So This Is War Audiobook – The Vancouver Agitators, Book 5

I found myself listening to “So This Is War” by Meghan Quinn during a drizzly Portland afternoon, curled up in my favorite reading nook with the rain tapping gently on the window—a setting that usually brings out the best in any audiobook. As someone who’s always loved sports romances for their blend of high energy and heart, I was hopeful for this forbidden, roommates-to-lovers story set against the pulse of a hockey team.

Right from the opening chapter, it was clear that Quinn leans hard into familiar territory: a chance encounter at a hotel bar, mistaken identities, and then—voilà—our hero finds out his new crush is not only his coach’s daughter but also his new assistant and roommate. The tangled web of proximity and prohibition could have made for delicious tension, but instead, it felt more like an echo of plots I’ve heard before.

As someone who craves emotional depth in characters (especially when they’re surrounded by so many barriers), I found myself wishing these leads were written with more nuance. The male protagonist seems fueled almost entirely by attraction to Wylie’s appearance rather than any meaningful connection or inner struggle. Wylie herself never truly steps out from behind her role as “coach’s daughter”—her hopes and motivations remain frustratingly opaque.

What really took me out of the experience was how forced much of their chemistry felt; every interaction seemed engineered to ramp up sexual tension without allowing space for genuine vulnerability or growth. It’s difficult to invest emotionally when it feels like you’re watching actors read lines rather than real people stumbling through love. For an audiobook listener who values authenticity over heat-for-heat’s-sake banter, this left me wanting more.

The comedic elements—another big draw advertised here—unfortunately didn’t land as often as I’d hoped. Much of the humor felt recycled from countless other rom-coms: misunderstandings about chores assigned by Coach Wood or typical snarky roommate back-and-forths that quickly lost their freshness. There were moments where I smiled (because who doesn’t appreciate some playful bickering?), but rarely did I laugh aloud or feel genuinely surprised.

One aspect that stood out positively was how Quinn conjures up game-day excitement; if you enjoy being dropped into the charged atmosphere of locker rooms and stadium seats, those details ring true even if they don’t drive character development forward much.

Sadly, without narrator information available (a shame—the right voice can sometimes save even formulaic material!), there isn’t much praise or criticism to give here beyond saying that production quality seemed solid enough not to distract from immersion.

Ultimately—as much as I wanted “So This Is War” to break its own rules—I finished feeling underwhelmed by both story arc and romance payoff. If you’re a longtime fan of Meghan Quinn looking just for another lighthearted addition to your Vancouver Agitators shelf (and are content revisiting old tropes), this might be exactly what you want playing through your headphones while folding laundry or commuting home after work.

For me? Next time I’ll hold out hope for something fresher on both emotional resonance and originality—but I’m grateful all audiobooks offer another lens through which stories live and breathe!