Posts Tagged With: Sports – Football

Book Review: A Deeper Blue by S.E. Harmon

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: A Deeper Blue
Author: S.E. Harmon
Series: Rules of Engagement #2
Heroes: Kelly/Blue
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 260 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: October 30, 2018
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: A year ago, Kelly Cannon couldn’t imagine he’d end up with his formerly straight best friend. It’s hard to believe he can finally kiss Blue any time he wants… as long as they’re in private. And there’s the rub. Despite Kelly’s promise to wait until Blue is ready to come out, he’s tired of sneaking around. The cracks in their relationship are starting to show, and there might not be enough spackle in the world to fix them.

Britton “Blue” Montgomery may not be the physics brainiac his boyfriend is, but he’s not stupid. He knows Kelly isn’t completely happy. But he’s not ready to be the poster boy for bisexuals and gays in the NFL. He just wants to keep his head down, play the game he loves, and go home to the man he adores. Is that too much to ask?

With the truth slowly coming to the surface, Blue must make a choice. If it means losing Kelly, there’s no decision to make…. He has to find enough courage to face the music and hope they’ll survive the fallout.

Man. Happily-ever-afters may not be just for Disney princesses, but they sure are a lot of work.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2018, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Audio Review: The Blueprint by S.E. Harmon

Reviewed by Susan65 

Title: The Blueprint
Author: S.E. Harmon
Narrators: Sean Crisden and Alexander Cendese
Series: Rules of Possession #1
Heroes: Kelly/Blue
Genre: MM Contemoprary
Length: 8 Hours, 24 Minutes
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Release Date: June 30, 2018
Available at: Amazon and Audible
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Kelly Cannon is satisfied with his life. He has friends, a wonderful family, and a great job. But his love life has reached a new level of pitiful. Why? Well, his heart decided to break all the rules. Don’t fall in love with a straight guy. And definitely don’t fall in love with your best friend.

NFL standout Britton “Blue” Montgomery has pressure coming at him from all sides. From his father, who’s only interested in Blue’s football career. From his coaches, who just want him to play without getting injured again. From the fans. From his agent. And from his mother, who has popped up on the radar after leaving his family years before. And now his relationship with Kelly is on shaky ground, and that frightens Blue more than anything.

When Kelly admits he’s in love with Blue, bonds are tested, and Blue has to decide what’s really important. He doesn’t want to lose the number-one person in his life, but the cost to keep Kelly close might be more than he’s willing to pay.

It’s a good thing his nickname is the Blueprint—it’s time to draft a new set of plans.

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Categories: 5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Published in 2018, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Lucky by Garrett Leigh

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Lucky
Author: Garrett Leigh
Series: N/A
Heroes: Dominic Ramos/Lucky Coleman
Genre: MM Conteporary
Length: 282 Pages
Publisher: Fox Love Press
Release Date: September 18, 2018
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Dominic Ramos is a Premiership football player with a secret. There are no trophies for being gay in his game. Locked into his rep as the meanest defender on the pitch, keeping his secret is soul-crushing, but love has no place in his sport, even if his soft heart craves it.

Lucky Coleman is on his knees when he meets a man with more money than sense. It’s a Grindr hook-up for cash, not a love match, but dreaming of his desperate, kind eyes earns a place amongst his numerous bad habits.

Meeting once was risky, twice pushes Dom’s courage to the limit. Losing Lucky seems inevitable, but his tight grip on his image counts for nothing when Lucky starts to fall.

Catching him could cost Dom everything, but if he can set his heart free, getting Lucky long term might be a risk worth taking.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2018, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Quarterback by Mackenzie Blair

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: The Quarterback
Author: Mackenzie Blair
Heroes: Matt Lancaster/Trevor Kim
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 304 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: September 9, 2017
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Matt Lancaster is the star quarterback at Bodine College, a small Southern Division II school with an ultra-conservative Dean of Athletics. Matt is also very much in the closet, and he thinks he’s kept his secret well hidden. Until his best friends take him to a happy endings massage parlor and request a male masseuse for him.

