Zane Four years ago, I met Liam Holdsworthy. Hot, snarky, and hiding behind a sadness I couldn’t place. I wanted him, even back then. There were only two problems. One, I was deeply closeted.And two, he was dating my best friend. Now I’m retired from the NFL and openly out, there’s nothing to stop me from getting my gay on. When Liam comes back into my life, and I realize he’s single, I’ll find … life, and I realize he’s single, I’ll find any reason to spend time with him. That’s how I created a list of gay first experiences I coax him into helping me with.
But I don’t just want his help.
I still want him.
Liam
After leaving a long-term relationship with a closeted NFL player, I went through a string of guys trying to find the one. None of them were boyfriend material let alone the forever type.
I’m looking for a guy to come home to. Someone serious and down to earth.
I’m definitely not looking for Cooper Zane.
Yet, I can’t shake him, and not only because I’m helping him with his big bi bucket list. Every time I see him is like a shot of adrenaline to my system, and I’m always left wanting more.
I need Mr. Serious, and Cooper’s the least serious person I’ve met.
He’s newly out.
He’s never had a relationship.
And most importantly, he may be retired, but he’s not done with football.
He’ll do anything to get it all back.
And I’m not prepared to be relegated to the sidelines ever again.
This book is light hearted and low angst. It can be read as a stand alone and features fun banter, gold hot pants, and giant football player who loves to snuggle.
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Two months into the quarantine, and all I want to read is low angst books with lots of love. This book delivers in spades! I couldn’t hide the smile any easier than Cooper and Liam could hide theirs. Plus it has a little bit of forbidden relationship mixed in with friends to lovers. Let’s not forget Cooper hasn’t ever been with a guy despite having come out as being bisexual. Check, check, and triple check.
All Liam wants is to be noticed and to feel important to someone. He thought he had found that once, but it didn’t work out as he expected. In fact, he felt more alone in that relationship than he should have. All Cooper wants is Liam. Now that he’s out as bisexual, and Liam is single, they should be able to date, right? Wrong. There’s one tiny complication. Liam’s ex is Cooper’s best friend.
Watching these to dance around their attraction to each other was very amusing. So were all the silly nicknames Cooper threw out for Liam. Their chemistry was through the roof, and they never hurt for conversations. I wanted to jump in the book and hug them both, then lock them in a room until they decided to be boyfriends already.
This is book two in the series, but I found it easy to read without having had read the first book…..yet. I do have plans to read book one, because I’m confident I am going to enjoy it as much as I did this one. Now that I’ve said that, reading book two first will spoil the ending for the first book. If you don’t like spoilers, then I would read book one first. Either way, you will enjoy the writing, the characters, and all the steamy parts. I know I did!
***I voluntarily accepted an ARC from Gay Romance Reviews. My review reflects my own thoughts and opinions***
Zane and Liam
Okay, first… Zane is extremely adorable, I loved him at first sight. He’s honest and endearing. Also, Liam stole my heart, he’s snarky, vulnerable, and lovable.
Liam is at the wedding of his ex-boyfriend. Awkward? Absolutely but they are still friends.
He was never first in their relationship, the sport was, they even got back in the closet for Taryn’s football. And now he’s getting married and is out and proud!
Liam is so done with athletics.
Zane, who was Taryn’s teammate now retired because of an injury, has a crush for Liam already over four years. Now is the time to approach Liam.
Liam is clear they will never be something because… sports and priorities.
They will be friends and Liam will help Zane in the gay scene. Nothing more. Right?
Whooaah… at times the intensity got sky-high, it took my breath away.
A super delightful story, I loved everything about it. Zane and Liam are just so extremely endearing together. The humor, the lighthearted atmosphere, their trips, all very entertaining and enjoyable. Zane takes Liam’s insecurities for real and is laser-focused on Liam.
A wonderfully written story, it had a lot of fun, it was sexy, kind, and very entertaining!
