Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK
Length: 57,000 words approx.
Cover Design: Rêverie Design & Formatting
Book #1 - Snap Shot - Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #2 - Open Net - Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #3 - Coach's Challenge - Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #4 - Overtime - Amazon US | Amazon UK
Blurb
The past few years have been a bit chaotic for Cougars new associate coach, Lancaster Hart. After an amiable divorce he began living his life as the gay man he’d kept closeted for far too long. With the recent move to Cayuga, he’s away from his support system and properly made sweet tea. Despite a roster filled with new friends and associates, he’s spending his nights alone.
As his team gears up to make a run at the Calder Cup, Lancaster discovers that not everything in upstate New York is wine, woodlands, and chilly conservative ideals. At a summer music festival, he first lays eyes on Townsend Harris, folksy/blues singer by night and mayoral office assistant by day. Lancaster is enraptured with the man’s powerful sultry voice. Also, Town just might be the most beautiful man he has seen in all his forty-one years.
The two hit it off at an informal meet and greet after the show, where they spend the night talking and sipping wine. One evening of conversation and an incendiary goodbye kiss leads them into a scorching love affair that might be exactly what Lancaster has been searching for his whole life. Can his team pull off professionally what he’s hoping to do privately as well? Or will capturing their dream evade both the Cougars and Lancaster?
Snap Shot, Cayuga Cougars B1
4 Stars
I have to start off by saying I was extremely nervous about reading this book. I’ve read V.L. Locey’s books before and I really enjoyed them, so I figured what the heck, might as well give this series a try, too. I am glad I gave this one a read despite my hesitations about the book cover and the blurb. It was a well-rounded, good story and I ended up really liking the characters.
Mario “Seamus” is a hockey player who realizes that he’s in love with Lila… Lila is a transgender woman who models. I really loved how open these characters were about themselves as people and about their relationships as well. Even when Lila drops the bomb on Seamus about having a grown kid, he really steps up for the challenge and re-arranges most of his life to make sure Lila knows that she is not alone in dealing with everything.
Lila’s son is a jerk who needs to be put in his place, but seeing as he’s a teenager dealing with a lot of changes in such a short time, I feel like he can kind of get a small pass on his attitude issues, I think most teenage kids would act out the same as he did in that situation he was thrust into.
I’m glad that Lila and Seamus made it all work out. You can really see how much they love each other in every word of this book. I was really pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this story. I will be checking out the rest of this series for sure and I really hope August “Augie” gets a story too.
Open Net, Cayuga Cougars B2
3.75 Stars
I was really happy to see August's book. We met Auggie in book one, where he was the newest member of the Cayuga Cougars hockey team. He was one of those weird goalies that each hockey team seems to have, but still pretty innocent and young, with an adorable crush on Mario. I was glad to see him move past all of that in this book, even though he seemed to still retain some of his sweet innocent shyness. It’s obvious he really grows as a person and it’s cute watching him come into his own along the way.
I was pretty nervous when August met Sal. To an extent, I definitely agreed with Mario that Auggie jumped in way too fast and fell way too hard for Sal pretty instantly. This was Auggie's first relationship and I just felt like he should have taken a small step back a bit. But Sal made me fall for him, almost as much as Auggie did.
I really did appreciate how the twist with Sal was written and covered in this book; I loved that no one turned their back on him and that there were some who even embraced him further after learning what was going on. I think it’s a huge issue that has a lot of stigma attached, and it really shouldn't be that way anymore. Auggie and Sal have a great relationship and the amount of communication they have just makes them so much stronger as people and as a couple. I liked this book a lot and I'll be reading the rest of this series now too.
Coach's Challenge, Cayuga Cougars B3
5 Stars
(And Victor deserves so much more than 5*)
I was really super nervous about seeing that Dan and Victor were getting a book and that there would be some angst and drama in their pretty solid-looking relationship. At the start of this book, they're married already and have a family and son and seemed to be pretty well grounded. But, we do only get some small snippets of them in previous books so even though I hesitated a minute to read this one, I am so glad I did. They bumped their way up to first place on my favorites spot of this series, and that is mainly due to Victor and his ridiculously awesome personality.
Victor is hands down one of my new favorite characters for this year. I don't think I will be forgetting him any time soon. His personality and brand of crazy were immensely entertaining and I loved every second of both. He is definitely my kind of person. I really appreciate how ‘in your face’ and unapologetic he is in every word that spews from his mouth. Best. Character. Ever.
I liked getting a look into the guys’ lives and that everything wasn't really cut and dry as it seemed, looking at small parts in the past. I loved that they communicated as a couple and talked everything out. Victor and his therapist were hilarious and had some super funny conversations. Omg, and the first interaction we got between Victor and the old man made me laugh out loud. I really think that towards the end of the book Victor really did ‘become more’ as a person, when he was finally able to let some long-term emotionally damaging stuff go.
