Three novels plus an essential short story! They’re out. They’re proud. They’re a wee bit daft. Meet the Warriors, an all-LGBT football/soccer team from Glasgow, Scotland, as they seek and find love, one lad at a time.
Book 1: Playing for Keeps Fergus Taylor is damaged goods. Reeling from a brutal breakup, he’s determined to captain his LGBT soccer team out of scandal and into a winning season. For that, he needs strict rules and careful plans. He does NOT need a brash, muscle-bound lad messing with his head and setting his body afire.
John Burns has a rule of his own: Don’t get attached. Boyfriends are for guys with nothing to hide. Nobody—not his university mates, not the men he beds—knows his family’s shame. Now his double life is starting to unravel, thanks to a certain Highlander whose storm-riddled eyes turn John inside out, who wears a kilt like he was born in it.
Fergus is the first man John wants to share his secret with—but he’s the last man who could handle it. John knows the truth would shatter Fergus’s still-fragile heart. But how can he live a lie when he’s falling in love?
Book 2: Playing to Win Colin MacDuff has nothing. Growing up in a Glasgow slum, he learned never to trust, never to cry—and never EVER to be at the mercy of anyone, especially rich men. So how did he end up half-naked at a rave with Scotland’s hottest young aristocrat?
Lord Andrew Sunderland has everything. From ancestral castle to posh prep school, he’s spent his life wrapping others around his wee finger. With a social circle full of celebrities and politicians, nothing can stop Andrew’s rise to the top. Nothing, that is, save his desire for a dirt-poor, wolf-eyed footballer whose scars and tattoos tell unbearable tales.
Colin and Andrew come from different worlds, believe in different worlds, want different worlds. Yet every time they touch, all worlds fall away.
Set amid the fiery Scottish-independence struggle, this searing gay romance tells the story of two men who must lose everything to win each other's hearts.
Book 2.5: Play It Safe After living together for three months, Fergus and John have come to love each other’s quirks, and the bond between them is starting to look permanent. But when John wants to take things to the next level, Fergus balks, haunted by the betrayals in his own past.
To overcome these fears, Fergus must embark on an epic, steamy journey—literally—one that will test his faith, his trust, and his ability to keep a cool head in a hot, hot place.
In this followup story to Playing for Keeps, Fergus and John must overcome bad advice, broken headboards, and the Doppelgänger from Hell to find their forever bliss. A must-read for Glasgow Lads fans—and for new readers, a short ’n’ sweet intro to this hot new Scottish gay-romance series!
Book 3: Playing With Fire Robert McKenzie has a secret. As the only straight player on an all-LGBT soccer team, he’s known to fans as “McWhataWaste.” No one would guess Robert’s actually bisexual. At twenty-one, on the verge of a brilliant career in video game design, he’s finally ready to be his true self. The only thing keeping him in the closet is…his gay best friend?
Liam Carroll has a problem. His gorgeous pal and teammate wants to kiss him and touch him and…everything with him.
Four fun stories about the boys on a LGBT football team in Scotland. Their love, losses, and now historical lives in a beautiful setting. From poor to rich all have clear lives and stories to be told. Very enjoyable!
I have never read anything by this author before, SO I was extremely surprised to discover a writer that presented charming characters, involved in interesting stories, written extremely well, with little to no grammatical, punctuation, or spelling errors! If this doesn't sound like a 5-star review, let me put it another way... I LOVED THESE STORIES!! They were so well-written! The characters were interesting - flawed, but charming. Their idiosyncrasies were splayed out for everyone to see and their fears were heartfelt. The writer had a way of engulfing you in the dreariness of a cold, rainy day in Glasgow, or a beautiful, sunny romp through the rolling hills of northern Scotland. As an American, the Scottish vernacular was at times difficult to comprehend, but after reading the same words repeatedly, I could determine their meanings and implications as they appeared in various circumstances. The phrasing seemed to me to be authentic. The situations that the characters found themselves in were often unusual, but not unbelievable. The sex scenes were some of the best I've ever read because they seemed authentic, as well. They were original. They were passionate. They weren't cut and pasted from every other gay romance. The characters' reactions felt true and honest. My only "complaint" with the stories is that the main characters were all so young. The author had given these men ages that varied from 19 to 27 years old, but their life and sexual experience/expertise spoke of men at least 5-10 years older. Other than that, I really enjoyed this series and will look forward to more from this author!
Cockburn's bundle of the first 4 stories focused on a LGBT amateur football (soccer) team in Glasgow weaves the development of relationships for 3 couples into the socioeconomic events of late 2014 Britain. Brilliant writing educates as it titillates, great graphic heat, heart-rending squabbles, and happily ever afters. I've written separate Goodreads reviews for each, but recommend this collection and will seek the prequel from Your Best Boyfriends'. And I'm looking forward to experiencing Glasgow soon with more insight.
I am not sure which book I liked the best as they were all filled with vibrant characters. Of course Glasgow was an additional character. I must read the next book in the series and the spin off series.
Each book in this series, has a wonderful story inside. All the characters cross over to each book and we get an in depth look into each character as their story develops. An excellent read, well worth the price!
Talk about an amazing cast of characters. This was everything, enemies to lovers, opposites attract, friends to lovers and each one was absolutely fantastic.