Review: Sporting Chance by Alexa Milne
Publisher: Totally Bound
Where did you get this book: E-Arc from Publisher
Release Date: November 7, 2014
“Sometimes keeping hold of love is just as hard as finding it. Dan and Iestyn are looking for romance. A school trip, a love of history, a wedding, a tango, the game of chess, and their friends and family all help the two men to realise that they’ve finally found true love with each other.
Iestyn thinks that he’s completely ordinary and that Dan is the only out and currently gay rugby player anywhere. Being gay can be difficult enough. Being famous also has its problems. But being gay, famous and a sportsman can make finding love complicated. So when Dan Morgan meets Iestyn Jones and gives him his phone number, their road ahead has more than a few bumps to overcome.
Will Iestyn and Dan overcome the obstacles thrown in their paths? Or will fame destroy their lives as well as their love?”
This is a debut novel and I thought the author had a great feel for characters and dialogue. It’s a slow burn romance as the men get to know each other and fall in love. It’s set in Wales which was a unique place for me to read about compared to my other reads and I liked that. Iestyn (Yes-tyn) is a teacher and Dan is a well know rugby player who is one of the few out professional athletes.
I thought the MC’s had great chemistry together and I enjoyed the friendships they had with others as well as Iestyn’s family dynamics quite a bit. I was really into this read until the drama with the photograph came out. It was just a bit too out of sync with the majority of the read, that’s just my feeling on it though.
I was disappointed in Dan’s reaction to the reveals especially after their lovely little holiday and it weakened the relationship for me. I felt for Iestyn during all the drama and he didn’t deserve all the things that happened to him. I loved these men together so it was heart breaking to see it all fall apart.
There’s a bit of time jump and some shenanigans as Iestyn works to get Dan to back by making Dan work for it. That sounds odd but when you read about it it makes sense. I also liked the twist with Dan’s ex Aron because I expected to dislike him but I didn’t and I’m looking forward to his story.
All in all this was a read I enjoyed but I’d say the build up more than the dramatic end is what resonated most for me. The last quarter of the book just didn’t work for me, with too many issues and some kink thrown into the mix that didn’t mesh well, it dragged the read down in my rating. I did like the author’s style though which felt natural and had great flow because this was an easy and fun read for the most part. I’m putting them on my radar and I’ll definitely be checking out their next book. I’m giving Sporting Chance a B-