Audiobook Reviews ~ Scoring Chances Series by Avon Gale
Title: Breakaway
Series: Scoring Chances
Author: Avon Gale
Narrator: Scott R. Smith
Release Date: August 9, 2016
Category: Contemporary
Length: 7 hours, 33 minutes
Drafted to play for the Jacksonville Sea Storm, an NHL affiliate, 20-year-old Lane Courtnall's future looks bright, apart from the awkwardness he feels as a gay man playing on a minor league hockey team. He's put his foot in his mouth a few times and alienated his teammates. Then, during a rivalry game, Lane throws off his gloves against Jared Shore, enforcer for the Savannah Renegades. It's a strange way to begin a relationship.
Jared's been playing minor league hockey for most of his career. He's bisexual and doesn't care if anyone knows. But he's determined to avoid another love affair after the last one left him devastated. Out of nowhere a one-nighter with rookie Lane Courtnall gives him second thoughts. Lane reminds Jared why he loves the game and why love might be worth the risk. In turn, Jared hopes to show Lane how to be comfortable with himself on and off the ice. But they're at different points in their careers, and both men will have to decide what they value most.
*** Audible code provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my listening pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement.***
Breakaway is Book 1 in Avon Gale's Scoring Chances series and is narrated by Scott R. Smith. This introductory book introduces you to the ECHL league, an affiliate of the NHL. Lane Courtnall is a young, skilled player drafted from Canada to play for the Jacksonville Sea Storm. Lane is awkward and prone to say whatever he thinks with no filter or tact which led to him being alienated by his teammates from day 1 on the team. He decides during a game that the best way to get his teammates to like him is to get into a fight with their rival team, Savannah Renegades enforcer, Jared Shore. Jared is coming close to the end of his career and isn't happy that the new upcoming star of the league decided to choose him for a fight. When they run into each other at the bar, he quickly learns that Lane is clueless about the reasons he didn't appreciate the fight. But he's also attracted to Lane, though he's always hidden his bisexuality from his team. And it's not long before neither Lane or Jared can deny their attraction or feelings for each other.
I've actually read this book and was not a fan of Lane's. I didn't find him endearing or amusing at all but I have to say I feel differently after listening to the audio version of the book. The narrator did a great job of bringing the characters to life and made Lane seem less annoying and more quirky. I really enjoyed Smith's narration and thought he did a great job on this book. The narrator was able to easily voice each of the characters that let you recognize when they were speaking without needing to see their name in print.
There are a lot of great characters in this book. Jared is a saint in this book to put up with, let alone fall in love with Lane and all his quirks. He was able to nurture and help Lane grow while still appreciating the weirdness that is Lane. I loved Lane's best friend Zoe. She was so funny and without her help, Lane would not have come as far as he had.
The book is a great introduction to hockey and the author offers a little background at the beginning to help those who are new, or unaware, how the ECHL works. The book is a great mix of friendship, romance and hockey without being overwhelming in one area. And I felt like there was really good set-up with future books (I haven't read them yet, but I plan on it!) to make this series just get better with each book! And I'd definitely listen to the audios of those as they become available. You should definitely check out this audio and series by Avon Gale!
Overall: 4.5 stars
Performance: 4.5 stars
Story: 4.5 stars
Title: Save of the Game
Series: Scoring Chances
Author: Avon Gale
Narrator: Scott R. Smith
Release Date: September 12, 2016
Category: Contemporary
Length: 6 hours, 22 minutes
After last season’s heartbreaking loss to his hockey team’s archrival, Jacksonville Sea Storm goalie Riley Hunter is ready to let go of the past and focus on a winning season. His roommate, Ethan Kennedy, is a loud New Yorker with a passion for social justice that matches his role as the team’s enforcer. The quieter Riley is attracted to Ethan and has no idea what to do about it.
