*** 3,5 pride stars ***

 

The whistle blew, and the game began. On the pitch, the Warriors took control of the ball, playing for nothing but pride. But when all was said and done, Duncan knew, pride was the only thing that mattered.

The blurb is spot on for the story, so I'm not going to say much in relation to story. It's about Duncan, a player on the all LGBT soccer team in Glasgow, Scotland, and his classmate/flatmate, Brodie.

I liked how they got together. Again, I should say, since the first time they really got together they had a drunk makeout session with a bit of an unfortunately outcome. When they meet again later, they would eventually since they're classmates and flatmates, the interest that ignited is still there. It was sweet how Duncan and Brodie kinda bonded over Duncan caring for Brodie when he was sick. I found it amusing that they both knew the truth about the incubation period, but kept it for themselves just so they could spend more time together.

I liked the conflict, or rather difference, between Duncan and Brodie's background. Brodie having grown up in a small village where he absolutely had to hide the fact that he was gay, where as Duncan's parents actually threw him a coming-out party. I totally understood Brodie's old fear of bullies and bullying, and how that colored his reactions to some of Duncan's actions. I liked how things got resolved, and how Brodie took control and faced his fears, with Duncan's support.

This novella that takes place before the events in #1 Playing for Keeps. I read this after reading #1, so I was already familiar with the setting with the soccer team and it's players including Duncan. It was nice to see John and Fergus, the MCs of book 1. I was pleasantly surprised that it was Brodie who actually came up with the idea of the charity match, and suggested it to his friend, John, who brings it up with Fergus, the captain of the soccer team. This is the start of Playing for Keeps. Both Duncan and Brodie, are mentioned in #1, but they're just on the periphery.  

Thanks to Nathan and Marco for the BR.

Great characters and wonderful plot.  This books includes the telling of a historic moment in Scotland.  While the characters are opposites in views and life; the main characters discover their truth and love.

Oh my god, I feel like my heart is about to explode. This has ALL THE FEELS and I'm not sure I can take it. Give me a minute.....Alright, let's do this!

I found a new OTP!! This romance is the best- witty banter, tension without being overly dramatic, sweet moments. So sweet and amazing and heartwarming.

Colin's really the best. He's sarcastic and a bit cynical, but he's got a heart of gold. He's a really caring guy and he gets so fired up about what he believes in, and I love him so much. Andrew is also awesome. In the beginning, his class privilege as well as his ignorance of that privilege pissed me the hell off. But he grew and changed as a character and I loved it. Andrew's so....honest and raw, and he's just really lovable and awesome.

Aside from the romance, the political situation (the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum) in Scotland was a huge part of the story. And tbh, at the time the actual events were happening I was only vaguely aware of it. But this book opened my eyes to what it was really like. I'm not from Scotland, I don't really care about politics in Scotland. But the excitement, the atmosphere...it really got my heart pounding. It got me all fired up!
*insert Natsu gif here*
(you get my congratulations if you get the Fairy Tail reference)

And side note: maybe I have no idea what the hell I'm talking about, but this book made me very sympathetic to the Yes side.

I really liked the setting. I've never read a book that took place in modern-day Scotland, so this was a first and it was one I enjoyed. Also, the Scottish slang/accent is really cool.

If I'm completely honest, I don't give a single shit about sports. It's just not something that interests me. So I was a little hesitant to read this, fearing the football/soccer (same sport, different names) aspect would lessen my enjoyment. I was dead wrong. It's not shoved in your face so even if you don't like sports you would still enjoy this.

I stayed up until 1:00 in the morning to read this thing. It was fantastic, I absolutely adored it, and honestly my heart is pounding and I'm so amazed. This book punched me right in the feels. I even cried a little. Sorry if I'm a little incoherent. But what I'm trying to say is: I absolutely adored this with every fiber of my being. You've gotta read it!

Tl;dr version- Amazing romance, characters, exciting subplot, cool setting. It's brilliant. Read it.

Please don't hate me but I am surprised how much I didn't enjoy this book. I wanted to like it so much that after the first one in this series I read the second that I wasn't satisfied with. I was bothered by all the religious disagreements in the first installment. I was totally turned off by the political disharmony in the second. My frustration was compounded by the fact that I had to google the situation in Scotland to connect more to their arguments. Again I admired the main characters and loved the sports and the secondary characters. I thought the sex was hot when they weren't barking at each other. I think I'm done with this series. Maybe it'll be more fun if I catch it on Audibles. Who knows? 

This was an odd book for me because I loved the MC's on the whole but I really had a soft spot for John. Kudos to Avery Cockburn for writing so smoothly I was able to follow the Scottish colloquialisms without a hitch and I really got into the sports scenes. My only complaint was the religious part of the story that was a blah for me because I couldn't get it at all, but that's just silly ole' agnostic me.