Austin: Single Dads Club Book 4, Candice Blake

Where the previous book felt like there was disconcerting pressure to get a straight boy into the sack, this one features pressure with an age and power imbalance.  I wish this could be called a vast improvement on the previous story, but I was so very disappointed.  I could have liked Brayden if not for Austin being who he was in the story.  It has nothing to do with the father's-best-friend trope, or even the age gap, it has everything to do with Austin's lack of respect, boundaries, and good sense.

Brayden is a promising young athlete that's being a typical young college freshman.  While I can turn a blind eye to underage drinking on a college campus, I'm far less forgiving of Austin encouraging it as a father figure, teacher, coach, and supposedly responsible adult.  Brayden's lack of time management, his quick temper, his enthusiasm, his budding talent -- all of it spoke to a young man on the cusp of learning what it's like to truly adult for the first time and I think he should have been given the chance to do that.

Austin is supposed to be Clayton's best friend, but the lack of respect, the judgment, the confrontations, none of it spoke to friend-like behavior.  Yes, we see the truth of our friends, but to gossip, judge, and berate them behind their backs to anyone, let alone their children, is dispicable.  Getting to know Brayden's hangups is fine, but featuring Clayton's parental foibles in such a negative light was bad form and demeaning.

The sexual situations made me mildly uncomfortable because of Austin's insistence on their roles, his dishonesty, and his utter disrespect for boundaries in Clayton's home.  All of it culminated in a rather unsavory feeling that coated each of their more passionate moments.  What could have been a really beautiful relationship felt tainted by the behaviors, attitudes, and sordid manner in which Austin comported himself.

There were some really sweet moments in the story that made this better than Clayton's story, so lest you think I detested everything, I didn't.  Brayden standing up for himself with both his father and Austin were great moments of independent thought and passionate feelings.  Clayton's love for his son was there as well and his care for his son was evident in his desire to connect with him and how much he missed him.  Westley was soft, sweet, and a good partner in this story.  There were things to like here, but my enjoyment was eclipsed by many disappointments.

*$4.99 on Amazon

Austin: Hockey is life.

As a forty-five-year-old divorced single dad, being the varsity hockey coach is the only thing that still brings me joy. When I’m on the ice, I feel so alive and for those precious moments, I can forget about all my shortcomings.

Because of my dedication to my players, we are the league’s reigning champions.

When my best friend's son, Brayden, tries out, I don't know if there's room for his ego and cockiness on my all-star line-up. But Brayden ignites something inside me that I haven't felt since my divorce.

The attraction doesn’t—and shouldn’t—make any sense. I'd previously been married to a woman and Brayden is half my age.

I'm supposed to push my players' boundaries to their absolute limit, but this boundary I'm pushing with Brayden is definitely out-of-bounds.

It’s only a matter of time until Brayden's dad finds out…

Brayden: Austin's my coach…and my dad’s best friend.

There's something about Austin's boldness as a coach that makes me feel some kind of way.

After many 6:00 a.m. practices with Austin, our coach-player relationship grows into something much more.

This attraction to my coach is sudden. It feels like I'm getting body-checked hard out of nowhere.

There's no doubt we shouldn't be together at all. But even though I want to stop, it feels like we’re colliding on the rink at sixty miles an hour.

If anyone finds out, my dream of playing in the varsity league will be over faster than it began…