| Title | : | Goal Lines First Times (CU Hockey, #3) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 316 |
| Publication | : | First published February 10, 2021 |
It turns out making out with my best friend in high school could be considered gay. Who knew? Apparently, everyone but me.
Now that it’s been pointed out, I can’t help reliving it in my head. Repeatedly. Goodbye Denial Town, hello Confusionville.
When my path leads me down the gay dating app route, I don’t expect to meet anyone I like, but then I meet him.
He can’t be more opposite than me. He’s smart, he hates hockey, and he identifies as demi—something I’ve never heard of.
Yet I can’t deny something’s there. Something I want to explore in person. If only I could get him to agree.
SETH
All my life, I’ve felt broken.
Sick of being asked if I could be gay by ex-girlfriends, friends, and even my parents, I join a gay dating app to prove a point.
I don’t expect to find what’s always been missing. A real connection.
The problem is, I’m too scared to meet him in person. He’s a hockey player, and I fear when he finds out my twin plays for the NHL, I’ll be overshadowed by my overachieving brother. Again.
Worse yet, what happens if we meet and that connection isn’t the same?
When I tell him I’m not ready, he’s disappointed but supportive. Fate, on the other hand, isn’t as accepting.
I had no idea the person I’ve been falling for is someone I already know.
Goal Lines First Times (CU Hockey, #3) Reviews
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This story felt like the slowest of suuuuuuper-slow burns that I'd ever read from Eden or Saxon, but not in a bad way at all.
Previously straight, and possibly asexual or demisexual, Seth got a bit of a wake-up call when his most recent girlfriend broke up with him, calling him on his supposed attraction to the guy who played The Witcher and opening his eyes to a possible change in future dating endeavors.
And jock-boy Cohen, aka "Richie", had also recently began to question his own strict hetero status, so seeing the two meet and form a true bond over a gay chat app hit all of the right notes for me.
Their back-and-forth banter regarding the over-abundance of dick pics on the chat site would've been a win for me, even if I hadn't already been a huge fan of stories where MC's meet over text, then not meeting in person until much later than usual in typical M/M romances.
However, the total amount of banter and humor did feel slightly lower than in Eden's previous books. Yes, it was still there, but it didn't feel quite as prevalent this time out. To me, at least.
Eventually, though, they did put two and two together and discovered (quite by accident) who "Richie" and "Einstein" actually were, which I enjoyed, but still may or may not have yelled at my eReader to just "TELL HIM ALL GODDAMN READY" a time or two. Allegedly. ;- )
I'm not sure who else might experience this, too, but by around 40% in, I was thinking that the story "could" have possibly wrapped up within the next 3 or 4 chapters, then I looked at my book location and saw that I hadn't even hit the half-way mark in the book yet.
So the pacing felt a bit wonky for me, but then I kept reading and everything evened out as I suspect Eden and Saxon had intended all along.
The angst was kept in check pretty well; however, I do have to admit that, with Seth thinking that he might be asexual, the story had A LOT more steam than I'd initially suspected. And flip-floppy steam at that, so no complaints from me. heh
I have to admit that the first two books in the series have been my favorites so far, but this one still held its own nicely and fit in well with the previous books.
I'm guessing that the next MC would most likely be Asher, a new freshman member of the hockey team who'd recently lost both of his parents, but I could be wrong.
Overall, I'd rate this one at around 4 stars and recommend it to fans of the series.
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My ARC copy of the book was provided by the authors in exchange for a fair, unbiased review and will be *FREE* with Kindle Unlimited membership when it is released.
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dnf @ 72%.
this was cute i guess, but nothing special.
i just got bored the moment the mcs “officially met” and found out who each other were, which definitely wasn’t a good sign.
i tried to push through it, but ultimately i just decided to dnf this, since it wasn’t getting any better. not even the Beck/Jacobs appearances made me wanna keep reading. yawn -
dnf @ 58%
I've tried, but I'm not invested in this story at all.
I like Cohen, he's sweet, but it really bothers me that I don't think I like Seth that much and the way their relationship develops doesn't work for me, either.
The story itself is nothing special. It just feels bland and it's not what I expected. -
Ever since I started this series, I have wanted Seth's story. I fell in love with him in book 1, which was his twin Foster's book. I felt so bad for him losing his best friend to his twin brother, that I just wanted him to find the love of his life right that second!!
I have loved all the books in this series, but Seth has been my favorite from the start and I just needed him to find his happiness. And to be honest... I even wanted him to find more and better than his brother. Yes, I am mean I know...