Ethan has no hesitations. As fearless as his position demands, he rushes into things without much thought for the consequences. Though they eventually warm to their passionate new bond, it doesn’t come without complications. For their relationship to work, Ethan will need to learn when to keep the gloves on and let someone help him—and Riley will have to learn it’s okay to let someone past his defenses.
*Audio copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by the Dreamspinner for my listening pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*
Save of the Game is Book 2 in Avon Gale's Scoring Chances series. You could probably listen/read Book 2 without having read the first one, but don't do that! There are characters and storylines from Book 1 that are involved in Book 2 and you'll enjoy it more with the history of the characters. In this book, goalie Riley Hunter is in peak physical shape and ready to win a championship. Riley is an open minded individual, who has considered that he may be bisexual. Riley comes from a wealthy family which he keeps hidden from everyone but his closest friends. Ethan Kennedy is loud, boisterous, and the life of the party. He smokes cigarettes like Riley drinks coconut water. Ethan was raised in a close-knit family with a single mom and two sisters. Family is one of the most important parts of his life. Riley is unexpectedly attracted to Ethan, confirming that he's bisexual. In a nosy move, Ethan finds Riley's hidden porn files on the laptop and realizes that the men in the videos look a lot like him, making him rethink his sexuality.
I seriously appreciated that when Riley and Ethan became interested in each other, they went all in. There were no chapters of angst about how can I be gay, can I do this, should I do this, etc. They both decided to accept themselves and to move forward. Their fumblings of trying to figure out what to do with each other was funny, leading a clearly desperate Riley to call Lane (from Book 1) for sex advice. The ridiculousness and hilarity of that call was a pure Lane moment. And was a reminder of just how much I loved Lane and Jared.
Some characters that I have to mention is Riley and Ethan's coach and Ethan's family. Coach doesn't care that they're gay, he just wants them to play some ******* hockey! Coach likes to sprinkle nouns and verbs in between his cussing and he is hilarious! There were many scenes with him involved that I was laughing while listening. He was just so well written and the narrator just brought him to life. Additionally, Ethan's mom and sisters. They were no different from Ethan, they're loud, brash, in your face and they have huge hearts. They just added so much to this story and made it easy to understand why Ethan had turned out the way he did.
I really enjoyed the audiobook from Book 1, and this one definitely doesn't disappoint. This audiobook was narrated by Scott R. Smith, who really brought the characters to life! His storytelling was very well paced and he really brought out the humor and passion in this story. Though I did feel that his female characters all had the same voice/tone, so sometimes it was hard to tell which one was speaking without being told.
Overall, this is a low angst story with two lovable guys, that provides lots of laughter and some really hot, steamy, sexy scenes. Even if you're not a fan of hockey, or don't understand it, you should still check out this series!
Overall: 5 stars
Performance: 4.5 stars
Story: 5 stars
Title: Power Play
Series: Scoring Chances: Book Three
Author: Avon Gale
Narrator: Scott R. Smith
Release Date: October 11, 2016
Category: Contemporary
Length: 6 hours, 22 minutes
A freak accident during the Stanley Cup Playoffs put an end to Max Ashford’s hockey career. Despite everything, Max gets back into the game he loves—only this time behind the bench, as an assistant coach of the Spartanburg Spitfires, the worst team in the entire league. But nothing prepares him for the shock when he learns the new head coach is Misha Samarin, the man who caused Max’s accident.
After spending years guilt-ridden for his part in Max’s accident, Russian native Misha Samarin has no idea what to do when he’s confronted with Max’s presence. Max’s optimism plays havoc with Misha’s equilibrium—as does the fierce attraction that springs up between them.
Not only must they navigate Misha’s remorse and a past he’s spent a lifetime trying to forget, but also a sleazy GM who is determined to use their history as a marketing hook. But when an unwelcome visitor targets a player, Misha revisits his darkest days, and that might cost him and Max the beginning they’ve worked so hard to build.
