After The Siren

by Darcy Green

Theo Bestavros wasn’t supposed to be a footballer. He worked hard, got his game-winning moment and—failed. He’s determined to make the most of a second chance at the Brunswick Falcons.

Jake Cunningham couldn’t have had a better start to his career. He’s the Falcons’ star small forward, a fan-favourite, and a constant headline. He loves his team, loves the game, and has no intention of being the first AFL player to come out.

Jake and Theo get off on the wrong foot, but stumble into friendship—and then something that looks a lot like dating. But Jake doesn’t want to come out, and Theo doesn’t want to jeopardise his second chance.

Genres: Romance, Sports, M M Romance, Sports Romance, Queer, Contemporary, LGBT

368 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 2025

Reviews

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

something about reading this so soon after a (retired) player came out was cathartic

[Evelyn Bella (there WILL be spoilers) · Rating 3 out of 5]

'I KNEW THOSE WERE NOT HETEROSEXUALS.'

‘What a kick! What a win! What a . . . what a . . .
what a . . .’
‘That’s a kiss, Henry. They’re kissing.’
‘What a . . .’
‘They’re still kissing.’

‘Bestavros is going to be remembered for – oh my God. Oh my GOD.’
‘Wow.’
‘We are witnessing HISTORY. THIS IS HISTORY.’
‘We are also witnessing a lot of tongue.’
‘HISTORY.’

‘Bestavros and Cunningham sharing a brotherly . . .’
‘Yeah, I don’t know about that.’

💀😂💀😂💀😂💀

If you've ever read a book where one scene elevated it, you'll understand how I felt about this one.

I felt like this was a solid 3* read for most of it. Good, but not great. It was missing that extra zhuzh.

Then the kiss scene happened.

If you've read sports MM romance, you've encountered The Kiss™.

Center ice, mid court, 50 yard line, the mound, you name it.

Something happens during the game(really good or really bad) and the MCs are so overcome by emotion that they kiss.

I love that in this, instead of getting the MCs' reactions to what they just did, we get those of the internet, the spectators, the commentators.

Had me snort laughing.

The rest of the story is honestly a variation of many other sports romances you've read before.

I can say, though, that this is maybe my first featuring an Egyptian MC.

And that although they're young-ish, they don't really do the 'does he like me?' routine, which I've always found a bit tedious especially in stories where it's so obvious an astronaut on the ISS wouldn't need help to see it from all the way up there.

Solid 3.5*.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

God, I wanted to eat this writing style, it’s so gorgeous. Read if you’re a fan of Red, White and Royal Blue, The Charm Offensive, or E. L Massey.

THE PREMISE: it looked like Theo choked in a game, but actually had a panic attack. Jake accidentally made fun of him online. Theo got traded. Now they’re team mates ... and maybe the first openly queer couple in the AFL?

TROPES & VIBES
- Hate to love
- Aggressively, and wonderfully, Australian
- Mental health rep
- Serious anxious boy x chaotic sunshine surfer
- I nearly cried about the mum
- The final pages were so lovely I nearly cried again
- Phenomenal supporting cast / found family
- Top tier banter
- One of my fave contemporary MM romances of the year

4.5⭐️ 2🌶️

[chelsea.paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

BELLISSIMOOOOO !!!! AFL/W MENTIONED !!!! now this was just good clean FUN. giggling and kicking my feet, devoured. happy grand final week. afl can only dream of being this progressive

[Rah Apitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh boy do i love a romance novel that doesn’t make miscommunication the main complication

my dad would be so pissed that the stand-in for his favourite afl team was the main cast for something so gay and i couldn’t be happier about it

[K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Content warnings: homophobia, cancer, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, mentions of self harm

4.5 stars

I've been excited about this book for over a year now. I was psyched to read it as an indie release, psyched when it got picked up by Penguin, and psyched that it was finally released just in time for the Grand Final.

I loved Jake and Theo as protagonists, and I adored the relationship that developed between them. I've been wondering for years why there aren't more AFL romances out there, and this was honestly a spectacular start to us getting AFL romances from major publishers.

I will say that this felt - to me - more like VFL than AFL a lot of the time, and then it would just be casually dropped into the story that they're playing at the MCG and I was like ".............they are?!" I think in part it's the lack of interstate travel? Every single game that we see takes place in Melbourne. And yes, Melbourne is the heart of AFL! But eight of the eighteen teams in the league are based outside Victoria. It would have been nice to have them do at LEAST one interstate game. Maybe against Theo's old team??

