Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Beach volleyball player Caio Paraguassú is gearing up for the biggest event of his life at the Olympic Games in Paris. He’s taken part in the Games before, but this time he has his eye on the highest prize.

 

A gold medal would go a long way toward healing the wounds left by Caio’s former lover and volleyball partner.

 

Diego Torres left the sport he loved because of prejudice. Now he’s Caio’s friend, his partner in the sand, and a rising star in his own right. Together they can take on the world, or at least the world of beach volleyball.

 

But the exhilaration of the Olympics brings out unexpected romantic feelings. Can Caio and Diego keep their focus and find the strength to fight for the podium and their love—even if it means facing an unexpected challenger on the court?

 

Book Review

For those who love beach volleyball and those who’ve ever wanted to attend the Olympics, this is the perfect story. The main characters are Brazilians competing for the gold in Paris and the author does a beautiful job of making readers believe they are there—in both the sand pit and in the City of Love.

 

Caio is older and more experienced than his beach volleyball partner, Diego. In fact, Caio won a silver medal at the last Olympics and may have gone further but he was outed by his then partner, Adonis, in a spectacular scandal that nearly tanked his career. Thankfully, his perseverance and determination to win the gold and come back from disaster linked him with Diego, who was an experienced indoor volleyball player when they met and has quickly become the player Caio needs.

 

Both young men are gay, each are attracted to the other, and when their attraction becomes intense behind closed doors in the Olympic Village, they struggle with it but eventually move forward to a relationship commitment. In the meantime, Adonis is back with a new partner and the head of the Brazilian committee, referred to as “the prez” throughout the story, is going behind their backs to assure that Adonis and his new partner win the gold. This is the underlying theme throughout much of this book.

 

The characters were well fleshed out, and their attraction was sweet. On a negative note, I found the term, the prez, annoying after a while. One generally uses a nickname alternatively with other names, but he was only referred to as the prez here. Back to the positive: the author did a great job bringing the energy of the Olympics to life and the overall plot was believable. The subplot about Adonis and his new partner and the prez was a stretch but certainly added to the drama of the story. I recommend this to those who enjoy sports and Olympics events, and for a young adult audience.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 205 pages/54265 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	11-August-2020
Price	$4.99 ebook, $9.99 paperback
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/matchpoint-by-gus-ralthocco-11722-b