I thought Amy Andrews did an excellent job with Playing It Safe, her first M/M romance. I’m already a fan of both the series, as well as the author, so even though I’ve only read a few M/M books, I had no hesitancy to pick this one up. And not being a part of the LGTBQIA community, I cannot comment on the good/bad aspects of how Donovan’s life as a closeted gay man was handled…only how I felt as a reader of romance in general.
First off, I loved Donovan right away. I thought he was interesting and appealing, both for his reasoning to stay silent about his sexuality as well as the love of both his family, his teammates and rugby in general. Beckett was his opposite, obviously first and foremost because he was an out and proud gay man. But also because he wasn’t an athlete. But I’ll admit, I struggled with him at times. I also struggled with the lack of secondary characters, especially since I think Donovan needed a ear to listen to his feelings that wasn’t the guy he was involved with. I would have liked to see his ex, or maybe one of his sisters, be that sounding board. And I wanted to see more of those inevitable conversations when he did share his story, not just hear that they had been had.
I liked that Donovan and Beckett got to know each other before anything physical happened. I think that trust helped Donovan loosen up emotionally because he trusted Beckett. And while I know love scenes aren’t everyone’s thing… no matter which genders they are….Andrews writes some steamy bedroom stuff!
I loved this pairing and enjoyed their story.

This book was so freaking sweet. I just adored it. I know NOTHING about rugby - and even less about professional rugby - but the relationship between Donovan and Beckett is completely swoonworthy. Donovan is a rugby superstar. He was married to his high school girlfriend and has a 14 year old daughter with her, but Donovan has known he was gay since around that time. His sexuality was a very complicated thing for him - as no one in the professional rugby world was publicly out. He associated his life as a choice between being gay or playing rugby. The two couldn't coexist. And until he meets Beckett - he is pretty much able to keep to himself and not not have any sort of romantic or sex life.

Beckett is out and proud and had a bad relationship with a closeted man before meeting Donovan. But neither can stop the fierce attraction between the two of them.

This book like a lot of other M/M sports books takes on the topic of what it means to be gay in a professional sports context. That context makes things so much harder because professional sports is a world that is still decidedly homophobic. You could see why Donovan had made the decisions he did - but you could also see that a lot of those were based on how Donovan felt other's would feel about him being gay - from his ex-wife to his daughter to his team.

I adored Donovan who was clearly a big cute teddy bear - and Beckett was also the stuff book boyfriends are made of. Their relationship was just - darling and smoking hot.

I definitely recommend this one! I had not read any of the other books in the series - but I bet they are great too! And I didn't need to read them to understand this one.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

Smokin' hot, intensely emotional and just an outright joy of a book to read! Amy Andrews is definitely at the top of her game with the seventh book in her always exciting Sydney Smoke Rugby series and I loved every single minute of it! In PLAYING IT SAFE we meet secretly gay rugby super star Donovan Bane and quickly grow to adore him and watch with baited breath to see what will become of his attraction to Beckett. I was quickly hooked and couldn't put it down until every glorious page was devoured. Loved them so hard!!

Donovan was obviously a sweetheart who quickly stole my heart, but Beck also quickly endeared himself to me because even though he was out and proud, he was conscientious and understanding with the situation.

I highly recommend this book as well as the entire series to anyone who enjoys a fast paced, sensual romance revolving around a popular rugby team and their families and friends.

This series has been fantastic all the way through, and this one is no exception. I was just going to read one chapter and get a feel for the book, and an hour of reading later I realized that I just had to get some sleep. I was right back to it as soon as I could the next day. The chemistry starts on page one, and it doesn't let up for a second. Donovan and Beck are such a natural fit, and they have actual adult conversations. I was completely swept up in them. And I totally cried at the end because it was so perfect. The whole book was just unforgettable.

I recently mentioned to a friend that I love sports romances but I'd never read a rugby romance... and then I was approved for this on NetGalley - how fortuitous!!

