Title: Rebound
Author: Andrew Grey
Genre: Contemporary, Sports
Length: Novel (194 pages)
ISBN: 978-1-64405-141-2
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (12 Feb 2019)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: 💖💖💖💖 3.5 Hearts
Reviewer: Prime
Blurb: Professional basketball player Bri Early needs a physical therapist after an injury, and he’s heard that Obie is the best. Bri takes an immediate liking to the out-and-proud man with the magic touch, and even though Bri isn’t openly gay himself, he’d never let anything stand in the way of something he wants.
Obie can’t deny that the sexy athlete presses all his buttons, but he’s a professional and has no intention of getting involved with a client. While they’re working together, it’s hands off, no matter how great the temptation.
But being a pro athlete isn’t easy. Bri has enemies, and one of them is making his life hell. When his house is set ablaze, Bri can no longer pretend the threatening messages he’s receiving are jokes. He needs a safe place to stay, and Obie can’t turn his back. But the two of them in the same house is a recipe for combustion that could burn them both….
Purchase Link: Dreamspinner | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Review: I love a sports MM romance and I love an Andrew Grey book – so needless to say, I was basically sold on this book as soon as I saw the book cover and I figured out that this is what I was getting. There is also a splash of mystery in the guise of an enemy that could break our pro athlete’s career. Add to that the fact that I love how Grey writes his characters, they are all flawed but all in need of some good romance and a HEA.
The story is about NBA player Bri Early. I love basketball (although I follow Australian NBL I’m all for the NBA too). Bri has had a devastating injury and he needs to take time to heal. Although he isn’t ready to retire from playing he isn’t a young kid any more and it takes him longer to get back into playing condition. Bri first comes off as a bit of a dick but the frustration and stress and the mental difficulty he faces from the injury is what makes the situation. So in a desperate bid he is passed the name for a new therapist, Obie. Obie is a bit unconventional but the two connect. Obie is ready to help Bri make a full recovery, but he wasn’t quite ready for the sexual tensions and feelings that arise between he and Bri.
Unfortunately, this is not the best Andrew Grey book that I’ve read, even though I enjoyed the story and the two MCs well enough. I’m not sure really what about the characters didn’t connect with me but there was some missed connection that took away from my overall enjoyment. The only thing that I can think of was that I wasn’t fully on board with threat to Bri’s career. I get that the threatening phone calls that bring Bri and Obie together in the same house is the plot device to move the story forward and get them together quicker, but it just left me feeling that it was all a little meh in the end.
Yet, I need to make it clear that I liked the romance aspect of the story and the hurdles facing Bri and Obie as a couple. I think that the characters were constructed well and compliment each other, which made this aspect of the book satisfying to read.