Portland Storm series

A couple of weeks ago I discovered the Portland Storm series by Catherine Gayle and I have NOT been disappointed. There are 7 books in the series including a few novellas and in about 2 weeks I managed to read the whole series!

Each book is based around the Portland Storm NHL hockey team and each book focuses around a player and his love interest. The main reason I LOVE this series is that each book deals with real life issues that many people deal with on a daily basis from rape, loss of identity, personal loss, suicide and cancer. The characters are realistic and very human. There is a good mix of hockey and their personal lives. I don't know much about hockey but it didn't hinder the series at all. I felt what the characters were feeling and cried so many times. The first book Break Away and the novella Taking a Shot are by far my favorites but I think that had to do with my heart strings. I cried more in these 2 than anything.

Once I started reading I could not put them down. I felt like the characters were family and I wanted to reach out hug them all. The author, Catherine Gayle, has a grasp on how people cope and how they are feeling. I realize that not everyone copes the same way but Catherine paints a realistic picture of how the characters cope with these real life situations.

It is important to read the books in order because each one builds and introduces characters that are seen in future books and some characters are having their back story built as the series progresses.

Zee and Dana from Break Away (book 1) and Babs and Katie from Taking a Shot (a novella) and Dropping Gloves (book 7) are my 2 favorite couples.

Break Away (book 1)
On the Fly (book 2)
Taking a Shot (Novella)
Light the Lamp (book 4)
Delay of Game (book 5)
Double Major (book 6)
In the Zone (book 7)
Holiday Hat Trick (novella)
Comeback (book 9)
Dropping Gloves (book 10)