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Everything is just perfect.

Second chances, hockey and Amy Aislin’s writing: this book has everything I love in a romance.
I adored Matt and my heart totally went out to Pierce.
I loved everything about this book. The characters, the setting, the pacing of the writing.

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Great performance from a new to me narrator

Second chance romance is not always my favourite trope, however, I did enjoy this one. There was no huge fallout incident that caused their fallout so it was definitely believable that the pair would get back together.

I loved the inclusion of a grown up child, which I only rarely see in romance books now. Hockey romance is such a loaded sub genre now that I thought this book was missing something to make it an absolutely perfect read.

The narrator is very new to me so I had to get used to hearing a different voice but he did extremely well being the voice of two different characters. Excited now for book 2 from the same narrator.

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Second chances

I don’t usually read second chances with the same person’s books, but this one has a lot of good points.
They didn’t jump into bed at the fist opportunity—but the second. I’d have liked if they have taken their time to rebuild trust though.
It also doesn’t have an excessive number bed scenes, and the author doesn’t dwell on them. A rarity that will make me read more of her books.
The delaying about confessing to Jason was a bit annoying; I didn’t like when it was said that Pierce and Jason didn’t need to apologise, they did what they thought was best but it’s good if they are sorry for it, no need to downplay it; and I don’t agree with how pretty much any of the characters manage things, but I enjoyed the book anyway, which is a good thing. I’ll keep reading more of the author.

«But forgiveness and trust are two different things».

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Complications and second chances

Loved this second chance hockey romance between the new head coach and a player's father. There are all the issues from their personal past to deal with for Matt and Pierce in addition to the pressure on Matt to get the team back in some kind of shape to win games and figuring out how to deal with a player when you're involved with his father. Aislin has a great new series going here and I cam't wait for book two. Aaron Hokanson gave a wonderful performance of all the characters making the sports background interesting to listen to and also capturing the emotional nuances as well.

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a great second chance romance!

Somewhat unorthodox approach to a second chance romance but so good.
The characters are dynamic and passionate and wonderfully written.

The respect, understanding and compassion shown when discussing mental health and depression (as one of the MCs has depression) was refreshing to read. It was honest and truthful without the stigma and usually darkness associated with this disease. As someone with a mental illness it was nice to see a character seeking help and in the process of healing and managing their condition in this story.

Lots of hockey stuff which I still know nothing about but it's fun and fast paced.

A great read and listen and I'm a sucker for how the narrator says "sorry"! So good!!!

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Narrator really brought the characters to life.

Great second chance romance, one of my favourite tropes. I really enjoyed reading and listening to Matt and Pierce's story. As always Amy's writing is lovely and the story was nicely paced and flowed beautifully, I was hooked from the start and couldn’t put it down. I loved getting to know more about Matt, and meeting his ex Pierce. Their shared history is emotional, and seeing them rebuild what they once had was moving. Their connection and chemistry was intense and sizzling. There’s a lot of unresolved history between them, and some twists and turns to get to their well deserved happy ever after. A great start to the series, and I can’t wait for the next one instalment. Aaron Hodkinson's narration was first class. Really brought the characters to life.

I received an ARC of this story, which in no way influenced my opinion

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Fun new series!

I am nothing if not a low angst reader, but this was actually like no angst at all? But I am a bit in two minds about this book, I think the "my ex is also the father of a player on my new team" setup had potential but the execution missed the mark a bit for me. There is no groveling, and they immediately get back together and pick up their relationship right where they left off at the 18-month mark.

But I was still invested in their HEA & the narration performance was stellar!
And I am excited to read the next book 😂

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1 person found this helpful

Amazing

Matt and Pierce’s story was wonderful when I read the print version, so I was excited for the audio.

Rookie Aaron Hokanson does a fabulous job with his first audiobook. He has a silky smooth voice, and a concise speech pattern that is easy on the ears.

The novel is a solid take on the second-chance romance trope. While Matt is a dedicated AHL head coach, he is also a no-nonsense/face-things-head-on kind of guy who is passionate about fitness. Pierce, on the other hand, is a devoted father, who loves his work with antiques. Add in a bunch of fun secondary characters, and the tale flows by effortlessly, with lots of layers to the central relationship.

Handling mental health with compassion, Aislin also shows willingness to showcase diversity in characters, with Mae preferring they/them pronouns, and characters expressing different sexual orientations.

Hokanson didn’t attempt any voice acting with this one, and I’d love to hear him stretch next time and try some of that, or experiment with a broader emotional range. However, this was professional sounding and I suspect this “new voice” won’t be unknown for long.

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