Loved this series and this book when I first read it, but won't be continuing to review or read this author's books.

This book was originally reviewed on Joyfully Jay around the time of release. However, the review has since been removed from the blog, along with all reviews of books by this author.

Sadly after somethings came to light about this author I will not be reading and reviewing this title.

I requested this one before the scandal of Santino Hassell broke. Since then this has been sitting in my queue as I wondered what to do with it. I am currently woking on improving my netgalley ratings and as such I am getting things out of my Feedback queue. I don't plan on reading this book, ever, and so I won't be able to review it either.

Illegal Contact by Santino Hassell scored a touchdown in my playbook. This alpha male sports m/m romance is not to be missed! I can't wait to read about the next Barons player! #datbrawleysmile

Considering the revelations of the actions and behaviour by this author towards Readers and other authors I decided not to add a review here.

Illegal Contact was my first book by Santino Hassell, and while I'm usually not an avid reader of the M/M genre, I really wanted to see what all the fuss was about regarding this author. When I first attempted to read it, I had difficulty connecting to the writing and so I put it down, thinking I'd give it a try a short time later. But once the whole ordeal came out about this author, I realized I was never going to insert myself back into that author's works so sadly I do have to DNF this title.

This was just not for me, and I ended up not finishing this at about 25%. I just didn't connect to the story!

Thank you for the chance to read this one early.

I will no longer be reviewing this title given the revelations about the author. Thank you so much to the publisher for the chance to review it.

Due to recent events, I will not be reading anything from this author. https://www.goodreads.com/user_status/show/164624031

Due to the recent news regarding the author, I have decided not to read and review the author's book. I hope that this is reasonable.

Didn't read it and I have no intention of after recent revelations.

Santino Hassell has sexually harassed readers and manipulated them for his benefit. He should be dropped from publication and needs to learn right from wrong, which most people learned before they turned 10.

I love sports romances, I love Santino Hassell and there was zero chance that I wasn't going to love this book.

There's just something about his writing that grabs you and refuses to let go and I absolutely loved this book. Noah and Gavin are absolutely everything.

Once you meet Noah and you see how he's been wronged before, you understand his hesitation to work for Gavin. Gavin is a tough sell for anyone, everyone besides his two best friends think he's a rude jerk. Somehow, Noah becomes the only person that can make Gavin smile.

I loved the way their relationship built and developed. I love that Noah wasn't aware that Gavin was bi so every time Gavin looked at him, he would convince himself that he wasn't really looking at him, that it wasn't desire he saw in his eyes. I also really enjoyed that these were two characters that were already secure in and aware of their sexuality. Gavin wasn't out, but he knew he was bi and wasn't questioning that at all. I love seeing this perspective of an MM relationship, where both characters are solid in who they are.

I couldn't put this book down. I didn't put this book down. It's 100% a must read!!

Gavin Brawley lives for football. He’s a fast and well known as a great Football player, but his anger-management problems have him under house arrest for punching a guy in the face after chasing him, he needs a personal assistant who do stuff for him while he is in this situation, and Noah just needs this Job. He lost his and is living with his dad. Noah doesn’t like or know anything about football. Or football players. It will be just 6 months and with that money he can pay some of his debt.

The relationship between this characters evolved from a work relationship to a romantic one. The way Santino’s narrated the slow burn that’s goes on in Gavin and Noah’s interactions was an absolutely delight to read, the dialogue is brilliant and fun, the writing in this book is outstanding and the introduction of secondary Characters too! I love everything about their story and I can’t wait to read more about this crew.

No surprise here, by now everybody knows I Love Santino’s writing and his way to tell a love story.

This book is told in an alternating first-person POV

Gavin has been suspended from the NFL and put on house arrest for attacking someone on camera. He needs a PA to do stuff for him whilst he's stuck in his house. He chooses Noah despite Noah's obvious disdain for Gavin and his career. Eventually the tension turns into sexual tension.

I've really fallen down the Santino Hassell hole. I can't stop reading what he's written. Eventually I'll read the Five Bouroughs series, I just don't have the money for it.

I adore the hate to love trope so this was exactly what the doctor ordered when I was in the mood for some erotic romance.

