Wrestling with Love

Handyman #2

by Dan Sexton

Sometimes you have to give it your all...and let yourself fall in love so hard it hurts.

When college wrestlers Quintin Flynn and Eric Palak first meet, love seems impossible. Hatred masks an attraction so strong it hurts their team’s chances of competing in the regionals.

Dylan—Quin’s bicurious roommate—brings them together in an illicit encounter that lowers the mask the two hide behind and romance blooms.

All in love is fair until their secrets are revealed and they have to fight to keep their love alive.


Fans of Sexton’s LGBT erotic bestseller The Handyman Can will enjoy a return of Jake and Cory in this HEA stand-alone novel.

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Sports, Romance, College, LGBT, Enemies To Lovers

236 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 13, 2015

Reviews

[Grammar*Kitten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wrestling with Love is exactly how I like my M/M romance - it has enough saucy steaminess to keep everyone else happy, but for me this is about the connection and relationship between two men struggling to come to terms with their love for each other and everyone else's judgement of them (or not) for it.

A nicely written, well-paced novel of self discovery, friendship and love.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this story.
It was a nice surprise! I was not expecting the story to take off he way it did.
I loved how Quin and Eric got together and how their relationship seemed to be so strong.

But.... My love For Eric dropped a few notches after his roommate caught him.! And everything that happened after!
There really was no excuse for him not to reach out to Quin. He just completely left him in the dark.
It really got to me too when Eric had to really find out if he was gay by "experimenting" during their time apart!
Ughhhh! I hated that!

And I hated how fast they just got back together. I wished Quin would have been just a little more upset about why Eric never contacted him.

Eric was just so heartbroken. He couldn't move on. He tried...
Yes... He went on dates. But he was just going through the motions.

Other than all that. This book was pretty good. I would recommend it.

[Harper Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this story not expecting much but oh man, I was pleasantly surprised! So many things I loved: enemies to lovers, GFY (sorta but not really), strong character development and holy mother one hot circle jerk scene that didn't come across as forced or unbelievable. It worked! It was both sexy and funny.

I LOVED the fact that Eric was part Pakistani. The reader is told upfront and cultural references are mentioned throughout the tale. Diversity in M/M romance reads is always a win for me! I had one slight issue which made this a 4.5 but I rounded up to five stars. Great introduction to a new to me author. I'll definitely be following his work. Good job Mr. Sexton!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this full installment and seeing how Eric and Quin got along.
I really enjoyed seeing Cory and Jake.
Loved the side characters and their interactions with the pair.
I'm glad that it showed a true relationship with problems and that things that are meant to be happen. But also that things don't always happen straightaway and people need to grow.
Another good book.

[Shaztwirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Nice Easy Read.

This was a nice enough story. I'm not a massive fan of first person point of view, usually, but this one is quite well written.

[Isabella ~Mikku-chan~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A change in the narration (first person instead of third person narration like the first novel).

Quin and Eric were hot together. Steamy sex, deep feelings and a lot of laughter while reading it...
I liked it a bit more than the first volume, but although I had fun I thought sometimes it was a bit long or it seemed so.
Not, that I wasn't entertained but I guess a few facts should have been summed up, sometimes it had a fixation to something nearly unnecessary... it got the right drive but I hate to reduce a star from my rating.

So 4 out ouf 5 stars. :)

[Debby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun read

This was a great book. The characters of Quinn and Erick were adorable and sweet. The struggles they went through with their sexuality and their relationship was all to real. Look forward to reading more books.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable book. I lived it. I like a book with a HEA and this book has it.

[Denise Koopman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hatred, Friendship, and then love. Well done Dan Sexton. Love these books.

[Victorias' KeepinitReal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED IT!!!! The is story was so damned good. I really enjoyed it. The MCs were both loveable. Quinn wrestled with his inner struggle as he began to have feelings for another fellow student named Eric. Both MCs expressed their sexual attraction for the other with anger taken out on each other. Finally, sharing an unexpected kiss one day, Quinn and Eric both embraced the other and their mutual attraction and started a HOT, very intense sexual relationship. Being outed on someone else's terms is never right!! Getting caught together by a homophobic roommate caused Eric to deny Quinn and his feelings for him. Disappearing really for over a year. Quinn's spiraled into a deep depression and it was hard to read and experience his hurt. Author, Dan Sexton is an excellent author IMO. I loved how well written this book is and the love story was so beautiful and the MCs came full circle in their relationship. I loved it! I'm on to the next book in the series Never Kiss.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Everyone knows 'coming out of the closet' is a personal decision for each person...and some have a more difficult time dealing with the entire process. Not all families and acquaintances are the same. College is a time of personal discovery. That too can be an individual search for truth.

This 'wrestling centered' book is enthralling and exquisite. The characters are warm and make decisions based on their needs at the time.

Truly a wonderful story.

[Angelique · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this series,and did a re-read.
Dan Sexton is a talented author.I liked it that the romance felt real.
without making it,too real.if I want reality I would be reading non-fiction.
Dan`s work is fun,real and I love it that they had to work to make it.
I liked the difference,and diversity.
I enjoyed the characters and their growth.

