Title: The Playmaker
Author: Andrew Grey
Release Date: November 18, 2016
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 200
Professional football player Hunter Davis is learning that saying he’s gay is very different from actively being in a relationship with another man—especially in the eyes of his teammates and fans. So when Hunter needs a personal assistant to keep him organized, he asks for a woman in order to prevent tongues from wagging.
Montgomery Willis badly needs to find work before he loses everything. There’s just one position at the agency where he applies, but the problem is, he’s not a woman. And he knows nothing about football. Still, Hunter gives him a chance, but only because Monty’s desperate.
Monty soon proves his worth by saving Hunter’s bacon on an important promotional shoot, and Hunter realizes he might have someone special working for him—in more ways than one. Monty’s feelings come to the surface during an outing in the park when Hunter decides to teach Monty a bit about the game, and pictures surface of them in some questionable positions. Hunter is reminded that knowing he’s gay and seeing evidence in the papers are two very different things for the other players, and he might have to choose between two loves: football and Monty.
*Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*
Hunter Davis is a professional football player in need of an assistant. He’s late to everything, forgets his appointments, dresses like a middle-aged man, and has an unorganized office. His agent is fed up and tells Hunter he needs to hire an assistant or he won't be helping him fix these problems. Hunter finally agrees but only wants a female assistant. Though everyone knows he’s gay, he never dates or hooks up so it’s not an issue. But the women he interviews for the position are not able to meet the qualifications and he’s left with Montgomery Willis. Monty, who is cute and doesn’t know anything about football and is obviously gay. Hunter hires him on a temporary basis and soon finds that Monty is everything he’s looking for. He takes care of Hunter and protects him like no one ever has. But, Hunter is held to a different stand than the straight players on the team, and the guy that has always just gone along and done what he was told, will now have to take a stance for himself and Monty.
I really liked both MC’s in this story. Hunter was raised in a two-parent home with a very dominating dad, who allowed no one to have a say in how he raised his son. Hunter was raised to play football and that was it. His education was ignored by his father, and eventually his teachers, which causes his issues as an adult. The only relationship he ever had ended tragically in college and he has not moved on from that loss. Hunter allows himself to be taken an advantage of by everyone, but mostly his agent and father. He gives no thought to standing up for himself. Monty was raised by a single mother and had to learn young to stand up for himself. He has had no luck with jobs, most of them have ended due to sexual harassment. He may be small, but he is strong. If Monty sees a problem, he figures out a way to fix it and continues.
Monty stands up for Hunter and teaches him to stand up for himself. He helps Hunter accept his imperfections and when possible, provides what's needed to fix them. He gives Hunter a voice, when no one ever has before. This is a low-angst, easy to read story. It had a great lesson about life and stopping to look at what’s really important.
Rating: 5 stars
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