I think even if you aren’t much of a fan, it’s hard not to feel the same heady rush as the characters as you read the story. Praises: The best sports romances figure out a way to combine the these two components seamlessly, and Tal Bauer is so good at making you care as much about the game as you do the sex. We also meet Colton, Wes’s teammate and best friend, who is trusting and loyal to a fault, as well as Nick Swanscott, Justin’s dad, a successful businessman who yearns to connect with his son after years of bumbling hesitancy. Justin is confident and sexy and knows what he wants, but wary of heartbreak, as he’s been hurt before. He is oh-so-sweet and heartbreakingly human, especially when he is trying to please everyone but himself. I could not put this book down.Ĭharacters: Wes is a gentle giant, a natural born leader who just wants to do right by the people that he loves.

I would have stayed up all night if I was still in my 20s and reasonably sure I wouldn’t die at work the next day. Here we have a forbidden romance plus sports– a double dose of kryptonite! I was racing to get to the end. But everyone always ends up stronger and better for it in the end. All the best things take hard work, yes? And sometimes his characters get put through the ringer.

They are so heartfelt and warm and cozy, though not without struggle. But the fall semester is looming on the horizon and suddenly, Wes has to decide what is more important– playing football or following his heart, because there’s no way he could have both, right?įirst Take: Tal Bauer can do no wrong in my eyes. The trip to Paris is magical– after all, it’s Paris. But to play college football means to deny an essential part of himself, a part that is getting harder and harder to ignore– especially after he meets a confident, captivating nursing student named Justin Swanscott during a summer abroad program in Paris. Plot: Wes Van de Hoek has always known that football would be his ticket out of a life of hardship and drudgery in the cattle ranches of west Texas.

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