A new expansion team in Oregon has players from all over the league joining together as teammates. Former teammates, rivals, and strangers have to work together to build a team from the ground up. Some of the players have chips on their shoulders from being the ones let go from their former teams, while others take the opportunity to shine.

Crosby was picked up as a free agent, ready for a change in his career and to move away from personal drama he wasn’t keen to hold onto. As the goalie, Crosby is used to watching and directing from the back. As he helps guide his new team to the beginning of their season, he does his best to stay away from the film director hired to document the way the team comes together.

Juno is never sure what story her projects are going to tell until the film comes together. She is excited to branch out and film a developing hockey team. Getting to know the players, she quickly learns who is excited for extra attention and who seems to hold back when she is around. She begins working through the players, getting to know what brought each of them to Portland. Most are willing to share, but she starts to wonder if the real story is somehow tied up in Crosby, one of the natural leaders on the team but also one who is reluctant to be interviewed.

This was very much a slow burn as Crosby avoids Juno in her professional capacity and takes some time to warm up to even speaking with her about more than surface level hockey. As they begin to get to know each other off the record, their friendship grows, but the romance is also slow to develop. They are rooted in their friendship and the knowledge of what makes the other tick, and make sure they are solid before they take their relationship public. But the public shifts perspectives, and adds stresses and triggers they thought they had avoided.

The audio narrators, Aaron Shedlock and Amanda Stribling, bring Crosby and Juno to life, adding great pacing and voice to the story. The audio adds a steady confidence to Crosby’s, and a strong sense of presence to Juno’s voice. Shedlock is on the list of my favorite narrators, and while Stribling is new to me, I can see myself picking up books she has narrated just to hear her characters. I enjoyed the way both performances balanced nicely and made both perspectives engaging.

As a new team, the Portland Wildfire has plenty of characters to develop and explore. This is a ragtag bunch, with little tying them together beyond their brand new team. As such, I can see the series growing both with individual stories and as the team gels (or doesn’t) as the season continues.

Micah is a hockey goalie in the PPHL blind hockey league, and he has been blind from birth and doesn’t have eyes, which makes his otherwise handsome looks unique. After his brother Jonas' book, Stick Around, it was obvious that something was going on with Micah. He was being secretive, distant, angry, anxious, and avoiding his friends. So now in his story, we’re finding out there’s a lot more going on under the surface with Micah. From past trauma that still affects him, to a current threatening situation, to family issues, to a crush that’s probably not a good idea to act on. And only a couple of people know what’s going on, and one of them is the threat, and the other one is an NHL player, Vanya Maximov.

Vanya is a teammate of his brother's fiancé so he’s close to their friend group,  but somehow Vanya can see under Micah's cool facade and see a guy who’s in trouble, but he also sees a handsome man. Vanya has a big crush on his "pretty goalie." But Micah has major self-worth issues,  and he doesn’t feel good enough, so there is a push and pull, fight or flight situation going on between them. 

My heart hurt for Micah because he really was traumatized, and he didn’t feel he could share with anybody the true extent of it, and he’s dealt with it for years alone. It affects his relationships with his brothers, his friends, his team, and his own self-esteem. And I love-love-loved Vanya! He’s this big.  burly, sunshiney, golden retriever with a huge heart, and he just wants Micah in his life so bad.  But he’s willing to be patient, and he’s kind, protective, determined, and he just wants to make sure that Micah is safe and understands that he will be there for him.

And poor Micah doesn’t know what to do with that kind of positive attention and actual care. He’s never had somebody to give him that, truly understand him, or care enough to make him feel safe. But their friend group is all intertwined, so it also makes it a little messy if something were to go wrong. 

This is a story with suspense, drama, threats, but it is also about a man learning to trust, be vulnerable, and feel safe so that he can be his true self. It is also about found family and how important it is to have support. I am really enjoying this spin-off Legends of Fury series and am looking forward to more. Micah and Jordan's brother, Caleb, definitely needs a story, and there are several other interesting guys on the hockey teams. 

Amazon and KU