Brandon is one of the best when it comes to connecting with an audience of thousands. But when he tries to connect with the only man he truly wants, that ability fizzles out. Hiding his true desires behind a front of playful teasing, he hopes Tré will either catch on or make it clear he’s not interested.
When subtly fails, Brandon makes a decision that threatens to tear his relationship with Tré apart. If they want to stay together, both men will have to bring the confidence they display in the ring into their private lives. Will they brave the risks to go from tag team partners to lovers? Or is their shot at love destined to go down for the count?
Comment: Last year, I really loved reading the first story in the Champions of Desire series by author Christa Tomlinson. It was a story that somehow pretty much all my preferences were met. I had good expectations about this sequel because here and there we had glimpses of these protagonists' attraction while they were secondary characters. I must say that despite this story not being as amazing as the first, it still had good details to make me like it.
In this story we follow the romance of Tré and Brandon, the secondary characters we've seen glimpses of in the previous installment. These two are a team and their wrestling acts are together where they battle other duos.
Tré and Brandon are friends and they can guess when the other is going to make a move in the ring which helps them to make a well played act during their shows. However, they are also both romantically interested in one another without ever saying those words.
When this book starts, Brandon feels tired of fighting his attraction, tired of giving Tré hints he never reciprocates so he decides to leave the company to another one.
Tré also wants Brandon as more than a friend but feels their team might not be the same if Brandon doesn't feel the same, so he never shows what he really thinks. Will these two actually talk frankly about their relationship before distance separates even their friendship?
I liked this story despite the friends-to-lovers not being my favorite trope. However, I feel the author did a good job portraying the emotional difficulties the two guys feel not wanting to let go of a relationship that has gained them both so much with a step that put everything in jeopardy. It was also very good to see them interacting in a way that convinced me of their feelings. The pevious glimpses in the first book help too, as if their story had time to be developed and this was not something they just remembered to do.
I still think the first story was better, overall, because the other couple had to deal with the discovery of new feelings while Tré and Brandon already were friends anyway. This also meant that the dynamics of their relationship were a lot more confident in who they were with one another. They might have been afraid to take a chance on a possibility but they had a certain history between them already so the thrill of dealing with new feelings, new expectations wasn't as high as the one I felt in the first book and in the end that affected how much more I enjoyed the first book in relation to this one.
The plot of this story is, nevertheless, a little repetitive. Brandon leaves Tré and his family-like company for another one, much more cutthroat and impersonal (which obviously is on purpose) and his experience doesn't go as smooth as he wishes. Then Brandon decides to actually talk to Tré and finally things seem to move forward. But, eventually something else happens and it looks like they will face a new obstacle which they should deal with differently, considering the recent history. I just found this tactic of going one step ahead, coming two steps back a little annoying and repetitive, especially since some of the usual dilemmas/conflicts we see in m/m stories set in sports scenarios don't really happen (and I'm quite glad these two had support of those around them but it made things more emotionally based and not socially).
In the end, I was just glad they were together, I was glad I had the chance to spend some time with these characters. I have hopes for the next one which the author told me on goodreads she will definitely write. Can't wait!
As for this one, it's a good one but not one of those I'll feel like re-reading that often.
Grade: 8/10
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