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Open Play #2
Knockout
Marek has driven across Italy for two years to spend nights with Enzo, and never once stayed until morning. Enzo finally stopped letting him in. Now the World Cup has dropped both their national teams in the same city, three blocks apart.
Marek Kovář's a Czech international with his whole life sorted into sealed boxes: the footballer, the teammate, the man nobody knows drives to Naples on his off-days. Enzo is the one box he can't keep shut. And the bracket has them on a collision course for the quarterfinal, Czech Republic against Italy, where Marek's only job is to mark the man he's spent two years pretending he can live without.
Enzo Valenti has never hidden a day in his life. He's out to the people who matter, rooted to the bone in the city that made him, and done being any man's secret. He knows Marek wants him. He just needs to know if Marek will ever choose him in daylight, instead of leaving before the coffee's made.
You can keep a man in a box when you only see him after dark. You can't keep him there when you have to mark him for ninety minutes in front of thousands of people.
Knockout is the second book in the Open Play soccer series about a guarded man, another who refuses to be a secret, and the soccer tournament that puts them on opposite sides of the same white line. A second chance romance with rivals on the pitch, a found family of teammates who notice everything, and a secret relationship running out of places to hide and a swoony HEA.
Tropes: second chance • rivals to lovers • secret relationship • forced proximity • closeted/out • grumpy-sunshine • slow burn • found family
Marek Kovář's a Czech international with his whole life sorted into sealed boxes: the footballer, the teammate, the man nobody knows drives to Naples on his off-days. Enzo is the one box he can't keep shut. And the bracket has them on a collision course for the quarterfinal, Czech Republic against Italy, where Marek's only job is to mark the man he's spent two years pretending he can live without.
Enzo Valenti has never hidden a day in his life. He's out to the people who matter, rooted to the bone in the city that made him, and done being any man's secret. He knows Marek wants him. He just needs to know if Marek will ever choose him in daylight, instead of leaving before the coffee's made.
You can keep a man in a box when you only see him after dark. You can't keep him there when you have to mark him for ninety minutes in front of thousands of people.
Knockout is the second book in the Open Play soccer series about a guarded man, another who refuses to be a secret, and the soccer tournament that puts them on opposite sides of the same white line. A second chance romance with rivals on the pitch, a found family of teammates who notice everything, and a secret relationship running out of places to hide and a swoony HEA.
Tropes: second chance • rivals to lovers • secret relationship • forced proximity • closeted/out • grumpy-sunshine • slow burn • found family
- GenresM M RomanceSports
181 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 16, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 19, 2026
This book is written by AI. I can not believe anymore it’s not. It’s not about real people. Check the quotes and tell me you’ve ever heard 20 year old professional football players talk like that.
The script again is exactly the same as it is in all the books the author published (7 now within 6 months, while working a fulltime job…) There is the best friend who knows and feels everything, they both have the same sister. Different name but exactly the same character….
And then the incredibly stupid details that we all know can’t happen since we’re actually living through the worldcup…. Even though 48 countries including Curaçao got to play, Italy (world champion in 2006 and never good enough to play again) made it to the semifinals in this story. They let a player stay in his own home and another stay with him. Apparently all the matches are in the same stadium. The hotel and the friends place are four blocks away from each other. The Czech team members have to share a room. Multimillion dollar earning players who play for AC Roma during the year share a hotel room. While playing at the worldcup. The mc’s are two European players. None of their family members have flown out to see them. Again, while they’re selected to play for their national team playing the most popular sport in the world and definitely the most popular sport in Europe. And they never practice, although they are playing for the national team they’ve only practiced with for a couple of weeks, because in this book they have enough time to shop at the market and cook meals that take six hours. Six hours! During the worldcup! In someone’s home! And they shop themselves without getting recognized. In a city they play in where thousands of fans are too DURING THE WORLDCUP WHILE REACHING THE SEMIFINALS!
Also: I once drove from Rome to Naples. That is not something a person does on a regular basis. It’s far. Very far. It’s not a straight line, you drive around mountains and other cities. Maybe in distance it’s not too far for Americans, but it is for Europeans. We are not drivers. Driving that route is definitely not something a professional football player can do on a regular basis, during the season. And driving back during the night within a few hours after arriving there? He’d have killed himself the first time already. (And something else I just realized… when does the author think regular football matches are played? She has him drive up on Saturday and drive back before Sunday. Playing professional sports is not like working in an office. You don’t get weekends off. That’s when you play!)
