"Us" by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy

In this sequel to "Him," Ryan Wesley is in his rookie season with the Toronto Maple Leaves and lives with his boyfriend, Jamie Canning.  However, they have to keep their relationship secret to avoid any distractions to Wes and his team.  He's promised Jamie that they'll come out once his rookie season has ended, but the deception is taking a toll on them both especially after one of Wesley's teammates moves into their building and constantly bugs them.  This was a wonderful follow up to the first book, which I loved.  Wes and Jamie still have great chemistry together, and their texts to each other are hilarious.  The angst in the story is just right, and Blake, the nosy teammate, adds a lot of humor with his irrational fear of sheep.  Another winner from Bowen and Kennedy that I couldn't put down.  328 pages (Kindle edition).

"Clinch" by Charity Parkerson

Gunnar is a boxer, Liam is a stripper, and they went to high school together.  Now they have lived in the same apartment building for two years, but Gunnar still doesn't recognize Liam.  When he does, they fall in lust and angst ensues. 

This book felt like it took forever for me to finish.  The writing was inconsistent, the characters were unoriginal, and the story didn't seem to have a point.  241 pages (Kindle edition).

Extraordinary Black Missourians: Pioneers, Leaders, Performers, Athletes, and Other Notables Who've Made History by John A. Wright, Sr. and Sylvia Wright

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

Missouri TV personalities such as Julius Hunter, news anchor, journalist, and author, musicians W.C. Handy and Count Basie, and politician Freeman Bosley, Jr. are some of the black Missourians who are in this wonderful book.  240 pages.

"Love in Transition" by Emma Marie Leya

This was a lovely story of Lexi, formerly Alexander, and her fight not to fall in love with John, a championship skier.  Although she is still biologically a man, Lexi has been confirming her identity by living as a woman for the past several years.  She was kicked out by her family and has been living with her best friend and working as a waitress ever since graduating high school.  Living in Park City, UT, has given Lexi the opportunity to indulge in her passion, skiing.  When she witnesses the collision of a large bird with a skier, she rushes to help not knowing that meeting the man will change her life forever.  She and John are immediately attracted to each other, but she insists that they can only be friends.  As they grow closer and spend more time together, Lexi knows that she will eventually have to tell him the truth.  Solid and empathetic writing and a unique main character in Lexi made this a sensitive portrayal of gender identity and sexuality.  133 pages (Kindle edition).

"Alex" by S.M. Shade

There was a lot going on in this book.  Alex is an MMA fighter dealing the sudden death of his lover, the impending execution of his father for killing his mother, homophobic fight opponents, hovering older brothers and their wives, a Hawaiian vacation, unwanted attraction to his straight roommate, roommate's major health scare, and more.  The story was told in the alternating POV of Alex and his roommate, Ian.  The author gave readers lots of angst and partial side stories that could have been pared down a bit.  151 pages (Kindle edition).

"Caught Running" by Abigail Roux and Madeleine Urban

The authors of the Cut & Run series (one of my very favorite series) wrote this before that famous line of books, and I could tell.  It was a good story of opposites attracting, but the writing wasn't quite up to par as C&R.  Jake and Brandon went to high school together and 10 years later are teaching at their alma mater but barely know each other until the principal insists that Brandon become assistant baseball coach to Jake's head coach.  Although he wants to say no, Brandon, a science teacher, is given no choice.  The two men are opposites in every way, so when they find themselves attracted to each other they're mortified.  Lots of angst and uncomfortable moments ensue along with laughs and a few surprises.  236 pages (Kindle edition).

Ghost by Peter Barsocchini

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

A story of search and self-discovery, a basketball player's father's death, and an orphan.

Audio:  11 hrs. 40 min.

Print:  358 pages

"Buzz" by E. Davies

Book 1 in the Riley Brothers series centers on Cameron Riley, a 23-year-old Canadian hockey player who is about to move up to the NHL when an unexpected heart condition forces him to give up the game.  He moves back to his hometown and meets Noah Clark, an art curator.  They hit it off right away, but Cameron fails to disclose to Noah that he was a standout hockey recruit or that he has a worrisome heart problem.  When Noah organizes a hockey-themed art exhibition, Riley's secret threatens to be exposed.

This was a novel with a lot of potential, but Cameron's behavior didn't make much sense to me.  First, I thought he gave up his life of hockey too easily.  He gets dizzy and faints when his heart beats too quickly, but instead of doing everything he can to get it fixed ASAP, he just gives up and buys a house in his hometown without any prospects of a full-time job.  I also didn't understand why he kept his heart condition from Noah.  I will read the second book in the series because I liked the characters (Noah is sweet and a little anxious) and am hopeful that it will be an improvement.  302 pages (Kindle edition).

Who’s on Worst? The Lousiest Players, Biggest Cheaters, Saddest Goats and Other Antiheroes in Baseball History by Filip Bondy

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

One player was one of the worst hitters of all time going 0 for 45.  Another player was the best of the worst first baseman with 29 errors in one season.  Our home state's pitcher for the 2011 Royals was 1-9 with an era of 6.75 - really bad.  A flaky player called by his teammates "Planet Zito" was paid too much money.  Then there was Eddie Gaedel, the baseball player who stood at his full height of 3 feet 7 inches. 

272 pages

"Play On" by Avery Cockburn

This novella in the Glasgow Lads series takes place before the first book, "Playing for Keeps."  It focuses on Duncan Harris, who plays for an LGBT football (soccer) team in Glasgow, Scotland, and Brodie Campbell, one of Duncan's flatmates at university.  Duncan's team and his attitude have gone to pot since they were abandoned by their captain.  Brodie is trying to recover from a bout of mono, study for finals, and deal with the emotional trauma of being bullied for his sexuality.  He and Duncan grow close, but when Duncan beats an opponent who threatens Brodie, his status on the team and his relationship with Brodie are in jeopardy.

As in "Playing for Keeps," the author does a great job of building the two main characters, their issues, and the ways they each try to handle them.  Brodie is introverted and afraid of being hurt once again, and Duncan doesn't always understand how difficult Brodie's life has been and continues to be because of his homophobic parents and hometown.  Duncan comes from an upper middle class family who brags about his homosexuality.  Plus, he's a physically strong athlete, like Brodie's tormentors back home.  But the story isn't all doom and gloom.  Both men are funny, loyal, and kind.  Duncan spent several months in the U.S. before starting university, and it was fun to read the odd things he learned there. I really enjoyed the story and can't wait to read more in the series.  152 pages (Kindle edition).

"Given the Circumstances" by Brad Vance

Roger and Brian are athletes who meet in college; Roger is the star quarterback, and Brian plays baseball.  Roger grew up with a loving, widowed father, while Brian was saddled with an abusive jerk for a dad.  The two men become best friends and cheer each other on in competition and in life, but Brian becomes hooked on drugs to manage his impulses and disappointments.  Only after their respective careers are over are they able to realize how deeply they care for one another and try to live a happy life.  The beginning threw me off, and I'm still not sure where it fits into the story.  However, the rest was well written with three dimensional characters.  I hope to read more by this author.  276 pages (Kindle edition).

"Playing for Keeps" by Avery Cockburn

Fergus Taylor is an architect and reluctant captain of his LGBT football (soccer) team in Glasgow, Scotland, and is trying to recover from a bad breakup when he meets John Burns.  John works for a non-profit that helps immigrants obtain asylum in Scotland and wants Fergus' team to play a charity match to raise money.  The introverted Fergus is wary but wants to help and needs to find a way to get his team back on track after last season's disastrous end.  He and John are attracted to each other but their backgrounds are very different; Fergus is Catholic and John is Protestant.

This was an excellent book with action, romance, family drama, and lots of angst concerning Scotland's sectarianism between Protestants and Catholics.  Fergus and John even have fleece blankets of the Celtic and Rangers football clubs, respectively, in their bedrooms; with the fierce, historic rivalry between the two teams, these blankets symbolize the men's many differences.  The author does a great job of explaining to the reader how sectarianism still affects the Scottish people without getting bogged down in historical details.  I can't wait to read more in this series.  326 pages (Kindle edition).

"Tigers & Devils" by Sean Kennedy

This is an excellent and well written story that takes place mostly in Melbourne, Australia, and focuses on Simon Murray, who runs an independent movie festival, and Declan Tyler, a top player in Australian Rules Football.  Simon and his best friends, married couple Fran and Roger, are big fans of the sport, like the rest of the country, and are shocked when Declan kisses Simon at a party.  Could one of the most popular players in the Australian Football League really be gay?  The answer is yes, but he's mostly in the closet until someone takes a photo of Declan and Simon kissing and all hell breaks loose.  I liked this poignant and sometimes humorous tale and the author's writing very much.  It's told from Simon's POV, and he's not the most confident and easy going guy like Declan is.  He can be immature and easily hurt, but he finds he is stronger than he thinks when the whole country seems to be laughing at him.  Highly recommended and there's a sequel!  376 pages (Kindle edition).