Title: Heart in Hand
Fandom: Hockey RPF
Pairing: Sidney Crosby/Alexander Ovechkin
Categories: Romance, Drama
Length: Super Epic (130,608 words)
Warnings: Dub-con (Sex as result of a lost bet)

Author on LJ: salifiable
Author Website: Author’s profile @ AO3

Summary:
Sid had realized very early on that for better or worse, he would be linked to Alexander Ovechkin for the rest of his life. But he never expected anything like this.

Review:
This is the first hockey RPF I ever read, and I fear I’ve been spoiled as this will be the story by which all others will be judged. Once I started reading, I found that I couldn’t put this story down; in fact I stayed up until 4 AM just to finish it in one go. As I finished I almost wished it was a story I hadn’t read yet so I could have the joy of rediscovering it all over again.

I think I was hooked by the idea of the two “rivals” falling for one another. If you are unfamiliar with hockey, both players came into the league at the same time, on separate teams, and both are a joy to watch. One is a traditional, hard working, dedicated and driven player from Canada who has a Stanley Cup and an Olympic gold medal. The other is a dynamic, passionate, hard playing, fun loving player from Russia who has not yet achieved the Cup or a gold medal. Both are absolutely enjoyable to watch but they have very different styles of play so it’s hard to really compare them and call one the better player (unless, of course, you are a Capitals or Penguins fan). However because they both entered the league at the same time they are often pitted against one another as rivals by the media and, sometimes even, the league. Both are also considered to be the public faces of hockey.

There were so many little things I enjoy in any story that were included here besides the rivals falling for one another and opposites attract angle. I liked the misunderstandings, the little hints of jealousy as feelings were realized, the sportsmanship involved with two rivals on opposite teams challenging and helping each other to elevate their level of play on and off the ice. There were strong friendships and family relationships throughout that each character was able to rely upon when needed. I also enjoyed the little details like how the patterns of speech were written. Ovechkin is Russian, and while he has learned English, he speaks it like a non native speaker and his dialogue is written that way. The way his dialogue is written doesn’t detract from the story, it adds to it. Overall I liked the contrasts shown between the two characters, who are portrayed as fundamentally different in their personalities as they are in game play. Both approached their eventual public outing in separate fashions, yet both reactions seemed to fit in with the story and characterizations. And, finally, their story had a happy and satisfying ending.

Heart in Hand