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Sporting Secrets #1
Playing Offside
Falling for the guy whose starting spot you're after? Never a good idea.
Aiden
I’m known as the Ice King, but I didn’t become one of the best rugby players in the world by giving out free hugs. I got here by hard work and sacrifice, including denying a large part of myself. But that’s okay, there’s plenty of time to become the poster boy for gay rugby players after I retire.
Right now, I’m focusing on cementing my legacy and I’m not about to surrender my starting spot to the cocky loudmouth who just joined the training squad, no matter how talented the kid might be.
Tyler
I can’t believe I’ve made it into the New Zealand rugby team after my first professional rugby season. Now management has decided it’s a good idea for me to room with Aiden Jones, who’s been my jerk-off fantasy for years. And although Aiden is icy to me both on and off the field, I figure with a little charm, I can melt the Ice King.
But even I’m not prepared for how heated things become between us.
And now it appears I’m falling for the same guy whose starting spot I’m gunning for.
But all is fair in both love and sport, right?
This book features hot rugby players, fun banter, sweet moments, steamy times, a little bit of angst and of course, a Happily Ever After! You don't need to know anything about rugby to enjoy this story.
Aiden
I’m known as the Ice King, but I didn’t become one of the best rugby players in the world by giving out free hugs. I got here by hard work and sacrifice, including denying a large part of myself. But that’s okay, there’s plenty of time to become the poster boy for gay rugby players after I retire.
Right now, I’m focusing on cementing my legacy and I’m not about to surrender my starting spot to the cocky loudmouth who just joined the training squad, no matter how talented the kid might be.
Tyler
I can’t believe I’ve made it into the New Zealand rugby team after my first professional rugby season. Now management has decided it’s a good idea for me to room with Aiden Jones, who’s been my jerk-off fantasy for years. And although Aiden is icy to me both on and off the field, I figure with a little charm, I can melt the Ice King.
But even I’m not prepared for how heated things become between us.
And now it appears I’m falling for the same guy whose starting spot I’m gunning for.
But all is fair in both love and sport, right?
This book features hot rugby players, fun banter, sweet moments, steamy times, a little bit of angst and of course, a Happily Ever After! You don't need to know anything about rugby to enjoy this story.
294 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2021
575 people are currently reading
2566 people want to read
About the author
Jax Calder
30 books1,054 followersJax's stories are all about light-hearted conversations and deeply-felt connections. She loves exploring exactly why two characters are the only ones who’ll make the other truly happy, and the journey they take to reach their happily-ever-after.
Jax lives in New Zealand and is a rabid sports fan, a hiking enthusiast and has a slightly unhealthy addiction to nature documentaries. As an extrovert who spends way too much time in her own head, she loves to connect with readers. To read her exclusive novella Being Set Up, sign up to her newsletter: https://jaxcalder.com/newsletter-sign.... You can also join her Facebook group Jax's Crew (www.facebook.com/groups/jaxcaldercrew) for bonus stories plus exclusive excerpts from her upcoming books.
Jax lives in New Zealand and is a rabid sports fan, a hiking enthusiast and has a slightly unhealthy addiction to nature documentaries. As an extrovert who spends way too much time in her own head, she loves to connect with readers. To read her exclusive novella Being Set Up, sign up to her newsletter: https://jaxcalder.com/newsletter-sign.... You can also join her Facebook group Jax's Crew (www.facebook.com/groups/jaxcaldercrew) for bonus stories plus exclusive excerpts from her upcoming books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 511 reviews
January 25, 2022
3.5 Stars
After my previous read I needed a light book and this delivered. It was a bit Insta but did I care? Umm nope. It's Rugby! and Rugby got some hot men piling on top of each other that is enough for me. And showing some skin... Makes me:
This is Rugby!! 😍😍 NSFW!!😉
The characters are so likable. It helped that Aiden and Tyler had chemistry but the fast rate at which they started hooking up and it was some sort of enemies to lovers thingy had me like!
This can't be classified as enemies to lovers, let's just say not every author can pull that off. It was a good start.
There was some family Drama but I didn't care that much, it was okay.
Overall, I had a good light time with this book.
Last one I promise!!😍😍
After my previous read I needed a light book and this delivered. It was a bit Insta but did I care? Umm nope. It's Rugby! and Rugby got some hot men piling on top of each other that is enough for me. And showing some skin... Makes me:
This is Rugby!! 😍😍 NSFW!!😉
The characters are so likable. It helped that Aiden and Tyler had chemistry but the fast rate at which they started hooking up and it was some sort of enemies to lovers thingy had me like!
This can't be classified as enemies to lovers, let's just say not every author can pull that off. It was a good start.
There was some family Drama but I didn't care that much, it was okay.
Overall, I had a good light time with this book.
Last one I promise!!😍😍
September 16, 2021
Despite reading this book on and off continuously...as I write this review in google docs I cannot even remember the name of the book. So here I am, typing away in a google doc I creatively named ‘book.’ It really speaks to how much I took away from this experience and my overall enjoyment levels. 🤭🤣 I was bored to tears. I felt like I ran a marathon and got first place when I finished this book because of how much of a struggle it was for me to get there. I won. I defeated the boring book!!!! In all seriousness though -- you might absolutely love this and I am happy for whoever does but this just was not in any way the right fit for me personally and here I go detailing why! I am so sorry but I am about to say ‘this book’ a billion times. You’ve been warned!
It was dreadfully boring. There was a wash, rinse, repeat quality to this book. The same things would happen again and again without any difference between said events or for any reason other than being there to fill out the book. There was so much tell instead of show. I was supposed to believe that Aidan and Tyler were bonding and growing together without being shown that very often aside from copious amounts of sex. We weren’t really shown that much of them having that time together where they supposedly cooked and did cute shit! We were just told to believe it. It felt like someone winking and whispering ”trust me” at me in book form.
“Holy shit.” “You’re getting a bit repetitive.” “Sorry if my freak-out mode doesn’t have enough variety for you.”
This part was definitely @ me. 👀🤭😳
Enemies to lovers WHERE? There is nothing more satisfying than the author having the enemies be enemies for about 30 seconds before they rip the carpet out from under you and say gotcha, idiot! I don’t even consider this to be enemies to lovers at all. I might be alone in this but I’m sticking by my stance. Tyler is the new player out to take Aidan’s spot but once again I was told they were enemies and their interactions were just a few jabs and then they were fucking. There wasn’t any of the tension or build-up of enemies to lovers at all because again THEY WEREN’T ACTUALLY ENEMIES. It seemed like they both so quickly understood that their dislike of each other was all about circumstance and they very quickly got over that and started seeing each other in a new light. It reminded me of the Impractical Jokers bit where an actor is hired to throw water on one of the guys’ in front of a random person and as they throw the water, they shout an insult and then they are outta there. In this scenario Tyler “threw the water” at Aidan once and then that was it. There wasn’t any depth or anything more. It was all surface level and over as quickly as it began. The water dried as quickly as it was thrown, yada yada yada. You get it.
The characters. Tyler was supposedly 20 years old but he spoke as though he was in middle school. He simply did not sound his age. Not even a little. He had the same phrases, the same hilarious insults and one liners like calling Aidan old or the Ice King that he said a billion times. It was annoying, repetitive and had me rolling my eyes again and again and again. If I ever hear the word shitballs again, I am going to bang my head against a wall!!!!! But as much as I just shat on Tyler, I didn’t feel anything more than indifference for Aidan. I was told time and time again that he was the Ice King yet I was left warm as can be! It was once again a case of us being told instead of shown. The most I can think of when it comes to him being cold is Aidan giving a few interviews to journalists that weren’t warm and fuzzy but mostly he is just kinda there. Freeze me like promised, please!!! Give me something to work with here!!!! It’s disappointing to see it hammered home how Aidan has this notorious title and not really follow through on the execution. I felt terribly for what they were both going through but I didn’t feel anything for the people themselves except the gravity of their respective situations. So not caring about the characters makes it hard to care even the tiniest amount about the romance between said characters.
Despite all ~this~ please do not mind me if I happen to read book two of this series as I cannot deny myself a male nanny and rugby player pairing even if there’s a chance I’ll hate it!!!😶😛
Well writing that was rather cathartic if I do say so myself!!! 😌😌😌
It was dreadfully boring. There was a wash, rinse, repeat quality to this book. The same things would happen again and again without any difference between said events or for any reason other than being there to fill out the book. There was so much tell instead of show. I was supposed to believe that Aidan and Tyler were bonding and growing together without being shown that very often aside from copious amounts of sex. We weren’t really shown that much of them having that time together where they supposedly cooked and did cute shit! We were just told to believe it. It felt like someone winking and whispering ”trust me” at me in book form.
“Holy shit.” “You’re getting a bit repetitive.” “Sorry if my freak-out mode doesn’t have enough variety for you.”
This part was definitely @ me. 👀🤭😳
Enemies to lovers WHERE? There is nothing more satisfying than the author having the enemies be enemies for about 30 seconds before they rip the carpet out from under you and say gotcha, idiot! I don’t even consider this to be enemies to lovers at all. I might be alone in this but I’m sticking by my stance. Tyler is the new player out to take Aidan’s spot but once again I was told they were enemies and their interactions were just a few jabs and then they were fucking. There wasn’t any of the tension or build-up of enemies to lovers at all because again THEY WEREN’T ACTUALLY ENEMIES. It seemed like they both so quickly understood that their dislike of each other was all about circumstance and they very quickly got over that and started seeing each other in a new light. It reminded me of the Impractical Jokers bit where an actor is hired to throw water on one of the guys’ in front of a random person and as they throw the water, they shout an insult and then they are outta there. In this scenario Tyler “threw the water” at Aidan once and then that was it. There wasn’t any depth or anything more. It was all surface level and over as quickly as it began. The water dried as quickly as it was thrown, yada yada yada. You get it.
