Road Rules cover art

Road Rules

Rules of the Game, Book 1

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Road Rules

By: Brigham Vaughn
Narrated by: James Edward Jones
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About this listen

Rule one: Hockey comes first.

As NHL team captain, Zane Murphy’s goal for the upcoming season is simple: take the Evanston River Otters all the way to the Stanley Cup.

Rule two: Only On the road.

But an unexpectedly hot night with his best friend and teammate Ryan Hartinger throws Zane’s carefully laid plans and his sexuality into disarray.

Rule three: Don’t fall in love with your best friend.

When feelings begin to creep in, Zane will have to decide if he’s willing to throw out the rules and risk his career and his friendship for a chance at winning it all.

Note: Road Rules was previously published as a 45k word novella on Prolific Works, and has since been expanded into a full length 87k word novel.

Trigger warnings: Homophobic and gendered slurs. Mentions of cheating (not between MCs).

©2023 Brigham Vaughn (P)2023 Brigham Vaughn Contemporary Contemporary Romance Literature & Fiction Romance Hockey Heartfelt Feel-Good

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Listener received this title free

Great beginning to a series I love. Zane and Ryan are so well matched. They're funny, yet passionate about what they do, and when they get together romantically, Wham! There's not a great deal of angst, this story serves to introduce future characters also. I love how accepting they all are when the Zane and Ryan reveal their relationship, no one was surprised . All thought they were more than friends already. I loved their friendship, how strong they are together and how much they lean on each other when times get tough. They're both such good guys. Their evolution from friends to lovers was meant to be, and seemed a natural step for them to take. This was a sweet, easy listen to, which acted as a perfect intro to the series.

Good start to a new series.

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Listener received this title free

I read this book with my eyes in April. I loved it then and I loved it all over again when I listened to the audiobook. The only thing I can add to my original review is how much I enjoyed James Edward Jones performance of the story. I’ve listened to a couple of other books that he’s done for this author and he consistently does a great job. My original review is shown below:

I didn’t read the original version of this book which was a novella length freebie last year, so I didn’t know what to expect other than what the blurb says. Friends-to-lovers is one of my favorite romance tropes and this one was really great.

Zane and Ryan have been best friends, roommates and teammates for many years. They are both really focused on hockey but things begin changing after a bit of drinking and then experimenting with each other. In some ways this felt like a nice slow-burn story because once they start, things progress slowly from blow jobs and kissing to finally more.

The writing made me feel the deep connection these two had with each other. At no time did I feel like there was any filler; I couldn’t tell that this was a novella that had been expanded. I thought this was a fairly low-angst story and was so happy that both Zane’s and Ryan’s families were very supportive of them.

Epilogues are one of my favorite things in a book but Road Rules didn’t have one – and you know what?? It didn’t matter. The last two chapters were so satisfying that this story really didn’t need an epilogue (which is a bit shocking for me to say 😊).

Here’s where I confess that I haven’t read any of the other books in this series but now I really want to, so, so much!

A copy of this audiobook was provided to me at my request; my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author.

I loved this so much!

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Listener received this title free

M/M
Friends to lovers
Sports romance
Teammates
GFY/Demi
Secret love

story = 3.5 stars
narration = 4 stars

I love friends to lovers but this one was just ok to me. I loved Ryan. He was sweet. I didn't like Zane and how he treated Ryan. The 2 did have great chemistry when they were alone but given they were on the road alot with their team those moments just weren't enough to make up for it. The story is very low/no plot and no angst and I found myself not really interested in the story. I need more stuff happening in a story other than the relationship to keep my interest. It seemed like they were just playing hockey, hooking up, repeat. Despite the numerous hookups I would still consider this very low heat as most moments felt skipped over. The ending was sweet and I loved the world building and the side characters so hopefully the other books are better.

James Edward Jones did a pretty great performance. His voice is very enjoyable to listen to and he brought the story to life. He kept a good pace and expressed the emotions wonderfully. He did a good job with the side characters voices but unfortunately the 2 mcs voices sounded the same to me, so that's my only complaint. Other than this authors previous books I havent heard his name before but I absolutely would listen to this narrator again and I definitely recommend listening to him.

Just ok

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Listener received this title free

This was such an emotional hockey story. Hockey players Zane and Ryan have been best friends since they met at college. When a fellow hockey player comes out, it makes them think differently about each other and they starts experimenting with each other. They already have a deep connection and they start falling for each other but they both struggle as they are worried about their friendship and coming out publicly. it was quite an emotion but such a great story. I thought the narration was spot on and well suited to the story.

emotional hockey story

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Listener received this title free

Low angst friends to lovers sports romance.

