Play Maker

Bar Down, Book 2

By: Ava Olsen

Narrated by: Mac Rae, Nathaniel Ames

Axel Lund

They call me the play maker. I make hockey wins happen—until I'm confronted with Jace, my college rival, for the coveted center spot. And my BFF's ex. I know secrets about Jace, and I'm not happy to be on the same team as him, never mind the same line. But as our competition on the ice heats up, things off the ice get complicated. No matter what, I'm not getting outplayed.

Jace Rowland

Axel Lund, the conceited jerk, thinks he's gonna waltz in and take the top spot on my hockey team? No way. The cocky forward thinks the worst of me, but he doesn't know the truth. And every encounter with him cracks my icy control. But I'm not getting played by Axel. If anything, I'm going to play him.

Play Maker is a bi-awakening, rivals-to-lovers, college hockey MM romance. Get ready for cocky boys, intense chemistry, and a heated play to HEA.

©2025 Ava Olsen (P)2025 Podium Audio

Story good, narrator difficult

The narrator for Axel was a real struggle for me. He’s not a voice actor, he’s simply reading, and it translates into an uncomfortable experience. But the story was good and expresses issues that are necessary to confront, namely that women are not the only ones who face abusive, coercive relationships or ED.

Meh

The narrators have pleasant voices but the person narrating Axel sounds like an 8th grader reading out loud in front of the class. He has an even tone but sounds like he's ready to stop any second now .

The story itself ... my fav trope but the thing is ..... I stopped reading m/f romances because I got sick of the over the top sappy language , like in this book .

Also , the author somehow made a plot with two MC's that have a LOT of baggage and emotional trauma dull - even the confrontations with the antagonists were so brief and so flat that they weren't even interesting. A couple sentences and then *poof* . Done