The characters. Tyler was supposedly 20 years old but he spoke as though he was in middle school. He simply did not sound his age. Not even a little. He had the same phrases, the same hilarious insults and one liners like calling Aidan old or the Ice King that he said a billion times. It was annoying, repetitive and had me rolling my eyes again and again and again. If I ever hear the word shitballs again, I am going to bang my head against a wall!!!!! But as much as I just shat on Tyler, I didn’t feel anything more than indifference for Aidan. I was told time and time again that he was the Ice King yet I was left warm as can be! It was once again a case of us being told instead of shown. The most I can think of when it comes to him being cold is Aidan giving a few interviews to journalists that weren’t warm and fuzzy but mostly he is just kinda there. Freeze me like promised, please!!! Give me something to work with here!!!! It’s disappointing to see it hammered home how Aidan has this notorious title and not really follow through on the execution. I felt terribly for what they were both going through but I didn’t feel anything for the people themselves except the gravity of their respective situations. So not caring about the characters makes it hard to care even the tiniest amount about the romance between said characters.
Despite all ~this~ please do not mind me if I happen to read book two of this series as I cannot deny myself a male nanny and rugby player pairing even if there’s a chance I’ll hate it!!!😶😛
Well writing that was rather cathartic if I do say so myself!!! 😌😌😌
July 28, 2022
Sooo... *hides behind the book* I liked this and this was mainly sex, how much of a clown am I? 🥲🤣🤣
Look! In my defense I almost DNF this one, because of the plot the beginning was mostly sex and yeah, I like to read good sex in books but not this much. 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
Then!!!! It got interesting all of a sudden and I kept going! It started to develop a really interesting plot, a lot of internalized homophobia was going on and I was shocked. Then the love became beautiful and shit hit the fan, things got ugly and then love survived it all!!!
I think I even cried a little somewhere. 🥲🥲
Anyways! It's good enough *coughs* and I really want to read the next one. 🤓🤓
YES, I HAVE NO SHAME AT THIS POINT. 🙌🏻
*Mic drop*
Look! In my defense I almost DNF this one, because of the plot the beginning was mostly sex and yeah, I like to read good sex in books but not this much. 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
Then!!!! It got interesting all of a sudden and I kept going! It started to develop a really interesting plot, a lot of internalized homophobia was going on and I was shocked. Then the love became beautiful and shit hit the fan, things got ugly and then love survived it all!!!
I think I even cried a little somewhere. 🥲🥲
Anyways! It's good enough *coughs* and I really want to read the next one. 🤓🤓
YES, I HAVE NO SHAME AT THIS POINT. 🙌🏻
*Mic drop*
January 28, 2022
dnf @ 40%.
bland and boring, moving on. also... enemies to lovers???? bitch WHERE.
bland and boring, moving on. also... enemies to lovers???? bitch WHERE.
September 13, 2021
“Do you ever listen to the crap coming out of your mouth?”
“Not really.”
“Yeah, it shows.”
“I thought you liked my mouth.”
“It definitely has its uses.”
I loved this so much. Definitely going to go on with this series. I picked this up because everyone said it gave them Ilya and Shane vibes and I can see why. With a relationship between the pretty boy and the ice king - the premise was almost identical to the heated rivalry but the execution was completely different. We didn’t have many freeze outs or moments when the characters were with other people. It was a surprisingly sweet and fluffy romance with just enough rivalry and conflict to make it more investing.
“So yeah, I’m telling you I want your name on my gravestone. And I’m asking if you want my name on yours. I’m aware that’s the most fucked-up declaration of love the planet has ever seen, but I don’t care. You’re it for me.”
“Not really.”
“Yeah, it shows.”
“I thought you liked my mouth.”
“It definitely has its uses.”
I loved this so much. Definitely going to go on with this series. I picked this up because everyone said it gave them Ilya and Shane vibes and I can see why. With a relationship between the pretty boy and the ice king - the premise was almost identical to the heated rivalry but the execution was completely different. We didn’t have many freeze outs or moments when the characters were with other people. It was a surprisingly sweet and fluffy romance with just enough rivalry and conflict to make it more investing.
“So yeah, I’m telling you I want your name on my gravestone. And I’m asking if you want my name on yours. I’m aware that’s the most fucked-up declaration of love the planet has ever seen, but I don’t care. You’re it for me.”
September 11, 2021
4.5 ⭐️ I loved Tyler and Aiden so much! If you know me, you know that closeted professional athletes are my kryptonite, and these two were really perfect for each other.
Even though they played rugby, a sport I know absolutely nothing about, so much that I had to Google pictures to know what the field and uniforms looked like. 🤷♀️ I didn’t go as far as googling videos, because who cares? I just need to be able to envision the hot men on the field. I’m Canadian, it’s not like I’ll ever watch a rugby game.
I smiled, I laughed, I cried, I swooned, I fanned myself. If you read a lot of MM sports romances, you will find that this was nothing really new or earth shattering, but it was a lot of fun! I can’t wait for the next one in the series!
❤️❤️❤️
Even though they played rugby, a sport I know absolutely nothing about, so much that I had to Google pictures to know what the field and uniforms looked like. 🤷♀️ I didn’t go as far as googling videos, because who cares? I just need to be able to envision the hot men on the field. I’m Canadian, it’s not like I’ll ever watch a rugby game.
I smiled, I laughed, I cried, I swooned, I fanned myself. If you read a lot of MM sports romances, you will find that this was nothing really new or earth shattering, but it was a lot of fun! I can’t wait for the next one in the series!
❤️❤️❤️
September 13, 2021
2.5 stars
I wanted to love this book so much, it has so many things I look for in a book:
▪️college romance
▪️two people fighting for the same spot on a sport team
▪️rugby
Brief summary
Aiden has the starting spot on the New Zealand rugby team. He’s been there for years and is one of their best players ever. A new rookie starts on the team, his name is Tyler and he wants Aiden’s starting spot. They start a little rivalry because they both want the same spot on the team, but they end up falling in love.
Look this one is on me. I really enjoyed the characters, the set up to the romance and the relationship between the main characters in this book. But this book was a little too soap opera like for me, I just prefer less drama in my books. But I do have to give credits to the author of this book, the drama in this book felt very similar to the drama that actually happen during my teen years so shutout to you for keeping it realistic, but it’s just not what I prefer reading about in a book. I like internal struggles more than I like outside struggles brought on my drama created by people outside of the main characters, which explains why this book didn’t work for me.
Also this book had an evil father which is just not the trope for me. I would much prefer it if the evil father had motives and a reason to be that evil, but instead it just seems like he is are evil because he was born this way and I just need a little more than that for that trope to work for me. Also I just don’t like the evil father trope where the father has a sudden burst of clarity at 85% and apologizes and suddently the father and the son that he was evil to the entire book are acting like they love each other to death, that trope just doesn’t work for me because it doesn’t seem like a realistic thing that would happen. If someone was evil to me for so long, I would accept the apology but I wouldn’t have a good relationship with them the second I accept that relationship, I feel like I would be feeling grief for a long time.
Also I think i’m doing an overload of the couple gets outed because they are seen kissing at 90% in a sports book and then they are forced to come out in order to have their HEA trope. I also didn’t like how in this book there was one character who wanted to come out and one who didn’t, so he had to come out against his wishes so he could keep dating his man. This is just a preference but I just would prefer another trope to be used instead of that one, or for the main characters to stay in the closet or come out on their own terms, this trope has been so used that it just doesn’t work for me anymore. And I just don’t like the idea of a book making its main characters have to come out even if thats not what they wanted to do, I prefer when my main characters actually want to come out and do it on their own terms. Being forced to come out of the closet is just not as cool of an experience as books make it out to be and it’s not something I really enjoy reading about.
I’m really sorry book, it’s not you it’s me, I really wanted to love you, but it just didn’t work between us.
I received an ARC of this book, and this is my honest review.
I wanted to love this book so much, it has so many things I look for in a book:
▪️college romance
▪️two people fighting for the same spot on a sport team
▪️rugby
Brief summary
Aiden has the starting spot on the New Zealand rugby team. He’s been there for years and is one of their best players ever. A new rookie starts on the team, his name is Tyler and he wants Aiden’s starting spot. They start a little rivalry because they both want the same spot on the team, but they end up falling in love.
Look this one is on me. I really enjoyed the characters, the set up to the romance and the relationship between the main characters in this book. But this book was a little too soap opera like for me, I just prefer less drama in my books. But I do have to give credits to the author of this book, the drama in this book felt very similar to the drama that actually happen during my teen years so shutout to you for keeping it realistic, but it’s just not what I prefer reading about in a book. I like internal struggles more than I like outside struggles brought on my drama created by people outside of the main characters, which explains why this book didn’t work for me.