And how lucky am I that I got to read this incredible love story?!!? Incredibly lucky! This is my first book from Amy Andrews and I've now added all of the Sydney Smoke series to my TBR.

Not only is this a sports romance but it's also a M/M romance, which I adore. I love reading all sorts of queer romances and this one was such a great read.

Donovan Bane is a successful rugby star for the Sydney Smoke with a secret - he's gay. He stays closeted because he believes that being out and being a rugby player cannot co-exist. He figures he'll stay closeted until his career is over but then he meets Beckett Stanton and that plan is shot to hell.

The instant attraction between Donovan and Beck is tangible and intense. They both know it, feel it, but Donovan is not out and Beck swore he wouldn't get into another situationship with a closeted man.

What ensues starts off as a fling - something easy and secret and not meant to be more than surface level. And the spice is delicious and <i>*chef's kiss*</i> amazing. What neither expects is to fall for so fast for the other... to become so important and necessary to each other. I truly loved reading how they evolved and how Dono and Beck grow, together and as individuals.

I also loved the secondary characters - the friends and WAGs, Dono's daughter. They filled the story with love and laughs and it made me excited to read the other books in the series. I do wish we saw more of Dono's daughter and their interactions. His ex, too. I think that could have brought more layers to the story.

This was a great read that I finished in one day and would recommend to anyone who enjoys sports romance and queer romance.

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Playing It Safe is the part of the Sydney Smoke series by Amy Andrews and it is absolutely brilliant. I couldn't believe this is the first time Ms Andrews has written an MM romance. Her voice was authentic and compelling and I was hooked from the very first page.

Donovan has always known he's gay but he also knows that being an elite rugby player means that he has to choose. Beckett, on the other hand is open about his sexuality and doesn't want to get involved with someone who hasn't truly accepted who they are. However, both their thoughts fly out of the window as soon as they lay eyes on each other.

The push and pull between these two was palpable. I felt the anticipation as they circled each other and I was totally invested in their growing relationship and feelings towards each other. There were moments that had me on the edge of my seat, wondering what would happen next and the chemistry between these two was off the charts, with plenty of steam coming off the pages.

This M/M romance was so unbelievably engrossing that, had I not had to work, I would have read it in one sitting. Donovan tore at my heart strings with his realistic dilemma. Being a pro athlete and being gay is generally frowned upon, so he was resigned to keeping that part of himself hidden until he retired. Until, Beckett came into his life. He was drawn to the other man instantly, but told himself he couldn’t have both, so he pushed Beckett away.
Beckett is a man who has been out for years and has vowed to never be in a relationship with someone who isn’t again. He can’t explain why he is drawn to Donovan, but he can’t stay away. He is one of the sweetest, most understanding men and he wants to be there for Donovan in whatever way he can be. He knows this is hard for him, and he shows his patience and empathy time and again.
I loved how they were friends, confidants and turned into more. Neither shied away from admitting their dreams and fantasies, even though they both had their hang-ups. When one tells the other that he loves him, things don’t go as planned. Whether they can find their happiness, even with all of the obstacles in their way, remains to be seen.
Not only was their relationship fantastic, because it grew organically and the more experienced of the two seemed to be just as taken by the other, but their ‘explorations’ were smoking but tender and loving. The reason, way and reactions to Donovan coming out were great and handled spectacularly.
I loved this book and every heart stopping, nerve wracking, will-they-or-won’t-they moment. I highly recommend this book, especially if you like M/M romance. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.