Zane and Liam had me laughing as much as they had me swooning over their relationship. Zane had a lightness about him that brought out the softer side of Liam and helped him get over his fears of being in a relationship and throwing away his preconceived notions about the type of man he wanted. This was low angst with no big breakup scene. This was definitely my favorite book in the series.
This is a sweet and very well written romance, no question. And I really enjoyed reading Zane’s and Liam’s story. I’ve honestly been waiting for Zane’s book since he was first introduced in Bet On Me, and it was great finally getting that
happily ever after.
There’s so much to like about this book. The characters are great, instantly likable. The dynamics between Zane and Liam is awesome. And their growing friendship that evolves alongside their increasing attraction feels entirely real. It’s simply a delightful read.
That being said, I’m still a bit on the fence about Calling Your Bluff.
It was totally sweet. Zane’s hilarious and I adore books that can combine humor with emotion. But I also felt that the story was missing something.
It took me a while to figure out what it was, but now I know. I was missing a plot.
Sure, it’s a lovestory. The back and forth between Zane and Liam is the main attraction, as it should be, but there was no real drama anywhere. No bad guy lurking in the shadows, no bigotry threatening to destroy Zane’s and Liam’s chance at happiness. It was all so very normal. Two guys, falling for each other while fighting to overcome their own insecurities and doubts. So, basic relationship stuff. That’s not a bad thing in itself, but it makes Calling Your Bluff pretty different from Bet On Me which was super intense in parts.
The lower pace in turn enabled me to notice some inconsistencies. I couldn’t piece together the time-frame. At first, Liam broke up with Taryn only a year earlier. They were together for years and living together. But later in the book, Liam has a shed in his yard where he’s collected stuff for so many years he’s forgotten what’s in there. Then there’s his apartment. It is an apartment, but at one point he refers to it as a house.
In conclusion, it wasn’t a perfect fit for me. I loved some parts of it, but it wasn’t quite enough to hold my interest completely. The lack of some serious dramatics made the overall impression too sweet for my tastes. The shagging was super hot though.
https://reflectionsofaswedishgirl.blog.se/
Cooper has retired from the NFL and came out of the closet as bi. The only hitch? Well, he hasn’t exactly done anything to further um, educate himself on his newly proclaimed identity. No matter because he’s somehow charmed his best friend’s ex, Liam, into helping him with his gay bucket list. Liam will help him experience all the non-sexual aspects of his list, Cooper will get his fix of the guy he has been obsessed with forever now, and everything will be great. Except not. Not because of course they’re not going to be able to keep their hands off each other when they’re so attracted to each other. The biggest obstacle to them won’t be that Liam is Taryn’s ex, though, but because Liam always promised himself no more athletes after his relationship with Taryn ended so badly, and Cooper’s passion is still football even if he isn’t playing it professionally any longer.
This is such a sweet, low on angst, witty read. I absolutely love the way these two interact with each other. Their crazy pet names, their snark and their wit, and how charming Cooper is and Liam pretends to barely put up with him. They’re just so cute together. I loved the first story in this series, Bet on Me, and I am glad to know the series is still just as wonderfully written, just as sexy, and just as sweet with its second outing.
I was quite mixed when I started reading. Bet On Me, the first volume in the series, had not fully convinced me despite a promising start. However, I’m glad I gave this title a chance because I just loved it.
Since I read Bet on me, I was curious to know more about these two characters gravitating around Taryn, Liam, his ex who had left him tired of being in the closet and Zane, his best friend who had come out as Bisexual at the end of the first book.
What a pleasure to find them in the center of a volume dedicated to them. With Calling your bluff, the author has created a sweet story. The attraction between the two men is present from the first pages. Despite this, the relationship will take a while to start due to Liam’s fear of entering into a relationship where he would not be the loved one’s number one concern. Basically, he doesn’t want to go back to being in a relationship like the one with Taryn where football comes first. I really liked this “Slow Burn” side, especially since the author did it very well with little moments of jealousy without it turning into drama! Yep the excess drama, it’s so 2019, we don’t want it anymore.
