Some stories are fantastic from the start, and some sneak up on me. ‘The Playmaker’ is a good example of the latter. Why? I’ll be the first to admit that I am not exactly a sports fan (far from it, if truth be told), but the kinds of issues professional athletes have to deal with are much like anyone else’s. Double standards for gay men (and any other members of the GLBTQ community) are, unfortunately, still widespread and that is one of the central themes of this novel. Throw in an interfering publicist who thinks he knows best, a father who only cares about his son’s success as a football star rather than his happiness, and worries about a public image that focuses too much on a player’s personal life, rather than stick with what he contributes to his team’s success. ‘The Playmaker’ has all of the above plus some fantastic characters and, as a result, pulled me in from the start and kept me reading.

Hunter may be out, but it is much “easier” for most of the rest of the world to ignore that he is gay and pretend he has no personal life. Hunter has not wanted a boyfriend ever since a tragic event with the last man he loved, so he had no idea how bad things could get. Once he shows an interest in Monty, his extremely capable personal assistant, and someone I won’t name here to avoid spoilers gets hold of the information, the sh*t truly hits the fan. And Hunter has no idea how to deal with it. Taking into account that he has a few other issues he doesn’t want to discuss in public and the fact that he relies on specialists to manage his career, he ends up listening to everyone and forgetting that it’s HIS life they are discussing.

Monty is an amazing guy. He is in deep financial trouble, so he is desperate for a job. And while he has never been a personal assistant before, he has all the skills from previous employment. He has no clue about football, but he throws himself into the job full-tilt and makes a huge success of it. Part of it is because he is very organized and a skilled problem solver, but mostly I think it’s because he cares. He truly wants to help Hunter take charge of his life on all fronts, and when he finds out some of the underlying issues that cause Hunter’s issues with being on time, Monty becomes Hunter’s champion without blinking.

With as much time as these two men spend together and since they get along really well, it is no surprise that a fast friendship develops, soon followed by deeper feelings. A tabloid gets hold of the wrong pictures, tongues start wagging, and thanks to some people only paying lip service to accepting Hunter’s sexuality, the potential public relations disaster looms large. Hunter is not ready to make a decision, lets others make it for him, and it takes him a while to figure out how wrong that is. I loved the way he recovers and cheered him along all the way to making up for his mistake and getting Monty to understand what his real priorities are.

If you like professional athletes, even fictional ones, if you want to see how concerns about “the public image” can come close to ruining two lives, and if you’re looking for a read that is everything from funny and lighthearted to serious and emotional, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. It’s a great example of how important it is to figure out what you want out of life – because if you don’t, others will decide for you and you might not like the results.


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )