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A review by poisonivy70
Penalty Play by Lynda Aicher
4.0
In the third Power Play book, Minnesota Glaciers’ starting defenseman Henrik Grenick just broke up with his latest girlfriend and cannot stand to be alone, even if he keeps choosing the same kind of empty relationships. He heads out to get strings for his guitar when he meets Jacqui Polson, a music major whose in the eighth year since her cancer went into remission...and she’s due for her next checkup. Both protect their hearts, but what will happen when they finally realize that what they’re truly yearning for is love? Romance, that’s what.
Ms. Aicher is a talented writer: This is the third book in an excellent hockey romance series, and each entry makes me appreciate the attention to detail in this little ‘verse. I just enjoy her style, and her ability to really set up these difficult relationships that don’t follow a set pattern. I loved the glimpses of the HEAs for the earlier couples, but also loved the fact that it wasn’t imperative that you read those to enjoy this book.
Henrik needs somebody to love: Henrik is more submissive than I’m used to in my heroes, but he is truly the sweetest guy whose yearning for love is touching. Just want to wrap him up and hold him. Then do dirty things to him. I would have loved to see him stand up for himself more, but the final scenes with his family explain alot, and I even loved that when the opportunity arose to just make them your standard horrible people, there’s a glimpse of real feelings that make it all work.
I will never understand the cruel to be kind mentality: My tolerance for that flawed logic is low. Frankly it's on my list of least favorite things in a romance, so I wasn’t a big fan of Jacqui. I know I should have more sympathy for her, and I didn’t loathe her, but I didn’t really connect with her either. The shades of Domme/submissive were fun, but not a big part of the story. I would have liked exploring her need for control and Henrik’s pleasure in serving her, but the angst in her health issues was her big journey.
The hockey I love, but...: In the first two books, hockey was integral to the characters and the big conflict itself and really gave a different feel to the romance. Here, the hockey felt more incidental. Now, the hockey scenes were still authentic and done very well, and that’s all a tribute to Ms. Aicher’s writing. Unfortunately, I felt that Henrick could have had any profession and it would have played the same, because that wasn’t his true passion and that made the difference between this and the earlier books. Between that and Jacqui’s angst, it felt more like the usual romantic tropes rather than what I’d come to expect from this hockey series from Ms. Aicher.
[3 ½ stars]
I definitely enjoyed the story (even if it’s not my favorite of the series), and I think Henrick could be my favorite hero. So far. I do look forward to seeing what Ms. Aicher has in store next for the Glaciers.
**ARC provided by publisher via netgalley for review**
Ms. Aicher is a talented writer: This is the third book in an excellent hockey romance series, and each entry makes me appreciate the attention to detail in this little ‘verse. I just enjoy her style, and her ability to really set up these difficult relationships that don’t follow a set pattern. I loved the glimpses of the HEAs for the earlier couples, but also loved the fact that it wasn’t imperative that you read those to enjoy this book.
Henrik needs somebody to love: Henrik is more submissive than I’m used to in my heroes, but he is truly the sweetest guy whose yearning for love is touching. Just want to wrap him up and hold him. Then do dirty things to him. I would have loved to see him stand up for himself more, but the final scenes with his family explain alot, and I even loved that when the opportunity arose to just make them your standard horrible people, there’s a glimpse of real feelings that make it all work.
I will never understand the cruel to be kind mentality: My tolerance for that flawed logic is low. Frankly it's on my list of least favorite things in a romance, so I wasn’t a big fan of Jacqui. I know I should have more sympathy for her, and I didn’t loathe her, but I didn’t really connect with her either. The shades of Domme/submissive were fun, but not a big part of the story. I would have liked exploring her need for control and Henrik’s pleasure in serving her, but the angst in her health issues was her big journey.
The hockey I love, but...: In the first two books, hockey was integral to the characters and the big conflict itself and really gave a different feel to the romance. Here, the hockey felt more incidental. Now, the hockey scenes were still authentic and done very well, and that’s all a tribute to Ms. Aicher’s writing. Unfortunately, I felt that Henrick could have had any profession and it would have played the same, because that wasn’t his true passion and that made the difference between this and the earlier books. Between that and Jacqui’s angst, it felt more like the usual romantic tropes rather than what I’d come to expect from this hockey series from Ms. Aicher.
[3 ½ stars]
I definitely enjoyed the story (even if it’s not my favorite of the series), and I think Henrick could be my favorite hero. So far. I do look forward to seeing what Ms. Aicher has in store next for the Glaciers.
**ARC provided by publisher via netgalley for review**