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Boston Rebels #5
Blade
Love doesn’t have a formula. It’s messy, unpredictable, and impossible to control for the shy billionaire inventor and the hockey player who believes he’s lost everything.
Moral “Dunny” Dunkirk has a passion for life. A robust outdoorsman, lover of life, and one of the Boston Rebels fan favorites, Dunny has always embraced excitement and the drive to try new things. During his inaugural flight behind the controls of a small plane, the fates decide to test his mettle in a way that he had never envisioned. When everything crashes down around him, he’s lost in depression and alone in his cabin, facing an existence that is nothing like the one he previously led. Desperate to find some hope, Dunny reaches out to The Harvey Foundation who might be able to help, and he soon finds himself being lifted out of the pit of darkness he’d fallen into one shy uplifting smile at a time.
Accidental billionaire and inventor Cooper Harvey is only happy in the seclusion of his lab, creating new and wonderful things he is sure will make the world a better place. Being on the spectrum, he knows being autistic means he's different to others, but it's in a good way, and it only makes him better at what he does. Other than being blackmailed into spending every fourth Sunday at his PA’s house for dinner, he avoids the chaos of the world, and if that means no social life, then he’s okay with that. In the most splendid isolation money can buy, he escapes the complicated and difficult emotions surrounding attraction, and his single-minded focus means that sex and love have never appeared on his list. When his latest invention reaches the testing stage, he would normally hand it over to his development team, but a chance meeting with the test subject makes him rethink. Something about the hockey player who’d lost it all makes him think life isn’t all about measured chemical reactions, and sometimes it’s just about the craziness of love.
Moral “Dunny” Dunkirk has a passion for life. A robust outdoorsman, lover of life, and one of the Boston Rebels fan favorites, Dunny has always embraced excitement and the drive to try new things. During his inaugural flight behind the controls of a small plane, the fates decide to test his mettle in a way that he had never envisioned. When everything crashes down around him, he’s lost in depression and alone in his cabin, facing an existence that is nothing like the one he previously led. Desperate to find some hope, Dunny reaches out to The Harvey Foundation who might be able to help, and he soon finds himself being lifted out of the pit of darkness he’d fallen into one shy uplifting smile at a time.
Accidental billionaire and inventor Cooper Harvey is only happy in the seclusion of his lab, creating new and wonderful things he is sure will make the world a better place. Being on the spectrum, he knows being autistic means he's different to others, but it's in a good way, and it only makes him better at what he does. Other than being blackmailed into spending every fourth Sunday at his PA’s house for dinner, he avoids the chaos of the world, and if that means no social life, then he’s okay with that. In the most splendid isolation money can buy, he escapes the complicated and difficult emotions surrounding attraction, and his single-minded focus means that sex and love have never appeared on his list. When his latest invention reaches the testing stage, he would normally hand it over to his development team, but a chance meeting with the test subject makes him rethink. Something about the hockey player who’d lost it all makes him think life isn’t all about measured chemical reactions, and sometimes it’s just about the craziness of love.
207 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 26, 2022
About the author
R.J. Scott
298 books2,659 followersRJ Scott is a USA TODAY bestselling author of over 140 romance and suspense novels. From bodyguards to hockey stars, princes to millionaires, cowboys to military, she believes that love is love and every man deserves their own happy ending.
Find RJ here: Amazon | BookBub | Facebook - Also, Never miss a release
Find RJ here: Amazon | BookBub | Facebook - Also, Never miss a release
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
August 28, 2022
It's taken me a while to figure out the right words to praise this book. On one hand, I am autistic. On the other, I am physically disabled. I'm used to not being part of the conversation, being a token stereotype made character of being used as the miserable other to make the abled people feel better about their lives. This book, however, made me feel seen in ways other books hadn't done before.
We have Cooper, who is autistic. An actual autistic adult, with struggles to fit his neurotype, but who isn't ashamed of being himself. Who struggles to tell when he missed a social cue. Who gets overwhelmed and needs his space. Who gets treated like a fool at times because "you just don't get it". Who also struggled by going undiagnosed for years because he is smart and very verbal. Who created a new material and became the head of a company not "in spite of" his autism, but because of it (and that is repeated often). And while he is acomodated, he is never treated like a child by those that care for him, be it as family or friends or his significant other. This is the best representation of an autistic adult I've seen, in any kind of media. He has had so many of my same struggles, and they're never taken lightly.
Moral lost his leg on an accident. He deals with the feelings that your life will never be the same. That painful knowledge that the path you (and those around you) thought you'd go through is now barred forever. There's new limitations you hadn't ever had to face that now become permanent issues. There's a lack of accessibility by people who either hadn't thought about it or simply don't care to have you there. New doubts of "will I be ever able to do that again?". This is a genuine acceptance of becoming disabled. Not a fancy inspirational thing that makes the abled feel good because they're not you.
While neither character used the word disabled to describe themselves (Cooper because he likely doesn't consider his autism as a disability, which some autistic people do and don't do, and Moral because he's likely not there yet in the journey), they're both dealing with the issues that being outside of the norm of either body or neurotype bring. If I had to label this, it would be a true disabled feel good story. Note: disabled, not disability. Because this isn't Cooper and Moral striving to be like the rest. This is Cooper and Moral learning to love and live the most fulfilling lives, while being disabled. It is a promise that you might be disabled, but still deserving of love, joy and belonging.
We have Cooper, who is autistic. An actual autistic adult, with struggles to fit his neurotype, but who isn't ashamed of being himself. Who struggles to tell when he missed a social cue. Who gets overwhelmed and needs his space. Who gets treated like a fool at times because "you just don't get it". Who also struggled by going undiagnosed for years because he is smart and very verbal. Who created a new material and became the head of a company not "in spite of" his autism, but because of it (and that is repeated often). And while he is acomodated, he is never treated like a child by those that care for him, be it as family or friends or his significant other. This is the best representation of an autistic adult I've seen, in any kind of media. He has had so many of my same struggles, and they're never taken lightly.
Moral lost his leg on an accident. He deals with the feelings that your life will never be the same. That painful knowledge that the path you (and those around you) thought you'd go through is now barred forever. There's new limitations you hadn't ever had to face that now become permanent issues. There's a lack of accessibility by people who either hadn't thought about it or simply don't care to have you there. New doubts of "will I be ever able to do that again?". This is a genuine acceptance of becoming disabled. Not a fancy inspirational thing that makes the abled feel good because they're not you.
While neither character used the word disabled to describe themselves (Cooper because he likely doesn't consider his autism as a disability, which some autistic people do and don't do, and Moral because he's likely not there yet in the journey), they're both dealing with the issues that being outside of the norm of either body or neurotype bring. If I had to label this, it would be a true disabled feel good story. Note: disabled, not disability. Because this isn't Cooper and Moral striving to be like the rest. This is Cooper and Moral learning to love and live the most fulfilling lives, while being disabled. It is a promise that you might be disabled, but still deserving of love, joy and belonging.
March 5, 2023
Loved this latest entry
This was just what the doctor ordered, a no dramady, sweet romance between two lovely people who were perfectly suited.
As ever with these two authors, there's a wonderfully warm feel to the narrative as two very different men who've dealt with serious blows in life fall in love.
This was just what the doctor ordered, a no dramady, sweet romance between two lovely people who were perfectly suited.
As ever with these two authors, there's a wonderfully warm feel to the narrative as two very different men who've dealt with serious blows in life fall in love.
May 29, 2023
This story started out really promising because I loved the premise, I loved the MCs and I also loved the important side characters, like Cooper's PA and his bodyguard. I also want to give the authors credit for taking the time to come up with a unique premise like this when so many MM romance authors just default to generic, boring plotlines. Unfortunately, it was let down by subpar writing and a lackluster attempt to fully do justice to this premise. I believe a lot of the writing issues are related to this book being co-written because the authors had very different approaches to writing the MCs. In addition, the story includes a lot of complex issues but the actual plot was pretty generic and the majority was identical to most other bland MM romances.
