November 10, 2026
Why you will love this book…
Black cat and golden retrieverThe loner and the loverHook up to foreverGrumpy/sunshineFootball star and the PodcasterOpposites attractSecret identityHurt/comfortXavier Lord is a bitter man. Outed by his teammates and his college football scholarship withdrawn, life has taught him not to trust or believe in anyone but himself. Xavier—or X, as he calls himself to preserve his anonymity—has built a business on athlete’s mistakes. His hit podcast, You F'ed Up, dissects and calls out their bad plays with zero mercy. Lately his favorite target is Phoenix Young, the Lancaster Legends’ gorgeous but struggling new quarterback.
Phoenix Young has it all: the stats, drive, and championship dreams. Yet since his trade to the Legends, he’s unable to deliver, stumbling to a losing record. As one of the few out, gay players, he feels like he’s let the team and fans down. He’s bearing the burden alone—along with a secret he refuses to reveal: Someone’s been leaving him ugly, anonymous notes. He tries to ignore them and takes the blame for losing solely on his shoulders, but he’s never felt so alone and defeated.
When Xavier and Phoenix hook up on a dating app, one night turns into more, and both fall hard and fast—until Xavier panics and shuts things down, certain Phoenix wouldn’t want a man who makes a living tearing him apart.
Except he does.
But a relationship runs the risk of Xavier losing credibility with his listeners and Phoenix losing his teammates’ trust and friendships. Meanwhile, the ugly notes haven’t stopped. And they have no idea who’s writing them.
Xavier Lord turned his bitterness towards losing any chance of playing college or professional football into a sharp podcast picking apart the deficiencies in any of the sports stars. He’s a broody and untrusting loner who usually just hooks up when he needs to and avoids attachments.
One of his targets is Phoenix Young, who is a new quarterback for the Lancaster Legends but who’s been struggling this season. Phoenix was the golden boy expected to do good things, but there’s something going on with his game that is affecting his performance, and there’s something else going on behind the scenes that he’s not sure how to handle. In order to make himself feel better after disappointment, he finds himself on the same app with Xavier, and they plan a no-strings hookup.
Xavier knows exactly who Phoenix is, but Phoenix has no idea that Xavier has a podcast or that he’s one of his favorite targets since he tries to avoid social media. One hookup leads to two, and they start to feel more than they should, but there’s a conflict of interest and secrets that have the potential to be really messy
One of his targets is Phoenix Young, who is a new quarterback for the Lancaster Legends but who’s been struggling this season. Phoenix was the golden boy expected to do good things, but there’s something going on with his game that is affecting his performance, and there’s something else going on behind the scenes that he’s not sure how to handle. In order to make himself feel better after disappointment, he finds himself on the same app with Xavier, and they plan a no-strings hookup.
Xavier knows exactly who Phoenix is, but Phoenix has no idea that Xavier has a podcast or that he’s one of his favorite targets since he tries to avoid social media. One hookup leads to two, and they start to feel more than they should, but there’s a conflict of interest and secrets that have the potential to be really messy
These two guys also have their own struggles and self-worth issues. Xavier especially was so traumatized by his past that he built up big walls and defenses, and his instincts are to push people away when they try to get too close, and he has a hard time being vulnerable. So when things get real, Xavier's usual course of action is to push the person away and avoid being rejected. And Phoenix is dealing with so much pressure and another issue that he hasn’t even told anyone about. But they are both lonely and miserable apart.
They do have the support of their best friends to eventually try to make them be brave enough to face what’s going on with them. I really loved seeing the growth in the two characters and how they wanted to be in each other's lives and wanted to be a supportive partner. But they’re also battling their own insecurities and self-worth issues in addition to the conflict of interest.
This is a golden retriever quarterback and black cat sports podcaster, grumpy-sunshine, hurt-comfort, hookup to more romance. There is also a sense of found family that increases throughout.
These guys go through a lot during this story. There was an interesting twist that I did not see coming, and I liked how it affected the story. There is also a mystery running through it. I do really like Xavier’s off-the-wall best friend, Kingston, and Phoenix's best friend, Link. We also got to meet a new team of players. I am excited about more in this series.
They do have the support of their best friends to eventually try to make them be brave enough to face what’s going on with them. I really loved seeing the growth in the two characters and how they wanted to be in each other's lives and wanted to be a supportive partner. But they’re also battling their own insecurities and self-worth issues in addition to the conflict of interest.
This is a golden retriever quarterback and black cat sports podcaster, grumpy-sunshine, hurt-comfort, hookup to more romance. There is also a sense of found family that increases throughout.
These guys go through a lot during this story. There was an interesting twist that I did not see coming, and I liked how it affected the story. There is also a mystery running through it. I do really like Xavier’s off-the-wall best friend, Kingston, and Phoenix's best friend, Link. We also got to meet a new team of players. I am excited about more in this series.
Felice Stevens
Felice Stevens writes romance because what is better than people falling in love? Her favorite part of a
romance novel is that first kiss…sigh. She loves creating stories of hopes and dreams and happily ever
afters. Her stories are character-driven, rich with the sights, sounds and flavors of New York City and
filled with men who are sometimes deeply flawed but always real.
Felice writes M/M romance because she believes that everyone deserves a happily ever after. Having
traveled all over the world, she can safely say that the universal language that unites people is love.
Felice has written in a variety of sub-genres, including contemporary, paranormal and has a mystery
series as well.
Felice is a two time Lambda Literary Award nominee and the Lambda Literary Award winner for Best
Gay Romance for her book, The Ghost and Charlie Muir.
Connect with Felice Stevens:
