Net Bet

Buffalo Warriors Hockey, Book 2

De: Ryan Taylor, Joshua Harwood

Narrado por: Alexander Cendese

One bet. One spark. One chance.

Gabe

I’ve spent years as the Warriors’ goalie, holding the line under pressure. But off the ice, my life’s a disaster. After dating too many men who only saw me as an NHL trophy, I’ve sworn off romance—until Brody skates into my life. He’s newly traded to the team, ten years younger, and carrying the weight of the world.

I should keep my distance, but every stolen glance, every unguarded smile pulls me in. A playful bet pushes me to take a chance with Brody, though I’m risking more than my heart.

Brody

Being traded to Buffalo was supposed to be my fresh start, an escape after my old team turned on me. Now, I have one goal: keep my head down so I can play hockey.

Enter Gabe: confident, relentless, and far too good at breaking through my walls. I can’t let myself want him. But when he’s around, I forget every reason I should walk away.

One spark turns into something neither of us can ignore. But will falling for each other be the ultimate win—or the one loss we can’t afford?

Net Bet is the second standalone in the fantastic Buffalo Warriors Hockey series. It features a bisexual defenseman with a traumatic past, a lonely goalie looking for love, and found family in the form of a nosy yet supportive hockey team. Packed with high heat, dirty talk, first times, forced proximity, angst, an age gap, and a hard-earned HEA, this story delivers all the feels.

©2025 Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood (P)2025 Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood

Alexander Cendese - awesome job!

Prepare for a thrilling ride with Net Bet by Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood! This MM hockey romance will sweep you off your feet with its electric chemistry and captivating storyline. Alexander Cendese, narrator, does an amazing job bringing the characters to life. Gabe and Brody's journey is filled with passion, emotional depth, and heart-pounding moments that will keep you hooked from start to finish.

Loved It!

Alexander Cendese did such an amazing job in portraying Gabe and Brody. I read the book and then listened to it and it just brought an entire different element to their story. 100% recommend you won’t regret it. It’s such an amazing story.

5 star listen

Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood have done it again with Net Bet. The chemistry between Gabe and Brody is electric, and their emotional journey is deeply engaging. The tension, playful banter, and heart-wrenching moments make their love story incredibly authentic.

Watching them fight for their relationship and ultimately find happiness together is perfection. The team's camaraderie brings humor, support, and warmth, while the hockey scenes add thrilling excitement—especially that game-winning goal.

Taylor and Harwood masterfully create characters you'll wish were your friends. Their genuine depiction of mental health is expertly handled.

Don't miss out on this audiobook narrated by Alexander Cendese. It's a blend of passion, emotion, humor, and unforgettable moments. If I could rate it higher than 5 stars, I would.

Love Gabe and Brody 🥰

I absolutely loved Gabe and Brody's phenomenal story written by author duo Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood. Gabe and Brody are absolutely everything! Gabe is tired of the meaningless hookups and Brody has lots of hurt and past trauma from his old hockey team. Once he gets to Buffalo and his new hockey team, the Buffalo Warriors, he swears not to get involved with another teammate but that all changes when he meets Warriors goalie, Gabe.

Good Stuff

I enjoyed this audiobook book and the story it told. Many of the scenes were very romantic and sexy which was a plus. The only drawback for me was the performance. Throughout the book I felt as if the narrator was speed reading and was in a hurry to get to the end. This in itself took away from the overall experience.

Reduce the speed

Narration is very fast and hurried - if you reduce to 0.90 speed, it’s not too bad

Trigger Warning: Inaccurate Depictions of PTSD

I just want to say up front that this was an enjoyable book, and if you’re just here for the steamy scenes and are not too bothered about how realistic the depictions of mental health are, you can skip my review and enjoy!

One of the MCs in this story suffers from PTSD-like symptoms (I can’t remember if it was described as a diagnosis). That’s as spoiler-y as this post is going to get, I promise.

During the pivotal resolution scene, the MC who doesn’t have PTSD symptoms forces the MC who does have PTSD symptoms into a situation that would almost certainly be deeply triggering, with absolutely zero sensitivity whatsoever given to how it might affect him. And the PTSD guy’s response felt all wrong (basically, “Oh well, I guess it’s time I get over it”). I understand that immersion therapy is a thing, but that is absolutely not what was described.

I don’t know how this scene could have done anything but drive a wedge between them, if for no other reason than the callous and dismissive treatment of his partner’s current battle with the demons from his past.

I’m usually pretty okay with suspending my disbelief, but this was so egregiously wrong to me that I could not get back into the story. The trauma was pretty central to this character’s development, so I thought it was a strange choice to just throw it away in the end. Even for tying up a loose end, this was handled really carelessly.

3rd act

The most ridiculous 3rd act break-up. I should have DNF'd at that point. The MMCs were sweet but it just ruined it for me.

The Narrator-UGH😩

I love these authors, I really do. And I really tried to listen to this audio, but I just can’t with Alexander Cendese. He has a nice voice but he’s so intense-like he’s jacked up on… I can almost see his eyes popping out of his head while he’s reading. He’s like that coworker who’s always the loudest most obnoxious guy at the office happy hour. I can’t really tell you what happened in this story because I was stressed out listening to him. I started and rewound a bunch of times but I still couldn’t pay attention. Maybe he’s ok to play like a high school football player, but not a 30 something yo man. Even the sexy times were not. I’ll be returning this audio.