Full Review by DorotyReads
After finishing Unassisted, I was curious to see where H.A. Laine would take the series next. The idea of a romance between a professional hockey player and the journalist covering his team immediately caught my attention, especially because the conflict feels believable from the very beginning. While I appreciated many aspects of the story, I never became as emotionally invested as I had hoped.
The writing has a thoughtful, introspective style, but it sometimes made the story difficult to follow. I occasionally found myself losing track of conversations or wondering how much time had passed between scenes. There were moments where the emotional intention was clear, yet the execution felt a little fragmented, making it harder to stay fully immersed in Ben and Renee's journey.
What stood out most to me was Ben's character. On the surface, he's the teammate who always has a joke ready and keeps everyone around him smiling. Underneath that humor, however, is someone carrying grief, guilt, and an almost instinctive need to protect everyone except himself. His tendency to solve other people's problems while ignoring his own made him feel like a genuinely complex person rather than a typical hockey romance hero. Watching him slowly accept that vulnerability isn't weakness was one of the novel's strongest elements.
Renee was equally interesting in a quieter way. She's intelligent, observant, and determined to build a career based on honesty, but past experiences have taught her how easily someone's voice can be dismissed by those in power. Her independence isn't simply confidence—it's something she's fought hard to reclaim. I admired that she refused to let anyone make decisions on her behalf, even when those decisions came from a place of love.
The romance develops naturally through mutual respect and growing trust instead of instant attraction, which I always appreciate in a slow-burn story. Ben and Renee challenge each other's coping mechanisms, and together they gradually learn that love isn't about fixing another person but about allowing them the space to face themselves.
Overall, Between the Glass has strong ideas, emotionally layered characters, and a relationship built on genuine understanding. Unfortunately, the pacing and writing style occasionally created enough distance that I never felt completely connected to the story. It's a thoughtful romance with plenty of heart, but it didn't leave the lasting emotional impact I was hoping for.