His last year of professional hockey and Dom is juggling his poor playing, constant injuries, and a secret arrangement that could blow up in his face. Shea can't help his feelings for Dom, but waiting for him to be okay with being gay in public may never happen, so he takes what he can get knowing it will probably lead to heartbreak in the end.
Fiery Rescue: Fisher Cats Player Heating Up the Sheets with Handsome Stranger?
Fourth line center, Dominic Olson, was spotted with an unidentified man following a fire at the High Park Towers building in Liberty Village late last night.
The fire was contained to the fifth floor where—according to firefighters from Toronto Fire Station 346—it began in one of the condo’s kitchens. Thankfully, only minor injuries were reported.
After being treated by paramedics, Olson escorted the mystery man to a black SUV and helped him inside. Although they left together, their destination is also unknown.
Traded to Toronto from the Los Angeles Suns, Olson was a major player in the team’s 2013 Stanley Cup win.
However, it’s become obvious in recent years that the aging forward is no longer the superstar he once was.
But what exactly was Olson doing at High Park Towers in the wee hours of the morning with a strange man? “Just friends,” or something more?
Though Olson has been notoriously tight-lipped about his personal life, rarely choosing to attend events with a plus one, we all know the old adage: where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS:
The Blame Game contains scenes with an apartment fire, parental neglect/estrangement, mild internalized homophobia, accidental mixing of medication leading to a health scare, and two short scenes with sexual harassment from a side character.
This romance also includes found family, fake relationship, out for you, and he falls first/he falls harder tropes, along with a positive attitude toward escort work as a career (MCs are only with each other in the book).
SNik's review:
Fifth in series (Relationship Goals), can be read as a standalone but might be more fun if read in order. Secret relationship/fake relationship. Dual POV.
Aging pro hockey player Dom has had a standing appointment every Sunday for years with his stylist/escort Sawyer(Shea), his private life is no one’s business especially as this is his last year playing hockey. Shea is a physiotherapist, he hasn’t had any escort clients for years, only Dom, but falling for a client never ends well and Shea knows Dom never intends to come out of the closet.
Both Dom and Shea have feelings for each other, but having things be secret puts pressure on them and there are constant hurdles to overcome throughout the story in order to keep things out of the public eye. Shea is beyond patient with Dom, willing to wait for the chance that Dom will ever accept being gay in public, and Dom slowly learns that Shea is so important that he needs to express his feelings so that he knows it. Some spice, a ton of supportive secondary characters, and a sweet couple that just needs to find the right moment to finally be together.
Molly Otto's review:
Now, this is how you end an already powerful series. Dom has always been there for the Fisher Cats but never fully in, and then you realize why and can completely understand why. Brigham shows his vulnerabilities in hiding how much his body is giving up on him and how his love for the game keeps him going even when he mayn't. Then you have beautiful Shea, a man who has stuck by Dom even when Dom couldn't see the truth. This story has so much more going on than its predecessors in the mystery of what's going on, and it will all be solved by the end of this series. It is truly a spectacular way to end a series that will stick with me for a long time to come.
Heather's Review:
Dom has been a dark horse throughout this series and he proves why in The Blame Game. Never being vulnerable has been his calling card, so when things go haywire with his orderly life, after a fire and Shea's revelations, wow... the floodgates open.
This book blends the best of the series together - found family, support, true love, a little mystery, some blackmail and of course some pretty triumphant hockey! It does make me feel bad that the Fisher Cats are the only NHL team to make it past the first round of the play offs in this century... but it was nice to see Toronto get a shot at winning something - even if it's fiction... but I digress
I think you could read this book standalone, but it makes so much more sense if you read the entire series (and the one before that) and hey, it's got my childhood 'hood of Leslieville in it - so you need to read it just for that.
The Blame Game is currently available as an e-book and paperback and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription
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