Amy Andrews is a new author to me so I went in blind with this read.
Being a pro athlete Donovan knows if he comes out of the closet that it could possibly hurt his rugby career. He chooses to wait until after he retires to come out. That is until he meets Beckett there is a strong attraction between them from the start. Donovan tries to fight it because he is a gay virgin as he says in the story and is very nervous.
I liked the medium build up between these two. They choose to start out slow as friends so they can get to know one another.
Beckett has been out and has experience with someone being in the closet so he doesn’t want to rush this growing relationship with Donovan. He is really being a great guy towards Donovan and doesn’t want to scare him away.
Their relationship grows over time and the physical aspect finally comes into play. Donovan is so happy that he is finally able to explore who he really is. He falls in love with Beckett but still is scared to come out and Beckett tells him to leave. Beckett has fallen in love too but wants to be able to be open.
There is angst, awakening and finally acknowledgement by the end of this love story. That ends with a HEA.

Delicious opposites-attract romance!

Masterful storytelling propels this romance to the top of my MM favorites list. Donovan and Beck are at opposite ends of the "out and proud" spectrum, and each is convinced they cannot pursue a relationship with someone who isn't in the same place. But the heart wants what the heart wants, and soon they're having heart-to-heart conversations, challenging each other, and finding a way to make things work.

This author always brings plenty of heat to her romances, fueled by emotional connections that are complex and insightful. Dono and Beck have a sweet and oh-so-satisfying HEA, and I loved every bit of their journey. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

Donovan Bane loves playing rugby for the Sydney Smoke, and he's a star. He's also gay. Hiding that for most of his life has been difficult, but necessary==or so he thought..
Beckett Stanton is out and proud and happy with his life until he starts working in finance for the Sydney Smoke and meets Donovan Bane. The immediate attraction is mutual but problematic on Donovan's side. He's never had a relationship with a man, and doesn't have a clue how to start one. Beckett, on the other hand, is willing to do whatever it takes to have a relationship with Donovan.
The molten lava between these two hits you right in the heart and won't let go.
It's a very timely story and an amazingly good one!

Super muscly Australian rugby player Donovan Bane is gay but has worked hard to keep his private life separate from the league and his young daughter until he retires, until he meets charming and handsome Beckett. Donovan can’t stop thinking about the openly gay man and how comfortable Beck is with his life and realizes he too wants that. What starts out as a secret relationship between the men, Donovan finally experiencing physical intimacy with a man develops into so much more and then Donovan must decide if he’s ready to come out to keep Beck in his life.

This was a cute story of first love and later in life coming out. I think it could have better explored the real life challenges of being an openly gay man but also an openly gay athlete even though it wasn’t a too serious novel. Overall a fun story with charming characters.

Let’s talk about how good this book was.

I thought that Beck and Donovan were both swoon-worthy. Donovan was such a gentleman and so kind and loving to his family. Beck was understanding and patient, yet still confident in himself and what he wanted.

The build up for the steamy moments was worth it, and something I really appreciated was that they BOTH cared about the other being comfortable when anything progressed sexually. They respected each other’s boundaries before pushing forward.

I don’t usually like the “forced to come out” trope that lots of M/M books have, but Andrews did great with Donovan’s character growth-so it didn’t feel forced at all.

The side characters had a great dynamic, which makes me want to delve into their stories as well. I’m definitely checking out more of Amy Andrews books. Especially this series.

Four starts ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Playing It Safe by Amy Andrews is the seventh book in the Sydney Smoke Rugby series. Donovan Bane puts rugby ahead of everything in his life except his daughter. He understands the pressure that would be on him and his game if he allowed his sexuality to become public so he just chooses to stay in the closet. Donovan hasn’t had any trouble keeping his secret until Beckett Stanton comes barging into his life and forcing open a door he thought he had firmly closed and locked. Beckett is an out and proud gay man who has lived in the closet for a lover and vowed to never to do it again. Beck knows he’s at risk to fall for the sweet giant but still takes the chance when offered a physical relationship with Donovan. Donovan gets more than he thought with Beck and when feelings become overwhelming he has to decide if he will continue in the closet or if he’s going to claim Beck as his.

Donovan Bane is a sweet man and a scary good rugby player. He doesn’t see his legacy going down as one of the greats if he is out as a gay man. Beck turns him inside out and pushes his boundaries both emotionally and physically. They start off slow but as things heat up Donovan struggles to hide his feelings.

