Charming Puckboy (Puckboys Book 10)
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⭐ 4 / 5 I want to be honest here because this book deserves an honest review, not just a sentimental one — though there is plenty of sentiment too, because how could there not be. Lachie and Sam are genuinely sweet together. The childhood crush angle is lovely — Lachie bringing rescued animals to the shelter just to get Sam’s attention as a teenager, and then showing up years later as a fully grown NHL star, is exactly the kind of soft romantic setup this series does so well. Sam not having a clue about his fame is a great detail that keeps things grounded. Their chemistry is easy and warm and the summer fling structure gives the whole book a golden, fleeting quality that suits the story. But — and this is an honest but — the book does feel at times like it is trying to be two things at once. Lachie and Sam’s story is sweet and deserves space, but there is also clearly a responsibility here to give every beloved character from across all ten books a proper send-off, and those two things pull against each other slightly. The Queer Collective chaos, the cameos, the callbacks — all of it is joyful and exactly what you want from a series finale, but it does mean that Lachie and Sam’s own emotional journey occasionally gets a little crowded out. You feel it most toward the end where everything wraps up quickly and you wish you had more time with just the two of them. Ezra though. Ezra in this book made me emotional in a way I was not fully prepared for. He started everything and seeing him in that final chapter, seeing how far this whole world has come, was genuinely moving. That last chapter is when the waterworks arrived and I am not even slightly ashamed of that. Because here is the thing — this review is not really just about this book. It is about what this series means. Reading something that has been your comfort for years, that you return to when things are hard, that makes the world feel softer and warmer and more manageable — saying goodbye to that is genuinely grief-adjacent. Four stars for the book itself feels right and honest. But the series as a whole? That is something else entirely. That lives in a different category, one that is not really about stars at all. Thank you Eden Finley and Saxon James for building this world. I will be back at the beginning again one day, and it will feel like coming home.
I was a bit disappointed. For the last 3-4 books tbh. There was no build up. We have the beginning with clear sides. In this case Lachies crush on Sam and Sam's immediate attraction now that he saw him as an adult after three years. But it basically starts the same way in every book. Which wouldn't be that bad if done better? I don't know how to explain it. For the past few books the summary made it seem like there was a big problem between the characters in the beginning (Connor and Parker with the bullying, Novo with his past behaviour, the brother's best friend problem with Easton) but between the main characters, the problem never seems to be a real problem. Only on the surface for the first couple of chapters. I hope it makes sense. So I hoped this book would be better because at least we know Lachie had a crush forever and and Sam was immediatley attracted. But after their first kiss, it was basically smooth sailing. They communicated well (honestly, congrats on this) but the rest was kinda uneventful. It felt more like a goodbye to the series with a bit too much focus on the other players. In the first few books when we met previous characters it always felt important to the story of the current couple while here it felt like the couple was there to support the story of the entire queer collective. Still loved it out of principle and I am so happy about the clear communication.
I was a bit disappointed. For the last 3-4 books tbh. There was no build up. We have the beginning with clear sides. In this case Lachies crush on Sam and Sam's immediate attraction now that he saw him as an adult after three years. But it basically starts the same way in every book. Which wouldn't be that bad if done better? I don't know how to explain it. For the past few books the summary made it seem like there was a big problem between the characters in the beginning (Connor and Parker with the bullying, Novo with his past behaviour, the brother's best friend problem with Easton) but between the main characters, the problem never seems to be a real problem. Only on the surface for the first couple of chapters. I hope it makes sense. So I hoped this book would be better because at least we know Lachie had a crush forever and and Sam was immediatley attracted. But after their first kiss, it was basically smooth sailing. They communicated well (honestly, congrats on this) but the rest was kinda uneventful. It felt more like a goodbye to the series with a bit too much focus on the other players. In the first few books when we met previous characters it always felt important to the story of the current couple while here it felt like the couple was there to support the story of the entire queer collective. Still loved it out of principle and I am so happy about the clear communication.
Book Information
Posts
⭐ 4 / 5 I want to be honest here because this book deserves an honest review, not just a sentimental one — though there is plenty of sentiment too, because how could there not be. Lachie and Sam are genuinely sweet together. The childhood crush angle is lovely — Lachie bringing rescued animals to the shelter just to get Sam’s attention as a teenager, and then showing up years later as a fully grown NHL star, is exactly the kind of soft romantic setup this series does so well. Sam not having a clue about his fame is a great detail that keeps things grounded. Their chemistry is easy and warm and the summer fling structure gives the whole book a golden, fleeting quality that suits the story. But — and this is an honest but — the book does feel at times like it is trying to be two things at once. Lachie and Sam’s story is sweet and deserves space, but there is also clearly a responsibility here to give every beloved character from across all ten books a proper send-off, and those two things pull against each other slightly. The Queer Collective chaos, the cameos, the callbacks — all of it is joyful and exactly what you want from a series finale, but it does mean that Lachie and Sam’s own emotional journey occasionally gets a little crowded out. You feel it most toward the end where everything wraps up quickly and you wish you had more time with just the two of them. Ezra though. Ezra in this book made me emotional in a way I was not fully prepared for. He started everything and seeing him in that final chapter, seeing how far this whole world has come, was genuinely moving. That last chapter is when the waterworks arrived and I am not even slightly ashamed of that. Because here is the thing — this review is not really just about this book. It is about what this series means. Reading something that has been your comfort for years, that you return to when things are hard, that makes the world feel softer and warmer and more manageable — saying goodbye to that is genuinely grief-adjacent. Four stars for the book itself feels right and honest. But the series as a whole? That is something else entirely. That lives in a different category, one that is not really about stars at all. Thank you Eden Finley and Saxon James for building this world. I will be back at the beginning again one day, and it will feel like coming home.
I was a bit disappointed. For the last 3-4 books tbh. There was no build up. We have the beginning with clear sides. In this case Lachies crush on Sam and Sam's immediate attraction now that he saw him as an adult after three years. But it basically starts the same way in every book. Which wouldn't be that bad if done better? I don't know how to explain it. For the past few books the summary made it seem like there was a big problem between the characters in the beginning (Connor and Parker with the bullying, Novo with his past behaviour, the brother's best friend problem with Easton) but between the main characters, the problem never seems to be a real problem. Only on the surface for the first couple of chapters. I hope it makes sense. So I hoped this book would be better because at least we know Lachie had a crush forever and and Sam was immediatley attracted. But after their first kiss, it was basically smooth sailing. They communicated well (honestly, congrats on this) but the rest was kinda uneventful. It felt more like a goodbye to the series with a bit too much focus on the other players. In the first few books when we met previous characters it always felt important to the story of the current couple while here it felt like the couple was there to support the story of the entire queer collective. Still loved it out of principle and I am so happy about the clear communication.
I was a bit disappointed. For the last 3-4 books tbh. There was no build up. We have the beginning with clear sides. In this case Lachies crush on Sam and Sam's immediate attraction now that he saw him as an adult after three years. But it basically starts the same way in every book. Which wouldn't be that bad if done better? I don't know how to explain it. For the past few books the summary made it seem like there was a big problem between the characters in the beginning (Connor and Parker with the bullying, Novo with his past behaviour, the brother's best friend problem with Easton) but between the main characters, the problem never seems to be a real problem. Only on the surface for the first couple of chapters. I hope it makes sense. So I hoped this book would be better because at least we know Lachie had a crush forever and and Sam was immediatley attracted. But after their first kiss, it was basically smooth sailing. They communicated well (honestly, congrats on this) but the rest was kinda uneventful. It felt more like a goodbye to the series with a bit too much focus on the other players. In the first few books when we met previous characters it always felt important to the story of the current couple while here it felt like the couple was there to support the story of the entire queer collective. Still loved it out of principle and I am so happy about the clear communication.