*Audible code provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my listening pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*
Book 3 of Avon Gale's Scoring Chances series takes us to another ECHL team. I was a little sad to not have all the previous guys back in the story but we get a whole new team to learn about! The Spitfires are the worst team in the league and owned by a wealthy jerk who hires Misha and Max to coach his team. He has little interest in them coaching and more interest in playing off their history to get people to attend his games. Both Misha and Max played professional hockey until during a game they were involved in an on-ice incident that ended Max's professional hockey-playing career and even Misha's, because of guilt. Unfortunately for the owner, Max doesn't hold Misha responsible for his injury and has moved on with his life. But Misha has a long life of feeling guilty. Misha and Max are really completely opposites. Max is light-hearted, has fun, is a people person and goes with the flow. He gets in over his head many times but because he's trying to do a good thing. He has zero knowledge of geography or the world. He has a family that is very liberal, who loves him and won't love him less for being bisexual. Misha is a full of angst Russian with a troubled past, raised by a gangster who was not happy his son was gay. He's quiet and keeps all his emotions bottled up. He's stoic. And though he feels he's not a people person, he's a protector to those he cares about.
As with all of the books in this series, there were some really funny moments that made me laugh out loud. This has happened with each of these books I have listened to. But it certainly isn't all light-hearted fun and bench clearing brawls. There's a lot of seriousness surrounding Misha and him accepting himself, along with the issues that come from his past and an issue with a team member. There is so much emotional depth in Avon's men, that I feel invested in each of them.
So far all of the Scoring Chances books have been narrated by Scott R. Smith. I enjoy his narration for the most part, but he really is terrible at accents sometimes. I thought that with the last book, but this one was really obvious. Max is from Minnesota but I thought the accent most of the time was more Canadian. And Max's mother, father, brother, sister-in-law and niece didn't have an accent so at the Christmas scene with the whole family, I was focused more on why Max had such a different accent from his family. The narrator didn't do a bad job with Misha's Russian accent and seemed to be able to do a deeper accent when called for.
I haven't read these books so I'm not going to choose between which version is my favorite, but I truly enjoy how these characters are brought to life through audio. Honestly, why not get the books and audio versions of each and make your own comparisons!
Book 3 of Avon Gale's Scoring Chances series takes us to another ECHL team. I was a little sad to not have all the previous guys back in the story but we get a whole new team to learn about! The Spitfires are the worst team in the league and owned by a wealthy jerk who hires Misha and Max to coach his team. He has little interest in them coaching and more interest in playing off their history to get people to attend his games. Both Misha and Max played professional hockey until during a game they were involved in an on-ice incident that ended Max's professional hockey-playing career and even Misha's, because of guilt. Unfortunately for the owner, Max doesn't hold Misha responsible for his injury and has moved on with his life. But Misha has a long life of feeling guilty. Misha and Max are really completely opposites. Max is light-hearted, has fun, is a people person and goes with the flow. He gets in over his head many times but because he's trying to do a good thing. He has zero knowledge of geography or the world. He has a family that is very liberal, who loves him and won't love him less for being bisexual. Misha is a full of angst Russian with a troubled past, raised by a gangster who was not happy his son was gay. He's quiet and keeps all his emotions bottled up. He's stoic. And though he feels he's not a people person, he's a protector to those he cares about.
As with all of the books in this series, there were some really funny moments that made me laugh out loud. This has happened with each of these books I have listened to. But it certainly isn't all light-hearted fun and bench clearing brawls. There's a lot of seriousness surrounding Misha and him accepting himself, along with the issues that come from his past and an issue with a team member. There is so much emotional depth in Avon's men, that I feel invested in each of them.
So far all of the Scoring Chances books have been narrated by Scott R. Smith. I enjoy his narration for the most part, but he really is terrible at accents sometimes. I thought that with the last book, but this one was really obvious. Max is from Minnesota but I thought the accent most of the time was more Canadian. And Max's mother, father, brother, sister-in-law and niece didn't have an accent so at the Christmas scene with the whole family, I was focused more on why Max had such a different accent from his family. The narrator didn't do a bad job with Misha's Russian accent and seemed to be able to do a deeper accent when called for.
