***Note: Deciding not to review this book due to the issues surrounding the content and characters, and just need to get this book off my feedback list.***

I could not resist picking this book up for review when I saw it featured a NFL player and a male ballet dancer, it went immediately in to my must read now pile. There was much I really loved about this book, but the one drawback was I felt like the relationship building between these two men got a bit lost in the shuffle. That being said, His Convenient Husband was fresh, it was powerful, and it was absolutely in tune with social injustices going on in today’s world and in addition we did get to see two men learn how to accept each other for who they are and fall in love.

From the moment Isaiah Blackwell sees Victor Akelsandrov he is mesmerized by the dancer; the way he moves, the way he greets his fans, the way he speaks out for human rights in his home country, and the way his son’s face lights up when they are introduced. He can’t deny that there is something about the man that calls to him, but the pain of losing his husband and Evan’s other dad three years ago is something he never wants to repeat. One night with Victor and Isaiah know he needs to stay far away from the man, but when Victor gets some bad news, Isaiah goes to him on behalf of their mutual agent and finds himself wed to the out and proud Russian.

I really loved that these two men were so very different, both gay and both out, their personalities and the way they present themselves to the world were far apart. Isaiah is quiet, reserved, and keeps his private live private. Victor is out, proud, and more gender fluid often donning make-up, dressing and acting more effeminate. Given that Isaiah’s son is artistic and loves make-up, wearing dresses, and different hairstyles, he accepts all of Victor easily. However, the contrast between them also made their relationship volatile especially when Isaiah’s son, Evan, is caught in the crossfire. And given the parameters of their relationship, things get very complicated, very quickly.

I loved the family they were building even when Isaiah and Victor were keeping their distance physically, but I needed to see more of just the two of them together really digging deep and learning about each other, their hopes, their dreams, their fears. While it was easy to see their attraction physically, and the jealously that reared its head a couple of times, I never felt like I saw them connect fully on an emotional level and I missed that.

His Convenient Husband was a completely entertaining romance; the characters were intriguing, their situation was different, and their path to being together while rocky made the destination that much greater.

This was an OK read, enjoyable but nothing special until the last chapter - quite a long time to wait.

The moment football player Isaiah Blackwell sees gorgeous ballet dancer Victor Aleksandrov, he is drawn to the sexy man. The two share an incredible evening together, as well as some flirtatious texting, but Isaiah knows that is all it will ever be. Isaiah lost his husband three years ago and that was the love of his lifetime. He is not prepared to deal with pain and loss once again, so he would rather keep things casual.

Victor is an outspoken advocate for gay rights, particularly in his Russian homeland where gays are being persecuted and disappearing. He has applied for political asylum in the U.S., but when that is denied, he is looking at being sent back to Russia where surely his life will be in danger for his public statements. Isaiah offers to help by getting married so Victor can stay in America; it will only be a marriage of convenience, but it will save Victor’s life.

Keeping his distance from his incredible new husband isn’t easy, however. The attraction still burns fiercely between them, and on top of that, Isaiah genuinely likes Victor and thinks he is a great person. Victor gets along well with Isaiah’s son, and it would be so easy to let himself begin to fall for someone again. For his part, Victor craves a home and a family, not to mention Isaiah. Being with the man as a real husband is everything Victor could want, yet Isaiah is keeping him at a distance. Victor hopes things will change, but despite at times sending mixed signals, the bottom line is that Isaiah does not want to fall in love again, and the only way to prevent that is to not get close to Victor. But Victor can’t continue on the way things are; it is too hard for his heart to be falling for Isaiah without his feelings returned. Now Isaiah must decide if he is going to take a second chance on love with the man who is quickly stealing his heart, or if he is going to let his fears cause him to lose it all.

His Convenient Husband is the first book in the new Love and Sports series by Robin Covington. I am familiar with the author and since she appears to have written primarily (exclusively?) m/f romance up until now, I was really excited to give this one a try. And I am happy to say I totally loved Isaiah and Victor’s story.

So this is obviously a “marriage of convenience” story, a popular old school romance trope. It is one I like, but it can drift a little too tropey and over the top, so I was curious to see how Covington would handle it here. I am really impressed with the depth she gives this book and the way she elevates this common trope into something deeper and really nicely developed. First, the reasons Victor can’t go home are serious ones; he is an outspoken advocate for gay rights and critical of his home country for their abuse of the GLBT community. He is literally facing a life threatening situation if he returns home. These kinds of human rights violations are a critical issue in many parts of the world right now and Covington treats this issue with the depth that it deserves. Even more, Victor speaking out publicly is an issue that carries throughout the story, as it comes into play both with regards to Isaiah’s job, as well as with his son.

