Trade Deadline: A Second Chance Hockey Romance

Avon Gale · Piper Vaughn

Aug 2020 · Hat Trick Book 3 · Sold by Carina Press

About this ebook

Don’t miss this lighthearted friends-to-lovers hockey romance from Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn

It’s a reunion to remember…

Daniel “Bellzie” Bellamy should be on top of the world—a Stanley Cup is the perfect topper to his fourteen-year NHL career. But despite the post-win high, something’s missing. When the chance to play for his hometown team, the Miami Thunder, comes along, he’s open to it. And when he runs into an old friend from his past soon after he makes the move, he wonders if it might be kismet.

Micah Kelly never thought he’d see his childhood crush—and first kiss—again. Danny Bellamy moved on to bigger and better things when they were teenagers, and the idea that Micah’s relationship with the professional hockey player could be anything more than one-sided Instagram thirst seems too good to be true.

Maybe too good to be true is the new reality, though. As the season goes on, Micah teaches Daniel to surf, and Daniel introduces Micah to his lovable pack of rescue dogs and the world of being a hockey boyfriend. Life is good. But when things on the ice don’t go as planned, they’ll have to decide if their rediscovered romance is built to last.

Hat Trick
Book 1: Off the Ice
Book 2: Goalie Interference
Book 3: Trade Deadline

Ratings and reviews

Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn team up together again to bring us the third book in their Hat Trick series, Trade Deadline. Daniel Bellamy gets his happily ever after in this sweet and steamy romance, and you can definitely read any of the books in this series as stand-alones. I always enjoyed the scenes with Daniel in the earlier novels, his relationship with his wife intrigued me and I love that he was into rescue dogs. He seemed like such an easy going, likable guy I’m glad we got his story. Always out as a bisexual man, Daniel’s relationship with his childhood bestie Micah isn’t a huge shock to the other characters in the book. I appreciate how casually everyone takes it and “coming out” is not the focus of the novel. It’s all about how these two men come together as adults and renew their friendship. We get both of their stories, and watch them fall in love. It really is very sweet and filled with the steamy hot romantic scenes we fans of Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn hope to get in every book they write. Trade Deadline is a little short on the hockey scenes, which is a shame because I think Avon Gale writes some great ones, but I was so caught up in the romance I didn’t even notice the lack of actual sports scenes till the very end. It’s just a wonderful, feel good story.

Audio review: Story – 5 Performance – 5 Overall - 5 I loved it! Trade Deadline is a great story about childhood friends who rediscover each other so it fits two of my most favorite romance tropes: friends-to-lovers and second chance stories. Daniel and his wife had a very amicable divorce and they remain good friends. When he accepts a trade to the Miami NHL team, she and their two kids move as well. So, everything should be good for him but something stills feels like it's missing. Micah and Daniel were friends before Daniel's family moved to give him a better chance to succeed at hockey. Micah has achieved his dream of working with dolphins and he is the head animal care specialist at a Miami aquarium. When is finds out that Daniel is moving to Miami he wonders if they will be able to reconnect. I loved everything about this book. The audio performance by Kirt Graves was fantastic. His voice is easy to listen to and the different characters were easy to distinguish. Daniel and Micah's connection really came through in the writing and narration. They resumed their friendship almost like no time had passed. Things aren't all smooth sailing, however. The trade to a new NHL team didn't go quite the way that Daniel had hoped and he has decisions to make that will affect his budding romance with Micah. This has been such a great series and I'm sorry to see it come to an end. An ebook review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book. An audio review copy was provided by Harlequin Audio. ***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***

About the author

Avon Gale lives in a liberal Midwestern college town, where she spends her days getting heavily invested in everything from craft projects to video games. As a queer author, Avon is committed to providing happy endings for all.

Piper Vaughn is a queer Latinx author and longtime romance reader. A reader to the core, Piper loves nothing more than getting lost in a great book. Piper grew up in a diverse neighborhood in Chicago and loves putting faces and characters of every ethnicity in their stories, making their fictional worlds as colorful as the real one. Above all, Piper believes there’s no one way to have an HEA, and every person deserves to see themselves reflected on the page. www.PiperVaughn.com