Tough Guy

Maybe I made a mistake binge-reading three of these in a row, or maybe I just lack the imagination to enjoy a book I haven't seen a TV show for. But I think that's not it.

My real problem is I just didn't like the protagonist, Ryan. It's hard to like him! He's so anxious, and so screwed up, and so lacking in confidence. It's good writing, and I appreciate the representation of a big strong anxious guy. But her previous characters were all basically likeable guys with one big problem or flaw. Ryan's just a mess and it made it hard for me to like, particularly the first half of the book. It gets better as he builds his confidence. Fabian is far more interesting to me, the shit-together femme boi who is a musical genius. And he's so sweet with Ryan, that part moved me.

Given how horny the first two books are this one is curiously lacking in sex. There is some, but it's suppressed first by Ryan's freakouts and then by Ryan's sexual dysfunction. Again: great representation! But not fun as an escapist romance for me.

One last complaint: the book is very claustrophobic. The previous books had lots of characters and settings and a sense of freedom. But since Ryan's world is so limited, so is the book. That's gonna make for dull TV if they film this.

The thing I thought was really interesting was the strong condemnation of hockey fighting culture. The first two books feel like a love letter to NHL with some criticism about its homophobia. This one's much more hostile to the professional league. I wonder what the sports-loving fans of these books think about that.

(I was originally expecting this book to have some pornographic descriptions of hockey fights, big men fighting as a substitute for kissing. That would have been grotesque, I'm glad she didn't do it.)

Time for a break from the gay hockey books. They are uncommonly good but I've read too many too fast.