The chemistry between Victor and Isaiah is intense from the very start, and that is what really elevated this story for me. You can just feel the tension crackle, the incredible draw these men have for one another. It is what kept the story sparking even as Isaiah pushes Victor away. The guys agree to keep things just as friends, but both know that if they even take baby steps toward a relationship, or even more sex, it will be impossible to ignore the pull between them. And as a reader, I could really feel that draw and it helped me to understand why Isaiah insists on keeping his distance. I think some readers may find themselves frustrated with him for his hot and cold attitude. It is clear Isaiah wants Victor badly, and more than that, cares for him. So while most of the time he keeps things at the friend level, at times he slips, giving Victor some mixed messages that can be frustrating. But all the while, I could just feel the connection between them and that helped go a long way for me in accepting Isaiah’s actions.

I do think there were areas that were given a bit of a gloss over. First off, resolving Victor’s immigration issues is as simple as getting married. No one ever looks into the marriage, immigration officials never come by to check on them, or anything else. Given that Victor is a high profile dissident who is facing deportation back home, and then suddenly marries a well-known NFL player he just met, it seems highly unlikely that this wouldn’t attract some sort of government oversight, but it is a total non-issue. I also would have a loved a bit more insight into life as a dancer and a pro football player. Though we see a bit of the dancing, Isaiah’s job is pretty much on paper only. For a job that is so physically demanding and time consuming, I’d like to have seen a little more of that worked in. There are also some issues with regard to Isaiah’s job and how Victor impacts it that get touched on, but not really fully developed.

All that said, I thought this story was excellent and very entertaining. I loved Isaiah and Victor together, and found them sweet and incredibly sexy. I think the story overall has a nice depth and tackles some interesting issues, beyond the relationship itself, which is amazing. I really enjoyed Covington’s writing and I am very excited to see more from this series.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review His Convenient Husband. Unfortunately, I was unable to get into this book and I will not be rating or reviewing it here or on my blog.

Struggled with this one, didn't like one of the MC's so found it hard to connect with the story. Still the writing was great and will def look for other books by this author.

I’m trying to expand outside my reading comfort zone recently and one way I’m doing that is reading more LGBT romance. His Convenient Husband was recommended all over Facebook so I decided to check it out and I’m glad I did. His Convenient Husband addresses contemporary political issues such as the plight of gay men in Russia and openly gay athletes. Isaiah is a widowed gay football player. He takes his son to the ballet and meets the vivacious Victor who is in America on a temporary visa. Isaiah’s son Evan is obsessed with Victor and Isaiah is equally intrigued by the Russian dancer. They soon have an one-night stand which is really steamy. However, their relationship was supposed to end there until they learn that Victor is being forced to return to Russia, where his outspoken protests of human rights and LGBT violations in Russia will definitely put him in hot water. Rather than risk that, Isaiah decides to marry Victor to keep him in the country.

Victor and Isaiah’s relationship has the depth and drama of any good romance novel. You as the reader feel for each character at different moments in the book. Isaiah is recovering from the lost of his first husband and trying to cope with the outspoken Victor. Victor is struggling with falling for both Isaiah and his son in what is supposed to be a temporary relationship. I really appreciated Robin Convington’s ability to meld modern issues with a romantic plot and have it overpower the book. This was an exceptional read and I’m glad I took a step out of my comfort zone and read it.

Very disappointing due to poorly developed character and awkward writing

   I really disliked this book.  I was so irritated with it that I gave up reading it when I was 29% of the way through.  I usually like M/M romances, but this one is tied for the most poorly written M/M romance I have ever read.
   Victor, the Eastern European ballet dancer, is a well-written character that makes sense.  On the other hand, Isaiah, the African American pro-football player from the South doesn’t make sense at all.  His reactions to things and his behavior do not fit a man who grew up in the South or a football player.  My main gripe is that although his mom is very loving and wants to throw him a party, he talks to other people like she is a nutcase who will “put the fear of God into him”.  Characters in the book often do not react like they should based on the context of the story.  In addition, the author does not seem to think through or care about the details of proving the legitimacy of a marriage to the U.S. immigration department.  Also, it is often unclear when the narrative changes back and forth from Victor to Isaiah.  I do not recommend this book to anyone.
   I received a free advanced reading copy via Netgalley, and I wrote this honest review.

