This is the second book by this Author and in this series that I have read and it is safe to say I am a big fan. This is another football book where not knowing much about the sport doesn’t hurt how the reader relates to the story or the characters. I am in GREAT appreciation of the way the author shows the daily struggles of LGBT+ and the emotional struggles that someone faces as they go through the stages of realizing who they are and coming-out. Of the two books in this series that I have read this one is my favorite.

4.5 STARS


Homophobia is vile, there is no whitewashing it. It attacks a person’s choice of who they love and that in itself is evil. Most of the MM books make it a theme one way or another but Santino Hassell always puts his own stamp on it. Just take the setting of the book: two players in one of the most hypermasculine sports and let them butt heads on a football field.

On one side there is Adrián Bravo, who slams homophobic comments towards Simeon Boudreaux, who is the guy playing for the other team, in more than one sense – Simeon is Adrian’s rival on the football field. After an altercation between the former-friends-turned-enemies that turned violent they are forced together, working at a Community Center for the length of their suspension.

Simeon is out and proud and completely unapologetic about his sexuality. His charm and easy-going, laid-back manners make him a favorite of the press, and me. Simeon is kind, affectionate and totally lovable. He’s also very observant and calls Adrián out when he messes up but that mostly comes from a good place. I fell in love with him Illegal Contact and nothing has changed. Especially thesweet affectionate little gestures which he bestowed on Adrián made me break out in a smile repeatedly. He is an endearing, sweet character with his heart in the right place.



“I need you to tell me I won’t ruin your career by being in your life. Because no matter how hard I try to be discreet, I know somehow . . . I’ll screw it up. ’Cause that’s me, boo. I’m a mess. A loveable mess, but still a goddamn mess.”



Adrián seems shallow in the beginning. His behavior toward Simeon is more the one of a grade school boy pulling pigtails, seemingly unrepentant about his actions. It takes a while until he can admit to himself where his hostility towards Simeon stems from and until then he acts a lot like a brat.

From the moment he has his come-to-Jesus-moment Adrián pulls out all the stops to make it up to Simeon. I loved how he fought for their relationship, how once he realized that he was falling in love he was all in. Adrián is a complex character, adorkable, hilarious, with a too-smart-for-his-own-good mouth, but his devil-may-care attitude is only for show. Underneath there is an insecurity, a vulnerability and a sensitive soul that surfaces the more time he spends with Simeon.



***Simeon touched my hand, fingers so tentative and so light it broke my heart. He shouldn’t be afraid to touch me.***



I adored them together. They are playful, cheeky, their dynamic is sizzling and totally engrossing because both of them are dominant characters but with Simeon being the more relaxed one of the duo they find common ground. He lets Adrián set the pace of their developing relationship. When they get dirty it’s downright combustible, their chemistry is insane.



That Santino Hassell chose people of color doesn’t go unappreciated. It’s s rare to find in MF books, even less in MM. The way the two main characters talk feels entirely natural, authentic, which made their interaction even better. The dialogues are full of wit and banter and their exchanges made the book lighter than I thought it would be.



“Motherfucker, I do not have no small dick.”
“If you say so, partner. No judgment here in the land of seven inches.”
“And ain’t no need to front over here in the land of eight.”
Adrián leaned farther across the table. “Wanna check?”



This enemy-to-lovers story is powerful, has enough grit to make it not too sweet and has an important message. The writing is top-notch, gripping and keeps you invested in Adrian and Simeon’s journey. Santino Hassell is quickly becoming a favorite. I am super curious who the next book will be about. I’ll definitely pick it up!

Full review forthcoming and will be posted at Library Journal

Mark me down as thirsty because I’ve been salivating over this follow up in The Barons series since its incredible debut, Illegal Contact.

It is safe to say there is no love lost between Simeon Boudreaux and Adrián Bravo. Rivals on and off the field, there is a well-documented history of animosity between them. Given the intensity of their dislike of one another it came as shock to discover that this had not always been the case. The one-time team mates had been friends until their relationship soured by what Bravo considered a betrayal when Simeon left The Predators to sign with their rivals, The Barons.

Since the move Simeon has been living his best life. He’s out and proud, playing the best football of his career, and considers his team mates to be family as well as friends. Anyone else would have been left jaded by recent blackmail attempt made against them, but Simeon refuses to let he incident saddle him with trust issues. He oozes confidence and charisma, but not everyone is so taken with the Boudreaux charm.

