Could not get into this at all. Didn't like the characters or writing. Did not finish.

This is an easy to read romance, involving two men from very different social strata, trying to deny their feelings--Patrick because he thinks Max is too rich for him, and Max because being gay doesn't fit his father's expectation of him.

It's messy.

Throw in Patrick's younger, tormented (by their father's death), and gay younger brother, Liam, whose mistakes lead to Patrick seeking Max's help, and it gets even messier.

The boys live in their own heads a little too much. We are privy to lots of thoughts from both Patrick and Max about how much the other one affects them. It's descriptive, and maybe a little too strong. More action! Less thoughts! Ha! There is also miscommunication, and need for big gestures and apologies, which leads to a very sweet epilogue.

Anyway, I enjoyed their story. Thanks to publisher and Netgalley for letting me read. Released January 16.

People… I have a problem! If I come across a sports romance on Netgalley, I want to request it. I kind of request it faster if it’s a LGBT+ romance – I blame this one the fact that one of my favorite books of the past year was a M/M sports romance… Jamie and Wes ruined me. Because Falling for the Player was my first book of the year of 2017 and it was not good.

First of all I didn’t like the writing. The book is told in the 3rd person and dual POV, but the problem is that the two guys didn’t have distinct voices, even though they were super different characters. But each time a chapter began, it took me a few sentences before I realized whose POV I was supposed to be reading, Max or Patrick’s. I read a lot of dual POVs romances, and this was a huge issue for me. But apart from that, the writing in general did nothing for me, I was especially not a fan of the amount of times that the word “lover” was used.

Now about the characters… I thought they were ok, but Max and Patrick ended up feeling a little one dimensional, and the fact that they went about the big decisions on their lives all wrong, didn’t help it. I just didn’t connect with the characters or their romance…

These dudes meet one night, talk TV Shows and Movies, end up hooking up and then they don’t see each other for 3 years… no contact, nothing! But when they see each other again, they can’t keep away, and I didn’t quite get that connection. I’ve read a load of books with instalove, and it’s something that might work, if the characters are well written, but it just didn’t here.

The one thing I actually did like was Liam, Patrick’s 18 yo brother, because he made sense to me. Another thing that I would have liked a lot, if circumstances were different, was the actual reason for the “falling apart”, because I did like that theme, I just thought it wasn’t handled right.

There were some very weird and WTF moments in this book, and I need to share some of them, because I kind of need to get it out of my chest, so be warned, there will be mild SPOILERS ahead:

There’s a gratuitous scene of voyerism, where Max and Patrick watch a gay couple having sex at a club. It didn’t feel natural and I didn’t see any logic in it. Max asks Patrick if he’s trying to “shock” him, and he says maybe, but it doesn’t make any sense, because just a minute before the guy was thinking of what a terrible idea it was for them to meet at that club. BTW, all the scenes in that club were weird!
Max’s dad was not exactly on good terms with his son’s sexuality, meaning that he’s OK with Max being gay, as long as not in public. He asks him not to take a male date to this huge fundraiser party (in the name of his dad’s company). So Max obviously decides to take Patrick without really trying to even have a conversation with his dad EVER, and without actually letting Patrick know how important this is. It was a huge no for me.
Then, Max being Max again, after they have been broken up for 2 weeks, as soon as they talk on the phone, Max decided to introduce Patrick to his family, in this big dinner thing, but without actually telling Patrick where it is that he’s going. Also, they didn’t even talk about whether they were back together or not… BAHHHH!

So, this was not a good way to start the year, but I’m sure my next reads will be slightly better. I had high hopes for this one, but unfortunately, I really didn’t enjoy it. But it might be a ME problem, so give it a chance if you feel like it.

What a beautiful love story. The lead characters were beautifully developed as was the plot. One fell in love with Max and Patrick as the story progressed. They seemed like folks you know, folks you might be friends with. Their love built over time in a believable progression, like real love develops. Max's fiend Abbie and Patrick's brother Liam was a fun quirky addition and Patrick's brother Liam was fully realized. Finally, the love scenes were sexy without being graphic giving the book added, yummy depth. I have many adult patrons who would enjoy this.