Release Blitz: The Comeback King: Riley Hart
The Comeback King
Necessary Roughness #1
Riley Hart
June 17, 2026
Riley Hart
June 17, 2026
Sports Romance
Big Feels
Secret Relationship
Forbidden Relationship
Brother's ex-boyfriend/ex-boyfriend's brother
Pining
Lucas
To my dad, Hunter King is a football prodigy destined for greatness.
The son he always wanted.
To me, Hunter King is the guy I’ve loved most of my life.
The guy who happens to be my dead brother’s boyfriend.
We were kids when Hunter came into our lives—the boy with the skill my brother didn’t have and the drive I lacked. The one who was always kind to me, who cared about my photography when to my dad, it was a hobby, not worth anyone’s time.
Looking at the world through the lens of my camera is the only thing I’ve ever wanted.
Other than Hunter King.
Hunter
I would be nothing without the Blakes. Coach Blake nurtured my football talent from high school through college and now professionally. For all intents and purposes, he was my father. And when I started dating his son Ellis, it felt like I truly became part of the family.
But since Ellis died, nothing feels right anymore—not even the game I’ve always loved.
Until Lucas walks back into my life.
With each lingering touch, I feel sensation returning. Every kiss breathes air into my lungs. And for the first time in three years, it feels like my heart starts beating again.
But with every embrace, I’m betraying Ellis’s memory. The media, my team, Coach Blake will all condemn me. I’ll no longer be their Comeback King. I’ll be the man who is sleeping with his dead boyfriend’s brother.
Yet none of it is enough to make me stop.
Hunter King was pseudo-adopted by a family when he was in high school. He was a football prodigy, and the father was the coach who encouraged him and treated him like a son. He became best friends and eventually fell in love with one of the sons, Ellis, and had a beautiful relationship until he passed away.
NowHunter’s a professional football player, but he’s been struggling for several years since his boyfriend's death. But now his late boyfriend’s younger brother, Lucas, is also in LA.
Lucas never really fit in with the family. He didn’t like football, even though he was good at it, so it created a wedge between him and his father. He’s a creative and loves photography and art, and has opened his own gallery in LA. He used to have a big crush on his brother's boyfriend too. But now they’re living in the same city and are crossing paths, and even though they weren’t very close when they were younger, they’re starting to develop a tenuous friendship and reaching out to each other.
NowHunter’s a professional football player, but he’s been struggling for several years since his boyfriend's death. But now his late boyfriend’s younger brother, Lucas, is also in LA.
Lucas never really fit in with the family. He didn’t like football, even though he was good at it, so it created a wedge between him and his father. He’s a creative and loves photography and art, and has opened his own gallery in LA. He used to have a big crush on his brother's boyfriend too. But now they’re living in the same city and are crossing paths, and even though they weren’t very close when they were younger, they’re starting to develop a tenuous friendship and reaching out to each other.
They’re very different people, but they shared a lot of history with family members. But somehow, now they’re connecting on the level that they never did before. They are both hurting and have a unique ability to understand what the other is going through. They both have some self-worth issues, even though they’re both really good at what they do. There’s an understanding that they might never have been good enough because Ellis was always seen as perfect. And Hunter really needs an anchor at this time because he’s just been kind of lost since the loss of Ellis, and it is affecting even his career. And Lucas is not a substitute, but he at least understands. But there are a lot of confusing emotions, guilt, and conflict due to their shared past.
I loved their dynamic and banter, and they had great chemistry. Together, they spark and start to find joy in living again and start to build their own little world in their hidden bubble. But they know that their relationship would be salacious gossip for the outside world and their families.
I loved their dynamic and banter, and they had great chemistry. Together, they spark and start to find joy in living again and start to build their own little world in their hidden bubble. But they know that their relationship would be salacious gossip for the outside world and their families.
This is a forbidden, secret relationship. late-brother's-boyfriend, hurt-comfort, second-chance-friends-to-lovers romance about a football player and an artist. It is witty, snarky, emotional, steamy, and inspiring. I am interested in the next book with two characters that will make an unlikely match.
Riley Hart’s love of all things romance shines brightly in everything she writes. Her primary focus is Male/Male romance but under various pen names, her prose has touched practically every part of the spectrum of love and relationships. The common theme that ties them all together is stories told from the heart.
A hopeless romantic herself, Riley is a lover of character-driven plots, many with flawed and relatable characters. She strives to create stories that readers can not only fall in love with, but also see themselves in. Real characters and real love blended together equal the ultimate Riley Hart experience.
When Riley isn’t creating her next story, you can find her reading, traveling, or dreaming about reading or traveling, and spending time with her two perfectly snarky kids, and one swoon-inducing husband.
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