Anyway, that's a pretty small gripe in the grand scheme of things, and I'm really hoping we get at least one more book in this world because there's a character whose story I'd love to see.

[Alyssa Blackwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Updated review 14/10/2025:

So earlier this year I was at the footy with a friend and said I found it wild no one had written a queer MM AFL romance yet… and then came along After the Siren by Darcy Green! 🏉🏟️🌈

After the Siren is a dual POV MM sports romance.
Theo has a shot at redemption after a disastrous end to his tenure at his old club. He’s signed with the Falcons, working through his anxiety, and hoping this will be the fresh start his career needs.
Unfortunately, the Falcons star player, Jake, ran his mouth about Theo and the two immediately get off on the wrong foot.
Little do both of them know, they have a lot more in common than they initially realise. Theo is bisexual and Jake is gay, and neither are out.
As the stakes of the season get higher, so does the tension between Theo and Jake.
What follows is a beautiful story of love, growth, healing and acceptance.

I absolutely loved this book, wow.
I smashed through it quickly, Darcy Greens writing was easy to read and they managed to make all the AFL references accessible that I think all levels of footy fans will enjoy this.

The story has so much heart and each character really shines. The support Jake has from his two club besties is beyond sweet, the featuring of AFLW players and their stories, it’s just such a great time.
The story deals with some heavier themes around self harm and depression / anxiety, but explores it in a really healthy way.
There’s great representation of different sexualities and races, and the difficulties people face from other people.

I’d honestly LOVE to see this book play out in the real life AFL, maybe one day.

After the Siren ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

________________________________________________

Original review 12/10/2025:

This was SO GOOOOOOOOD.
It’s sweet, it’s fiery, it’s hot, it’s got so much heart and soul. I loved this.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.50 stars)

This was such a fun debut, I really loved the way Green approached AFL and AFLW and the massive issue the league has with sexism and homophobia. If only a single AFL player had the spine Jake had to stick up for the AFLW girls so strongly.

The romance was sweet, well paced and delivered all the things one wants from a romance!

I sincerely hope Darcy Green considers writing a sapphic sports romance in the future because I just know they could body a beautiful a-league women romance in a way that other soccer romances couldn't reach. Or even AFLW I'll take that too!

I also had the opportunity to meet Darcy before I got my hands on this arc and have two pretty sicq queer AFL pins, so that's pretty cool.

Thank you to netgalley and Penguin Random House Australia for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Jai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bring back YEARNING

[Grace Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guys becoming active on good reads again !! Gonna go back and post the ones I’ve missed - thank you so much to Ruby May for buying me this book, genuinely took an afternoon off work when I was exhausted once and just read this the whole way through and then went to a party. Truly an epic day! Also the author thanks my friend’s cafe in the acknowledgments and so I got to reveal to him that she was writing AFL smut the whole time how FUN.

[Kyla Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book of 2026 was:

✅ Aussie
✅ Gay as hell
✅ Bloody brilliant

Very happy I chose to read this, and thrilled if this sets the tone for a year of books. Brandon has truly never led me astray with book recs 🫶🏼

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

KICKING AND SQUEALING!!!! AFL + MM is all I’ve ever wanted, this book is everything 🥲

[Miki_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a charming little book 😭😭😭😭 if you love E.L Massey and want a similar style of narrative, but adult, THIS IS THE ONEEEE. So fucking sweet, I die.

The mental health representation in this was lovely. I love them, your honour.

[Gideon · Rating 5 out of 5]

perhaps the best book in the history of the universe ,, no notes except to say ,, i see you ice hockey influences

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

red white and royal blue, but they’re afl players, and somehow the stakes are just as high?

[Emma W]

January 2026 is for gay sex and gay sex only

[Olivia]

This is what I’m going to imagine AFL is like behind closed doors

[Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I heard about this book, I was wondering why the title mentions sirens, because it didn't seem particularly mythological - turns out that's a football thing

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

On November 16th 2022, Isaac Humphries became the first active openly gay male professional basketball player in a top-tier league anywhere in the world. And he did it while playing for my beloved Melbourne United.

