In Illegal Contact, Santino Hassell sheds his "gritty" writing for a very thoughtful "falling in love" story between two unlikely but likeable men. 
 Gavin is a pro football player sentenced to house arrest for punching out some guy. (What he did is integral to the story, so I'm not going to spoil.) He's got some definite anger issues. 
 Noah is a social advocate and couldn't be more different than Gavin. He's short on cash and without a job. Applying for a job as Gavin's personal assistant is a long shot, but he manages to get the job. 
 The early tension between Gavin and Noah made me wonder how these two were ever going to get together. But over the course of a few weeks, Gavin and Noah quietly build a friendship while their attraction for each other grows. There are some circumstances in Noah's past that keeps him from acting upon his more-than-friends feelings toward Gavin, but eventually they just can't stay away from each other. I loved the slow build to their relationship -- the making out scenes are steamy and made everything about Gavin and Noah's relationship different and interesting. 
 The ending chapters brought tears to my eyes and the resolution was just perfect. I loved everything about this book. It left me feeling good and wanting more, and as a reader that's what I want from the first book in a series. 
 An ARC was provided for review.