Right from the start, I was intrigued but also worried about how this would go. The story is extremely complex. There's an autistic character who is also a genius inventor/scientist and is the CEO of a massive company. There's a professional NHL player who went through a traumatic plane crash, lost hockey, lost his leg and still suffers from severe depression and PTSD. Every single element that I just listed (autism, inventor, CEO, plane crash, amputee etc) required a lot of research and also good writing and storytelling to do well. Since these authors mainly co-write generic MM hockey romances (they've written nearly a dozen series so far), I was worried when I saw that this very complicated story was just a random installment in these by-the-numbers hockey romances. And sure enough - the authors didn't come close to doing any of these topics justice.
Writing Style Changes/Cooper's Autism
One of the major issues with the story is that you can tell that the authors split who wrote which scene. How did I know? Because the two authors had very different ways of writing Moral and Cooper's dialog or depicted Cooper's autism. The author whose approach I liked better handled the non-romance scenes (I'll call them the 'non-romance' author) that revolved around Moral's prosthetic and the other author ('romance' author) handled the romance scenes, including the sex scenes. Unfortunately, the 'romance' author's way of writing Moral and Cooper was so cringy that I ended up having to skip all the sex scenes because they made me very uncomfortable.
Essentially, the 'romance' author conveyed Moral's French-Canadian accent by having him speak very formally (not using many contractions) and using very short sentences. He was written as if he was still learning English, which wasn't the case. The 'non-romance' author wrote Moral's dialog a lot more realistically. But the biggest difference was Cooper.
The 'romance' author depicted Cooper as being very child-like. He would have mini temper tantrums and need to be gently reprimanded by his PA or his bodyguard. He didn't even try to pay attention during his own board meetings and relied on his PA to take notes or tell him when to respond (it's clear that he could have paid attention if he wanted to, but he just didn't want to - sidenote, but if he hates being the CEO that much then he could just hand those responsibilities over to somebody else...but anyway). He would blurt out random facts about things that had no relation to what was happening around him. There was one scene where he gets overwhelmed so he goes and lies down on the floor next to Moral's dog and eats jellybeans while Moral and Cooper's bodyguard talk about how Cooper's doing. That situation instantly made Cooper seem like a child, whose parents/guardians were quietly discussing his wellbeing. All of this behavior would have perfectly fit if Cooper had been an autistic child. But he's a nearly 30-year old autistic man and that behavior didn't fit IMO. When discussing anything sexual, Cooper's dialog was atrocious. Sometimes he would talk like a child and sometimes he would talk like a robot. In either case, it didn't fit with Cooper's personality. I'll give two examples:
"And then I began worrying if my body could accommodate such a monumental appendage. Of course, the human body does have remarkable elasticity."
"You're huge. I like it. Oh, Moral, I like it so much. I love it. We...ugh, oh heck, we must do this again!"
In contrast, the 'non-romance' author depicted Cooper's autism very differently and IMO, much better. Instead of having Cooper blurt out random facts, he would happily engage with conversations that interested him and he'd go very in-depth during the discussion without realizing if his conversation partner was as interested as he was. When dealing with situations he wasn't a fan of, he would paste a fake smile on his face, terminate the conversation abruptly but politely and walk away. Regarding that last thing - there's even an explanation that he's good at properly disengaging from conversations/social situations because his PA and others have helped him practice and he's done it a lot, which perfectly shows the type of development and growth that an autistic adult like Cooper would have undergone by the time he's in his late 20s. When he's dealing with Moral, Cooper's very blunt regarding Moral's disability and what Moral might or might not accomplish in life but he wasn't childish or over-the-top rude. Here are two examples of Cooper's dialog in a sex vs non-sex discussion so you can see the stark difference between how this author wrote Cooper compared to the other author:
"We haven't had sex yet. I mean, we have great orgasms together, but some people only define sex as...y'know."
"It's all about money--I didn't even want all the money, I just wanted to make a difference, and get all the thoughts I had out of my head and into something practical."
Having these massive characterization shifts throughout the book made it impossible to enjoy the story. I really wish the 'non-romance' author had written the entire thing because that would have drastically improved the quality of the whole story.
A Rushed Lackluster Romance
Since I didn't like the 'romance' author's approach to Cooper or Moral and that author was responsible for all the romance milestones, it meant the romance was already on shaky ground for me. But making it worse is that it was very rushed.
Moral has been very isolated since the plane crash and he's dealing with severe depression and PTSD. Having Cooper come into his life was great because Cooper didn't know Moral before and Cooper's autism means he doesn't have the social skills to treat Moral the way everybody else does and that's exactly what Moral wanted. He was tired of sympathy and pity and he welcomed Cooper's no-nonsense get-it-done approach towards his disability. The fact that Moral loved Cooper's silly pun jokes about one-legged people was hilarious and it perfectly illustrated why these two people got along so well. Things didn't go completely smoothly because sometimes Cooper would step over a line that he didn't know was there and Moral would have to point out that he'd gone too far but that was also part of the story's charm.
I was expecting this story to be a wonderful slow burn as these two slowly got to know each other and grow closer. Unfortunately, the authors had different ideas and after Moral has a nightmare that Cooper wakes him up from, Cooper randomly decides to kiss Moral and from then on, the romance progression was on warp speed. They start cuddling for hours each day and kissing regularly and before long, they're going on dates and having sex. All of it happened way too fast and it wasn't realistic at all.
Lackluster Disability Plot
One of the things I was most looking forward to with this book was seeing how the authors dealt with Moral, who is a new amputee. Unfortunately, I got worried pretty quickly because all of the medical/science details were completely glossed over so that made me fear that the authors had no intent of going into Moral's recovery in-depth. It turns out that I was right. There are a few scenes with Moral testing out his new prosthetic but the majority of his progression throughout the book was conveyed via telling instead of showing and there are zero setbacks. Instead, the authors focus most of their time on telling a generic strangers-to-lovers romance story and that's not what I wanted with this amazing premise.
But what especially annoyed me is that all of the prosthetic options that the authors included in the story are all things that already exist and some have existed for decades. But in the story, Cooper 'invents' all of them and everybody acts like they're brand new things. Why did the authors do this?!? The running blade attachment that Cooper 'invents' has existed since the 1970s. Special prosthetic foot attachments have also existed for decades, including ones for swimming, skating, golf, mountain climbing etc etc etc. These are not new things. And Cooper also 'invents' adapting a vehicle to be drivable via hand controls, which is something that's existed since the 1950s when cars were adapted for the many vets who returned from WW2 as amputees. I don't get it...did the authors hope that readers wouldn't know this information or wouldn't look it up out of interest? Did the authors hope that readers wouldn't care enough to want these things to be realistic?
This was such a huge letdown because I thought if Cooper was this genius inventor, then the authors had come up with some super cool sci-fi prosthetic that doesn't exist in the real world. But they just chose normal prosthetics that have been around for decades and then had all the characters react as if they're brand new ideas. This was yet another example of the authors not wanting to or not being capable of doing justice to this amazing premise. If they didn't want to bother with inventing cool prosthetics, then they shouldn't have had one of their characters be a genius inventor.
