Rating: 4
Steam: 3
PoV: dual, 1st person
Series: Necessary Roughness #1
Genre: sport romance, MM
Tropes / tags: ex-boyfriend’s brother, hurt / comfort, secret relationship
Hunter King is going to break my heart…and I’m going to let him.
I love that Riley Hart is writing another football series, and The Comeback King was an emotional read with big feelings and a forbidden relationship!
Lucas and Hunter’s story was full of tension, pining and grief – but there was also healing, hope and love. I really enjoyed seeing Lucas and Hunter reconnecting after randomly running into each other for the first time in years at Lucas’ art gallery. Both were still grieving after losing Ellis, Lucas’ brother and Hunter’s boyfriend, and Hunter was also carrying a lot of guilt, not really knowing how to move on.
I have to admit I was a little nervous going into this one, but the loss of Ellis and the grief was handled with care, and while it got heavy at times the focus was mostly on healing and reconciling with the past. It was interesting to see how Hunter reflected over the past and the time he spent with Lucas and Ellis’ family, and him realising just how differently Lucas was treated. Lucas definitely had some scars from growing up with parents that were quick to dismiss him, and Hunter was mindful of that.
Lucas and Hunter were both complex characters, and opposites in a lot of ways, but they shared a deeper connection and it was easy to see how right they were for each other. Lucas had been pining for Hunter for as long as he could remember, but had never thought that he’d get the chance to be with him. Considering their shared history, there was a lot of tension and angst about the mutual attraction and the feelings that started to emerge between them. I loved that they felt safe enough to be honest and vulnerable with each other, and they were great at communicating.
The Comeback King was a fantastic beginning of a new series, and I loved this emotional and ‘forbidden’ friends to lovers romance! The tension was intense, and it was easy to feel intrigued by Hunter and Lucas. Highly recommended!
“I want you to know I don’t want to change you. Too many people have tried to do that, and I don’t want to be one of them.”
I can’t speak. Can’t breathe. A tear slips from the corner of my eye. My heart races, feels like the damn thing is growing.
Book links:
Amazon | Goodreads | BookBub | StoryGraph
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