The New Next One (Bethesda Barracudas Hockey, Book 2) By Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood
Narrated by Nick J. Russo
Publisher: Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood ~ Release Date: June 30, 2022
Version: Unabridged Audio ~ Whispersync – Voice Enabled ~ Length: 2 hours and 1 minute
Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex ~ Pairing: Male/Male ~ Genre: Sports Romance, Contemporary Gay Romance, Romance
Tropes: New Adult, Friends-to-Lovers, Hockey, Medium-angst, Coming of Age
How much are you willing to give up for the man you love?
Best friends Nick Johnson and Tyler Jensen seem to have the world by the tail. The eighteen-year-old stars of their school’s hockey team are looking forward to playing in college and hoping for careers with the pros.
Nick and Tyler know a lot about each other, but there are a few important details they haven’t discussed. To start with, neither man knows the other is gay. Making things interesting, Nick has a massive crush on Tyler, something he’s kept to himself for a long time. And although he’s never said a word about it, Tyler has wanted to date Nick since they met.
On a cold Minnesota night after a big win, Tyler finds the courage to confess his feelings to Nick. When Nick admits his attraction to Tyler, their relationship turns on a dime. As they fall in love, they skate around the challenges of a secret romance in an all-male boarding school, but what will happen when the stakes rise dramatically in a sport not known for being gay-friendly? Will Nick and Tyler make the easy choice or the hard one?
The New Next One is a new adult, friends-to-lovers romance featuring young athletes, plenty of steam, and a lot of emotion. Besides learning the background for Nice Catching You, you will meet the main characters for the authors’ book Fire in the Ice.
Review
An enjoyable short story about Nick who we met in Book #1 Nice Catching You and Tyler who we meet in book #3 Fire in the Ice. Nick J Russo does a good job of portraying the characters in this novella, I really liked his portrayal of Nick.
Tyler and Nick have been friends for years and have hidden the fact they are gay from each other and everyone else. When Tyler takes a risk and expresses his feelings to Nick everything changes for them both, but it’s still a secret from the rest of the world. I really felt for these guys, it’s sad they felt the need to hide who they were so as to be able to play a sport. I loved their blossoming relationship and it was nice to get the background of them both, especially Tyler as his relationship with Nick and their friend Kevin really comes into play in Fire in the Ice. I’d have probably preferred to read this before book #1 as I’m all for continuity of timelines when reading a series, but it still works well reading it after.
Excerpt
“I’ve got an idea,” I said. “It’s way below freezing outside, so let’s make snow.” Tyler looked like he wanted to kiss me, and Kev gave a big Labrador grin. Really, his tongue stuck out over his lower lip.
“I’ve got an electric kettle,” Ty said. “Let’s go up to my room.”
Upstairs, Kevin spent a moment gawking at the old movie posters on Tyler’s wall and checking out his signed hockey card collection. Ty put on water to boil, and one litre at a time, we carried hot water to the window and threw it out into the polar air.
Being stuck in the woods in Minnesota, making snow was a favourite winter pastime for St. Mark’s students. As we’d learned in physics class, cold air doesn’t hold as much water vapour as warm air, so the water condenses in the cold. When you throw boiling water into frigid air, the droplets freeze instantaneously, forming crystals that look like snow.
“Woo!” Ty shouted as his latest toss turned into snowflakes and fell to the ground three stories below. “More snow. Just what Minnesota needs.”
THE NEW NEXT ONE. Copyright © 2021 Ryan Taylor & Joshua Harwood. All rights reserved.
Buy Links
Giveaway
To celebrate the release of The New Next One in audio, Ryan and Josh are giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card!
About the Authors
Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood met in law school and were married in 2017. They live in a suburb of Washington, DC, and share their home with a big, cuddly German shepherd. Ryan and Josh love to travel, and hockey is practically a religion in their house. Ryan also enjoys swimming, and Josh likes to putter in the garden whenever he can. They began writing to celebrate the romance they were so lucky to find with each other, and the sharing soon developed into a passion for telling stories about love between out and proud men. You can contact Ryan and Josh through their website.
Social Media Links
Ryan Taylor’s Amazon Profile / Joshua Harwood’s Amazon Profile
Ryan Taylor’s BookBub Profile / Joshua Harwood’s BookBub Profile
Ryan Taylor’s Goodreads Profile / Joshua Harwood’s Goodreads Profile
Website / Instagram / Twitter / TikTok
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