Very good story, characters were well developed and the story line was well written.  Very inspirational story about people standing up for themselves in the lifestyle they choose to live.

I had to DNF. Saying one of the characters is genderfluid in the beginning (I think the blurb has changed) and then reading the book and seeing that Victor wasn't. That was such a big disappointment but so weird that they put it and yet there isn't???? Plus it was taken out of the blurb so that's 10/10 more fishy??? 

I was all for marriage of convenience tropes but sadly this wasn't enough for me to stay.

Received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review

This is a new author for me & the premise of this book really drew me in. I've only been reading M/M books for probably the last year and they have become one of my favorite romance sub genres. 

This book really tackled a lot of issues that are very prevalent in today's society, Homosexuality, Gay Marriage, Bisexual, Russia's stance on such people. While it deals with all this I felt the book really came along great. 

This was an insta-lust, leading to unwanted love I guess you could say. Isaiah is an NFL football player who has lost his husband 3 years ago & is now tasked with raising their adopted biracial son on his own. He has already loved & lost & just wants to raise his son with as little fan fare as possible from the public. Victor is a principal ballet dancer who is very open on his personal stance on the persecution of homosexual people in his home country. These two are as different as day & night but sometimes the draw to another is just too strong to resist. 

There are some very heated love scenes in this book. Like girl it's time to fan yourself. But it also contains so many beautiful moments that make your heart pitter patter for these two. 

So happy to have discovered a new author.

His Convenient Husband by Robin Covington is a good into this world.  I like how these two men go from strangers to friends. I did feel the connection as well when this book started out. I felt that connection fade though as the story went on.  Almost a disconnect from where we started.  However, it did come back nicely at the end. So, overall a pretty good read.
Isaiah and Victor are not the conventual couples.   Isaiah has lost his husband and is living quietly right now raising his son.  Victor is a ballet dancer who is not scared of being who he is. He is not going to be the one in the shadows. 

I think they both had a lot to learn from each other in this book. I loved how they grew together as people. I would want more of them in the future.  This is a romance that has a real pure romance feel to it, and really a beautiful friendship in this one. 

                       Five Shooting Stars

There’s a lot of confusion and a little disappointment around this book, and I think the majority of it comes from a badly-written blurb that has since been changed. Do NOT let that stop you from reading it, though. I don’t think Robin Covington, or authors in general, have much to do with the blurbs that are written, so don’t hold it against her. Victor is not genderfluid, and he should never have been referred to as such in the original blurb.

Now that that’s out of the way, let me heartily recommend that you read this book immediately. Victor and Isiah are… hot. And sweet. And charming. And just so, so lovely. And hot. Did I mention the hotness? I loved Victor. I loved his relationship with Isiah’s son Evan. I liked Isiah. I didn’t love him.

Why didn’t I love Isiah as much as I loved Victor? Isiah was… complicated. He’s still in mourning for his late husband, Stephen, who died three years ago. He’s not quite ready to move on, and he treats Victor pretty terribly because of it. He says a lot of really hurtful things to Victor, not just once so that they can break up and he can give the requisite grovel. But over and over. His son Evan is genderfluid, and bisexual, and somehow Isiah, while being completely aware of this, also manages to completely miss how this means Evan’s life will be different for him that Isiah’s own life is for him. (Did that make sense? I keep staring at that sentence trying to figure out if it says what I want it to say). When Evan is put into a nasty situation at school because of it, Isiah immediately blames Victor, despite the fact that this has been an ongoing issue in Evan’s life since long before Victor ever entered the picture.

And Victor… Victor isn’t here for any of it. He doesn’t put up with Isiah’s shit, and I applaud him for it. Isiah always stopped short of actually asking Victor to give up his very vocal exposure of how his home country of Russia treats its gay community. He stops short of asking, but he really wishes Victor would stop and, again, he treats Victor pretty badly because of it. Isiah understands why Victor is as loud and vocal as he is, but that doesn’t stop him from wishing for a return to his more quiet life. Also, and I think this is another issue people had with the blurb, Victor is not “loud and brash”. The press asks him questions and he answers honestly. He’s not quiet about the fact that he needs asylum to stay in the US or he’ll very likely be killed immediately upon his return to Russia. He’s honest and eloquent, but never once would I categorize his behavior as brash.)

