Next Man Up

De: L.A. Witt

Narrado por: Michael Ferraiuolo

When tragedy strikes the Pittsburgh Whiskey Rebels, winger Avery Caldwell loses more than his longtime line mate. Without warning, his best friend in the world is just… gone.

There's no time for grief, though. The season is starting, and now Avery is captain of his devastated team. He's determined to be strong for them and lead them by example—putting aside his emotions and focusing on hockey.

But he can only pretend he's okay for so long.

Peyton Hall was looking forward to a new start on a new team. He'd expected to land a place on the second line and play among men he's been admiring for years… including a winger he's been crushing on since forever. Now he's suddenly centering the top line and trying to fill the skates of a beloved star who's gone too soon.

Avery is determined to ignore his heartache and carry his devastated team. Peyton is determined to find his place among grieving teammates.

But can the new guy stop Avery from self-destructing beneath his grief and the pressure of the captaincy?

And is there any room for the crackling chemistry they're both trying desperately to ignore?

Next Man Up is a standalone M/M hockey romance.

©2026 L.A. Witt (P)2026 Podium Audio

Beautiful Hockey romane

Michael Ferraiuolo can sure bring life and emotions to a beautifully written book. This has every emotion known to man. A hockey family at it's worst trying to do their best.

Bittersweet ❤️

So good! Sublime Narration and Storytelling. All the feels are in this new addition to L.A. Witt’s collection of creative genius! Thank you!

A Little Annoyed

Next Man Up feels like a very authentic hockey novel, and it’s obvious how much LA Witt enjoys hockey. The central themes of the book are recovery and grief, which I assumed would mean an emotional story, but for me it just didn’t pack a punch. There were a few sad moments, but it didn’t really tear my heart out like I expected it to. YMMV, but to me the story seemed to drag and felt repetitive. That being said, if you normally like LA Witt’s books, you’ll probably enjoy this one. One thing really got on my nerves, but it’s a spoiler so I’ll post it at the end of this review. Michael Ferraiuolo did a good job with the narration. [SPOILER BELOW] I am not a fan of third-act breakups, especially when they are short and pointless. The one in this book was pretty dumb and really annoyed me. There was no reason for it other than to create some drama and it kinda felt like a lazy way to do that.

Updated- DNF

I’m four hours in and nothing has happened. The story line is very repetitive and I decided not to finish. There’s still 8 hours left