One-Time Shot cover art

One-Time Shot

Smithton Bears, Book 1

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One-Time Shot

By: Lane Hayes
Narrated by: Kirt Graves
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About this listen

The jock, the geek, and the hockey project…

Jett

My pro hockey dreams are hanging by a thread. I need to have a great season and that means no partying, no distractions, no fun. The grad student pestering me for science-y help on his thesis is the definition of no fun, so… okay.

Pros and cons of agreeing to this deal:

Pros: Positive use of free time. (At least that’s what my agent says.)

Cons: Malcolm likes big words and his first language is math. He’s also bossy, clumsy, and he doesn’t know the first thing about hockey.

But he’s also cute and he’s got a great sense of humor and—oh no. I cannot have a crush on the geek. No way. Not now.

Malcolm

Yes, I’m a serious student, but a hockey project is not serious. Who cares about big hunky hockey players zipping around a sheet of ice at warp speed? Not I.

According to my professor, however, the only way to attain the required data is to study the specimen in his natural habitat, a.k.a. the ice rink.

Pros: My thesis should lead to a bevy of job offers.

Cons: Jett. He’s impossible—too big, too handsome, too gruff and yet disarmingly charming and—

Okay, fine. I like the jock… a lot. Lately, I find myself wondering if there’s such a thing as a one-time shot at forever.

One-Time Shot is a low-angst, geek-jock MM college hockey romance featuring a charismatic hockey star and an adorkable scientist.

©2025 Lane Hayes (P)2025 Lane Hayes
Romance Sports Hockey Heartfelt Feel-Good Witty

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Listener received this title free

Excellent narration, there was never any doubt about POV.
Story - While this seemed to start as a very typical nerd/jock story, it became something more. There was a bigger focus on the science, and Malcolm, the nerd, was confident and positive. Jett was particularly sweet and supportive, and it wasn't all about homophobia and coming out, which was refreshing.

unexpected

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Listener received this title free

One Time Shot, the first book in Lane Hayes’ new Smithson Bears college-set hockey series, is a cute, jock/nerd romance that kicks off when Physics grad student Malcolm Maloney nervously approaches Smithson hockey star Jett Erickson to ask if he will agree to take part in an experiment Malcolm is conducting as part of his research for his thesis. Initally, Jett isn’t minded to help – he has enough on his plate and needs to keep his focus on playing his best game in order to land a professional contract. But Mal is surprisingly persistent, and after a few days of seeing him around everywhere, Jett gives in and says he’ll do the experiment – provided Mal lets Jett teach him about hockey. Mal needs to know what he’s watching in order for it to make sense, right? Besides, maybe Jett needs something else to think about while he’s waiting to hear from his agent – and it certainly doesn’t hurt that Mal is all kinds of cute.

The experiment commences, and as Jett and Mal spend time together, they start to bond over a mutual love of sci-fi movies and TV shows, Star Trek in particular – and a genuine friendship develops between them, which soon turns into something more when the mutual attraction and longing that’s been sparking between them finally boils over.

One Time Shot is entertaining and well-written, but it’s pretty predictable. Mal has never been interested in hockey (or any sport, really); Jett lives for the game and, in his final year in college, is hoping to make it his career in one way or another. He knows he’s unlikely to play in the NHL, but hopes that maybe a contract with the ECHL might one day lead to an AHL spot. I liked him and Mal together and enjoyed their gentle teasing and banter, and it’s clear they’re completely gone for each other – but they have to keep things on the downlow because while Mal is out and proud, Jett is in the closet because he doesn’t want to ruin his chances of getting picked up by a pro hockey team. Mal is mostly okay with this short-term; they’ll both be leaving Smithson at the end of the academic year to go their separate ways anyway, so it’s not as though they can be anything other than ‘casual’. Or can they?

