Release Blitz, Review and Giveaway: Back to Center by Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood

Back to Center By Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood

Genre: Contemporary Sports Romance, GLBTQ, MM

Tropes: Player/coach, finding redemption, friends-to-lovers, single dad

Released: February 1, 2023

Publisher: Wainscott Press

Series: Mohegan U Hockey, Book 2

Length: 287 Pages

Cover Design: Cate Ashwood Designs

Photo: CJC Photography

Model: Aaron Anderson

Synopsis

Eckie

There are ways to get ahead in college hockey, but having a meltdown, trying to get rid of your coach, and stalking his boyfriend isn’t one of them. Is it really a surprise that I wound up in a hospital facing my demons instead of getting ready to play for the pros and taking care of my baby? I needed the world’s biggest redo, but the probability of a second chance was about the same as…

Jack Rogan walking through the door. But there he was! Jack was one of my coaches, and I was pretty sure he was straight. His easy laugh and sympathetic ear put a smile on my face. He made me believe I could turn my life around. But as much as I liked him, I knew I had to put my fantasies aside. With obligations to meet and amends to make, I didn’t have time to obsess about a guy who was out of my reach.

So why did I say yes when he offered me a place to stay while I got on my feet?

Jack

I was done with relationships. A fractured heart had made sure my walls were high, and my shields were strong. There wasn’t a man I couldn’t resist—until Eckie.

After driving everyone away in an avalanche of self-destruction, he was getting much needed help, and I wondered if I should go see him. A single visit turned into the best part of every day, and I was hooked. When I was with Eckie, the world made sense again. There were only two years separating us, but since I was one of his coaches, spending time together was dangerous. If we kept it up, who knew what I might do?

Maybe something brilliant, like asking him to stay with me when he left the hospital. I knew it was risky, and I told myself I was only being a friend. But the truth was, I liked feeling things again.

Eckie was seeking redemption; Jack was trying to do the right thing. Neither planned on anything beyond friendship. Will following their hearts leave them worse than before, or will they find what they’ve needed all along?

Back to Center is a story of redemption and the unexpected love a man finds in a friend he never knew he’d have. It also includes exciting hockey, a coach/player dynamic, great communication, unquenchable longing giving way to irrepressible heat, an adorable baby, and a perfect HEA.

Content warnings for depression and physical/emotional abuse by parents. The abuse happened in the past, but knowing about it may be difficult for some.

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Review

Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003

Eckie finds redemption!

I absolutely love it when a pretty horrible secondary character in one book gets redemption as an MC in his own story. After reading Cracks in the Ice (book one in this series) I was so hoping that Eckie would get his own book. While each book in this series can be read as a standalone, I hope you will read book one first. I think reading that story will give you a better appreciation of who Eckie becomes in Back to Center.

Eckie has overcome so many things during the summer after he has his huge meltdown. He spent time in an inpatient center getting treated for his extreme depression. His type of depression resulted in him acting out rather than folding inward and hiding from life. He’s ready to start his new life and can only hope that he can get his scholarship reinstated.

Jack never intended to keep visiting Eckie while he was getting treatment; he thought it would just be a one-time thing. He was surprised to find himself enjoying the time they spent together and even more surprised when he offers Eckie a place to stay when he is released from the hospital.

This story really got to me in a lot of ways. Depression is something I can relate to even though I don’t know anyone who has the type that Eckie has. I liked how Eckie used the techniques he learned during treatment to help keep himself centered when life throws things at him. His relationship with Jack starts out as friends and slowly evolves into more. Eckie showed so much maturity when he insisted on keeping his relationship with Jack from going too far until his divorce was final.

This is a fairly low angst story but there were some pretty tense moments when Eckie’s crazy parents went even more crazy than I could imagine. Eckie’s ex-wife also showed a lot of maturity and I thought it was great how the two of them eventually ended up as friends and wanted only the best for their son.

I have to note that I’ll probably never be much of a sports fan but I’ve been enjoying learning about hockey from the many stories I’ve read by this writing duo as well as a few other favorite authors. I’m really looking forward to whatever Taylor and Harwood write next.

♥♥♥♥♥

O Factor: Scorcher

Reviews for Ryan Taylor

Reviews for Joshua Harwood

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Giveaway

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Direct link to giveaway.

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About Author

Ryan Taylor met his husband and co-author, Joshua Harwood, in law school. They live in a suburb of Washington, DC, and share their home with a big, cuddly German shepherd. Ryan and Josh love to travel. In addition, Ryan also enjoys swimming, and Josh likes to putter in the garden whenever he can. They began writing to celebrate the romance they were so lucky to find with each other, and the sharing soon developed into a passion for telling stories about love between out and proud men.

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