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.