Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Backup Plans

AUTHOR:  Lou Kelly

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  259 pages

RELEASE DATE:  July 30, 2023

BLURB:

Kieran McKinney moved from being a third-string anonymous backup to being a starting quarterback for a brand new NFL franchise. It ought to be a dream-come-true, but with a mentally ill mother, a scheming political snake of a grandfather, a team that sees him as a poor substitution for the first-round draft pick they should have had, and fans that hate him, Kieran is ready to buckle under the stress.

Travis Harris is a small-town sheriff in rural Alabama who has been hiding his sexual identity from his conservative family for years. On the surface, he seems like the perfect catch. A smoking hot southern man who married his high school sweetheart and took up a job in law enforcement. But when his wife passed away, he was finally able to admit that while she’d been his best friend, she hadn’t been the lover he truly wanted. Now it’s been seven years since Rachel died and he still can’t reveal his true feelings to his football loving family.

When fate throws Kieran and Travis together, there doesn’t seem to be a chance in hell that they can make things work. Can two deeply closeted men overcome the obstacles their different world’s present? Or will they both resort to backup plans?

Backup Plans is an MM sports romance with a sexy Southern sheriff, an age gap romance, and hurt/comfort themes. This book can be read as a standalone novel, although there will be a sequel out in November. There is NO cliffhanger, no cheating, and one very steamy Thanksgiving.

REVIEW:

Kieran has one thing in his life that he’s good at – football.  He’s happy to have a third-string job on a terrible expansion team.  That is until the starter who was the #1 draft pick goes down with a season ending injury in the first pre-season game. The backup is also injured, so it’s up to Kieran.  The team is not there to support him, assuming that his grandfather’s influence and prior association with the owner got him the job.  Never mind how good he really is.  His racist elitist grandfather’s position in politics also does not endear him to his teammates.  In fact they so do not support him that he’s sacked a record number of times in the last pre-season game.  When he finds out he’s going to be cut, he leave Tennessee and drives back to Alabama to healthcare facility where his mother is a rsident. She’s the only person who has ever cared about him.  He’s at rock bottom and a total mess and very very drunk.

Travis has his own trials – including the guilt about his wife’s death in a car accident after a fight.  He was well into the bottle before his family figured out what was happening and intervened.  He has a big family as well as his wife’s family, but he’s lonely like he’s never been before.  He’s made do with occasional out of town hookups and his pets and fixing up his house and property, but that doesn’t really do it.  Travis is the small town sheriff and when one of the nurses calls hi at home at 2 am to ask for help with Kieran, he’s out the door like a shot.  He had met Kieran once before – early in the season  when he and his grandfather were there when there was an issue with his mother.  He liked Kieran immediately, but turned him down when he’s asked Travis to get coffee.  He regretted it ever since.  Seemed like it might be a good time to make up for that and help the guy out.  He takes Kieran home and helps him out of the jam with the rental car and puts him to bed in his guest room despite Kieran coming on to him and Travis really wanting to take him up on it 😉  Turns out both men are not as good as hiding from each other what they’ve kept hidden from the rest of the world 😀

Travis is appalled at how Kieran has been treated.  He takes care of him and they talk.  About real things.  And when the team shows up at Travis’s at a most unexpected and inopportune moment, Travis makes sure that he lets them have it about what Kieran deserves from his team.  And turns out that he has not been cut.  He’s going to be the guy.  He leaves, but now they have a way to communicate and they manage to text and see each other sporadically – on Kieran’s days off which are not that plentiful.  There is still the little issue of both of them being closeted.  Neither of them are really ready to share.

Kieran is doing better – he’s won a lot of games, but he’s still not go the support of his teammates.  Management is making sure that is being dealt with, but the press is still an issue for Kieran.  Because of his past and dealing with his grandfather’s job, he has already had issues with the press.  When he’s set up and has a panic attack on camera, Travis realizes that he needs to help him.  He brings in the big guns and he also outs himself to his family.  That doesn’t go spectacularly though.  Then Kieran feels guilty about that too.  But Travis isn’t taking no for an answer.  Lily and Orin, Travi’s former SIL and best friend and deputy are there for him. His family needs time to get used to a Travis they didn’t really know all the way.  Things work out in the end though and it’s a happy ending – for now.

This was a really enjoyable Sports Romance that delved into a lot more than two closeted guys getting together.  Both men had quite a bit of baggage here.  With Kieran’s family, perception was everything.  And given his grandfather’s position as a rich Senator, it has been easy for outsiders to believe that he’s lived life with the proverbial silver spoon in is mouth.  While yes, money wasn’t an issue, his grandparents have no love for him – and only use him for photo ops.  His mother has suffered from mental illness basically his whole life and he had to grow up very young and deal with adult problems far before it was appropriate.  As a result, he does not have confidence in himself – other than his football abilities 😉 – and he is prone to anxiety and panic attacks because of how he’s always been treated and the secrets he’s been forced to keep for the adults in his life. I really liked the supporting characters who helped these two men come out of the closet (at least to close family/friends).  My only niggle was the time-jump between Thanksgiving and the playoffs.  It’s a nice HFN and I’m looking forward to the next book.  Kieran isn’t out yet and who knows what havoc that will bring to a guy who is just finally getting his feet under him.  Definitely recommended – a really good sports romance with a lot of heavy issues.  Thankfully the comic relief and real connection and affection between these men balance the drama/trauma that they’ve faced.

RATING:

BUY LINKS:

Amazon