Also this book had an evil father which is just not the trope for me. I would much prefer it if the evil father had motives and a reason to be that evil, but instead it just seems like he is are evil because he was born this way and I just need a little more than that for that trope to work for me. Also I just don’t like the evil father trope where the father has a sudden burst of clarity at 85% and apologizes and suddently the father and the son that he was evil to the entire book are acting like they love each other to death, that trope just doesn’t work for me because it doesn’t seem like a realistic thing that would happen. If someone was evil to me for so long, I would accept the apology but I wouldn’t have a good relationship with them the second I accept that relationship, I feel like I would be feeling grief for a long time.
Also I think i’m doing an overload of the couple gets outed because they are seen kissing at 90% in a sports book and then they are forced to come out in order to have their HEA trope. I also didn’t like how in this book there was one character who wanted to come out and one who didn’t, so he had to come out against his wishes so he could keep dating his man. This is just a preference but I just would prefer another trope to be used instead of that one, or for the main characters to stay in the closet or come out on their own terms, this trope has been so used that it just doesn’t work for me anymore. And I just don’t like the idea of a book making its main characters have to come out even if thats not what they wanted to do, I prefer when my main characters actually want to come out and do it on their own terms. Being forced to come out of the closet is just not as cool of an experience as books make it out to be and it’s not something I really enjoy reading about.
I’m really sorry book, it’s not you it’s me, I really wanted to love you, but it just didn’t work between us.
I received an ARC of this book, and this is my honest review.
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August 29, 2021
sports romances are one of my favs but i think this is the first i read one about rugby so it was interesting to know some things about the sport. i loved Aiden and Tyler's chemistry so much, these two made me smile with their interactions and i loved the transition they had between fwb to actual bfs. some scenes even made me tear up tbh but, overall, this was definitely a light read (which i desperately needed after my last read lol) with fun banters between the two MCs. the side characters were also pretty great (most of them, at least) and im excited for Jacob's story!!
if i had one thing to complain about, i wished . i'd highly rec this one!
if i had one thing to complain about, i wished . i'd highly rec this one!
January 6, 2022
**** 4.5 stars ****
Gotta love my friend Laxmama! 🥰
I love when a story makes my stomach flutter, this kind of butterfly party happens, usually, in stories with forbidden and hidden encounters. And nothing better than two closeted athletes to present that. That feeling of "Oh, fuck, it's going to happen now! Someone is going to catch them!
As far as I can remember, I think this is the first time I felt guilt for enjoying this kind of drama so much because let's face it, no one deserves to live such a tormented life, where you can't show who you really are and love whomever you want. So, you might want to sue me. 😖
But hey, I can give you another reason for liking sports romance, a better one. *cough*
Yep, there is that.
A bit shallow, I know. So, just sue me again.
This was not our usual enemy to lovers since they play for the same team. The rivalry comes from the fact that Tyler is after Aiden's position on the team.
Tyler is an all smiles and sunshine type of guy whereas Aiden is cold and self-contained.
They started to hook up, but slowly, as they started to spend more time together things escalated romance wise in a more serious direction making the story a tad bit more angsty because on top of the closet issue, how they could be happy when the victory of one represented the defeat of the other in their professional lives?
The relationship arc development really worked for me, besides, as I said before, the struggle was real. The way the author portrayed both guys internal conflict, regarding their professional positions really hit me.
Summing up, the Rugby aspect never bored me, secondary characters were interesting, the MCs were hot together, light drama , a tad bit emotional in some parts to the point of me tearing up. And on that note, there's something to be said about a book that makes me tear up.
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Gotta love my friend Laxmama! 🥰
I love when a story makes my stomach flutter, this kind of butterfly party happens, usually, in stories with forbidden and hidden encounters. And nothing better than two closeted athletes to present that. That feeling of "Oh, fuck, it's going to happen now! Someone is going to catch them!
As far as I can remember, I think this is the first time I felt guilt for enjoying this kind of drama so much because let's face it, no one deserves to live such a tormented life, where you can't show who you really are and love whomever you want. So, you might want to sue me. 😖
But hey, I can give you another reason for liking sports romance, a better one. *cough*
Yep, there is that.
A bit shallow, I know. So, just sue me again. This was not our usual enemy to lovers since they play for the same team. The rivalry comes from the fact that Tyler is after Aiden's position on the team.
Tyler is an all smiles and sunshine type of guy whereas Aiden is cold and self-contained.
They started to hook up, but slowly, as they started to spend more time together things escalated romance wise in a more serious direction making the story a tad bit more angsty because on top of the closet issue, how they could be happy when the victory of one represented the defeat of the other in their professional lives?
The relationship arc development really worked for me, besides, as I said before, the struggle was real. The way the author portrayed both guys internal conflict, regarding their professional positions really hit me.
Summing up, the Rugby aspect never bored me, secondary characters were interesting, the MCs were hot together, light drama , a tad bit emotional in some parts to the point of me tearing up. And on that note, there's something to be said about a book that makes me tear up.
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dnf
October 17, 2024DNF at 56%. There’s nothing majorly wrong with this book, I just wasn’t vibing with it. The banter was forced and a bit cringy, I didn’t feel their connection and wanted much more UST and pining, the book being a ‚forbidden‘ romance and all that. Also, the storyline reminded me of a weak version of Heated Rivalry, and the impending conflicts bored me, because the tropes are overdone: Homophobic parents and internalised homophobia because of that; closeted athletes who fear for their careers; one wants to come out eventually, the other doesn’t, they are rivals for the same starting position etc. I’d have been okay with these more predictable conflicts, if I was rooting for the couple, but alas, I didn’t.
So yeah, Rugby is fucking hot and the book isn’t bad by any means, I simply didn’t care enough about the MCs to continue, I’m sorry! Maybe I’ll come back to it, when I’m more in the mood, am still thinking about them tomorrow or if you tell me that it gets significantly more interesting in the second half 🙈
PS: Please, for the love of god, stop shortening the name ‚Aiden‘ to the nickname ‚Aids‘, because seriously… what the fuck?
So yeah, Rugby is fucking hot and the book isn’t bad by any means, I simply didn’t care enough about the MCs to continue, I’m sorry! Maybe I’ll come back to it, when I’m more in the mood, am still thinking about them tomorrow or if you tell me that it gets significantly more interesting in the second half 🙈
PS: Please, for the love of god, stop shortening the name ‚Aiden‘ to the nickname ‚Aids‘, because seriously… what the fuck?
Read
September 16, 2021dnf
dnf
February 15, 2022DNF at 27%
This seems like a classic case of “it’s me, not the book.” It seems insta-everything, but sometimes that works for me, so I can’t say that’s the problem. I can’t pinpoint the reason I’m not interested in continuing, except that it’s not holding my attention.
I can say that the enemies-to-lovers trope is all in the author’s imagination, though, since the mild animosity between the two MCs lasted until 18% when they
I thought my biggest problem with this book might be that I know very little about rugby, but so far it wasn’t. I do have a problem with the author hitting me on the head with all the info about New Zealand rugby and New Zealand in general, though. I get it, it’s an uncommon setting for a m/m book and it’s nice to give some background info so the reader doesn’t get lost, but when you’re writing in first person and the MC is from New Zealand, I seriously doubt he’d think things like “Wellington, the capital city.” I wouldn’t feel the need to remind myself Rome is the capital of my own country, if I were thinking about going there for work next week. And if I was writing a book, I’d assume that if readers don’t know Rome is the capital, they either don’t care or they can google it, it doesn’t add much to their ability to follow the story anyway. Just saying.
This was just the example that stood out more to me, but it wasn’t the only occurrence, and it took me out of the story every time it happened in a way that didn’t feel natural, that’s why I’m mentioning it.
This seems like a classic case of “it’s me, not the book.” It seems insta-everything, but sometimes that works for me, so I can’t say that’s the problem. I can’t pinpoint the reason I’m not interested in continuing, except that it’s not holding my attention.
I can say that the enemies-to-lovers trope is all in the author’s imagination, though, since the mild animosity between the two MCs lasted until 18% when they
I thought my biggest problem with this book might be that I know very little about rugby, but so far it wasn’t. I do have a problem with the author hitting me on the head with all the info about New Zealand rugby and New Zealand in general, though. I get it, it’s an uncommon setting for a m/m book and it’s nice to give some background info so the reader doesn’t get lost, but when you’re writing in first person and the MC is from New Zealand, I seriously doubt he’d think things like “Wellington, the capital city.” I wouldn’t feel the need to remind myself Rome is the capital of my own country, if I were thinking about going there for work next week. And if I was writing a book, I’d assume that if readers don’t know Rome is the capital, they either don’t care or they can google it, it doesn’t add much to their ability to follow the story anyway. Just saying.
This was just the example that stood out more to me, but it wasn’t the only occurrence, and it took me out of the story every time it happened in a way that didn’t feel natural, that’s why I’m mentioning it.
dnf
April 5, 2022I really enjoyed the playful tone of the early chapters of this rivals-to-lovers rugby romance. And the alternating 1st-person POV was solid — I never had any doubt whose head I was in. But by 32% I didn't like where it was going. Internalized homophobia, homophobia from family and team, terror of being discovered — nah, I'll pass. Been there, read that. It's sad and depressing.
So the DNF at 32% is due to a mismatch with my mood, not a slam at the book. Jax Calder is a new-to-me author, and there was enough here to like that I look forward to finding something else of hers to try.
Updated to add: I thought I was done, but I went back and read the epilogue. Because with KU, what the author gets paid depends on how far into the book a reader made it — and I wanted the author to get credit for a whole book's worth of reading. It turned out to be a mistake, though. The epilogue had the guys talking about marriage and breeding arrangements. If getting married and reproducing are the author's idea of an HEA... well, that's not my idea of an HEA. So my enthusiasm for reading any more of her work has dimmed considerably. Oh well. Fortunately there are plenty of other m/m authors out there!
