Title: And Then
Series: Between the Teeth: Book Two
Author: Taylor Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Self-Published
Length: 261 Pages
Category: Sports Fiction
Rating: 4 Stars
At a Glance: And then what happened? is the question that needed answered at the end of Coming in First Place. And it still needs answered. Taylor Fitzpatrick might be the only author who could do this to me, making me wait, patiently or not, to see what happens next.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Blurb: David Chapman has achieved almost everything he’s ever wanted. He may not have been anyone’s first pick, and he may not have the respect he knows he deserves, but he also knows he has no shortage of chances to prove himself. And he has Jake.
So it doesn’t make sense for him to feel so dissatisfied. And it really doesn’t make sense for him to feel so afraid.
Review: It’s a rather bold move to write a book with a narrator as frustrating as David Chapman. I say that with all the love, irritation, and patience of a reader who adores this author’s work and her characters, immensely so, knowing that Taylor Fitzpatrick is leading David to an epiphany of some sort. But getting there is putting me through my emotional paces. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m positively irked. Poor David.
David and Jake Lourdes, David’s rival in absolutely everything hockey related, were introduced in Fitzpatrick’s Coming in First Place. David and Jake didn’t have much in common except their love of hockey—they still don’t, from what I can tell—and it absolutely galls David that Jake doesn’t respect the purity of the sport and that his attention-getting is owed more to his charisma and the cheap shots he takes on the ice than to talent and hard work. And David? He’s a one-note wonder—he lives, eats, breathes, sleeps hockey, to the exclusion of everything else. Including, it seems, his own happiness. Is he neurodiverse? Perhaps. Asocial? Yes.
Does Jake have the patience of a thousand saints? Also yes. Until he doesn’t.
And then what happened? is the question that needed answered at the end of Coming in First Place. David and Jake thought maybe, despite their demanding schedules, they could make something long-distance work. And then . . . it all went straight to hell. David needs, like he needs air, to be recognized as being a better player than Jake. He needs the awards and accolades as more than a competitor; he needs them as validation and affirmation of his hard work and commitment and all-consuming devotion to his sport. Who is David Chapman if he’s not the best hockey player he can be? He doesn’t know. But it’s time he finds out.
The one thing he does know, beyond a reasonable doubt, is that he doesn’t want to be an out gay athlete.
David, slowly but surely, is learning the meaning of friendship—even if it’s thrust upon him rather than him seeking it out. He’s learning that there are people who have his back, that him being gay is a non-factor for the guys who care for him, each in their own way. Jake has his own allies, too, friends and teammates. But, in the end, and for his own good, Jake decides it’s time to move on, to get over David, because David won’t give himself permission to love Jake the way Jake loves him.
This book is categorized as a Sports Romance, so be forewarned this is absolutely not a Romance novel. And Then is driven entirely by David and his hang-ups. There is no happy ending. There is no happy-for-now ending. This is a work-in-progress. An arc in the romantic journey.
David is young, and as smart as he is, he’s also completely obtuse at times. He is a work-in-progress. He will, one day, understand that trophies sitting on a shelf collecting dust are not a substitute for connection and friendship. But he doesn’t quite get that yet. He still needs to figure out that he is in a short-term, temporary career, and that when that career inevitably ends, he needs to be something, someone, more than an ex-hockey player.
And despite how irked I am, despite the fact I don’t even like hockey, I’ll still be here, waiting (hoping) to see that happen. To maybe see David open up a little and let Jake back in, if it’s not already too late. That’s how much I love this author’s storytelling.
You can buy And Then here: