

“I want you to be my boyfriend. For like three weeks.” Tennis player Isaac Hudson isn’t gay, but when a photograph of him kissing another man makes its way to social media, he doesn’t have the heart to correct the speculation and disappoint all the people it means so much to. Still recovering from a shoulder injury, he decides to play the part and enlists the help of his childhood best friend to be his temporary boyfriend. Julian has been in love with Isaac since they were kids. Knowing his friend was off-limits helped him keep his feelings hidden, but now that he’s supposed to pretend to date him… Well, things are getting a little tricky in the feelings department. After a few surprisingly intimate dates, it becomes obvious that Isaac is less interested in faking it and more interested in trying it. Throw in a few steamy moments, and soon enough, Isaac finds himself falling into bed with his best friend. But can Isaac figure out his feelings in time to see what’s right in front of him? Or will his player past come back to haunt him and take away his best chance at happiness? Player is a stand-alone gay romance with a HEA and no cliffhangers. It does, however, contain: boys kissing, more than one tennis-related injury, the sexy application of various ointments, a Lego car, explicit sex scenes, a heart-shaped tennis trophy, and true love conquering all. Review: Great tale - Love conquers all Julian got his game set and match and Isaac found his real self and love of his life. So glad they got their happy ever after despite Adrianna's attempt to derail it. Review: Loved it! - It's a familiar trope to those who read m/m books; a guy finds himself in a situation where pretending he's not straight could be beneficial, asks his gay friend to play along, then realises he's really NOT as straight as he thought he was. Sean Ashcroft has even written it before, but that doesn't take anything away from this book. I freely admit I love their writing style, the depth they puts into their characters, and the emotions leaping off the page. This is a great example of not just a familiar trope, but of Sean's work in general, and I would absolutely recommend this book, and this author, to any m/m fans out there.
| Best Sellers Rank | 853,273 in Kindle Store ( See Top 100 in Kindle Store ) 10,908 in Gay Fiction 24,680 in Gay Romance (Kindle Store) 285,519 in Romance (Books) |
K**R
Great tale
Love conquers all Julian got his game set and match and Isaac found his real self and love of his life. So glad they got their happy ever after despite Adrianna's attempt to derail it.
D**B
Loved it!
It's a familiar trope to those who read m/m books; a guy finds himself in a situation where pretending he's not straight could be beneficial, asks his gay friend to play along, then realises he's really NOT as straight as he thought he was. Sean Ashcroft has even written it before, but that doesn't take anything away from this book. I freely admit I love their writing style, the depth they puts into their characters, and the emotions leaping off the page. This is a great example of not just a familiar trope, but of Sean's work in general, and I would absolutely recommend this book, and this author, to any m/m fans out there.
M**L
Good
Enjoyed this about Isaac who's a tennis player with shoulder injury who gets his best friend Julian to pretend to go out with him
S**Y
Not awful
This is one of those books that's okay just being what it is, which is basically a sappy and probably unlikely best friends romance. I'm not sure its believable because life is never that smooth sailing and I doubt many people suddenly realise that they are not only Bi but have been in love with their best friend for 13 years BUT that being said it was an enjoyable book, Sean wrote Isaac and Julian in a way that made you want them to have their sappy happily ever after and as it was a short easy read I didn't particularly mind it's lack of depth.
B**O
Player
Absolutely wonderful, definitely a must read, I could not put it down! There was all kinds of excitement in this book, friends and lovers, sports, romantic relationship, interfering ex's, lots of drama, but true love always wins in the end! This was a beautiful love story! So many thanks,, Honey Bee 🐝📚💙🎭🎶 PS: This Author will not disappoint you, you'll not be able to put it down!🌟🎶
T**Z
Cute...
..., wie die meinsten Bücher von diesem Autor! Ungewöhnlicher Ansatz mit dem "Fake-Outing", der Auseinandersetzung damit, was es bedeuten kann, plötzlich anders gesehen und behandelt zu werden - und der langsamen Entdeckung der wahren Gefühle. Manchmal geht es mir ein bisschen auf die Nerven, dass ein Protagonist bei Sean Ashcroft immer so super unsicher sein muss, aber ansonsten wie immer super sympathische Protagonisten und eine schöne Story!
A**O
Almost 4*
This was a very sweet love story, almost a second chance, between two old friends with little angst and quite a few hot scenes, but I would have loved to get more description of their life outside of their home and their bed. Isaac is a tennis player but the author does not dedicate one scene to the game, except when the two MC’s practice together. So my rating is not a full 4*
A**1
New Game!
Love the player hate the game! Isaac was a good guy while healing from a shoulder injury but he must have not been so good before. The story picks up where Isaac and Julian reunite after I'm guessing about 8 years. The two guys pick up where they left off only now they're expressing their feelings for each other under a pretend relationship. I love how they put the other one first when it came to their shared love. The backlash from the ex girlfriend should have been handled without the men being wussies, lol All in all it was a great book. "I received this book for a honest review."
A**E
Friends to lovers
This is a sweet friends to lovers book. I loved Isaac and Julian together and the way Isaac discovers the way he really feels about Julian. What I didn't like was Isaacs ex and her hate.
Trustpilot
3 weeks ago
2 weeks ago