And on top of that: in this book the eggs are hiding something, the mushrooms are too polite and feelings have furniture.
*Davide pads in wearing the face of a man who slept through nothing. “You came in late from somewhere,” he says, neutral as a referee. “Or somebody left late. The stairs have opinions.” “The stairs exaggerate.”*
*“Marek. Stop walking.” He stops. A jogger parts around us and rejoins herself further down the path.* 😳 What? How?
Like I said: this book is written by AI and I’m fed up with it. Stop pretending to be an honest author and start reading your own work. And tell us about how you came up with this very realistic world that can’t be further from the truth because we all live through it right now 🙄
The script again is exactly the same as it is in all the books the author published (7 now within 6 months, while working a fulltime job…) There is the best friend who knows and feels everything, they both have the same sister. Different name but exactly the same character….
And then the incredibly stupid details that we all know can’t happen since we’re actually living through the worldcup…. Even though 48 countries including Curaçao got to play, Italy (world champion in 2006 and never good enough to play again) made it to the semifinals in this story. They let a player stay in his own home and another stay with him. Apparently all the matches are in the same stadium. The hotel and the friends place are four blocks away from each other. The Czech team members have to share a room. Multimillion dollar earning players who play for AC Roma during the year share a hotel room. While playing at the worldcup. The mc’s are two European players. None of their family members have flown out to see them. Again, while they’re selected to play for their national team playing the most popular sport in the world and definitely the most popular sport in Europe. And they never practice, although they are playing for the national team they’ve only practiced with for a couple of weeks, because in this book they have enough time to shop at the market and cook meals that take six hours. Six hours! During the worldcup! In someone’s home! And they shop themselves without getting recognized. In a city they play in where thousands of fans are too DURING THE WORLDCUP WHILE REACHING THE SEMIFINALS!
Also: I once drove from Rome to Naples. That is not something a person does on a regular basis. It’s far. Very far. It’s not a straight line, you drive around mountains and other cities. Maybe in distance it’s not too far for Americans, but it is for Europeans. We are not drivers. Driving that route is definitely not something a professional football player can do on a regular basis, during the season. And driving back during the night within a few hours after arriving there? He’d have killed himself the first time already. (And something else I just realized… when does the author think regular football matches are played? She has him drive up on Saturday and drive back before Sunday. Playing professional sports is not like working in an office. You don’t get weekends off. That’s when you play!)
And on top of that: in this book the eggs are hiding something, the mushrooms are too polite and feelings have furniture.
*Davide pads in wearing the face of a man who slept through nothing. “You came in late from somewhere,” he says, neutral as a referee. “Or somebody left late. The stairs have opinions.” “The stairs exaggerate.”*
*“Marek. Stop walking.” He stops. A jogger parts around us and rejoins herself further down the path.* 😳 What? How?
Like I said: this book is written by AI and I’m fed up with it. Stop pretending to be an honest author and start reading your own work. And tell us about how you came up with this very realistic world that can’t be further from the truth because we all live through it right now 🙄
July 19, 2026
⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽
What a perfect read for today. The day of the 2026 World Cup final.
The football ⚽ (soccer) speak is perfection.
Riley Bauer's unique writing style excels at building up the emotion in the story by making it almost robotic as the MCs try to avoid/ignore each other. The story is there and is relatively simple but that build up gets me every time and elevates the whole reading experience.
And did I mention the love language of food? Wholesome stuff. Once they commit to each other it's a thing of beauty.
Chef's kiss.
All the stars
What a perfect read for today. The day of the 2026 World Cup final.
The football ⚽ (soccer) speak is perfection.
Riley Bauer's unique writing style excels at building up the emotion in the story by making it almost robotic as the MCs try to avoid/ignore each other. The story is there and is relatively simple but that build up gets me every time and elevates the whole reading experience.
And did I mention the love language of food? Wholesome stuff. Once they commit to each other it's a thing of beauty.
Chef's kiss.
All the stars
July 21, 2026
"I left first. He can see how that tastes."
"I'm not people. I'm the specific man who did the specific damage. Nobody knows the fragility of this better than the person who broke it. That's the one qualification I actually have."
"You just need it to stay a secret a little longer."
"I need it to be survivable."
"Survivable."
He says it back to me quietly, turning it over.
"You know what you just called the best thing in my life? A thing to survive."