Absurd 'Autism Outrage' Plotline
At 70%, the authors must have realize that their story was mostly a generic, boring MM romance so they tried to spice things up by having a ridiculous drama at 70%. This involved Cooper's board members getting upset with Cooper for using his personal funds to build an ice rink in his own home (which doubles as his company's headquarters). Then one of the board members tries to say that Cooper's decision is due to (and I'm using the phrasing from the book here) 'the A word'. Then Cooper gets outraged because how DARE the man not say the word 'autism' out loud?!? And how dare he make assumptions about Cooper because he's autistic?!? Answer: he wouldn't. This entire conflict made zero sense and was absurd from start to finish. It was clear that the authors just wanted to inject some last minute drama and also to win some brownie points for 'defending autistic people' or whatever, but it was ridiculous. There were so many other ways that they could have introduced conflict that was driven by Cooper's autism. For example, having somebody manipulate Cooper by taking advantage of his autistic ways of thinking or something. But this whole ice rink thing and especially 'the A word' thing was stupid. Not to mention that it was shoehorned into the story at 70% and was resolved within a few pages, giving further evidence that it had very little thought put into it.
If I had to guess, I think the authors were going to default to the usual temp-break-up-at-70% route but they must have realized that Cooper's autism would result in that situation not being as easy to wrap up as it usually is in MM romances (where the characters get back together within a few pages). Since they had no intention of doing something so complicated with Cooper's autism, they came up with this dumb, lazy 'conflict' instead.
Moral's PTSD/Recovery
As I already mentioned, I was disappointed that a lot of Moral's physical recovery was kept off-page and wasn't given more focus. You probably won't be shocked to hear that his mental recovery wasn't given much focus either. He has nightmares at the start of the story and then the authors shove one more random nightmare in the last part, just to emphasize he's still having them, but that's it. He suddenly accepts that he's had to move on from hockey, he's fine with the hockey player who has replaced him and he's happy with his role coaching a sled team (hockey that's played by amputees who sit on mini sleds and push themselves around on the ice while playing). He never has a physical setback and his emotional setbacks are only referenced by throwaway lines or they're shown through that one nightmare he has near the end. That's not what I wanted when I picked up this story.
Conclusion
If somebody is looking for a generic MM sports romance that has slightly different characters and plotlines than the usual, this is a good option. But if you're looking for a story that takes autism or physical disability seriously and invests sufficient time into exploring these issues then this is a lackluster and disappointing option.
Right from the start, I was intrigued but also worried about how this would go. The story is extremely complex. There's an autistic character who is also a genius inventor/scientist and is the CEO of a massive company. There's a professional NHL player who went through a traumatic plane crash, lost hockey, lost his leg and still suffers from severe depression and PTSD. Every single element that I just listed (autism, inventor, CEO, plane crash, amputee etc) required a lot of research and also good writing and storytelling to do well. Since these authors mainly co-write generic MM hockey romances (they've written nearly a dozen series so far), I was worried when I saw that this very complicated story was just a random installment in these by-the-numbers hockey romances. And sure enough - the authors didn't come close to doing any of these topics justice.
Writing Style Changes/Cooper's Autism
One of the major issues with the story is that you can tell that the authors split who wrote which scene. How did I know? Because the two authors had very different ways of writing Moral and Cooper's dialog or depicted Cooper's autism. The author whose approach I liked better handled the non-romance scenes (I'll call them the 'non-romance' author) that revolved around Moral's prosthetic and the other author ('romance' author) handled the romance scenes, including the sex scenes. Unfortunately, the 'romance' author's way of writing Moral and Cooper was so cringy that I ended up having to skip all the sex scenes because they made me very uncomfortable.
Essentially, the 'romance' author conveyed Moral's French-Canadian accent by having him speak very formally (not using many contractions) and using very short sentences. He was written as if he was still learning English, which wasn't the case. The 'non-romance' author wrote Moral's dialog a lot more realistically. But the biggest difference was Cooper.
The 'romance' author depicted Cooper as being very child-like. He would have mini temper tantrums and need to be gently reprimanded by his PA or his bodyguard. He didn't even try to pay attention during his own board meetings and relied on his PA to take notes or tell him when to respond (it's clear that he could have paid attention if he wanted to, but he just didn't want to - sidenote, but if he hates being the CEO that much then he could just hand those responsibilities over to somebody else...but anyway). He would blurt out random facts about things that had no relation to what was happening around him. There was one scene where he gets overwhelmed so he goes and lies down on the floor next to Moral's dog and eats jellybeans while Moral and Cooper's bodyguard talk about how Cooper's doing. That situation instantly made Cooper seem like a child, whose parents/guardians were quietly discussing his wellbeing. All of this behavior would have perfectly fit if Cooper had been an autistic child. But he's a nearly 30-year old autistic man and that behavior didn't fit IMO. When discussing anything sexual, Cooper's dialog was atrocious. Sometimes he would talk like a child and sometimes he would talk like a robot. In either case, it didn't fit with Cooper's personality. I'll give two examples:
"And then I began worrying if my body could accommodate such a monumental appendage. Of course, the human body does have remarkable elasticity."
"You're huge. I like it. Oh, Moral, I like it so much. I love it. We...ugh, oh heck, we must do this again!"
In contrast, the 'non-romance' author depicted Cooper's autism very differently and IMO, much better. Instead of having Cooper blurt out random facts, he would happily engage with conversations that interested him and he'd go very in-depth during the discussion without realizing if his conversation partner was as interested as he was. When dealing with situations he wasn't a fan of, he would paste a fake smile on his face, terminate the conversation abruptly but politely and walk away. Regarding that last thing - there's even an explanation that he's good at properly disengaging from conversations/social situations because his PA and others have helped him practice and he's done it a lot, which perfectly shows the type of development and growth that an autistic adult like Cooper would have undergone by the time he's in his late 20s. When he's dealing with Moral, Cooper's very blunt regarding Moral's disability and what Moral might or might not accomplish in life but he wasn't childish or over-the-top rude. Here are two examples of Cooper's dialog in a sex vs non-sex discussion so you can see the stark difference between how this author wrote Cooper compared to the other author:
"We haven't had sex yet. I mean, we have great orgasms together, but some people only define sex as...y'know."
"It's all about money--I didn't even want all the money, I just wanted to make a difference, and get all the thoughts I had out of my head and into something practical."
Having these massive characterization shifts throughout the book made it impossible to enjoy the story. I really wish the 'non-romance' author had written the entire thing because that would have drastically improved the quality of the whole story.
A Rushed Lackluster Romance
Since I didn't like the 'romance' author's approach to Cooper or Moral and that author was responsible for all the romance milestones, it meant the romance was already on shaky ground for me. But making it worse is that it was very rushed.
Moral has been very isolated since the plane crash and he's dealing with severe depression and PTSD. Having Cooper come into his life was great because Cooper didn't know Moral before and Cooper's autism means he doesn't have the social skills to treat Moral the way everybody else does and that's exactly what Moral wanted. He was tired of sympathy and pity and he welcomed Cooper's no-nonsense get-it-done approach towards his disability. The fact that Moral loved Cooper's silly pun jokes about one-legged people was hilarious and it perfectly illustrated why these two people got along so well. Things didn't go completely smoothly because sometimes Cooper would step over a line that he didn't know was there and Moral would have to point out that he'd gone too far but that was also part of the story's charm.
I was expecting this story to be a wonderful slow burn as these two slowly got to know each other and grow closer. Unfortunately, the authors had different ideas and after Moral has a nightmare that Cooper wakes him up from, Cooper randomly decides to kiss Moral and from then on, the romance progression was on warp speed. They start cuddling for hours each day and kissing regularly and before long, they're going on dates and having sex. All of it happened way too fast and it wasn't realistic at all.
