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Fault Lines
Two Rivals. One Kiss. No Going Back.
For Alex, it’s always been about winning. Focused, confident, and unapologetically out, he’s ready to dominate the season. But the moment rising wildcard Leo steps onto his court, Alex’s composure cracks.
Leo is everything Alex shouldn’t want: gorgeous, infuriating, and hiding something behind that devastatingly calm serve. Their matches aren’t just about the score—they’re charged, high-stakes battles where every rally feels like foreplay. Until one stolen kiss pushes them past the point of no return.
Now, rivalry and desire collide in every glance, every tense moment across the net. The game has never been this addictive… and the price of losing has never been this high.
From Jamie Penrose, author of the five star rated Always Us, comes a scorching new story of competition, surrender, and the fine line between love and defeat.
For Alex, it’s always been about winning. Focused, confident, and unapologetically out, he’s ready to dominate the season. But the moment rising wildcard Leo steps onto his court, Alex’s composure cracks.
Leo is everything Alex shouldn’t want: gorgeous, infuriating, and hiding something behind that devastatingly calm serve. Their matches aren’t just about the score—they’re charged, high-stakes battles where every rally feels like foreplay. Until one stolen kiss pushes them past the point of no return.
Now, rivalry and desire collide in every glance, every tense moment across the net. The game has never been this addictive… and the price of losing has never been this high.
From Jamie Penrose, author of the five star rated Always Us, comes a scorching new story of competition, surrender, and the fine line between love and defeat.
187 pages, ebook
Published October 25, 2025
2 people want to read
About the author
Jamie Penrose
3 books2 followersJamie Penrose writes emotional and high-heat gay romance that makes you ache before making you believe in love again.
He crafts MM Romance stories where two men get to hold each other, want each other, and stay with each other, embracing a genuine connection and a happily ever after that is worth the fight.
Jamie specializes in compelling narratives often set in captivating, intimate spaces, filled with flirty boys, and deep emotional intimacy. He crafts intimate, high-heat scenes that deepen the emotional stakes between his characters. His protagonists navigate the terrifying thrill of wanting someone so badly it scares you, and the risk of choosing a love that changes everything.
You can expect high-heat and hard-won happy ever afters (HEAs) in every book.
He crafts MM Romance stories where two men get to hold each other, want each other, and stay with each other, embracing a genuine connection and a happily ever after that is worth the fight.
Jamie specializes in compelling narratives often set in captivating, intimate spaces, filled with flirty boys, and deep emotional intimacy. He crafts intimate, high-heat scenes that deepen the emotional stakes between his characters. His protagonists navigate the terrifying thrill of wanting someone so badly it scares you, and the risk of choosing a love that changes everything.
You can expect high-heat and hard-won happy ever afters (HEAs) in every book.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 2, 2025
Alex and Leo are rival tennis players. Alex is out and Leo closeted. Until one stolen kiss makes their story more complicated and threatens their way of life. This was a quick and sexy read full of angst, spice, and other things I won’t give away here. I definitely recommend this one!
November 26, 2025
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5 rounded up
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Fault Lines is a sport romance between two tennis player, Alex and Leo, taking place in the span of a couple of weeks during a tennis tournament.
The style of this story was not exaclty my thing, but overall it wasn't so bad. The story is told by the POV of Alex, and what we get is a lot of monologue, with barely any dialogue. I think, in the first half of the book, there are like 4 lines of dialogue, and we don't get the name of the narrator for a while. What you'll find instead is a lot of angst, lingering gazes and almost touches. While it gets a bit spicy after a while, most of the story reads like the diary of a teenager. It was interesting, but in the end it felt a bit repetitive, with some paraghraphs repeated almost word for word a couple of times.
I can get behind this kind of narrative: it was intriguing, and it certainly highlighted the struggle and yearning of our MMC. But I wished for Leo's POV, especially when we get to the struggle of coming out, and living a life of appearences for the sake of someone else. I feel like, whie Alex is out and maybe rightly willing to go all in in public, Leo could have told us a different story, putting pressure on the struggles of a world that does not accept queer people in high level sports.
The tennis background was a nice change in sports romance, and it was heavily present in the storyline, often used as a metaphore for the developing relationship. There weren't many side characters, Alex and Leo felt in a bubble of their own, giving a cosy atmosphere to the whole story.
