Well, this series can do no wrong in my books. This one starts slow-and-quiet. Then the sparkling Kyle, and the decent guy Eric, unfurl in the centre of another gorgeous romance.

My only complaint is that it wraps up too suddenly at the end - with the drawn out theme of "I'm not right for you" - the time when they finally came to see how wrong that was was over in a flash and we had to rely on the epilogue for any kind of coming together (no pun intended) or satisfying fulfilment of Kyle and Eric's story.

In fact, the drop-off was so sharp that I thought it was an obvious set up for a follow up book for Kyle and Eric.

I know zero about ice hockey but it provides a perfect backdrop for these novels.

A side benefit of the series is the new appreciation I have of the disciplined life of the pro athlete. It's inspirational, even motivating!

(Later) My thanks to ksahitya1987 below for such a good review of Common Goal.

(Oct 2023) I've listened to this audiobook again - maybe my third or fourth listen - and I think for the first time I loved both characters. I think I got there previously with Eric, but I hadn't got there with Kyle. I think I understand now that Kyle was hiding himself, his love for Eric, so much I hadn't really understood it. My feeling now is that the super confident Kyle was not nearly as confident as he presents, about his life and the possibility of finding happiness. ( )

Surprisingly… this was really really good. I'm almost shook since 'Tough Guy' was terrible and I had expected the same with this. Thank the reading Gods above for blessing this novel because I was ready to drop this like a hot potato.

'Common Goal' slow building romance initially won me over. I just couldn't help but root for Kyle and Eric's bubbling relationship. The chemistry, the sexual tension, and banter were everything. Though age gap romances are not a fan favorite of mine and I typically stray away from them—when it came to Eric and Kyle's relationship it just worked. I can't really explain it but it just did.

For the obviously reasons this was a better followup to the 'Game Changers' so there is still hope for this series. Fingers crossed 'Role Model' is a keeper too!

( )

DNF. Made it 60% and the main characters still hadn't had a conversation about their relationship. I don't like it when the tension is resting on people who aren't talking to each other. The majority of the book seemed to happen when the characters weren't together. I liked them both but it just wasn't the pacing/tension for me. ( )

Definitely more of a solid 3.5.

I have to start by saying that this is my most favorite ongoing hockey romance series, so it’s always exciting when a new installment in it comes out. And I love that I always get to read them in advance. So I was very happy to get to this one and had quite a bit of fun reading it.

This is the fourth book in the series and it’s very noticeable that the author’s writing has changed a lot for the better over the course of time. From the very sugary sweetness of Game Changer, we now come to a much more believable romance, though the absent homophobia among most of the players in the hockey league in the series feels more like wishful thinking than closer to the real world - but we can always hope. This one was a typical age gap romance with some standard tropes which made it predictable, but also quite nice to read. I only took one break in between because it was too late in the night, or else I was pretty much ready to finish it in a single sitting. My only gripe is that the author uses the “almost no communication” trope and it just frustrated me.

Both the characters Eric and Kyle are lovely. I especially loved Eric, for being an amazing teammate who is well loved and respected, finally trying to figure out what more he wants from life after hockey. I adored that he is an amateur photographer and an art collector, which makes his character feel like a well rounded person with interests other than hockey. Kyle on the other hand is doing his masters in art history and works as a bartender, and while we got to see some very vulnerable moments from him especially regarding his backstory, I didn’t think we got to know him well enough. Their relationship starts as friends with benefits and it’s obvious how they feel for each other, but as I mentioned above, there are a lot of internal monologues about how they aren’t good for the other person but never actual conversations between the two about what they feel. I really wish we could have gotten more of that.

But as always, the side characters and the previous protagonists show up to liven up the proceedings and I really enjoyed seeing them all again. Scott and Kip are happy and adorable, and their sweetness quotient only seems to have doubled. Maria is a very supportive friend to Kyle and I loved getting to see her also maybe get her own romance. Carter brings lots of laughs, Matti is just there being his hot self, and Dallas Kent is a douche I never wanna see again. But I knew who I was looking for when I started reading this book, and I can’t describe my delight when he shows up quite early on - Ilya Rozanov is a delight and this series wouldn’t be the same without him. It’s hilarious to see glimpses of what the other players think of him and his “new found friendship” with Shane, and I as usual wish they had more presence because I can’t get enough of them.

To conclude, this was a fun addition to a beloved series. If you enjoy sports romances or May/December ones with very nice protagonists, a fun group of side characters and the usual tropes, you should definitely read this one. But it definitely works better if you start at the beginning because now all the books feel very connected, and don’t work well as standalones.

You might be thinking I’m recommending this series so much but I’ve given three of the four books in it less than four stars, so I have to clarify that I unfortunately can’t help but compare everything to the second one, Heated Rivalry which is an absolute favorite and none of the others make me feel that way. And I probably won’t be satisfied until the sequel to that comes out which is however a ways away. Till then, I can only hope that the next one Role Model will be wonderful because it takes place in Ottawa... which means more Ilya ( )

So glad that Eric and Kyle found each other, and I loved reading their story. Interesting that they were their own hindrance to a relationship rather than outside influences, but I’m glad that they worked it out and hope to hear how they’re doing in future books. I am realizing that I’m just not a big fan of the friends-with-benefits storyline. ( )