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Game On: Can you love the player, if you hate the game?

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From the author of The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle and Becoming Ted, abrand new enemies-to-lovers romcom for fans of Ted Lasso and Red, White and Royal Blue . . .

‘Heart-warming and joyful’ LORRAINE KELLY
‘A great big hug of a book’ MICHAEL BALL

Toddington FC defender Tom Horrocks is never happier than when he’s on the football pitch, but when it comes to love, he’s hiding a big secret. Worried about his young daughter and sick father – and with his team finally in the Premier League – he avoids all media.

Journalist Cosmo Robertswants to change the world, so is angry when he’s sent to a quiet northern town to cover a sport he sees as anti-gay. Then something about Tom catches his eye.

Cosmo hates football. Tom hates journalists.
Perhaps this time they’ve both met their match.

94 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 11, 2024

12 people are currently reading
103 people want to read

About the author

Matt Cain

12 books575 followers
Matt Cain is a writer, broadcaster, and a leading commentator on LGBTQ+ issues. He was Channel 4’s first Culture Editor, Editor-In-Chief of Attitude magazine, has written for all the national newspapers and appeared on BBC Breakfast, Lorraine, Good Morning Britain, The Today Programme, Front Row and Woman's Hour.

Matt is also an ambassador for Manchester Pride and a patron of LGBT+ History Month. In 2021 he received an honorary doctorate from Bolton University and in 2023 he addressed the Cambridge Union. In the New Year's Honours List 2025 Matt was awarded an MBE for services to LGBTQ+ culture.

Matt's breakthrough work of fiction, The Madonna Of Bolton, became Unbound’s fastest crowdfunded novel ever before it was published in 2018. In 2021, The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle was published by Headline, followed by Becoming Ted and One Love. His Quick Read Game On was one of the official short novels of World Book Night 2024.

Born in Bury and brought up in Bolton, Matt now lives in London with his husband, Harry, and their cat, Nelly.

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5 stars
68 (21%)
4 stars
108 (34%)
3 stars
101 (32%)
2 stars
29 (9%)
1 star
6 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
Profile Image for Ben Howard.
1,446 reviews227 followers
August 30, 2024
A short n' sweet romance between a footballer and journalist.

Tom's a footballer and in the closet. He dislikes the media for fear of people finding out he's gay; and as such has a dislike of journalists.

Cosmo's a journalist who's been assigned to cover Toddington FC's involvement in a LGBT+ charity event called Rainbow Laces. It's the last place Cosmo wants to be as he's far from a football fan and views football as being rampant with homophobia.

The two clash at first but eventually get to know one another better and strike up a romance.
Profile Image for Erica⭐.
465 reviews
December 10, 2024
Matt has written a story that is packed with incident. Can a Premiership League footballer confront his true self and become the first mainstream player to announce that he is gay? Can a journalist to whom he is attracted help him to do so? We follow both their journeys and are pulled into the sometimes tortuous decisions they have to make. All in all, this is a story filled with passion and is a truly beautiful love story too. I greatly recommend it.
Profile Image for Jess Milner.
685 reviews57 followers
May 12, 2024
Coming out is a complex issue that looks different for everybody. I get what the author was trying to do but I'm not sure a 115 page novella for beginner readers is really the best place to explore this, since then you end up with one love interest calling the other a coward for not coming out and that basically barely getting addressed...you don't owe anyone anything, you are valid even if you never come out, you are allowed to prioritise your safety, and the idea that 'you can never be happy until you live as your true self' (aka come out) feels very reductive in 2024.
Profile Image for Chris.
417 reviews54 followers
April 15, 2024
This book is so short, yet for me it really managed to pack an emotional punch. Sure I would have enjoyed a longer version of this story, but the fact that I shed actual tears at the end goes to show how strongly I felt about the characters and the situation in such a short amount of time. Another win for Matt Cain imo.
Profile Image for Alyce King.
148 reviews2 followers
June 3, 2024
A quick read - short and easy to read and follow. Original storyline, with truth - but it creates hope.
Profile Image for Milly.
5 reviews
Read
July 18, 2025
The book was ok

Tom was such a great character both complex but utterly simple in his view of himself and others. His secondary characters like Isla, Emily, rod, uche and such were again so beautifully written and understanding to the character of Tom. As a child brought up the exact same as Isla with queer dads and a mum, Emily’s emotions were so accurately portrayed despite being a small character.

