Ashlyn Kane - The Inside Edge

What does a work-life balance look like to recently retired professional athletes?
Ex-hockey player Nate Overton is trying to find out, but dipping his toes in the gay dating scene post-divorce is a daunting prospect even without the news that his show is on thin ice. Before he can tackle either issue, he skates headfirst into another problem—his new cohost. Former figure skater Aubrey Chase is the embodiment of a spoiled rich playboy. He’s also flamboyant, sharp, and hot as sin.
Aubrey knows how important it is to get off on the right foot. He’s just not very good at it outside the rink. Having spent his life desperate for attention, he’ll do anything to get it—even the wrong kind.
For Nate and Aubrey, opposites don’t so much attract as collide at center ice. But while Nate’s everything Aubrey has scrupulously avoided—until now—Aubrey falls suddenly head over heels, and Nate’s only looking for a rebound fling. Can Aubrey convince Nate to risk his heart again, or will their unexpected connection be checked at the first sign of trouble?

Comment: Books featuring m/m couples somehow in the world of ice hockey abound in romanceland and while this one doesn't have a main character actually being a player, it still interested me, as other books where players were key characters have before.

Nate Overton is a former player who now is a host in a show where hockey is discussed, although his co-host hasn't been a great person to be around with. Thankfully, a new person was found and it turns out to be Aubrey Chase, who used to be a ice skater. It could be their sports were different but they can say they know how to behave on ice, but this doesn't seem to bring them any closer at first. 

The thing is that Nate is recently out of marriage and starting to think about dating again and Aubrey is more flamboyant and gets on his nerves personally. However, despite the things that should pull them apart, they still like what they see in the other and being co workers can bring them closer, right?

I'm not knowledgeable about ice hockey even though I have read several books by now, both m/m and m/f, where sometimes rules are mentioned and discussed, but this doesn't ruin the experience of going back to books where the game is somehow part of the story. I think the character evolution and the romance count a great deal to me and I'm not fussy about the hockey content, thus why I enjoyed reading this book even though one or two situations related to hockey passed me by.

The story is quite focused on the main characters and their personal feelings and state of mind. I assumed the romance could have some obstacles related to the fact they were working together or to other external issues since they have different family dynamics and lifestyles, but truthfully, to me, the main point of contention seemed to be how they saw one another and how they saw their own self. It's not that this isn't good enough for character development, but it did make the story feel a little flat.

Nate is recently divorced because his ex wanted do things Nate was not available to and the relationship fizzled out. He has a loving family and feels comfortable in his own skin but he knows it can be difficult to find someone who shares his way of seeing things and what he hopes to do about his future. I liked Nate and how he behaved himself. I liked how he thought about his professional life and the decisions he makes at some point.

Aubrey is described as being flamboyant but I never got that sense from how his characterization played out and he seemed to be a good person. His family life is trickier but not as disruptive as it seemed to be when the story begun, which makes me think there wasn't really that much external issues for him to solve besides some basic ones. I think I liked Nate more as a protagonist but towards the end, Aubrey seemed to be the most vulnerable, in fact, and this side of him made me feel more sympathy for his state of mind.

I'd say the big force that drove this novel was the romance, which I feel was good enough but not as riveting as it could be. The guys share a lot in life and had common experiences as athletes who performed on ice but their backgrounds and romantic experiences aren't that similar. I think the romance was sweet for most of the time and the choices they made before and after being intimate led them to something I can accept would be good for them and I can believe they would have a good HEA. But it wasn't fireworks, no, in the sense that I would want to devour any scene they were part of.

In the end, I think this story was only good, competent enough where it mattered, but not as fascinating as I hoped. I still like the author's style in general and will certainly read more books by her.

Grade: 7/10

Ashlyn Kane & Morgan James - String Theory

For Jax Hall, all-but-dissertation in mathematics, slinging drinks and serenading patrons at a piano bar is the perfect remedy for months of pandemic anxiety. He doesn’t expect to end up improvising on stage with pop violinist Aria Darvish, but the attraction that sparks between them? That’s a mathematical certainty. If he can get Ari to act on it, even better.
Ari hasn’t written a note, and his album deadline is looming. Then he meets Jax, and suddenly he can’t stop the music. But Ari doesn’t know how to interpret Jax’s flirting—is making him a drink called Sex with the Bartender a serious overture?
Jax jumps in with both feet, the only way he knows how. Ari is wonderful, and Jax loves having a partner who’s on the same page. But Ari’s struggles with his parents’ expectations, and Jax’s with the wounds of his past, threaten to unbalance an otherwise perfect equation. Can they prove their double act has merit, or does it only work in theory?

Comment: I have to say I can't remember why I was interested in this book except that I have read something else by Ashlyn Kane and liked it, therefore I must have thought this would be a good book too...

This story begins when violinist Ari Darvish is about to start a small performance at a bar, where he used to work while he was studying, but one of his fellow musicians can't make it. Luckily, bartender Jax Hall is working and he does have some piano knowledge. After a really quick reading of Ari's work, they do the performance and not only does it go well, but Jax and Ari even so some fun experiences, which is a little bit the extension of their attraction. Days later, they meet again at the bar and after a while, they start seeing each other. However, both have had disappointments in the past and although Jax has this happy persona going on, he is actually anxious about things he need to do, such as defending his thesis. It seems the more they get to know one another, more differences there are, but will they face them and try to go for happiness?

Looking at the cute and colorful cover, I imagined this would be a more laid back type of novel, with a sweet romance being the focus but while this is a romance, it wasn't the easy angst free novel I imagined, no. In fact, there were moments that seemed to go into a road where I couldn't see how the authors would solve it in a convincing way.