In walks Trevor Kim, a gorgeous, pierced, tattooed fellow Bodine student who does massages—without happy endings—to pay for school after his family kicked him out for being gay. Trevor takes one look at Matt and breaks all his own rules about mixing business with pleasure.

Matt needs to keep his scholarship, win the National Championship, and survive his asshole father. Instead, he falls in love. Trevor needs to accept that the football god is meant to end up with him rather than a perky cheerleader. It’s time for a happy ever after for both of them.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2017, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: The Rainbow Clause by Beth Bolden

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: The Rainbow Clause
Author: Beth Bolden
Heroes: Colin O’Connor/Nick Wheeler
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 324 Pages
Publisher: Beth Bolden
Release Date: April 23, 2017
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Heisman winner. Member of the National Championship team. NFL Rookie of the Year. Quarterback Colin O’Connor knows he’s become the ultimate romance novel cliché: all the success he’s ever dreamed of but nobody to share it with. Too bad it’s not as simple as asking out the next girl who intrigues him – because the next girl to intrigue him probably won’t be a girl at all.

Unexpectedly, the solution comes in one neat package: Nick Wheeler, lead journalist for a leading sports and pop culture blog. Hired by Colin’s team, Nick comes to Miami to shine a spotlight on the NFL’s most private quarterback.

The heat in Miami rises when Nick discovers that Colin is nothing like the hollow personality he pretends to be in interviews and he’s even hotter in person than on his Sports Illustrated cover. Nick knows this is the story of his career, and after spending his teenage years as a bullied, closeted teen, it hits very close to home. What he needs is to help Colin share his story while keeping their growing relationship from boiling over in the press, but what he wants is to tell the world.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2017, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Any Given Sunday by Mercy Celeste

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Any Given Sunday
Author: Mercy Celeste
Series: Southern Scrimmage #6
Heroes: Bo/Dylan
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 251 Pages
Publisher: Mercy Celeste
Release Date: March 29, 2017
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Mind the gap.
Any Given Sunday is the story that takes place in the gaps of Six Ways from Sunday.

Six Ways from Sunday was NEVER supposed to be part of a series.
Six Ways from Sunday was written in five days and was supposed to be a standalone short story.
As the Scrimmage series evolved and the story grew I realized that I needed to know Bo and Dylan’s whole backstory.
Any Given Sunday started out as Sunday Schooled. It retells Bo and Dylan’s story from the day they met until the ending of Six Ways from Sunday. Including the flashback scenes from Sidelined and certain aspects of Bootleg Diva from Bo’s POV.
Any Given Sunday explores the time gaps in Six Ways from Sunday, in greater detail.
Any Given Sunday is a companion to the Scrimmage Series and can be read in any order.
Any Given Sunday is an original story, the scenes from Six Ways from Sunday are not repeated in this companion edition.
Certain details and characters from this expanded story will return in Blindsided.
Warning:
Readers sensitive to the perceived cheating in the original two books should avoid.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2017, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Audio Review: The Game Changer by Kay Simone

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: The Game Changer
Author: Kay Simone
Narrator: Greg Tremblay
Heroes: Malcome Rodgers/Vance Coberly
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 10 Hours, 18 Minutes
Publisher: Kay Simone
Release Date: March 17, 2017
Available at: Amazon and Audible
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: A straight quarterback. A gay physical therapist. Love is out of bounds… Right?

Malcolm Rodgers loses everything in one week.

The quarterback is benched with an injury the same week his fiancée breaks off their engagement. Lost, hurting, and stuck on the sidelines, Malcolm must spend his days in physical therapy with the one person who refuses to let him get back in the game: cocky Vance Coberly.

Vance is out and proud in the macho world of pro football. As the top physical therapist in his field, flirting with football players is strictly out of bounds.