Adrián Bravo is intimidating in every sense of the word. Ass-holish in his demeanour and bullish on the field, admittedly there isn’t too much to like about him at first glance. His grudge against Simeon seems far too deep rooted for the flimsy reasons he gives, and it’s after the latest (and most nasty) on field altercation that he is finally forced to face his acrimony.

As well as a six game ban their punishment includes working together to coach teens about the game of football. In order to teach teamwork and discipline they have to lead by example. It takes some time but they eventually find their footing and come to an understanding in order to navigate a respectful relationship. They tell themselves it’s a means to an end, but what neither one wants to admit is how much they are enjoying the others company.

It’s an enemies to lovers romance in every sense of the word. The culmination of their sexual tension is explosive to say the least, but it’s the personal growth, especially that of Adrián which was the greatest source of enjoyment for me. Down by Contact is a hard hitting addition to a series that is fast becoming one of my favourites.

I have mixed feeling at the moment so I'm not doing a full review until I possibly read this book again. I had a lot of trouble "believing" the journey between Simeon and Adrian. The emotional level that Santino pours into his words was seriously lacking here but it could very well be a 'place and time' situation' on my part. My head may not have been in the right 'place' so the story didn't connect with me. I don't know. That's why I'm reserving full judgement until closer to publication when I've had a chance to go over it again. For now, I'm very middle of the road on my rating ...

I liked this book, but I really wanted to love it. The first book in this series, Illegal Contact, was one of the best books I've read! This one fell a little short for me. That being said, Simeon and Adrian were great together, and I'll definitely read more by this author!

After reading Illegal Contact, I was excited for Simeon's story and the wait was worth it. Adrian and Simeon were an absolutely delightful enemies to lovers tale from start to finish. Their chemistry was blazing. It's always though in m/m sports romances with how the HEA is going to occur, given the stakes of staying closeted, but I really enjoyed how Hassell handled it in this book.

Thank you to InterMix and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this title.

I wasn't sure about the premise of the book and if these two enemies could be lovers but I shouldn't have doubted the author.
The characters were cocky, arrogant and adorable!
Neither had an easy path at building their relationship but deep down they knew the other was their soul mate.
It was a touching story about redemption and love.

I'm looking forward to read more from this author.

Guys, I think I may have found a new go-to romance series. Who would have thought that a series of sports romances about football players could have sucked my demiromantic, non-athletic self in like this??? They totally have, though. Down by Contact is the second in a series of companion novels (the first being Illegal Contact, which I also loved) that follow queer professional football players as they find love in often unexpected places.

I was super excited for this book, because it follows a character I adored in the first book. Simeon Boudreaux is too precious for this world, but, like, he’s also a badass. At the start of the book, he has just come out as gay in solidarity with his teammate and best friend, Gavin Brawley (who the first book in this series follows), who came out as bisexual after beginning a relationship with a man he loves and not wanting to hide. Down by Contact follow Simeon after he’s suspended from the NFL for a few months due to a fight that occurs on the field between him and his mortal enemy/rival football player, Adrian Bravo, and is forced to work with said mortal enemy at a football camp for kids to get back in the press’s good graces.

You can probably guess what happens next. This is the ultimate hate-to-love romance… and I truly mean hate. I found Adrian pretty much intolerable at the beginning of the book, but I slowly warmed up to him (just as Simeon did). The sexual and romantic tension between the two of them was ridiculous, and I loved reading their banter.

One thing I really appreciated about this book was the excellent commentary on heteronormativity and how it interacts with toxic masculinity in extremely damaging ways. Adrian is in deep, deep denial about his sexuality at the beginning of the story, and a huge part of that is due to his job in an industry rife with homomisia and misogyny. I also LOVED the fact that Adrian claimed the label “bisexual” on the page, while making clear that he’s only been attracted to women prior to meeting Simeon. Because, you guessed it, even if you’re 90% attracted to the gender society expects you to feel attracted towards and only 10% attracted to other genders, you’re still bi!!! This is much-needed representation, in my opinion. We desperately need more bisexual male main characters who experience their bisexuality in totally different ways (because, like, that’s how real bi people are; we’re not a monolith), and that’s something this series as a whole does really well. Like, Gavin’s experiences as a bisexual man in the first book are pretty different than Adrian’s in this book, despite the commonalities that all bi people have (namely, stigmas. ugh.). I did have one gripe with the portrayal of sexuality in this book, though: it partly buys into the idea that men who are extremely homomisic must all be deeply closeted gay men who resent their queerness. In my opinion, while this might be true for a couple people, this is total BS overall. People are homomisic because… they’re homomisic. Full stop; no further explanation needed (especially one that further demonizes queer people). Aside from that, the discussion on sexuality and the way it interacts with masculinity in this book was wonderful.

These characters are diverse in other ways besides their sexualities, too: Simeon is black and Creole, while Adrian is Puerto Rican. Though I’m not the authority on racial representation, I didn’t notice any glaring problems with it in this book, and in fact, I thought it was quite well-done.

Overall, I can’t recommend this series highly enough. Especially in a genre that’s unfairly dominated by straight women, it’s so important to support #ownvoices m/m romances by queer male authors. If you’re looking for a great romance (even if you don’t normally go for sports romances– trust me, I don’t either!), definitely pick up this series.

Have you read Down by Contact (or its predecessor, Illegal Contact)? If not, do you plan to check them out?

This book was so fun! I love a good enemies to lovers story, all the anticipation and build-up is my favorite part, and this was perfect! As soon as I started I was reminded of how much I love Hassell's writing. The witty banter between the characters constantly had me laughing out loud and they are just so relatable. When you read the first book in this series, Illegal Contact, you get to see Simeon Boudreaux as this playful, fun character that always puts a smile on your face and you can't help but love him. But it was so nice to see another side of him, a serious side, and he is so much more than just his jokes and charm. And then there was Adrian who I actually just wanted to hug because he was sweet and hilarious and sometimes a little oblivious. But together they were perfect. And of course it is always fun to see old characters that you love. I have a huge soft spot for Gavin and Noah from Illegal Contact and just the mention of their names had me excited, though I would've liked to see them more. But overall I loved this book and I can't wait for my next Santino Hassell read!

While I absolutely LOVE everything else Santino has written, this book fell way short for me. The language between the two main characters was just so juvenile that I could not believe it was a SH book. I will say that was my main issue, besides that, I did like the other aspects of the book. Using the suspensions to make Simeon and Adrian work together while both exploring their feelings for each other was a turning point in the book. I was just hoping for so much more from this book but I am definitely not giving up on this author because he is a fantastic writer.

Gah! I have so much to say about this fantastic book! I loved it! It also broke my heart, but it was still totally uplifting, and I love a good story about people realizing who they are and fighting for the life they want. Definitely a 5 star read!

Simeon Boudreaux is the golden boy. Starting QB for the Barons professional football team, with a gorgeous smile, and winning personality to match. Everyone loves him, even after he came out as gay in book 1, in support of that book's hero, Gavin Brawley. He's from New Orleans, and his family still lives there. They've all been very accepting of him as well, for the most part, but he hasn't actually been home since he came out. He has an ongoing feud with a former teammate from his rival team, the Predators, Adrian Bravo. That feud extends beyond the realm of acceptable in their first pre-season game, and they both get suspended for 6 games. Additionally, they are required to run a football camp together, for kids at a local rec center.

Adrian Bravo is the son of a famous major league baseball player, so he grew up privileged. He's always been a great athlete in his own right, but he chose football instead. He isn't sure what came over him to cause him to make such a stupid decision in that game, but boy is he regretting it now. A 6 game suspension, AND he has to spend time with the golden boy? He is less than thrilled. But, the more time he spends with Simeon, the more he realizes it is really hard to hate him. And that there might be something more behind his feelings that he never realized was there. Is he willing to explore that further?

I love a great football romance. And the forced proximity trope. And enemies to lovers. So this book hits all my good buttons! Simeon and Adrian have chemistry like whoa, even before they realize what's actually between them. They are both very unsure of each other, for very different reasons, and they need to figure out how to come to terms with their issues before they have any chance together. Simeon has trust issues after the things that happened in book 1, and Adrian has never been attracted to another man before, so he's at a total loss as to how to deal with this before unknown part of himself. I really enjoyed the love/hate, push-pull dynamic between them, and I loved seeing them figure out ways to overcome their issues. Their banter was top notch, as I love a smart ass hero, and here we get 2 of them!

This story was so fantastic, and I loved every minute of it, even when it was painful. The characters fought hard to be together, and I love that moment in every great romance when each of them realize they are all ALL IN. It's the greatest payoff for the reader, and it's my favorite. Santino has done that so well in this book. He truly lets you feel what the characters are feeling, and it's so satisfying. The side characters were fun, as always, and I loved revisiting the ones from book 1, as well as meeting some new ones.

This book was amazing, and I recommend it highly to anyone who loves a great sports romance! I enjoyed it so much, and I can't wait for more in this series!

