Genre: Contemporary, Sports
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Maryann
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About The Book
Everything’s Better With You is a TED LASSO-inspired sports-themed funny romance featuring two guys who’ve pined for each other for 15 years while their careers soared and their bodies fell apart.
Retired quarterback and “nicest guy in the NFL” Leslie Payton met former college cheerleader-turned-reality-show darling Joe Judd fifteen years ago. They spent one magical night…talking. They’ve been pining for each other via text and phone calls ever since while their careers kept them geographically apart. When their alma mater recruits them to reinvigorate a flagging athletic program, Leslie is thrilled to finally have Joe close enough to see if their “what if” can become a reality. And the sooner the better before Leslie’s history of Traumatic Brain Injury catches up to him and he’s unable to be a true partner.
Joe has spent their years apart dancing on reality TV, Broadway, and concert tours, knowing full well the clock is ticking on his body’s ability to continue taking the abuse. Leslie wants forever to start now, and Joe doesn’t have that luxury, though Leslie makes him want things he’s never allowed himself to dream of with anyone else. But a lifetime of only feeling worthwhile for his performance ability makes him doubt whether he could ever be a good coach or enough of a partner for the best man he’s ever known.
As football and cheer coaches, they’re forced to be rivals in public, but behind closed doors, their chemistry is unstoppable. A wager triggers their competitive sides, but the secrets they keep come to light and present them with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. Can they finally meet on the relationship 50-yard line and move forward as a team?
Recommended for readers 18 and up who love open and honest dialogue about sex, and challenges to toxic masculinity. Also included: mesh crop tops, gratuitous shirtless car wash scenes, phone sex therapy, and all the pining.
The Review
The Payton family lives In Ayre Valley, Iowa. Leslie “Les” Payton is forty-five, and has retired from the NFL after a very successful career. But retirement hasn’t stopped him from still being very involved in the sport, and all that comes with it. He followed in his father, Rick’s, footsteps in the football world. At fifty-two, Rick passed away from a stroke and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.
Les and his older brother Barry were there to support their mother, Agnes. They helped raise their twin brothers, Sandy and Randy, now in their twenties. Les was very involved in his younger brothers’ lives, and they became successful in their own way. The eldest brother Barry was not only a teacher, but is now the President of Greenville College.
Joe Judd, thirty-six, is returning home after leaving town fifteen years earlier. He’s come back to attend the Yellowjackets’ Spring Fling, in recognition of the Cheer Squad. It’s his first reunion and return to Ayre Valley. Joe left for the glitz and glamor of Hollywood, and became a big star as a professional dancer with a TV show called Dance Machine. He’s an instructor, choreographer, motivator, nurturer and still gets many great offers to perform. He also gets to see Les Payton.
Joe’s very curious about what’s really going on when he meets with Les. They head to the college to meet with Barry. Les’s brother has a proposition for them. He wants to rebuild Greenville College’s reputation and its Athletic department. Having Les on board as the head football coach would be a big attraction for the college. And bringing in a celebrity like Joe Judd of dance would be even more appealing, as he’s popular with the cheer leading and dance teams at school.
Joe has many decisions to make about his return to California. Will he take Barry up on the offer? And what abut Les? He too, has to make decisions about Joe and the life ahead of them.
Merrill has crafted a heartwarming story of family, friends, fun and love, filled with happiness, sadness, and drama. Les and Joe are two young men who once found a special love, and now are older and feeling the aches and pains that come with age and the stress and strain of both their careers. Les fears what is to come, with his continuing headaches and being under a doctor’s care. And Joe feels he hasn’t reached the peak of his career yet and wants to go as far as he can before it ends. Will worries and secrets keep them from taking that last final step together?
There’s also a wonderful supporting cast: : The Paytons, Agnes, Barry and Evelyn; Sandy and Randy, who brought the humor; Marti and Terrance Simmons and their son, Terell; and the students of the cheer squad and football team.
I commend the author for dealing with the serious subject matter of CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) in football. But most of all, I thank Merrill, for sharing her personal experiences and her love of cheerleading and dance that’s discussed in the “Foreword.” I highly recommend Everything’s Better With You, a story told from the heart.
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.