But the rules of play all change when Vance meets Malcolm.

Malcolm can’t deny what he feels for Vance — but Vance won’t be someone’s one-time fling. Can a Hail Mary gesture save the deepest love Malcolm has ever felt?
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Audio Review, LGBT, Published in 2017, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Fair Catch by Leigh Carman

Reviewed by Susan65

34209602Title: Fair Catch
Author: Leigh Carman
Series: Players of LA #2
Heroes: Tobias Bennett/Sullivan Archer
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 200 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: March 20, 3017
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Two men.

One night of passion.

They never expected to see each other again.

They were wrong.

Tobias Bennett is a quiet and unassuming man who teaches yoga and enjoys parkour. Though he is proud to be gay, an abusive relationship with a domineering man has left Tobias wary of romance, and he keeps to himself in his tidy Los Angeles apartment.

Pro football player Sullivan Archer is Tobias’s complete opposite: loud, brash, fond of the spotlight… and deep in the closet. When a hamstring injury sends Van to Tobias as part of his therapy, neither of them is expecting to come face-to-face with his one-night stand. Now they’re stuck together throughout Van’s healing process, and the close proximity will force them to deal with some hard truths. For Tobias, it’s realizing his hookup is a celebrity. For Van, it means accepting that he likes Tobias more than he wanted. They’ll both have to acknowledge that if they choose to pursue a relationship, their lives will change in big ways.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2017, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Touchdown by T.S. McKinney

Reviewed by JustJen

31209935Title: Touchdown
Author: T.S. McKinney
Series: Game Day #1
Heroes: Alexander/Lincoln
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 217 Pages
Publisher: Dark Hollows Press
Release Date: September 7, 2016
Available at: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Alexander Bryant has lived his entire life making everyone else happy. After meeting Lincoln, will he have the courage to finally do what makes him happy?

Alexander – I like to imagine myself a rebel – an ass-kicker that takes what he wants regardless of what others think. I make my own path and flip off the people who don’t agree. I laugh in the face of conflict. Nobody tells me what to do.

In reality, everything about me is a lie – past, present, and future. The Bryant name requires certain things and all my decisions are based on those requirements. I like football, but the family name demands I love it. I want to be an artist, but the family name demands I be a lawyer. The family demands I fall in love with a nice girl, but I’m falling for, well, the opposite of nice AND girl. I’m a coward and a liar.

Lincoln – I like to imagine myself a loner – a cold heartless bastard that takes what he wants. I lived the biggest part of my life with parents that were ashamed of me for more reasons that one could begin to count, so I trust no one.

I have a low tolerance for bullshit and hate liars.

So why did I go and fall in love with the biggest liar of them all?
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dual Book Review: Last Man Standing by Mercy Celeste

Reviewed by JustJen and Susan65

31287230Title: Last Man Standing
Author: Mercy Celeste
Series: Southern Scrimmage #5
Heroes: Damien Sullivan/Raphael Acosta
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 159 Pages
Publisher: MJC Press
Release Date: August 22, 2016
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: There’s no dating in football.

After living his entire football career in Levi Brody’s shadow, Damien Sullivan is set to take the NFL by storm. Angry at the world he lands in New Orleans with a chip on his shoulder and a need for some action. He wants nothing more than to experience life to the hilt, but a controlling parent and a set of rigid fraternization rules work seek to slow his roll. A chance hook-up before camp leads to a showdown with the very young, very attractive starting quarterback.

Starting quarterback for the disgraced New Orleans team, Raphael Acosta has his work cut out for him. His team doesn’t respect him, his coaches barely know his name and now there’s this hot-shot kid lauded as the second coming of the great Levi Brody. The last thing Raf needs is an insufferable rival for his position. The problem is he can’t seem to keep his hands off the man in private.

When new rules and old prejudices converge, only one could be the Last Man Standing.
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Categories: 4.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, JustJen's Reviews, LGBT, Published in 2016, Susan65's Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment