Open Net (Cayuga Cougars #2) by V.L. Locey

Augie is a young goaltender and on the fast track to the pros. He meets Salvatore Castenada at a lakeside party and the attraction is immediate and steaming hot.  Sal is everything he could ever want in a partner, but they have a few serious issues to discuss before settling down for a happily every after.

I received one copy of this book at no charge in exchange for my honest review.

Open Net (Cayuga Cougars #2) by V.L. Locey

Blurb

August Miles has the world on a string professionally.

Augie, as his friends and teammates call the unassuming young goaltender, is on the fast track to the pros. The starting goalie for the Cayuga Cougars, he has a year or two in Cayuga to hone his skills and all his career dreams will have come true. Pity his personal life isn’t riding the same high. He’s the only one among his group of friends without that special someone to call his own.

Until he meets Salvatore Castenada at a lakeside party. The attraction is white-hot and more than a little wonderfully overwhelming for the romantically inexperienced goalie. August quickly discovers that Sal is everything he’s dreamed of in a man: mature, settled, sinfully handsome, and filled with gentle humor. Sal is also HIV positive.
Will Sal’s revelation about his status end this budding relationship before it can even begin? Or will the two men be able to handle the challenges life—and a championship run for the Cougars—throws at them?

My Review:

Open Net  by V.L. Locey is book 2 for the Cayuga Cougars hockey series.  I am a huge fan of this author and hockey romances in general so I was excited to read this one.

August is a goalie from a small town in Canada.  He isn’t out to the world yet but does have one close friend on the team who he has told.  He comes out to the rest of the team rather early in the book and it goes fairly smoothly.  His best friend on the team wants him to sow his wild oats rather than settle down with Sal.  This is a huge source of tension through most of the book.  August is totally happy to settle into a committed relationship and nothing will stop him, even Sal’s HIV positive status.

Sal seems like a really great guy and loves Augie completely and totally.  He is older than Augie by about 17 years and is definitely the mature, steady personality that Augie needs in his life.  He is open and honest about his HIV status and I think the author did a good job of raising awareness for HIV while keeping to the context of the story.  There were several issues discussed throughout the book regarding the disease, talking to family and friends, health complications, etc.

While overall I really liked the book, there were a couple of things that I didn’t care for.  The big one is that this is definitely an ‘instalove’ type of story.  Within two weeks they are both declaring undying love to each other and that just isn’t my cup of tea.  Also, a lot of their early relationship is skipped over so you don’t get to see the relationship develop much in the early weeks.  You sortof just skip over that part to the well established relationship part which didn’t allow me to really connect to these characters as much as I think I could have.

Open Net by V.L. Locey is a good, solid romance story.  There is just the right amount of hockey, romance, and HIV awareness to give a nice balance to the book.

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Author Bio


V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a flock of assorted domestic fowl, and two Jersey steers.


When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in hand. She can also be found online on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and GoodReads.


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