It was pioneer stuff and it made shock waves. Not only was he the only actively listed openly gay male professional athlete in a basketball league, he was the only openly gay male professional on active list anywhere. And he’s still playing.

Then. Nothing happened. The world didn’t implode. There was no commentary on ‘but how will they have showers etc now’ (because being gay, bi or queer immediately means you’re attracted to EVERYONE), ultimately his sexuality was nothing to be afraid of and the NBL went on as normal.

Fast forward to August 2025 where not one but 2 big things happened in the AFL. The first is that Mitch Brown - former AFL player, came out as Bisexual. Making him the first ever openly queer AFL player, past or present.

Around the same time, Adelaide’s Izak Rankine was sanctioned for saying a homophobic slur towards another player during a game.

And it is no wonder that queer players - and of course there are some - who are still too scared to be themselves. Because homophobia and derogatory remarks are still prevalent in sporting communities.

All you have to do is scroll a little through the comments section on Pride Round to see just how awful people can be. And how not-ready many of them still are to embrace queer AFL players.

This book though timely, and has what I hope will be the response of the wider community of AFL fans, remains a fictional fantasy until a couple of souls trust that the LGBTQIA+ and ally communities has their backs and will cheer and love louder than than the haters can hate. Until then, my heart will live in this book.

And a good one it is.

So good and so authentically captures the essence of footy that one could be excused for thinking that Darcy Green was an AFL fanatic. Turns out it’s their wife who’s the fan. So, as reader, a lover of MM romances, a Melbournian-from Coburg too! and AFL/sports-obsessed, this book sang all kinds of song to my heart!

It’s well written and evokes all the emotions you’d expect to feel in a romance and a sports competition. The tension. The build up. The let down. The frustration. The elation. I loved almost every moment of this story.

Almost.

The first half was a lot more polished than the last, and there was a bit more tell in the second that was present enough to disrupt the flow of reading for me. The only other niggle I had was that the last game was a prelim. I know this story isn’t the ‘glory of winning it all’ type, but it felt weird to end it at the start of a prelim. There may be closure in there of the romance, but for the sport it’s left unsatisfactorily open. For my mind, it would have been better to end at the final game of the regular season, or walking out for the start of the granny. But that’s just me, and really, it’s such a small gripe that I feel poor I’m being petty….

That’s being said, I loved this story. From the title, to the rainbow Penguin logo, to the characters, to the Melbourne setting, to the AFL-isms. And to Xen and his typical Greek garden and his Yiayia (who should have made an appearance!) and did you you that Xenos means stranger? When he was anything but!

I want this to play out in real life. They don’t necessarily need to be teammates, but a place safe enough for people to be their true selves - that’s an AFL I want to see.

Thank you to Darcy Greensborough, Penguin Random House Australia and NetGalley for an arc of this awesome book!

[Lisa Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I get why people are loving this, and I mostly enjoyed it, but I just found it far too much of a utopia. Yes we deserve queer joy (especially in male sports) but even in a romance I would’ve preferred a more realistic portrayal in the current landscape. I also got bored in the very lengthy sex scenes (but I’m sure others enjoyed). I also felt the characters all though pretty well rounded lacked something a bit more typical from a male perspective. .

I’ve seen a lot of very positive reviews from people I’m assuming (potentially wrongly) don’t identify as cis gay and bi men and I’d love to see what more of them think.

I agree there are similarities in style with Red, White and Royal Blue which I also struggled with.

Loved the AFLW inclusions. I can dream that those invested reactions from the AFLM players will some day be wide spread,

And fingers crossed more players (post Mitch Brown) come out soon. It’ll save lives and bring much joy and comfort to many.

[Hannah Johnstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback.

I have endless praise for this book and it well and truly earned its 5 Star rating from me.

My first note is how much I appreciate that this book has content warnings, especially when it’s a queer story! I don’t care what some people may think about content/trigger warnings but I think they are important and should be listed for more books. Thank you Darcy!!!

This was truly a whole delight of a book to read. I binge read it in one sitting, hooked in an instant. I am a queer identifying Australian, and it means so much to me, not only to see an absolute institution of a sport represented in an LGBTQ+ lens, but the rich, diverse tapestry of Australian people. I think a lot of people think we’re a very progressive country, but we, like most countries, still have some very deeply rooted conservative views and this book tackles them so so beautifully.