So the DNF at 32% is due to a mismatch with my mood, not a slam at the book. Jax Calder is a new-to-me author, and there was enough here to like that I look forward to finding something else of hers to try.
Updated to add: I thought I was done, but I went back and read the epilogue. Because with KU, what the author gets paid depends on how far into the book a reader made it — and I wanted the author to get credit for a whole book's worth of reading. It turned out to be a mistake, though. The epilogue had the guys talking about marriage and breeding arrangements. If getting married and reproducing are the author's idea of an HEA... well, that's not my idea of an HEA. So my enthusiasm for reading any more of her work has dimmed considerably. Oh well. Fortunately there are plenty of other m/m authors out there!
May 7, 2022
Some niggles but overall I liked it
3.5*
As the headline says, I had a couple of niggles but in the end, the positives outweighed them.
It's not an enemies-to-lovers romance in the slightest. Their rivalry for the half-back position is mostly snark and cutting remarks until they're jerking off together around the 18% mark!
My main niggle however, was how the nickname of the New Zealand Rugby Union International side - the All Blacks - wasn't used to describe the team.
It baffled me, as a long time fan of both Rugby Union and League, because everyone I know, including all my time as a journalist covering sport, refers to them as that. Not as the New Zealand team, or New Zealand rugby or wearing the New Zealand shirt or doing the Haka as part of the before game ritual for New Zealand etc.
Every time they weren't called the All Blacks it threw me out of the story big time.
The second, and much bigger niggle in terms of narrative, was the tired trope of a homophobic parent, usually the father as it is here.
It's an 'easy' out to use imho, especially when it's then not addressed properly as is the case here. Tyler's father's horrible behaviour is casually tidied up with an off page apology reference and a note about his mother telling him off.
When it's been the cause of most of Tyler's sometimes unintentionally hurtful behaviour towards Aiden, and all of his internalised homophobia, it really needed better treatment then it got.
Still, this sounds like everything was bad and that's not the case! The writing is engaging, both Tyler's younger puppy like personality and Aiden's Ice King reputation are described well.
The dialogue is okay there's not much internal monologuing and thankfully no miscommunication.
Sex is treated a bit oddly, with loads of off page references but also quite a lot of page time too. In fact, half the times they should have been having a conversation it instead turned into a sex scene.
But, there is a genuine connection between them and I believed they were each other's life mate.
If there'd been a bit less sex and a few more conversations, this would have heading towards 5* category because I'm a lover of sports romances in general and definitely love it when we get a Rugby Union setting for a change.
I'm looking forward to book two though so we'll see how that goes.
3.5*
As the headline says, I had a couple of niggles but in the end, the positives outweighed them.
It's not an enemies-to-lovers romance in the slightest. Their rivalry for the half-back position is mostly snark and cutting remarks until they're jerking off together around the 18% mark!
My main niggle however, was how the nickname of the New Zealand Rugby Union International side - the All Blacks - wasn't used to describe the team.
It baffled me, as a long time fan of both Rugby Union and League, because everyone I know, including all my time as a journalist covering sport, refers to them as that. Not as the New Zealand team, or New Zealand rugby or wearing the New Zealand shirt or doing the Haka as part of the before game ritual for New Zealand etc.
Every time they weren't called the All Blacks it threw me out of the story big time.
The second, and much bigger niggle in terms of narrative, was the tired trope of a homophobic parent, usually the father as it is here.
It's an 'easy' out to use imho, especially when it's then not addressed properly as is the case here. Tyler's father's horrible behaviour is casually tidied up with an off page apology reference and a note about his mother telling him off.
When it's been the cause of most of Tyler's sometimes unintentionally hurtful behaviour towards Aiden, and all of his internalised homophobia, it really needed better treatment then it got.
Still, this sounds like everything was bad and that's not the case! The writing is engaging, both Tyler's younger puppy like personality and Aiden's Ice King reputation are described well.
The dialogue is okay there's not much internal monologuing and thankfully no miscommunication.
Sex is treated a bit oddly, with loads of off page references but also quite a lot of page time too. In fact, half the times they should have been having a conversation it instead turned into a sex scene.
But, there is a genuine connection between them and I believed they were each other's life mate.
If there'd been a bit less sex and a few more conversations, this would have heading towards 5* category because I'm a lover of sports romances in general and definitely love it when we get a Rugby Union setting for a change.
I'm looking forward to book two though so we'll see how that goes.
June 20, 2023
Really enjoyed this one! Now I want to read more rugby books! I know nothing about rugby but it was really fun to read about. Really liked both Tyler and Aiden and I liked all the side characters as well. The ending was so emotional and sweet. And the set up for book 2- it’s a nanny trope book!! Can’t wait!
March 1, 2022
This book definitely had it's good parts. The humour and the banter was nice. The characters were well put. Even the plot line, as obvious and repetitive it is, was nice. It was the small things that happened that put me off the story.
Halfway through, out of nowhere, there is the man, a soldier who lost his wife and says he'd give up all his medals to spend another day with his wife, so Tyler, out Mc, needs to find a girl, start a family and take care of her. Not that he should think about, but needs to get into a relationship. I've always made my view clear on the fact that having a lover or a partner is not the pinnacle of your life. It's just a bonus. So this pissed me off.
And the completely unnecessarily dramatic reaction of Aiden's best friend, to the fact he is dating Tyler made me cringe. Hard. I'm sorry but no friend reacts like that.
The fact that even after finding out that Tyler, was hit by his dad with a belt when he was fifteen by his dad when he found out he was gay didn't deter the mom from divorcing the asshole. I'm sorry but they ain't parents. Neither of them are. Don't glorify their hypocrisy.
All in all, I hated certain parts of the book whereas enjoyed the few good things.
Halfway through, out of nowhere, there is the man, a soldier who lost his wife and says he'd give up all his medals to spend another day with his wife, so Tyler, out Mc, needs to find a girl, start a family and take care of her. Not that he should think about, but needs to get into a relationship. I've always made my view clear on the fact that having a lover or a partner is not the pinnacle of your life. It's just a bonus. So this pissed me off.
And the completely unnecessarily dramatic reaction of Aiden's best friend, to the fact he is dating Tyler made me cringe. Hard. I'm sorry but no friend reacts like that.
The fact that even after finding out that Tyler, was hit by his dad with a belt when he was fifteen by his dad when he found out he was gay didn't deter the mom from divorcing the asshole. I'm sorry but they ain't parents. Neither of them are. Don't glorify their hypocrisy.
All in all, I hated certain parts of the book whereas enjoyed the few good things.
March 16, 2022
2.25 Sadly Underwhelming Stars☹️
I have some things to say about this, soon. But I must sleep.
Full RTC...
~*~
I was shocked that I went from a 5 stars read with this author, to a 2 star read in the sophomore outing. I see that this was her first full length novel release, so maybe that had something to do with it, I don't know. But this didn't go well for me at all.
So, first off....
✦ This is not enemies to lovers at all. I don't know if the author got rivals and enemies confused, but that seems to be it. They're rivals (in the game only, though), but they're never, not once, enemies. They even start a sexual relationship super quick, and they never hate each other.
And secondly...
✦A lot of this was so slow. Not much was happening, and yet this book is almost 300 pages. A lot could have been cut, I think. And the fact that Aiden and Tyler didn't have much chemistry didn't help matters.
✦ Sex happened pretty fast between these two, which would be fine, but then after the first time they get sexual together, so much of their sexual relationship (which is supposed to be all that it's about for awhile) is...not detailed all. The first scene was the most detailed until one scene late in the game (which still isn't all that detailed).
I was so disappointed at the lack of detailed sex in this. It leant to the lack of chemistry between these two as well, because for awhile they're about "just sex" and it skips over so much of that sex, and skips over months of them just having sex, so we never see them together much, really, while they're in this casual relationship.
✦ When the end of the season comes and they won't have an opportunity to hook up for months, they all the sudden go from casual to not casual very fast when they decide to see each other over the break between seasons.
✦ We never got to see them talk about much with each other. Seriously, the story is plodding along and they're like "it might be more" and "it's pretty serious" but they don't say this to each other, only to themselves or Zach, Aiden's friend. Then near the end they're thinking of each other as the other's boyfriend without a conversation between them of agreeing to be said boyfriends.
✦ I didn't like how fast Tyler goes from being absolutely terrified of anyone finding out he's gay, so much so that he's paranoid of car driving by them and seeing them together in their car, to being ready to declare it to the world and being okay with it, overall.
And that's another thing, his coming out - and Aiden's, really, although Aiden was more ready and okay with it - was forced, it was not his own decision.
Yeah, Aiden is ready to give him an out. But if the video outing them hadn't been taken and uploaded, they wouldn't have been in that situation of either confirm or deny. Which yes, good on Tyler for making the right choice in the two choices he did have, and that's some growth. But he so clearly not ready before then to come out, so much so that he was a shithead to Aiden, that going from that to all the sudden being settled and okay with coming out just didn't connect for me.
It wasn't a good writing choice, in my opinion. I think we should have, at the very least, seen some progress made with Tyler. It seemed like he might have been okay with the team knowing - which, again, the team knowing wasn't his choice, still - but that was after he'd been freaked out about the team knowing in the first place.
