Reviews for both editions:
3.5 for new version
I just want to say that I read an excerpt from the new edition of "Winging It" that was at the end of book 2, and SO MUCH has changed! *clutches the original edition tightly* I'm not sure how I feel about all of this, especially since there are a lot of name changes. I mean, how can you improve on perfection? Although... I'm kind of curious to find out how it holds up, especially since we get Dante's POV. Maaayyyybee it'll add something? I just feel as though it will take away from some of the story, though. I think that I would have to try and read it as a new to me book, and I'm not sure if I'm capable of that.

Review for new edition, since we can't differentiate on GR: Rating: 3.5

this wasn't a re-read, so much as a read of a re-written edition of the book. Let me say that I absolutely loved the original. It is one of my favourites, I re-read it at least once a year, and I love Dante and Gabe and their whole team as they are characterized in it. The re-write...was good. It wasn't great. It definitely did not match up to the original in terms of emotion. And even though we get to see Gabe through Dante's eyes this time around, I'm not sure that it added anything to the story. In fact, it kind of took away from it, because a lot of the little things that happened were cut to make way for Dante. The original felt more like a love story on two fronts: a love story for hockey, and a love story for romance. The love for hockey is cut way back, so it becomes more of a romance, and is much less because of it, as it becomes just another romance with hockey in it. I just want to say that it wasn't bad, per se, and if I had never read the original, I would have probably thought it was fairly good, maybe rating it 4- 4.5 stars. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have gone on my perennial favourites, though, and I would have quite easily pushed it to the back of my mind.

Re-read Aug 3/'20: *sigh* All the hearts for Gabe and Dante. They just make me mushy.

5 stars

synopsis:
gabe is a closeted player in the national hockey league (nhl). he has a crush on one of his teammates, dante. dante was a rookie the year before, whose year got cut short because of an injury. this year, however, he is playing on gabe's line, and they become friends. when dante asks gabe to room with him at an away game, then returns to the room unexpectedly, he finds out that gabe is gay. it doesn't affect their friendship, and when gabe is outed by a bitter ex a couple of months later, dante is there for him. then, one night, gabe and dante have phone sex. and after a period of denial and dante sleeping with anything with boobs, they hook up. gabe still has to keep his heart separate, because he feels as though this is an experiment for dante. through it all, they have to deal with a teammate being injured, one being traded and the general bigotry that exists everywhere, not just in the athletic world.

what i liked: everything. i don't think that i can say enough how much i liked this book. although both gabe and dante were fairly young, they didn't act like it. i liked that, since gabe had never been in a relationship before, he made a lot of mistakes, but that dante was generally understanding. i liked that they still poked at each other and teased each other. i liked the way gabe stepped up when he had to and really matured as the season went on. i also really liked their teammates and the interactions with them. and, and this is the big one for me, the hockey terminology was spot on and correct, without being dumbed down or being overly complicated.

what i didn't like: nothing. i just want to clutch this book to my chest and cuddle with it forever. there did seem to be a lot going on, however, almost like a soap opera. gabe has a crush on a teammate, gabe gets outed, the team goes into a funk, there are religious protestors at a game, gabe and dante hook up, the captain goes out with an injury, dante gets an injury, a teammate gets traded, the coach is pregnant, there is an unwed teen preganacy, gabe and dante get outed, etc, etc. it definitely didn't detract from the book for me, as evidenced by my "i love everything about it" rave, but other readers might not enjoy that as much. ( )

Gabe never planned to be an out gay hockey player but when a former boyfriend outs him, he doesn't get a choice, but the end results are mostly good for him, not least in the shape of his teammate Dante. ( )

Gabe Martin believes that his position as a star professional hockey player might be threatened if the world finds out he's gay. So he is content to keep that part of his life a secret, with only a few of his teammates even knowing what's going on. But when a jilted former lover releases Gabe's secret to the world, Gabe is forced to face something he is not ready for. And while some of the reactions are what he expected, there are some that are surprising in more ways than one... ( )

This was fun!
I'm not a hockey fan (I don't really follow sports, except for the occasional basketball game), and a lot of the game descriptions went over my head despite the glossary. I was just too lazy to check it every few sentences :P
But I loved the boys nevertheless - Gabe and Dante and the rest of the team. I'd love to see some more snippets into their lives (off the ice!). ( )

NHL player Gabe Martin just wants to play hockey. The last thing he expected was the drama of being outed for being gay.

Gabe is a likeable character. He is selfless, not wanting his drama to affect his team. He loves the game of hockey and is extremely focused on his performance. Having never dated anyone and now in his twenties, he is pretty clueless about relationships. He makes some dumb mistakes, but it’s not intentional.

Dante Baltierra is a Gabe’s opposite. He’s young and wild. He is a very amusing character, which is good for Gabe.

I liked the news releases thrown in throughout the story. They were a clever way to transition the story.

I also appreciated the chirping between the players. The entire team environment was well done and believable.

I really enjoyed this book. Winging It is very hockey orientated and credible novel. It was well-written and had a great flow to the story.

Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher in exchange for an honest ( )