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.
From the blurb:
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).
Lesetiger's review:
The Blame Game is the fifth and final book in the 'Relationship Goals' series. Like each book in the series, it can be read as a standalone, but it's just so much more fun if you've read all the books.
This time it's about Dom, who is already at the end of his ice hockey career. I really liked that fact, by the way, because it was thematically different. Dom is struggling with various injuries and it is far from certain that he will be able to return to the ice.
After a fire, pictures of Dom with Shea are released to the public. Shea is an escort who has been seeing Dom for a long time and has developed feelings for him. Dom, on the other hand, is not out and so it is important that no one finds out the real reason for Dom and Shea being together. But unfortunately there is a leak and so the two are forced to do something to stop the rumors from spreading. They fake a real relationship.
Shea and Dom are very different. Dom is very closed off when it comes to feelings. He also has a complicated non-relationship with his parents and struggles with medication for an injury. I loved how Dom evolved over the course of the story and how their relationship took a turn for the better. But beware, the story is slowburn when it comes to the romance. But that doesn't matter because there are so many other themes in the story that I found entertaining and enjoyable.
The ending of this book was convincing and you can look forward to a happy ending!
And I've also grown very fond of the Fisher Cats boys, some of whom we see again here. It's almost a bit of a shame that this series has now come to an end.
Despite the decent length of the audiobook, it was a lot of fun listening to James Edward Jones. His voice is just perfect for the characters. He narrates with variety, has the right tempo and conveys the emotions well.
The Blame Game is currently available as an audiobook on the author's website https://brighamvaughnshop.com/products/the-blame-game-the-relationship-goals-series-4-audiobook, e-book and paperback, and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription
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