I think we should have seen him get to a place where at least he was comfortable with more knowing.
He was, strangely, out of the blue okay about Zach knowing. Zach finds out earlier in the story, when Tyler wasn't so sure about him knowing, but then the next POV from Tyler is him just kind of like "yeah, he knows. I just want him to like me..." like what? How was he all the sudden okay with Zach knowing? We didn't see him get there, he was just all the sudden there.
But Zach was one person. ONE. A very trusted friend of Aiden's. Then Aiden's mom finds out, but she's different too. So that's two people.
But he was still absolutely freaked about the team knowing. Then we read that he's tentatively wondering if he can handle the team knowing. Then all the sudden, the whole world knows because fo the video, and he freaks the fuck out again.
We didn't get a proper development of Tyler being ready to come out and that sucked, and it made him all the sudden getting over his fear of being outed, just because Aiden was there by his side, ring hollow. That didn't feel earned at all.
I feel like the author should have worked toward Tyler being ready to be out in a better way. But because the author wrote him so closeted, and so young and so early in his career, the only way to get the HEA was to force him coming out, and that didn't sit right with me.
Maybe Tyler could have been less closeted. Maybe have him already be where Aiden is at. Then have them come out to their team, of their own volition, maybe. But then maybe they could have still been outed to the world near the end, but Tyler would be in a better place, like where Aiden is with it all.
It doesn't feel unearned for Aiden at all. Him being ready to come out, even if he had planned to do it at the end of his career, felt right. It sucks that his choice was taken away too, but Aiden also wasn't freaking out about people knowing. He was already in a place ready to face coming out.
If Tyler had been there too, the ending would have felt less unearned, for sure.
✦ Tyler's dad's turnaround was....ridiculous. He is a raging homophobe for like 90% of this. He's a horrible shithead. But then his wife gives him several talkings to and then he's ready for his son to be out and gay? He comes to Tyler and asks him what the hell he's doing by letting Aiden take the fall for Tyler and give Tyler an out.
Like what? If curing a very homophobic person of their homophobia was as easy as giving them several stern lectures, well...we'd have cured homophobia a long time ago.
Like no, his dad wasn't ready to wave a rainbow flag or anything, but just the fact that he could go from complete hate to a somewhat level head didn't compute.
I wish authors wouldn't introduce a horrible, completely homophobic character who is absolutely nasty - usually the parents or a sibling, what have you - and then make them see the light by the end all the sudden become better.
While that's nice to think about, it's not remotely realistic. Or at the very least, it's rarely done in a way that makes sense. A few stern lectures is not going to give a character a turnaround at all. Maybe something bigger would, but not that, definitely not that.
Either make the character less homophobic and develop that character into losing that homophobia over the book, or just don't have them magically cured of their homophobia and ready to support their child or sibling, what have you.
It just feels too convenient, too easy. Having them as such a big antagonist and then all the sudden, just at the very end right before the HEA, they all the sudden aren't and everything is a-okay.
It just bothered me.
Now, despite all my problems with this story, it did have some moments where I was getting into the story. Mostly these two stretches early on and later in the book. It grabbed my attention then and I was hopeful in the earlier part it'd turn the story around, and then at the end that that would mean the last part of the book, at least, was good.
But then stuff happened to ruin those good stretches. But I've giving this 2.25 stars for those good stretches, and for getting me into this story those few times at all, when it was either going so slow or was annoying me/pissing me off.
So I didn't completely dislike this. I had a few moments that got me into it. I was even liking Aiden and Tyler together near the end, and the drama between them of Tyler getting Aiden's starting spot. But these times didn't last, hence still giving this book such a low rating.
But it still wasn't bad enough for me to give this 1 star.
I just wish more time had been focused on the sexual, and then romantic aspect of their relationship - I think me loving Aiden and Tyler together would have gone a long way towards leveling out the other shit that was in this book. But I didn't love them together. Their relationship dragged, even though it started really fast in the story, and a lot of sex was skipped over.
That in combination with all the other crap that annoyed me, made me settle on 2.25 stars, ultimately.
It's sad, because I adored the other work by this other that I read. The sophomore outing with this author just...didn't work.
I don't know if I'll give the other books in this series a chance. I do still want to give this author a chance, because I did love my first outing with this author, so I know I'm capable of loving stories by her.
Maybe I'll give a book outside of this series a chance first, to see if this stories was just a one-off or if the 5 star read one was the actual one-off...
I'll one day, maybe, give the rest of this series a chance.
But for now, that'll be out on hold.
Oh well...onto the next 😔
I have some things to say about this, soon. But I must sleep.
Full RTC...
~*~
I was shocked that I went from a 5 stars read with this author, to a 2 star read in the sophomore outing. I see that this was her first full length novel release, so maybe that had something to do with it, I don't know. But this didn't go well for me at all.
So, first off....
✦ This is not enemies to lovers at all. I don't know if the author got rivals and enemies confused, but that seems to be it. They're rivals (in the game only, though), but they're never, not once, enemies. They even start a sexual relationship super quick, and they never hate each other.
And secondly...
✦A lot of this was so slow. Not much was happening, and yet this book is almost 300 pages. A lot could have been cut, I think. And the fact that Aiden and Tyler didn't have much chemistry didn't help matters.
✦ Sex happened pretty fast between these two, which would be fine, but then after the first time they get sexual together, so much of their sexual relationship (which is supposed to be all that it's about for awhile) is...not detailed all. The first scene was the most detailed until one scene late in the game (which still isn't all that detailed).
I was so disappointed at the lack of detailed sex in this. It leant to the lack of chemistry between these two as well, because for awhile they're about "just sex" and it skips over so much of that sex, and skips over months of them just having sex, so we never see them together much, really, while they're in this casual relationship.
✦ When the end of the season comes and they won't have an opportunity to hook up for months, they all the sudden go from casual to not casual very fast when they decide to see each other over the break between seasons.
✦ We never got to see them talk about much with each other. Seriously, the story is plodding along and they're like "it might be more" and "it's pretty serious" but they don't say this to each other, only to themselves or Zach, Aiden's friend. Then near the end they're thinking of each other as the other's boyfriend without a conversation between them of agreeing to be said boyfriends.
✦ I didn't like how fast Tyler goes from being absolutely terrified of anyone finding out he's gay, so much so that he's paranoid of car driving by them and seeing them together in their car, to being ready to declare it to the world and being okay with it, overall.
And that's another thing, his coming out - and Aiden's, really, although Aiden was more ready and okay with it - was forced, it was not his own decision.
Yeah, Aiden is ready to give him an out. But if the video outing them hadn't been taken and uploaded, they wouldn't have been in that situation of either confirm or deny. Which yes, good on Tyler for making the right choice in the two choices he did have, and that's some growth. But he so clearly not ready before then to come out, so much so that he was a shithead to Aiden, that going from that to all the sudden being settled and okay with coming out just didn't connect for me.
It wasn't a good writing choice, in my opinion. I think we should have, at the very least, seen some progress made with Tyler. It seemed like he might have been okay with the team knowing - which, again, the team knowing wasn't his choice, still - but that was after he'd been freaked out about the team knowing in the first place.
I think we should have seen him get to a place where at least he was comfortable with more knowing.
He was, strangely, out of the blue okay about Zach knowing. Zach finds out earlier in the story, when Tyler wasn't so sure about him knowing, but then the next POV from Tyler is him just kind of like "yeah, he knows. I just want him to like me..." like what? How was he all the sudden okay with Zach knowing? We didn't see him get there, he was just all the sudden there.
But Zach was one person. ONE. A very trusted friend of Aiden's. Then Aiden's mom finds out, but she's different too. So that's two people.
But he was still absolutely freaked about the team knowing. Then we read that he's tentatively wondering if he can handle the team knowing. Then all the sudden, the whole world knows because fo the video, and he freaks the fuck out again.
We didn't get a proper development of Tyler being ready to come out and that sucked, and it made him all the sudden getting over his fear of being outed, just because Aiden was there by his side, ring hollow. That didn't feel earned at all.
I feel like the author should have worked toward Tyler being ready to be out in a better way. But because the author wrote him so closeted, and so young and so early in his career, the only way to get the HEA was to force him coming out, and that didn't sit right with me.
Maybe Tyler could have been less closeted. Maybe have him already be where Aiden is at. Then have them come out to their team, of their own volition, maybe. But then maybe they could have still been outed to the world near the end, but Tyler would be in a better place, like where Aiden is with it all.
It doesn't feel unearned for Aiden at all. Him being ready to come out, even if he had planned to do it at the end of his career, felt right. It sucks that his choice was taken away too, but Aiden also wasn't freaking out about people knowing. He was already in a place ready to face coming out.
If Tyler had been there too, the ending would have felt less unearned, for sure.
✦ Tyler's dad's turnaround was....ridiculous. He is a raging homophobe for like 90% of this. He's a horrible shithead. But then his wife gives him several talkings to and then he's ready for his son to be out and gay? He comes to Tyler and asks him what the hell he's doing by letting Aiden take the fall for Tyler and give Tyler an out.
Like what? If curing a very homophobic person of their homophobia was as easy as giving them several stern lectures, well...we'd have cured homophobia a long time ago.
Like no, his dad wasn't ready to wave a rainbow flag or anything, but just the fact that he could go from complete hate to a somewhat level head didn't compute.
I wish authors wouldn't introduce a horrible, completely homophobic character who is absolutely nasty - usually the parents or a sibling, what have you - and then make them see the light by the end all the sudden become better.
