I have been a huge Amy Aislin fan for several years now and her latest book, Game Plan, didn’t change that one bit. 😊 Second chance stories are one of my favorite romance tropes and Game Plan is such a good one. Pierce and Matt were together for over a year when Pierce broke things off abruptly two years ago with no explanation. Matt tried and tried to reach him, to no avail. Pierce’s sister Sabrina also tried to reach him but Pierce didn’t respond to any calls or texts.

This story really got to me in places. There’s a content warning for mental health and depression and that hit a bit close to home as I have family members who suffer from this. I think Amy treated this subject with respect and understanding. From my personal perspective I think she got things right.

When Pierce was notified that his son was in a car accident, he left Vancouver, and Matt, to go to him and then he fell apart. He finally started seeing a therapist and is doing much better when his professional hockey player son gets traded to Vancouver – where Matt lives.

Matt still loves Pierce but he doesn’t know if he can ever trust him with his heart again. It doesn’t take long for Matt to give in to the physical attraction he has for Pierce but it takes much longer for him to trust again. Then there’s the little problem of a coach dating a player’s parent and the team owner’s reaction to when Matt discloses their relationship.

It’s not all smooth sailing for Pierce and Matt but they get a great HEA and the epilogue was the perfect finishing touch. I’m so glad to know that there will be two more books in this series. Each of them will stand alone but I’m happy that I will be reading them in order. I’m looking forward to the next one, Game Changer, coming out later this year.

Reviews for Amy Aislin

♥ Amazon US ♥ Amazon CA ♥ Amazon UK ♥ Barnes & Noble ♥ Kobo US ♥ Smashwords ♥ iBooks ♥

“What do you think?” Matt slowed as they approached the entrance to Kitsilano Beach Park. The parking lot was mostly empty at this time of day. “Should we park here or find street parking farther down?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Pierce muttered. “We both know I’ll only last five minutes.”

Matt grinned and pulled into the parking lot. “Not to worry. We’ll build your stamina in no time.”

Speaking of stamina . . . Matt scratched at his thigh, drawing Pierce’s gaze.

He swallowed hard. Sipped his coffee. Eyed Matt’s profile as Matt backed into a spot. “What kind of strenuous activities do you expect me to be doing that I’ll need stamina?”

Putting the car in park, Matt side-eyed him. “Increasing your stamina helps reduce fatigue. Allows you to perform your daily activities at a higher level while using less energy.”

“Uh-huh.” Amused at the non-answer, Pierce sipped more coffee, hiding a grin behind his mug. “Is that all?”

Huffing, Matt popped his door open. “Get out of the car, LB.”

Pierce let his laughter loose, feeling giddy and happy and like Matt’s laughter gave him superpowers.

Until they got a few minutes into their jog.

“I’m—” Huff. “—dying.” Huff. “Jogging is . . .” Huff.

“Good exercise?” Matt prompted, not the least bit winded.

“Torture.”

Matt chuckled, but he slowed to a fast walk. Other joggers and cyclists passed them, but Pierce didn’t care much about anything other than gulping big breaths of air. On their left, the sandy beach was dotted with wooden logs for seating, and the ocean was calm under a blue sky peppered with the occasional cloud. In the distance, the mountains rose, tall and green.

Pierce sucked in a deep breath of ocean-tinted air, held it, and released it in a long sigh.

“How did you survive in landlocked Laval for two years?” Matt asked

“Technically, it’s not landlocked. Laval is mostly on an island across the Prairies River from Montreal. It’s not the same, but there are waterfronts. I did miss home, though. It’s good to be back.”

“Yet you’d still move with Jason if he got traded again?”

Pierce blinked at Matt. “What makes you say that?”

“You sort of implied it,” Matt said, suddenly finding a hangnail interesting. “When you said you moved back here because Jason did.”

“Oh, well . . . I mean, generally, parents don’t follow their kids around, right? Especially when those kids reach adulthood?”

Matt raised an eyebrow, and if ever sardonic had an expression . . . “Yet here you are.”

“Sure, but . . .” Pierce shrugged. “I kept my apartment here for a reason, you know? Jase getting traded here was fortuitous. It gave me an excuse to return home, which gave me a reason to be close to Jason so we can keep repairing our relationship.”

“If he’d gotten traded to . . . I don’t know . . . somewhere in the States, you wouldn’t have gone with him?”

Pierce blew out a breath. “I might’ve gone with him for the first week or so, just to make sure he was settling in okay. Whether or not I would’ve moved there with him . . .” He rubbed his jaw, the overnight stubble he hadn’t bothered to shave scratching at his palm. “I honestly don’t know. I don’t spend much time mapping out what I would or wouldn’t have done in a situation that doesn’t exist.”

“But it could exist.”

Pierce stopped right there on the path, a frown pulling at his forehead. Once Matt had turned around, he said, “Are you trying to tell me something? Is Jason about to get traded? He just got here.”

Matt’s eyes were dark as sin under the autumn sun. “No. That’s not what I’m saying. I’m just . . . curious.”

Curious because . . . he didn’t want Pierce to leave again?

Because . . . he was still in love with him?

Pierce nearly laughed out loud at the fanciful thoughts.

“Curious about . . . ?”

Matt walked backwards, forcing Pierce to follow. “What your long-term plans are. I don’t even know what you do for work right now.”

“I’m a runner.”

Another sardonic eyebrow paired with an amused twist of the lips. “I beg to differ.”

“No,” Pierce said with a laugh. “Not a runner runner. A runner for an antiques dealer in Quebec.”

“Which is . . . ?”

“I buy antiques for my dealer. She tells me what she’s looking for and what her budget is, and I run around looking for it.”

“Huh.”

Vancouver Orcas Series

♥ Amazon US ♥ Amazon CA ♥ Amazon UK ♥