Post by mjbett on Jan 18, 2023 20:39:09 GMT -7
Ok, as promised, an update about Winging It.
I don’t think I can discuss anything without revealing too much about both books so I’m putting everything behind the Spoiler tag.
Proceed at your own risk
More…
ALL of my favorite scenes were cut
These scenes also had some of the best lines.
In order of most favorite to least….
Just so much is different. I’m not even sure if this can be considered the same book. I think that’s it’s definitely lost some of the magic.
In the foreword of the new edition the authors say that the original was a love letter to hockey and they wanted more of a hockey romance this time.
It’s hard to separate the two in my mind but I’m not sure that this new “update” would make my favorites list and I’m not looking forward as much to book 3. Too bad.
I’ve kept the new one on my wish list and I’ll post if it discounts again. I’d be interested in the thoughts of anyone who read both.
I don’t think I can discuss anything without revealing too much about both books so I’m putting everything behind the Spoiler tag.
Proceed at your own risk
First off…the biggest change is we get Dante’s POV. I liked getting his thoughts but I felt Gabe was shortchanged. That might have been because Dante’s thoughts were new and I was already familiar with Gabe from the first edition. I’m not sure and I didn’t do a side by side comparison but this book felt Dante heavy. Not necessarily a bad thing but it didn’t feel equal.
They changed a couple nicknames and eliminated cameos from real players/people. I liked the old nicknames, tbh. Not sure why they had to make this change.
Their first “encounter” isn’t the phone sex.
When they get together the first time, there’s a nice conversation about how they want this to go. The communication was nice. I liked that scene.
There’s more with their parents. Some of the stuff with Dante’s parents happened off page in the first edition so this just filled in the blanks. It definitely featured Dante’s parents more than Gabe’s though.
The stuff with Kitty (the defenseman)…it was more defined in the original. In this edition, the play in question was more ambiguous. Then, he gets pulled (placed on IR for PR reasons) from the team and they call up a replacement from their AHL team. Maybe this was to illustrate how these things happen IRL?
In the original, the way Kitty finds out about them is more organic to the plot. He comes over to apologize and catches them together. Here, he lives close to Gabe and his phone gets stuck in his garage and the door won’t open because of a snow drift. The situation was very contrived to get Kitty to find them.
There’s a lot of small differences.
The charity event they attend is longer and more detailed.
There’s more from the PR person and the GM isn’t in it at all. All the characters that have expanded roles (excluding the fathers) are female so that might be deliberate.
Yorkie’s not a Calder contender.
Gabe is more of a superstar this time around and the team’s top scorer.
Gabe doesn’t go to the funeral for Dante’s grandmother. They’re fighting at the time so it makes sense but they had a couple moments together at the funeral and I think those added to the relationship.
No All Star game and no jersey swap for the loser. This led to their public outing so kind of a big difference.
No joint interview after their outing either.
The gate code is the same (jersey numbers of his hockey line) but Gabe gives it to Dante, he doesn’t figure it out himself. I liked the original, I think it was a little showcase of their personalities. Gabe is all hockey and Dante knows it.
Dante’s injury is different and he doesn’t call Gabe to take him to the doctor. Again, there was a nice scene of them together that gets eliminated in the update.
During their fight, Gabe brings over a bunch of players after a game. Dante is there unexpectedly and they’re both a bit startled. Again, a nice scene is gone.
There’s more Adele and Evette. (Captain’s wife and goalie’s girlfriend, then fiancée).
Gabe has no idea about hockey boards (gossip sites). Considering they mention going to a team class that covers finances, mental health, social media, etc… it didn’t seem logical that Gabe wouldn’t know about this.
They changed a couple nicknames and eliminated cameos from real players/people. I liked the old nicknames, tbh. Not sure why they had to make this change.
Their first “encounter” isn’t the phone sex.
When they get together the first time, there’s a nice conversation about how they want this to go. The communication was nice. I liked that scene.
There’s more with their parents. Some of the stuff with Dante’s parents happened off page in the first edition so this just filled in the blanks. It definitely featured Dante’s parents more than Gabe’s though.
The stuff with Kitty (the defenseman)…it was more defined in the original. In this edition, the play in question was more ambiguous. Then, he gets pulled (placed on IR for PR reasons) from the team and they call up a replacement from their AHL team. Maybe this was to illustrate how these things happen IRL?
In the original, the way Kitty finds out about them is more organic to the plot. He comes over to apologize and catches them together. Here, he lives close to Gabe and his phone gets stuck in his garage and the door won’t open because of a snow drift. The situation was very contrived to get Kitty to find them.
There’s a lot of small differences.
The charity event they attend is longer and more detailed.
There’s more from the PR person and the GM isn’t in it at all. All the characters that have expanded roles (excluding the fathers) are female so that might be deliberate.
Yorkie’s not a Calder contender.
Gabe is more of a superstar this time around and the team’s top scorer.
Gabe doesn’t go to the funeral for Dante’s grandmother. They’re fighting at the time so it makes sense but they had a couple moments together at the funeral and I think those added to the relationship.
No All Star game and no jersey swap for the loser. This led to their public outing so kind of a big difference.
No joint interview after their outing either.
The gate code is the same (jersey numbers of his hockey line) but Gabe gives it to Dante, he doesn’t figure it out himself. I liked the original, I think it was a little showcase of their personalities. Gabe is all hockey and Dante knows it.
Dante’s injury is different and he doesn’t call Gabe to take him to the doctor. Again, there was a nice scene of them together that gets eliminated in the update.
During their fight, Gabe brings over a bunch of players after a game. Dante is there unexpectedly and they’re both a bit startled. Again, a nice scene is gone.
There’s more Adele and Evette. (Captain’s wife and goalie’s girlfriend, then fiancée).
Gabe has no idea about hockey boards (gossip sites). Considering they mention going to a team class that covers finances, mental health, social media, etc… it didn’t seem logical that Gabe wouldn’t know about this.
More…
ALL of my favorite scenes were cut
These scenes also had some of the best lines.
In order of most favorite to least….
Not really a scene, but when they’re fighting a bit Gabe thinks that “when he started sucking at hockey, he stayed late to practice. He couldn’t stay late to boyfriend.”
Awesome line!!! Why, oh why, did they get rid of it? For me, arguably one of the best lines in any MM romance.
After they’re outed, they have a meeting with the GM and he says he will murder them if he sees their “literal asses on Deadspin or Puck Daddy.” Again, just a funny line/scene that I wish was still on the book.
The team dinner where Dante and Gabe find out that the team has heard them together in their hotel room. Another funny scene and it illustrates the difference in their characters. Dante isn’t fazed at all and Gabe has a minor freak out. But it also showed how the team wasn’t really bothered by them together. Another scene that I thought should have stayed.
The joint interview never happens so Dante’s good line is gone.
“When we’re not working hard to keep in shape and prepare for the next game, our time is ours and we can spend it how we want.”
I see no benefit to cutting this.
Dante doesn’t get in a hockey fight defending Gabe. Okay, maybe not the best decision to have the fight but again, I liked their interaction and talk afterward. And it showed how Dante is still pretty young, thoughtless, and hotheaded sometimes even if he’s generally an amicable guy.
There was a funny scene where the new players compare Gabe to a hockey robot produced by Canada.
A small but funny scene…gone:(
Awesome line!!! Why, oh why, did they get rid of it? For me, arguably one of the best lines in any MM romance.
After they’re outed, they have a meeting with the GM and he says he will murder them if he sees their “literal asses on Deadspin or Puck Daddy.” Again, just a funny line/scene that I wish was still on the book.
The team dinner where Dante and Gabe find out that the team has heard them together in their hotel room. Another funny scene and it illustrates the difference in their characters. Dante isn’t fazed at all and Gabe has a minor freak out. But it also showed how the team wasn’t really bothered by them together. Another scene that I thought should have stayed.
The joint interview never happens so Dante’s good line is gone.
“When we’re not working hard to keep in shape and prepare for the next game, our time is ours and we can spend it how we want.”
I see no benefit to cutting this.
Dante doesn’t get in a hockey fight defending Gabe. Okay, maybe not the best decision to have the fight but again, I liked their interaction and talk afterward. And it showed how Dante is still pretty young, thoughtless, and hotheaded sometimes even if he’s generally an amicable guy.
There was a funny scene where the new players compare Gabe to a hockey robot produced by Canada.
A small but funny scene…gone:(
Just so much is different. I’m not even sure if this can be considered the same book. I think that’s it’s definitely lost some of the magic.
In the foreword of the new edition the authors say that the original was a love letter to hockey and they wanted more of a hockey romance this time.
It’s hard to separate the two in my mind but I’m not sure that this new “update” would make my favorites list and I’m not looking forward as much to book 3. Too bad.
I’ve kept the new one on my wish list and I’ll post if it discounts again. I’d be interested in the thoughts of anyone who read both.