Game Plan by Amy Aislin Release Blitz

As the new head coach of the Vancouver Orcas, Matt Shore has got his work cut out for him. Coming off a season where the Orcas came in last in the entire AHL, Matt’s job is to whip his new hockey team into shape for the oncoming season.

He doesn’t need any distractions, especially not one in the form of a tall, dark, and gorgeous antiques dealer.

Who’s also his ex—and his best player’s father.

Pierce Langley-Brown has a lot of regrets. The biggest? Leaving Matt behind two years ago when his son needed him. Now, with his son on Matt’s hockey team, there’s no avoiding the man who once owned his heart.

Not that Pierce wants to avoid him. And that heart? It still belongs to Matt.

But will Matt choose to keep it after all this time?

Game Plan is the first book in a new trilogy that’s a spin-off from Star of the Game, book 6 in the Stick Side series. All three books will stand on their own and feature new couples.

Content warnings: Past parental death (off-page but is discussed on-page); depression and mental health.

 

 

Book 1
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“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.”

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Shannan – ☆☆☆☆
Game Plan is the first book in the Vancouver Orcas series.

Pierce Langley-Brown thought he had found his person in Matt Shore, an ex-hockey player turned coach. But he hasn't had the best relationship with his son. After he and his wife divorced, his ex-wife filled his son’s head with lies about him, which caused his son to push him from his life. After his son had a non-life-threatening car accident, Pierce's life fell apart around him. The only thing he could focus on was his son, not his relationship with Matt, while a dark depression came over him. Giving up everything and moving to be closer to his son and repair that relationship was all he could do, until a friend said he should go to therapy.

Two years ago, Pierce walked out of Matt's life; he never expected for him to show up at the rink when his best player passes out from the flu. Matt was angry when Pierce just left, and he still holds some of that resentment. But seeing him all these months later has the feelings he's carried for Pierce, flooding to the surface. Can Matt trust that Pierce won't leave again? Can he trust him with his heart again?

This is a new-to-me author and I really enjoyed this. Matt and Pierce have such a complicated history and their chemistry is still so strong. I loved seeing them come back to each other and Pierce finally getting a real relationship with his son. I am invested in this series and can't wait to see what's next.


Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
I’m grateful that Game Plan is dual point of view, because after meeting hockey coach Matt and learning that he was ghosted by the love of his life, Pierce, two years prior, I wasn’t feeling very kindly toward Pierce. When I read Pierce’s point of view and started to learn what he was going through, my heart went out to him and all I wanted was for Pierce and Matt to find their way back to each other.

This story deals with issues of mental health, and Pierce had me on the edge of tears a few times. To contrast, there are lighter moments and even a few laughs mixed in with a wonderful romance.

I am a big fan of m/m hockey romance and choosing to read the latest new series from Amy Aislin was a no brainer. I am pleased to say that Game Plan did not disappoint. Matt and Pierce’s romance made my heart happy, and it was a pleasure to experience their love. I very much look forward to reading more of this series.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the first book in a new series, although Aislin fans will recognise some of the characters from an earlier series. We get right down to the moral question of a relationship where one has the potential to influence the success of a player... but in a rather interesting twist, this is between a father and a coach, and they also had a relationship before the situation got complicated. To be fair, it was probably always a bit difficult!

I really enjoyed the whole antique-dealer angle, always fun to learn a bit about a different career path, and it doesn't immediately sit with hockey, but is cleverly interwoven. Obviously, the issues of protracted silence and, most especially, regaining trust, feature both romantically and with family – and I thought were dealt with in a very sympathetic and realistic way.

Matt and Pierce make a good couple and there is some great humour and passion as well as complexity in their relationship. I am definitely looking out for the next installment in this engaging series.

 

 

AMY AISLIN has lived with her head in the clouds since she first picked up a book as a child, and being fluent in two languages means she’s read a lot of books! She first picked up a pen on a rainy day in fourth grade when her class had to stay inside for recess. Tales of treasure hunts with her classmates eventually morphed into love stories between men, and she’s been writing ever since. She writes evenings and weekends—or whenever she isn’t at her full-time day job saving the planet at Canada’s largest environmental non-profit.

An unapologetic introvert, Amy reads too much and socializes too little, with no regrets. She loves connecting with readers. Join her Facebook Group to stay up-to-date on upcoming releases and for access to early teasers, find her on Instagram, or sign up for her infrequent NEWSLETTER.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Game Plan (Vancouver Orcas #1) by Amy Aislin to read and review.