Book#222, International Collection, Themes: The Survivor / Sports Romance / Secrets Revealed, Keywords: Budapest, Hungary, Football Coach, Transgender Survival, Domestic Abuse, The Hood, Found Family, Second Chance Romance, Poverty, Gritty Realism.
“Thirty years old. A neat, round number for a life full of jagged edges.”Renata is a survivor. Born in the “Hood” of Sopianae, she fought her way out of poverty, an abusive father’s house, and a body that never fit. Now living in Budapest, she scrapes by as a football coach for a team of “monster” kids in the Eighth District, dodging ticket inspectors and keeping her head down. She thinks she has finally outrun her past. She has a job, a new identity, and a tentative romance with Mark, a handsome fellow coach who sees her as a woman, not a project. But the past has a way of catching up. When a car accident leaves Renata and Mark stranded near her childhood home, the secrets she buried—the alcoholic father, the “savior” who turned into a jailer, and the boy who broke her heart—come rushing back. In a game where the rules are rigged against her, Renata must pull off the ultimate “nutmeg”—slipping through the legs of her trauma to score a goal for her own future. (A raw, lyrical, and darkly funny novel about football, survival, and the courage to define yourself.)
[CONTENT WARNING] Contains themes of: Domestic Abuse (physical and financial control), Sexual Assault/Coercion (past trauma), Alcoholism, Transphobia (deadnaming/misgendering by family), Poverty, and Violence.
Heat Level (1-5) 3 (Raw / Emotional) There are sex scenes, but they serve the narrative. The scene with Mario is traumatic/coercive. The scenes with David are possessive. The scenes with Mark are healing and romantic. The focus is on the emotional context of the intimacy.