Actually it is pretty difficult to express HOW MUCH I loved this book. I was, from the first page, really captivated and the way Noah and Gavin talked, behaved and how they react to each other was.... damn, hard to put in words. 
 I don't exaggerate when I say I highlighted loads of lines in this book. And I will add a few to this review to express my feelings for it. Still I struggle with my words but I'll try. :) 
 So, when I first heard about the fact that Santino is planning to write a sports related book I was: hell yeah, gimme that book right now. Weeks and weeks of waiting, getting snippets through social media and/or via Patreon was enough to make me thirsty, really thirsty. When I then didn't received an ARC (via Netgalley) I was a bit grumpy but at the end I had to get the book, so it wasn't devastating but saddening & in the end only a matter of time till I got this book. :3 
 And holy moly did Santino nailed it. True, though the book is a sports book there is pretty less sports activity in it. This is due to the fact that Gavin is suspended for six months because he had anger issues and attacked a reporter. 
 But behind the grumpy, unsocial facade lies a pretty kind and tender heart. This is revealed layer by layer, and it's Noah who cracked Gavin's shell. It's like a modern Beauty and the Beast story, with Gavin being the Beast, kindhearted but misunderstood, cursed by the surroundings. <3 
 Gavin is aware of his status and he is pretty self reflexive during the book. 
 "People who didn't know me talked a lot of shit, but friends knew me for my loyalty, and that was what mattered." 
 This isn't told in an arrogant way and this is - right from the beginning - an amazing insight of Gavin Santino Hassell is giving the reader. And no wonder my heart was lost at this moment. :) <3 
 The fact that Noah is first an annoying disturbance in his regulated life is soon switched and he has to value Noah's help and his dedication to do things right although both guys weren't best friends right from the start. That Noah isn't a pussy is shown when he counters and gives Gavin one of his trademark glances. :D 
 "Noah was starting to look incredulous, which turned into him giving me this hilariously sassy eyebrow arch. He really was cute as hell." 
 This is a statement by Gavin I can totally underline myself and as I said, the story reminds of Beauty and the Beast. So, if you know the (classic) movie, you know how Belle raises her eyebrow several tines. This was exactly the picture I had in mind when Noah did this. :D 
 Several times both guys overstep their employer-employee borders and some statements by Gavin are pretty low and insulting (and Noah isn't shy in telling Gavin this), but it is the tension, the sparks which let the reader swoon over and over... and then again. ;D 
 And the growing desire both guys have for each other is hot as hell as they finally come together. 
 I can't describe with coherent words how sexy Gavin is in the book, how Noah is affected by him and how melting hot is was to read their first sex scene. But it's not the main point I want to make. The sex scenes are great but it's the vulnerabilty behind Gavin which surprised me. And Gavin knows how to blow Noah's and the reader's mind with saying and thinking things like this. 
 "Right now I just wanted to kiss the hell out of him, and try to get him to like me back." 
 It must be a pretty cold-hearted reader to not swoon over this, and it's not the first time, Gavin opens his heart in the book. 
 But if you think Noah is a sassy, witty and has an arrogance, you see his vulnerable sides too. He is well aware of his incapabilty to stay away from Gavin, from seductive guys, who are grumpy but have gigantic hearts. 
 So, it's no wonder Noah can't resist when Gavin said: 
 "Because you make me fucking happier than I've been since I was drafted." 
 And boom, me as a reader, I was crushed. <3 This is a power line, a killer line, the perfect one you want to read in a book. 
 In other books by Santino you find those gems, those sweet lines but hidden under piles of trashtalk and grumpy, arrogant, aggressive behaviour. But these are the lines you are dying for to read. <3 
 Slowly and over the length of the book Gavin is transforming and it's Noah who helped him. Both guys see the value in each other and of themselves. And the way how they complete each other is more than sweet and touching. 
 Santino knows how to write a captivating story but this is, after Sutphin Boulevard the most touching in my eyes. Gavin is a misunderstood guy, a guy with a hardly controlled temper but this passion is also his strength. And Noah is the right partner at his side. 
 I really can't wait to read the next book in the series, since Simeon is an interesting character. :) 
 5 out of 5 stars for this beautiful piece, for this modern Beauty and the Beast story, but written in the well known Santino-esque way. <3 Wholeheartededly recommended by me. :) <3 
 Review originally posted on my blog with added content Mikku-chan / A world full of words