Title: Coach’s Challenge
Series: Scoring Chances: Book Five
Author: Avon Gale
Narrator: Scott R. Smith
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Run Time: 6 hours and 50 minutes
Category: Contemporary
At a Glance: I, for one, hope this series has a long life and that Smith continues to deliver the audio. Listeners always hope for that near perfect match of author’s work and narrator’s voice. You get it here.
Reviewed By: Mike
Blurb: It’s been decades since blackmail forced Troy Callahan to retire from playing professional hockey, and he’s built a successful career behind the bench. When he’s offered the opportunity to coach the Asheville Ravens—the most hated team in the ECHL—he’s convinced that his no-nonsense attitude is just what the team needs to put their focus back on hockey. But Troy is disheartened when he finds that the Ravens have signed Shane North, a player known for his aggression. And it only gets worse when Shane’s rough good looks give Troy inappropriate thoughts about a member of his team, even if Shane’s set to retire at the end of the season.
Shane’s career in the majors never quite took off. Wanting to quit on his own terms, Shane agrees to a one-year contract with the Ravens and finds himself playing for a coach who thinks he’s an aging goon and with a team that doesn’t trust him, the coach, or each other. Despite his determination to not get involved, Shane unwillingly becomes part of the team… and is just as unwillingly drawn to the gruff out-and-proud coach. As the Ravens struggle to build a new identity, Shane and Troy succumb to the passion that might cost them everything.
Review: Avon Gale has created a rich world with her version of the ECHL, and Scott R. Smith has given voice to her rich tapestry of characters. Coach Roy Callahan, once a rising star in the hockey world, was blackmailed into leaving the sport. This time out, in a bit of poetic justice, he has replaced the man who forced him out of the sport he loves, as coach of the Ravens.
Shane North is a man at the end of his career. He las loved hockey even when it didn’t love him. Labeled a goon and enforcer by other players for his aggressive behavior, Shane wants just one last season to end his career on his terms. Shane gets a bad start when he arrives late to his first team practice. He has to pay his dues with his new coach—who he finds alarmingly attractive.
Scott R. Smith’s voicework is again far above average. I always look forward to his narrations because they are more performance that bland reading. This time is no exception. Regular fans of either Avon Gale or Scott Smith will be expecting a fun, engaging, and satisfying story, and you really get it here. These are grown men, not children. They enjoy the sex. They enjoy being a little bad as coach and player, and they really, really want to shout it to the world. Once they get over needing it so much together.
The voices here are distinct. You always know who is talking and getting to hear the voices play with one another is a real treat. There are very few if any flaws in this narration. The work of both Gale and Smith make us want more every time. We again get to visit with some old friends and meet a whole crew of new ones. I, for one, hope this series has a long life and that Smith continues to deliver the audio. Listeners always hope for that near perfect match of author’s work and narrator’s voice. You get it here.
These stories are all self-contained. You can pick up any book and read or listen in any order, but hearing them in sequence is a treat. This world keeps growing, and it seems like we have friends on every team. Smith keeps taking us deeper in and delivering humor, passion, and even a bit of intrigue, because what sports team doesn’t have drama as part of its success?
Buy this audio, you will be so very glad that you did.
You can buy Coach’s Challenge here:
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