Reviewed by Ro
TITLE: Teasing the Winger
SERIES: GSU Book 3
AUTHOR: Laura John
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 219 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 11, 2024
BLURB:
Falling for a tease is a bad idea, right?
Growing up, all I ever wanted was to play soccer. I know it isn’t going to be forever, but while I’m still in college, I am going to give it my all. Just like I’ve always done.
Everything was going according to plan…until the universe decided it would be fun for me to develop feelings for the man I saw as nothing more than an annoyance.
Sasha is the last man I expected to fall for, and when I find out he wants to date me, it leaves me even more confused. Even though I know he’s a good guy, I’m still terrified to trust him with my heart. He isn’t known for being a relationship guy, and that’s the only way I’m built.
We are polar opposites and most likely would never work out. But is he worth the risk?
REVIEW:
In this third installment of the GSU series, we meet Sasha, a dancer who is studying to be a lawyer, and Rio, a star soccer player studying to be a teacher. Sasha is best friends with the partner of Rio’s best friend, so they have been thrown into proximity together. Sasha is outgoing and flamboyant and an annoyance to Rio. They don’t have a whole lot of interactions, Sasha teases Rio, Rio ignores Sasha. Status quo changes slowly, as Rio, who is demi-sexual, becomes more aware of Sasha. When the dance studio where Sasha works is flooded, he is desperate to find a new job and it turns out to be the new GSU Koalas mascot, Kennington.
Sasha has a terrible past that he’s slowly recovering from and he’s finally feeling comfortable enough to let his light shine again. Dance is his passion, but he knows “I need something to pay the bills.” Luckily, he likes his law studies. For his part, Rio has been through some things of his own. “My parents weren’t abusive, but they didn’t care.” He started in soccer when he was young and gave it his all. “Maybe that’s because the coaches on the team actually paid attention to me, unlike my parents.”
Sasha is able to put his dance skills to use with the mascot job and it turns into something a little bigger. “They love you, so much that the team has developed a superstition around you. They’ve asked that you attend all their games.” Being a non-sports fan I didn’t realize how much credence sports teams put on superstition! The good thing is it puts Rio and Sasha in even closer contact.
I liked seeing the struggle Rio had to understand his feelings but I admit, it seemed a little too insta-love for me. By the end of the book they had only been together five weeks and were professing love and forever. I wanted the teasing/annoyance part to go on a little more to make it seem realistic.
There is some angst here, but it does not come from Rio and Sasha, but from outside forces. I needed a little more in this as well. We get the background but the actual events were not realistic for me. I can’t go into it without spoilers, but that aspect didn’t work well for me.
RATING: 
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