Kirt Graves is one of those narrators I always enjoy listening to, so I was pleased to see he’d signed on to narrate this new series. His voice has a pleasantly husky note to it and is easy on the ear; his pacing is good, he differentiates very effectively between all the characters and his portrayals of Mal and Jett fit them perfectly, with Mal’s higher pitch and slightly faster delivery contrasting nicely with Jett’s deeper, more considered manner. The humour in the story comes across really well, as does the growing connection between the two leads; it’s an excellent performance and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

One Time Shot is a short listen, coming in at five hours and twenty minutes. Mal and Jett are likeable and endearing if somewhat stereotypical; Mal is geeky and a bit clumsy, and Jett is the hockey-focused hot jock, albeit a bit more intelligent than he initially appears. I liked them individually and together, and even though they’re opposites, they compliment each other well and are good for each other. On the downside, the story sometimes feels a bit… bare bones, there’s some telling-not-showing, the reasons for the (short-lived) third-act break-up could have been a bit more original, and the reconcilition is of the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it variety.

For all its predictability One Time Shot is a well-crafted and steamy opposites-attract romance – and if that’s your jam, you could do a lot worse than choose to listen to this one.

Predictable, cute jock/nerd romance

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Listener received this title free

Lane Hayes pens another wonderful novel, putting her own unique spin on the nerd/jock trope in this first book of her new “Smithton Bears”, a college sports mm romance that is captivating from start to end. I adored the two lead characters, Jett Erickson, the hockey player, and Malcolm Maloney, the geek, both students at Smithton College. Malcolm is a science geek who is working on his thesis and when his professor gives him more incentive to do something different, he jumps on an idea of doing a sport related scientific experiment. The incentive is having it published, so now he needs to find someone on one of the college sports teams to work with him, and his first choice is hockey, because he can test the speed of the puck, though he did not know the name of it then, which was hilarious. He asks Jett, the star hockey player, but he doesn’t take him seriously or give him the time of day. His roommate tells him to not give up on him, so he stalks Jett, hoping to get him to agree, which leads to another hysterical scene. Jett agrees with one stipulation, to teach him all about hockey. I thought these two were great together and for each other, the perfect opposites attract pairing. I loved how everything unfolded in this story, a well-written and plotted story with the perfect balance of drama, witty dialogue and humor, heartfelt emotions and a slow burn romance. A great start to a new series! Lane Hayes, thank you for this fabulous story, the laughs, the charm and the emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧 Lane Hayes cast the perfect narrator to bring her characters and story to life. Kirt Graves is a versatile voice artist, and he did a fantastic job voicing these characters, taking each role and owning it, sounding believable and just as I imagined they would sound. He did a superb job portraying both Malcolm’s geeky adorableness and Jett’s kind, patient personality, and his performance of the side/secondary characters was equally fabulous. Graves is an entertaining storyteller and his captivating performance rivets you to the story

Fantastic Story & Narration🎧Sweet & Enjoyable!

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Listener received this title free

5 Stars!

This was such a sweet audiobook! 

I loved this opposites-attract, jock/nerd story. Jett and Malcolm couldn't have been more different if they tried, but they managed to find some common ground in their favorite show and developed a solid foundation for an unlikely friendship that later turned into more. I loved how their relationship grew into more, the progression was very natural, and true to their characters. 

This wasn't very long, and it was very low angst, very steamy, fun, and engaging. I was very invested in Jett and Malcolm getting their HEA. 

I really enjoyed Kirk Graves narration, his voice is very pleasant. He brings the characters to life for me, giving each character a different voice and bringing their personality forth, which heightens the experience in my opinion.

Definitely recommendable! 

Loved it!

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Listener received this title free

This was a cute nerd x jock hockey romance! It hits all the spots you want & expect from that set-up, but this was actually a much slower burn than I was expecting. But this wasn’t a negative as our main characters spend a lot of time growing their friendship and getting to know each other before their relationship turns physical & romantic. It also made it even funnier at the end of the story when the team “finds out” they were dating but their reaction is like “oh you mean the cute science guy that you’ve been *teaching* hockey to for a very long time?! *fake surprise*” and they were totally chill about it.

Also, as always, Kirt Graves’ narration was a great addition to bringing the story to life!

A cute nerd/jock romance!

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