Hat Trick by R.J. Scott & V.L. Locey

Title: Hat Trick

Series: Harrisburg Railers 08

Author: VL Locey & RJ Scott

Genre: Contemporary, Sports

Length: Novella (101pgs)

Publisher: Love Lane Books (10th February 2019)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖💖 5 Hearts

Blurb: Stan Lyamin has seen many of his dreams come true. He’s found his soulmate, loves Noah like his own, hoisted the Cup, and has his Mama living with him in his new country. But his fantasies of a loud, loving, madcap home overflowing with childish laughter linger. When a distant family member passes, Stan and Erik immediately agree to take in the two orphaned children, but that means a trip back to Russia for Stan, an idea that both exhilarates and terrifies him.

Erik’s world tilts on its axis when a phone call wakes him and Stan in the middle of the night. Abruptly, Stan is returning to Russia, making deals, working with people who know people, and fully intending to bring two orphaned children home. The red tape is overwhelming, and Erik is alone in Harrisburg with the nearly impossible task of finding a nanny who can speak fluent Russian. Being on his own is one thing, but add in fears about Stan’s safety and team issues, and Erik is finding everything hard to balance; not least of which is spending quality time with Noah.

ISBN: 9781785641466

Product Link: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Reviewer: Prime

Review: Holy Hell! I’ve been waiting for this novella ever since I read book 4 in this series, Poke Check, where I completely fell in love with the big, cuddly Russian goalie, Stan Lyamin, and wicked fast Swede, Erick Gunnarsson. Needless to say, Stan and Erick are the main characters in this novella.

Let me rewind a bit for those not in the know. The series I’m talking about is RJ Scott and VL Locey’s totally addictive Harrisburg Railers. The series follows new NHL team when it seems to become something of a haven for a number of gay players and coaching staff, although there are some straight guys there too so you don’t need to completely suspend your disbelief. Firstly, read this series, it’s awesome and I love it and can rave about it for a long time to come. Secondly, there’s no point reading this novella without reading the series because there is a lot of stuff that has happened. Some of it is indirectly referred to, being that it is not the main focus of the novella, so there will be some confusion. There are six books to date in the series, with a Christmas novella and now this Valentine’s novella (well, Valentines insofar that is was released on Valentine’s day). So basically, I’m just here to strongly recommend reading this series in order.

Hat Trick is a heartbreaking journey for Stan. Taking from current issues faced by the Russian LBGTQI community, Stan must make the potentially dangerous journey back to his homeland to get a deceased cousin’s children, who it now falls to him to be their guardian. Stan has so much love to give. You see it in his love for his lover, Erick, and Erick’s little son Noah. On top of that, Stan has his mother and sister now residing in the US, so the antics become hilarious when you add in two sweet but fiery Russian ladies. However, their world is turned upside down and there is a lot to be done to get the children safely from Russia to Harrisburg.

I absolutely adore Stan’s broken English and obsession with Elvis. He’s a big man with a big heart. Yes, there could have been more angst when it came to taking in two orphaned kids who have had a bad life but it wasn’t necessary for a story this length. Erick doesn’t seem to get as much time in this novella, and while I would have loved to have heard from him more and his struggle with adding two new children into the family, but again I realize that it would have been beyond the scope of the story. This story was all about the sweetness.