Puckboys: Egotistical Puckboy – Eden Finley & Saxon James

EZRA

Partying, dudes, and hockey. What more could a gay NHL player want?

If it weren’t for Anton Hayes, my life would be perfect.

Not that he affects my life in any way. At all. That would imply I care what the winger from Philly thinks of me.

Which I don’t.

Not even a one-night stand with him can thaw his misplaced animosity toward me.

He says I’m the one with the ego, but he can talk. He rivals me for most egotistical puck boy in the league.

I hate him as much as he hates me. Even if I crave a repeat.

ANTON

When it comes to hockey, I’m all about the game.

I’ve worked for years to be one of the best in the league, and l’ve done it without splashing my orientation all over the tabloids.

My hockey image is one I’ve carefully cultivated, and after one night with Ezra Palaszczuk, I risk it all.

He’s cocky, obnoxious, and has an ego bigger than Massachusetts. And okay, maybe he’s the sexiest man I’ve ever known.

We’ll never get along. Not when we sleep together. Not even when my possessive streak awakens.

That doesn’t stop us from falling into bed together over and over again.

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Hockey romance is my most-read MM sports romance. I don’t know what it is about these hockey players that makes them so shippable. Being gorgeous specimens of humanity, I guess. I barely know anything about the sport. Mind you, I hate sports, but the way these hockey romances play out, I’m almost tempted to watch some games.

Egotistical Puckboy by author duo, Eden Finley & Saxon James, is the opener of the new hockey series, Puckboys. It’s a spin-off of the authors’ CU Hockey series.

Our egotistical puckboy is hockey royalty, Ezra Palaszczuk. He’s an openly gay troublemaking manwhore who never shuts up. Or so it seems. A closer look reveals a man who wants affection but fears rejection. As unlikely as it seems, he’s also an inspiration to aspiring queer athletes. Spend time with him, you’ll notice how he subtly goes out of his way to make people happy.

Ez’s rival in the ice and in ego is top athlete Anton Hayes. Anton has a good boy image. He’s grateful for his privileged upbringing and he’s committed to giving back. Anton’s is so serious about it, he even has secret volunteer gigs nobody, not even his team, knows about.

The man also likes control and has a possessive streak. He doesn’t like to share. He’s still partly in the closet, with only family and teammates knowing he’s gay. He doesn’t want his orientation made public because he doesn’t want to be defined by his sexuality.

By all accounts, the two hated each other. Then one very drunk evening, Ezra was rescued by Anton from being beaten by angry fans. Feeling responsible, he takes Ezra into his apartment to sleep it off. The idiot took it upon himself to provoke his rescuer. The two ended with a hatefuck, and then continued hooking up, right until Anton was traded into Ezra’s team. And that’s when they start catching certain inescapable feelings.

I like my enemies-to-lovers story to be intense. This one has the right level of intensity that makes this trope so delicious. I live for the snark and banter! The romance was executed brilliantly, the transition very organic and so very satisfying.

Ezra, holy heck, the mouth on the guy! There were times when he was almost too much. Even during sex, he wouldn’t shut up. At some particularly exasperating statement, I even thought, man, that is such a boner killer.

Anton has no problems matching Ez snark per snark. I enjoyed how he challenges the other man and keeps him on his toes. He saw through the ego and the bluster and recognized Ez’s vulnerability and innate goodness. And I loved how he accepts Ezra for who he is all the way.

Ezra is mine.

I groan at the thought.

At doing what no one else has ever done.

The thing is, I don’t want to rein him in. I don’t want to change him. He’s light. He’s attention. People are drawn to him and his larger-than-life personality. I want to wind him up and watch him fly, then be the safe place where he can land. The one he always comes back to.

My favorite thing about these two is that they may trade in one-upmanship and sarcasm but when real issues come up, they take time to communicate properly. They talked about everything from the get-go, from how their hook-ups should go down, to going exclusive, to Ez’s family issues, to Anton’s coming out. Ez inspired Anton to embrace his truth. Attaboy!

I struggled with a few other books but when I picked this up, I was riveted for hours. I was immediately drawn to the characters, even the supporting ones. I loved the Queer Collective! They’re a group of queer NHL players who banded together. Most of these guys are from the CU Hockey series.

Rivals/enemies-to-lovers hockey romances always bring to mind that famously steamy rivalry between the cocky Russian and the polite Canadian. Happily, after a couple of chapters, comparisons to that other book faded. Egotistical Puckboy is sufficiently different to set itself apart. It’s fun, sweet, low-angst, and very swoony! It made me laugh and smile.

Let these puckboys show you a good time too!

Ratings:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step away

Soundtrack: Catching Feelings
Artist: Mathew V
Album

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