Title: Open Net
Series: Cayuga Cougars 02
Author: V.L. Locey
Genre: Sports, Contemporary
Length: Novel (200 Pages)
Publisher: V.L. Locey (August 16, 2017)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4.5 Hearts
Blurb: August Miles has the world on a string professionally.
Augie, as his friends and teammates call the unassuming young goaltender, is on the fast track to the pros. The starting goalie for the Cayuga Cougars, he has a year or two in Cayuga to hone his skills and all his career dreams will have come true. Pity his personal life isn’t riding the same high. He’s the only one among his group of friends without that special someone to call his own.
Until he meets Salvatore Castenada at a lakeside party. The attraction is white-hot and more than a little wonderfully overwhelming for the romantically inexperienced goalie. August quickly discovers that Sal is everything he’s dreamed of in a man: mature, settled, sinfully handsome, and filled with gentle humor. Sal is also HIV positive.
Will Sal’s revelation about his status end this budding relationship before it can even begin? Or will the two men be able to handle the challenges life—and a championship run for the Cougars—throws at them?
ISBN: 978-1-38603-847-4
Product Link: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | KOBO | Barnes & Noble | iTunes
Reviewer: Lisa
Review: Each book in the Cayuga Cougars collection features a new romantic couple. To enjoy the overall story arc and crossover characters, I would recommend reading the series in sequential order. Although I did not read book one and won’t read it, it will give you some insight into the characters. My problem with it was the fact that it was m/f, and it was almost the reason I did not want to read this. I have issues with mixing m/f, f/f, and m/m.
This is the first book by this author that I have read and was surprised to say the least. You have two sexy men who are into each other, mixture of pretty cool friends, and then it goes into something deeper.
Augie is a pretty damn good goalie for his hockey team. He has a heart of gold, but he has been keeping a secret from them all. That is until he meets Sal, and the doors are wide open now. He finds that he is quite attracted to the older man and when he finds out Sal’s secret he goes out of his way to learn all he could about HIV. That is not going to change his mind though, he wants him.
Sal works for the local hospital for some time and enjoys it. On his twenty-first birthday he went out and partied hard. Went home with a sexy man and found out afterwards that he was now HIV positive. Guys don’t want to date him because of it, so when he meets Augie he is wishing for him now.
It will also show you who is your true friend and who are not. They both have amazing parents as well as their friends. It is a sweet story and I found that I enjoyed reading it. I will admit that it was a bit boring in some parts or long-winded I should say. It didn’t keep my attention like it should have but I still had fun with it. The author definitely did her work on getting to understand HIV and what it is like to live with it. It was written pretty well and had some good parts that I really got into. There were also some missing parts that I felt should have been there with the disease as well. I did not like how Augie was when he took Sal home to meet his parents though.
Other than my issues with it, the story is pretty upbeat and enjoyable. I can see myself reading the next book. I can’t say that I would read it more than once though, it was just not my kind of book. I am not really all that interested in books that have sports involved in them. But it is a very good story that one would enjoy.