I enjoyed the character of Liam. He may never have had relationships with other men, he knows who he is and what he wants. Again, no dramas, no yes or no. He wants Liam and even if at the beginning he will be a little undecided because of his friendship with Taryn, he will not procrastinate for 3 years before fighting for what he wants: a future with Liam. Despite his athletic physique, Zane is a funny and tender man and I loved the stupid and cute little names each one that Cooper gives to Liam. In addition to bringing a little cute touch to the novel, some are rather funny and have the merit of making me smile.
As for the scenes a little bit olé olé, because hey we are in an MM romance it should not be forgotten, the author knew how to gauge the quantity. They are sexy without being vulgar with a little “kinky” side. One of our two men likes to be taken without finesse while being restricted. Yum Yum!
4.5, so I’m rounding up.
Easy low angst well-written read
I thoroughly enjoyed Zane and Liam’s story. I haven’t read the first book, and this held up as a standalone quite well.
Funny, great connection, with good times, and very little angst. Just what you need to relax and enjoy some time away from the real world.
If you’re looking for fun, flirty, and cute is definitely recommend.
I thought Calling Your Bluff was such a sweet romance. I liked that the meet-cute was way before the romance ever started and that it came out of friendship. I thought Zane was adorable in his pursuit of Liam. I liked that Liam stayed firm with his resolutions too. Their romance was a slow-build and definitely got hot and sexy. I enjoyed their story and reading about all the other characters in their story. I definitely recommend it.
Zane meets up again with Liam at his best friends wedding. The best friend who is also Liams ex. Zane has had a crush on Liam for years.
“Liam is Taryns ex boyfriend. My best friends ex boyfriend.”
This is a great story. It’s fun, funny and entertaining the whole way through.
I loved the pet names.
Happily recommend
4.5 stars…This book has two of my favorite tropes, jock/non-jock and friends to lovers. Liam is the former hidden boyfriend of pro football player Taryn. Taryn wasn’t out so Liam was a secret, introduced as his friend, despite being together for a long time. In the prologue, Liam is at yet another football event with Taryn as his friend and he meets Cooper. Then we flash forward four years to chapter one where Taryn is now out and getting married…not to Liam. He and Liam have been broken up less than a year but already Taryn has met someone else, proposed and they are getting married quickly. But Taryn and Liam have remained friends which keeps him in Cooper’s orbit. And unbeknownst to Liam Cooper has had a thing for him since that first meeting.
Liam, a teacher, is on summer break and bemoaning the state of his life. Taryn has moved on, come out and is getting married. He’s still single, can’t meet anyone he is interested in and didn’t get the promotion to head teach at work that he wanted. And now he’s got Cooper renewing their acquaintance and wanting to be friends.
This is an interesting premise with several obstacles for the MCs to overcome…dating your best friend’s ex, first time with a man, emotional baggage from past relationships, fear of failure, fear of being hurt, loss of a career and no idea on a new direction…lots of potential drama to mine here. For the most part it is all handled deftly. The story arc moves well, slowing in only a spot or two, and the character development moves well too. Liam gets a little whiny for me in parts, a little so woe is me, but Cooper seems to have the patience to wait him out and the insight to figure out why he’s fighting their attraction.
The ending is sweet and romantic and we get to the understanding of self and others that both of these characters needed. There are a lot of small points in the story that really made me happy with the author for getting things right. Lines that might seem like throwaways to others but are significant to people who can relate.
The secondary characters are integral pieces of the story. I did feel like I came into a story part way through, as if perhaps I was already supposed to know Taryn and Elliott’s story and to have some background info here that I didn’t have. It was really bugging me so I finally went and looked and yes, indeed, there is a book before this one that tells their story. I did not realize this was book two in a series. I wish I had and had read it first as I feel like it would have given me better insight into these characters. Liam and Cooper’s story mostly stands alone but if you are a series reader you will know what I mean about feeling like you’re missing something. So I’d recommend reading book one first. I’m going to do that right now.