But like I said... I could understand his resentment towards his brother and best friend. I know he loved them and I know they loved him... but they also kinda left him behind. That is how I feel about the whole thing anyway. And don't go getting me all wrong because I also loved Foster's book. I just don't have to agree with how the characters behave, to love the book. As long as they can make me feel... I am all good ;)
Which Seth and Cohen did plenty .. making me feel.
All I wanted was for my favorite character Seth to end up with the very best and guess what?? He got the absolute best!! Because Cohen... he is the creme de la creme of book boyfriends. What an awesome, funny sweet, and hot guy!!!
This was a very slow burn... And I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Delicious I say.
I laughed my ass off reading their back and forth banter and I sweated my ass off when they started discovering the merits of gay-loving together. Yowza...
It took some time but once these two were in... they were all in :P
This was definitely my favorite in the series so far, but I highly recommend all the books. No idea if there will be more, but I hope so and if not, I really hope these two will start a new project together in the future.
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5 Stars
Goal Lines & First Times is HANDS DOWN my favourite book of the series… which is a big deal, seeing as how I’ve 5 starred all of them thus far.
Hockey player Richie Cohen was a breath of fresh air. Kinda goofy but full of so much heart, this guy was a pleasure to read about. In the previous book (
Face Offs & Cheap Shots) he got a bit of a shock when he realised his teenage make-out sessions with his male bestie were NOT the normal after school shenanigans for bros, thus throwing him into a mental tailspin here, as he—now 24-years-old—starts questioning his sexuality for the first time, deciding online exploration via a dating app might be a safe way to test the bisexual waters.
Meanwhile, college student Seth Grant—brother of hockey star Foster Grant (from book one)—finds himself dumped by a girlfriend for the umpteenth time, AGAIN with the complaints of being too needy and not sexually active enough. For Seth, his sexual interest in the girls he dates varies depending on his emotional connection to them, but once his latest ex makes him question his straightness too, he decides a bit of online research is needed, resulting in a suspicion that he may not only be demisexual but also bisexual to boot.
Although they are already aware of one another in their college circles, Cohen and Seth connect anonymously via an app, leading to a deeper connection than either of them were really prepared to make with a faceless stranger—the kind that could lead to a life-changing relationship, if/when they work up the guts to meet IRL.
I continued to love the Vermont college setting of this series and all the sexy ice hockey dudes we follow as they explore their sexualities, but the huge bonus for me was that this particular instalment used my fave, fave, fave trope—the online/epistolary romance trope! I’m an absolute sucker for a romance where characters fall in love before they even lay eyes on each other (or in this case, before they realise they’ve already laid eyes on each other) and this was one of my most enjoyable reads with this theme yet!
I see some readers were bored or DNF’d this story at various points, but GOOD LORD my reaction couldn’t have been any more opposite if I tried. I was utterly obsessed with this story and how Cohen and Seth “met” online, loving how they developed a solid bond through their snappy banter and deeper conversations, before ever having a clue what the other looked like. I found myself whipping through the pages of online communication, absolutely desperate for that moment when they would realise who the other was… and fuck did that moment live up to all of my expectations!
Although the first half was mostly online getting-to-know-you stuff, the second half was all about these two eagerly trying to translate what they had online to what they could have IRL, which involved a lot of sexual exploration for these two gay virgins—can we say double bi-awakening!! Huzzah!
Obviously, I adored these two characters and their wonderful connection, online and off, but mostly I appreciated all the discussions and reflections they spurred in each other about their sexualities and how they identified, with both men coming at it with open-hearts and open-minds.
Beyond the plot and the romance, I, once again, loved the entire cast of characters, which heavily featured couples past and present. With this group of characters comes great banter and good laughs—I’m looking at you Beck—and any book that can make me fall in love AND laugh my arse off is a gem to be sure.
It was my absolute pleasure reading Cohen and Seth’s story and I have no doubt it will be one I will happily revisit.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! <3 -
~3.5~
The first 40 percent of this book consists of Seth and Cohen texting each other and exploring their sexuality virtually. Not gonna lie. This bored me to death.
Just when I was ready to throw in the towel, the MCs come clean. Well, Seth figures out Cohen is his Richie and then confesses that he's Einstein.
After that, it's all sugar and spice and everything nice. Because Seth already feels a connection with Cohen, he's ready to get down and dirty, which is not his usual MO, as he's demisexual.
I loved the ending and might read the next book in the series.
I have not read the first two CU Hockey books and found the constant mention/presence of previous MCs a little annoying, so I recommend not being a rebel like me and reading the series in order. -
Audio - 5 Stars
Story - 4.25 stars -
Audiobook - 4 stars
Story - 3 stars
Eeeh! This was okay, nothing special. -
1.5 stars
I am very disapointed I didn’t enjoy this one. I loved the first two books in the series and I was so damn excited for this book but I ended up only enjoying three things about it. I really enjoyed when they were talking online, that was really fun. I loved how Seth being demisexual was portrayed, it was really well done. And I loved Ritchie, he was the sweetest, I just wanted to give him a big hug.
