Thought Train to Pusan

I honestly can’t tell you why I haven’t gotten into Ngozi Ukazu’s web-comic series Check, Please! before (this book is just the first 2-years of the protagonist’s story compiled into one volume), because I know I’ve heard good things about it before, and upon finally reading it I can say that I really did enjoy it a lot! It is super cute, with a lively and clean art style, and is about nice hockey bros just being bros?? Love that. Yeah, maybe it’s a little predictable at times, but I don’t mind at all as I was excited to see things unfold the way they did. Really, the only thing I could complain about is how it is a little abrupt from piece to piece, but that’s just a function of being from a web-comic that has not been pieced together into one book. So I can’t really fault it for that. But let’s get on to what this is about! Check, Please! #1: Hockey follows Eric Bittle (or, Bitty, as he is known by his team) a former figure skater who because of his quick sk...

After being disappointed by the   hockey-themed romance Slammed by Victoria Denault, fellow Cannonballer, Emmalita, had some recommendations for me to check out! And this novel Game Play (first in a series called “Power Play” by Lynda Aicher) was definitely an improvement, and I liked the relationship in this one a lot more. But I was still very frustrated by a lot of aspects: the lack of communicating their feelings clearly and talking about things! Is this a common romance trope? Just talk to one another! (I say this as I am the worst for hiding how I’m feeling at times…) The setup for Game Play is a little meet-cute banter between Dylan Rylie, a defenseman looking to get an extended contract on a local NHL team as his career begins, and Sam Yates, a star player on the US women’s hockey team who is finding her hockey career coming to an end. The two have some great banter and competition between one another, and I totally love that dynamic. After what ...