Simeon and Adrián are not friends. They used to be. But Simeon left the Predators for the Barons, and Adrián, not willing to acknowledge his attraction or feelings of betrayal, talked smack about Simeon nonstop—first accusing Simeon of stealing the Predators' play book, later bullying Simeon on social media with microaggressive comments about Simeon’s sexuality.

The two get in each other's face at a preseason game, and the result is a six-week suspension and forced togetherness as volunteers for the Grant Street Center for kids.

Following a sexy slow burn, the steam goes on for miles! Both guys like it rough, and Adrián certainly doesn't have to worry about breaking Simeon.

Three words: Gay. Sex. Virgin. Trust, once Adrián goes for a ride, he never, ever wants to get off.

This story focuses on Adrián coming to terms with his bisexuality. Even though Simeon is the only guy he's been attracted to, he doesn't play it off as GFY. He's bi, and he's (eventually) more than willing to own it.

Adrián is not a typical golden MC. He's sulky and covers his jealousy with aggressive jokes and banter (although a jealous Adrián is an adorable Adrián).

Simeon, however, is pure sweetness. He stands up to Adrián and doesn't let him off easy. But he also knows how to forgive.

While one of Adrián's teammates is homophobic, Down by Contact isn’t an angsty book; it's not gritty and tragic like many of Santino's books. I think that's why I loved it so much—even more than book 1.

Bonus: no random hookups with other people and no constant titty/vajay talk, which some authors overindulge in as an effort to prove that their bi character is really, truly bi.

Simeon has a supportive mom, and even Adrián's parents come around. There is a conflict regarding the way Adrián is (almost) outed by one of the kids at center and how Simeon handles the whole thing.

In the end, Adrián stole my heart. He was more willing than Simeon to jump in with both feet, even though Brawley wasn’t exactly a welcoming presence. Forget the Brawley Smile; this was all Brawley Scowl.

If you haven’t read Illegal Contact, you really should, but, yes, you can also read this book as a standalone. Simeon was far more present in the first book than Brawley is in this one. We see more of Why-Does-He-Have-to-Be-Straight? Marcus than the fiercely overprotective Brawley.

All the stars for this funny, ROMANTIC story—but *shhh* don’t tell Adrián.

“I like how this is turning out to be the most unromantic chains of events ever.”

“Simeon, we started fucking as a dare. We’re not romantic.”

And I still hold that the cover model is fucking gorgeous. Dammmnnn. Those lips should be illegal.

This book is just too good and the more I  think about it, the deeper I fall in love with it. Both thought provoking and blissfully romantic, Santino Hassell's Down By Contact had me thoroughly captivated from beginning to end. With their sharp banter and sizzling sexual tension, Simeon Boudreaux and Adrián Bravo's MM sports romance is such a delicious little treat, such a meaty story that gripped me as much with its romanticism as it did with its relevance. I admittedly don't read a lot of MM romances but of the ones I've read, this story is unequivocally a new favorite. Down By Contact is so well done, so addictive, so unputdownable. I loved every single sexy moment. 

Hassell's writing in this book was on point. I LOVED the voice he gave these characters, I loved the tone of the entire story. I was so into this book, consumed by the gritty dynamic Hassell illustrates between an openly gay football player and his smart mouthed rival. The events that transpire between them are so unpredictable, so emotionally taxing on the reader. The dynamic between Adrián and Simeon is sensual and addictive, angsty and beautifully romantic. I loved it. I loved. It. I loved it. I couldn't get enough. 

Down By Contact is a richly complex romance dripping with sensuality and uncertainty. It's heavy with emotion but peppered perfectly with just the right amount of sarcasm, wit and flirty snark. The reluctant attraction between Simeon and Adrián, their insecurities and self doubts, their legitimate fears and their misguided ones, heightened by the added pressures of professional football all culminate to make for one seriously stellar package. There really aren't words to express how well done I found this book to be, how superbly Hassell weaves this plot. It moves fluidly, evolves exquisitely and it couldn't be more perfectly satisfying.

Every moment between Adrián and Simeon continues to play on a loop in my memory bank. I can't stop thinking about them and the way they fall together after everything around them falls apart. They push buttons and they trash talk, and the attraction that sneaks up on them is both shocking and addictive. Their hostility and their relentless games, their disagreements, their heated exchanges and their steamy attraction are still consuming my thoughts a day later. I was as moved by what these characters learn from each other and about themselves as I was by their love story. I'm in love with this book, with these characters, with this author's storytelling and with the important message this book sends on every single page. I can't say it loud enough... I absolutely loved it.