Title: The Trailblazer
Series: Boston Hawks Hockey #7
Author: Gina Azzi
Genre: Contemporary Sports Romance
Release Date: November 11, 2021
BLURB
I always knew I’d marry my first everything, Declan Yaeger, the Southern boy with Irish roots. That was before he became my first heartbreak, a NHL superstar with a playboy reputation I no longer recognize.
The summer he left our small, Tennessee town, to pursue his hockey dream is the summer my life changed. That was seven years ago, before he became a defenseman for the Boston Hawks. Before I became fixated on my career, losing pieces of myself along the way.
To protect my grandfather's legacy, I agree to marry my oldest childhood friend, Henry. But when I enter the Church on my wedding day, the grey eyes piercing mine aren’t my fiancé’s.
They’re Declan’s, the last person I expect to show up with an offer of his own. One I can’t refuse even though my heart should know better than to accept.
Will my marriage to Declan heal the broken between us? Or are we destined to repeat the mistakes of our past?
PURCHASE LINKS
EXCERPT
“You may kiss the bride,” Father Ward announces after Declan and I exchange the rings that Mrs. Cleary delivered to the church upon hearing the news.
Declan’s hands find my waist and I suck in a breath, already dizzy from the rows of people staring at us, straining to catch a glimpse of our union, one built on past hurts and future hopes.
The corner of Declan’s mouth quirks up. His eyes blaze, not with the confusion of earlier, but with a yearning I feel bone-deep. His lips part, my chin tips upward, and so slowly I can hear the pounding of my heart, we move. We lean toward each other, pulled by an invisible tug that always existed between us.
“Vivi,” he breathes out, his words feathering over my lips. Then, his mouth is on mine, and I’m transported to the past.
I kiss Declan to secure our marriage in front of our town. But his lips won’t caress mine after this. His kiss is too dangerous, too potent. It has the power to make me believe in things I know aren’t true. Like love and futures, like white houses on hills and baby giggles. Like all the plans we once dreamed up, when we were young and in love and so sweetly naïve.
But for right now, this one moment…
I close my eyes, I part my mouth, and I kiss Declan Yaeger the same way I did when I was twelve. With hope and heart and heat.
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Review of The Trailblazer
The Trailblazer, book seven of the Boston Hawks Hockey
series, takes you on an emotional rollercoaster from the start. It’s
second-chance love story with plenty of ups and downs and so much hope written
into its lines.
When the story starts during her beloved grandfather’s will reading,
we find Genevieve, or Vivi, is put in the awful position of get married before
the following week or lose partial control over her family’s charitable Harrison
Foundation and share the role with her money-minded cousin. She decides she can’t
let that happen and gets her best friend to step up and fill the husband role.
Declan, a professional hockey player for the Boston Hawks, finds out about Vivi’s
wedding that will take place the next day and walks out of the arena before a
game to drive the 17 hours to his hometown of Nashville in time for the wedding.
When he gets there, we find out that Henry is backing out and in comes Declan
to take over as Vivi’s husband. These two share a past that ended in unfortunate
circumstances the summer before college, but that doesn’t mean that was the end
of them together thanks to the forced (maybe “coerced by a will” is a better way
to put it?) marriage. This book takes us through Declan and Vivi’s relationship
starting with their unexpected marriage and all the while revisiting past hurts
here and there.
These two were absolutely made for each other! I love that
they have such a strong past connection that they reference. The notion of
young love is so poetic in a way, and it’s portrayed as a backdrop for their
present. It kind of drives home the idea of “meant to be,” and I was all about
it. The storyline really had me feeling all warm and fuzzy, which is a plus for
me. Also, even though it was so sad, I like that Azzi threw in such a heart-wrenching
cause for the real demise of their relationship the first time around. It made
their current journey that much more interesting and me that much more invested
in their relationship.
Throughout the book, the thought of hopefulness resonates in
every aspect of Declan and Vivi’s reconnection. For as much of a sad background
that they have, the possibility of what could be and the optimism in their
individual lives are the bright lights in this story. Their wedding as a catalyst
for a new beginning in their lives is such a foundation for hope itself, and I
couldn’t get over just how sweet and endearing it was.
This slow-burn, second-chance romance had me from its first
pages, and the dramatic ending was the perfect finish for this story. I can’t
wait for the next book in the series!
**ARC provided in exchange for an honest review**
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