Cosmo on the other hand….. he was really problematic for me. Despite the hypocrisy of it all, homophobia is very prevalent in the queer community. So for cosmo to be problematic in his views of coming out isn’t wildly unreasonable. I was just expecting him to learn and grow from them views, but I don’t think he did. He was so un- accepting to other queer experiences and judged Tom for a lack of education out of his control, it made it difficult for me to like him as a character and thus support his and Tom’s relationship.

Obviously this is an extremely short book that didn’t have the time frame to explore much of a realistic change in values and character development. However, Tom’s character really grew into a confident person, able to empathise with the people around him and gain knowledge that he’d not previously been educated on. In comparison cosmo continued to be judgmental and manipulative but just with a mask of charisma and flamboyance.


Not a bad book just a slightly disappointing one unfortunately. That being said I got it for free from my therapist office so can’t really complain.
Profile Image for Janet.
478 reviews
April 27, 2024
Only 116 pages long, but just as full of heart as Matt’s full length novels.

I adored Tom and Cosmo. The emotional struggles of Tom deciding to come out of the closet as the first openly gay premier league football player. How would his dad react, being so apparently homophobic. And then there is his young rugby loving daughter to consider.

The feelings are intense. The hoping for everything to go well for Tom. What a wonderful story.

I shed real tears at the end, and as for the mention of my favourite ever character Albert Entwistle I actually shouted ‘OMG’ out loud when he got a mention!

An absolute joy and another winner for Matt!
Profile Image for Becky.
26 reviews9 followers
April 9, 2024
What a fun little book
Profile Image for Donald.
1,419 reviews12 followers
April 30, 2024
Quick punchy read, as it should be, but so clichéd and unbelievable it should be listed under fantasy...
Profile Image for James Cooper.
330 reviews17 followers
July 15, 2024
4.5 ⭐️

Matt Cain not getting a 5 star was not on my bingo card for the year but here we are. This book is not in any way bad, it’s just hindered by the length and what can really be achieved within the page count. But other than that, another wholly enjoyable, relatable and well told story that, like always, hit me in the feels.

Game On flips pov better two men in their twenties: Tom, a northern premier league footballer, separated with a daughter and hiding a part of himself, and Cosmo, a determined journalist living in London who’s sent to Toddington to do a piece. At the centre of the novella is a hate to love romance between the two but there is a lot more covered too, mostly the place of queer people in sports, specifically mens football and how there is a lack of out players/icons in the game for young stars to look up to and see themselves represented, touching on the fan and general culture preventing players from actually coming out. Cosmo eagerly wants to find this player as knows what it could mean but Tom’s outlook is a little different thinking this southerner is butting in and doesn’t understand the reality and position he’s in. Tom’s daughter also loves playing rugby and I loved they way he implants this notion of ‘doing what you want to’ given the way some people look at female athletes and Cain touches on woman’s football (I adore this!!!) which was a lovely inclusion. There is some more but I’ll let you check it out.

The characters were, like always, amazing and so fun to follow along. The writing is truly addictive and as soon as it came I couldn’t resist tucking in (about a day I lasted). We aren’t able to get fully immersed into the character’s lives and the setting but it’s still really enjoyable. Cain does such an amazing job of towing the line of making me want to bust out into laugher or floods of tears because of the way he makes such real and relatable characters come to life. I’d of loved a full novel-length version but for the intention of writing a novella and getting a lot across, I think Cain did an amazing job and I would totally recommend picking this up. Being part of the quick reads range for £1 makes it so accessible so why not?? Thanks Matt, cannot wait for more to come!
Profile Image for Nicola Smith.
1,104 reviews42 followers
May 4, 2024
Game On is one of this year's Quick Reads selection. Some are abridged versions of an already published book and some are stories written especially for Quick Reads, which includes Game On.

I love Matt Cain's books so I had to get this book (and at only £1, why wouldn't you anyway?). It tells the story of Tom Horrocks, who plays football for Toddington FC, and Cosmo Roberts, a journalist. When they meet they really hit it off, but Tom is very firmly in the closet and Cosmo is openly gay. Knowing what the world of football is like, Tom is afraid of coming out.

Despite being a short book, Game On is a fully rounded story that I enjoyed reading very much. It tackles (excuse the pun) a difficult issue in an uplifting way and towards the conclusion I was feeling quite tense for the characters and hoping they would be able to work out all the problems they were facing. Doing so in the full glare of the public eye is really challenging for Tom and I was so pleased with the way the story ended. I spotted a mention for another of Cain's much-loved characters which was a lovely surprise and which made me smile, just like this whole book did.

Game On is a feel-good story which is full of Matt Cain's inimitable joy and enthusiasm shining through on every page.
Profile Image for The Cookster.
590 reviews66 followers
September 30, 2024
Rating: 2.0/5

This book is part of this year's Quick Reads programme from The Reading Agency. I am very much a fan of the scheme, which is primarily aimed at encouraging people to take up reading or to get lapsed readers to re-engage with the activity.

I also have great admiration for any author who successfully tackles the short story format. There is real skill in constructing a fully rounded story in so few pages. On that count, this offering from Matt Cain meets the brief. Sadly, in other respects, this book didn't really do much for me. "Game On" is essentially gay romantic fiction and raises issues that really deserve far more skilled presentation than is in evidence here. The content and writing is too simplistic, too predictable, too cheesy and too clichéd.
Profile Image for Edward Russell.
73 reviews1 follower
April 13, 2024
With characters, subject and setting of little appeal to me this is a great little book to challenge my own preconceptions and try something new. I found it a little bit turgid at the beginning, but once the story was flowing it didn’t stop until the end. The narrative was mildly thought provoking, but didn’t wallow in itself, if anything it fell too much the other way swimming with unresisting positivity. Unfortunately this was taken a little too far towards the end when realism was thrown out of the window.

A strong 3 stars pushing 4. For a quick read I’d recommend it even if the subject doesn’t sound appealing. Would be interesting to read more by this author.
Profile Image for H Noss.
73 reviews9 followers
May 23, 2025
I was really pleasantly surprised by this book! It's one of the first Quick Reads books I've picked up, and I specifically wanted to read it because it was the only LGBTQ+ Quick Read I could see on the library's bookshelf.

I love how Matt Cain dealt with football culture here, but also how he didn't shy away from making the protagonists (and one of the antagonists) messy despite being gay. It's so easy for these more heart-warming takes of LGBTQ+ characters to try and avoid giving any negative traits, but this book gives some pretty hard negative characteristics and decisions.

I also didn't realise that we still don't have an openly gay men currently playing in the Premier League!
Profile Image for Bookstarreviews_.
325 reviews12 followers
October 8, 2024
4⭐️

A short and sweet treat that provides hope! 🫶

I really enjoyed this quick read that I binged in one sitting. At 116 pages, I loved how much Cain packed in and how heartwarming this read was.

I’m going to keep this review mini like the book.

Toddington FC defender Tom is never happier than when he’s on the football pitch, but when it comes to love, he’s hiding a big secret. Worried about his young daughter and sick father, and with his team in the Premier League, he avoids the media. Journalist Cosmo is angry when he’s sent to cover a sport he views as anti-gay. Then Tom catches his eye. Cosmo hates football. Tom hates journalists. Perhaps they’ve both met their match.

This was a lovely piece of contemporary gay romance fiction and I loved the contrasting protagonist’s and the enemies to lovers vibes.

Although this read was not fleshed out like a longer novel, it was punchy and worked well, touching upon important themes like coming out, homophobia and much more.

This short book provides hope and joy and it made a great little read which left me smiling.

I look forward to reading more by Cain in the future.

💬: ‘We’re all stumbling through life. We all make mistakes. We’re all just doing our best!’

⚠️ Please check out the trigger warnings! ⚠️
Profile Image for Paola Santana.
Author 1 book5 followers
June 10, 2025
Like most novellas, the ending came almost too quickly and too neatly, and I was a little guttered it wasn't a full-length novel, but I really enjoyed it. I will definitely be reading more books by Matt Cain in the future.

Part of the Quick Reads 2024 collection, short and sweet, this book is the perfect stepping stone if you want to get into reading or want to start reading and supporting LGBTQ+ authors.

You can read my full review here: https://www.ps-sobookish.com/post/boo...
Profile Image for Amelia.
161 reviews1 follower
April 11, 2024
As a fan of Matt Cain’s work, I jumped at the chance to read this ‘Quick Read’. It was great fun to enjoy this heartwarming and hopeful story in one sitting. It even had a couple of nods to previous characters/elements of his previous stories thrown in, which was lovely. It would be great to think that this book could be the catalyst that is so badly needed to give high ranking footballers the courage to be themselves. I thoroughly enjoyed this and can highly recommend it.
96 reviews1 follower
April 11, 2024
Not Matt Cain's best book but still enjoyable in its own way. Unfortunately the 'quick read' element ends up being the story's biggest drawback - interesting characters and plot events often get glossed over or not given much attention for the sake of keeping the pace lightning fast. And the tone of the whole thing is about as un-subtle as you can get, for better or worse.

But either way it won't take you long to read and it's a pleasant enough way to pass the time.
Profile Image for Duckfacekim09 (Kim Howell).
424 reviews41 followers
April 19, 2024
Well that was cute AF 😍 I love a quick read, especially when it's gay, and this was the perfect palette cleanser between two thrillers. I hate football, like absolutely despise it, so I was probably never going to give this 5 stars but the importance of the storyline and the romance really made me enjoy this read. And this has inspired me to add a few of Matt's other books to my wishlist because I had a fun time with this one.
Profile Image for J.S. Gray.
Author 6 books8 followers
June 23, 2024
4⭐️ Review: Game On by Matt Cain

“A lovely, quick-read, Queer Rom-com”

I thoroughly enjoyed Matt Cain’s ‘Quick Reads’ Game On… particularly now I’m caught up in the Euros. How timely!

For a short story - the booked packed a lot in, with nothing going to waste. It contains a great message of hope for all those LGBTQIA people still not out.

The characters were relatable and, although it was a little predictable, I really enjoyed the ending.

A bargain for £1 - too!
Profile Image for Daren Kay.
Author 3 books13 followers
September 25, 2024
TIME FOR A QUICK READ? Then this unapologetically joyful tale of love and acceptance in unexpected places - fits the bill. In fact, I finished it in less time than it takes to play a football match. One of several short stories by best-selling authors, Game On is part of a national wide initiative from @readingagency to get more people to pick up a book and use the many libraries across the country.
Profile Image for ✰matthew✰.
852 reviews
December 22, 2024
this was a really good example of a great short story. the characters were really well written, the plot was simple but had twists and the resolution was timely.

the two main characters were lovely and interesting, they carried the story through. the book as a whole felt cosy and welcoming, with a touch of potential risk.

this has made me want to read a full length novel by this author, even more than i already did.
Profile Image for karla_bookishlife.
1,035 reviews36 followers
December 30, 2024
It's not too often that I will pick up a sports themed book, but with Matt Cain penning the story, I just had to check it out. This is a cute story of a footballer coming out to the world and making a stand for other LGBTQIA members in a sport long considered to be unaccepting. It is beautiful to see the protagonist accept himself and then see the world accept him in turn. With a sweet side of romance and a little nod to Albert Entwistle, this made a lovely quick read.
28 reviews
November 17, 2024
My friends know me to be a literary snob and save my high opinions for only high literature; however, this little Novella got me out of a reading slump in the best way. I cried, I laughed and I held my breath. I have found absolute joy in the simplistic plot and narration that Matt Cain has published. Thank you for a heart warmer during a cold month
Profile Image for Jolene.
48 reviews
January 15, 2025
I got one word for this: cute.

I got this book from a lovely little queer (both senses of the word) bookshop in London called Gay's the Word while on vacation. I wanted a quick but fun read for the trainride back home and Game On delivered.
The story is short and sweet, albeit perhaps a little overly optimistic and idealistic. But, well, I think we need that sometimes to create a better world.

Very lovely, and makes me want to see if I can get my hands on more of Matt Cain's writings.
8 reviews
July 10, 2025
I picked this book up for £1 in Waterstones and it’s a decent book.
Predictable, a little formulaic, tries a little hard to be inclusive, yet well-written and entertaining.
I assume the point of this novel is to show the younger generations that they have choices about how they express their sexuality and gender. In this respect it plays way.
Profile Image for Jasmine Eisha Beaumont.
76 reviews1 follower
May 11, 2024
A short and all together really nice book. Only 116 pages but it is one of the sweetest heart warming books I’ve ever read.

If you want something easy to read that will restore your faith in humanity this is it!
Profile Image for Lisa Perkins.
82 reviews
May 13, 2024
What a good little read! Another cracker from Matt Cain! I loved the fact my favourite character Albert was mentioned too ❤️ Quick Reads are fabulous. It had me tingling with pride and made me smile from ear to ear 😀
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews

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