I think this is another issue people had with the blurb, Victor is not “loud and brash”. The press asks him questions and he answers honestly. He’s not quiet about the fact that he needs asylum to stay in the US or he’ll very likely be killed immediately upon his return to Russia. He’s honest and eloquent, but never once would I categorize his behavior as brash.

There was an interesting, very small, look in this book at how the NFL treats its gay players. On the one hand, his coach really couldn’t care less who his players are married to. On the other hand, that same coach found it necessary to gently suggest to Isiah that he rein in Victor’s outspoken ways. The players allegedly don’t care, but get them in a room together, and there are muttered “jokes” and outright homophobic comments. I wish Robin Covington had explored this more. There’s also nothing to indicate Isiah plays football except us being told about it, and a few references to what he does and doesn’t drink and eat during training. But he never actually does any training. Or plays any football. This could be the off-season, but Evan is in school, which tells me it’s at least fall or winter. Isiah never does so much as a single pushup through the entire book.

Overall, I loved this book, I would recommend it to anyone, but I also had issues with it. Hence the middle-of-the-road rating despite my love for the characters. For example, the actual marriage between Victor and Isiah. The only reason it comes about is that Victor is denied asylum, and everyone knows what will happen if he goes back to Russia. But I find it difficult to believe that he would be denied asylum, turn around and get married less than a week later, and no one, not a single government representative would ever show up to challenge the claim or even do a cursory examination of the situation. And they didn’t hide it. Literally every character in the book knew the marriage was to keep Victor in the country. Isiah also announced it to an auditorium full of people toward the end of the book. This piece of it just wasn’t handled very well. But – I really hope Covington revisits Evan as he gets a little older. I really want to see the amazing person that kid on his way to becoming.

I voluntarily read this advanced readers copy of this book.  Strong characters and a great story line.  You won't be able to stop reading it once you start either.  I can't wait to read more of Robin's work either.

I was drawn to this one because of the blurb.  I love sports romance and with a football player and a ballet dancer, I just knew there was going to be some interesting story there.  Add in a single parent.  Yep...I was hooked.  

Unfortunately, the story itself just didn't materialize.  Granted, there are some delicious steamy moments between Victor and Isaiah.  The rest of the story was just ok.  Lots of promise--rights issues, teen bullying, acceptance....... just not much meat or follow through on those topics.  I also felt the son's character was    added fluff--he is bi-racial, adopted and bi-sexual???  Didn't add to the story.  He could have been just a pre-teen boy with two dads--that's enough going on for one story.

The sport of dance is actually the better represented sport in this book. Isaiah plays pro-football, but we don't get to actually see him in his element.  So, I may try this author again just to see if the writing inproves.

Having never read this author before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I got was a book full of romance, promise, love, hope, and acceptance. The plot was interesting, the writing superb, and the characters authentic and engaging. These characters totally draw you into the story and before you know it, you’re completely obsessed with their lives and relationships. This book was impassioned and inspiring, insightful and intriguing, romantic and endearing, and absolutely riveting. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a sweet and sexy read.

Isaiah has been existing since the death of his husband three years ago. He's been working hard and raising their adopted son, and isn't looking for anything more when he is introduced to ballet dancer Victor Aleksandrov. Victor is looking for nothing more than political asylum in the US, and has no time for Isaiah. Despite this, he can't help but be sucked into a relationship with him. 

This was an interesting book, but there was a lot of back and forth between the two. Isaiah ran hot and cold a lot, and at times it gave Victor and me whiplash. Victor was so loving and wanted to give himself to someone, and Isaiah was trying to hard to figure out what he wants to be. They try and find it in each other, and this was a nice afternoon read.

Review by Natalie:

This is a pretty straightforward “marriage of convenience” romance. This book is a quick read that feels a lot shorter than its actual length, but that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. It felt like I was reading an outline for a longer story, with only the major scenes filled in.  The chapter breaks are disorienting, as it’s not always obvious whether we’re starting in Isaiah’s or Victor’s point of view and it feels like we’re careening from one event to the next without any time to figure out what’s happened in between.  A lot of the plot has to be taken on faith, but that’s also the nature of the marriage of convenience trope. This is the kind of book that relies more on characters than realistic plot, and yet both characters felt like they were just going through the motions and checking off boxes to get to the required happy ending.

