#tough guy

[swetlanawist]

[hollandermfer]

i have such a love/hate relationship with how rachel reid writes fabian, a 30 year old feminine gay man of color who she does not seem to have many shared interests or lived experiences with (in contrast to characters that share her love of hockey and its culture), and how she chooses to express his queerness. this in particular is just so fucking funny

[parcai]

shane poppin bottles cuz fabian's name starts w an f.

[themenacewhowrites]

I don’t think you understand how much I want Shane Hollander and Ryan Price to be friends.

[pauspapier]

Not me crying at 6:30 am because of a giant ginger hockey player and his twink lover

[karenandhenwilson]

Some thoughts on "Tough Guy"

If I were really pressed to name the book I would recommend the most, it would be this one in the series. And that's entirely about the struggle Ryan has with his libido, both because of his anxiety and the medication he takes for that and for his pain.

This is a topic you don't see discussed very often. It steps outside of the norm of romance books, especially those that have a big erotic part. It's a risk to include something like that in a story, and I think half the reaction I've seen in fandom proves that risk true: people will feel uncomfortable with the topic from the start and dismiss the book because they don't want to deal with it.

But as with every representation, it's important that we do have stories like this. And that we have a Fabian who is very patient with Ryan about it, and who encourages Ryan to experiment. Who tells Ryan that maybe the orgasm doesn't need to be the goal. And yes, of course, their sex is awkward sometimes, but it always felt very sex positive for me. And that's just how it can be, and I found it refreshing to see it depicted in a published book.

I've already shared another post a couple of weeks ago about my thoughts about the kind of gay character that Fabian represents. It's another point in the book that probably made a lot of people feel uncomfortable and therefore dismiss the book. And therefore it's a second point where I'd really like for some people to take a moment and consider their own biases.

I found the conflict between Fabian and Ryan at the end very understandable and real. Ryan feels miserable, but hockey is the only thing he knows to do with his life, and I think it was once a big dream for him. So of course he has a difficult time considering that there might be a different way for his life to continue. And Fabian, on the other hand, doesn't like anything to do with hockey anyway, and now he has to watch the guy he is falling in love with get hurt and ignore that. He has every right to put up a boundary and say that he won't watch Ryan let the sport destroy him. And the only way for him to hold to that boundary is to end things with Ryan.

Thankfully, this is a romance book, and so it was clear all along that the book would end with Ryan and Fabian together. I'm glad Ryan came to the decision to quit hockey. And not solely because Fabian broke up with him and he wanted to get him back, either. We see throughout the whole book how Ryan, independently of anything happening with Fabian, comes to terms with the fact that hockey isn't good for him anymore. From dealing with the pain he suffers from, to finding some joy in hockey again when Wyatt takes him to play hockey with the kids, to the situation with Duncan Harvey. And I think that's an important point: Ryan doesn't quit hockey to get Fabian back; he quits hockey because he knows it's the best decision for him.

So, I really liked this book, but I'm also not surprised that a lot of people shun it on principle for the characters and topics depicted in it.

[space-cadet-x]

Log of equipment specialist X:

Feeling small and punchy. I may be adorable but I will throw hands! It doesn't matter if I'm crying while throwing hands I'm still tough!!

End Log

[thewindmillisoutoforder]

I think it would be fitting for Ryan to be extremely ticklish but pretty much no one dares to try until he and Fabian get together. And of course when Fabian discovers this, Ryan is in a position to get devastating revenge 😈