Settle the Score by Kris Ripper is one of my favorite reads of the year!

This queer contemporary romance follows Des Cleary, who is sent by his marketing firm to recruit Orion Broderick for a Pride campaign for LGBTQIA+ athletes. Des is dreading coming face-to-face with Orion because years earlier, when he was an aspiring investigative reporter, he outed Orion to the world and watched as his career suffered the consequences. Once he arrives Orion wants nothing to do with Des, but when they're snowed in together they're forced to reckon with who they used to be and who they are now.

A romance where one character previously outed the other gave me some pause as a queer reader, but I'm so happy I gave this book a chance because I love the way that Ripper explored Des' actions to give us insight into why he did what he did, while never forgetting the danger and harm his actions caused.

The past weighs heavy on who they both are in the present day for a multitude of reasons, and I loved how so much of this book was them getting to see not only each other in a new light but also themselves. It's a story about growing and changing and becoming the person you want to be—all wrapped up in a delicious forced proximity romance.

I can't wait to read more from Ripper! I really enjoyed the audiobook in particular and definitely recommend it to readers.

cw: public outing of MC; suicidal ideation

I really really enjoyed this. Kris Ripper’s writing always works for me and I loved Des’s rapid fire, spirally inner voice - will always relate to a character who cannot think of quippy one-liners in the moment but kills at 3 am AND has to make a 73-point turn in someone’s driveway to avoid hitting anything. Strongly relate. Pete Cross captures this voice really well.

The premise of this enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity rom-com has a really interesting starting point. 3 years prior to the setting of the book, Des Cleary publicly outed a soccer player, Orion Broderick, in his university newspaper. It destroyed Orion’s career and Des, filled with remorse and regret, retreated from writing and is now working in brand management. When his company decides to recruit Orion for a Pride campaign, Des’s boss sends him to find the now very private Orion in the California mountains. The public outing is despicable and for many a HARD NO, and I will admit that I didn’t really like Des for the first few chapters. He is regretful about his actions, but also very much “on the job/don’t fuck this up” as he locates Orion and attempts to persuade him to sign on with the campaign. But, BUT the unexpected snow storm that forces Des to stay in Orion’s cabin and spend time together is one of my favorite tropes and Ripper does an excellent job unpacking Des’s motivations and regrets and Orion’s justifiable mistrust. And it might not work for many readers, but it did for me. Partly because Des is devastated by his actions and because he is completely inept in an adorable way. He charmed me, so I’m not surprised he charmed Orion. There’s also a dog. In a storm. Cuteness engaged.

I also love a book that explores what happens when you wrong someone else but want to make amends and interrogate your past motivations. To change and try again. <shrugs> I like that.

*Settle the Score* by Kris Ripper is a delightful and engaging contemporary romance that explores the intricacies of love, loss, and the power of second chances. The narrative centers around two main characters whose lives intertwine in unexpected ways, creating a tapestry of emotions that resonates with readers.

Ripper's writing is lively and sharp, effectively capturing the nuances of modern relationships. The dialogue is witty and authentic, allowing the characters to shine with their distinct personalities. The author deftly balances humor with deeper themes, such as grief and personal growth, making the story relatable and heartfelt.

The characters are well-developed, each grappling with their own pasts and aspirations. Their chemistry is palpable, creating an engaging dynamic that keeps readers invested in their journey. The exploration of their individual struggles adds depth to the romance, highlighting the importance of communication and vulnerability in relationships.

The pacing of the book is well-structured, with moments of tension and tender connection that keep the story flowing smoothly. Ripper skillfully builds emotional stakes, making the romantic resolutions all the more satisfying.

Overall, *Settle the Score* is a charming and uplifting read that celebrates love in its many forms. It’s perfect for fans of contemporary romance who appreciate a story filled with humor, heart, and the complexities of human connection. Kris Ripper has crafted a narrative that lingers long after the final page, leaving readers with a sense of joy and hope for the future.

I really liked this book, I'll contain the spoilers. I loved the tension and hardship that was endured during this book. The charachter growth was really well written and I would suggest listening to it as an audiobook as the narrator was a delight to listen to. I love a happy ending and I felt this was a happy ending with a twist and well deserved for all charachters throughout the book. I can relate to having to force my dog outside to use the bathroom in the cold and snow!

If you don’t like flawed characters then this is absolutely not for you, do stay away.
But if you like realistic characters that do stupid things sometimes, try their best but also fail half the time then I 100% recommend this.
Des did a very very stupid thing indeed. Outing a star soccer player with an article he wrote in college, because he got too excited and didn’t understand why it should be different for the men league than it is for the woman wasn’t his best moment. When years later his boss sends him on a mission to find said player for a campaign he thinks he can make things right again. Getting snowed in with him for days, after he send him to the curb wasn’t part of the plan.

