Book Corner Reviews

In a world that measures success in dollars, how do you put a price on happiness?Love, marriage, and a baby carriage. It’s all Alex Staunton has ever wanted. Well, that and an Olympic medal for figure skating. The medal he got. The rest of it – not so much.

When his most recent poor decision comes to a door-slamming end, Alex moves into the house of his best friend, Thunder starting goalie, Sergei Pergov. But when tragedy strikes, giving Sergei custody of the twins he fathered confidentially, Alex’s problems take a backseat to the needs of two infants, and Alex vows to be the best fake-dad and house-husband he can be.

Sergei is dazzled by the way Alex makes managing all the craziness look as easy as doing a triple-axel. As their friendship grows even deeper, Sergei realizes he doesn’t want to imagine a life without Alex in it. Alex is the one who makes their house a home; his love makes them a family. How can Sergei make Alex understand he’s worth everything?

Skater Boy is a story about falling in love with your best friend. It contains discussions about baby poop, day drinking, girls’ night out, and the purchase of a mini-van.

Excerpt

It was funny how much one kiss could change everything. Well, kissing and whatever else he could get away with. Sergei loved finding ways around the rules or seeing how much he could get away with while still technically staying within bounds.

Alex had typed up a list of the rules and taped them to the inside of the door that held Sergei’s coffee mugs and tea cups. “This way I know we’ll see it at least once a day.”

“In case I forget?” Sergei pulled Alex’s hand toward him, tracing light patterns over his wrist and palm in the same way Alex had tortured him the other night.

“Bastard,” Alex said, yanking his hand away. He darted in for a quick kiss. “In case I forget.”

Then last night after dinner, he’d come up behind Alex in the kitchen while he was washing dishes, and keeping his hands above the waist and over the clothes, lifted up Alex’s gorgeous hair and kissed the back and sides of his neck until Alex begged him to touch him. “Just a little. Please? Just my stomach.”

“Rules say no hands under clothing,” Sergei said, voice heavy with regret. “You made rules.”

Without another word, Alex slid out from under Sergei. Grabbing a pen from the junk drawer, he stomped the few feet to the cabinet, opened the cabinet, and crossed off the word ‘clothing.’ He wrote ‘pants’ above it, handwriting sloppy.

Slamming the door, he marched back to Sergei. “Better?”

Sergei yanked Alex against him, face to face this time. He slid his hands up the back of Alex’s shirt. His skin was softer than he had ever imagined and so warm. “Much better,” he growled, then pushed Alex up against the counter. They kissed until Sergei’s lips were numb.

My Review

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⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I have received this book via Gay Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

Skater Boy is the first book I have read from this series and while I did not know characters from before, I loved Sergei. I learnt Russian for a while and I did LOVE how the author incorporated the Russian words in it as well as sometimes shown that Sergei is a foreigner. On the other hand, Alex uses French words as well, especially the ‘curses’ which I found really funny. I have had a Canadian teacher who explained their system of curses to us and I found it really entertaining.

I thought the relationship would take longer to develop, and that the babies would appear earlier in the story. I did like the friendship, but Alex was out of a delicate situation in the beginning and he had some problems, so I thought it would take longer and that he would deal with it more.

When the babies enter the scene, it all shifts. The relationship between Alex and Sergei strains as there are twin babies to take care of and that means a lot of responsibility for Alex as Sergei travels a lot. And even though they all advise Alex to get help, he stubbornly tries to do it all himself.

I really loved how the wives of the players took Alex as one of their own and even helped him with babies. The friendship with Alex’s ex’s (ex-)wife however, was hardly believable. I just could not see this development happening.

It was an enjoyable book with good characters and I liked the ending. My favourite part though, was the support the team shows for Alex and Sergei.

After time spent raising children, earning several college degrees, and traveling the world with the U.S. State Department, she is returning to her first love – writing.

A dreamer and an idealist, Amy writes about people finding connection in a world that can seem lonely and magic in a world that can seem all too mundane. She invites readers into her characters’ lives and worlds when they are their most vulnerable, their most human, living with the same hopes and fears we all have. An avid traveler who has lived in big cities and small towns in four different continents, Amy has found that time and distance are no barriers to love. She invites her readers to reach out and share how her characters have touched their lives or how the found families they have gathered around them have shaped their worlds.

Born on Long Island, NY, Amy has lived in Los Angeles, London, and Bangkok. She currently lives in a town suspiciously like Red Deer, Colorado.