I loved that it had bisexual sports star rep. Kind of reminded me of the story I wrote a few years ago where a rugby star came out, but lets not talk about that. It also tackles a lot of the issues in the sports world with prejudice.

I flew through this and I think that speaks for the quality of it. the characters, though sometimes weren't very likeable, were all very well developed and I can't wait to read some more of them in the rest of the series.

Overall this was a fun, fast, raunchy read that I think everyone should read when they're in the mood. It also helps that this is a m/m book written by a guy, which is super important as a lot of the biggest m/m books are written by women and that's sad.

Absolutely LOVED this and cant wait for the second book!! Santino Hassell is an amazing author!

Illegal Contact by Santino Hassell was one beautifully frustrating, angsty yet hilarious read! I found my myself cracking up often at the banter and sarcasm between all the characters. This could be classified as a deeper m/m romantic comedy with feels. The plot is well paced with a slow build up. I'm a sucker for a reformed asshole story. Especially when the guy is such a jerk, he has you shaking your head thinking he can't be reformed... then BAM! He starts to show you glimpses of what's inside him... That is Gavin Brawley... a big mean NFL player on the outside but a softy at heart. He doesn't care what anyone thinks of him. He's had a tough life with only himself to rely on leaving him with a giant chip on his shoulder and quite the bad reputation. Some would say he's down right hostile and extremely rough around the edges. He's also hiding his sexuality. Being Bi in the NFL is frowned upon. So, when he gets arrested for assault, the media can't get enough resulting in him being placed on house arrest for 6 months! This makes Gavin even more impossible to deal with.... His manager suggests for him to get a personal assistant to help him out during his incarceration.
 
 In comes adorable, down-on-his-luck Noah. Noah is a kid from Queens, NY who has made plenty of mistakes himself. He hasn't had an easy life... He's a bit uptight and extremely  straight forward. When you put these two personalities together, it's a battle of wills and definitely NOT love at first sight! Noah might be the only person who does not put up with Gavin's shit. I loved how they went at each other, hence my cracking up. But through all the banter and bull, a real friendship and deep caring forms between the two.... Noah is just what Gavin needs. He treats him with respect and sees past his NFL status. Both are so wonderful in their own ways. Broody Gavin and preppy Noah just made me smile! Doing things for each other that had me swooning all over. There was plenty of sexual tension and build up that had my mouth watering. These two are certainly hot, but more importantly they connect on a deeper level that's built from trust. Can this jock love a nerd?
 
This is one love/hate relationship that is a must read.... I can not wait to get more from this series.
 
I know a sports romance is out of Santino's comfort zone. I'm so happy he took a chance because it paid off.  He did a fabulous job!!

Gavin is the New York Barons' tight end. Known by his bad temper that has gained him to be on house arrest after an incident on a night out, and not being able to get out, he needed someone to run his errands. Noah has been struggling to pay student debts and trying to help his unemployed father. A job as a personal assistant to a famous athlete seems to be what he's been looking for. But none of them is prepare for the tension and attraction that start to grow between them.

It took me quite a while to care for Gavin. He was such an unlikable character for most of the book. I have a lot of issues with him because he was awful with Noah when he was a stranger. He only treated him well when he was already someone important in his life and that bothered me a lot. I do think the author did a great job with him at the end because Gavin kind of grows on the reader. For most of the book I couldn't care for him but toward the end, I was so invested in their relationship that I want them to end up together. I really got to like Gavin and it makes a perfect example of how easy it is to judge a person by the first impression we get from them.

Noah was a great character. He would speak his mind and do as he like, whether he was talking to his boss, a friend or anyone else. He knew what he wanted and he wasn't afraid to ask for it. I liked him so much more than Gavin. He wasn't perfect either, but somehow it was easier to forgive him.

One of the things I liked about the book was the importance it gives to the prejudice. It was really sad to see how much a person living in the spotlight is seen as an object and it gets hard to see beyond the personality or the features that have been assigned to them. Although it gives mostly a positive message, there was a thing that bothered me a lot. It was how violence tried to be justified. I don't believe it had any justification, sure it make the character seemed more human, I understood where it came from, but still, I see no good reason for violence.

