Hello lovely readers. :3 Today is the release day of Robin Covington’s His Convenient Husband, the first book, but read-as-standalone title, in the Love and Sports series about a hot NFL football player and a Russian professional ballet dancer. :3
See this post for cool stuff; there is an excerpt, a giveaway and of course be sure to read my review. 🙂
Happy reading. 🙂
His Convenient Husband by Robin Covington
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
*~~*ARC kindly provided by the author to me in exchange for an honest review *~~*
Oh, what did I love this book in so many parts. I was hooked right from the start. The blurb first mentioned Victor is a gender fluid chararcter but soon this error was corrected and now it’s right. Though Victor is not gender fluid he is wearing make-up, femine clothes and is a role-model for Isaiah’s son Evan, who is a teenager who tends to be gender fluid (and would maybe label himself as an adult this way) but is still searching for his own terms in taking his own time and doesn’t want to be labeled right now. It’s such a great (on page) display of how a young character is having difficult times with the own identity.
I loved the premise of the book, the theme of the fake-wedding, the way how Victor is getting help from Isaiah because he is in danger in not being allowed to stay in the USA without the needed papers. A pretty unconvenient solution is given him by Isaiah, and it’s an opener for a relationship which is, truth to say, full of heartache and slight drama. It is really heart clenching how we see Victor being actively standing up for the rights of the members of the LGBTQIA+ community, but also what it means to be in a “relationship”, more, being married to a famous NFL football player who is surrounded by cameras nearly 24/7. Isaiah is the opposite to Victor, in his character and appearance; with being a football player he is full of muscles where Victor is delicate, a body made for the twists, the jumps, fluid in motion. Both guys know what it means to belong to a marginalized group: Victor as a Russian homosexual ballet dancer and Isaiah as a black pro-footballplayer, single parent and widower. Isaiah doesn’t want in any case the unneccessary attention more than he has it already, especially not for this son who he fiercly tries to protect – and that’s his most lovable but also weak-point and leads to a few flaws in his character.
The blurb says Isaiah is a widower and this part of the story is satisfying but pretty emotionally included. We see that Isaiah is still grieving, he is still in his thoughts with his passed away husband; he honors him in keeping him alive and be a good, caring father for Evan, his son. But although Stephen, Isaiah’s passed away husband, is present in the book, he is an important part in the live of the three men. At the end it’s well done how the problems are solved in the book.
Sometimes I’ve to admit I thought Isaiah was a bit too stubborn and had a limited view. He was often lead by his emotions, which leds to several dramatic and hurtful scenes, and it’s pretty impressive how Victor is showing strenght towards him. He is truly a fitting partner but so different as Stephen – and it shows the reader that Victor is his own character and not a substitute, although Isaiah has a rocky path to get to this point.
I really liked the maturity and how vicious Victor was acting. I could relate to him more than to Isaiah, if I’m honest but both have their great moments and of course flaws. This makes the characters so loveable and believable. It gives the story also its spice and it’s truly not an easy story; so many events to deal with.
The mentioned spice is also pretty present in the kinda “insta”-lust at first, but soon it’s changed and both guys are enwinded in their deeper going feelings for each other.
I would have dropped the rating to 4 stars if the supporting characters weren’t this great – because some of the drama was too dramatic 😀 – , therefore the whole book gets 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Evan is my secret hero in this book; for a teenager he is such a mature young man. He shows what matters for him (see my first paragraph), he is super lovable and I really wish we get his own book when he is older. I think he is one of the most unique side-characters I recently read in a book, and I enjoyed the parts with him truly. But also the other friends in Victor’s and Isaiah’s circle of people are adorable and I’m so happy to read there are two more books so far planned, one with Matt and the other with Ian. 🙂
The book is truly recommended, although the dramatic parts were sometimes a bit overly dramatic and especially Isaiah was a stubborn guy sometimes. 🙂 The marvelous side-characters, mainly Evan, stole my heart and for the premise of the book, the topic of being in a fake-wedding it gets 4.5 out of 5 stars. Read it, because it has a lot of diverse characters included.
RELEASE BLITZ
Title: His Conventient Husband
Author: Robin Covington
Series: Love and Sports # 1
Genre: M/M Romance, Contemporary, Sports, Dancing
Release Date: October 9, 2017
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Lenght: 50.000 words
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Blurb
NFL football player Isaiah Blackwell lost his husband three years ago and is raising their teen son alone. He lives his life as quietly as his job allows, playing ball to support his family but trying not to draw unwanted attention. His quiet life is shaken up when a mutual friend introduces him to Victor, a visiting principal ballet dancer who is everything Isaiah is not.
Brash and loud, Victor Aleksandrov has applied for political asylum to avoid returning to Russia, where gay men are targeted and persecuted. He’s been outspoken about gay rights in his home country, and if he doesn’t get asylum, going back to Russia is a death sentence.
