Book 795: Keeping Casey (Keeping Him #1) – Amy Aislin

I said yes to this one when Gay Romance Reviews offered it because I love a MM Sports Romance and hockey in particular thanks to Ngozi Ukazu.* And it didn’t hurt that the last book I read by Aislin was a hockey romance and it was a decent read.

Keeping Casey introduces us to Ethan, a demisexual gay man who has a medical condition that will one day prematurely end his hockey career who is in love with his best friend, Casey, an archaeology nerd who has been avoiding the grief of his father’s death for years and happens to also be in love with Ethan. They just don’t talk about it until after Casey volunteers as Ethan’s fake boyfriend because of a homophobic teammate. Love a fake boyfriend story!

For the most part I liked both Ethan and Casey—their characters were well written and had depth. They were equal parts stubborn men who don’t want to talk about things and giddy romantics who are best friends and discovering a new facet to their relationship.

Ethan grunted. It took more than a few attempts at conversation for him to have feelings for someone. That was demisexuality for you, though—unless he had an emotional connection to someone, he was very much not interested, and some girl he’d just met that he’d never see again didn’t stand a chance. (Chapter 1)

Casey hadn’t labeled himself as bisexual or pansexual or whatever, and Ethan had respected that. If Casey didn’t need a label, then Ethan didn’t need one for him. (Chapter 1)

The minor characters really helped with the story, from the professional hockey mentors to Ethan’s fellow first year hockey players. I can’t wait to see who Aislin features as the protagonist next in the series and already know I need to go read at least three more of her books, On the Ice for Mitch and Alex; Shots on Goal for Roman and Cody; and Gingerbread Mistletoe for Jeff Bellmoor, because the world she’s built is a fun one to visit!

I had some issues with the pacing of the novel. Time seemed to ebb and flow erratically. Aislin would build up to something (i.e. whether Casey and Ethan would still be together at Thanksgiving), but then skip over it (going straight to Christmas). It didn’t mess with the story line any, but it did frustrate me in that I wanted to see those scenes.

Ethan waved his hands between them. ‘We’re getting off topic. Case, we can’t pretend to be together. People don’t actually do that in real life. This isn’t a romance novel. (Chapter 4)

He was fine. Everything was fine. He was just going to be fake boyfriends with the guy he’d wanted to be real boyfriends with for years. Nothing could possibly go wrong. (Chapter 4)

There were no sex scenes in the novel, which was fine for me. Aislin uses the fade to the open window and then cut to the next morning. Honestly, the sweetness of that worked perfectly because it was an evolution of Casey and Ethan’s relationship and I didn’t think we needed to be in the bedroom for it.

Recommendation: It’s a decent read. I hope it’s going to go through another round of proof reading and maybe a few additional scenes before final publication, but it’s not too bad as is. It’s a pretty low angst novel and there weren’t any characters I really hated aside from the one you’re supposed to. Definitely going to check out other books in this hockey universe she’s created.

*I received a copy of Keeping Casey via Gay Romance Reviews in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.

Opening Line: “Ethan Rain had two great loves of his life: hockey and his best friend, Casey Preston.”

Closing Line: “Technically, both were true.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)

Additional Quotes from Keeping Casey
“Ethan was his person, though. Forever would be. It was why Casey was here, at GH, the school that had recruited Ethan from the juniors—because Ethan was here. It was Casey’s damn good luck that it was one of only a few colleges in the country offering an archaeology major.” (Chapter 1)

“Casey stood eyeing the four dry-erase calendars he’d stuck on the wall above his bed. They ranged from September to December and listed what appeared to be his class schedule, assignment due dates, tests, and holidays, all color-coded, of course. God forbid Casey didn’t micromanage his own life.” (Chapter 2)

“They stayed that way, palms pressed together, decompressing in each other’s silent, familiar company until they fell asleep, waking only once when Jasper returned and let the door slam closed behind thim. Divesting themselves of their pants, they snuggled under the blanket and went back to sleep, neither of them caring that they had to wrap themselves around each other to fit on the bed.” (Chapter 2)

“Ethan dropped a well-loved copy of Wuthering Heights onto the table.” (Chapter 3)

“As they reached the edge of the dance floor, the band switched things up with K-Ci and JoJo’s All My Life.” (Chapter 6)

“They stood in silence as the hike’s final attendee arrived and joined her friends. It wasn’t the comfortable silence they’d perfected over the years, teeming with comfort and familiarity and a wild sense of knowing. This silence was fraught with tension that had never before existed between them.” (Chapter 9)

“Homophobic morons were the only people he enjoyed being a burden on. Not that he thought he’d change anyone’s mind by shoving his queerness in their faces—that wasn’t the point. Like with Britton, the point was proving he was capable. That he was competent. And so, too, were other gay boys who just wanted to play hockey.” (Chapter 13)

“Ethan wore cozy sweatpants and a loose T-shirt with thick socks. He looked comfortable and safe and like everything Casey had ever wanted. He looked like . . . He looked like home, and the desire to move in behind Ethan and hug him, lay his head against Ethan’s broad back, was so staggeringly strong that Casey’s vision tilted for a second and he grasped the island to keep himself steady.” (Chapter 14)