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bitchie's review against another edition
3.0
Kind of slow getting started. This book had way more soccer lingo than I expected, details about the game, and about contracts and getting traded. I know for some people that works, but for me, I was just bored.
At first, I wasn't even sure if I was going to like Adam. He seemed like a jerk, a bit of a spoiled brat. But I did grow to really enjoy him, and especially Colin.
I was ticked when the first sex scene was fade to black, then the next one was more detailed, and one of the guys fainted!
Decent book, but I was expecting better.
At first, I wasn't even sure if I was going to like Adam. He seemed like a jerk, a bit of a spoiled brat. But I did grow to really enjoy him, and especially Colin.
I was ticked when the first sex scene was fade to black, then the next one was more detailed, and one of the guys fainted!
Decent book, but I was expecting better.
bookish_notes's review against another edition
4.0
I thought that the romance is cute, but what really got me sucked into the story was soccer. You can tell that this book was well-researched. It shows with how the author writes the matches, and even just small stuff off the field, that there's a good grasp of knowledge for the sport in general. I tend to watch a lot more European soccer, but reading about the MLS system is super interesting. The American soccer system makes very little sense since it's just so different when compared to how the entire rest of the world plays the sport. So, it's fascinating to read about what goes on with trading players, team dynamics, and the playoff system in the MLS.
I really loved the sports part of this book, and it's definitely why I bumped this a rating higher than I would have if this book just had romance at the forefront of the story. We only get the story from one POV, Adam's. It's not a bad thing, but I think I would have liked to seen some parts of the story from Colin's POV. The romance is very insta-love and I normally wouldn't be a fan of that at all, but Adam and Colin are really cute together. So, it kind of makes up for it.
Adam is a very high profile soccer player and the first gay player in the league. It put Adam into some interesting positions with the team and with the press. He mostly ignores it, but he's lived a pretty open life in LA and having to move to St. Louis is almost a culture shock to him. Colin has suspected he was gay for some time now and with Adam's presence on the team, it helps him realize who he is.
I'm not sure I liked Adam's way of almost forcing Colin out into scenarios he might not be comfortable in. I did find it hard to connect with any of the characters deeply, and it all feels very on the surface, as far as the relationship goes. The sex scenes were weird too. Not between the characters, but the decision to cut to black when it came up. In YA, I would have expected it. But these are characters in their twenties and if the characters are going to just explicitly think about the scenes later, why couldn't we have had that play out on the page? It's very strange.
Again, the soccer scenes were most excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed the research that went into this book. The romance was a bit lacking overall, but cute enough to be invested in the characters. The book is a short and fast read and I would recommend it as a good sports romance novel!
I really loved the sports part of this book, and it's definitely why I bumped this a rating higher than I would have if this book just had romance at the forefront of the story. We only get the story from one POV, Adam's. It's not a bad thing, but I think I would have liked to seen some parts of the story from Colin's POV. The romance is very insta-love and I normally wouldn't be a fan of that at all, but Adam and Colin are really cute together. So, it kind of makes up for it.
Adam is a very high profile soccer player and the first gay player in the league. It put Adam into some interesting positions with the team and with the press. He mostly ignores it, but he's lived a pretty open life in LA and having to move to St. Louis is almost a culture shock to him. Colin has suspected he was gay for some time now and with Adam's presence on the team, it helps him realize who he is.
I'm not sure I liked Adam's way of almost forcing Colin out into scenarios he might not be comfortable in. I did find it hard to connect with any of the characters deeply, and it all feels very on the surface, as far as the relationship goes. The sex scenes were weird too. Not between the characters, but the decision to cut to black when it came up. In YA, I would have expected it. But these are characters in their twenties and if the characters are going to just explicitly think about the scenes later, why couldn't we have had that play out on the page? It's very strange.
Again, the soccer scenes were most excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed the research that went into this book. The romance was a bit lacking overall, but cute enough to be invested in the characters. The book is a short and fast read and I would recommend it as a good sports romance novel!
nicola949's review against another edition
4.0
A really enjoyable story with great characters who drew me into the story. There is great contrast between the two men which made their relationship interesting to watch.
I was drawn to the character of Adam, not necessarily liking him at first, but sympathetic to his situation. Openly gay and a talented and experienced soccer player, he is unhappy with a team transfer. He moves to St Louis with only one plan, finish his contract and get out. He is pissed off and angry at the way he has been treated.
Colin, one of his new teammates, welcomes Adam to the team. They don't get off to the best start but Colin is a friendly and decent guy who gives Adam the benefit of the doubt. Colin is very inexperienced and uncertain about his sexuality, never having given it much thought before, instead focusing on his soccer. A misunderstanding results in Colin giving it a little more thought!
I appreciated the way Adam behaved with Colin. His old ways behind him, he was gentle and focused on Colin's feelings. As well as the romance, there was enough drama to keep things moving along. I also loved the way both men end up making certain decisions based on their feelings for the other - definitely warm and fuzzies!
I now publish all my m/m reviews on my blog so if you want to see all my m/m reviews in one place come visit at Because Two Men Are Better Than One!