The relationship between Gavin and Noah is exactly what I look for when reading romance. There was attraction from the start, but it started to develop at a steady pace. It gave enough time to the reader to make it believable. Near the half of the book, I was thinking the sex was going to be a little more toned down than I'm used to from the author. How mistaken I was. It is very explicit and it has a lot of steamy sex scenes.

Overall it was so much more than I expected. I'm not really into sports books, but this was a great one. Recommend it to anyone looking for a steamy M/M romance with bad tempered characters.

"What was it about this guy that had me either hot and bothered or heated and annoyed?"

It’s always a huge thrill for me to read an author for the very first time, especially one who comes so highly praised by so many, but to find myself in awe of their every confidently written word from the start, to see myself connecting and falling in love with their characters in such a way that I am compelled to read a book twice, back to back, just because I can’t let go… Ah, that is a rare joy and one that makes me want to shout their name from the rooftops! Santino Hassell’s radiant prose captivates, entices, inspires, electrifies, and as his characters continue to reveal their complexity page after page, a story with a deceptively simple premise develops into one that packs a hefty punch at every turn. I adored this book, there’s no other way to say it, and already cannot wait for the next one in the series.

"I hated how easy it was for people to set me off. Especially once someone identified my triggers and then spent their time poking and prodding until I flew off the handle."

Barons tight end Gavin Brawley has never been known for shying away from a confrontation or for his jovial personality, but after video footage of him punching a man in public goes viral, he finds himself suspended from the game he loves above all else, under house arrest for six whole months, and with his name smeared by the press. With an ankle monitor limiting his ability to perform even the most trivial of daily chores, Gavin is forced to hire a live-in assistant—a person who’d keep his affairs in order and make sure he didn’t starve. But as opposed as he is to the idea of living under the same roof with a stranger, from the moment he lays eyes on Noah Monroe and is then met with an unimpressed attitude instead of hero worship, he knows he’d be a temptation he would never be able to resist.

"Nothing turned me on more than a person who wasn’t afraid to stand up to me."

Noah never expected that a string of bad decisions in his life would lead him to become a glorified babysitter to a cocky football player, but with a mountain of student loans to repay and an unemployed father to help, he is forced to accept the first well-paying job that comes his way. From their first meeting, however, the brawny blond does not hide his animosity towards him, and when he finds out that Noah is not a fan of the sport, their every interaction becomes a battle of wills.

“If you’re poor, sports are the equivalent of religion.”
“You get paid to play a game. You’re not a savior of the people. You’re an overpaid jock.”
“And yet you’re over here trying to get a job running errands for this overpaid jock.”

Over time, however, and as they get to know each other more and more, a close friendship forms between them, albeit hesitantly at first, and Gavin begins to trust Noah with his private life. Because the ‘meanest’ player in the league has kept a huge secret from the public, and it’s a secret that could change everything between the Barons tight end and his assistant.

“I’m pretty sure those shorts are meant to be worn under . . . other shorts.”
“Why would I care about being modest in my own house?”
“Well, because I’ll be here with you.”
Gavin cocked a brow. “If you think I’m going to try to spare your delicate baby eyes, I suggest you readjust your expectations. FYI—after showering, I air dry.”

As we watch the two young men slowly fall in love and empower each other to overcome all of the stereotypes placed against them, it is difficult not to become overcome by the sheer beauty of their connection, and all the ways they better one another. But with Gavin’s career on the line, they must decide whether what they’ve found in each other is worth losing it all.

“Tell me, if that happened, if you lose the only thing you’ve ever loved, the thing that’s held you together for all these years, that you wouldn’t resent me. You wouldn’t resent our relationship.”

While presenting the characters’ gender as one of the main obstacles to their relationship and framing their sexuality in the context of the world we live in, the author does not delve too deeply into that aspect of the storyline. He never loses sight of the beautiful love story developing before our eyes between two people who are opposites in every possible way, yet so perfect for one another. Their very differences add an irresistible spark to their every interaction, and unadulterated fire to their most intimate moments, the many layers to this story making this one of the most fascinating and enjoyable reads of the year for me. I walked away desperate to return to Santino Hassell’s writing as soon as possible.

"I’m sitting here watching them and how obviously smitten they are (don’t make fun of my word choice), and I’m so fucking jealous. Because if I was a different gender, that could be us. We can’t have what they have because the world is awful and people are hateful. It’s really hard to let that slide."