Quick summary: Seth gets broken up with and his girlfriend tells him that he should explore if he’s into guys and his sexuality in general so he signs up to a online dating website where he meets Ritchie (aka Cohen). Ritchie is a hockey player and he kissed a guy because he was before and is now exploring his sexuality because he didn’t realize that not everyone kisses their best friend because they’re bored and that he might be into guys. They start talking online and do some exploring together.
Firstly, I wasn’t a fan of the tone and the pacing of the book. Something just felt very off about it. The first half of the book is them meeting online and the second half is them being together after they meet in real life. As soon as they got together in real life, it was like nothing happened at all. We didn’t get to see a lot of their first moments together and I was really sad about that. Also, there was no weird moment or a transition to them being together. As soon as they meet in real life, they were perfect together. That felt so unrealistic to me, I didn’t buy it at all. I really enjoyed the slow burn at the start, but as soon as they got together, it was like nothing happened anymore, at all. Also the last 30-40% dragged so much. It felt like it took me 8 hours to read it. Which is weird because the first 50% went by really really fast.
Second, I started disliking Seth so much by the end of the book that I just wanted Cohen to find someone else or to be alone. He just really wasn’t nice to me and I didn’t feel like he was nice to Cohen either. Sometimes he said comments about Cohen that really weren’t nice and I didn’t appreciate it at all. He wasn’t that suportive of Cohen and sometimes it seemed like he thought that Cohen wasn’t capable and it really annoyed me. Seth seemed to mostly like Cohen because he is hot. We got to see a lot about how he thinks Cohen is so hot but nothing else, I never saw how he could be so in love with Cohen because he rarely said nice things about him that weren’t how hot he is. I get that it’s hard for seth to trust but he didn’t seem to have any trust in Cohen even if they talked for months online. It felt wrong to me, I felt like he should have trusted him at least a little at that point. Also, I didn’t enjoy how Seth was so guarded with Ritchie, he has issues and needs reassurance and he didn’t want to rely on Ritchie to give it to him, I wish he would have trusted his man to be there for him more.
Third, I had so many issues with the fact that Cohen kept calling himself dumb. One, I fucking hated how no one told him that he was wrong and that he wasn’t dumb. Even Seth never disagreed with him when he said it, he just laughed at me it rubed me the wrong way. Expecially since Cohen WAS. NOT. DUMB. He was a simple man and all, but nothing about him was dumb. I also didn’t appreciate how the book tried to convince you that Cohen is dumb. It was used to describe the smallest things, here is an example: “Sometimes I come out with super smart and insightful things.” Seth smiles. “Other times you ask where your phone is when it’s in your hand.” Nothing about this makes him less than human, or dumb as I was supposed to believe him to be. This is perfectly normal human behaviour. I really don’t like the word dumb in general and the way it was used rubed me the wrong way. It was used to describe every little thing that didn’t seem perfect, every time Cohen did something a bit quirky, he was called dumb. I. Hated. It. So. Much.
Fourth, at some points the characters started to sound exactly like the other character and it took me out of the story so much. Like at some point Cohen (whom I was being told every two pages is dumb) used the word ‘’heteronormative’’ in a regular sentence and it threw me for such a loop. I just felt like the characters blended together at some point and they didn’t stay true to their character arc.
Fifth, it annoyed me so much how Seth mostly refused that Ritchie talk about hockey. I know that Seth has issues with hockey because it always made him feel like he’s unwanted but thats what Ritchie loves. Ritchie is a fucking hockey player and he LOVES IT. I wish he would have allowed him to talk about it from times to times atleast. Seth’s issues with hockey were his own problem and the least he could have done is let his man talk about the thing he loves the most in life, atleast some times. I don’t think it’s fair to ban your partner from talking about their favourite thing in the world, thats a sure way to dim someone’s spirit.
Sixth, It was always made such a big deal that Seth is needy in a relationship. The thing is he would literally only send one text Ritchie to ask how his day was and then apologized because he was being needy. How the fuck is that needy? You guys are dating. Texting people is normal and not needy. Also, I hated how Seth stopped himself from doing a lot of things that he thought was needy when they are just considerate things that a partner normally does (at one point he stoped himself from calling his man to wish him good luck before a hockey game and I didn’t get it, how is that needy? It’s just a nice gesture and i’m sure his man would have loved it!)
Seventh, the fucking drama at 80%, it pissed me off so much. Seth fucked up, did something that can affect Ritchie’s entire career BEHIND RITCHIE’S BACK and then he was mad at Ritchie because Ritchie was mad at him because of it. I hated how he refused to apologize to Ritchie because he thought he did the right thing. I don’t care what you think, you hurt your partner, you apologize for it, that simple. Also I hated how he kept saying how it was the best for Ritchie while ignoring what Ritchie thought was the best for him. Ritchie is perfectly okay to decide what he wants on his own, i’m sure the guy knowns what he wants, he does not need you to decide for him. Also what the fuck?? Seth didn’t see it as breaking Ritchie’s trust but it so was. I was so pissed at him for it because even if you think you’re doing the right thing, he hurt his partner so he should have apologized for that atleast. That scene made me dislike Seth so much. Also
I was so mad when Ritchie just basicly forgave Seth on the spot. Seth fucked up badly and shattered Ritchie’s trust and he didn’t even have to growel a little, or even apologize. I felt like all of this wasn’t fair to Ritchie, at all.
I’m really sad I didn’t love this one because I really wanted to but i’ll still continue with the series, i’m so excited for Asher’s book, I love him already! -
3nd Reread: August 18, 2022 audiobook rating is a 3/5
First Reread: September 7, 2021
Richard Cohen is a godsent from this series and this man deserves the fucking world!
Original Review
4.5 Stars
It's official. I'm selling myself to this book series.
Good God, this series, the characters; my beloved jocks and fellow nerds, McIntyre's, The Jock Dorms, the damn ice rink, fuck they all feel like home. CU feels like home. These characters, this series they feel like my family, my friends, my beloveds.
And I am in love with each and everyone one of them.
Ending this book (although not this series) feels like I'm closing my book of my friends.
Ending this book felt like a piece of my heart was taken from me, a part of my soul belonged with them, in this book series, these characters, in fucking Vermont.
God I didn't expect this book series to unravel me whole. To consume me to the point where the first thing I did when I woke up, even in my deprived mind was to read and read and consume them.
I didn't expect this book to be so emotional, I didn't expect to experience such slow burn, oh how it felt like my gut and heart was burning and yearning for them.
I didn't expect the Seth I knew and loved to be this angel, this beautiful soul who I just want to cherish and hug and kiss because Damn it, he deserves the world. The deserves the world and beyond and he fucking deserves my Cohen.
Follows a characteristic, predictable pattern of behavior.
Might as well replace it with the name Seth Grant.
I was incredibly excited for Seth and Cohen's story and I never would have imagined their story taking this way.
This book contained a lot of tropes I didn't like.
- online dating
- slow burn (this one I not so much hate)
- they knew each other in real life but didn't reveal their names when they were "online dating".
But hell, in another world I should've hated this story. I should've been dissapointed.
Yet I loved it and devoured it so much.
Their story couldn't have been told any other way and I'm so glad this book... Just exists. In fact, I'm so so so happy this series exists, these precious angels exists.
I love Seth, I love him so much. But I didn't expect to love Cohen as much as I did.
Wow. That's all I can say about Cohen.
I think Cohen is the most realistic, most relatable character in this series. Well, personally anyway. He felt so real, so normal and so alive, he felt vivid underneath the lines and I was in awe of him.
Hockey didn’t work out for me even though I tried really hard. I put everything I had into it, and I wasn’t good enough to be one of the greats.
I love Foster, he's holds such a special place in my heart and I am so incredibly in awe and proud of him.
But let's be honest, not everyone has 'what it takes' to be in the NHL, not everyone can be given the chance to what you had always wanted. Not everyone can be given a passage for your dream come true.
And so seeing Cohen navigate and try to accept that really just blew away my mind.
We read these stories where the main characters gets the girl, gets the job, gets his dreams come true.
But those stories forget, there are people who don't get the girl, who don't get that job, who didn't get the ability to have their dream, come true.
And I am in awe of him, I marvel at who he is. His strength, his tenacity, his beliefs, everything of who he is.
He is mocked/teased for being a 'dumbass' and I just... I feel sad those people don't know Cohen for the man that he is.
He is flawed. He makes mistake, he's a bit slow, a bit confused, a bit naive.
But he is so much more than that.
“Sometimes I come out with super smart and insightful things.”
Seth smiles. “Other times you ask where your phone is when it’s in your hand.”
“Damn straight.”
He embraces his flaws, accepts his mistakes and learn from them. He asks people to give him some time to soak information in, he does his research to try and understand and his naivety just shows how he has never failed to believe in the best of the people.
Richie … he’s laid-back and genuine.
The entire time I've been trying and trying to find a word to describe Cohen and Seth had said it. He had perfected and ultimately understood Cohen more than I did and put him into words.
I have said it time and time again, the humor this series has is out of this world and I fucking love it.