Lackluster Disability Plot
One of the things I was most looking forward to with this book was seeing how the authors dealt with Moral, who is a new amputee. Unfortunately, I got worried pretty quickly because all of the medical/science details were completely glossed over so that made me fear that the authors had no intent of going into Moral's recovery in-depth. It turns out that I was right. There are a few scenes with Moral testing out his new prosthetic but the majority of his progression throughout the book was conveyed via telling instead of showing and there are zero setbacks. Instead, the authors focus most of their time on telling a generic strangers-to-lovers romance story and that's not what I wanted with this amazing premise.
But what especially annoyed me is that all of the prosthetic options that the authors included in the story are all things that already exist and some have existed for decades. But in the story, Cooper 'invents' all of them and everybody acts like they're brand new things. Why did the authors do this?!? The running blade attachment that Cooper 'invents' has existed since the 1970s. Special prosthetic foot attachments have also existed for decades, including ones for swimming, skating, golf, mountain climbing etc etc etc. These are not new things. And Cooper also 'invents' adapting a vehicle to be drivable via hand controls, which is something that's existed since the 1950s when cars were adapted for the many vets who returned from WW2 as amputees. I don't get it...did the authors hope that readers wouldn't know this information or wouldn't look it up out of interest? Did the authors hope that readers wouldn't care enough to want these things to be realistic?
This was such a huge letdown because I thought if Cooper was this genius inventor, then the authors had come up with some super cool sci-fi prosthetic that doesn't exist in the real world. But they just chose normal prosthetics that have been around for decades and then had all the characters react as if they're brand new ideas. This was yet another example of the authors not wanting to or not being capable of doing justice to this amazing premise. If they didn't want to bother with inventing cool prosthetics, then they shouldn't have had one of their characters be a genius inventor.
Absurd 'Autism Outrage' Plotline
At 70%, the authors must have realize that their story was mostly a generic, boring MM romance so they tried to spice things up by having a ridiculous drama at 70%. This involved Cooper's board members getting upset with Cooper for using his personal funds to build an ice rink in his own home (which doubles as his company's headquarters). Then one of the board members tries to say that Cooper's decision is due to (and I'm using the phrasing from the book here) 'the A word'. Then Cooper gets outraged because how DARE the man not say the word 'autism' out loud?!? And how dare he make assumptions about Cooper because he's autistic?!? Answer: he wouldn't. This entire conflict made zero sense and was absurd from start to finish. It was clear that the authors just wanted to inject some last minute drama and also to win some brownie points for 'defending autistic people' or whatever, but it was ridiculous. There were so many other ways that they could have introduced conflict that was driven by Cooper's autism. For example, having somebody manipulate Cooper by taking advantage of his autistic ways of thinking or something. But this whole ice rink thing and especially 'the A word' thing was stupid. Not to mention that it was shoehorned into the story at 70% and was resolved within a few pages, giving further evidence that it had very little thought put into it.
If I had to guess, I think the authors were going to default to the usual temp-break-up-at-70% route but they must have realized that Cooper's autism would result in that situation not being as easy to wrap up as it usually is in MM romances (where the characters get back together within a few pages). Since they had no intention of doing something so complicated with Cooper's autism, they came up with this dumb, lazy 'conflict' instead.
Moral's PTSD/Recovery
As I already mentioned, I was disappointed that a lot of Moral's physical recovery was kept off-page and wasn't given more focus. You probably won't be shocked to hear that his mental recovery wasn't given much focus either. He has nightmares at the start of the story and then the authors shove one more random nightmare in the last part, just to emphasize he's still having them, but that's it. He suddenly accepts that he's had to move on from hockey, he's fine with the hockey player who has replaced him and he's happy with his role coaching a sled team (hockey that's played by amputees who sit on mini sleds and push themselves around on the ice while playing). He never has a physical setback and his emotional setbacks are only referenced by throwaway lines or they're shown through that one nightmare he has near the end. That's not what I wanted when I picked up this story.
Conclusion
If somebody is looking for a generic MM sports romance that has slightly different characters and plotlines than the usual, this is a good option. But if you're looking for a story that takes autism or physical disability seriously and invests sufficient time into exploring these issues then this is a lackluster and disappointing option.
May 17, 2023
This part of the series is really not what I expected, it's a hockey series with, like, no hockey...
Different, but it's not really grabbing my attention. I like how more serious topics are being focused on and there's more emotion, but it keeps just missing the mark and I'm not quite sure why.
Dunny felt like an entirely different person, not just because of his accident but the way he spoke in this book. I don't recall there being so much emphasis on him speaking French more than English, so it was a little weird when all of a sudden he's sounding really stilted.
I liked the character Cooper, but he let down his defenses very quickly with a lot of people at the same time. I would have expected there to be more coming to terms with the big changes in his life, but he seemed to adapt very quickly. Considering he's autistic and has always been very particular, it felt a little off for me. My son is autistic and accepting anything new that alters his safe space and/or routine is very difficult for him, so given the way Cooper was introduced, some of his behaviour didn't make a lot of sense to me I guess.
Different, but it's not really grabbing my attention. I like how more serious topics are being focused on and there's more emotion, but it keeps just missing the mark and I'm not quite sure why.
Dunny felt like an entirely different person, not just because of his accident but the way he spoke in this book. I don't recall there being so much emphasis on him speaking French more than English, so it was a little weird when all of a sudden he's sounding really stilted.
I liked the character Cooper, but he let down his defenses very quickly with a lot of people at the same time. I would have expected there to be more coming to terms with the big changes in his life, but he seemed to adapt very quickly. Considering he's autistic and has always been very particular, it felt a little off for me. My son is autistic and accepting anything new that alters his safe space and/or routine is very difficult for him, so given the way Cooper was introduced, some of his behaviour didn't make a lot of sense to me I guess.
August 24, 2022
ARC received from the authors for an honest review.
Moral is a hockey player with the Boston Rebels who likes to live life in the fast lane. When he's not playing hockey he's flying planes, driving fast cars and playing with men and women. Suddenly there's an accident and Moral feels like he's lost it all. He's still going through all the stages of grief when he meets Cooper.
Cooper is an autistic scientist who loves to invent things. He doesn't care about money; only helping people have a better, safer life. He's happiest when he's in his lab, working away from others. When he's forced to work face to face with Moral, he realizes that his safe little world isn't really where he wants to be.
This is a really good romance with little drama. Moral and Cooper are instantly attracted to each other and that physical attraction quickly moves into emotional. These two seamlessly blend together with only a couple of hiccups and they get each other like no one has before. Moral doesn't treat Cooper like he's different and Cooper doesn't let Moral pull the pity party. Cooper really likes that Moral doesn't mind when he goes off on a tangent or his mind starts to wonder. Moral really likes that Cooper is always brutally honest and straight forward with him. Their relationship felt real and easy, like two people who have been dating a long time. Moral gets Cooper to come out of his shell more and enjoy life around him and Cooper gets Moral to realize he still has lots to offer the world; thus allowing these two to have a better life. I found myself laughing several times with the way things would just pop out of Cooper's mouth ("I stole a turtle".) and even Lomac gave me a good laugh ("You pissed on my tires"?!). The supporting characters of Tony, Brianna, Uncle Jeremiah and the Rebel teammates where all needed and well flushed out. I especially loved the surprise with Abby. This is a great addition to the Boston Rebels series.
Moral is a hockey player with the Boston Rebels who likes to live life in the fast lane. When he's not playing hockey he's flying planes, driving fast cars and playing with men and women. Suddenly there's an accident and Moral feels like he's lost it all. He's still going through all the stages of grief when he meets Cooper.
Cooper is an autistic scientist who loves to invent things. He doesn't care about money; only helping people have a better, safer life. He's happiest when he's in his lab, working away from others. When he's forced to work face to face with Moral, he realizes that his safe little world isn't really where he wants to be.