It was well written,well paced and it was a good read


ARC WAS Provided by the author in exchange for an review
I

[Earlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 Stars

[Sharon Sims · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved It!!

It captivated me from beginning to end.
I laughed, I cried, I got angry, you name it
I felt it! I felt like part of a family. Great story
Mr. Sexton!!

[Barbara Ingram · Rating 4 out of 5]

****4 Sweet Young Love Stars****

This is my first Dan Sexton book and I really enjoyed Eric and Quin's story! The writing was fluent and the plot was unique. I also loved that in telling the story of the budding young love between two men, the difficulties of 'coming out' to teammates and friends, the writer added the impact of how it affected both families, especially one with cultural expectations.

****
“It would be nice to be open and be able to engage in the small but important things that heterosexual couples can do. I understand the hiding that gay people have endured.
****

The ending was awesome with an unexpected second HEA and leaves room for more follow-ups to their stories!

I will be looking for more from this talented author!

[Lioness7 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t thrilled with having sports come up for the scavenger hunt. I was pleasantly surprised with this book though. I loved the main and side characters. I also loved that I didn’t have to read the first book in the series. I want to now though.

My favorite part of the book was the interactions between the side characters and the main ones. Some of those were pretty funny. I have to say having friends be that close was really nice to see.

My least favorite parts of the book were some of Eric’s reactions to situations. He could be an idiot at times. You just wanted to shake a bit of sense into him and tell him to get his act together.

I did really enjoy my time reading this and did it in almost one sitting. I can’t wait to read the first book in the series now.

[Monika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again it seems I'm in the minority here. I'm not really sure what went wrong, there are some good things about this story, like...
1. it's multicultural, there aren't a lot of stories like that out there.
2. the main characters didn't fall in love immediately, I prefer that to insta-love
3. a lot of it seemed plausible (in real life)
4. I liked the main characters

For some reason this read was just okay for me. There isn't anything glaringly wrong with it, nothing that made me shake my head in disbelief. For whatever reason I just couldn't connect to the story or the characters.

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's the deal. The two MCs are highly competitive rivals on their college wrestling team, but in the second chapter they have a wank session together and kiss. Suddenly Quin has a complete 180° turn, decides the lurves Eric, and guess what? Eric likes him back! It seemed too fast for me. BUT! The rest of the story was so freakin' good, so much juicy plot and steamy sexy times. I simply could not put it down, not even to go to the bathroom. I just walked around everywhere with my Kindle in hand and my eyes glued to it until I was done. I am definitely going to read more by this author!

[Mary S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wrestling with Love is a beautifully written love story about Quin and Eric. They both are college wrestling teammates who started off not liking each other particularly, and realize their sexually attraction towards each other was their denial of who they always though they were. The story has some heartbreaking moments. I just loved the cast of characters, especially Quin's roomy Dylan. I waited not so patiently after reading Wrestle This, and the wait was so worth it. Loved it!!

[Aya · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is another one of those 'it's me not you' moments. This was an ok read; there wasn't anything wrong with the read (a few typos here and there, that's it) but I found it all quite forgettable. I didn't hate the MCs but neither did I feel invested in them. The plot was like most other college romance tropes and nothing particularly memorable happened. It was an easy and quick read, while it's not for me I can see why many others enjoyed it.

[Alexis Woods]

DNF - Sorry, got about 50 pages in and the stupidity factor was too overwhelming. Here's the thing, its first person POV, college age and reads like a dumb high schooler wrote it. I just can't abide stupid people, the main character is supposed to be smart an A/B college student.

Perhaps I'll try again later, but for right now, I'll pass.

[LeeAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had everything..beginning, middle and end. Which most books do. However this one gave me what I adore. Love, family, misunderstandings but then reconciliation, break ups then renewed relationship, friends, sex, of course and an ending that wraps everything up. I am not left wondering will they or won't they?
Great story!

[Zee♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I thought it was just going to be about two wrestlers falling in love with a lot of sex but it turned out to be a really good multicultural story about love, friendship and family. It was also funny with some sadness and sweetness as well.

[Jodi Cain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Eric & Quinn. These guys went through so much to be together. Not everyone understands that being gay is not your choice. Love is love no matter what.

[Trio · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did really enjoy this book, there were just a few things...

The story starts out with a bang - huge chemistry between Quin and his friends. Quin definitely comes off as a young, sweet and receptive guy who (once he accepts his attraction to men) is honest as narrator of the book. He gets a bit smushy at times which seemed unrealistic to me - I'm not sure that's fair, but that's how it played out for me.

Eric was a bit of an enigma in that I was never 100% sure what he was really thinking (or if I even trusted him when he was telling Quin what he was feeling). But that was definitely a big part of his charm and it worked well with Quin's character.

I loved the parts where Jake and Cory come in! The trip to the football game was fantastic.

Over all a very solid four stars but I wish the hot sex from the first 1/4 of the book came back into play after their reunion.