“Yep,” Richie continues. “When you meet a guy like Seth, you don’t let him go.”
He has to be the least subtle person I’ve ever met, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
And I am so going to binge the Backlist of Eden and Saxon because I am in awe of these authors
A college hockey player’s practice schedule is grueling, and in real life, these athletes practice like crazy, even during school breaks. The CU boys get to enjoy their holidays because … we said they could. If we’re putting them through the trauma of falling in love, the least we can do is let them have winter & spring break
Immediate reactions
fuck, why do good things always have to end?
2nd reread: March 22
Cohen, my darling, is my damn spirit animal -
Goal Lines and First Times surprised me in... the worst way possible. I didn't like this book at all compared to the previous two in this CU Hockey series. The pace of the story wasn't the greatest and the chemistry between the two MC's was non-existent to me. So, sadly, it only gets 2 stars. Purely for my Teddy and Topher.
The story is about Cohen, the ice hockey player, and Seth, Grant's (MC first book) twin brother. Advised by their friends, both men join a gay chat app to explore their sexuality. And surprise surprise, they both start talking to each other without knowing they are talking to each other. Seth knows he is demi and wants to emotionally connect before taking their relationship to the next level... which is meeting irl. Cohen wants nothing more to meet "his Einstein" and start a relationship.
Firstly, I don't want to say that this book is bad but... I didn't love it. I didn't love anything about Goal Lines and First Times. Except for the rare Beck/Jacobs moments. Other than those, nothing really got to me. The way the book was divided into fragments, rather than a continuous story felt so off in comparison to the first two books. I almost wanted to stop reading, which is rare for myself.
Secondly, I never related to or liked the MC's Cohen and Seth ever. The relationship between Seth and Cohen wasn't captivating to me. And it seemed so shallow at some points. I felt they went REALLY FAST after Seth was hesitant to meet his chat app partner irl because of him being demi. But yeah the moment they met they were having sex straightaway. JUST AFTER they found out about each other?! That just isn't logical to me but maybe that is personal. And damn I rolled my eyes so damn loud everytime someone mentioned their "chemistry" or "how strong their connection is". Even the overcompensated sex talk in this story was annoying.
Goal Lines and First Times wasn't anything like the previous books. I LOVED the other stories and its MC's. PLEASE READ Power Plays and Straight A's and Face Offs and Cheap Shots because they are AMAZING!!! Just read Goal Lines and First Times for its rare Beck/Jacobs moments! Maybe someone else will love this book, but it wasn't for me. On a sidenote, I am actually looking forward to Asher's book?! That is gonna be so interesting! -
DNF. Time of death: 60% ish.
I present to you part two of today’s edition of, “Life is too short to force yourself to keep reading books you aren’t clicking with.”
I’m hoping this isn’t the beginning of a DNF streak. Or is two books already a streak? 🤔
The first two books in this series were wins for me, especially book two. In fact, I think I’ll reread book two soon. And I’ll read the next one with no hesitation. But this one wasn’t for me.
The first 40% or so was quite enjoyable. While I had to suspend some disbelief that the two didn’t figure out who the other was, I thought it was fun. However once they did know, something happened and I started to lose interest. Some of this is a case of it being me and not the book. I think that readers who are not a fan of angst will enjoy this more than me. Once in a while, I like angst free too. But more often than not I do need at least a little. Not even angst necessarily but more push and pull.
So again, this might be a me thing. Which is one big reason why I’m not rating this. It’s possible things went in a different direction later but as far as I read, they had not. And I was having no real desire to return and find out.
Also why was Zach so terrible in this? I hate when I love a character and then find myself loathing them in future books.
Oh 🐳. Moving on to the next. What that will be I don’t know. Hoping whatever it is will get rid of my book grump mood. -
![moonlight ☾ [semi-hiatus]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1645500038i/37448930._UX200_CR0,0,200,200_.jpg)
✰ 5 "Einstein & Richie" stars ✰
He pulls me to him. "You were more important to me than any game. I said no to an opportunity I'd been searching for all year to stay with you. This year at training, I wasn't thinking about the weekend game, I was too busy concentrating on when I'd get to see you next. And moving to Montreal, it's not even the job I'm looking forward to. It's getting to wake up next to you everyday."
this series is a new favorite of mine! it's quite fast-paced, but still addicting to where it's hard to put down once you start it (at least, in my case). I'm usually not a fan of the texting format where the two MCs meet online and you just read their texts in the beginning but, surprisingly, I didn't mind it here bc their messages were entertaining and swoon-worthy. I also loved the moment they finally met irl and how their relationship progressed from there. I adored the side characters as well (especially my babies, Beck and Jacobs <3) and I'm intrigued enough at this point to go back and read Foster and Zach's story 🥺 the only reason I started from the second book, Beck and Jacobs' story, was bc the plot caught my interest a bit more lol but I definitely have a soft spot for Foster and Zach, after seeing them on the sidelines in books two and three, that imma read their story now, haha. I'm really interested in knowing Asher's story and looking forward to his own book!! Highly recommend this series. :) -
Underwhelming after my love for the second book, I mean I read Jacobs and Becks book like 3 times already so I think I was hyping this one up a little too much.
