Damage Control (After the Whistle Book 1)

5 stars because it should get more reads (I'm writing this with only 14 reviews currently). I can't stand sports drama. I never read it. This is my first time finishing one. I felt satisfied the entire read through. It's a romance with your typical romance tropes, but it also felt like both characters in it were adult people with life experiences and their own personalities and their own ways of dealing with their own lives. There were two scenes where I was surprised where the author subtly shifted away from typical romance tropes and created their own original scenes. It was refreshing and continued to establish the maturity and real-ism of the characters. I don't seek out dub-con--I find it triggering at times--but I don't like preachy consent scenes, either. That said, one of the romantic interests is very pushy and domineering; yet their counterpart knows what they want and don't want and is able to navigate this in a way that, too, felt refreshing. Backstories made sense; stressors mades sense. The only complaint I have is a few side-characters were too one-dimensional, but that's romance. Quick and satisfying read that made me look into what else this author wrote.

Story: 4/5 Spice: Low (Descriptions of scenes & # of scenes: it was a close between med and low) Characters: 3/5 -ˏˋ⋆⋆ˊˎ- Overall reco: I want to start off that it was an enjoyable read, pacing was good and overall easy to consume. There was a moment that I thought I knew what was coming, and I was so mad. I was actually fuming as I was reading and then I got to the moment and it didn't quite go down how I was expecting and I'm so glad it didn't. Because if it had I was ready to just get on here and rant about how much I hated these characters. This story is all one POV, Matthew's, and it felt stressful. Matthew is a stressful character and man does that boy have anxiety! He was giving me stress! The positive from this is I felt like I understood Matthew a lot (is he supposed to be kind of Autistic coded? or is that me just projecting?), the negative of this is I absolutely didn't see the chemistry between them at first. I didn't see it until the moment. I didn't exactly mind that though… so it was weird? Or I guess it's more accurate to say that I liked Matthew enough to stay on the ride and see where it went and really, that ending was pretty solid. (Not the epilogue though.. that felt like it was a bit out of place and almost like a characterization of the characters.. but I digress..) but the confrontation felt really good. Andrew is the hard to read bad boy with a heart of gold that felt like he was hard to read. Again, It felt like he was really good a keeping…

This is book 1 of a series, and I’m looking forward to book 2 already. I received an advance reader’s copy of the book, and I am voluntarily giving this review. In the first chapter, we’re introduced to Matthew Quinn in Boston, who’s taking a personal assistant job to a ‘difficult’ client; the longest any previous personal assistant lasted with this client was eleven days. This is supposed to be a 90 day assignment, if he can stick it out. Right away, we find out that he’s in need of making it stick, so he can pay the rent for the apartment he shares with his younger sister. We also discover that he has panic attacks frequently, which he prevents by mentally recalling statistics of different hockey players for the Boston Wardens NHL team. Next morning, he’s up and getting ready to go to the address he was given – no name, just the address – when a panic attack strikes. At first unable to rely on his statistical recall, he spirals, before he remembers the statistics and climbs out of the panic. He arrives at the address and is slammed into by a well-built guy in a hoodie who growls at him as if it was his fault the guy ran into him. The hoodie guy proceeds to the elevator while Matthew gathers his portfolio and then tells the doorman he’s there for “Penthouse 4.” That gets a look of almost pity from the doorman, who checks his ID and then motions toward the elevator with the rude guy. “Go with him,” Matthew is instructed. As he heads towards the elevator, hoodie guy begins…

If you like when your romance features: hockey, MM relationships, workplace relationships Andrew Knox's career is on the line and team ownership thinks that the way to keep him in line is to force a personal assistant on him while he's suspended. Knox's response? To make sure none of them stick around. When Matthew Quinn becomes the newest hire, he knows the job isn't going to be easy. He's only been hired for 90 days, but after months of being unable to find work following the collapse of his last intertwined job/relationship, he's up for the challenge, his and his younger sister's future depend on it. As the two find common ground, they also find a mutual attraction, but Matthew's been down this road before and he literally can't afford to turn his job into his relationship again. But when they both end up facing down their past demons, they find they need each other. Overall, I liked this book a lot. There were some liberties taken with how hockey works, but nothing that really affected the plot in a negative way or annoyed me to the point I needed to stop reading as a hockey fan. There was a good amount of spice that fits within the larger story. CW: mentions of homophobia, parental abandonment, mild violence (not hockey related), non-consensual kissing (not between MCs). I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

My latest read was Damage Control, book one of the After the Whistle series by Lucy Noran. Damage Control is a story of a young man, Matthew Quinn, who’s down on his luck finding a job when he accepts a “difficult” assignment as the executive assistant for a high-profile client. The client turns out to be hockey player, Andrew Knox, who’s currently under suspension from playing due to an incident with another player, and is awaiting a hearing to find out if his suspension will be lifted. And to make matters worse, Knox does not want an assistant, so he makes life so miserable for those sent to him, that they quit. The record so far was eleven days. Matthew is determined to make it through his 90-day contract. He has to. He needs the money to support his younger sister, Angelica, as well as himself, and has had great difficulty finding a job as of late. Stressful times ensue between Matthew and Andrew. That is, until they get to know each other. Add to the story a well-developed cast of very interesting characters, including Andrew’s teammates, his mom, Diane, whose personality is a laugh riot, and Matthew’s former employer and antagonist, whom he also was in a relationship with. It was not a good experience for Matthew, with circumstances that still affect him. Matthew’s character is so sweet, trying to do his best to provide a better life for himself and his sister, since both parents are not around, while dealing with anxiety issues and a past he finds difficult to…