I really enjoyed Andi Jaxon’s Off Sides. It is a MM stand-alone in her Darby U universe. It is not necessary for you to have read her other Darby U books, but it would probably help you understand what is going on with the peripheral characters. (It actually makes me think of EL James’ Grey series, in that you’re seeing a lot of the same events, just through a different lived experience. The difference being that this one is actually well written.)
Nick and Joey both had childhoods where they didn’t get enough attention from their parents, but for very different reasons. Nick’s parents are amazing, generous people that have made a point of taking in the older foster kids that no one else wants. Since Nick was a seemingly well-adjusted child/teen/football god, his parents often prioritized the needs of the foster kids in their care over his. And, by the time they realized the damage they were doing to their relationship with their son, they didn’t know how to talk to him about it. It was really a case of good people trying to do the right thing, but not realizing they were causing collateral damage.
Joey’s dad died of cancer when he was in middle school. His parting words to his son were for him to take care of his mom and watch out for his younger siblings. His mom is an emotionally manipulative piece of human garbage who takes advantage of her young son, expecting him to do all of the caretaking for her other children. Joey was never really allowed to grieve for his dad or have any time for himself since he was always taking care of his family. And the little free time he did have was taken up by hockey.
They meet at Darby University, where they are captains of their respective sports teams. Nick is a part of the football team’s special teams unit. Joey is some sort of defenseman for the hockey team. They have an instant connection, but decide to go the friends with benefits route because Joey feels like he just doesn’t have it in him to be enough of a partner in a relationship because of his other obligations. Even though he’s a senior at a college four hours away from home, his mom expects him to drop everything when she calls and come home to deal with whatever the problem is.
I’ve just used 400 words and haven’t really told you anything about the book other than both MMCs had some pretty serious emotional traumas to work through, some of which I didn’t even touch on. While there is obviously some pretty serious angst, there are moments of humor, too. It is SUPER spicy, and some of it involves creative use of breakfast pastry and/or video chat. I’d absolutely recommend it if you are a fan of Elle Kennedy’s Briar U world.
Available on Kindle Unlimited – 3.5 of 5 stars.