Guest Review: Delayed Penalty – Shey Stahl

A minor penalty that is not called until the offending team gains control of the puck. As long as the non-offending team maintains possession, the referee allows play to continue and signals a delayed penalty by raising his arm.

I’m Evan Mason, an NHL hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks. I spend my nights roughing up two hundred pound defensemen and, at times, spend more time in the penalty box than I do on the ice.

That’s my job.

One night changed everything I thought I once knew about my life on, and off, the ice.

A girl.

A brutally beaten girl left to die in an alley.
I don’t know why or how but something made me stay that night after taking her to the hospital. I didn’t know her, nor did I have an obligation to stay but something inside of me rooted me there telling me I should stay. Saving a life is worth something. At least I thought so. And I wouldn’t have been me if I just simply left her there.

Any man who put his heart and soul into a game of hockey couldn’t just walk away when someone needed them. She had no one else right now. The same guy who saw determination where there was desire, now saw hope where there was once despair.

I couldn’t leave. That wouldn’t be me. No, not a man that put all he had into something some called just a game. I couldn’t walk away from her holding onto life, weak and powerless to something she had no control over.

So I stayed. In a room full of family members praying for their loved ones to pull through, I prayed for a girl I didn’t know and had never met before, to have a beating heart. While others’ sorrows turned to grieving pain, I sat waiting on the words of the unknown.

No bond is stronger than the ones you’ll bleed for.

Series: Crossing the Line #1
Release Date: June 5, 2013
Publisher:  Shey Stahl
Source:  Provided by Author
Reviewer:  Karen
Rating:

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Reviewer’s Thoughts

I’ve never known a professional hockey player, but reading Shey Stahl’s book made me feel as though I had. While reading DELAYED PENALTY, I could easily envision myself in the ice arena. I felt the excitement in the air, heard the skates scraping the ice, fans yelling and screaming and music blaring. Shey Stahl does a wonderful job of capturing the feeling and making the reader feel you are there.

DELAYED PENALTY, is a story about Evan Mason, a hockey player who falls in love with Ami Sutton, an emotionally damaged young women. Evan finds Ami while walking home late at night, after a hockey game. Someone brutally attacked Ami and left her in the snow. Evan rescues Ami, takes her to the hospital and slowly falls in love. Evan and Ami are wildly attracted to one another, but they are both young and Ami has heartache, sadness and bad memories to deal with.

Evan is the perfect hero. He is a rookie pro hockey player with the Chicago Blackhawks. Hi is a big, tough defense player who enjoys getting in a fight during the game, but Evan has a big heart and can be gentle. He comes from a stable family with values. His parents taught him honesty, loyalty, respect and hard work. From the moment Evan saves Ami, she has a hold on him. He is drawn to her and can’t forget her.

Ami grew up in small town Lebanon, Oregon and has only been in Chicago a few weeks. Amy teaches ballot. She is young, petite, sweet and isn’t afraid to tell you what is on her mind. Amy is instantly attracted to Evan. She trusts him because he makes her feel safe, but she has many issues to overcome.

I enjoyed the camaraderie between the hockey players on the Blackhawks team. They swear, trash talk, play practical jokes and are constantly ribbing each other. They have a comment for everything and everybody, but there is a strong bond between them and will do whatever it takes for their teammates.

This is a love story with a lot of hockey. Ami has never seen a hockey game before meeting Evan. We learn about hockey with her. The chapters are written from different points of view. Some are written from Evan’s perspective and others from Ami’s. This helps the reader understand how both of them feel and think.

DELAYED PENALTY has it all. It’s a wonderfully written, captivating story, with engaging characters and amusing and interesting secondary characters. Once I started it, I couldn’t put it down.