Young love

It’s sweet seeing first time love bloom knowing how both MCs have their HEAs with other people within this series. First love is something to cherish for sure.

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Beautiful story of young first love!

This is a wonderful sweet story of young first love. This is the story of a younger Nick, Tyler and Kev. The narrator is awesome and perfect for this story and the rest of the Bethesda Barracudas Hockey series. Check out the rest of the audiobooks in this series.

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Young Love!

This was an incredibly sweet short story that lets you in on a Young First Love! Even tho shorter, don't think you'll be missing out on and completed book full of emotions. it was written perfectly!

This prequel gives you a taste of who Nick, Tyler and Kevin were and what made them into who they are in their own respectable books. From the fears of you first coming out, to falling in love with your best friend, to even being wary of a certain freshman hanging around. You won't be sorry for picking this up and beware: Ryan and Josh hit you in the heart at the end!! but it's worth it.

As always, Nick Russo just did a stellar job in bringing these characters to life!

1 person found this helpful

First Love

This novella was beautifully portrayed by Mr. Russo. His voice is soothing and expressive, which definitely added to the story of teen emotions, and their innocent reactions to their first experiences of love. The genuineness of these new feelings was very evident in this top-notch audio. This excellent audiobook will certainly be a delight if you enjoy a tender, poignant tale of finding your first passion with all of its intensity. Happy listening!
Storyline
This prequel to Nice Catching You is a tender coming-of-age story centered around two teenage best friends. Both young men play hockey and apparently think the epic crush each has is one-sided. Nick has yearned silently for his best friend Tyler for so long. You can only imagine how startled he is to find Tyler is not straight and is reciprocating the same feelings.

The young men just utterly captured my heart. Their story is straightforward and free of complex angst. Both have stable backgrounds and are still in high school, so this seemed like a genuine and innocent first love. The only major complication is their combined interest in a sport that is not gay-friendly. Coming out would make their lives difficult, and Tyler and Nick are painfully aware of this.
The ending initially seemed abrupt, but, in retrospect, it was very fitting. I look forward to more of Tyler and Nick and want to treat myself.

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The New Next One

𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶-𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘕𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘯.

Nick and Tyler have been best friends since the start of prep school and have secretly crushed on each other for the entire time. Tyler finally gets the courage to say something and their relationship changes into something great but with college around the corner, they will need to make a tough decision.

I loved this look back into Nick and Tyler’s beginnings and getting to see what led to the future events. Although they are adorable together, I loved their individual stories. I would recommend reading this book first before the rest of the series but either way you read it, it is still enjoyable.

Nick J. Russo does another amazing job at bringing the characters and story to life.

The New Next One contains… mm, prep school, sports (hockey), first times, closeted, secret relationship, single first-person point of view.

4.5 Maple Leafs

1 person found this helpful

Nice little short story

Sweet and sad and explained a little about book one and book three relationships. Live the writing and the narration of this whole series. get them all!!!

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Beautiful Story of First Loves and Hard Decisions

I’ve read and listened to Nice Catching You and simply adore Nick. I enjoyed learning about parts of his life that made him into the ‘Nick’ I met in Nice Catching you. If you haven’t met Nick, you can start here and then read Nice Catching. The books were written in a way you can read them in any order, or you can read them in order. Both ways are enjoyable ways to do it. It will just come down to a personal preference - particularly the first time you read them.

Even though this is a short book, nothing felt rushed or forced. We learn they’ve been friends for a long time, along with other tidbits I won’t spoil for you. This story felt genuine and sincere. It was full of all the idealism of youth we all remember, yet it touches elements of growing up, as they are both 18 years old. They’re about to embark on adulthood, so we witness the two stages merging.

This was a well-written story full of charm, laughter, first love, friendship, hope, and promise. As I’ve said, I adore Nick, and it wasn’t hard to like Tyler. Kevin was a fun surprise. These authors are truly talented, not only with their ability to create heartfelt and engaging stories but in developing wonderfully imperfect characters that are made perfect just the way they are. You can’t help but fall in love with them; you can’t help but want more.

I felt Russo did an excellent job capturing the strong emotions in this story. I felt everything while reading it, but it was even more intense in audio. I cannot express enough how much I love this series. It has me exercising my emotional range, and I love every minute of it!

1 person found this helpful

Such a beautiful story!

I have listened to and loved all of the Bethesda Barracudas hockey series but this one is extra special. Written by own voices authors, it tells a story of first love and first times that feels so authentic it made me cry. Nick J Russo is the perfect choice to narrate this book. His performance is flawless. I would highly recommend this book to anyone!

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Loved it!

Ryan Taylor and Joshua Harwood have done it again. The New Next One is a heartwarming story that is full of hope, first love between two up and coming young hockey players, coming of age, and challenges. It is the prequel to Nice Catching You. I’ve read both stories and loved them both. The New Next One is a must listen and if you haven’t listened to Nice Catching You make sure you listen to that too. You won’t regret it.

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This story is worth the credit

First I need to say Nick J. Russo is very good at his craft, he brought the MCs to life and gave this story heart.
Thank you Nick Russo for being so awesome. XoXo
This is a very good story, I like Nick even more now. His dream became a reality when he met Jacob on the bus 😊
I look look forward to Ty & Kevs story.
If your an emotional Man or Woman, be sure to have tissue handy, the last 15m broke my heart 💔