Their one-night stand turns into a tentative friendship, a relationship they both agree is temporary…until Victor’s denied asylum. Isaiah can’t offer Victor a happily ever after, but he can propose something that’ll keep Victor in the US and safe. . .marriage He just doesn’t expect his new husband to dance away with his heart.
Excerpt
Victor didn’t even think. If he had thought about it, he would have talked himself out of it, but his body took over, and before he knew it he’d pulled Isaiah into his arms. Nothing sexual, nothing calculated, just an embrace for a man who’d lost something precious and who’d carried the weight of his grief, and the grief of his son, on his shoulders.
Isaiah didn’t fight him, just melted against him, his large arms wrapping around Victor’s body as he allowed the moment to spool out naturally. Victor slowly released the breath he was holding, afraid that any sudden movement would spook Isaiah back into his previous arm’s length regimentation.
The house was quiet, soft music drifting out from the docking station, Evan’s muffled footfalls overhead as he undoubtedly chattered away with his best friend. He curbed his desire to make this more than it was, ignoring the voice in his head that whispered that this was what he always thought having a family would be like. A warm, safe home, children, and a man who loved him, and building a life together.
This wasn’t it, but it was as close to perfect as he was likely to get, so he’d take it. For as long as he could have it. They’d never discussed an end, but the natural end date was when he gained his citizenship. So, three years. Not long, but he’d take it, because Isaiah was quickly getting to him, taking up residence in the part of his heart he’d never thought would be filled.
Pathetic? He didn’t care. Victor was a romantic, something he had in common with Stephen. And look how Stephen had fallen. Victor didn’t have a chance.
The music switched, shifting down into a slower rhythm, not a Latin beat by any measure, but sultry. They began to move together. Victor didn’t make a conscious decision to dance, but it was the language that came most easily to him, and he responded to the natural sway of the embrace.
Isaiah followed his lead, the shuffle of their feet falling easily into a modified variation of the bachata. Limbs pressed against each other, muscles flexing as they moved slowly, finding their own pace. Victor sucked in a breath when Isaiah’s hands ran across the bare skin of his back, callouses dragging and igniting sparks of arousal in their wake. He made a sound, low but audible, and somewhere between a gasp and a moan, prompting his husband to pull back, eyes locked on his own.
Victor was relieved when he didn’t end the exquisite torture, but instead continued to maintain eye contact as they swayed together in the honey-glazed light of the kitchen. He was hard, sure that Isaiah could feel it through the thin material of his sweatpants, because he felt Isaiah’s erection through his dress pants. They shifted against each other, cocks aligning in a way that made the most of the lazy friction, sending ripples of pleasure over his skin and up his spine.
And then Isaiah pulled him closer, and Victor buried his face in the sweet dip of his shoulder, inhaling the scent of laundry detergent, cologne, and the intoxicating smell of his man. Isaiah’s hands dipped lower on his back, fingertips skimming the waistband, the occasional slip below the edge ratcheting his heartbeat up to the point where he knew it could be felt by the man holding him.
“So beautiful.” The words coasted across Victor’s skin, barely above a whisper. “Such a temptation.”
“I’m here for the taking,” Victor replied, his fingers coasting over the nape of Isaiah’s neck just to satisfy the urge to feel skin.
The moment was cloaked in madness, which was the only explanation for his mistake, and he knew it was the last thing he should have said when Isaiah went still, his fingers unconsciously digging into Victor’s hips.
They both pulled back, slowly, stubbled cheek against stubbled cheek, until their mouths were touching. Victor licked against his husband’s soft lips, begging for entrance and diving in when he was granted admission. Spice and sweet lemon and heat were everything in this kiss, more exploration than demand as they held on to each other and gave in.
The remains of dinner were around them, but this was another kind of hunger, and he’d waited too long to have it satisfied. Victor knew how good they could be together, and while he knew they would walk the razor’s edge between emotion and pure physical indulgence, he was willing to risk it. If he fell, then he’d embrace it.
But he knew he’d be falling alone.
Author bio – Robin Covington
A USAToday bestseller, Robin Covington loves to explore the theme of fooling around and falling in love in her books. Her stories burn up the sheets. . .one page at a time. When she’s not writing she’s collecting tasty man candy, indulging in a little comic book geek love, hoarding red nail polish and stalking Chris Evans.
A 2016 RITA® Award finalist, Robin’s books have won the National Reader’s Choice and Golden Leaf Awards and finaled in the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice, and the Book Seller’s Best.
She lives in Maryland with her handsome husband, her two brilliant children (they get it from her, of course!), and her beloved furbabies, Dutch and Dixie Joan Wilder (Yes – THE Joan Wilder)
Drop her a line at robin@robincovingtonromance.com – she always writes back.
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GIVEAWAY
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