On the Board Book 2: Scoreless Game by Anna Zabo & L.A. Witt

On the Board Book 2

At nearly thirty-one years old, Pittsburgh Griffins captain Elias Karlsson’s hockey years are numbered. Everything is changing around him, including his eleven-year friendship with Nikolai Sidorov. Elias would give anything for Nisha to be a permanent part of his life, but their once bedrock-strong bond has broken into a million pieces, and Elias doesn’t know why. More than anything, Elias wants his friend back, but if that isn’t an option, maybe it’s time for him to look outside of hockey for someone to be there with him when hockey isn’t an option anymore.

Nisha’s world is splintering apart. He’s been in love with his two best friends for years, but now one of them has someone. The other, Elias, is searching for everything Nisha wishes he could give him… but he’s looking for it in anyone but Nisha. The farther his friends slip away, the deeper the loneliness sinks in and the bleaker his empty future looks. What can he do but numb the pain in the only ways he knows how?

On the eve of the season opener, Nisha’s unexplained absence threatens the cohesion of the team and puts him and Elias on a collision course of strong wills, broken hearts, and shattered trust. In the end, they may lose the very thing that matters most to them both: each other.

Scoreless Game is approximately 180,000 words, including a bonus short story. This asexual-pansexual romance is book 2 in the On the Board series.

CW: on-page struggles with alcoholism and binge-drinking, suicidal ideation, toxic family dynamics, acephobia

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/75487434-scoreless-game

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My Review: 5/5 Stars

Elias and Nisha's story has finally arrived and boy was it a tough one. Not gonna lie, the beginning of this book is rough. Nisha is falling down a rabbit hole and he can't really climb out. He was in love with his two best friends and things are changing to the point where he is having trouble handling it. His one friend, Julien is happy and in a relationship and Nisha is definitely happy for him. How can he not be after everything Julien has been through? And Isaac is the best thing for Julien. But with that can come changes. Then there is Elias. Elias who he has loved for years and though he had feelings for Julien too, Nisha knows and feels that there is something more about Elias that he wants more of. But then Elias says he wants to try to date and Nisha's heart just breaks because he knows Elias doesn't have feelings for him and never will. In addition to this heartache, add is verbal abusive parents, a hockey season about to start with a shaky future, and just so many other things and you understand why Nisha's drinking to feel numb has taken on a whole new level. He pushes away from those he loves because he feels he doesn't deserve them. He is nothing to his own parents, so why would he believe he is something to others? For Elias, he has always loved Nisha but hasn't seen evidence of Nisha feeling the same. Then with a past relationship that went sour when Elias revealed he was ace, it's been hard for him to be who he is without worrying about others reactions. Then when Nisha keeps pushing him away, he can't help but feel like he's done something wrong in their friendship and it's his fault their relationship has been so rocky. The lack of communication between the two of these best friends is insane. If only they were honest from the beginning maybe things would be different. Instead, there is constant pressure and pressure that has been on them and eventually they just finally break. Nisha in more obvious ways but Elias gets a hit of that pain as well. Because it is only a matter of time before that happened. Rock bottom arrives and the good news for them is, you can only go forward from there.

   

Elias and Nisha's journey back to one another is a long slow burn as they both get the help they need to overcome the destruction and chaos that very nearly broke them for good. But you can't help rooting for them every step of the way. It is so clear how much they love one another, but you have to love yourself and help yourself first in order to be ready for any sort of relationship. These two out in the work and it is a beautiful story. You'll laugh and cry and cheer for these two as they find a way back to one another. I adored these characters and both books of this series so far. And I learned there is another on the way! I can't wait to see where this series goes.