This is a really good romance with little drama. Moral and Cooper are instantly attracted to each other and that physical attraction quickly moves into emotional. These two seamlessly blend together with only a couple of hiccups and they get each other like no one has before. Moral doesn't treat Cooper like he's different and Cooper doesn't let Moral pull the pity party. Cooper really likes that Moral doesn't mind when he goes off on a tangent or his mind starts to wonder. Moral really likes that Cooper is always brutally honest and straight forward with him. Their relationship felt real and easy, like two people who have been dating a long time. Moral gets Cooper to come out of his shell more and enjoy life around him and Cooper gets Moral to realize he still has lots to offer the world; thus allowing these two to have a better life. I found myself laughing several times with the way things would just pop out of Cooper's mouth ("I stole a turtle".) and even Lomac gave me a good laugh ("You pissed on my tires"?!). The supporting characters of Tony, Brianna, Uncle Jeremiah and the Rebel teammates where all needed and well flushed out. I especially loved the surprise with Abby. This is a great addition to the Boston Rebels series.
August 25, 2022
Cooper and Moral….about as opposite as you can get but absolutely perfect for each other. There’s so much in this book that I loved!!! Moral the former hockey player after a plane crash and loss of his leg meets Cooper the graduate of MIT, inventor, genius and hopefully the one who can get Moral back to skating again. Most of all Moral has hope all because of Cooper!
Cooper is constantly thinking, working, trying to make a prosthetic that works for Moral. He has some mad jokes 🤣 that have Moral going from a smirk to full out laughing out loud. Moral is depressed, angry with his situation. Slowly working with Cooper, spending time together he starts to realize he can live, love and laugh again, most of all he can still play hockey just a different way!
Cooper and Moral form a friendship, fall in love, try new things, learn how to adapt and that all makes for a fantastic read that you won’t want to put down!! It’s a feel good book that will make you smile!
Cooper is constantly thinking, working, trying to make a prosthetic that works for Moral. He has some mad jokes 🤣 that have Moral going from a smirk to full out laughing out loud. Moral is depressed, angry with his situation. Slowly working with Cooper, spending time together he starts to realize he can live, love and laugh again, most of all he can still play hockey just a different way!
Cooper and Moral form a friendship, fall in love, try new things, learn how to adapt and that all makes for a fantastic read that you won’t want to put down!! It’s a feel good book that will make you smile!
August 26, 2022
What a great match, the larger than life damaged jock, and the equally large as life geeky autistic guy. A heart warming romance, which starts with tragedy and ends with a beautiful love. Cooper and Moral are both adorable, and are so well matched. They totally changed one another's lives, for the better.
August 27, 2022
I love the Boston Rebels series but this one may have touched me more than any of them. I love the quirkiness of Cooper. I love how you worked autism into this series. I was reading about Cooper and I related some of his quirks to quirks that my son and grandson have. No two Autistic people are the same. I’m so glad that Cooper and Moral found each other. They needed each other desperately. Love love love this series.
August 28, 2022
What can a broken - body and soul - ex hockey player and autistic genius that lives mostly in his head possibly have in common? Probably nothing, but they can complement and support each other in unexpected ways . This is a beautiful story written with deep understanding of the topics, about acceptance and braving up to new experiences and overcoming barriers and challenges. It's also about new family found without even realising it. I loved Tony to no ends by the way. He doesn't say much but his actions speak volumes and he's the one of my favourite supporting characters of all times. Just read it and enjoy.
November 1, 2022
I really enjoyed the earlier books in the series - especially Snowed (book 3), but the later ones are a bit too made-for-tv-movie in my opinion. I’m not a fan of the royal from made up Scandinavian/European country trope, so I skipped book 4, I liked the premise of Blade, and it was okay, but only okay for me. Moral compared Cooper and the tower he lives in to Stark Industries - and it felt a lot like that, superhero billionaire vibes. Which is fine, but it didn’t really feel like it fit with the series.
August 23, 2022
Cooper and Molar are so freaking perfect for each other. Their straight forwardness, sense of understanding of each other, quirkiness, hot sexiness and no apologies for honest communication about everything in regards to themselves. Their love is sweet, hot, understanding, comforting and all encompassing. I also love their senses of humor. I chuckled quite a lot during this book.
I have fingers crossed that someone mentioned in this book, gets his HEA soon.
5/5 jelly beans
I received an Advanced Readers Copy for my honest review.
💞💞💞💞💞
I have fingers crossed that someone mentioned in this book, gets his HEA soon.
5/5 jelly beans
I received an Advanced Readers Copy for my honest review.
💞💞💞💞💞
August 26, 2022
Wow! These two authors have done it again and produced another amazing story, and as usual, they packed a lot of emotion into it. Moral and Connor’s story grabbed me from the first page to the last, and what they put Moral through had me almost in tears. Thankfully they gave him Connor, who is charming, if blunt and perfect for him, and who guided him beautifully to a new path and happiness.
This story is a terrific addition to the series, and I loved it. It has appearances by teammates, emotion, humour, heat and a great HEA. While it's part of a series it could easily be read as a stand-alone, and I can’t recommend this book and the entire series enough.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion.
This story is a terrific addition to the series, and I loved it. It has appearances by teammates, emotion, humour, heat and a great HEA. While it's part of a series it could easily be read as a stand-alone, and I can’t recommend this book and the entire series enough.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion.
August 27, 2022
Blade is book 5 in the Boston Rebels series. I just loved everything about this story.
From the very beginning I was drawn into their lives.
Moral and Connor could not be more different from each other. Yet they are exactly what the other needs. The connection they forge is just beautiful.
Connor is there for Moral at his absolute lowest and seeing them evolve into a strong, loving couple is beautiful. Moral doesn't just accept Connor he celebrates him.
What a great addition to a wonderful series!.
From the very beginning I was drawn into their lives.
Moral and Connor could not be more different from each other. Yet they are exactly what the other needs. The connection they forge is just beautiful.
Connor is there for Moral at his absolute lowest and seeing them evolve into a strong, loving couple is beautiful. Moral doesn't just accept Connor he celebrates him.
What a great addition to a wonderful series!.
November 27, 2022
Moral and Cooper's story was different from the MM novels I usually read.
The central aspect for me was not their getting together, or their chemistry.
For me the book's impact lies in the author's ability to show us a man with autism and a man who suffered a severe injury, that made him a different man than he had been before, in a realistic and believable way: their struggles, insecurities and strenght, their getting to know, support and love each other.
5 stars.
The central aspect for me was not their getting together, or their chemistry.
For me the book's impact lies in the author's ability to show us a man with autism and a man who suffered a severe injury, that made him a different man than he had been before, in a realistic and believable way: their struggles, insecurities and strenght, their getting to know, support and love each other.
5 stars.
August 26, 2022
Quick read(fast reader)
Moral is a hockey player who lives life to the fullest and fastest, until suddenly life changes and he has to deal with everything.
Cooper is a scientist who only wants to help people have a safer life. Who has no filter which can be hilarious at times.
These two could not be further apart, however they are attracted to each other almost from the word go. Their personalities and quirks compliment each other which makes for a fun, little to no drama story.
I really enjoyed this story and find it to be a good addition to the series.
~~ ARC provided by the author for unbiased review ~~~
Moral is a hockey player who lives life to the fullest and fastest, until suddenly life changes and he has to deal with everything.
Cooper is a scientist who only wants to help people have a safer life. Who has no filter which can be hilarious at times.
These two could not be further apart, however they are attracted to each other almost from the word go. Their personalities and quirks compliment each other which makes for a fun, little to no drama story.
I really enjoyed this story and find it to be a good addition to the series.