I loved Kris Rippers books before and I‘m glad I loved this one too.
When I saw the words „outing him“ I was so shocked I didn’t even want to start it, but I just can’t say no to a sports romance.
Des didn’t only mess with Orion’s life that day, he also swore off writing and let his own dream life slide.
I don’t know how Kris did it, but I fell in love with Des immediately. He’s just haunted by bad luck it seems, anxious and maybe just a bit of an idiot, but a very lovable one. We all know the feeling when you think nothing is going right and I just felt so bad for him.
The chemistry between these two was on fire and I think this was is my new favourite „snowed in“ trope book!
Is it realistic that after only a week people fell so hard that they still yearn for each other months later? Maybe not, but I just ignored it because the story just worked so well for me. I loved these two together and how a mistake maybe turned both their lives upside down, but maybe also pushed them in the right direction and towards each other. It’s about forgiveness, not only forgiving someone else, but yourself. Getting out of your comfort bubble you built and look for new goals again. I thought this was a beautiful flawed story.

Settle the Score is a real treat. A fun take on the forced proximity and enemies to lovers tropes, Kris Ripper's newest novel is about Des, a journalist who's languishing doing PR, and Orion, a former pro soccer player who's hiding from the world in a secluded cabin in the California mountains. On what's supposed to be a day trip to find Orion and offer him a campaign deal, Des gets caught in a snow storm and has to hole up with Orion at his cabin. The catch here is that the reason Orion no longer plays soccer professionally is because he was non-consensually outed by a journalist and was effectively ousted by the sport; the journalist who outed Orion is, you guessed it, Des.

Honestly, this felt like a really risky premise to me during the first few chapters of the book, and I had no idea how Ripper was going to get these two messes together. But ze did it. Well, it worked for me, anyway. This seems like a real YMMV situation, though. Like, Des made a huge mistake -- HUGE, the fallout of which pretty much ruined Orion's life. But, these characters are also really sweet together, and I believed their emotional connection and sexual attraction.

The writing was great, the characters were great (Des isn't necessarily likable, but he's really lovable), and the story was really engaging. Loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I loved this book. The narration was great. It included some of my favorite tropes and it was a gay soccer story. Nothing more I could ask for.

I have a hard time with sports romances, but I loved the dynamic between the two love interests. The idea of being stuck in a house with the person who outed you to the world is at once intriguing and horrifying, and I feel like the forgiveness was given a little too easily, but overall it was a feel good story that made me smile

Single POV
Enemies to lovers 
Super diverse cast 
Very finger on the pulse in terms of language use.
Fade to black

This was such a good sports (adjacent) romance. It was fun not to read pages of game description. 

I really felt for the characters, they felt like we had grown up together, as an elder millennial they felt like they had similar experiences to me. Touched on a lot of modern topics, but still felt like it wasn't 100% set in this decade (perhaps the book is meant to feel like its set in the 2000's?). 

The whole thing felt comfortable. I really enjoyed it and found myself finishing the best part of it in a day. 
 
TW: non-consensual outing 
 
Kris Ripper has such a good story telling style. 

The narrator Pete Cross is really good. He really brought the characters to life.

Kris Ripper is hands down my favorite romance author and, with Settle the Score, ze has crafted a story that is as captivating as it is emotionally complex. The dialogue in this book flows with a natural ease, pulling you into each scene like a movie you can’t help but get lost in. Des is a brilliantly written character, with a voice that resonates deeply—his guilt and anxiety are palpable, but so is his self-awareness. It’s this raw vulnerability that makes him so relatable, even as he grapples with the consequences of his past actions. Pete Cross as the narrator really nailed the characters nuances and helped bring his angst, but also his wit to life.

Orion, on the other hand, is a mystery at first. His sharp, dry humor sneaks up on you, drawing you into his world even as you try to piece together the man behind the enigmatic exterior. The tension between him and Des is electric, especially given the profound wrong that initially connects them.

What really sets this story apart is how it explores the idea of starting a relationship with someone you've deeply wronged before even meeting them. Des’s journey from seeing Orion as just a symbol of his ambitions and activism, to recognizing him as a person he’s hurt—and ultimately falls in love with—is incredibly moving. I’d be shocked if this doesn’t come out as a Netflix winter rom-com next year. I’m dying to see how they cast the dog.

