Hidden Scars: Darby U Hockey Boys, Book 1

4.4 | 6,374 ratings

Price: 29.66

Last update: 12-29-2024

About this item

Charles Preston Carmichael is the most infuriating man I've ever met.

I want to sock the golden boy of college hockey right in the mouth. He enjoys telling me everything I'm messing up—publicly. And since he's my roommate for the next year, I can't avoid him.

Yet there's something about him that makes me watch him. Something dark. A secret I want to uncover.

When he returns from a weekend away, broken and haunted, I can't keep my distance anymore. He needs someone, and I'll be damned if it's not me.

Soon my life no longer revolves around hockey but the nightmares he's living with. Desperately, I want to save him, but I can't. Only he can save himself.

Can I watch him destroy himself as he tries to hold tight to the things that matter, or will I be the final hit in the destruction of his life?

Hidden Scars is an MM enemies-to-lovers hockey romance with a jealous f*ck buddy and plenty of heat.

Annie Rivers

Genuinely a 5 star read..

Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2024

I have no notes. Genuinely have no notes. All I can say is that this was beautiful, sad, and entertaining story. I loveeeddd reading about Preston and Jeremy but especially Preston. He is such a complex character with heartbreaking trauma and I just wanted to hug him and be his friend or family and tell him that he is absolutely worthy of love. Ugh. ????♥️ Goodness. Great book.

StephNCMom

3.5 rounded up…engaging, spicy, but rough!

Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2024

Good story, great supporting cast of characters, tough topics. But sooo many, commas, in weird places, run on, sentences are very, distracting and make it hard to, follow the story sometimes! More copy editing/proofreading, please. I liked the MCs together, though the repeatedly rough encounters with limited communication pushed some boundaries for me. Not sure I would’ve been as persistent and patient as Jeremy was.

Christina (mm.book_lover)

5⭐️ plus 5 more!! MM hockey romance

Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2023

Another AMAZING book by Andi Jaxon! I love all of Andi's previous books so it's no surprise that when she wrote a MM hockey romance with enemies to lovers and hurt/comfort that I was beyond excited to read it!!
This book has a lot of triggers so be sure to read those, if you need to, before you dive in.
We are thrown right into Preston's personal hell from the beginning. What he goes through explains why he's the enemy of this book. I'm not into spoilers so I'll just suggest you go in blind like I did in order to get the full emotional roller-coaster that is Preston. Jeremy on the other hand is so damn sweet and caring to a fault. He tries not to care for Preston but he just can't and he doesn't know why.
Once they get over their dislike for eachother, the hurt/comfort comes in full force. Jeremy is there for Preston in ways nobody ever has before. It takes him awhile but once Preston realizes he loves Jeremy, he becomes dependent on him. He struggled to do simple everyday tasks when Jeremy wasn't around and ended up lost physically and emotionally.
We meet Jeremy's amazing family and I've never wanted to reach through a book so bad and hug a grandma as much as I did for what she made for Preston ???? I felt that scene and makes me wish my own grandma's were still here not only to receive the same gift but to feel the warm embrace of their hugs.
The slightest downfall for me was the ending. It felt rushed seeing as it all happened in a few paragraphs. BUT the overall book was amazing and easy sits itself in my top 5 MM books!!

Jess

Heartbreaking and moving

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2024

I'm so upset that I waited so long to read this one. It broke me in the best way possible. I loved the broken, domineering Preston so much. He pulled at every heartstring. And Jeremy was the perfect light to Preston's dark to balance each other out. This was an intense read, that still managed to bring a few lighter moments (mainly from the side characters Brandon and Paul). I liked that the angst wasn't from the relationship between the guys, but from the outside factors that were breaking Preston. There was one small moment near the end that moved a bit quickly for my liking, but it didn't bother me enough to matter. I didn't want to put this book down. I loved the way the characters were written and evolved through the story.

Marissa Gramoll

Mixed feelings

Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2023

I devoured this book on a weekend vacation. The pacing was such I didn't want to put it down. It definitely sent me on an emotional rollercoaster.

I really loved Jeremy's character. He was super understanding even though Preston was going through hell and back. I really wished for more justice. I wanted Jeremy to be the boyfriend who stood up for Preston and took more action to keep him safe emotionally and physically, especially when he was aware of some of what was happening.

Grandma and the quilt was everything. I literally got teary eyed, which doesn't always happen when I read. It was so sweet and so needed when Preston went through so much. I loved how much Jeremy's family welcomed Preston into the group. Talk about found family.

There were some super vivid and emotional scenes. There was a lot of steam. I prefer safe words when rough sex is a constant. This book did not establish safe words or boundaries. I also wish it would have been better addressed when lube was and was not used. The book seemed to go back and forth. Some people enjoy backdoor play without lube, but I felt that this book needed to make that clear and not have Jeremy literally pleading for it just for Preston to keep going totally dry.

This book definitely has a lot of triggering content. It is a dark romance. It felt very bully to me.
The trigger warning is vague, so here is a short list of what I found triggering:

Abusive parent (very graphic scenes with a lot of on page details)
Rough, violent sex without safe word/boundaries established
Eating disorder (not addressed and used as a way to taunt other characters)
Victim becoming the Dom in the bedroom without considering how his father's treatment of him was spilling into his sex life.
Dubious consent

All in all this was a very steamy hockey mm college romance with a lot to love and a lot to think about.

Amazon Customer

Intense, dark, and amazing

Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2024

There is a lot in this book. Preston is so broken and Jeremy did a great job supporting him and helping him grow into who he was meant to be. There are a lot of triggers so make sure to look them up. Would’ve liked a little more at the end in terms of Preston’s mind set and how he views himself after everything.

Best Sellers in

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen: The Doomsday Books, Book 1

4.6 1466

21.88

Chemistry

4.6 1023

15.04

The Last Sun

4.6 1978

21.83

Something's Different

4.5 1255

15.3

Angela Davis: An Autobiography

4.8 389

19.95

A Marvellous Light: The Last Binding, Book 1

4.4 3233

17.71

The Last of the Loudens

4.6 760

15.79

A Mage's Guide to Human Familiars: R'iyah Family Archives, Book 1

4.6 3612

29.66