There are two major conflicts between Isaiah and Victor, which felt like one too many. The first is Isaiah’s reluctance to begin a new relationship after the death of his husband three years prior, and the second is the clash between Victor’s outspoken personality and Isaiah’s desire to be quietly gay and avoid the spotlight. Since the story felt like it was rushing through so much, neither conflict got enough attention, and the second conflict in particular felt haphazardly addressed.

Though I labeled this with the sports tag, it didn’t feel like a sports romance, as Isaiah’s career as an NFL football player is hardly mentioned. The story takes place in the off-season, so there are no practices or games involved, and very little sense that Isaiah plays sports professionally outside of the occasional conversation with the team’s general manager. One thing that struck me as strange is that while Victor is loudly protesting the treatment of gay men in Russia because of current events in Chechnya, Isaiah is out, plays on a major American professional sports team, and was married to a man for many years. Yet the story doesn’t address this, and we have almost zero sense of how Isaiah is viewed or treated by his team, the media, or the public. For a story to condemn current issues around gay rights in another country but to quietly ignore current issues in the US was frustrating, to say the least.

His Convenient Husband is a tropey romance that will feel familiar if you’ve read any marriage of convenience stories before. It’s fine for a quick read, but don’t look too closely at the story, or it starts to fall apart.

Conflicted feelings about this one. First off excitement when I saw, or rather thought this was going to be a rom between a genderfluid dancer and a black football player but then Victor being genderfluid was removed from the blurb? So he wasn’t really at all? So that was disappointing. 

I enjoyed this writer’s writing style. Easy to follow and good pacing I think. This is my first book my Ms Covington and I did enjoy the sexual tension between the two men but I echo some of my colleagues feels about the gender fluid rep that never was. It was pretty much a let down to realize we weren't actually getting this rep after all. 

And Isaiah pissed me off numerous times for his slut shaming, like casually mentions some other guy’s “sluttiness” just because this dude presumably likes to have sex I guess and I’m like okaaayyy my dude no.  

And I’m sorry, I know you wanna protect your child from the media but acting like Victor was at fault when the media swarmed them outside the ballet was just wow. No. 

I adored Evan though, he stuck up for Victor and yeah he was a good kid. 

Also Victor makes this comment about his marriage of convenience that kept him safe and allowed him to keep up his activism and getting a hall pass to have sex with someone else once he was discreet—when Isaiah in a bid to not feel the feels for Victor tells him he can have sex with dudes once he’s discreet—as every gay man’s dream and I’m not a gay man but uhhhh whut???? This seems really off to me.

Hence my frustration with this book. It’d be ohhhh some nice UST here then these reallyyy off statements. Look human beings, we’re flawed creatures for sure and we all say and do problematic shit but whoo boy these just rubbed me wrong. 

Isaiah completely pissed me off with Evan’s fight with the boys at his school who were spewing hate at him. How the heck Isaiah gonna blame Victor for that? And Isaiah reallyyyy thinks that sending his son to a fancy expensive school will keep him safe from haters? Homophobes are everywhere. That’s some odd naivety there man. This just seemed way to unbelievable to me, that he never once considered that his son would experience hate and have to defend himself??? A gay black man, being supposedly blindsided by this is just sooooo far fetched to me. That was hard to buy and I didn’t at all. 

 Lemme just repeat Evan is awesome. The best son! Isaiah could definitely learn a thing or ten from that kid. 

I wanted Isaiah to do way more grovelling at the end there. The things he said to Victor before all that >.> I felt even as I liked his gesture and the things he said up on that stage he needed to do wayyyy more to win his husband back. 

So while i did enjoy some aspects there was  a good bit that just made me go >.>

His Convenient Husband is more than a romance, as the story shows how difficult it can be to be in the spotlight. How queer people get dragged into fights they need to fight not just for themselves, but for others as well.

I enjoyed His Convenient Husband a lot! There was both sports, art and romance, and I felt a deep connection to Isiah. He had been existing more than living since his husband's death, and meeting Victor woke something deep inside of him. Raising a son on his own, while playing ball and keeping the team director and sponsors happy was hard already. Once he met Victor, things just became harder.