Zane and Ryan have been best friends and teammates for years. They've been friends so long that they don't notice their relationship changing. It's a lovely tale of a double bisexual awakening which is triggered by the coming out of another player from a different team. It's as though those feelings for each other have always been there (there are hints at it in the prologue a decade earlier) but it takes Noah's coming out to give them permission to act on it.

Narrator does an excellent job with distinct voices and plenty of fun and emotion.

Low angst, best friends to lovers, hockey romance

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Listener received this title free

MM, Demisexual/Bisexual, Best Friends to Lovers, Hockey, Romance. Book one in the series, it was previously published as a shorter story and the series prologue...it is absolutely fantastic to get a more in depth story as you really start getting to know the team in this book. Great characters, fast paced plot full of steam, wit, humour, friendship and so much more. Guaranteed HEA.

Getting Rid of the Rule Book.

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Listener received this title free

I've always been a sucker for best-friends-to-lovers stories, and Zane and Ryan's was wonderfully written. I bought into their connection when they were best friends on a college hockey team, and over the years it was incredible to see how close the two of them had gotten. You know those friends who have been friends for so long that they feel like an old married couple? That was Zane and Ryan, unconditional support and bickering and affectionate little gestures and all. There was never a doubt in my mind that Ryan and Zane would make fantastic platonic life partners, but seeing their chemistry spark to life and explode was amazing. I loved how insatiable the two of them were once they got going, and with such a strong friendship to fall back on, none of that new couple awkwardness cropped up to dampen my excitement. Ryan was definitely more outwardly eager to get steamy with Zane, but that's just because Zane was much better at hiding his neediness, and I couldn't get enough of all their road trip romps. When the two of them started bringing their feelings back home, I knew it was a sign of something more, and I really enjoyed watching it all unfold. Throughout their journey, I thought the balance of life, hockey, and romance was nicely done. As excited as my inner romantic was to see Zane and Ryan fall in love, I was also invested in the hockey season and their team's chances at the Stanley Cup. Adding in the hockey team dynamic and visits home to family rounded out the story nicely, and by the end I was completely immersed in everything Ryan and Zane. Their declarations of love and coming out were so adorable, and it made me really happy to see them achieve their dreams together and look forward to the next stages of their life as a couple out in the open.

**I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this book. This review expresses my honest thoughts and opinions.

Hockey friends fall in love

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Listener received this title free

I enjoyed Brigham Vaughn's writing style as I was able to get into the story very quickly. This may have been due to the subject matter as I love friends to lovers story.
Zane and Ryan have been best friends for years. They share a condo and play on the same hockey team. As a reader or listener, you immediately felt the deep connection the two have with each other.
And eventually their friendly relationship turns into something more. I liked the two boys a lot and found them sympathetic. The story comes without angst and develops slowly, but it is still emotionally written. What I would have liked that would have been a few more scenes of them playing hockey.

The narrator James Edward Jones did a good job. He narrated in an unexciting manner. I found the audiobook entertaining.

friends to lovers

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Listener received this title free

I have enjoyed Ryan and Zane as side characters throughout the entire series and it was wonderful to get to see them actually falling in love.
These two have been best friends and roommates for a long time until suddenly everything changes and they begin to see each other in a new light.
Having that solid friendship foundation to build on just made their relationship even stronger.
The chemistry between them was scorching hot but they were also very sweet at times as well.
The narration was wonderful and brought the story to life.

Friends to lovers

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Listener received this title free

It's here!! Fans of this series will be so happy to have the full story of how Zane and Ryan became Zane and Ryan. I've loved this series from book one and we've gotten to know the two men pretty well from the outside but now, reading them from the beginning of their friendship and as that develops into more for them is so much fun.
When it comes to these two men, I think Ryan says it perfectly - "Zane is hockey and hockey is Zane". For both of them, their friendship, job, love of hockey, it's all intertwined and that's clear from the very start of the book. There is a deep sense of trust and a platonic love that has the chance to become more once things start to change for them. Nerves are clear on both sides but with Zane being the one who needs to plan and know where things are going, he's a bit more hesistant when it comes to moving forward. The in no way detracts from the heat they share and just how easy it seems to come with them moving to a physical relationship. I also really enjoyed Zane's personal growth when it comes to how he feels about and labels himself. Ryan is just as much fun to read as I thought he'd be, a positive ball of energy who is always by Zane's side.
A fantastic read for those who love the Rules of the Game series, introducing new readers to the characters that will be upcoming in the series and establishing a couple who are a mainstay of the series.
James is a brilliant narrator and really brings both the strong friendship and developing feelings to life for Zane and Ryan. It's a joy to listen to.

Fantastic start to a much loved series

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