This one was definitely a #Bookstagrammademedoit. My friend Abby and a few other Bookstagram friends have been talking about hockey romances, so I, as a fan of hockey and, well, hockey players, figured I’d give this one a try.
Wes and Jamie had an intense friendship when they were teenagers, playing at an elite hockey camp in upstate New York. Their rivalry made them better players and Wes was constantly involving Jamie in dares and pranks. Then after the summer they were 18, Wes just walked away and cut off their friendship. Sure, things got a little weird one night when they were drinking that last summer, but so what?
Four years later, their college teams are both in the Frozen Four championship. Both have been drafted by the NHL. But what Wes wants more than anything is a chance to see his old friend again, a chance to explain why he felt he had to end everything.
The minute they see each other, they slip back into their old routines. But Wes, who is gay, knows that what he feels for Jamie can’t be reciprocated, although he’s mostly okay with that because he missed his friend so much.
They wind up spending the summer between college and heading to their NHL teams working at the same camp they went to as teenagers. It seems like old times, and as they grow closer, Jamie realizes he has a lot to learn about his old friend—and himself. And both have key decisions to make about their future.
The steam factor is HOT in Him, but the romance factor is, too. The book touches on homophobia, self-esteem, and parental issues as well as the boundaries between friendship and love. I felt like there were so many times things could have become melodramatic and they didn’t, which made me love the book even more.
So now I’m a hockey romance fan! I’ll certainly be reading the sequel to this, called Us, very soon!!
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