Reviewed by Lady Macbeth
TITLE: Sweat
SERIES: Like Teammates #1
AUTHOR: Jonah Yorke
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 544 Pages
RELEASE DATE: April 10, 2026
BLURB:
Tommy
I should hate Rowan Hughes. He was a bully when we were kids, and now I find out he’s messed around with my girlfriend. But how can I hate the campus soccer star when he’s everything I’ve always wanted to be?
With my reputation on the line, I can’t let Rowan get away with humiliating me in front of people I know—people we both go to school with.
When he swears he didn’t know Annalese was my girlfriend, I actually believe him. When he says I’m good enough to play beside him, I want to believe that too. But when he insists he’s not gay, all I want is to prove him wrong.
Rowan
I made one dumb decision at a party, and now Tommy Mathison thinks I’m into his girl. He couldn’t be more wrong, but it’s not because I’m gay. It’s because I’m weak. Now I’ve got a beefed-up babyface’s knuckle prints bruising the side of my face, and I can’t get him out of my head.
Tommy isn’t weak, and he may just be the missing piece my team needs to win a championship before I go pro. I don’t know why he quit soccer after high school, but getting him back on the field is easy. Keeping him close without losing control? That’s the real challenge.
SWEAT is a high-spice hurt/comfort sports romance that deals with heavy themes related to identity, mental health, grief, and coping with past trauma. This book is intended for readers age 18 and up.
REVIEW:
Brilliant debut for this author, I was amazed by his writing, raw and emotional.
I had this book on my TBR since it came out, but I kept putting it on hold because I thought it would have been too angsty for me. But then, I saw a silly meme on Instagram and I thought it was time to read it.
And boy, did I love it!
Rowan and Tommy are brave young men who had to fight hard to be happy together and be comfortable in their own sexuality. Family expectations aggravated by the weight of grief, a sport that’s not a safe space for non-straight athletes, a traumatic past that made the MC feel unworthy of any kind of love, uncertainty about their own future, these boys had to face all these obstacles with their love for each other as their only weapon.
My heart broke repeatedly for Rowan: he built very high walls around himself that prevented him from trusting the good people in his life, like Matt and his wife, his teammates and Tommy. It took a long time to let go, little by little, and to allow himself to find peace into Tommy’s arms.
There’s an unexpected tenderness in Rowan, a side of him that he reserves solely for Tommy, that we can see in every caress, every kiss, every hug. It was very beautiful to witness this side taking more space as the story progressed, to see Rowan accepting Tommy’s love, to see him finally love himself too.
Tommy is a precious sweet man, who loves his family dearly and who put his future on hold to step up and help. Tommy he’s also a young man desperate to be seen and loved without pretending to be someone else, a young man who found in Rowan the missing piece of his life.
I appreciate that their journeys through their self acceptance had different paces because their personal experiences weren’t alike. But at the same time I adored that they always supported each other, that they always knew what the other needed and didn’t hesitate to give it to him.
I’m very curious to read the next book of this series, Salt, that will be about Connor, Rowan’s teammate. I hope it will come out soon.
Highly recommended.
RATING: 
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