I was drawn to the character of Adam, not necessarily liking him at first, but sympathetic to his situation. Openly gay and a talented and experienced soccer player, he is unhappy with a team transfer. He moves to St Louis with only one plan, finish his contract and get out. He is pissed off and angry at the way he has been treated.
Colin, one of his new teammates, welcomes Adam to the team. They don't get off to the best start but Colin is a friendly and decent guy who gives Adam the benefit of the doubt. Colin is very inexperienced and uncertain about his sexuality, never having given it much thought before, instead focusing on his soccer. A misunderstanding results in Colin giving it a little more thought!
I appreciated the way Adam behaved with Colin. His old ways behind him, he was gentle and focused on Colin's feelings. As well as the romance, there was enough drama to keep things moving along. I also loved the way both men end up making certain decisions based on their feelings for the other
Spoiler
Colin 'comes out' for Adam, refusing to deny their relationship and Adam turns down the chance to return to his old team who come grovelling backI now publish all my m/m reviews on my blog so if you want to see all my m/m reviews in one place come visit at Because Two Men Are Better Than One!
kaa's review against another edition
2.0
I'm a huge soccer nerd, but this book was kind of a disappointment. Insta-love doesn't really do it for me, and I never felt much chemistry between Colin and Adam. Neither of them had all that much personality, either, and the plot was pretty lacking. A lot of the major events were unbelievable or just really weird, and, as someone who's been watching MLS for years, some of the soccer things didn't feel right or were outright wrong.
(I did think it was a funny coincidence that Robbie Rogers, who's the first out gay player in the MLS and came out two years after this book was published, plays for the Galaxy as Adam does at the beginning of the book.)
(I did think it was a funny coincidence that Robbie Rogers, who's the first out gay player in the MLS and came out two years after this book was published, plays for the Galaxy as Adam does at the beginning of the book.)
kumabear's review against another edition
3.0
the ending was horrible. it left so much hanging . good book besides that though
shunsicker's review against another edition
3.0
An openly gay soccer player, Adam, is transferred from LA to St. Louis and has to deal with the betrayal of his old club and his new environment. In St. Louis he is intrigued by one of his new teammates, Colin.
The story was a bit obvious whereas the character development was a bit jumpy. Adam goes very fast from arrogant asshole to understanding boyfriend. Colin stays very bland, his motivation is very unclear.
Overall, this was a nice story, though.
The story was a bit obvious whereas the character development was a bit jumpy. Adam goes very fast from arrogant asshole to understanding boyfriend. Colin stays very bland, his motivation is very unclear.
Overall, this was a nice story, though.
suze_1624's review against another edition
4.0
Great story telling!
A tale of how players in professional sport are treated - often moved a short notice, forced to start again. A tale of how one man deals with the pressures of being a gay sports man - and whilst his behaviour doesn't alsways help, you do get a feel for his frustration. A tale of another mans coming realisation that he is gay and how he deals. And through it all, a tale of football ( ok, soccer!). This gave enough info to understand the game, though coming from the eastern side of the Atlantic, it does make sense to me though I' m not a big fan. At the end of the book, the notes explain that US soccer has gone through some changes since being written - so its an historical romance!!!
I did wonder about Logan, he did seem too keen to jump into bed, albeit platonically, with Adam !
15.6.15 Reread - enjoyed reading this one again
22.8.21 reread - read in one gulp, so still an engaging read for me. Adam is not the easiest of characters to like and Colin is like a little puppy at times, but both dealing with shit so excused!
A tale of how players in professional sport are treated - often moved a short notice, forced to start again. A tale of how one man deals with the pressures of being a gay sports man - and whilst his behaviour doesn't alsways help, you do get a feel for his frustration. A tale of another mans coming realisation that he is gay and how he deals. And through it all, a tale of football ( ok, soccer!). This gave enough info to understand the game, though coming from the eastern side of the Atlantic, it does make sense to me though I' m not a big fan. At the end of the book, the notes explain that US soccer has gone through some changes since being written - so its an historical romance!!!
I did wonder about Logan, he did seem too keen to jump into bed, albeit platonically, with Adam !
15.6.15 Reread - enjoyed reading this one again
22.8.21 reread - read in one gulp, so still an engaging read for me. Adam is not the easiest of characters to like and Colin is like a little puppy at times, but both dealing with shit so excused!
ktomp17's review against another edition
4.0
I love sports themed books and this was a great one. I loved how the team and most people in the sport of Soccer were OK with homosexuality. Great goal to strive for in real life for sure. I really liked the character of Colin and his internal struggles. Adam was a great character to actually watch mature and develop personally outside of the world of soccer. The "falling in love" did seem to happen very fast to me--Adam was a major player but then all of a sudden he wants to date Colin. Perhaps Adam's thought process could have been described a bit more but this did not detract from the awesomeness of the story. And I LOVED the ending. Thought it worked out perfect!
littlebookterror's review
2.0
I need a rating that tells me that my thoughts on this are just: It's a book.
The writing was not really my taste and for such a small page count, the story tried to do way too many things at once in too short time. The relationship does not seem to be the centerpoint of it despite little else happening.
The writing was not really my taste and for such a small page count, the story tried to do way too many things at once in too short time. The relationship does not seem to be the centerpoint of it despite little else happening.