It was cute but I think these two had the least chemistry than the past two couples in my opinion. But the ace/demi rep was great and made me real happy I love seeing it in more and more books because we need more representation. -
NOW LIVE!
Amazon US *
Amazon UK
Cohen and Seth were amazing! I can't even pick who was my favorite from this book because I fell in love with both of them so easily. They were both so adorably confused and I thought it was amazing that we got to read their journey to figuring out who they were and what made them happy. Especially when they were trying to figure things out together. I absolutely loved their banter and could read their messages all day without getting bored.
The story was so cute and Seth and Cohen were so sweet with one another but there was also a huge dose of hotness and oh my lord was it steamy. I can't get enough of these two and I already want to go back and read their story all over again. This book gets a huge recommendation from me and I know any MM romance lover out there will fall for this couple and their story just as hard as I did.
ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review. -
Another fun, laugh-out-loud, hockey romance, with great banter & low angst. Cohen is in his last year of college & hockey, and realises he’s bi. Seth (Foster’s twin brother from Book 1) realises he’s Demi. They start talking on a dating app, not realising they actually know each other. They finally realise when they’re forced to stay together on a trip to watch Foster play, then fall in love. Easy, fun reading.
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3.5 ⭐️
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Best one yet!
I absolutely adored this one, it wasn't at all what I was expecting and I was captivated from the start with Seth's struggles and Ritchie's determination to do the best he could for him.
This one's a bit more angsty but it's not misplaced, Seth is coming to terms with the fact he's not only probably demisexual but that he's losing the closeness of his friendship with Zach now he's settled with Foster.
Seth's also still harbouring resentment towards his twin, who he thinks has everything easy, and he's floundering a bit when he's offered some advice by his ex-girlfriend.
Ritchie's also exploring the fact he's realised he's bisexual and that it wasn't usual or normal to practice kissing with your best mate when you're teenagers. But he isn't ready to announce it to the world yet, even though his ice hockey mates continue to take the mickey out of him.
They meet, anonymously, via a chat app for hooking up as both of them try to discover more about themselves and find an instant connection, first through friendship and, as the bonds grow, through exploring sexual activity on the phone together.
The reader gets a peek into the wider world surrounding them as they constantly go through a series of near misses at finding out they're the ones texting each other until it all comes to a - gloriously sweet and seriously steamy - head not quite literally though while on a visit to see Foster playing professional NFL.
What I loved the most about this book was just the way they both grew into themselves, their respect for the other, their determination to be their best selves and to try and work through their relationship and grow stronger.
Ritchie is going down as one of the best book boyfriends ever, he's funny, kind, courageous, and can't understand why Seth likes him because he's so smart and knows where he's going with his career.
But Seth is also a total cinnamon roll because he's been nursing this fear of being broken, or being lesser than his younger twin, and dealing with fears of being overly needy and clingy.
Together they're just an absolute delight and the Epilogue is beyond words sweet!
Now on to Asher and hopefully an intervention on his path of self-destruction.
#ARC kindly received from the authors in return for an honest and unbiased review -
3.5 stars! This was so cute.
I loved the first half of the book. The online messaging, the fun banter, the initial getting together! The sex! 🥰🔥
It was awesome and made me smile and wish I could skip work and just read all day. I thought it was going to be a 5 star read.
But then, much like the other books in this series, I was like “so what now?”. They’re cute and sweet. They’re together. They’re happy. Let’s move on. Next?
Yeah it dragged. I love seeing MCs coming out to their families, interacting with their friends. But here I felt like we had to wrap everything perfectly, going through every single coming out, announcing it to every single secondary character.
Also, while I loved catching up with previous couples, I really don’t understand what Foster is doing with Zach. Ugh. I found him annoying in his own book, but here I wanted to slap him every other page. 🤷♀️ -
LOVE Goal Lines & First Times by Eden Finley and Saxon James.
-Demi
-Bisexual
-Friends to lovers
-Slow burnish
-Chemistry
-Steamy
-Sports Romance
-College-age
-Feel-good vibe
-CYBER LOVE FTW!! Seth & Cohen start anonymously messaging each other through a dating app, and it was so damn funny and sweet, not to mention NSFW messages!
It had it all.
What an excellent addition to an outstanding series!
Highly recommend it!
4.5 Stars -
Welp, this was not what I imagined, but it was decent enough. 🤓❤
Before Richie and Seth met each other face to face I was enjoying the story, the anticipation that they can be in the same place without knowing, the buildup to their meeting and most of all the fact that they were two guys trying to explore and discover their sexuality, who found in each other a safe place to be was sweet and totally couple goals.
Then they meet and wow what a disappointment, so anticlimatic! I wanted to feel something explosive but nope, and the meeting actually happened earlier than I thought, so the rest of the story was boring to me. I loved Richie, I don't think he's dumb and I was charmed by his patience and understanding. Seth I didn't feel much about, I think his reasoning for doing stuff was really contradictory and I don't think that's got something to do with his sexuality but with his selfsteem and that wasn't talked about or tackled in the story, a shame.
There were also other details that didn't make sense to me, some actions that Seth did that were totally opposite to what he had been struggling with and even Cohen had that issue. I dunno, it needed more though and flavor in my opinion.
My least favorite but I'll still read the next one in the series. 🥰❤ -
So I read the third without having read the previous ones. And now I want to read the second. 💥
FIRST AT ALL. Cohen is so cute and sweet. It was my favoriteeeee. I liked Seth, but if he was my boyfriend, the anger I would have for what he did would not go away quickly. Comunication Seth, comeeeee on.
But i had fun reading, especially at first when they don't know each other, but yes I must say, I was a little disappointed the first time they meet and they don't recognize each other. I had a huge emotion and then it was THAT and well, NOPE.
Still I liked the story, especially Richie. Did I mention it's cute? Hahahaha I am excited for the next book! -
I absolutely adored this third installment in the series about Richard "Richie" Cohen from the previous book, who was the one who was surprised to learn that not all straight dudes just make out with their male friends at some point, and Seth Grant, Foster's twin brother.
Seth doesn't think he's as straight as he thought he was, but that he's more demisexual, and when his ex-girlfriend suggests he tries meeting someone online so they can talk first and really get to know each other before something happens, Seth takes her up on that suggestion.
And Richie, now that he's been made aware that he might not be entirely straight but isn't quite ready to go there with a guy, is given the advice to try online dating too, to see if he finds a connection with a guy but it isn't too intimidating as in person would be.
Richie and Seth meet online. Richie gives his first name, but he's known as Cohen with the team, and in his profile he says he goes to UVM instead of CU when a get a creepy message from some other guy. And Seth doesn't give away his name because he's not ready, and so he's called "Einstein" by Richie.
And over about 5 or so months, these two only know each other through text, and they talk all the time, and start to fall for each other.
By the time they find out who the other is, the chemistry is electric and they almost naturally fall into a relationship with each other.
It doesn't really matter to them that their both men either, they just slowly figure it out with each other, but the love was already there, the feelings, so that the physical just came together almost seamlessly with them.
The scene where they find out each other's identity and get together was just perfect, I absolutely loved it. Because the romance was already built up so well and these two were already in love, that when they kissed and more, it just worked.
The rest of the story was them being together, but working out how they can stay together, as Richie's final college year/hockey season is coming to an end and Seth still has a year of graduate school and then getting his phd to do, so how are they gonna make it work?
It isn't all smooth sailing, but these two work through it and come out better for it. Seth is just such a sweetheart and Richie too. They were so sweet together and so good together. They were perfect for each other, and i just loved this installment.
I'm interested to see what Asher, the new freshmen team member, is all about in his book. Because he didn't come off the best here, even though it's understandable with what he's going through. But I wonder who will bet he one to get through Asher's walls and defenses.
Definitely recommend this one, and two MASSIVE thumbs up from me. Can't wait for the next one! <3 -
|| 2.5 stars ||
Ugh.. I just wasn't really feeling it. The chemistry wasn't there at all. My expectations for this book were so much higher than what it delivered. It was definitely disappointing.
It started out pretty okay and I was kind of vibing with it, but it kept getting worse and worse. It started to get repetitive and the connection between Seth and Cohen didn't progress in any way. Everything is very superficial and I didn't have an emotional connection with them at all. It's not that I wasn't entertained from time to time, but I need more than that.
The only moments I sat with a big smile on my face while reading this was when we got little moments of Beck and Jacobs (from
Face Offs & Cheap Shots). They were a breath of fresh air and Beck still cracks me up. But this fact also had me feeling kind of annoyed, because it only highlighted more how much I was not into the relationship of Seth and Cohen or them as individuals. I did not love them, especially not like I did Beck or even Jacobs.
I could go on and on about what did not make me love this book, but I think my point has been made. The premise had potential, but the execution wasn't there. It fell kind of flat.
'CU Hockey' series:
1.
Power Plays & Straight A's - 3.0 stars
2.
Face Offs & Cheap Shots - 4.5 stars
3. Goal Lines & First Times - 2.5 stars
4.
Line Mates & Study Dates - 3.5 stars
5.
Puck Drills & Quick Thrills - 3.5 stars
Novellas:
5.1.
The Best Wedding Ever - 3.0 stars
5.2.
See You In Boston - 3.0 stars -
3.00 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’ll start off by saying this was a very sweet and entertaining book. I enjoyed Seth and Richie both as characters and a couple. The slow burn build up between them was great. The build up to the big pinnacle reveal moment was DELICIOUS. I seriously was eating it up. But then....the story started to drift off for me a bit. It felt like it kept building, building, hit the peak and then lost some steam. I just needed *more* 🤷🏻♀️ I do love this universe though, and I’m excited for the next chapter! -
3.5 Stars ✨
A HUGE part of this book/romance takes place online. Anonymous texts back and forth between 2 questioning guys lays the foundation for their relationship.
It works. There are some smexy texts.
However, the time to get to the big reveal is long.
The reveal itself is done well.
The pairing of the jock & the nerd works, although I’m getting tired to the insecure geek & the confident jock trope. This pair of writers used the same for the first book in the series.
One MC I adored, one I was lukewarm about—same as in the first book. In fact, the MC’s from the first book are prominent in this one since they are the ex teammates & twin brother/best friends.
I rounded up here for the dual narration of Alexander Cendese & Iggy Toma & because the sex scenes were hot 🥵
It was nice to see a demi POV since that’s rarely represented in romance.
My rec? If you love your college men, go for it! -
dnf...
I just can't seem to finish this for some reason so I'm just gonna drop it and move on. -
this book was... lacklustre for me. and im pretty disappointed since not only has this series been amazing so far, Eden Finley’s books always hit the mark for me.
the first 50% was probably a five star read for me. i thought the whole ‘we know each other online and in person but don’t know we know each other’ was done so well. and it was pretty funny watching Cohen and Seth interact without knowing how obsessed they were with each other online. i liked the slow burn pace in the first half which i didn’t even feel like was slow burn but just necessary for the story to progress.
but i started to feel underwhelmed, i guess, once Seth and Cohen realise they’ve been talking to each other online. and i think it was due to the in-person transition from practically strangers to being in a relationship. it was far too quick for my liking.
i know some complaints have been that this was super slow burn, but I’ve read all of Mariana Zapata’s books, so this honestly didn’t feel that gruelling. so if anything, the moment Seth and Cohen realise they’ve been talking to each all this time, i felt that they reconciled those two sides of themselves way too quickly. they just fall into bed and a relationship almost as soon as they realise the truth. there didn’t seem to be any awkward fumbling that id expect from two people who don’t fully know each other but only know each other’s online personas. i loved the book up until they got together bcos it was just smooth sailing once they got together and i didn’t see that being realistic.
and i didn’t fully understand WHY they wanted to be together? i didn’t feel that bone-deep chemistry i felt with Foster and Zach, and Beck and Jacobs. and i think that was bcos Seth and Cohen just fell into their relationship without really building up to it, in person. and i know they knew each other pretty well from their online interactions but talking to someone online and being in a relationship with them in person are two vastly different things. so when they realised who the other was, i just expected more. it felt too easy which made it unbelievable.
and i thought the conflict towards the end was low-key dumb lmao. idk feel like it could have been anything but that? was just weird and i didn’t vibe with it.
however i really appreciated the demi rep in this book! and im super curious for Asher’s book. -
=》Being demi has always felt like it was holding me back, but maybe I was just waiting for this exact right moment, this exact right person, to finally unleash.
My demi-sexual heart is full of joy and happiness. This book was everything I wanted. Goal Lines and First Times is the first and only book I have read that stars a demisexual main character. One of our mcs, Seth is a demi, to be more specific - Demisexual Pan. That's exactly how I identify myself. So I am not sorry if I'm biased.
The demi representation was to the point perfect and amazing. The boys had a wonderful chemistry. It took a bit long to build up (obviously) but definitely was worth it. The relationship was perfect and non-problematic. Seth represents me but I loved Richie as a character more. Both of them are amazing actually.
The amount of angst was perfect for me. Not too much, not too less. The banter and humour is as always superb. Eden Finley and Saxon James are really killing it with this series. So quickly, CU Hockey has become one of my favourites.
》▪▪▪▪▪▪《
A demi-sexual representation!!! I have been seaching for it since forever now. This is a first. I feel so good as a demi. Can't wait to read the book...😊😊😊
It's Seth's book. How did I miss that??
