One-Touch Pass: SCU Hockey, Book 4

So good. Funny, endearing, heart breaking/stopping. Just a realty good book all around. You can't help but fall in love with both of them.

J. J. Mulder provides another charming, low angst story. I appreciate the characters are real and have real struggles without being over the top. This book follows Marcos and Nate as they realize how good they can be together. Very little sports talk in this book at all. Not quite 5 stars but a very good and easy read. It felt a little lighter than some books as it covered a fair amount of time so parts of their relationship are only presented at surface level. I appreciate that there wasn’t a magic cure for some of the issues but it also didn’t really delve into the work it took to deal with them either, which is fine for a romance book, but kept me from completely connecting with the characters and their relationship. I was excited to see this story from the previous books and it didn’t disappoint. If you like the previous books in the series, this book should be another hit for you

Book 4 is no disappointment at all. We dive into the life and sorrows of Marcos, Maxes friend from the previous book. What happened to Max was no less of a trauma for Marcos. The author's passion for ranch life and horses is palpable and at first it seems just too much going into details, but they help us understand the severity of what happened later (no spoiler). Beautiful and romantic, very little hockey and baseball. Get ready to clean your tear ducts.

I knew when we got to know Nate a bit better in On the Edge that we were going to be gifted a book for him. I knew it was a 50/50 shot, but one that very much came true with the least amount of wait time. To say I LOVE this book is an understatement. I'm not sure I can do it justice in trying to tell you why, but since I'm here, I'm gonna try. Nate's energy was contagious from the moment I met him and didn't wane. Maybe it's because we both have similar ADHD experiences, but it's partly because of who he is is a person, albeit fictional. He cares deeply and is loyal. He goes out of his way for those he cares about and doesn't expect anything in return. Ever. Henri is by far the nicest human ever, but Nate is a close second. He's just ... energetic so it can easily get overshadowed. Marcos. Bless him. I wanted to hug him so many times. It hurt my heart knowing he needed the hugs, the touch, the comfort... but was unable to accept it. PHYSICALLY even! I feel like the author handled his touch aversion with a lot of care—just like she does with everything else. He deserves the world and I'm glad Nate came along in his life. He was exactly who he needed. And it was the same in reverse. Marcos was the perfect fit for Nate. He brought a lot of balance to go alongside Nate's energy. I love their pairing. I appreciate the author's approach to her couple's intimate life. There's more to intimacy than just the het-normative version we've been taught since grade school. You could…

My eyes got wet a lot during this one. I also appreciated Nate’s perseverance and Marcos’ consistency. I felt really inspired by this relationship.