When love comes differently…

Synopsis

What do you get when you cross a curvy seamstress with three hot hockey players? A pucking disaster.

My escape plan seemed foolproof – retreat to my brother’s empty apartment after catching my ex with another man. But I stumble into an unexpected complication: his hockey player roommates…and I’m stark naked.

Despite my mortifying entrance, and against my better judgment, they’re willing to let me stay but with a few rules:

1. No funny business.

2. No telling the team captain – aka my brother – Harrison.

3. It’s temporary until I can find somewhere else to live.

At first, the boundaries hold. But simmering tension and close quarters makes resisting temptation harder with each passing day. The simmering tension threatens to combust, blurring the lines we swore not to cross.

But how can we go back after crossing that line? And what happens when my brother inevitably finds out?My Brother’s Teammates is a laugh out loud why choose sports romance. Remember sharing is caring.

My review

Charlotte never expected when arriving home to find her boyfriend in a compromising situation with another man. And thus she finds herself single, homeless and also without a job… Not wanting to admit to her family that she is once again a failure, she decides to stay at her brother’s apartment, which is empty at the moment as his teammates are out for a game. Or at least she thought she would be alone for a few days… and Charlie for sure didn’t think that Jace, Roman and Mateo would be coming home while she was on her own, without any clothes on.  Some reluctantly, some more happier, agree to let Charlie stay with them, on the condition that there will be no funny business, and that Harrison may never find out that his little sister is staying with his teammates. Teammates with bodies to swoon over and also a reputation… So how long will everyone resist temptation? And what with long kept hidden feelings?

From the very start, there was something about Charlotte that made me not only like her, but made me feel a connection with her.

Of course her story doesn’t start all that great… finding your boyfriend getting ‘busy’ with someone else must be terrible, but to discover it to be with another man, I cannot even imagine how betrayed Charlotte must be feeling. And it’s not only that, reading how she has always been there for him, while he took her for granted, and reading how easily he just dismisses her and is being just unrespectful, made my blood boil. Relationships ends, feelings of love may disappear, but that doesn’t mean you have to be a mean person…

I could perfectly comprehend why Charlotte doesn’t confide with her family after everything that has happened. Nobody wants to admit failure. And while her feelings of being a failure are totally wrong, I could understand why she feels that way. And it makes perfect sense of wanting to have a place to lick her wounds, on her own. And her brother’s apartment being empty for a few days, it is the perfect solution!

Obviously her plan has some faults, and obviously I found it hilarious! It may be mean of me, but come on, how can you not laugh when the main character is naked and the brother’s teammates come home earlier than expected!

Being the youngest sibling myself, and having an older brother too, I know how frustrating it can be with an overprotective brother. So not only Charlotte’s but also Jace’s frustrations for sure were something I recognized.

Now, I have to say, I don’t know if feeling attracted to three men, three different men too, is something that I can relate with. But I could see the and understand the attraction. And if all parties are on the same level, and have an understanding, who am I to judge their choices? But I found it a bit risky to keep it all a secret, or at least keeping it a secret that Charlotte is staying with Jace, Roman and Mateo. Because we all know, that when it all comes out (and we all know that it *will* come out), hell will break loose…

While reading this story, I found myself being very open and accepting Charlotte’s story. Just because something isn’t my cup of tea, doesn’t mean that I am in my right to express my opinion and to just judge people’s actions.

It needs to be said, that there are plenty of steamy moments in this book. But there is also plenty of room for real feelings. It’s not about an itch that needs to be getting rid of. But it’s about deeper feelings, feelings that have been there for a while, or feelings that are just rising and need to be understood.

Yes, this is a steamy romance, but this is also a story with so much growth in it. Because we see Charlotte finding the courage to pursue her dreams, we see Jace finally admitting his real feelings. And we see Mateo and Roman seeing a shift in their friendship. All the while trying to understand how the connection between the four of them could possibly work.

I was a bit afraid that the focus would be on the ‘carnal’ aspects of the relationship, so I was happy that both authors took time to create realistic characters, characters that grow and grow on you. Each character has personal struggles, yet with being a unity, each is able to overcome those struggles. And that is thanks to the strength of each persona, because only all together they find this perfect balance.

This may be an unconventional love story. But who ever decided the rules of a conventional love story? If unconventional brings happiness and love, who are we to disagree? Not all love stories are the same, but does it truly matter how a relationship looks like, when what matters is to love and be loved?