While that's nice to think about, it's not remotely realistic. Or at the very least, it's rarely done in a way that makes sense. A few stern lectures is not going to give a character a turnaround at all. Maybe something bigger would, but not that, definitely not that.
Either make the character less homophobic and develop that character into losing that homophobia over the book, or just don't have them magically cured of their homophobia and ready to support their child or sibling, what have you.
It just feels too convenient, too easy. Having them as such a big antagonist and then all the sudden, just at the very end right before the HEA, they all the sudden aren't and everything is a-okay.
It just bothered me.
Now, despite all my problems with this story, it did have some moments where I was getting into the story. Mostly these two stretches early on and later in the book. It grabbed my attention then and I was hopeful in the earlier part it'd turn the story around, and then at the end that that would mean the last part of the book, at least, was good.
But then stuff happened to ruin those good stretches. But I've giving this 2.25 stars for those good stretches, and for getting me into this story those few times at all, when it was either going so slow or was annoying me/pissing me off.
So I didn't completely dislike this. I had a few moments that got me into it. I was even liking Aiden and Tyler together near the end, and the drama between them of Tyler getting Aiden's starting spot. But these times didn't last, hence still giving this book such a low rating.
But it still wasn't bad enough for me to give this 1 star.
I just wish more time had been focused on the sexual, and then romantic aspect of their relationship - I think me loving Aiden and Tyler together would have gone a long way towards leveling out the other shit that was in this book. But I didn't love them together. Their relationship dragged, even though it started really fast in the story, and a lot of sex was skipped over.
That in combination with all the other crap that annoyed me, made me settle on 2.25 stars, ultimately.
It's sad, because I adored the other work by this other that I read. The sophomore outing with this author just...didn't work.
I don't know if I'll give the other books in this series a chance. I do still want to give this author a chance, because I did love my first outing with this author, so I know I'm capable of loving stories by her.
Maybe I'll give a book outside of this series a chance first, to see if this stories was just a one-off or if the 5 star read one was the actual one-off...
I'll one day, maybe, give the rest of this series a chance.
But for now, that'll be out on hold.
Oh well...onto the next 😔
August 2, 2023
I'm giving this book 4.5⭐.
A wonderful, well written sports romance about two closeted gay rugby players, set in New Zealand for a change (yes!) and in a world of countless sports books about men finding each other and steering through the ultra-masculine environment of being gay men in professional sports, this book is up there with the best of them, at least for my taste.
🟢 Professional Rugby players
🟣 MMCs are gay, but closeted their whole lives
🟡 Age gap - 8 years
🌶️ Good spice, although some off-page and FTB
❗ Homophobia inside the family
This story is about Tyler, a 20 - year old fresh rugby player who comes to play for the NZ national team, where his hero - Aiden Jones, a 28 - year old best rugby player in the business, plays.
Tyler worhips the guy, but also has a longtime crush, wasn't Aiden his gay-awakening when he was a teen?
Tyler is after Aiden's spot on the team and even though Aiden is really good at what he does, it soon becomes clear that Tyler is a great player.
To avoid the potential tension between them, Tyler and Aiden get put in the same room on most games away.
They don't hate each other at all, but Tyler wants at least somekind of reaction from Aiden and always tries to sass him, pick on him, joke around, doing anything he can for Aiden to give him a little bit of his time and attention.
When they start rooming together, they accidentaly reveal to each other that they're both gay.
"But instead, his lips parted, and suddenly he was kissing me hungrily, messily. Holy fuck. Without thinking, I returned his kiss with the same force. A nuclear fusion of mouths."
They start hooking up together, both realising noone wants to come out and they have to keep everything on the DL. Aiden is very held back and doesn't want to get emotionally involved, so their hook-up are really just about getting off and sharing a room together, nothing more.
They're hot, passionate, have amazing sex and I would've liked for there to be more spice on-page, more detailed kissing scenes, but even so, the love story that was developing between them was real and wonderful, so I overlooked the things I'd miss usually.
Things change for them when they take a vacation together and start getting closer. The development of their relationship wasn't insta, although they were very attracted to each other, but the feelings came into the equation somewhere down the line and those feelings were very believable and both characters were emotionally mature and going into this with a clear head, both knowing they absolutely want each other.
🟠 They didn't back down or run off when things got tough and I especially loved the part of them coming out in the end.
This is one of the reasons I really, really loved this book, because it dealt with real emotions and predicaments of coming out, it wasn't all rainbows and sunshine and Tyler definitely didn't want to do it until the very end, so there was absolutely some angst there.
Tyler's family, especially his dad is another sore subject in this story and could be very triggering to some, but it's a reality for so many guys around the world and I really felt for Tyler.
I absolutely loved, just loved Aiden. Aiden is 28, but sounds 38 or more, he's so mature, smart, intelligent, he's a solid professional, calm, cool, collected, has his 2 homes, is a gardener in his free time, so he grows his own food, cooks for Tyler, has a dog, I mean come on, if there ever was an ideal guy out there, it's Aiden Jones.
🔵 Why not make it a full 5⭐ book?
*️⃣ I didn't like the off-page spice, , maybe the sex scenes weren't as developed as I'd liked them to be, although they were very intimate, so that saved the spice department.
*️⃣ Not enough kissing and especially not detailed ("they kissed passionately" is for shy teenagers, I want tongues mentioned, please and thank you) and there were so many comparisons that started with "more than" and the reference to trivia or similar and it was so often, it irritated me quite a bit.
*️⃣ Tyler's teenage crush wasn't adressed, so Aiden never got to know he was Tyler's wet dream for years.
Tyler and Aiden's story dealt with so much than just them getting together whenever they could, it was about their families, their career, their future and how they were going to keep loving each other even if the odds are against them.
The story was full of them, the love that was developing between them and the things they were both willing to do to make that future happen.
The ending was beautiful, so was the epilogue and I'm glad the author decided to take a minor side character in this book and made the 2nd installment with it.
I absolutely loved this book.
A wonderful, well written sports romance about two closeted gay rugby players, set in New Zealand for a change (yes!) and in a world of countless sports books about men finding each other and steering through the ultra-masculine environment of being gay men in professional sports, this book is up there with the best of them, at least for my taste.
🟢 Professional Rugby players
🟣 MMCs are gay, but closeted their whole lives
🟡 Age gap - 8 years
🌶️ Good spice, although some off-page and FTB
❗ Homophobia inside the family
This story is about Tyler, a 20 - year old fresh rugby player who comes to play for the NZ national team, where his hero - Aiden Jones, a 28 - year old best rugby player in the business, plays.
Tyler worhips the guy, but also has a longtime crush, wasn't Aiden his gay-awakening when he was a teen?
Tyler is after Aiden's spot on the team and even though Aiden is really good at what he does, it soon becomes clear that Tyler is a great player.
To avoid the potential tension between them, Tyler and Aiden get put in the same room on most games away.
They don't hate each other at all, but Tyler wants at least somekind of reaction from Aiden and always tries to sass him, pick on him, joke around, doing anything he can for Aiden to give him a little bit of his time and attention.
When they start rooming together, they accidentaly reveal to each other that they're both gay.
"But instead, his lips parted, and suddenly he was kissing me hungrily, messily. Holy fuck. Without thinking, I returned his kiss with the same force. A nuclear fusion of mouths."
They start hooking up together, both realising noone wants to come out and they have to keep everything on the DL. Aiden is very held back and doesn't want to get emotionally involved, so their hook-up are really just about getting off and sharing a room together, nothing more.
They're hot, passionate, have amazing sex and I would've liked for there to be more spice on-page, more detailed kissing scenes, but even so, the love story that was developing between them was real and wonderful, so I overlooked the things I'd miss usually.
Things change for them when they take a vacation together and start getting closer. The development of their relationship wasn't insta, although they were very attracted to each other, but the feelings came into the equation somewhere down the line and those feelings were very believable and both characters were emotionally mature and going into this with a clear head, both knowing they absolutely want each other.
🟠 They didn't back down or run off when things got tough and I especially loved the part of them coming out in the end.
This is one of the reasons I really, really loved this book, because it dealt with real emotions and predicaments of coming out, it wasn't all rainbows and sunshine and Tyler definitely didn't want to do it until the very end, so there was absolutely some angst there.
Tyler's family, especially his dad is another sore subject in this story and could be very triggering to some, but it's a reality for so many guys around the world and I really felt for Tyler.
I absolutely loved, just loved Aiden. Aiden is 28, but sounds 38 or more, he's so mature, smart, intelligent, he's a solid professional, calm, cool, collected, has his 2 homes, is a gardener in his free time, so he grows his own food, cooks for Tyler, has a dog, I mean come on, if there ever was an ideal guy out there, it's Aiden Jones.
🔵 Why not make it a full 5⭐ book?
*️⃣ I didn't like the off-page spice, , maybe the sex scenes weren't as developed as I'd liked them to be, although they were very intimate, so that saved the spice department.
*️⃣ Not enough kissing and especially not detailed ("they kissed passionately" is for shy teenagers, I want tongues mentioned, please and thank you) and there were so many comparisons that started with "more than" and the reference to trivia or similar and it was so often, it irritated me quite a bit.
*️⃣ Tyler's teenage crush wasn't adressed, so Aiden never got to know he was Tyler's wet dream for years.
