Theme Week Review
Reviewed by Tammy
TITLE: Sporting Chance
AUTHOR: Alexa Milne
PUBLISHER: Totally Bound Publishing
LENGTH: 256 Pages
BLURB:
Sometimes keeping hold of love is just as hard as finding it.
Dan and Iestyn are looking for romance. A school trip, a love of history, a wedding, a tango, the game of chess, and their friends and family all help the two men to realise that they’ve finally found true love with each other.
Iestyn thinks that he’s completely ordinary and that Dan is the only out and currently gay rugby player anywhere. Being gay can be difficult enough. Being famous also has its problems. But being gay, famous and a sportsman can make finding love complicated. So when Dan Morgan meets Iestyn Jones and gives him his phone number, their road ahead has more than a few bumps to overcome.
Will Iestyn and Dan overcome the obstacles thrown in their paths? Or will fame destroy their lives as well as their love?
REVIEW:
Sporting Chance is Alexa Milne’s first book, I sincerely hope it’s not her last!
The story is about Iestyn (Yest-in) Jones a much loved history teacher whose co-workers and pupils have accepted his openness and Dan Morgan the only openly gay rugby player anywhere. They meet when Iestyn falls at Dan’s feet in the middle of showing his class how he can skate backwards whilst on a school trip. Considering Dan has always had a ‘thing’ for teachers he can’t help but give Iestyn his phone number after helping him up.
Dan has had only one relationship in which his ex left him, as a result Iestyn isn’t confident he’s not a rebound affair because to him, he’s not exactly model material while Dan is gorgeous, so they take their time getting to know each other. Luckily Iestyn’s friends and family are very supportive when they meet Dan, his team mates and friends. Everything has fallen into place for both Dan and Iestyn, they’ve fallen deeply in love, Dan has the captaincy of the Welsh Rugby team for the Six Nations, and several of their mutual friends have started relationships of their own. Unfortunately, just as everything falls into place, someone outs their relationship to the newspapers before anyone is ready. Neither Dan, nor Iestyn are prepared for the fallout that follows and what should have been a fairy-tale love story is destroyed by pressure from Dan’s rugby club, the paparazzi and Iestyn’s bosses at school.
The entire story is filled with all the ups and downs of any normal new relationship, then you have the added complication of being a famous, gay rugby player and the realization that just because people don’t say anything it doesn’t mean they accept you. Thankfully, with the help of his friends, Iestyn decides to fight for his right to love.
I would definitely recommend this book to all rugby loving, romance lovers!
RATING: 
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