~~ ARC provided by the author for unbiased review ~~~
August 28, 2022
This is the fifth book in the series. Cooper and Moral are so adorable together. I loved Cooper so much. I love how his mind works. He's such a lovable character. This is definitely a favorite of the series. My heart goes out to Moral. Everything he has been through and now his road to recovery of his new normal is inspiring. I loved how with Cooper's support and encouragement Moral rises from the ashes. In turn Moral helps Cooper with his ease in social situations. A truly beautiful story!
August 28, 2022
All the stars!! A wonderful but emotional book! My heart… I so loved Cooper right right away, he’s a doll. Love how he says everything that’s in his head and feelings. Moral(Dunny), love him too, my heart hurt for him with what happened to him and what he went through…. Cooper and all his quirkiness was exactly what he needed, their perfect for each other.
September 2, 2022
This is a wonderful book with two guys who just fit together. I liked that their relationship got closer with almost every scene and that they were pretty much together halfway through the book. The story was as much about how they helped each other to be happier in their own lives as it was about how they fit together. There were so many excellent secondary characters that I hope we see some of them in future books as well.
I believe this is the best book I've read from both of these authors. Though their hockey books are probably the most fun for me, I think I would enjoy a series about how Cooper and Moral work to help others live their best lives. Maybe with some added hockey on the side. *wink*
I believe this is the best book I've read from both of these authors. Though their hockey books are probably the most fun for me, I think I would enjoy a series about how Cooper and Moral work to help others live their best lives. Maybe with some added hockey on the side. *wink*
August 26, 2022
This book was a pleasure to read. There is just something relaxing about a sweet, low-angst romance where love just is. Dunny and Cooper are wonderful characters, and I was rooting for them both from page 1. It’s nice to see strong characters that can be vulnerable, and friends who pull together in the worst of times. Evidently, I’m a sucker for straight-up romantic plot bunnies a la Hallmark movies.
October 30, 2022
I adored both Dunny and Cooper! I loved how Dunny didn't even think about wanting to change Cooper and who and how he is, but embraced him instead.
Read
April 15, 2023Oh, how I adored Cooper!
August 30, 2022
This was an awkwardly written book with very little depth, a rushed romance, and no conflict. I kept hoping for something exciting to happen, but it never did. The potential for plot development was there but was never taken advantage of. There could have been a kidnapping plot or an unsuccessful attempt at using the new prosthetics. Take advantage of your characters' strengths and weaknesses!! Alas, no angst. No drama. Nothing of interest here. AND BTW, I hate it when authors inject sex scenes into a story when they haven't even developed their characters. If the characters haven't provoked my interest, do you think that the sex scenes will sell the book? Sad. Very sad.
April 15, 2023
Even with the recent release of the 30th book in their hockey universe I still don't know for sure which author writes which character, truth is it doesn't matter because Scott & Locey create so fluently their individual writing skills and talents each bring to their collaborations mesh perfectly.
There is just so much I love about Blade. The characters obviously but also the adversities they face. This isn't the first time injuries have been addressed in Scott & Locey's Hockey Universe, this may be the most severe example but not the first. Let's face it, injuries and sports are a no-brainer going to happen at some point scenario.
How much is from pure research or personal experiences, I can't speak to but whichever it is they have an amazing realistic angle(for lack of a better word) when it comes to health issues. Be it full-on health conditions or from injuries suffered on or off the ice, they are spot on with the emotions of both the survivor and support system. I say "survivor" because for those who don't know me, my mother has had health issues that have left her disabled for 30 years and her dad had MS and was in a wheelchair by the time I came along and I see neither as a victim, patient, or handicapped. I know not everyone who uses those terms mean it in a negative light but some do and so again I prefer the term "survivor". I would never wish health issues or injuries on anyone but too often those who don't have personal experience don't realize how damaging and hurtful being stared at can be as well as the flipside and turning away. It can be a thin line to toggle over but for those who experience it, that line can make the difference between a great day and devastating day.
I mentioned the above statement because in Blade, it is this very feeling that both Moral and Cooper, for different reasons but still both, have faced more than they should have to. That battle becomes both barrier and bridge between the two. Cooper living with autism and genius, Moral surviving the plane crash that took his leg and robbed him of the hockey future he always planned on leaves both of them in the public eye in ways neither want and wish to escape from. I want nothing more than to reassure both it's what they feel and see inside that is important, not what others project but I also know from experience we can only do so much to protect our loved ones, they have to come to some of those revelations themselves. It can be a very hard scale to balance but Scott & Locey portray that balance expertly.
Perhaps I've said more about my personal experiences than the book but in my opinion having a romantic fictional story speak to the reader so deeply says more to my love of said story than any plot-detailed review. Thank you, RJ Scott & VL Locey for this brilliantly written tale of survival, growth, friendship, and love. If it wasn't my love for Ten, Jared, and the whole Railers gang(which to be honest stems more from being first to burrow into my heart than superior content), Blade may actually be my favorite so far.
There is just so much I love about Blade. The characters obviously but also the adversities they face. This isn't the first time injuries have been addressed in Scott & Locey's Hockey Universe, this may be the most severe example but not the first. Let's face it, injuries and sports are a no-brainer going to happen at some point scenario.
How much is from pure research or personal experiences, I can't speak to but whichever it is they have an amazing realistic angle(for lack of a better word) when it comes to health issues. Be it full-on health conditions or from injuries suffered on or off the ice, they are spot on with the emotions of both the survivor and support system. I say "survivor" because for those who don't know me, my mother has had health issues that have left her disabled for 30 years and her dad had MS and was in a wheelchair by the time I came along and I see neither as a victim, patient, or handicapped. I know not everyone who uses those terms mean it in a negative light but some do and so again I prefer the term "survivor". I would never wish health issues or injuries on anyone but too often those who don't have personal experience don't realize how damaging and hurtful being stared at can be as well as the flipside and turning away. It can be a thin line to toggle over but for those who experience it, that line can make the difference between a great day and devastating day.
I mentioned the above statement because in Blade, it is this very feeling that both Moral and Cooper, for different reasons but still both, have faced more than they should have to. That battle becomes both barrier and bridge between the two. Cooper living with autism and genius, Moral surviving the plane crash that took his leg and robbed him of the hockey future he always planned on leaves both of them in the public eye in ways neither want and wish to escape from. I want nothing more than to reassure both it's what they feel and see inside that is important, not what others project but I also know from experience we can only do so much to protect our loved ones, they have to come to some of those revelations themselves. It can be a very hard scale to balance but Scott & Locey portray that balance expertly.
Perhaps I've said more about my personal experiences than the book but in my opinion having a romantic fictional story speak to the reader so deeply says more to my love of said story than any plot-detailed review. Thank you, RJ Scott & VL Locey for this brilliantly written tale of survival, growth, friendship, and love. If it wasn't my love for Ten, Jared, and the whole Railers gang(which to be honest stems more from being first to burrow into my heart than superior content), Blade may actually be my favorite so far.
March 19, 2023
This isn't just a sweet, beautiful love story about Dunny - it's painful, messy, sad.
However, the storyline and its detailed plotlines are impressive - Cooper Harvey is a reclusive billionaire scientist whose inventions align perfectly with Dunny's needs. Moral "Dunny" Dunkirk has been in a world of pain, misery, despair, and hopelessness ever since he's lost hockey after e crashed his plane, losing his leg. He should be glad he's alive; instead, he feels disembodied and useless, reminded every time he tries to painfully ambulate on crutches how he can no longer skate, play hockey, or even walk anymore. His world has suddenly become empty, and he isn't handling anything well.