Tyler and Aiden's story dealt with so much than just them getting together whenever they could, it was about their families, their career, their future and how they were going to keep loving each other even if the odds are against them.
The story was full of them, the love that was developing between them and the things they were both willing to do to make that future happen.
The ending was beautiful, so was the epilogue and I'm glad the author decided to take a minor side character in this book and made the 2nd installment with it.
I absolutely loved this book.
May 4, 2024
Tropes: forbidden/secret relationship, rivals to lovers
Feels: 4.5/5
Steam*: 3/5
Kinks: n/a
Angst: low
HEA: yes
Pairing: MM
Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: homophobic father, traumatic death of a parent, grief, mild internalized homophobia
Reread May 4, 2024
Tyler is 20 good he's pretty much a rookie on the professional rugby scene. Aiden Jones was his idol, his favorite player as a teenager. He crushed on him as a closeted gay teen. Still deeply in the closet, he is now playing against Aiden and on national teams he's playing with Aiden. He's a cocky little s*** who is bothy but also nice. He pokes out and jibes with Aiden. Aiden is 28, nearing the end of his incredibly successful career. Aiden is closeted too but planning on coming out when he retires which won't be too far into the future. Tyler makes one jibe too many at Aiden's expense, and Aiden turns the tables on him, which ends in a spectacular hookup for them. Starting off there long-term secret relationship that starts off as hookups but ends up being "he's my life" kind of epic.
Oh my gosh! This book hit the mark in so many ways for me. I have an utter weakness for relationships that are rivals to lovers that turn into "I would do anything for him," especially when you add high steam but also tons of non-sexual touching because that person is comfort and a treasure to you. Many fans of mm are familiar with the book Heated Rivalry, which is an amazing hockey romance. It feels a little sacrilegious to say... But for me, Tyler and Aiden's romance is the rugby equivalent. Lower angst though, and only spread out over a bit over a year, so Heated Rivalry is the deeper more emotionally satisfying read IMO. But there's something to be said for less angst!
Rivals to lovers with a very quick build up of feels and a forever love. They had great tension. I liked both of the characters. The smut was great. The moments where they kept choosing each other, the tenderness that they shared, it was like a warm hug. I love them hanging out at Aiden's farm and just having those normal moments. I loved how they gave their relationship away and outed themselves to other people in their lives in so many small moments over time, it just felt natural and kept on with the theme of them just choosing each other in the small moments. Even though it was hard, they kept choosing each other.
Definitely a keeper for me! Strongly recommend
Some notable moments:
So eager for an opportunity! "Because Jones was definitely interested. As much as he tried to deny it, he couldn’t hide the fact his eyes heated every time he looked at me. And his comment before hadn’t been a complete shutdown. If the door was being left slightly ajar, you’d better bet I was going to do everything I could to blow it off its hinges."
I love all the non-sexual touches they share, the intimacy they have. "Afterwards, we just lay together on the couch, curled into each other. Aiden seemed to have a thing for running his fingers through my hair. I leaned into his touch, like a cat."
"“Are you fucking kidding right now? It’s just a fucking game! HE’S MY LIFE!” I yelled the words so loudly they echoed in my head."
*FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink.
**Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers.
Feels: 4.5/5
Steam*: 3/5
Kinks: n/a
Angst: low
HEA: yes
Pairing: MM
Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: homophobic father, traumatic death of a parent, grief, mild internalized homophobia
Reread May 4, 2024
Tyler is 20 good he's pretty much a rookie on the professional rugby scene. Aiden Jones was his idol, his favorite player as a teenager. He crushed on him as a closeted gay teen. Still deeply in the closet, he is now playing against Aiden and on national teams he's playing with Aiden. He's a cocky little s*** who is bothy but also nice. He pokes out and jibes with Aiden. Aiden is 28, nearing the end of his incredibly successful career. Aiden is closeted too but planning on coming out when he retires which won't be too far into the future. Tyler makes one jibe too many at Aiden's expense, and Aiden turns the tables on him, which ends in a spectacular hookup for them. Starting off there long-term secret relationship that starts off as hookups but ends up being "he's my life" kind of epic.
Oh my gosh! This book hit the mark in so many ways for me. I have an utter weakness for relationships that are rivals to lovers that turn into "I would do anything for him," especially when you add high steam but also tons of non-sexual touching because that person is comfort and a treasure to you. Many fans of mm are familiar with the book Heated Rivalry, which is an amazing hockey romance. It feels a little sacrilegious to say... But for me, Tyler and Aiden's romance is the rugby equivalent. Lower angst though, and only spread out over a bit over a year, so Heated Rivalry is the deeper more emotionally satisfying read IMO. But there's something to be said for less angst!
Rivals to lovers with a very quick build up of feels and a forever love. They had great tension. I liked both of the characters. The smut was great. The moments where they kept choosing each other, the tenderness that they shared, it was like a warm hug. I love them hanging out at Aiden's farm and just having those normal moments. I loved how they gave their relationship away and outed themselves to other people in their lives in so many small moments over time, it just felt natural and kept on with the theme of them just choosing each other in the small moments. Even though it was hard, they kept choosing each other.
Definitely a keeper for me! Strongly recommend
Some notable moments:
So eager for an opportunity! "Because Jones was definitely interested. As much as he tried to deny it, he couldn’t hide the fact his eyes heated every time he looked at me. And his comment before hadn’t been a complete shutdown. If the door was being left slightly ajar, you’d better bet I was going to do everything I could to blow it off its hinges."
I love all the non-sexual touches they share, the intimacy they have. "Afterwards, we just lay together on the couch, curled into each other. Aiden seemed to have a thing for running his fingers through my hair. I leaned into his touch, like a cat."
"“Are you fucking kidding right now? It’s just a fucking game! HE’S MY LIFE!” I yelled the words so loudly they echoed in my head."
*FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink.
**Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2021
"I’d told Jones I didn’t do stupid shit. But I was fairly sure that crushing on my roommate at New Zealand training camp, the same guy whose starting role I was after, was the definition of stupid shit."
Jax Calder is a new-to-me author and Playing Offside was recommended to me by a friend, who knows my book tastes well 😍.
This is a M/M, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, sports (rugby for a change) romance.
It's funny, a bit angsty, tense in parts, very steamy🔥🔥🔥, emotional, romantic - seriously a little bit of everything. Really easy reading too. Tyler and Aiden were divine.
Yep, I LOVED THIS ❣️
4-4.5 steamy ✨✨✨✨
Jax Calder is a new-to-me author and Playing Offside was recommended to me by a friend, who knows my book tastes well 😍.
This is a M/M, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, sports (rugby for a change) romance.
It's funny, a bit angsty, tense in parts, very steamy🔥🔥🔥, emotional, romantic - seriously a little bit of everything. Really easy reading too. Tyler and Aiden were divine.
Yep, I LOVED THIS ❣️
4-4.5 steamy ✨✨✨✨
February 9, 2022
Gorgeous, hot rugy players ....
what is there not to like?
Particularly appreciated…
The MCs:
Loved how Ice King Aiden slowly unravels for Tyler. Loved his calm aura and mature outlook on his job, his life and sexuality. I liked how sure he is about himself and what he (eventually) feels for Tyler.
Loved the real Tyler, the one who’s so vulnerable and so scared to be out and proud, heck, to be called ‘gay’ by anybody! His cheeky banter made me smile, his anguish and uncertainty showed him utterly human.
Mostly, I could really follow and understand each MCs feelings and actions. They felt genuine and organic.
the character-driven romance
I’m not massively interested in sports (but I do like rugby!), and this has just the right amount of on-page sports, with the emphasis on romance. Big tick from me!
the scenario and the ‘big issue’ between our guys
I was wondering throughout how the author was going to solve it (being in love with your main competitor). We really get to see the problems these guys are facing and while that part is extremely well written, I’m not sure about all the drama in the last 25% of the book and how everything falls into place so quickly.
Tyler basically ‘changes his mind’ within a day, and considering how much he's struggling with himself, that seems a rather speedy transformation. Saying that, their situation is very tricky, so maybe that is understandable.
All in all: I enjoyed it, even if I might have liked a little bit more on page steam.
what is there not to like?
Particularly appreciated…
The MCs:
Loved how Ice King Aiden slowly unravels for Tyler. Loved his calm aura and mature outlook on his job, his life and sexuality. I liked how sure he is about himself and what he (eventually) feels for Tyler.
Loved the real Tyler, the one who’s so vulnerable and so scared to be out and proud, heck, to be called ‘gay’ by anybody! His cheeky banter made me smile, his anguish and uncertainty showed him utterly human.
Mostly, I could really follow and understand each MCs feelings and actions. They felt genuine and organic.
the character-driven romance
I’m not massively interested in sports (but I do like rugby!), and this has just the right amount of on-page sports, with the emphasis on romance. Big tick from me!
the scenario and the ‘big issue’ between our guys
I was wondering throughout how the author was going to solve it (being in love with your main competitor). We really get to see the problems these guys are facing and while that part is extremely well written, I’m not sure about all the drama in the last 25% of the book and how everything falls into place so quickly.
Tyler basically ‘changes his mind’ within a day, and considering how much he's struggling with himself, that seems a rather speedy transformation. Saying that, their situation is very tricky, so maybe that is understandable.
All in all: I enjoyed it, even if I might have liked a little bit more on page steam.
July 10, 2022
This started off quite promising, and I did enjoy it overall, but it sort of fell apart for me by the end.