I haven't read these books so I'm not going to choose between which version is my favorite, but I truly enjoy how these characters are brought to life through audio. Honestly, why not get the books and audio versions of each and make your own comparisons!
Overall: 4.5 stars
Performance: 4 stars
Story: 4.5 stars
Title: Empty Net
Series: Scoring Chances: Book Four
Author: Avon Gale
Narrator: Scott R. Smith
Release Date: January 10, 2017
Category: Contemporary
Length: 6 hours, 38 minutes
Buy Link
Series: Scoring Chances: Book Four
Author: Avon Gale
Narrator: Scott R. Smith
Release Date: January 10, 2017
Category: Contemporary
Length: 6 hours, 38 minutes
Buy Link
Spartanburg Spitfires’ goalie and captain, Isaac Drake, ended last season with an unexpected trip to the playoffs. He’s found a home and a family with his coach and mentor, Misha Samarin, and he’s looking forward to making a serious run for the Kelly Cup. But things take an interesting turn when Isaac’s archnemesis, Laurent St. Savoy, is traded to the Spitfires. After Laurent’s despicable behavior in the playoffs last year, Isaac wants nothing to do with him—no matter how gorgeous he is. But that changes when Isaac discovers the reason for Laurent’s attitude.
Laurent St. Savoy grew up the only son of a legendary NHL goalie in a household rife with abuse. He was constantly treated like a disappointment, on and off the ice. When a desperate attempt to escape his father’s tyranny sends him to the Spitfires, the last thing Laurent wants is to make friends. But there’s something about Isaac Drake that he can’t resist. Laurent has an opportunity to explore his sexuality for the first time, but he’s cracking under end-of-the-season pressures. When facing the playoffs and a rivalry turned personal vendetta, Isaac’s not sure he’s enough to hold on to Laurent—or their relationship.
Empty Net is Book 4 in Avon Gale's Scoring Chances series. It is not necessary to read or listen, to the previous books to enjoy this one but this series is absolutely terrific and you should read or listen to all of them! If you aren't going to read all of them, you should definitely read Book 3 as there are many recurring characters between these two books. But, just in case I was too subtle, read (or listen) all of these fantastic books, you'll thank me!
Drake was involved a lot in Book 3 and I was so excited for him to find his HEA. He had been kicked out of his house as a teen for being gay. He lived on the streets and worked hard to get himself to this point as goalie in his life. He is living with his coaches still and things in his life have finally calmed down. And then, one day the owner of their team decides to shake things up again by trading for a goalie. A goalie who's a jerk to everyone. The last time Drake's team faced off against Laurent's, Laurent spit in his face. Laurent is hated by EVERYONE, and the person who hates him the most is himself. He was traded by his dad to teach him a lesson but Laurent doesn't care.
Only things don't go the way he expects on the team, Drake refuses to allow him to be the enemy. He forces Laurent to become his friend, he forces him to become less of a jerk. And, in that forced relationship, Laurent learns about himself and opens up to Drake about what he's suffered at the hands of his father. Laurent, who had never been interested in anyone, finds himself attracted to Drake. Though he's still a jerk, Drake softens him and helps everyone see the real Laurent. But his father won't let him go so easily, and with the help of Drake and the coaches, Laurent will do what's necessary to protect himself.
Scott R. Smith narrates this series and he does a fantastic job! He brings these characters to life and allows me to easily be sucked into the story! He narrates with a great rhythm and easily gives voice to all the characters that allow you to know who's speaking when you're listening.
I enjoy this series more with every new addition, and hope Ms. Gale plans to write about many more of these players in the ECHL!
Rating:
Overall: 5 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story: 5 Stars
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