Rookie quarterback, Drew Carmichael, is under pressure like never before.
When Drew abruptly and unexpectedly comes out of the closet, his life is upended. The media is hounding him. Fans and haters are scrutinizing him nonstop. Worst of all, team management is wary of him, unsure if he’s worth all the hassle.
He’ll do anything to stay on his homestate’s NFL team, including pretending to be in a serious and committed relationship. The only problem is his fake boyfriend is Scott Hunter-the irresistible pop-country music star and his secret teenage crush.
Scott Hunter is used to being under pressure. He’s dealt with it his whole life, handling it all with grace and an unwavering smile on his face.
When his manager presents him with the long-awaited opportunity to come out of the closet, he jumps on it, no questions asked. Pretending to be Drew Carmichael’s boyfriend should be easy. Simple. Fun.
He never expected or wanted to start caring about the golden boy of football. That’s definitely not part of the plan. Neither is fooling around with him on a football field…
Touchdown.
Under Pressure by Lauren Ashley
Series (name + # in series): Love and Football, Book 1
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date (Print & Ebook): October 8th, 2019
Length (Print & Ebook): approx. 50,000
Subgenre: Contemporary Romance; LGBT romance, sports romance
Warnings: Brief mentions of religious upbringing/unsupportive parents, past sibling death from car accident.
Amazon US – Kindle Unlimited
Goodreads
My stomach suddenly rumbles, loud enough for Scott to hear, ruining the moment.
“Hungry?” he asks knowingly.
My stomach rumbles again.
“Maybe just a little,” I joke, already feeling my cheeks heat up. So much for not blushing.
“We’d better get you fed.” There’s an easy, amused smile on his face that puts me at ease.
“Let’s see what breakfast essentials you picked up,” I declare, rubbing my hands together. “This is going to be the true test of compatibility. I take my breakfast foods very seriously,” I say, half-jokingly, wiggling my brows up and down in an exaggerated manner.
“Bring it on.” He leans back slightly, casually crossing his arms over his chest, and watches as I lean over the kitchen counter.
I grab one of the three medium-sized white boxes, using my powers of deductive reasoning to determine that they contain the much needed breakfast essentials. I pop the box open and am surprised to see six donuts topped with just about everything you could think of. Cereal, crumbled candy bars, marshmallows, gummy bears, candied bacon bits, icing, and powdered sugar.
I groan, tempted beyond belief. My football career calls for a pretty strict diet, but at heart I’m a sugar addict.
“Do the other two boxes have donuts in them as well?” I ask, curious.
“Yup,” Scott confirms. “There from a local favorite of mine. A place called Baked N’ Glazed.”
“Good to know I’m not the only one with a sweet tooth.” Between Mary Alice’s cupcakes, last night’s Oreos, and now these, I’m slowly but surely turning into a fatass. My trainer is going to fucking kill me come Monday morning.
“I have no idea what you’re taking about,” Scott denies. If it weren’t for the twinkle in his eyes, I might actually believe him.
“This is a judgment-free zone. You could admit that you dip French fries in milkshakes or that you put pickles in peanut butter sandwiches and I wouldn’t even blink.”
This was cute. An overly sanitized, pretend boyfriend romance between a rookie quarterback and a country music star. Of which, I am guessing, the author knows nothing about.
What we get is a nearly perfect world. Where the just out of college rookie quarterback not only rarely goes to practice, but he is also the first string starter. There’s a brief mention of some of his team mates not being happy that he is out and proud, but other than that there are no repercussions whatsoever. Not from his team, not from other teams, not from the media or the fans. Lucky him. Even his conservative all American Texas family is totally fine with it.
Same with Scott. Although he has been in the spotlight for several years, when he suddenly announces he is gay, with a hot football boyfriend, there is no back lash. I’d like to live in this perfect world.
The fake boyfriend ruse doesn’t last long as it is pretty much love at first sight. Nerves? Nah. Freak outs? Definitely not.
It had a good premise and could have gone somewhere, but this was like the Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood version of a gay romance.
2.5 pieces of eye candy
Lauren Ashley discovered her love for books at an early age. She is a hopeless romantic at heart and believes that everyone deserves their happily ever after. An East Coast native hailing from the Tri-State area, Lauren hates the cold weather, but loves her chunky sweaters and cups of coffee. When she’s not writing, she can be found traveling, binge-watching TV, spending time with loved ones, and obsessing over all things Harry Potter.
Instagram: www.instagram.com/authorlaurenashley
Twitter: www.twitter.com/authorlashley
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/user/show/100794438-lauren-ashley