Another heart wrenching novel from Bauer that just feels like it digs into my marrow and will remain forever. I really enjoy the way Bauer conveys deep emotion and can make scenes come to life, even if they are gut wrenching. The love between the characters is just as powerful and seeing them reach their HEA is addicting. I loved Enzo and Marek. This whole series and the series it branched off of, Atlanta Firebirds, are worth checking out. Although, I can see how this writing style may not be for everyone.
"I'm not people. I'm the specific man who did the specific damage. Nobody knows the fragility of this better than the person who broke it. That's the one qualification I actually have."
"You just need it to stay a secret a little longer."
"I need it to be survivable."
"Survivable."
He says it back to me quietly, turning it over.
"You know what you just called the best thing in my life? A thing to survive."
Another heart wrenching novel from Bauer that just feels like it digs into my marrow and will remain forever. I really enjoy the way Bauer conveys deep emotion and can make scenes come to life, even if they are gut wrenching. The love between the characters is just as powerful and seeing them reach their HEA is addicting. I loved Enzo and Marek. This whole series and the series it branched off of, Atlanta Firebirds, are worth checking out. Although, I can see how this writing style may not be for everyone.
July 19, 2026
Just love the writing
I love Riley Bauer’s writing. I think I’ve said this before but she comes at everything from an oblique angle. On nearly every page there is something- an expression, a view, or a comment - you want to remember. I can’t imagine her way of writing is for everyone- and if taken too far it could become over contrived.
But I have read nearly everything she has written and can’t wait for more. In addition to just finishing Knockout, I have just read the Before the Fire novella which reminded me how much I loved the Atlanta Firebirds men especially Avi.
I love Riley Bauer’s writing. I think I’ve said this before but she comes at everything from an oblique angle. On nearly every page there is something- an expression, a view, or a comment - you want to remember. I can’t imagine her way of writing is for everyone- and if taken too far it could become over contrived.
But I have read nearly everything she has written and can’t wait for more. In addition to just finishing Knockout, I have just read the Before the Fire novella which reminded me how much I loved the Atlanta Firebirds men especially Avi.
July 18, 2026
I wanted to love this. I liked the arc of the plot which is not super detailed but fine since it is basically a novella. But while I previously loved the unique writing style, now it’s getting tiresome. It was great when I thought it was unique to specific characters but instead all of them talk that way? I’ve never met anyone who speaks like that and that thought is definitely distracting now. There’s lots of ‘romance reasons’ that are easy to hand wave but the sharing rooms part is absurd.
July 28, 2026
So many metaphors
A great story. Very complicated in spots, and a little hard to follow the metaphors. Everyone seems to speak in them. And they understand each other's metaphors. But for some reason, I cannot put these books down. The stories are deep.felt and meaningful. Very intelligent athletes! I will keep reading until all the boxes are empty! Or full.
A great story. Very complicated in spots, and a little hard to follow the metaphors. Everyone seems to speak in them. And they understand each other's metaphors. But for some reason, I cannot put these books down. The stories are deep.felt and meaningful. Very intelligent athletes! I will keep reading until all the boxes are empty! Or full.
August 8, 2026
THIS BOOK IS AI SLOP. Who are the bots giving it 5 stars?! The sentences make zero sense, the characters are the exact same as in the “authors” 7 other books, and you get crazy moments like “A jogger parts around us and rejoins herself further down the path.” It’s infuriating that this is being packaged as an actual novel written by an actual person. There should be a warning label.
July 17, 2026
Riley has an unique writing style in all of the books I have read. Saying a lot with one word sentences. Enjoyed all of the books both the hockey and soccer/football ones. As a person who also speaks Czech, I also give a thump up for good and accurate use of the words, cities etc.
July 18, 2026
Great writing.
The writing is spare, idiosyncratic and has attitude. It may not be to everyone’s taste but I’ve loved all Riley Bauer’s books….and all her men! This one delves deep. Just wish full recipes were given!
The writing is spare, idiosyncratic and has attitude. It may not be to everyone’s taste but I’ve loved all Riley Bauer’s books….and all her men! This one delves deep. Just wish full recipes were given!
July 30, 2026
Extremely well- written, spare, heartfelt, bittersweet. The author really knocked this one out of the park. She hooks you with good writing - it can get quippy but when she slows it down and locks in, it's very good.
August 8, 2026
3⭐️ 2🌶️
Very unrealistic events to happen during a World Cup, and the dialogues felt odd some times, but I had a good time plus this book is very short.
Very unrealistic events to happen during a World Cup, and the dialogues felt odd some times, but I had a good time plus this book is very short.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews