The Roommate Game

MM Small-Town College Hockey Romance (Smithton Bears, Book 3)

By: Lane Hayes

Narrated by: Kirt Graves

The hockey player, the figure skater, and the roommate situation…

Gus

No one knows how to make a party last quite like me. For real. Technically, I should have graduated three years ago, but I love Smithton, I love hockey, and the team needs a good captain who keeps things fun. That’s me.

This is it, though. I can’t delay the inevitable, so yeah…this is officially my last year of college and I’m going out big!

Unfortunately, my new roommate is curbing my vibe. In fact, I don’t think Rafe likes me much—total mystery. I’m a nice guy. Ask anyone.

Rafe’s the one with stick-in-the-mud-itis. He also has a great smile, pretty eyes, a cute dimple, and…

Oh, man. I think I have a situation.

Rafe

This cannot be happening. I’m a competitive figure skater with goals and big plans. How did I get saddled with a party boy hockey hero for a roommate?

Oh, yeah, I mistakenly assumed the captain of the hockey team would be a serious person. Wrong. Gus and I have nothing in common and I have no idea how I’m going to survive a year of this.

But in a twist, we’re good together in a crisis. So good, that I’m beginning to wonder if we could be something more than a couple of athletes playing the roommate game.

The Roommate Game is an MM bisexual-awakening, light-angst, college hockey romance featuring a fun-loving captain, a serious figure skater, and a chance at forever.

©2025 Lane Hayes (P)2025 Lane Hayes

Loved It!

I loved this book. Great world building and wonderful characters. I loved both Gus and Rafe. I loved the opposites attract dynamic between them and their sunshine/grumpy vibes. When we started with Rafe, I was fully prepared to be annoyed with a roommate like Gus.. but I quickly fell in love with him. He was cheerful and sweet, kind of oblivious, and parties and drinks too much to push back other emotions. But in the hungover light of morning, he doesn't like what he sees. Rafe is fed up.

But I really loved the way their relationship developed as they got to know each other and became friends. I loved Gus's encouragement and support- not only towards Rafe, but to his friends and teammates. The pacing of it was well written and believable. And Gus was surprisingly understanding of Rafe's annoyance and dislike of him- and his behavior- early on, rather than get defensive. I found him to be quite introspective, recognized he had a problem, and worked to fix it. Even when helping Rafe with his issues in some way helped to settle his own. Though he still needed help. And I loved when Rafe was there to support him in term. I absolutely loved how these two fell in love and wish their story was longer. I also really liked a number of supporting characters. Overall a really beautiful romance. 5 stars


Update Audiobook Review 12/28/25-

I was so excited to listen to this in audiobook. Kirt Graves did a fantastic job bringing these characters and this story to life. I had no problem distinguishing between the characters, and I enjoyed listening to it even more than reading it myself. This my favorite of Kirt's books that I've listened to!

Overall: 5 stars
Performance: 5 stars
Story: 5 stars

Sweet hockey romance

This was a sweet NA hockey romance with two roommates who start out as enemies but slowly become lovers and boyfriends. Loved the inclusion of past characters and the broadening of the friend groups.

Fiesty!

Sweet and feisty Frenemies to lovers, opposites attract! A great dose of personal growth and her comfort. I enjoyed the narration and the story!

I Wanted to Love This More Than I Did

I really wanted to like this more than I actually did. It was slow to get into, and I struggled to fully connect with the story. In particular, Gus confronting his drinking and substance abuse issues didn’t land well for me. It felt more like what someone expects that journey to look like rather than a deep or accurate portrayal, and there was an underlying ick I couldn’t quite shake.

Honestly, I found myself more intrigued by Rafe and his skating storyline than the main romance. I’m also not sure I’d truly call this enemies to lovers—it felt more like annoyed-to-friends-with-benefits-to-HEA, which is fine, just not what I was expecting.

Overall, not a bad read, but it didn’t hit the way I hoped it would. The narrators did a fantastic job!

Loved everything about this book!

The book was a fantastic read and the narrator did such a good job of bringing both characters to life! Fantastic! Definitely a must listen because I don’t usually care when a single narrator does both voices but this one did so well that it felt like separate individuals! Wonderful work!