This emotional rom-com redemption story is quite funny while also being high stress. Des made a terrible, honestly unforgivable mistake when he outed Orion, an up-and-coming soccer player he admired, in a journalistic piece he hoped would lead to greater acceptance of queer sports figures. Des spends a lot of the book marinating in shame about this, which is entirely fair, but it was a little suffocating for me as a reader. I wish this had been dual narration, which would have let me breathe a bit, and might have helped me understand why Orion was able to get past that betrayal, even if he couldn't quite forgive it. This book wasn't for me, but I would recommend it for those who can tolerate high angst, love cute dogs, and are ok with closed door romance.

OMG! I love this book so much!!!!! The audiobook narrator is JUST TOO GOOD!

I love the main characters so much! Grumpy sunshine enemies to lovers trope at its best!!!!!

Shortest blurb in queer book history:

One of them outed the other publicly by mistake and that’s how it starts.


The writing is hilarious in most parts of the book. Because main lead’s narrative is just too crazy funny at times.

I would love to know more about Ryan, the grumpy one.

Oh, I love the gay godmother so much!

Read this book as soon as it comes out BECAUSE this is my favourite romance read of the year NOW!

Thank you, Brilliance Publishing, for the advance reader audiobook.

Loved it so much!

Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for allowing me a copy of this audio book in return for an honest review.

Des Cleary writes press releases for an LA marketing firm, far from his childhood dreams of being an investigative reporter. His latest assignment has been hoisted on him by his well meaning boss to sign a reclusive ex soccer player to a new LGBT+ youth campaign. Unfortunately the reason Orion Broderick is both reclusive and an ex player is due to a damaging article Des wrote in college which publicly outed Orion. As Des arrives at Orion’s cabin in the mountains, so too does the darkening skies of a snow storm, things are about to get very frosty indeed.

So it’s a basic forced proximity enemies to lovers trope for the plot, but oh my! The combination of Ripper’s narrative and Cross’s vocal talent upped what could have been an average romance story into something that left me at times grinning and kicking my feet with joy and at others with my hands covering my face and my chest aching in sympathy!

The two main characters were likeable and the animosity from Orion to Des was completely warranted yet I still fully understood and felt for Des, it’s such a hard experience to know you have truly stuffed up. The gradual thawing of feelings was believably depicted and the fall out after the storm kept me listening in high anticipation. Secondary and tertiary characters were realistic and I felt I was fully immersed in the story.

Pete Cross was a dream to listen to, as I mentioned earlier my emotions were all over the place, his comedic timing was utter perfection, I doubt I would have rated this book so highly if he hadn’t taken me on the journey with him so perfectly.

Final thoughts: A plot we’ve seen before, expertly written and wonderfully told.

Who would enjoy this book: Fans of romance, especially of the enemies to lovers trope.

4.5 stars

CW: suicidal ideation

Happy sigh… Pete Cross so totally did this book justice with his fantastic narration. Really elevated it, and gave Des and Orion so much depth, it was really great.

I am SO happy to have a new Kris Ripper book to read! And did I ever devour this.

While it's not my favourite Ripper book, it is still so, so good. It's incredibly readable and I loved both of the characters. Plus, I think this is the first book I've read that has a character names Orion in it??? (that may be the name of one of my children, so I'm a bit biased)

Going into the book, I wasn't really sure about the premise; how could anything happen between a former reporter who publicly outed the then star soccer/football player? But, it worked. Ripper made me believe it, and in a totally real way, too. Des and Orion both struggled with their past and their current feelings for each other and how to deal with all of that. While maybe not entirely realistic, it felt real enough to me and I totally bought it.

I am also a huge sucker for forced proximity as a trope, which is basically all this book is. Well, the majority of it, anyway. Des ends up trapped at Orion's secluded cottage after a freak snow storm in April. I think that everything that happened while they were forced to share a space was realistic and something that could actually happen. Maybe finding a limping, nearly blind dog in the middle of a snow storm is a bit less likely, but I don't care, it worked for me. Rescuing a stray dog as a plot device to bring the two characters together 100% worked for me.

I'll say it again, I am SO happy to have a new Kris Ripper to read and I can't wait to have the actual book in my hands so that I can add it to my ever-growing mountain of KR books.

Kris Ripper is always so good at writing interesting relationship dynamics, and this book is no exception. The romance between an ex-pro soccer player and the man who had forcibly and non-consensually outed him years prior…and the way they navigate guilt, anger, feelings of unworthiness, etc was really well done. Very warm and happy ending. A classic Kris Ripper all around.