Hi there! Today I’m sharing a review and giveaway for a holiday M/M contemporary romance from life- and writing-partners Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood. NICE CATCHING YOU features a closeted top college hockey player falling hard for a law student he meets by chance. I really liked WHAT HE REALLY NEEDS and TOO CLOSE TO THE FLAME and was excited to see some old characters help out in this book.

Scroll down for an excerpt and to enter the giveaway for a $25 GC.
About the book:
What happens when the No. 1 college hockey star in the country falls in love—with a man?
Nick Johnson, a top prospect for a pro hockey team, has a secret: he’s gay. Tired of living in the
closet for the sport he loves, he sees no way out.
Jacob Meyer’s string of bad boyfriends left him cynical about love. Instead, he focuses on his
studies as a third-year law student. With a new job waiting for him, he’s eager to graduate and
move on.

On a school-sponsored trip, Nick and Jacob meet in a most unexpected way. When Nick tells
Jacob his secret, they decide to hang out, just as friends. But their attraction is too strong to
ignore, and they soon begin dating.

Since Nick is a big man on campus, it doesn’t take long for people to notice his attachment to
Jacob. All hell breaks loose when the relationship gets out. As the national media descends,
university officials try to figure out how to solve their “problem.” Their efforts divide Nick’s
team, inflame fans, and put Nick and Jacob’s futures in jeopardy. Will the men be able to
survive a plot to destroy them without derailing both their careers?

Nice Catching You is an out-for-you romance featuring a lot of love, exciting hockey, and a
beautiful holiday. There’s also plenty of steam and a very happy ending.

How about a little taste?

JACOB
Sunday, December 4

I haven’t been on many buses, but I was starting to think I might die on this one. The snow began falling before we left Whiteface Mountain early in the afternoon, not unusual for one of the top ski resorts in the Northeast. We were due in Syracuse before six, and I hoped the weather didn’t delay us much. The last week of classes would start the next day, and I had work to do.

The snow was coming down hard, and by the time we reached I-87, I could see very little out the window. Many of the cars had pulled over to the side, and others were creeping along with their hazards flashing. Our bus joined the traffic and immediately began slipping all over the road.

With fifty-odd college students on the trip, there had been a lot of noise when we left the resort, but nerves had soon taken over, and people were mostly quiet now. I sat alone, three rows from the back of the bus, trying to read a case for Federal Courts. With only one more semester of law school to go, I needed to do well. A big firm in Boston offered me a job right before Thanksgiving, contingent on my maintaining a 3.8 GPA. Pulling a C in Fed Courts would bring me slightly under the requirement. Although I had high hopes for a job in DC, I couldn’t risk losing the Boston offer.

Between the bus sliding in the snow and the constant chatter from the guys in the seat behind me, I couldn’t concentrate at all. They were hockey players, and they kept up a conversation about the game, other players, cars, and whatever else dumb undergrad jocks talk about. They were the only people behind me except for their friend, who was passed out on a seat in the back.

Whoa! The rear end of the bus lurched violently into the left lane. I tried to grab something to hold onto, but I was already airborne by the time I dropped the heavy casebook. Hands grabbed my shoulders but didn’t slow my momentum. Dreading the impact with the seat across the aisle, I screwed my eyes shut and held my breath. All at once, something stopped me. Rather, someone stopped me, and that someone had brawny arms and a hard body. He’d caught me in midair.

“You all right?”

“What?” On my back in the man’s arms, facing the top of the bus, I couldn’t see much. I turned my head, trying to find out who had hold of me.

“Everything okay?”

I craned my neck in the other direction just as he leaned over, and it was—shit!—one of the hockey guys who’d been sitting behind me. I’d seen him over the weekend with his buddies, at least one of whom had laughed at me the whole time. Now they’d laugh even harder, and I’d be known as the skinny little runt who couldn’t even stay in his seat—the twit who had to be rescued by a real man.

My Review:
This book is loosely connected to previous books by these authors, but fully enjoyable as a standalone.

Nick Johnson is a college senior and captain of the men’s hockey team and Univ of New York in Syracuse. He’s a closeted player, unwilling to risk his scholarship and the potential homophobia of his teammates, but he’s in a rather grim place right now. He spent Thanksgiving alone, pondering if remaining closeted was worth the deep isolation and guilt he felt over lying about his sexuality and never allowing himself to really pursue a relationship. He’s on a road trip

Jacob Meyer is a smallish out-gay third year law student at UNY. He’s fastidious and tenacious, having had to be fierce in the face of extreme bullying as a teen. He’s planned a trip with his ex for a ski weekend, before they were exes, and refused to give up his ticket thinking a weekend away might help him clear the funk of another bad breakup.

While on the way back from a ski weekend, the blizzard conditions cause the bus to pull into a hotel for an additional night. Jacob is seated in front of Nick and two of his less-courteous teammates, who are also on the trip. Jacob is tossed from his seat when the bus fishtails, and Nick is there to grab him before he falls and does himself damage. As the only two un-partnered attendees Jacob and Nick end up being put into a room together–with only a single bed. One of Nick’s homophobic teammates razzes him, but Nick shuts it down. And, he’s secretly thrilled to have some forced time in seclusion with Jacob, whom he finds to be stunning. Jacob is leery of the night, but Nick wins him over talking about how he’s accepted to law school at Georgetown. They develop a bit of camaraderie and Nick confesses his big gay secret, hoping that he and Jacob can be friends, or maybe more…

I liked how these guys take a bit of a slow turn into a relationship. Nick swears to Jacob that he wants to come out, but Jacob wants him to wait, thinking that the potential backlash would sour any relationship they begin to build, before they can even get anywhere. Thing is, they develop feelings rather quickly, and people are noticing superstar Nick’s new acquaintance. It’s not long before some of the more homophobic elements in Nick’s circle begin to make trouble, and Nick’s spot on the team–as well as his enrollment–is in jeopardy. There are some serious machinations here on the part of the university, and Jacob has the wherewithal and legal knowledge to recognize when they have suddenly slipped beyond the the shallow end of consequences. He thankfully has some contacts with Devin Macadam–cousin to Liam Macadam, both of whom are civil rights lawyers at a firm Jacob has made the hiring short-list for post graduation. Liam and Devin have been MCs in previous books from these authors, so it was fun to see them back in action helping Jacob and Nick weather their personal hurricane.

It’s a sweet story with a bit of sexytimes and a lot of both law and hockey, which made a nice change from the previous legal-romantic suspense stories. The allies in this story are truly fierce and provide a lot of great characters to look for in future stories. This book didn’t quite fit the bill of a holiday romance, for me, because the holidays were so secondary to the main plot themes of coming out, gay athletes, and fighting the good fight against prejudiced bigots. There aren’t any of those “desperate to find the most amazing gift” thoughts or moments. The story was set in December, and there was a closing scene with them opening Christmas presents, but it was not really a main focus of the story, at all. That said, it’s clear that this book will spin a hockey series while also linking with the legal romances this writing team have already produced. I’m looking forward to more books in both genres.

Interested? You can find NICE CATCHING YOU on Goodreads and Amazon.

****GIVEAWAY****

Click on this Rafflecopter giveaway link for your chance to win a $25 Amazon GC.
Good luck and keep reading my friends!

About the Authors:
Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood met in law school and were married in 2017. They live in a suburb of Washington, DC, and enjoy travel, friends, dogs, and advocating for causes dear to their hearts. Josh and Ryan love writing, and the romance they were so lucky to find with each other inspires their stories about love between out and proud men.

You can catch up with Ryan and Joshua on their website, Goodreads, and twitter.

Thanks for popping in and keep reading my friends!