Ari and Jax are both musicians but Ari is a professional, unlike what his Iranian parents wanted for him. They are proud of what he has accomplished but they still wish he could be closer to home and they still dream a life for him that isn't what he wants. As for Jax, he only needs to defend his thesis but everything was put on hold when the pandemic hit and he is still not able to process the fact his adviser died during those terrible months.

The two are at different moments in their lives - Jax still unsure and fearing he can't measure up to others' expectations, Ari not wanting to confront his parents he feels happy with his work - but they have more in common than just the interest for music. As their relationship developed, I could see how slowly they were taking things and I must say I can't remember if this style is close to the other book by Ashlyn Kane I had read, and I suppose the input of Morgan James must be influential in this regard, but I think the end result was quite appealing to me.

With this I mean that the mood of the story isn't one of melancholy but this is still present in the story. The story isn't superficial but there are silly scenes here and there too. I'd say the balance is well achieved overall and I did like how Jax and Ari were apparently compatible and wished to be with one another in the long term. However, I wasn't always truly impressed with them as a couple... I must say I liked the scenes where they were simply talking or debating issues, rather than the ones where they were a couple, sex scenes included. I mean, I could easily put that aside....

The real conflict here is how each guy sees himself. Ari has deep roots in what it means to be dedicated to one's family and how traditions play a big role. His parents are OK with him being gay but they still see him in a role he doesn't and push him to find a doctor husband. I suppose this must be culturally meaningful but it did left me with a slightly bad taste because it still feels very...archaic. This ended up causing the big problems between the guys and there was a moment where I felt that a solution would only happen by downsizing the real extent of the issues, because a HEA had to happen no matter what.

Jax seemed to be a bit more complex character to me and not only because of his memories of what went down during the pandemic. Truthfully, this isn't the focus of his vulnerabilities but it is mentioned in a way that added up to his sense of inadequacy so I saw myself being more curious about him and how would be move forward. He had things left undone to finish and he also had to somehow make others understand why he wasn't more ambitious or motivated to do what they felt he had to... I really felt more in sync with Jax as a character than with Ari.

Since this is a romance, after the big conflicts and complications, the guys make up and get their HEA. I was invested in them so I was glad they could overcome the difficulties. Closer to the end, though, we had secondary characters act in ways I think were only for the sake of resolution, and others did some revelations which seemed to exist only to increase drama... along with some elements which border on cultural unfairness (to not use other words), I feel the authors could have written certain situations better.

Still, despite the issues I had, I was still invested in knowing what would happen next and how would the guys find a way to be together without sacrificing other elements in their lives.

Grade: 8/10

Ashlyn Kane - American Love Songs

Jake Brenner has too many wild oats to sow to fall in love—or so he claims. Besides, he's much too busy with his band, the Wayward Sons, to go looking for romance. His reticence has nothing to do with his embarrassing crush on Chris, the band's lead singer and Jake's erstwhile best friend. But that was before enigmatic wanderer Parker McAvoy signed on as the band's new lead guitarist.
He can only deny his attraction to sweet, dorky Parker for so long before the urge to do something about it becomes impossible to ignore. The trouble is, Parker knows all about Jake's philandering ways—and oh, yeah, he's not gay. Or so Jake thinks until a string of related events provides encouraging new insight. Can he convince Parker to overlook his colorful past and give him a chance? Or will this love song fade out before it even begins?

Comment: This book has been in my pile for some time but to be honest I completely forgot about it. The wonders of going through ebooks lost in the folders of one's computer.

Anyway, after reading the blurb again, it was suddenly a story I really wanted to try, and so I added it to my reading list of December.

In this story we meet Jake, a bass player in a band that recently has reached success. The story begins when Jake meets Parker, a shy guy that has talent written all over him and who joins the band after another member leaves. The two form a strong friendship, they all get along with the other band members and this is the story of their road to success, however, Jake is quite clueless and doesn't understand he's really falling in love with Parker. His hookups don't give him the best reputation either but will he be able to prove to Parker they can be good together as a couple and not just as friends?

I think this was a good story, it had enough elements to make interesting to read. I would say that my biggest issue is with the first person narrator. I really liked the story, most of the character's interactions but I felt it too reductive to a better comprehension of the story. Of course it's a good challenge to read between the lines, to infer things from scenes and little details rather than explicit explanations but despite Jake's sort of bubbly personality, I'd have loved to have more access to everyone's thoughts.

The plot is fun and I liked the easy way everyone interacted. It was quite nice to have an angst-free story although some situations related to the characters, namely Parker, were a little misleading because he certainly went through complicated moments, we know about this closer to the end, but I never felt that emotional connection to them. I can use logic to assume everyone has good and bad things in their life but the author's aim was certainly to show us how good these people could be, no matter their past, the way others see them and the fame they suddenly get. Although I can certainly seem a bit hypocritical to say I really liked how down-to-earth they all were and didn't turn into selfish superstars, so I kind of liked this specific"perfect" image of them as a band.

Jake is a cute character, I did like his personality, his positive side and the way he approached life and the band's needs, his friendship with everyone around the band and in particular, his relationship with Parker. He acted a little bit too nonchalant for it to be believable and although his clueless persona was funny, I expected a bit more seriousness in key scenes. When this happened, it just felt the story lost power. I suppose the balance was a little bit off between the cuteness and the serious side of everything.

I liked Parker a lot, at least seen through Jake's eyes. When they finally admit to one another they have feelings for one another that goes beyond friendship, it was nice to see them give some time to that attraction instead of just getting into something too rashly. But since the balance felt a bit off, even this lost some dynamism.

Overall, this was a great story, I liked spending time with these characters and it was fun as well to read Jake's blog entries!

I'll certainly try something else by the author since the writing itself was fluid and easy to read.

Grade: 8/10