On the Edge of Scandal by Tamsen Parker

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Title: On the Edge of Scandal
Author: Tamsen Parker
Series: Snow & Ice Games #3
Published by: Swerve
Release Date: February 6, 2018
Format: eARC
Pages: 173
Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Sports Romance
Source: NetGalley
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2018 Netgalley and Edelweiss Challenge, Lenoreo's 2018 New Adult Challenge, Lenoreo's 2018 New Release Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks
My rating:

Blurb:

Bronwyn Perry is the star of the US women’s hockey team, and she and her boyfriend Brody Hill have been hockey royalty since they’ve been in high school. Brody unexpectedly fails to make the men’s team but still comes to Denver to support his girl at the Snow and Ice Games. Or so Bronwyn thinks.

Ash Levenson is the coach of the women’s SIG hockey team. His primary responsibility is to keep his team happy, healthy, and primed to win. Though he’s close in age to his players, he’s been doing this for a while and mostly, it’s easy to keep his eyes on the puck. He’s always been able to discard any crush he might have on any of the women he’s coached…until Bronwyn.

When Bronwyn and Brody’s romance comes to a very public and very ugly end, Ash has to get his star player’s head back in the game and ready to dominate on the rink. Which may mean spending a little time off the ice…

My Review:

I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

4 stars — OK, this book surprised me in a lot of ways!!  And mostly good, so woop woop!  I wondered if perhaps it was because I hadn’t reread the blurb before diving in, but nope — there was a lot that wasn’t hinted at!

Ash was so unexpected.  First of all, I wasn’t expecting his health issues, and that this would be a disability diversity read.  I thought that his struggles were showcased really well, and it gave him a strength of character that I wasn’t expecting.  It was hard seeing him in pain, but I loved that for the most part he accepted his limitations and tried not to feel shame for it, but just didn’t want attention drawn to it.

I also wasn’t expecting him to be a beta boy.  And he totally was.  He was less aggressive, but such a good guy deep down.  He was so smart and forthright in his coaching, and I loved the way he saw the game and his role and how he treated both his players and opposing players.  He had a true appreciation for the game, and I loved how impressed and proud he was of women’s hockey, and how it differs from men’s.  I honestly loved so much about Ash, but he was by no means perfect.  In particular, I hated the way he dealt with the scandal of his relationship with Bronwyn, but I’ll come back to that.

Bronwyn was a strange mix of strong and vulnerable.  I feel like I was missing some background from her on why she was so needy though…  But maybe there wasn’t any reason, maybe it was just an aspect of her personality.  But it just…felt like there was more there.  I LOVED the way she dealt with Brody in general.  And I appreciated the way she didn’t have many good excuses for still being with Brody, other than inertia.  I was disappointed with her in the beginning, with her hockey play choice, but I felt like it worked for the story.

I was a bit concerned about the forbidden romance aspect of this story.  And at first I was pleasantly surprised with how it came about.  I loved that they tried to do the right thing and resist at first…they did take the issue seriously and the challenges of it.  But then there were moments that made me mad at both of them…  The problem is, I’m not sure how the story could have played out in any other way.  But I was seriously concerned.  It came back together in the end though, and I was satisfied with how it worked out.  I will admit there is a part of me that wanted a second epilogue where we find out everyone’s reactions, but…eh.

As I eluded to when talking about Ash, I really loved the sports aspect to the story.  I especially loved the attention that women’s hockey was given, and the kinds of problems they face from ignorant hockey fans (often men) who don’t appreciate the differences.

So yeah.  Despite this not being a trope I’m particularly attracted to, I found myself really loving Ash and Bronwyn together, and hoping that they could find a way with few consequences.