Book Review: The Has-Been by Wren Riley

It's been a while since I found a really good sports romance to read which is why I took the opportunity to read The Has-Been by Wren Riley. I've usually found sports romance to be charming, showing the pressures of being a professional sports player and how the lead has to figure out the balance of making a relationship work with their career. What makes The Has-Been different is that fact that it follows a couple where the lead MMC is a year out from a career ending injury with no hope of being to return to his sport and the future he envisioned for himself going pro. Instead, this book focuses on the fall-out of losing that dream and the future you put years of your life into and the ramifications that come from that loss and that was something that I found both unexpected and unique as it is not a subject matter I've seen covered as much in the genre. In the end, I really respected the way the various subjects were dealt with and the realistic approach to rebuilding your life. My only wish is that I would have wanted the book to spend more time with the couple once they are finding their peace in present after spending our time watching them deal with their grief.

The Has-Been follows former hockey player Liam Anderson, who has returned to school at Delleth College after taking a year off to deal with the career ending injury he suffered from and the many trials he went through after, including a break-up with his girlfriend. Liam is trying to take on enough of a course load to allow his to make up his junior year and still graduate not far behind the rest of his class. On the other hand, the book also follows Aubrey Vaughn, a student at Delleth College who has been dealing with her own issues after choosing to break up with her boyfriend, Liam, after she realizes that she could not help him with his trauma and health. The two of them are brought together again once they have to start doing clinical hours with the hockey team for the degrees. As they continue to spend more time together, the former couple have to deal with the feelings they still have for each other while also trying to deal with grief over the issues that drove them apart in the first place.

First of all, I really enjoyed the way that Riley set up the world here. It had the perfect small town vibe with its easy to find main areas to see the main characters, like the hockey rink and the local bar, alongside a full cast of characters that will most likely be seen in various other installments for the series. I love when a series opener does this, allowing the readers to learn the world and the various people in it, seeing the connections between other potential matches and showing just where the series might go next. Riley has developed a believable world and the people that populate it are complicated and realistic, filled with hope and grief and I am looking forward to see who will be the focus of book 2.

As for the characters, I wanted to give Liam and Aubrey big hugs because of everything they had to go through. The mental health representation was done beautifully here, showing the realistic way that depression and anxiety and other issues manifest in various ways and the ups and downs they take people through. It was gut-wrenching at times but Riley was able to give these issues the respect they needed as the story progressed. There was no shying away from the reality of these situations and Riley was able to use a deft hand in showing just how much these characters were worth with their emotions and the way they came through to the other side to find something they could want again.

As for the plot, second chance romances are a favorite of mine, the whole right person at the wront time leaves hope and this book had that and more. Readers get to see a couple who are still figuring out themselves so they can figure out how to be their new selves together and I love stories like that. This was wonderfully done and I can't wait to see what Wren Riley has in store next for this series.

Read this book if you like sports romance stories with a healthy dose of real issues and couples that learn to communicate and understand themselves and each other again.

Rating on my Scale: 8.5 Stars. I wanted more time with this couple but I'll just hope we get to see a little more of Liam and Aubrey in the next book.

My thanks to Rattle the Stars PR and Wren Riley for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.