Reviewed by LiteraryLure · 4 February 2026

Hidden Scars

Andi Jaxon

Darby U Hockey Boys, book 1

Devastating yearn

“Its strongest choice is letting support matter without pretending love alone can end abuse.”

📖 Hidden Scars by Andi Jaxon Rating 5/5

Jeremy expects to dislike his new roommate, Preston, the sharp-tongued golden boy of the college hockey team. Their hostility changes when Preston returns from a weekend away visibly injured and unable to hide the abuse that has controlled his life.

The romance is built around trust, touch, and the difficult fact that Jeremy cannot rescue Preston by force. He can offer safety and support, but Preston must decide when he is ready to accept help. That distinction gives the hurt-and-comfort story a stronger emotional center than a simple savior narrative.

The sexual content is explicit, yet the most effective scenes focus on consent and the slow rebuilding of physical safety. The book is intentionally dark and at times extreme, so its handling of trauma will not suit every reader.

Hidden Scars is an MM hockey romance with enemies-to-lovers friction, roommates, found family, and a long recovery from severe abuse. Readers should check content guidance before starting.

Published by LiteraryLure.

Cards

Image supplements a book review of "Hidden Scars" by Andi Jaxon. The cover features a stylized blue hockey mask with crossed hockey sticks behind it, framed by a laurel wreath on a black background. The title "hidden SCARS" appears in white and blue text, with the author's name "ANDI JAXON" below. The background resembles an ice rink surface with delicate line drawings of a heart, a dove holding an olive branch, a butterfly, and a pair of ice skates, adding symbolic and artistic elements.

Each one carries its own alt text. Nothing is cropped to fit.

What is in it

MM Hockey Romance

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