Beck Stanton is starting over with the Sydney Smoke financial department. The last thing he expects when his bike gets a flat in the rain is for Donovan to stop at the side of the road and offer to help. His physical reaction to Donovan isn’t something he is ashamed of and that acceptance of himself helps build a sense of security and comfort between the men that leads to a relationship. Beck struggles to be forced into hiding though and finds himself pushing back against his feelings and Donovan’s.

I like sports themed romance stories. I enjoyed the rugby aspect of the book and the fact that Donovan’s game got better knowing Beck was watching and Beck just got off on the sheer power Donovan displayed while playing. That being said, I didn’t love the romance aspect of this story. Everything was rushed and jumbled and kind of boring with the pacing throwing off falling for the characters. Having read a lot of in-the-closet athlete books I am looking for something more and this book just didn’t have it.

3 stars for Donovan finding courage to love Beck out loud.

Conflicting priorities for an Australian 🏉rugby star: secrets and sizzlin' steam😉

4.5🌟 stars
I love me a virile sportsman, particularly a rugby player, and really enjoyed Donovan and Beckett's whirlwind, steamy romance set in Sydney.

It's definitely not the first story I've read with a closeted guy in the public eye worried that his private life will kill his sports career if it becomes public. But it was well-written, gay positive and, IMO, quite realistic, right down to their thunderbolt first glances meeting across a crowded room. The heat in their romance is dialled to the max and dominant, but the emotional journey gets through too.

Thanks to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

There were things I enjoyed about this story and things that I thought could have been executed better. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, especially Donovan. I was glad that the author didn't shy away from bringing Donovan's emotions to the page. It allowed me to better understand what he was going through. On the other hand, I would have loved to get more insight into Beckett. I think there was a lot more to him than what made it to the page. I also enjoyed Donovan and Beckett together, especially their initial conversations when they were both hesitant and unsure and actively getting to know each other. I wish I would have gotten more of those moments, but it seemed that sometime after they first came together 😀 the author decided to focus more on their explosive chemistry instead of developing their newly-established connection. And while I don't mind being "shown" those moments, I found the author did a lot more telling and a lot less showing of other important moments in the story (Beckett and Donovan's time spent together, Donovan's conversation with his ex-wife).

Although this is the 7th book in the series, it can be read as a stand alone. As I understand it, this is the author's first MM story and as such it was an okay read. I enjoyed the characters, their chemistry and how Donovan's coming out was handled. I also enjoyed the range in emotions when it came to Donovan and his development as the story progressed.

All in all, a fun, steamy read.

took me some time to enjoyed this. at the start, there was.... too many thoughts. it was tiring to read. and the instant attraction with the instant hard ons was such a turn off.... i started skimming (yes i did read but i didnt imagined it out as usual.)

and i pushed through, i'm glad i did. it got better once Donovan and Beckett got out of their heads. the best part of their "relationship" was that, despite their instant attraction, they took some time to get to know each other (and i love this alot!) but then we still kept getting instant hard ons (i just, couldnt be bothered alrdy when they actually did something sexual.) their moments was hot but eh.

at the end though, i understood Beckett's hesitant and past, but gosh. i was expecting more from him? i was really disappointed in him and i think Donovan was too accepting of Beckett. like... one month of nothing??? and bam since Donovan is out, Beckett just swept in lmao

While this might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I loved the love story between Donovan and Beck.

Donovan is a professional rugby player who has been hiding his sexuality because he fears the blow back from his team mates, the press and the public. Beck, while openly gay, had been burned before by an ex-partner who was in the closet. Watching them struggle with their fears and cheering them on as they work towards their HEA was heart wrenching as well as heart warming since this could have easily been non-fiction instead of fantasy. Ready yourself for this one as this M/M story is full of angst and heat.

