The Trailblazer: A Second Chance Hockey Romance

Gina Azzi

Nov 2021 · Boston Hawks Hockey Book 7 · Three Cities Publishing LLC

About this ebook

I always knew I’d marry my first everything, Declan Yaeger, the Southern boy with Irish roots. That was before he became my first heartbreak, a NHL superstar with a playboy reputation I no longer recognize. 

The summer he left our small, Tennessee town, to pursue his hockey dream is the summer my life changed. That was seven years ago, before he became a defenseman for the Boston Hawks. Before I became a hardened, desperate woman, trying to survive.

To protect my grandfather's legacy, I agree to marry my oldest childhood friend, Henry. But when I enter the Church on my wedding day, the grey eyes piercing mine aren’t my fiancé’s.

They’re Declan’s, the last person I expect to show up with an offer of his own. One I can’t refuse even though my heart should know better than to accept.

Will my marriage to Declan heal the broken between us? Or are we destined to repeat the mistakes of our past?

Ratings and reviews

Vivi learns after the death of her grandfather that he had added a wedding stipulation to his will and if she doesn’t marry by her next birthday, she will lose control of her beloved foundation. She has worked hard leading the Harrison Foundation and if her cousin becomes an equal partner the foundation will suffer. With no prospects of husbands in her life, she asks her best friend Henry to marry her. As the time of the wedding is approaching, she lets Henry off the hook just in time for Declan to arrive on the scene. Declan and Vivi had known each other since childhood and were high school sweethearts. But everything changed when he left to pursue his hockey career and never came back to town. When Declan’s father tells him Vivi is marrying Henry, Declan leaves his first game on the team to make it there before the wedding. Discovering why Vivi needs to get married, he offers to marry her. He has a lot of questions about the past and hopes by marrying her they can have a second chance. The Trailblazer is the seventh book in the Boston Hawks Hockey series. While I have read a few of the books, I had no trouble reading any of them as a standalone. The book was well written, had low angst, and was entertaining. I loved seeing characters from previous books and the rest of the team. The teammates and their wives have a strong connection and are amazingly supportive of each other. Vivi and Declan had issues that kept them apart and they were all due to a lack of communication. Once they started communicating with each other their relationship grows. Their connection was strong, and I was so happy they got a second chance together. This was a great book and it led to the next one. I look forward to reading it next. I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Just when I think I have read the best in the Boston Hawks Hockey Series, I pick up the next book only to be saying once again this is my favourite so far. The Trailblazer was everything I expected and so much more and I honestly think I have found my favourite book boyfriend in Declan Yeager. Declan Yeager left his small hometown to pursue his hockey career and when he walked away he took a piece of Vivi’s heart with him. Declan, Vivi and Henry grew up together, best friends throughout but now it’s only Henry and Vivi so when she needs to marry to inherit and keep running her Grandfathers charity she asks Henry to become her fake husband what she didn’t expect was Henry to get cold feet and leave her at the alter and then for Declan ( who she never knew was there) to step up and become her husband. What follows is a beautifully written second chance love story and it’s a story that will appeal to all romance lovers. I love my visits to Boston and I love catching up with the players and the close knit families and friends of the Boston Hawks, it a series with wonderful characters, with captivating journeys but more importantly stories you can really relate too. A marriage of convenience gives this couple a chance to heal their broken hearts, two soulmates given a second chance at love and happiness but this story is not all about happiness it’s also a story of loss and heartbreak. I highly recommend this series to all sports romance lovers but it will also appeal to romance lovers because it’s a journey with all the feels.

5 Star Review The Trailblazer (Boston Hawks Hockey #7) by Gina Azzi This was a fantastic addition to the Boston Hawks Hockey series. The Trailblazer is Declan Yaeger and Vivi’s story. Every time I finish one of these books I feel as though I have a new favourite and this book was no exception. I fell hard and fast for Declan, such a swoon worthy man. This was an entertaining and at times emotional book that had me riveted from the first to the last chapter. Years ago Declan left his Tennessee home to pursue his dream of making it in the NHL. Now years later a successful defensemen for the Boston Hawks. He left behind Vivi who was concentrating on her career. Now years later VIvi is in need of a husband to protect her inheritance. Planning to marry one of her best friend’s Henry, she is shocked to find Henry has decided he cannot go through with the wedding and that Declan is prepared to step up and help her. This is a second chance at love story that ticked all the boxes for me. The chemistry between them is impossible to ignore, and I loved the development of their relationship once they cleared the air about the past. Can their marriage of convenience give them a chance to heal the hurts of the past? Or will the past continue to ruin their chance at happiness? For me Declan and Vivi are two halves of a whole, destined to be together. Their journey was rocky but it was worth it in the end. Of course seeing some familiar faces whilst reading just added to me reading pleasure. Another fabulous read Ms.Azzi and I cannot wait for the next release.