I really enjoyed the characters and their connection, but I did feel the pacing was a little off for me. They got together quite quickly, and then there was a lot of back and forth, should we/shouldn't we, that just got stale quickly. The characters had great chemistry, and I definitely appreciate their individual issues etc. though I wish we'd got a little more on
Basically, there were some good aspects here, but the book as a whole didn't come together quite as seamlessly as I wanted.
I really enjoyed the characters and their connection, but I did feel the pacing was a little off for me. They got together quite quickly, and then there was a lot of back and forth, should we/shouldn't we, that just got stale quickly. The characters had great chemistry, and I definitely appreciate their individual issues etc. though I wish we'd got a little more on
Basically, there were some good aspects here, but the book as a whole didn't come together quite as seamlessly as I wanted.
January 14, 2023
This is it; these are the type of books and stories I'm so in right now and I can't get enough of. Second book for me from Jax Calder and it's fair to say she's become my new favourite author with stories that are engaging from start to finish, are heartfelt and emotional and funny, without the usual tropes and tricks of MM literature.
This is no exception, of course; it sucked me right in even though I have no idea or interest in rugby. It helps a lot that both MCs are absolutely loveable - not to mention they sound sexy and hot AF! They find themselves in a really tricky situation that makes you feel for them and I found the risks they face were written very convincingly.
Same goes for their families and their pasts, there's some serious issues the author is touching on and it helps add that extra bit of 'reality' to the story. Fear not though, this is a HEA story with a strong message about the sacrifices you're willing to make for the one you love.
Rugby players, enemies to F-buddies, some (light) hot sex amongst a bit of emotional drama and two men in love. What's not to like? Five stars and bring on the next one.
This is no exception, of course; it sucked me right in even though I have no idea or interest in rugby. It helps a lot that both MCs are absolutely loveable - not to mention they sound sexy and hot AF! They find themselves in a really tricky situation that makes you feel for them and I found the risks they face were written very convincingly.
Same goes for their families and their pasts, there's some serious issues the author is touching on and it helps add that extra bit of 'reality' to the story. Fear not though, this is a HEA story with a strong message about the sacrifices you're willing to make for the one you love.
Rugby players, enemies to F-buddies, some (light) hot sex amongst a bit of emotional drama and two men in love. What's not to like? Five stars and bring on the next one.
March 11, 2025
Book safety, content warnings, and tropes down below.
Alright, I was planning on writing something short and neutral, you know, that whole ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all’, but then I got more and more annoyed as time went by, and this whole rant happened.
I went through so many emotions when reading this, and unfortunately, by the end, the majority was negative.
Okay, now that my little rant is over, let me mention how several moments that were intended to be important and emotional moments were shortly followed by Tyler using the phrase holy shitballs, immediately ruining any attempt at a serious scene.
Although I generally don’t like a ‘fuck buddies’ situation in my romance, I did think the relationship development from casual sex that slowly built into something meaningful was well done and I actually enjoyed it.
Oh, and a big part of Tyler’s whole schtick is being the funny one, using a lot of cliché phrases and just constant bantering, but unfortunately he was also struck by a very serious case of ‘unfunny’, which made things awkward.
I really enjoyed the gameplay tho. I like sports romances when they play sports. Actually, I think I just like Tal Bauer sports romances.
(pls come back talbert)
Also, all the age jokes fall kinda flat when the oldie is 28.
Alright I’m done shitting on this book now. As you can see it was still 3 stars and it kept me goddamn invested, so there’s that.
⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️
⚠️ Tropes & content tags ⚠️
Sports romance
Rugby
Rookie x veteran
Small age gap
Teenage crush
Closeted MCs
Fast burn
Fuck buddies
Banging the competition
Long distance relationship
Rivals to lovers
⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Alcohol consumption (on-page intoxication)
Explicit sexual content
Homophobic parent (past and present)
Use of homophobic slurs
Death of parent (past, traumatic)
Internalized homophobia
Toxic masculinity
MC beaten by parent for being gay (past)
MC hospitalized (minor injury)
⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No
Breakup: No
POV: 1st person, dual
Genre: Sports romance
Pairing: M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Versatile
Main characters’ age: 20 and 28
Series: Interconnected standalone
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Pages: 299
Happy ending: Yes
Before I had a chance to fully absorb the change, there was a crashing from the pantry. The door sprang ajar as Tyler fell out. My mother froze for a second before swiveling to me. “Um… Aiden. There appears to be a half-naked man in your pantry.” Her voice was calm. “Thanks. I’d been wondering where he’d gotten to,” I deadpanned.
“Exactly. At the end of your life, when you have to sum everything up, that’s what’s most important. Who you love and who loves you back. And so, it doesn’t matter if I get crap on social media or in the locker room or on the field. I’ll cope with it by remembering that nothing’s more important than you.”
You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?...
Alright, I was planning on writing something short and neutral, you know, that whole ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all’, but then I got more and more annoyed as time went by, and this whole rant happened.
I went through so many emotions when reading this, and unfortunately, by the end, the majority was negative.
Okay, now that my little rant is over, let me mention how several moments that were intended to be important and emotional moments were shortly followed by Tyler using the phrase holy shitballs, immediately ruining any attempt at a serious scene.
Although I generally don’t like a ‘fuck buddies’ situation in my romance, I did think the relationship development from casual sex that slowly built into something meaningful was well done and I actually enjoyed it.
Oh, and a big part of Tyler’s whole schtick is being the funny one, using a lot of cliché phrases and just constant bantering, but unfortunately he was also struck by a very serious case of ‘unfunny’, which made things awkward.
I really enjoyed the gameplay tho. I like sports romances when they play sports. Actually, I think I just like Tal Bauer sports romances.
(pls come back talbert)
Also, all the age jokes fall kinda flat when the oldie is 28.
Alright I’m done shitting on this book now. As you can see it was still 3 stars and it kept me goddamn invested, so there’s that.
⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️
⚠️ Tropes & content tags ⚠️
Sports romance
Rugby
Rookie x veteran
Small age gap
Teenage crush
Closeted MCs
Fast burn
Fuck buddies
Banging the competition
Long distance relationship
Rivals to lovers
⚠️ Content warning ⚠️
Alcohol consumption (on-page intoxication)
Explicit sexual content
Homophobic parent (past and present)
Use of homophobic slurs
Death of parent (past, traumatic)
Internalized homophobia
Toxic masculinity
MC beaten by parent for being gay (past)
MC hospitalized (minor injury)
⚠️Book safety ⚠️
Cheating: No
Other person drama: No
Breakup: No
POV: 1st person, dual
Genre: Sports romance
Pairing: M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Versatile
Main characters’ age: 20 and 28
Series: Interconnected standalone
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Pages: 299
Happy ending: Yes
Before I had a chance to fully absorb the change, there was a crashing from the pantry. The door sprang ajar as Tyler fell out. My mother froze for a second before swiveling to me. “Um… Aiden. There appears to be a half-naked man in your pantry.” Her voice was calm. “Thanks. I’d been wondering where he’d gotten to,” I deadpanned.
“Exactly. At the end of your life, when you have to sum everything up, that’s what’s most important. Who you love and who loves you back. And so, it doesn’t matter if I get crap on social media or in the locker room or on the field. I’ll cope with it by remembering that nothing’s more important than you.”
You can find most of my reviews on Instagram as well: https://www.instagram.com/booksafety?...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 3, 2022
DNF 19%.
It's not bad, just BORING.
It's not bad, just BORING.
January 12, 2022
Gotta love golden retriever boys with a little bite in them.
The feelz for this book really snuck up on me by the end.
The feelz for this book really snuck up on me by the end.
November 17, 2021
4.5 STARS.... Great surprise read. I picked this one up with no idea what I was heading into, I don't know anything about Rugby. However the writing was fantastic, very clear and I never felt out of the loop, confused or uninterested. Sports books are IT for me and I can be picky, Jax Calder hit all the goodies I liked. With a team sport she got into the dynamics of the team, personal relationships, team rivalries, banter, training etc. As for the M/C's personal interest in Rugby she also did a wonderful job getting into how each of their personal history got them where they were now and made them both the player and person they are. The story had a great balance of Rugby and relationship. This one also had a different twist on the sport/relationship ... it was great. I really enjoyed this book and I am anxiously waiting for book 2 in this series. Hoping for a short or extra from these two somewhere . Definitely recommend.
January 9, 2022
When your boo declares his love like: I want your name on my gravestone. And you're all like: That's romantic AF, but I was sorta thinking cremation but, like, we can totally talk about this because it sounds like we have some time and actually I just thought of the perfect plot for us, with a big old oak tree and there's a little pond nearby and it's in a great neighbourhood...
The moment when - in the middle of a romance read - I realized that this scenario is the closest I would ever get to owning real estate in Toronto and I got even more emotional and had to take a minute
#theonlyaffordablerealestateleftintoronto
August 12, 2022
Bored to tears
January 2, 2024
If I could rate this 10 stars, I would.
This is the angst that I signed up for. The exquisite torment. THIS made sense. The why not made sense. I got it in a way I never did for Shane Hollander.
I can't wait to reread this. Jax Calder honestly never disappoints and I love that for us.
Already on my way to haunt everyone I know to read this.
This is the angst that I signed up for. The exquisite torment. THIS made sense. The why not made sense. I got it in a way I never did for Shane Hollander.
I can't wait to reread this. Jax Calder honestly never disappoints and I love that for us.
Already on my way to haunt everyone I know to read this.
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