Playing it Safe by Amy Andrews is a story that pulls on the heartstrings. Donovan has always been the quiet character in the series and it’s great to see his character hold the spotlight for a change. His romantic pairing with Beckett provides much scope for emotions, complications and twists. The heartfelt emotions were a complete drawcard, and the solidarity and friendship depicted did not disappoint. In this seventh instalment in the Sydney Smoke Rugby series. Author Amy Andrews produces another solid read.
Review copy received from Entangled Publishing via Netgalley

I really thought i was going to have to label this as do not finish at about 30%


I found The characters a little hard to get into and found that once the first sex scene happened it really picked up speed.

The last two thirds were better then the first third. You know the breakup will be short lived and it'll have a happy ending.

Heat Factor: kinda like: the first time they do something it's explicit but then subsequent times we can bypass that detail
Character Chemistry: "This person is extra special" at first sight
Plot: closeted gay rugby player finally meets a man who makes him want what he never needed before
Overall: I don't know. On the one hand it's super readable. On the other… 🙃

If you really liked Rachel Reid’s Game Changer and want more books like that, this is an Australian rugby version of that story. I mean, it’s significantly different in terms of specifics, but we’re dealing with a closeted player who’s happy with his life until all of a sudden the man he’s been waiting for simply...appears. And then things get difficult because his life is better for having this man in it, but his career is still what it is.

I’ve been reading a lot of queer sportsball romances lately, which is one reason I picked this book up. It’s a very easy read, engaging, with likeable characters. But. There were maybe too many “buts” as I read for me to wholeheartedly love this book.

Donovan is a biracial (half Maori) rugby player (with a man bun, which I totally approve of), who knocked up his high school girlfriend, married her, and then when he confessed that he was gay, they got divorced. He’s been alone except for visits from his daughter for 8 years. Beckett is a white Australian finance guy who’s out and proud and very flirty and who just started working for the rugby club. They’re just two men trying to find their happy.

Here’s the thing(s)…
Donovan agreed to the divorce because his wife deserved everything she really wanted and needed in a spouse...BUT she asked Donovan to agree not to come out until their daughter was finished with high school. Yeah, he’s famous and they don’t want him or their daughter to be in a media circus, and Donovan didn’t think he’d come out until he retired anyway, but it’s super messed up. Why does the ex deserve the partnership she wants, but Donovan needs to put his own needs there on the back burner? This is never addressed, and when he does fly home to New Zealand to talk to his wife about Beckett etc., it’s all off page, so we get no insight into why everything’s fine now.

Beckett says he’ll respect Donovan’s boundaries and not get physical...BUT he then immediately initiates. Donovan has never been with a man and he’s got a lot of hangups about being found out and outed publicly in the media. Even though he meets Beckett and just knows that his life is about to turn upside down, he’s still not ready to throw away his near decade of life plans because nothing else about his life has changed. Beckett says he understands and appreciates where Donovan is coming from. And then he fondles Donovan. He backs off when Donovan asks him to, but it was still frown-inducing. Like, you don’t say “okay I’ll stop and go at your pace” and then start masturbating together.

They don’t prep for anal sex. There’s no “but” here. I just honestly couldn’t believe it, especially when they’d never done any anal play before and apparently Donovan has a monster cock. Like. Lube is necessary and all, so it’s good they used that, but, um, you can’t just shove stuff in there? What are they doing?

There was plenty of other stuff going on in this book that was fun and playful and joyful. I enjoyed the read for sure. But I would have enjoyed it more if I didn’t have to worry about those “buts,” and also I wished the author had made some different choices structurally, like including more interactions with the secondary characters. Donovan’s ex and daughter play a huge part in his life, but they’re never on page doing anything with him. It seems like a missed opportunity to develop Donovan more three-dimensionally. But other than a few of Donovan’s rugby peeps and one of Beckett’s close friends, secondary characters don’t play a large part in the story. It’s very Donovan-and-Beckett centered.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.