**I voluntarily read an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion.**
3.75 Stars!
Zane has had a crush on Liam since before he knew he was his best friend’s boyfriend and it hasn’t abated ever since he saw the sad man across the room and couldn’t stop himself from keeping him company. There’s only one problem, now that Liam and Taryn are done with their relationship, Liam is equally done with football players, no matter if they’re exactly his type. He’s ready to come out of the closet his ex pushed him into and find his forever man. Liam doesn’t think Zane, who is quite the player according to everyone and has recently come out as bi, is the right one, no matter how attracted to him Liam is.
So, here’s the thing, I loved fun, sweet Zane from the start. I found it endearing how taken with Liam he was from the start and how much better he always treated Liam than Taryn ever did. The scene where they meet each other, made my heart break for Liam and hate Taryn, so I was set to love Liam as well. Then Liam happened. *sighs* He was nice enough, I guess, but so difficult and judgmental regarding Zane, no matter how hard he tried. Zane was like a puppy trying to please their owner and Liam was the twatwaffle who refused to be charmed for fear of being hurt. I get it, to a certain point. Taryn was awful to him and frankly, I have no clue how they could remain friends after they broke up, especially since Taryn was marrying Elliott eleven months after they did. *rolls eyes* Even then, I remained open and willing to give Liam a chance, until something that happens near the end and that totally put me off him. I don’t care if they had chemistry or they were really hot together, Liam didn’t deserve someone like Zane that was willing to do just about anything to put him first, when Liam wasn’t as willing to reciprocate.
Overall, the book was well-written and entertaining, I loved Zane and Zane and Liam’s banter and their ‘dates’ and while I hadn’t read book 1, I didn’t feel lost. And really, I’m sure others might like Liam, or even love him, more than I did, so take my review with a grain of salt.
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn’t a requirement. ***
Really fun, low-angst novel from Saxon James, and I enjoyed it immensely! The pet names were hysterical, the banter was fun, but most of all I really liked how these two guys talked to each other and shared what was on their minds. Ultimately, this was a journey of self-discovery, and although I thought the paced slowed in certain parts, overall, it was a great read and put such a smile on my face!
I really enjoyed everything about this book but to be honest the image of Zane in gold hot pants cracked me up!
This was well written, with great characters. I liked Taryn in book 1 but oh I wanted to slap him in this book 🙂
Liam and Zane, work together and the way their relationship builds is perfect!
This is a new to me author but I guess I’ve found a new favourite. I love the writing and I loved this book so much.
Zane is a huge teddy bear with a heart of gold. He’s a goner for Liam since the beginning and it is so adorable. His ridiculous pet names are one of my favourite parts. They have amazing chemistry together and are so cute. I devoured it because I loved Liam and Zane so much. Liam has a lot of insecurities and Zane is so understanding. (Obviously I like Zane a lot )
I don’t know how I feel abou Taryn, Liam’s ex and Zane’s best friend. He and Elliot are really great but I can’t help but dislike him for the way he treated Liam. Maybe I should read their book. (It’s the 1st book in the series)
This book is in dual POV and can be read as a standalone. It’s sweet, sexy and with basically no angst. I adored this book and the epilogue was just perfect.
*ARC provided by the author via Gay Romance Reviews in exchange for an honest and unbiased review
Perfect moments
This book is full of perfect moments, like twenty questions, the bucket list and finding the person who is serious about you but doesn’t take life seriously. I am in love with Cooper. He is sweet, sexy, fun, full of interesting trivia and has the best nicknames. “You’re the one who was made for me, and I’m never going to give up on that. Like you’ve never given up on me.” It was amazing seeing Liam stop holding back and embrace not only what he has in his life but himself. Cooper and Liam make me to sing about their love. They are adorable and I am so happy they found each other. A fantastic story that will have you rolling into love with the MCs.
OMG!! I so loved Liam and Zane. They were perfect for each other and didn’t know it. Liam was Zane’s best friends ex. Zane had been crushing on Liam. They had decided to be friends, Liam was helping Zane with a bucket list of sorts. This has all the feels, love, romance, and slow burn sexy times. Liam was looking for his HEA and Zane had been looking at him the whole time… Definitely recommend this book!
I am voluntarily leaving a review form an ARC that I received from Gay Romance Reviews. My reviews are solely based on my thoughts and opinions.
Calling Your Bluff is the second book in the Love’s Gamble seriesby Saxon James. This contemporary m/m romance gets steamy, delivers sweetness and melted my heart. I enjoyed getting to know Zane and Liam and watching tgemfigure it out and fall in love.
RATING 4.5 STARS
Calling Your Bluff is book two in the Love’s a Gamble series by Saxon James. I read the blurb of this and thought, oh, this sounds really good, only to realize that I read the previous book in the series, Bet On Me, and loved it as well. So, this is my second Saxon James book and I have decided that I just love the way she writes.
Liam Holdsworthy is twenty seven years old and is a seventh grade teacher. We first met him in the previous book as the ex-boyfriend of Taryn. Liam is drawn to athletic men, but seems to keep choosing the ones who want to keep him a secret, as it was with Taryn since Taryn was in the closet at the time they dated. Now Taryn is out and proud and is getting married. Liam wants to fall in love with someone that will put him first, a secure relationship, settle down with someone who is proud of him.
Cooper Zane is thirty three years old. He was forced to retire from the NFL team he was playing for due to an ankle injury. But, his love for football has not waned. He has no idea what to do with his life now. He only knows that he wants football to be involved somehow.
Cooper and Liam first met several years prior when Cooper saw Liam at an event standing by himself. He first felt attracted to him right then but he soon learned that Liam was dating Cooper’s closest friend, Taryn. Cooper wasn’t out yet anyway. Now, he runs into Liam again and Liam is single. Not to mention, that Cooper has come out himself. He’s not hiding who he is anymore. His attraction to Liam is stronger than ever. The problem is, that Liam has sworn off football players. He says he wants a quiet stable relationship. Cooper is not giving up. He’s dedicated to winning Liam over any way he can.
“He tastes like promises and hope, and I want this feeling to take me through the rest of my life.”
I enjoyed this so much. I didn’t give it five full stars only because at one point they dabbled a bit in the wearing of make up and such and I don’t really enjoy that. But I did fall in love with these characters. I absolutely loved Cooper Zane. He was so much fun. He called Liam pet names, all different ones, and it was hilarious. I laughed out loud. He had such a way about him, he could win anyone over. This is more about these two finding their way, Cooper knew he wanted Liam in his life but was struggling with what his life would look like going forward. Liam just had to settle the battle between his head and his heart. Together, these two were so much fun and oh so sexy.
I definitely recommend this and will be looking forward to more books by this author in the future.
After meeting each other during an event four years in the past, Liam and Zane meet again at one of Zane’s former teammates and Liam’s ex’s wedding. Sparks fly as they do when they were there four years ago, but Zane is out but hasn’t ever dated a man and Liam is wary because it is one of his ex’s best friends.
Both are trying to do their best to help the other one with out hurting other people’s feelings. Plus, there’s the obvious concern of Zane having never being willing to be in a relationship before. Well written and understandable as a stand alone even though it’s technically the 2nd full novel and 3rd in the series. I love the humor in the relationship as well as the honesty in Zane learning more about the non-straight world. In fact, the Split attraction Model comes out to play!!!!! I’m so excited that this is mentioned as part of Zane’s story. It’s great watching them grow into their relationship and evolve as more and more of the real world comes to play.
Overall it’s a sweet, well-written, often funny, and surely endearing and I couldn’t help but cheer them on as they figured out what their relationship should be.