Title: All in- The Price We Play
Series: (New York Monarchs Book 1)
Author: Lili B Wilms
Pages: 330
Formats: Reviewed on eBook
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Acknowledgment: Thanks to GRR for providing an ARC.
This is my first read from the author, and it’s an enjoyable read, but I’m unsure if I’ll read any more of their work.
The plot revolves around Evan, who is a closeted hockey play who remains firmly in the closet thanks to internalised homophobia and the controlling influence of his crazy agent Derek. Thanks to a "too close to the gays” moment and some blackmailing later, Evan reunites with his ex Parker who is now a social media crisis manger.
The characterisation is a positive to the author, with Evan coming across as flawed but human, Parker also a well developed character.
Where this novel falls apart is the author themselves- no fault of their own but you can tell that English isn’t the authors primary language as the writing can come across as stilted; it’s hard to explain but if you’ve read enough books written in English and compare it this novel, tonally this novel feels “off”- not a bad thing as the story is great and the writing is also technically proficient, but it just feels “off:
Worth a read, if it’s available in Kindle Unlimited/ Kindle+ worth a borrow but not a purchase