Enter Cooper Harvey, who has created and developed remarkable, wondrous inventions. Cooper is pretty severely autistic, which in and of itself only means he doesn't realize or know what social behaviors are appropriate, how to react at any given instance, or when the timing was right to have any appropriately acceptable response. Dunny finds Cooper soothing once he realizes Cooper isn't on any agenda aside from being genuinely curious and.interested in Dunny as a person rather than merely an object to be studied, even though Cooper's scientific half does need to observe, document and analyze in order for him to come up with workable tools to make Dunny functional again. Cooper doesn't blow smoke - he's honest, straightforward, and encouraging in his awkward, absolute confidence in his own ability to help Dunny. He tells off-color, barely appropriate jokes to Dunny (Where does a one-legged man eat breakfast? At I-Hop.). I loved the.dichotomy of personalities, physicality, appearance and just everything about themselves. Yet, they were attracted to each other, and they each gave each other comfort and a quiet p!ace where they felt calm, at peace.
The journey was hard work, sweat, occasional tears, and a release of despair, helplessness, and fear for Dunny. Moral was a brawny, impressively muscled, strong and talented skater and hockey player prior to his crash, and most of his slow to standstill recovery was due to his inability to reconcile his lost identity with his future without physically playing hockey. Cooper's obvious enamored obsession with all of Moral's body, including every scar and blemish, slowly eased Dunny into believing Cooper did accept - and loved - all of him.
So sweet, and.very lovely, and everything Dunny deserved, for he was always a favorite character in prior books. He had always been a great friend, supporter, and.teammate, loyal, fiercely protective, and fun loving. Dunny looks really good when he's feeling happy, loved and content with life. And, don't let us forget how e scored himself the billionaire! TEN STARS! (Yeah, I know there are only five, but . . .!!!)
However, the storyline and its detailed plotlines are impressive - Cooper Harvey is a reclusive billionaire scientist whose inventions align perfectly with Dunny's needs. Moral "Dunny" Dunkirk has been in a world of pain, misery, despair, and hopelessness ever since he's lost hockey after e crashed his plane, losing his leg. He should be glad he's alive; instead, he feels disembodied and useless, reminded every time he tries to painfully ambulate on crutches how he can no longer skate, play hockey, or even walk anymore. His world has suddenly become empty, and he isn't handling anything well.
Enter Cooper Harvey, who has created and developed remarkable, wondrous inventions. Cooper is pretty severely autistic, which in and of itself only means he doesn't realize or know what social behaviors are appropriate, how to react at any given instance, or when the timing was right to have any appropriately acceptable response. Dunny finds Cooper soothing once he realizes Cooper isn't on any agenda aside from being genuinely curious and.interested in Dunny as a person rather than merely an object to be studied, even though Cooper's scientific half does need to observe, document and analyze in order for him to come up with workable tools to make Dunny functional again. Cooper doesn't blow smoke - he's honest, straightforward, and encouraging in his awkward, absolute confidence in his own ability to help Dunny. He tells off-color, barely appropriate jokes to Dunny (Where does a one-legged man eat breakfast? At I-Hop.). I loved the.dichotomy of personalities, physicality, appearance and just everything about themselves. Yet, they were attracted to each other, and they each gave each other comfort and a quiet p!ace where they felt calm, at peace.
The journey was hard work, sweat, occasional tears, and a release of despair, helplessness, and fear for Dunny. Moral was a brawny, impressively muscled, strong and talented skater and hockey player prior to his crash, and most of his slow to standstill recovery was due to his inability to reconcile his lost identity with his future without physically playing hockey. Cooper's obvious enamored obsession with all of Moral's body, including every scar and blemish, slowly eased Dunny into believing Cooper did accept - and loved - all of him.
So sweet, and.very lovely, and everything Dunny deserved, for he was always a favorite character in prior books. He had always been a great friend, supporter, and.teammate, loyal, fiercely protective, and fun loving. Dunny looks really good when he's feeling happy, loved and content with life. And, don't let us forget how e scored himself the billionaire! TEN STARS! (Yeah, I know there are only five, but . . .!!!)
September 15, 2022
I love this series, and this book has all the feels. Both Cooper and Moral are wonderful characters who fit together perfectly, although it takes them a while to figure that out. The friendships and found family themes are what drew me into this genre, and this story doesn’t disappoint. The Marvel jokes and references are an added bonus.
I like how Cooper’s autism is written. He’s very kind hearted, and determined that his inventions will make life better for those who need it, rather than just those who can pay for it. I loved his interaction with the board on that one. His fun, often inappropriate, sense of humour is one of his endearing qualities. I like his self-awareness of how his autism affects him and that he has a support network to clue him in on the social tells he knows he will miss. I love how he sees past Moral’s scars and the man beneath, and that his blunt honestly is exactly what Moral needs.
I like how Moral starts off thinking of himself as two versions – before and after this accident – and how he eventually comes to terms to move forward, a lot of that down to not only Cooper’s invention, but his acceptance and love. I thought his PTSD was handled well, and I liked that the horror of his accident wasn’t glossed over.
I love Brianna. She’s wonderful, knows Cooper well, and is always there for him. Tony is great at his job, and it’s obvious he cares about Cooper. I like how his personal life outside his role as bodyguard is slowly revealed as the story progresses. He’s as much Cooper’s family as Brianna and Jeremiah. I liked Moral’s family, and how his friends/teammates rally round to support him.
Penelope is sweet. I like how Cooper bonds with her too.
The HEA is sweet, and I love how they’re both moving forward together.
I like how Cooper’s autism is written. He’s very kind hearted, and determined that his inventions will make life better for those who need it, rather than just those who can pay for it. I loved his interaction with the board on that one. His fun, often inappropriate, sense of humour is one of his endearing qualities. I like his self-awareness of how his autism affects him and that he has a support network to clue him in on the social tells he knows he will miss. I love how he sees past Moral’s scars and the man beneath, and that his blunt honestly is exactly what Moral needs.
I like how Moral starts off thinking of himself as two versions – before and after this accident – and how he eventually comes to terms to move forward, a lot of that down to not only Cooper’s invention, but his acceptance and love. I thought his PTSD was handled well, and I liked that the horror of his accident wasn’t glossed over.
I love Brianna. She’s wonderful, knows Cooper well, and is always there for him. Tony is great at his job, and it’s obvious he cares about Cooper. I like how his personal life outside his role as bodyguard is slowly revealed as the story progresses. He’s as much Cooper’s family as Brianna and Jeremiah. I liked Moral’s family, and how his friends/teammates rally round to support him.
Penelope is sweet. I like how Cooper bonds with her too.
The HEA is sweet, and I love how they’re both moving forward together.
September 6, 2023
Trigger warnings for PTSD, depression, nightmares, parental deaths and plane crash being talked about, childhood bullying, etc. Again this is another hockey series book which barely has any hockey in it, at least not professional Boston Rebels hockey. I liked both Cooper and Dunny/Moral. I will state that the authors have gone back and forth calling him Dunny and Moral and it was so confusing for a while, because I thought they were talking about two different people. And in a way, I guess they were. At one point in the book, he stated Dunny was his more funny/carefree side and Moral was more of who he was now that he was an amputee and experiencing nightmares/depression.
These two seemed like an unlikely pairing and probably wouldn’t have worked out if Moral’s situation was different. I think they worked out because of where he was in life and how he could appreciate Cooper for who he was. Cooper was autistic and while I thought the representation was good, I’m saying that as someone not on the spectrum. I can’t fully comment on that, especially since I know it’s different for everyone. I wish we would have seen a little more of both their families, especially Moral’s since he was really close to his younger brother Philippe. Penelope was cute, and I liked how quickly Cooper warmed up to her. Him having dog treats in his pocket was adorable.
Overall I did enjoy this, even if I’m irked by yet another book not focused on hockey. Make them a separate spin-off with appearances from the Rebels. It was nice seeing Marquis, Austin, Xander, etc. again but they were very minor parts of the story. Maybe 3.5-4 out of 5 stars, but just because the emotions were intense and made me feel things for both MCs.