Overall, it was a quick and interesting read, with some interesting themes that aren't often present in sports romance.
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Fault Lines is a sport romance between two tennis player, Alex and Leo, taking place in the span of a couple of weeks during a tennis tournament.
The style of this story was not exaclty my thing, but overall it wasn't so bad. The story is told by the POV of Alex, and what we get is a lot of monologue, with barely any dialogue. I think, in the first half of the book, there are like 4 lines of dialogue, and we don't get the name of the narrator for a while. What you'll find instead is a lot of angst, lingering gazes and almost touches. While it gets a bit spicy after a while, most of the story reads like the diary of a teenager. It was interesting, but in the end it felt a bit repetitive, with some paraghraphs repeated almost word for word a couple of times.
I can get behind this kind of narrative: it was intriguing, and it certainly highlighted the struggle and yearning of our MMC. But I wished for Leo's POV, especially when we get to the struggle of coming out, and living a life of appearences for the sake of someone else. I feel like, whie Alex is out and maybe rightly willing to go all in in public, Leo could have told us a different story, putting pressure on the struggles of a world that does not accept queer people in high level sports.
The tennis background was a nice change in sports romance, and it was heavily present in the storyline, often used as a metaphore for the developing relationship. There weren't many side characters, Alex and Leo felt in a bubble of their own, giving a cosy atmosphere to the whole story.
Overall, it was a quick and interesting read, with some interesting themes that aren't often present in sports romance.
November 7, 2025
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5.
Wow. No me esperaba este tipo de escritura tan hermosa. Todo lo ves desde el punto de vista de Alex y es siempre su dialogo interno -algo a lo que no estoy acostumbrado- pero funciona muchisimo y le da mas peso a los pocas palabra verbales que se dicen Alex y Leo. Al principio pense que el libro estaba sooo siendo intenso, pero a la mitad del primer capitulo me convención. Quitando la escritura la historia es bastante simple, pero el amor tan intenso entre ambos personajes lo hace diferente. No es una historia mas de rivals to lovers, va mas profundo y doy gracias por eso. Una queja que le pongo y por eso no tiene 5 estrellas, es que hay veces en las que describen la escena y cambian cosas abruptamente. Estaban parados y de la nada están sentados o estaban en un patio y de la nada en pasillo. Ocurre mas es las escenas de sexo y me descolocaba cuando ocurria, pero no tan seguido como para sacarte del libro.
Recibí una copia gratuita de este libro a través de Booksprout y estoy dejando una reseña de forma voluntaria.
Wow. No me esperaba este tipo de escritura tan hermosa. Todo lo ves desde el punto de vista de Alex y es siempre su dialogo interno -algo a lo que no estoy acostumbrado- pero funciona muchisimo y le da mas peso a los pocas palabra verbales que se dicen Alex y Leo. Al principio pense que el libro estaba sooo siendo intenso, pero a la mitad del primer capitulo me convención. Quitando la escritura la historia es bastante simple, pero el amor tan intenso entre ambos personajes lo hace diferente. No es una historia mas de rivals to lovers, va mas profundo y doy gracias por eso. Una queja que le pongo y por eso no tiene 5 estrellas, es que hay veces en las que describen la escena y cambian cosas abruptamente. Estaban parados y de la nada están sentados o estaban en un patio y de la nada en pasillo. Ocurre mas es las escenas de sexo y me descolocaba cuando ocurria, pero no tan seguido como para sacarte del libro.
Recibí una copia gratuita de este libro a través de Booksprout y estoy dejando una reseña de forma voluntaria.
October 21, 2025
Alex and Leo are rivals on the tennis court but one unexpected kiss changes everything. What follows is a slow unraveling of boundaries, where lust, love, and unexpected friendship collide in the high stakes world of competitive tennis. I definitely loved this story. Seeing Alex and Leo navigate the sports world while also navigating the dynamic of a relationship of an out gay man and a man that hasn’t found himself yet. This story will definitely shatter you but put you back together. This MM romance is a captivating rivals-to-lovers story that explores gay awakening, self discovery, and the undeniable pull of attraction. Tense, emotional, and brimming with chemistry, it’s a must read for fans of rival romance with a passionate payoff.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews