Reviewed by Taylin & Danielle

TITLE: The Player

AUTHOR: Felice Stevens

PUBLISHER: Good Man Press

LENGTH: 311 pages

RELEASE DATE: March 11, 2024

BLURB:

Friday night lights hide more than they reveal…

When retired NFL superstar Keller Williams returns to his small town to coach his old high school football team, he’s surprised how much he enjoys being out of the limelight and on the field with the kids. Even more surprising is his immediate attraction to the father of one of his players—single dad Niall Harper.
Problem number one: Niall Harper isn’t gay.
Problem number two: Keller isn’t out to the world.
Problem number three: Niall hates his guts. And Keller has no idea why.

High school librarian Niall Harper has always done the right thing. Except be true to himself. Divorced and raising his teenaged son, Niall is dismayed to discover the new football coach is none other than his long-ago Friday night fantasy and nemesis. Not that it matters—Keller doesn’t remember him. It’s nothing new; Niall has always been easy to forget. Now Keller wants to be friends. And more. Niall can’t deny the annoying man makes him laugh and feel things he’d only dreamed possible. But would a player like Keller be satisfied with a regular guy like him?

Being together is more than complicated, but they are willing to take the risk. Niall reveals he’s dating his son’s coach, and Keller comes out to the team, his fans, the press, and small-town gossips. Neither is prepared for the fallout, but that doesn’t stop them. It’s time to throw the Hail Mary pass of a lifetime and win the game of forever. And they’re ready.

REVIEW by Taylin

An injury took Keller Williams out of the NFL early. It also kept him in the closet. So, Keller returns to his hometown to coach high school football. When he meets the Librarian, Niall; Keller has dreams of living as his true self in the open. Being one of the geeks, Niall doesn’t have good memories of his high school, especially the football team bullies, and tars Keller with the same brush as some of his teammates. There is some perception sorting to accomplish, in private and in public. Are Keller and Niall up to the challenge?

The Player is a story that I had a dilemma with because this is what I class as an informative story. The tale deals with sensitive subjects from the viewpoints of teenagers and adults in differing scenarios. These issues must be in the public domain and not hidden. Fiction is one medium at an author’s disposal. Therefore, I considered myself informed – bravo on a good job. However, I also wanted to be entertained because the medium was fiction and not a documentary-style text. And here’s my dilemma – how do you get a serious subject over without outrageously sensationalizing it and make it memorable while being entertained? I’m guessing this is where the football arc originated. This combination was an admirable yet challenging task to achieve. While the story was well written, something for me was missing and I struggled to articulate my thoughts.

The story was told in the third person from the viewpoints of Keller and Niall. The imagery was good without being OTT and gave me some super mental pictures of the town and its people. Despite his overly healthy bank account – Keller’s need to be surrounded by the comfort of his mother’s memory came over well. It was also good that Niall’s skepticism/animosity wasn’t easily washed away. This made the burgeoning relationship with Keller a sedate burn – not slow because Keller knows what he wants. As well as the bully, skeptics, gossip, and bible brigade, there is a heartwarming number of supporters prepared to stand up for what is right. The teenagers, too, seem to mostly have their heads screwed on properly, trying to be conscientious. To this end, parts came across as a touch cookie-cutter.

The story is novel-length and details how the past hurts impact the present. Having experienced many emotions as a teenager, Keller wants to be an unbiased ear for students who believe their others may be too close to a subject to be objective. He desires to stand for everything right, regardless of the naysayers. Keller is an admirable man.

There are several classic scenarios in this story. With a few exceptions, most of the cast are nice people wanting to do what is right, unwilling to see a person suffer from the prejudices of others. I have hope that the world is going that way, but from a reading perspective; much of the journey is overly safe. I left this story with a full heart, but a spark was missing that made me want to score it higher. Given the tale’s wholesome nature, I expect that others will give higher marks, I guess what you get out of this story is all about what your mood is looking for.

RATING:

REVIEW by Danielle

I have to say I was so excited to read this story. I love the books written by this author and it had been a while since I read any so I was excited to dig into this new release.

I love sports and this opposites attract and past history ticks off my boxes and that didn’t dissappoint.

Frist we have Keller, a former NFL player who turned coach after going back to his hometown when his mother passed away. Then there’s  Naill, a divorced school librarian living in the small town with his son David.

Their past sure set the pace for the beginning of this novel. It was hard to see Naill’s struggle over what happened when he was in school but I loved Keller having the endurance to find out what was causing the anomisity.

The difference between Keller’s strong, steady personality and Niall being a shy introvert is really played out well.

Both of them are trying to find a way they can spend time toghether. First because of past things that happened and after that to manage the attraction they have while both are in the closet.

One of the best parts in the book is Keller as a coach. He makes sure the kids on his team know that it is not about the individual but about the team. He teaches them that they have to stick up for each other and more even so that they can always come to him when they just need to talk or someone to listen, without having to mention their name or anything. To read that happening touched me deeply.

On the other hand we have the wonderful relationship between Naill and his son David. The author managed to include the struggle about finding out about his sexuality and having to deal with that in a very sensititive, real way.

A quick mention is definitely needed for the wonderful side characters here, like the boys from the team (Can I read about Shane and Van, pretty please?) and Keller’s former teammate and his wife. I loved the support, the interest and everything else without wanting to spoil anything.

There is some sexy stuff happening but it is minor in detail opposed the story. If you want a romantic, sweet story with a little (perhaps expected) drama and a wonderful HEA,  this is absolutely the book for you!

This story got me engrossed and wanting to keep reading and that for me says enough. I am hoping we get to see a bit more of this universe if I am honest. I would love to see a story envolving Shane and Van and having Naill and Keller in the background.

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

Amazon