Synopsis:
In the second installment of The Penalty Kill Trilogy, Levi Carr and Presley McCarthy continue to rebuild their relationship as they deal with surprises and other problems.Levi is trying his best not to hover with worry over his father after his heart attack. Presley is still trying to gain the love and respect from her parents and keep her independence as well. They lean on one another for support and work through these issues together.
As the offseason progresses and a long time friend of Presley’s returns, trust issues arise between the couple as Presley tries to fix her relationship with her parents and Levi works towards his NHL dream.
Will their relationship survive off the ice?
*Book intended for mature audiences.*
Sunny's Review:
I don't even know where to start with this series. I love it. Most of you know I am all about the jocks but have always stayed with baseball and football. Now I am pretty sure I am going to have to find a new team...HOCKEY HERE I COME!!So at the end of the first book Levi and Presley are happy and together so now they are dealing with life and all the stresses of school, hockey, the draft and law school. You get to see more of their relationship with each other as well as with their friends and family. I liked getting to see more Victor (Levi's father) and how Trevor and Levi react to each other. Presley also has some fun meltdown moments dealing with her family. I kind of love it because she seems so put together and calm at first but now you can see a lot of her insecurities. I feel like she is a lot more human in this book. It made me like her even more. You get to see Levi grow up a little bit more too. He has to deal with an old friend coming back into Presley's life, Sunny trying to come back into his life and being there for his father even when Victor does not want him there.
I can honestly say that I can't wait to read Our First Christmas and then the 3rd book in the trilogy. I want them NOW (I am stomping my foot like a child)!!! I am going to give this book 4.6 stars out of 5. I love it and I don't think you can wrong with it. I am seriously going to start stalking some hockey players so that I can pick a team...I mean who wouldn't want to look at guys like this:
ummm....yes please!GO BUY THE BOOKS!!!!
Breakaway (Book 1) Off the Ice (Book 2)Interview with Lindsay and Mary!!!
Thank y’all so much for
doing this interview! I am a really big nerd and authors are like my
superheroes so I am like a little kid jumping around right now. It amazes me
that you can come up with stories and characters and bring it all to life for
your readers (I have 0 imagination in that aspect!).
So you have
said in your bios that you both love the game of hockey. How did that come
about? Did you grow up with it or is it something you found as adults?
Lindsay: My BFF
introduced me years ago. Her family loves the sport and I quickly got hooked as
well. My love for hockey grows so much more with every season. Mary likes to
pick on me because I end up bringing hockey into every conversation.
Mary: I have
loved hockey since I was very young. I grew up near Chicago and watched a lot
of hockey. I loved it from the first time.
How did you
decide to write these books and together instead of separately?
Lindsay: I thought of
the initial idea behind the trilogy. I've always been fascinated by the thought
of two people writing a book together. This seemed like the perfect time to
test that for myself. Mary was a fan of my other books and we bonded over books
and then hockey. I knew that her love for hockey would be perfect for these
types of books. She said yes before she even knew what the idea was. That still
cracks me up.
Mary: LP
approached me about writing these books. I may have been jumping up and down
when she did (maybe). But, I am so thankful that she did!
Since you
have both written alone how hard was it to write with another person?
Lindsay: Not hard at
all! This is the most surprising thing for me. When we write, it's as if we're
sharing a brain. Not even kidding. We've given it a name by now. (LP/MS
Effect). At first, we were seriously freaked out because one of us would type
something, hit enter, and the other would be in the mist of typing the exact
same thing. When it comes to writing in particular, we think exactly
alike. Blows our mind sometimes. So it wasn't hard at all. Honestly, now that
we've written together, it's harder for me to write alone sometimes.
Mary: For me, writing with LP is amazing! I sometimes would rather
write with her than my own projects. It's an experience like no other!
Are Levi
and Presley based on people y’all know or totally made up?
Lindsay: I don't know
about Mary, but they are totally made up for me. There was a particular
personality we wanted them both to have and we ran with that.
Mary: They
are made up. Although, sometimes I throw a line or two in there that I actually
say in real life.
Did you
know how the story was going to end when you started it? Or are the characters
writing it as it you go?
Lindsay: No.
Originally, each book was going to focus on a different pair of characters. But
the more we wrote, the more Levi and Presley's story expanded. There have
definitely been some surprises as we go. A lot of the times, we tell each
other, “I'm just going with the flow for this.”
Mary: This is
what I have learned with LP: She and I should never do an outline of a book
(haha). Because the characters, sort-of, take off on their own and the story
always ends up somewhere that we never planned. I blame Levi for that. He's
such a rebel!
How much
research was required to make this book as accurate in the hockey world as
possible?
Lindsay: None. Haha! We
know our hockey. Mary is more knowledgeable about the NHL as a whole than I am.
She knows more about hockey in the college setting as well. If we didn't know
something, we would ask each other first before looking it up.
Mary: I don't
think either one of us really 'researched' anything. We both are huge fans of
hockey and know the game well.
Do you have
a favorite scene? (small spoiler here!!
) I personally totally fell for Levi on V-Day…totally sigh worthy!!!
Lindsay: I love that
scene as well! In Breakaway, I loved any time Levi goes to his mother's grave,
the bowling date, and the first time Presley slept over at Levi's. For Off the
Ice, because I love this trait of Levi, my favorite is probably when God Levi
is first introduced. I love all of their scenes really. Picking one doesn't
seem good enough to cover everything haha.
Mary:
Everyone LOVES that scene and it was fun to write! For me, in Breakaway it was
when she and Levi went to the rink for the first time. In Off the Ice, it was
the ending! I love love love the ending!
Who is your
favorite character? (I am ok with you saying Sunny )
Lindsay: Sunny is an
interesting character, but Victor, Levi's father, is my favorite. There's so
much about that man that is sweet, honest, caring, and full of love not only
for Levi, Presley, but also for his wife. How can anyone not love Victor?
Mary: I love
Presley! She is my fave!
So we ended
Off the Ice with a bit of a cliffhanger…how bad is Presley freaking out right
now?
Lindsay: A. Lot. In the
third, we'll see more of how this affects her in particular.
Mary: Oh the
poor girl *sad face* She is confused and trying to deal with everything. I'm
sure everyone is dying to see what happens in Book 3! *wink*
Is Levi
freaking out too?
Lindsay: Not really.
He's nervous, sure, but Levi is more excited than anything.
Mary: I think a little bit. But he'll never tell us that (or will
he?)
Do you
think you are going to add any more books…like any about Trevor or anyone else
in their group?
Lindsay: I said earlier
that that was the original plan, but it was difficult to say the least. Who
knows. Maybe one day down the road, Trevor and Marley will decide to share
their story.
Mary: funny
story (and another reason we don't do outlines): We had actually planned on
Book 2 being Trevor and Marley's story. We actually had (I think) about 10k
words done, but every scene kept coming back to Levi and Presley. So, we
stopped and talked about it. We decided that we wanted to finish their story
first. Will we ever do more? I'm not sure. But, never say never! =)
I like to
do a quick response so here we go:
Football or
Baseball (you can’t say HOCKEY!)
Lindsay: Both. If it's
professional, rather watch football.
Mary: Football
(Go Bears!)
Lake or
Ocean
Lindsay: Ocean
Mary: I don't
do anything outdoors. Too many bugs!
Sports car
or Truck
Lindsay: Sports car.
(Plus, I couldn't drive a truck to save my life.)
Mary: Truck
Country or
Rock
Lindsay: Both, but more
rock than country.
Mary: Country
Sunshine or
Rain
Lindsay: Rain
Mary: Rain
Book or
Movie
Lindsay: Book
Mary: Book
Blond Hair
or Dark Hair
Lindsay: Either.
Mary: Blond
Businessman
or Jock
Mary: ALWAYS the JOCK!!!!
This might be one of my favorite interviews. I can't wait for the next books to come out. I will be reading Our First Christmas later this month and hopefully will not have to wait too long for the 3rd book...hint hint...send me asap :) (kidding)
About Lindsay and Mary!!!
Mary Smith was born in Chicago, Illinois, but currently lives in West Virginia. She is avid reader, co-founder of Book Nerds Across America, and author of Melting Away the Ice. She goes nowhere without her cell phone or Kindle. Mary loves anything to do with Chicago Blackhawks, Patrick Sharp, and hockey related!!
Lindsay and Mary created The Penalty Kill Trilogy through their love of writing and hockey. Through their late night writing sessions, text messages, and emails, they have created a trilogy following two characters dealing with college, family, friends, and the one sport that connects them all. Even though Lindsay and Mary are fans of different NHL teams, they are still close friends...except when their teams play each other.
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