The under running commentary about racism/homophobia/misogyny in Australian sport (and Australian culture as a whole) is absolutely phenomenal, and deeeeeeply appreciated.

I love the way of us learning things about the characters (appearance, heritage, religion etc) , how it comes up organically and not just initial descriptions I have to hold onto in my brain. Absolutely beautifully done.

The spice in this is delicious, while still being heavy on consent and everyone being comfortable in what’s going on which I appreciate more than I can properly articulate. I love it when queer couples can exist and be written just the same as any heterosexual romance novels have been, and Darcy does an absolutely phenomenal job with it.

I have zero negatives to say about this book, the characters are so beautiful and so easy to fall in love with. There’s excellent representation, not just for LGBTQ+ humans, but for mental health, and the power and importance of people having a choice of when and if they wish to share their sexuality with the world (whether or not they are in the public eye.)

I will definitely be purchasing myself a hard copy of After the Siren when it is released, and keeping an eye on what Darcy releases next.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obsessed. Like… deranged about it. 🤯 I’ve been on my knees praying for a queer AFL romance for years and Darcy Green handed me THIS??? I was not ready. The way it’s not just romance, but actual thoughtful footy analysis?? Men’s AND women’s teams represented?? Messy, heartfelt, political, funny, HOT, and so real that I’m mad it’s not an actual season I can watch on Kayo. It's also not lost on me the timing with Mitch Brown recently coming out as bi. Darcy I’m begging for a queer AFL cinematic universe now! until then I'll be manifesting an AFL that’s as brave and beautiful as this story.

[Stacktheforest - Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an absolute stand-out read for 2025 for me. Special in so many ways but overall, a well-written romance with flawed yet loveable characters. And don’t worry, this book doesn’t skimp on the spice!

Darcy Green has managed to capture the effect of racism, sexism and homophobia on the AFL while giving us a delightfully heartfelt love story. As an AFL fan, it is always so disappointing to see how bigotry overcomes so many aspects of the game in real life, this book was a refreshing opposition to that, where the characters had space and safety to confront this and create a better world!

*For context for non-AFL fans, AFL is the biggest Australian sporting code and yet does not have any ‘out’ players in the men’s league. Last month (Aug 2025) the first ex-player came out as bisexual and the reception has been very mixed. Homophobia, racism and sexism are all rampant in the game.*

At the beginning, I thought that Theo was going to be my favourite character. As a brown and closeted, bisexual athlete, he struggled throughout the book with his identity and how it fit into the sporting world. His struggles with anxiety were very realistic and made me feel quite ‘seen’. However, it was Jake who stole the show. A larger than life, outgoing, closeted gay player who relies on his friends, Jake had a beautiful relationship with his mother and really grew as a character throughout the book.

The use of female characters in this book was incredibly meaningful. They weren’t used simply as plot points, or villains but there were so many smart and useful women who had really important input in the story. From Jake’s mum, a lesbian ex-footy player undergoing cancer treatment, to Theo’s conservative sister, every side character made me want to know more about them. The AFLW women and non-binary folk deserve their own book because their characters were so well-written!

A special shout out to Paddy and Xen who I wish nothing but happiness for and were truly incredible friends to both Jake and Theo.

Thank-you to NetGalley for the ARC. This review is my honest opinion.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Ok, slay gay-FL 👁️👄👁️💅

Every now and then I read a book that whilst it might not be a literary masterpiece, leaves a lasting impact on me. This is one of them.

It’s littered with queer experiences and doesn’t shy away from the nitty gritty of navigating through a heteronormative society, especially in an AFL environment that is still widely homophobic.

It’s also extremely timely with the first queer AFL player recently coming out.

[Jem · Rating 4 out of 5]

this had so much heart

[Kai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay so maybe the gAyFL book got me and I’m fine with that

[Lex]

I don’t love AFL but I very much enjoyed this book, shout out to Mads who refused to let me not read this

(Disclaimer I work at PRH!)

[Kristen Amato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sobbing. Crying. Sobbing.
If every professional athlete read this book, the world would be a better place

[Jonno Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love GAYFL!!!!
Probably more of a 3.5 but I couldn’t help giving it 4 stars. Queer, AFL, hot sex scenes. PLUS bisexual representation!!
If only this was a true story but who knows, has to happen sometime!

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

will save thoughts till after book club :p