The Power of Love (The Barracudas Book 2)

I read a lot of MM romance. Just like everyone else I’ve been on a hockey kick for weeks too. 25-ish hockey romances in 2 months. I say that to drive home the point - these two are one of my FAVORITE couples. It genuinely danced in that sweet spot of ridiculous humor, and character depth that makes you feel. I appreciated how I could invest in them as characters, feel their growth, but not do the gutting hurt/comfort that usually comes with strong character development. It also toes that line of unbelievable campy Hallmark and a slow burn meet-cute that I could see actually unfolding. Which I personally really love because those perfectly aligned, written in the stars (see what I did there) love stories are harder for me to buy into than most sci-fi. The -only- constructive feedback that is honestly just being a bit critical, sometimes the mental struggles between Drew and Jackson mirrored so closely that I had to stop and remind myself who’s POV I was in. But with that said, this fake dating, idiots-in-love, friends-to-lovers story is well paced and gentle angst and excuse me Christopher but WHERE IS MY EPILOGUE??? You gave us a delicious 10 year timeskip in Icing. Please give us a glimpse of their forever, I’m begging! 🙏🏼 Side note: I can’t wait to see Oliver and Ryan, I’m really looking forward to getting in Ryan’s head. And I really, REALLY hope book four is Kyle, I NEED in that broody brain.

“The Power of Love” is an absolute delight to read! This was my first book from the author, and I swear to God, it’s just so cute and adorable, and they’re both such idiots, and they’re in love and totally BLIND to each other! I LOVE IT! This is how you do the fake relationship right! No plan whatsoever, Drew and Jackson are just thrown into what others think is a relationship, and they eventually get tired of fighting it off so they just accept that they are together. But the more they now try to convince people that they are together, the more the Ice Queen suspects they are all but an act. Which they started as, since they tried to tell everyone they were not together! Drew and Jackson are both so adorable, the little challenges are so cute, and they have amazing chemistry together. The more they try to fight their attraction, the worst it gets for them, because they can no longer ignore their feelings. And they try! God, do they try to ignore what their heart desires. This is how you do these tropes. “The Power of Love” it’s fun, it’s silly, it has so many butts, it’s really queer, but it’s also about insecurities and how sometimes we are our worst enemies when it comes to our own happiness.

Very good and cute.....i love the love story..

I've read dozens of mm hockey romance... this is probably my favorite... made me laugh out loud.. and so frustrating that these two people can't open up to each other...

4.5 ⭐️ Drew and Jackson had me laughing out loud trying on spandex leggings! Slow burn/pining was the name of the game in this book. They both wanted each other, but didn’t know how to say it. While I thought the Ice Queen was fun in book 1, it seemed a bit too much in this book. The fact that Jackson wasn’t properly out (best way I know to describe it) and that character (not entirely sure if female) took it upon themselves to relay the restaurant conversation. It hurt my heart. While they eventually talked to each other about their personal wants (which had me saying about time!), there were lots of comical mishaps throughout this book. I enjoyed it from cover to cover. And I’m excited for Oliver and Ryan’s story next.