Review: Two-Man Team by Amy Aislin

Genre: Contemporary Romance, M/M
Pages: 333 Pages
Series: Stick Side #5
Published: October 20, 2021
Publisher: The author

I can’t say I was very excited about this book. This series has had some ups and downs for me. My favourites are still the first two. But I liked the premise of this book, so I gave it a shot. And while I can’t say I disliked it, I didn’t enjoy it either. It was also very unmemorable. Like, I was trying to remember what had happened in it three days after finishing it.

The story follows Kris and Rory, who we met in Risking the Shot (and maybe before, but I don’t remember). They’re both on the same NHL team, but they knew each other before because Kris is best friends with Rory’s older brother. Rory has liked Kris for years, but Kris has only ever treated him as his best friend’s brother. Until recently. And even then, it’s not until Rory gets injured and Kris steps in to take care of him that their relationship starts changing.

Only… it takes forever for that change to start. The first 40% of the book barely has any meaningful interactions between them. There also isn’t much else going on except a problem with Kris’s public image. The first half is just a lot of mundane life stuff, and I was bored.

The romance, when it happens, is good. Rory and Kris are sweet together, and they care about each other. There also encourage each other to be their best selves. I liked them. But they weren’t enough to pick the book up for me, partially because I loved neither of the conflicts.

The first conflict was the one I mentioned above, about Kris’s reputation. Through no fault of his own, Kris is being painted negatively in the media, and it’s affecting his personal and professional life. I actually liked this conflict until it was hinted that there was more to it. Except nothing came of that hint, which bothered me.

The second was an ongoing issue about Rory’s insecurities which stemmed from childhood bullying. My problem is that the bullying is only ever mentioned briefly, and it’s always the same instance over and over. And for an issue that’s a big part of the book, I need more than just, “boys in school teased me about my trains.” It’s like the book wants to have conflict but is afraid to dive deeper into any of them.

This book, like the last few by the author, has been lacklustre for me. I don’t know why, but Aislin’s books aren’t doing much for me. They don’t have enough humour to be entertaining or enough conflicts to be tense or interesting. The romances are usually lukewarm. And there’s no emotional punch. But they’re still readable.

I don’t know if I’d recommend this book. Depends on how much you liked the others. And if you haven’t read any others, then I’d definitely start somewhere else. This one also has a bunch of cameos from past MCs that likely won’t be fun for new readers. Try On the Ice first.