These two seemed like an unlikely pairing and probably wouldn’t have worked out if Moral’s situation was different. I think they worked out because of where he was in life and how he could appreciate Cooper for who he was. Cooper was autistic and while I thought the representation was good, I’m saying that as someone not on the spectrum. I can’t fully comment on that, especially since I know it’s different for everyone. I wish we would have seen a little more of both their families, especially Moral’s since he was really close to his younger brother Philippe. Penelope was cute, and I liked how quickly Cooper warmed up to her. Him having dog treats in his pocket was adorable.
Overall I did enjoy this, even if I’m irked by yet another book not focused on hockey. Make them a separate spin-off with appearances from the Rebels. It was nice seeing Marquis, Austin, Xander, etc. again but they were very minor parts of the story. Maybe 3.5-4 out of 5 stars, but just because the emotions were intense and made me feel things for both MCs.
August 28, 2022
This book was an absolute joy. From the very first chapter Cooper had me chuckling with his inner monologues.
I loved Moral in previous books and when I saw what was in store for him in this book I admit I was upset as he (Dunny) was the joker of the team and had a successful career in the NHL.
The book covered the very sensitive subjects of autism, PTSD, amputation and depression but the authors have written with sensitivity and compassion and laced it beautifully with humour.
As much as I loved Moral, Cooper stole my heart. He was very intelligent, went to college at a very early age and with an inquiring mind and a brain that works overtime, he became an inventor, a successful one and became a very rich man but as clever as he is he has no filter, little empathy and says things that others wouldn’t, often with funny results. Although Cooper has never been in a relationship and hasn’t even kissed a man or woman, he finds he is drawn to Moral and deals with Moral’s issues in a matter of fact way that he doesn’t get from others and he gradually becomes closer to Cooper and his feelings get stronger. Cooper is adorable when he discovers the joys of sex and makes up for his celibate years. He makes Moral’s comfort and welfare his priority and his inventors brain shifts into overdrive in his drive to ensure that Moral leads as normal a life as possible.
Another good book in an enjoyable series and I thank the authors for gifting me with this ARC in return for my honest opinion.
I loved Moral in previous books and when I saw what was in store for him in this book I admit I was upset as he (Dunny) was the joker of the team and had a successful career in the NHL.
The book covered the very sensitive subjects of autism, PTSD, amputation and depression but the authors have written with sensitivity and compassion and laced it beautifully with humour.
As much as I loved Moral, Cooper stole my heart. He was very intelligent, went to college at a very early age and with an inquiring mind and a brain that works overtime, he became an inventor, a successful one and became a very rich man but as clever as he is he has no filter, little empathy and says things that others wouldn’t, often with funny results. Although Cooper has never been in a relationship and hasn’t even kissed a man or woman, he finds he is drawn to Moral and deals with Moral’s issues in a matter of fact way that he doesn’t get from others and he gradually becomes closer to Cooper and his feelings get stronger. Cooper is adorable when he discovers the joys of sex and makes up for his celibate years. He makes Moral’s comfort and welfare his priority and his inventors brain shifts into overdrive in his drive to ensure that Moral leads as normal a life as possible.
Another good book in an enjoyable series and I thank the authors for gifting me with this ARC in return for my honest opinion.
August 27, 2022
Blade is unlike any other book I’ve read. The characters are so complex. Cooper’s autism, inventor’s mind and superior intellect make him fascinating - he truly has no filter and says what he thinks all the time. Moral could find that off-putting, but he finds it refreshing. I loved watching him open up his world a little bit.
Meanwhile, Moral is lost in a morass of emotions after surviving a plane crash but feeling like he’s lost everything else. He isolates himself with his family and sinks into a dark place. Unexpectedly, it’s a joke that starts to pul him from his depression. Bit by bit, day by day, these guys start to bring out the best in each other.
Together, these two men “fit”. They make sense together. They soothe each other and it’s a beautiful thing. The lengths which the accidental billionaire Cooper will go to, to try to help Dunny (Moral) are so sweet.
Engaging, hard to put down and fulfilling, you won’t be disappointed by this one. Although it is #5 in the Rebels series, it could be read as a stand-alone and still understood. But the whole series is amazing.
Meanwhile, Moral is lost in a morass of emotions after surviving a plane crash but feeling like he’s lost everything else. He isolates himself with his family and sinks into a dark place. Unexpectedly, it’s a joke that starts to pul him from his depression. Bit by bit, day by day, these guys start to bring out the best in each other.
Together, these two men “fit”. They make sense together. They soothe each other and it’s a beautiful thing. The lengths which the accidental billionaire Cooper will go to, to try to help Dunny (Moral) are so sweet.
Engaging, hard to put down and fulfilling, you won’t be disappointed by this one. Although it is #5 in the Rebels series, it could be read as a stand-alone and still understood. But the whole series is amazing.
May 31, 2023
Je suis passée du moins bon au meilleur de la série ! Certes son seul défaut, c'est le manque de péripéties vers la fin, où cette relation va même "trop" bien. Toutefois, ce défaut est balayé par la force de cette histoire d'amour extrêmement touchante. RJ Scott et V. L. Locey ont créé un de leurs meilleurs caractères en la personne de Cooper Harvey, génial inventeur autiste, qui affronte chaque jour en ne connaissant pas le mode d'emploi pour vivre en société... mais sa bonne volonté est attachante. La très bonne idée, c'est de l'avoir entouré par une assistante dévouée, un oncle "tuteur" bienveillant et un garde du corps paternaliste terriblement sympathiques.
A la suite d'un accident, Moral a tout perdu, une jambe, une carrière qui était toute sa vie... Physiquement et psychologiquement atteint, il va devoir affronter cette épreuve, aidé par ses ex coéquipiers et un frère aimant. Mais c'est sa rencontre avec Cooper qui va provoquer le déclic pour qu'il puisse remonter la pente. L'histoire est adorable, optimiste et d'une tendresse réjouissante !
A la suite d'un accident, Moral a tout perdu, une jambe, une carrière qui était toute sa vie... Physiquement et psychologiquement atteint, il va devoir affronter cette épreuve, aidé par ses ex coéquipiers et un frère aimant. Mais c'est sa rencontre avec Cooper qui va provoquer le déclic pour qu'il puisse remonter la pente. L'histoire est adorable, optimiste et d'une tendresse réjouissante !
August 26, 2022
A sweet, slow-burn love story!
I swear, every new book in this series just keeps getting better and better. This story touched my heart so hard and brought me to tears more than once. It’s not really a sad story but it deals with some difficult things for both MCs and it made me feel so much!
If you follow RJ Scott at all then you probably know that she has an autistic son. I think that made Cooper’s character so real for me and I just wanted to hug him – but I know he wouldn’t like that, which is a bit sad.
There is an excellent blurb for this book so I’m not going to retell it here. Instead, I want to say how much I loved this book and how I stayed up all night reading it because I started it kind of late in the evening and I just couldn’t put it down until I was done.
A copy of this book was provided to me at my request but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author.
***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***
I swear, every new book in this series just keeps getting better and better. This story touched my heart so hard and brought me to tears more than once. It’s not really a sad story but it deals with some difficult things for both MCs and it made me feel so much!
If you follow RJ Scott at all then you probably know that she has an autistic son. I think that made Cooper’s character so real for me and I just wanted to hug him – but I know he wouldn’t like that, which is a bit sad.
There is an excellent blurb for this book so I’m not going to retell it here. Instead, I want to say how much I loved this book and how I stayed up all night reading it because I started it kind of late in the evening and I just couldn’t put it down until I was done.
A copy of this book was provided to me at my request but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author.
***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***
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