Title: Coach’s Challenge
Series: Scoring Chances 05
Author: Avon Gale
Genre: Contemporary, Sports
Length: Novel (200pgs)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (26 June 2017)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts
Blurb: It’s been decades since blackmail forced Troy Callahan to retire from playing professional hockey, and he’s built a successful career behind the bench. When he’s offered the opportunity to coach the Asheville Ravens—the most hated team in the ECHL—he’s convinced that his no-nonsense attitude is just what the team needs to put their focus back on hockey. But Troy is disheartened when he finds that the Ravens have signed Shane North, a player known for his aggression. And it only gets worse when Shane’s rough good looks give Troy inappropriate thoughts about a member of his team, even if Shane’s set to retire at the end of the season.
Shane’s career in the majors never quite took off. Wanting to quit on his own terms, Shane agrees to a one-year contract with the Ravens and finds himself playing for a coach who thinks he’s an aging goon and with a team that doesn’t trust him, the coach, or each other. Despite his determination to not get involved, Shane unwillingly becomes part of the team… and is just as unwillingly drawn to the gruff out-and-proud coach. As the Ravens struggle to build a new identity, Shane and Troy succumb to the passion that might cost them everything.
ISBN: 978-1-63533-766-2
Product Link: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Reviewer: Prime
Review: Hockey + Romance = Awesome!
Seriously, it’s true. It’s got to be some sort of scientific law or something!
Coach’s Challenge is the fifth book in Avon Gale’s Scoring Chances series and I have loved and devoured each book. Coach’s Challenge is no exception. I was kind of waiting for something with this type of plot but not expecting it.
While the two main characters are new this is really a story of a team’s redemption. Because of this I really do recommend reading the series from the start if you’ve not already done so. That way you will understand why the Asheville Ravens are the most hated team in the ECHL and why the team needs to build itself up from the ground after being practically destroyed (for all the right reasons).
As for the story itself, Troy Callahan is the titular coach. He didn’t have an easy time in his professional playing career (I won’t spoil anything!) but over the years has proved himself to be a damn good coach. Now, after replacing the unethical and all around horrible coach of the Asheville Ravens, it is his job to build the team up. (Think the Mighty Ducks if they had been made up of mostly brutish, homophobic a-holes). He has a plan for the team and the last thing the team needs is a player known for being aggressive. But Shane North has something to prove. He’s coming towards the end of his playing and feels like he needs to prove himself as a hockey player after a lackluster career in the majors.
Fans of the books will not be disappointed I think. It gives the Ravens a new lease on life after being totally vilified for four books. Sports romance fans, you guys should just go back and read the series from the start.