Dan. Well, Dan is amazing in his own way. He really does put up with a lot and make a lot of allowances when it comes to Victor and his less than appreciated traits. Dan is an adorable saint. And I really love how much Dan loves Victor’s son too - he 100% treats him as his own. When Sander shows back up in the picture I was extremely worried at some of the words getting thrown around between Dan and Vic, only to realize that my worries were totally unfounded and they were in fact as solid as they seemed. Dan and Vic are pretty much the definition of "what you see is what you get" and I loved that about them. The only thing that could have made this better for me would be to have a look back on how Victor and Dan ended up together in the first place. I might have to do some digging and see if I maybe missed another book where that actually happened. I would love to read so much more about Victor. I'm probably repeating myself at this point but Victor is literally my favorite book husband and I want to binge on all things him right now.
Overtime, Cayuga Cougars B4
4.5 Stars
This book was formatted a little differently than the others in this series so far, which I think is due to the fact that not only is it MMM, but the way that Sander, Mateo and Noah form their relationship – they go from two people, Mateo and Noah, who already have a connection, to bringing in a third person, Sander, to be with the established couple. While the way their MMM relationship formed wasn't fully equal with all three men, I actually still really enjoyed this book. It also had a darker underlying theme to it as well, being that Sander and Noah had both had bad things happen to them in their pasts causing them to both be pretty cautious in their relationships and bonds that they form with others.
Sander started out as kind of a jerk when we met him in the previous books, but in this one, we learn what happened for him to act out and be the way he is. Consequently, to me, his attitude is totally understandable; he really did get a raw deal. I loved that he stands by his sister and niece 100% and would do anything to keep them safe. And when he meets Mateo and then Noah you can really feel the instant connection they all have with each other, even during the times that Noah is a bit standoffish towards Sander.
Learning what happened to Noah is a whole other set of emotions you will feel in this book. Poor Noah. I felt so bad for him learning what happened and why he is so hesitant and scared of life. Mateo is their glue, the one person who holds them all together as a unit of three and I absolutely loved that he is able to fill that role for the other two men who really need someone strong to hold them up. The ending is a bit predictable only in the fact that you kind of get the gist of what will happen building up to that moment in time, but you won’t guess exactly what happens, it's horrible and again, poor Noah. These guys have way too much to deal with and not enough happiness flowing around them until the very end. I loved Sander, Mateo and Noah though. This was a great book and great add-on to the Cayuga Cougars series, I wouldn't mind getting a second look at these guys.
One-On-One, Cayuga Cougars B5
4 Stars
This book....
So I did like this book, however, it took me a really long time to read and was my least favorite of the series, though the 4-star rating tells you how much I loved all the books in this series. I kept putting it down and having to come back to it, reading just a little at a time. The way it was written worked well overall and I know most people will thoroughly enjoy this book, but some of the conversations and interactions the main characters had were so odd to me, and their mannerisms just drove me a little crazy. Lancaster just had an old-fashioned way of acting and speaking that I am not used to at all - coming from Southern California, no one speaks that way here. In the end, I didn't really get to fall for Lancaster and Townsend like I wanted to. And I am sad to see the end of this series, I wouldn't mind more of the Cayuga Cougars.
Lan was like a Southern belle, nervous about giving in to his urges and being debauched for the first time. Some of the sayings he came up with were so over the top ridiculous and funny I couldn't help but laugh. "Look at me, clinging to my beau like a debutante after her deflowering." I felt like he should have been born and lived a few decades before his time. He was previously married and now has grown children who are totally okay with his coming out and being gay. I loved that everyone in his life who mattered just wanted to see him happy and in love. There wasn't much angst in this book and not much sex happening between the two men. Townsend was pretty perfect for Lan, not pushing him into anything once he learned Lan's background and how he felt about things. Lan and Town definitely took their slow-as-molasses time in getting to the good parts of their relationship. It was a nice slow build up to a real and long-lasting sugary-sweet commitment to each other.
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***
Jan 16 - Xtreme Delusions, BooksLaidBareBoys, OMG Reads, Drops of Ink, Reading In Sarah's Corner, Jan 18 - Amy's MM Romance Reviews, Jan 22 - Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Love Unchained, Jan 24 - Making It Happen, MM Good Book Reviews, Mainely Stories, Wicked Reads, Jan 26 - We Three Queens, Mirrigold, Jim's Reading Room, Nerdy Dirty and Flirty, Bayou Book Junkie, Lillian Francis
V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, Dr. Who, Torchwood, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, two Jersey steers and a flock of assorted domestic fowl.
When not writing lusty tales, she can be found enjoying her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in hand.
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