Hot Off the Ice Book 2.5: Boy Toys by A.E. Wasp

Hot Off the Ice Book 2.5

10 siblings, 7 fish courses, 6 hockey players, 5 cousins, 4 calling birds, 3 spouses, 2 houses & 1 night that changes everything.

Betrayed by first his body and then his girlfriend, Liam O’Reilly, assistant coach of the Seattle Thunder, is not having a very merry Christmas. So when a smoking hot hockey player in a Santa suit offers himself up like a present begging to be opened? Well, it’s a freaking Christmas miracle.

If only the man in question wasn’t hockey’s own bad boy, Joey ‘the Looch’ Luciano, his best friend’s little brother and the same kid who used to trail behind Liam like a loud, mouthy shadow.

Whatever. Wrong as it might seem, a one-time hookup with Joey is exactly what he needs to make the yuletide gay. By tomorrow, he’ll be back in Seattle, Joey will be in New York, and his troubles will be miles away.

But as Christmas Eve becomes Christmas Day, Joey weaves his way past all Liam’s defenses, and Liam starts to see the sensitive, caring man behind the cocky smirk.

When the last present is opened and the Christmas lights go dark, will Joey and Liam's night together be just another Christmas memory or can the holiday magic they made survive the pressures of the real world?

Boy Toys is a heart-warming Christmas story featuring the inappropriate use of a Santa suit, sibling bribery, and ninety separate instances of the f-word.

goodreads.com/book/show/36601066-boy-toys

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My Review: 4/5 Stars

This short novella is a great opening to Liam and Joey's story! I just wish their book was next on the list. Got one in between before we see how their story plays out. But for now this novella is a great placeholder to understand the two of them better. Liam returns home for Christmas and is surprised to find out that not only does his girlfriend (the one he wanted to propose to) wants to break up but she is pregnant (and the baby definitely isn't his). She fell in love with Joey's brother. Liam and Joey's families are so close, they are basically one big family. So as everyone witnesses the drama, Joey is there to pull Liam away for some space. Where we learn that Joey has been a little bit in love with Liam for a very long time. They may be ten years apart but Joey is grown up now. And in all this drama, Liam takes a good look at Joey and is reminded again just how grown up he is and the attraction to one another becomes even more real. This Christmas brings a lot of different things to their lives but their future? Well, I guess we're gonna see how these two find a way back to one another. Definitely looking forward to it! Joey and Liam seem pretty perfect for one another and the feelings are definitely there on both sides. Just a matter of time before they actually have a real relationship between them.