Playing It Safe

Donovan Bane is a big tattooed half-Maori professional rugby player. Divorced, with a daughter who lives with her mother in New Zealand, he is devoted to being the best player he can be for the Sydney Smoke. Donovan is hiding a big secret, he's gay, but there are no openly gay professional rugby players out there and he doesn't want the furore of being the first one to come out, so he's resigned to staying in the closet until he retires a few years down the line, anyway it's not as if he has any experience with men, not since a disastrous first encounter years ago when he was still married. Then pow! Donovan is sitting with two of his teammates' wives and baby having a coffee when the women spot a sexy guy called Beck wearing a Sydney Smoke lanyard. Donovan can't take his eyes off this sexy accountant, which is a surprise because he always thought he would be attracted to a sportsman or someone more outdoorsy, and Beck can't take his eyes off Donovan, although he seems to understand that Donovan is hiding his sexuality and doesn't flirt with him. It might have been the most innocent of meetings but Donovan can't help thinking about Beck, about how he had the courage to be totally honest about his sexuality, about mentioning his ex-boyfriend to relative strangers, about how gorgeous he was. Heck obsessing about Beck is putting him off his game, the most reliable player on the field! Beck has been in a relationship with someone who keeps his sexuality a secret and he doesn't want to do it again, but this big, sexy rugby player is so cute and so sexy he's breaking his own rules. This is the bit where Amy Andrews calls me out in her newsletter (again), of course the sex scenes are H.O.T., I just felt that there wasn't enough story/plot linking the sex scenes, not enough tension, no plot twist, no misunderstandings, no homophobic friends/teammates/family, no grit. I thought Kate Meader did it better in Undone By You, and yet it's a shorter book. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Playing it Safe, book seven in the Sydney Smoke Rugy series by Amy Andrews is her first endeavor with the M/M genre and she did not let her readers down. Donovan and Becket are total opposites; one a closeted, strapping, hot rugby player with a daughter and ex-wife and the other an out of the closet, proud to be gay, handsome CPA. These two share an amazing, off-the-chart chemistry, electricity, and magnetic attraction. This story has it all, an amazing slow burn build up, mutual respect, consent, shared hopes and fears as Donovan and Becket explored what was drawing them toward each other. It was difficult understanding Donovan’s over-thinking all the time. Ms. Andrews delicately explored all the things at stake if Donovan came out: his career, unwanted pressure on the team, the impact on his daughter, Miri, the entire media circus. At the same time, it’s difficult not to move forward when one falls in love; sometimes even worth all the craziness that ensues. Ms. Andrews hit on everything I love about sports romances and opposites' attract tropes in this book. She provided a tale with sizzling chemistry, laugh-out-love scenes, well defined characters and fabulous secondary characters supporting Donovan and Becket. I highly recommend Playing it Safe to other readers. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

ARC for honest review with no compensation Received from NetGalley and Entangled 4 stars Playing it Safe is book 7 in the Sydney Smoke Rugby series by Amy Andrews and her first M/M book. I felt this book was well written showed heart, steam and how to navigate the world when you have hidden your true identity but know that it’s time to reveal all!