The Blame Game: An M/M Hockey Romance (Relationship Goals Book 5)

🏒Hockey player X Escort 🏒Mutually beneficially relations 🏒 He fell first but HE fell harder 🏒Fisher Cats PR loves fake relationships 🏒 Emotionally repressed oyster 🏒A lot of family history that is effecting both parties 🏒 Fisher Cats SAPs are basically complete! 🏒 End of an Era :,< The 5th and final book for the #RelationshipGoals series and it was a tear jerky for me in particular. I got to grow with these men and their partners from book 1. And I've more or less trauma bonded to at least 1 partner in each book. From book 1 we KNEW Dom was a closed off and kind of negative energy to the men in books 1-4 when it comes to love and being vulnerable with their partners. A lot of this comes from Dom's past relationship + issues with his own family. With envy and not wanting to change driving Dom is has left him very closed off. Which is where our lovely Escort, Shea comes in. What Shea didn't realize is that he would fall for Dom and fall hard. As we start going through the book we learn that Shea is basically only an escort for Dom and doesn't need his money for support anymore. Love sometimes works in mysterious ways and it def hit these 2 men pretty hard. Close proximity + fake relationship really sets these two men up for a pretty good relationship. Dom has a lot of non stop problems that is effecting him, his friendships, relationships and his game. Since his contract wont be renewed he is on the journey of lifetime trying to figure out what he is going to do.…

This series for me has been a bit hit or miss. I’ve loved the characters but some of the storylines felt like they needed more detail or depth. This book did not suffer from that at all! Dom and Shea were great from the very start! I loved the dynamic between them and how seamlessly it switched from their arrangement to them falling in love. There was a bit of miscommunication and at some points it was mildly frustrating but it also made sense for the book. There was almost no angst between the MMCs which I love. I was nervous going into this mammoth of a book that its length meant a ton of drama and angst but it never felt like that. Yes there were some plots and scenes that could have been whittled down or cut completely but all in all the book just works. I loved how much this book involved the other players on the team and side characters. It was fun to read about their dynamic on the ice and off and especially when they were all together with the SAPs too. It made me appreciate even the books in this series that weren’t my favorite. I really enjoyed how the whole escort side of the story was portrayed. I am not a romance reader who enjoys any sharing so I appreciated that despite the topic of the book and Shea’s work, that there was no “other person” drama. Though the hints with Travis were a bit unnecessary. That felt like it was just there to stir trouble but maybe it’s a hint at a future book character / love interest? Also the meeting with Dom’s ex did not sit…

This was such a sweet ending to this group. The writing is amazing as always. Please don’t let the page number scare you. Every page was totally worth it. I loved this story. I loved that care they had around smexy work. I think most of all I love the fact that this talked about not everyone wants to be out and proud and that should be ok. That one shouldn’t be forced out especially if they are a celeb (thinking of you Kit Connor) and we shouldn’t be pressuring folks if they don’t want to talk. That goes for people in the community and folks who aren’t. I loved how we got to see the full ark of this relationship. I loved how they worked for this and were both loyal. I loved how they chose each other every single time. The smexy was yum, and while we are done with this team, we aren’t done with hockey. For future me Dual POV No cheating or sharing. All relationships outside of them has ended when we first meet them Do diverse side characters (which they got a story) There is angst but it’s between them No last min break They are verse Smexy is early but they have an established relationship.

I stumbled upon this series last summer thinking okay I'll read what's out and probably forget the rest exist... I have read every book since on release day and *devoured* them. I think this is my favorite hockey series ever, and that's really saying something. I love this team so much. I love their dynamic, I loved the glimpses we saw in the previous series, and I'm so excited for what we get in the next series. I didn't think I'd ever love Dom, but diving into his story and getting his background, I have such a soft spot for him. And Shea is so perfect to Dom and I'm so happy that he never gave up on him, even when it took him forever to really be in touch with himself. I don't even know what to say. So bittersweet that this series is ending, but such a beautiful ending. This team is truly found family and I have loved being along for this journey.

I will be the first to admit.. I was not a fan of Dom in Matty's book, even after his reveal... but man this book. Dom is totally an emotionally repressed oyster, but this book made my heart ache for him. Pay attention to trigger warnings, the author is really good about outlining what they are. It threw me in the beginning where I thought we had two different guys with Dom, but it just turns out Shea was using a fake name. Once we got past that, the story was an emotional roller coaster. Shea was the perfect counterbalance for Dom and I was really happy for their journey, emotional crustaceans and all. I think the struggle that Dom felt in trying to keep part of his life private when gossip rags want to drag every last morsel of his life into the spotlight is something so realistic and well written. I hope this isn't our last hockey book from Brigham.. I really want that maybe teaser to be a thing in Boston!!!