Review & Excerpt: Around and Around We Go (Vermont Trailblazers #2) by Amy Aislin
- Debbie
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Book Details:
Book Title: Around and Around We Go
Author and Publisher: Amy Aislin
Cover Artist: L.C. Chase
Release Date: April 28, 2026
Tense/POV: third person, past tense, alternating POVs
Genres: MM Contemporary Hockey Romance
Tropes: Second chance romance, forced proximity, found family, hockey, slow burn
Heat Rating: 3 flames
Length: 70,000 words / 230 pages
It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger
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@amyaislin @gaybookpromotions @debbiereadsbook
When you’re facing The End, it’s time to rewind to the beginning.
At thirty-eight years old, Sandro Zanetti is quickly aging out of hockey. But the Trailblazers are chasing a history-making third consecutive championship this season, so until his knees fail him, he plans on giving his all to the sport.
What he doesn’t need is the documentary film crew following the team’s every move. Because the director? Is Bennett Jackson.
Former college sweetheart.Breaker of hearts.Still unbearably handsome.
But their relationship is also history and has been for fifteen years.
Bennett Jackson is one project away from the credits rolling on his career after his last film flopped. This behind-the-scenes look at the hottest team in the league is his last chance at redemption…and possibly his last chance at redeeming himself with the one man who’s always held his heart.
Neither of them planned for old jokes to resurface or on the inconvenient fact that their chemistry is very much alive.
But as the action heats up on and off the ice—and on and off camera—their reunion looks less like a rerun of heartbreak and more like a revival of that first chemistry.
And Sandro and Bennett may discover that some stories deserve a sequel.
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“Got an umbrella?” Sandro asked.
“No. And if I did, I wouldn’t give it to you. What if I need it?”
“Asshole,” Sandro replied, laughing. “Give me your jacket at least. Yours has a hood.”
Bennett stared at him for a long moment. “No.”
“Man. Chivalry is dead, I tell you.”
“Here. I’ll get a little closer to your front door.” He eased the car forward a few inches, then put it in park. He jerked a thumb at his own chest. “Chivalrous.”
Sandro snorted a laugh and took off his jacket, ready to use it as a stand-in umbrella. “See ya. Thanks for the lift home, even if you won’t walk a boy to his door.”
There was more he wanted to say, but he couldn’t figure out where to start.
Go back to LA?
Never leave again?
Why are you really here?
But he needed time to get his thoughts in order, so he splashed out into the downpour.
To his surprise, Bennett met him on the sidewalk and, using his own jacket, held it over the both of them as they jogged up to the covered porch.
“You didn’t . . .” The words got stuck in Sandro’s throat as Bennett shook the rain off his jacket. Strands of blond hair had escaped his bun and hung loose around his face, beginning to go frizzy from the moisture in the air. Sandro curled his hands into fists in the material of his jacket, hanging wetly in front of him, to stop himself from reaching out and tucking one behind Bennett’s ear. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Tell me again how chivalry is dead?”
A laugh escaped him again, and his gaze snagged on Bennett’s.
There’d been times those eyes had squinted in annoyance or flashed with anger or heated in desire. Right now, as Bennett slowly lost his smile, they were none of those things.
Just vulnerable in their desperation.
Sandro’s chest squeezed tight, and with a sudden clarity, he knew he didn’t want to hear whatever Bennett wanted to tell him.
“Sandy—”
“Don’t. I don’t want to hear it.”
“San—”
“No.” Heart pounding, Sandro took a step back. “It’s ancient history. It doesn’t matter anymore. We need to move forward, not back.”
That vulnerable desperation turned to naked hope that broke something in Sandro.
Bennett swallowed audibly and said, “As friends?”
Obviously not, Sandro meant to say. There’s too much history between us. But what came out was, “Maybe.”
“Maybe,” Bennett repeated with a nod. “I can live with maybe.” He shrugged his jacket back on and looked out across the yard to his car at the curb. “Got an umbrella?”
Amusement crawled up the back of Sandro’s throat. “Fuck no.”
He went inside and closed the door on Bennett’s booming laugh.
5 out of 5 (exceptional)
Independent Reviewer for Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This is book 2 in the Vermont Trailblazers series. While it can be read as a standalone to book 1, The Best Parts of Him, I reckon you SHOULD read that book first. Why? Cos it was freaking awesome and so is this one!
Sandro is the oldest player in the team, and until his knees and/or back give out, he'll keep playing cos The Trailblazers are heading for a third consecutive championship this year. He just needs to hold out and put up with this documentary that is being made around them. Bennett is the director. He, too, is facing the end of his career if this series tanks as much as the last one. That he is here, facing the love of his life after 15 years? Minor detail, and Bennett just needs to talk to Sandro, if Sandro will let him.
What I noticed while reading this book (nay, I inhaled this book!) was that although it's a hockey-based book, there was very little actual on-ice descriptions of play. And as a non-sporty person, I absolutely loved that! There are some, but only enough to give you a picture of what's going on, and it's not in great detail. It all made perfect sense to me, as sometimes, I get overwhelmed by the detail, and I didn't here, and I was able to fully concentrate on Sandro and Bennett.
And they were beautiful, they really were.
I fully understood why Sandro didn't really want to talk to Bennett, off camera, the man was still hurting, even after all this time, but when Sandro allowed Bennett in, finally?? Oh, it was truly epic. Sandro made Bennett work for it; he really did.
I loved that Bennett found the theme for the series based on his own experience. Loved how the older Trailblazers were helping the new team members who really were struggling. And that Sandro found his future, along the same thread.
It takes time for the steam to build, and I loved being made to wait for it. This book is more about the emotions of these two men, and giving the other a second chance. Oh, Bennett wanted Sandro; he really did, but Sandro wasn't sure about letting him in, and I loved that they didn't jump straight back in. 15 years is a long time!
Absolutely cracking follow-up to book 1, and I can't wait to see what comes next. Well, I know who comes next, but I gotta wait so freaking long!
A stunning 5 star read!
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
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Amy’s lived with her head in the clouds since she first picked up a book as a child, and being fluent in two languages means she’s read a lot of books! She first picked up a pen on a rainy day in fourth grade when her class had to stay inside for recess. Tales of treasure hunts with her classmates eventually morphed into love stories between men, and she’s been writing ever since. She writes evenings and weekends—or whenever she isn’t at her full-time day job saving the planet at Canada’s largest environmental non-profit.
An unapologetic introvert, Amy reads too much and socializes too little, with no regrets. She loves connecting with readers. Join her Facebook Group to stay up-to-date on upcoming releases and for access to early teasers, find her on Instagram, or sign up for her infrequent newsletter.
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