Crossing Blades cover art

Crossing Blades

Arctic Titans of Northwood U, Book 1

 Preview
Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Crossing Blades

By: Hayden Hall
Narrated by: Curtis Michael Holland
Try Standard free

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $24.67

Buy Now for $24.67

About this listen

This year is my last chance to take the Titans to victory. I cost us the cup last year, but I'm not making the same mistake again. And I'm determined to get drafted by the end of this season.

The success I anticipate is built on three years of razor-sharp focus and hard-earned respect. Not to mention how much of my personal life I sacrificed for hockey. The Titans trust me to lead them and I won't betray that. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Until the former love of my life and current arch nemesis, Cameron Martinez, skates back into my life. His very presence throws me off balance. His intense gaze and aggressive, dominant, and possessive streaks feel like a lasso pulling me toward him.

It only takes so many shared showers and locker room encounters before I'm too weak to continue resisting this pull.

But we both know there is no future for us. Our ambitions have always left a trail of ruin and heartbreak in their wake. Why should this time be any different?

Except I can't think straight when he's around. And every private moment we share makes me forget why I'm even here in the first place.

Contains mature themes.

©2023 Hayden Hall (P)2023 Tantor Contemporary Contemporary Romance Romance Sports Heartfelt Greek Mythology Mythology Hockey Ancient Greece
All stars
Most relevant
Captain of the Arctic Titans once hockey team at Northwood U, Riley has a lot to prove. He stuffed up last year and knows this year will be his last chance to win a premiership. He’s horrified to learn that one of this year’s new recruits is the cocky Cameron Martinez. Cam was Riley’s high school boyfriend until he ended things with no explanation. Things are tense for the team and frustrating for the coaches as Riley and Cam refuse to act like teammates, trying to outdo each other at every turn. It’s obvious Riley still hasn’t forgiven Cam, while Cam thinks he should just get over it. Forcing the two to train together finally produces a thawing between the two men.

This steamy second-chances / sports romance had a very convincing enemies-to-lovers theme and it was very entertaining. Cam’s chaotic home life has left him isolated and suspicious of love and while he was grateful for the refuge at Riley’s house, he also resented needing it. Riley was in love with Cam and was hugely hurt when Cam walked away. While you could eye-roll at the guys’ antics on the team at times, it all felt very human: these guys are still working out how to master their emotions and the punches life throws at you. I liked some of the tender moments, like Cam’s thought while they’re doing a jigsaw puzzle together: “It’s you … you’re the piece I was missing.” I wasn’t expecting the mild kink scenes but they sort of made sense in context of their backstories and personalities. I also liked the secondary characters and I’ll definitely chase up their upcoming books in the series. 🎧 Voice actor Curtis Michael Holland has a soothing tone and he captured the emotions well. I found the pace of his words a little too slow and listened to this at 1.2x speed which worked fine.

Fiery enemies-to-lovers / ice hockey romance! 🔥

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Before employing a narrator, check to see if they can pronounce all the syllables in key words. This guy refuses to annunciate the T in the middle of any word, which is grating considering the team’s name is The Titans. Story was OK but I won’t be rushing to read any other Hayden Hall books; I’ve tried two, that’s enough.

Average

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a second chance college hockey romance, featuring Cameron Martinez and Riley Brook. This is the first book in the Arctic Titans of Northwood U series.

Cameron and Riley were each other’s first, but when it came time to go to college, Cameron decides to leave Riley and attend a college across the country, breaking Riley’s heart. Three years later, Cameron turns up to Riley’s college and joins his hockey team. Tensions run high as they try to ignore each other.

I loved it when their feelings started to reignite, their walls started coming down and finally they reconnected. Things got spicy once they decided to stop ignoring the heat between them. Love a good second chance HEA. I’m looking forward to reading the next book.

Tropes include:
MM romance
Second change
College Hockey
Angst / emotional
Team mates
Impact play
Locker room shenanigans

Story of Cameron and Riley

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
There was something about this one that annoyed me enough that I forgot to write a review. I ended up listening at a higher speed to make it go quicker. Throw in the miscommunication because of a jealous roommate - that was brushed off as a misunderstanding, and I was not a fan.

Not what I wanted.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.