Tigers and Devils

3.5 Stars

So I kinda liken this story to the movie Notting Hill.

You've got regular bloke Simon, who meets and falls in love with national, footy superstar Declan, where said relationship has to be hidden because Declan is not out. Eventually of course, everything comes to light and chaos ensues. Simon and Declan not only have to navigate the muddy waters of burgeoning relationship highs and lows, but a very sensational public outing. It shows in all its glory, the strain on friendships, the awkwardness with family, the stress and paranoia of being in the limelight.

Despite its length and despite the gawd awful, fade to black, I really did enjoy this. It continued to surprise me over and over, because just when I thought it would veer off show more into melodrama or take a turn for the worst due to some stupid miscommunication, it righted itself back up and kept on going (well minus one big incident). Interspersed generously throughout were some smart, self deprecating humor, some slap in your face sobering realism, and a lot of sarcastic, snarky wit.

So overall, I appreciated how these two handled their insecurities, feelings, and problems - all with grounded realism and standout comedic flair. For sure, Simon's droll personality was the shining glory in this, as Declan sweetly loves him for it anyway. I can honestly say I look forward to seeing what's in store for these two in the future. show less

This is a bit tough to write because I feel somewhat mixed about this book. I liked the characters, the story line, and the writing--I think it earned four stars--but I also had to take a break from the book at about 70% through because some things, like both Simon's and Declan's lack of development for most of the book (they always reverted to the same behavior when they had troubles or disagreements, either running away, not talking, or blaming each other, over and over and over again), or like the fact that the story began to skip chunks of time and then would go back and explain some of what went on instead of letting us experience the scenes, got to be annoying by the last 40 or 30%. (E.g. even though the book spanned over a year, show more it didn't feel like I experienced all of that time with them.)

But other than those bits, I enjoyed the plot, especially how they met and how their relationship grew; I enjoyed their friends and had quite a few laughs delivered via the bickering (and a fair bit of wisdom too); and even though I sometimes didn't see the love, I still always liked Dec and Simon together. They were a complicated couple, both stuck in old behavioral patterns that caused a lot of (unnecessary) trouble and took a long time to work out. But they kept coming back for more after being stubborn bullheads off by themselves for a while, and learned how to actually talk to each their partner at the end, so I was happy about all that.

It's a good book despite its faults, and I'm still going to eventually read the sequel, just not for a while ;)
I recommend this book if you like sports, some angst, bullheaded men, and/or great friends. It was actually a much more fun read than this has made it sound, sorry 'bout that(!), but it ain't the best either. See the middle ground I'm on? Mixed feelings, I told ya a few lines back. Love the cover though, all the way. show less

This is my second read of Tigers and Devils and I would be happy to immediately read it again. I LOVE this book. I LOVE Simon and all his snarky smart-assery (yes, that’s not a word but it fits Simon). I love his best friends, Fran & Roger; who wouldn’t want them as best friends? I love Declan for being so much more than a jock. Abe & Lisa, Declan’s closest friends, are fantastic as well. Finally I love Simon & Declan together because while they don’t always make the best decisions, in the end they recognize what they have is more important than all the outside forces that affect them. These are characters that I would love to be friends with if they were real people; they remind me of people that I know and love now.

The story show more starts with Simon and Declan meeting at a party when Simon simultaneously defends and insults Declan, setting the tone for their relationship. These are two very different men from very divergent backgrounds that manage to come together partially because of those differences and sometimes in spite of them. Neither of them has very good communication skills which cause some of their problems and exacerbate others. Simon’s response to stress is to internalize it; Dec’s response it to run away from it. Both of these responses are common in real life and I think that is what I truly love about this book. It is about real life. Declan is an extremely famous sports figure but what we see of him is more about what he is like off the Football ground (yes, I had to look that up) than what he is on it. The outside forces that affect them often come from Dec’s celebrity but they are realistic.

I have to admit I didn’t even notice the lack of sex in the book. When I read some of the other reviews that pointed this out I was surprised at first. There may not be a lot of sex but there is a lot of intimacy. I found their love and concern for each other more enjoyable than most sex scenes manage to convey anyhow.

I am not a sports fan and had avoided reading this initially because I knew there would be sports, probably a lot of sports, involved. After this reading I actually kind of want to look into Footy just to be able to understand some of the stuff that didn’t translate that well for me. Not that you can’t read and enjoy this book without having that knowledge but I enjoyed it enough that I actually want to understand all of it instead of just accepting the parts I didn’t quite get. I think that pretty much makes it clear how much I enjoyed this book; a non-sports obsessed person being willing to look into a sport simply so I can more fully enjoy the story. show less

When I was growing up my dad was an avid Green Bay Packers football fan as well as a University of Nebraska Cornhusker football fan. (Go Big Red!) What this meant is on most Saturdays in the fall we’d go to a game, and on Sundays we’d watch one on television.


All of this was great preparation for Kennedy’s wonderful Tigers and Devils even though I’d never heard of Australian football before and had no idea what their teams were. Rabid sports fans are rabid sports fans the world over.

Because his best friend Roger and his wife Fran insist, Melbourne film festival organizer Simon Murray shows up at a party where he knows practically no one. Overhearing a group bad mouth football star Declan Tyler whose year of injuries have made show more him the sports target of the year, Simon defends the man — only to find Declan standing right behind him.

Through this accidental meeting, gay Simon finds out that Declan is a closet case and that they immediately click. But every time they get close, Declan runs, leaving Simon with very mixed signals.

With the encouragement of his married friends and his snippy assistant, Simon patiently waits for Declan, who is battling injuries and is playing for a new team, to acknowledge his sexuality and either admit his feelings for Simon or drop him once and for all.

Kennedy plays lightly with the story often with laugh out loud moments. However, even with this light touch, the central romance shines through and features scenes that will resonate in readers’ hearts, all because the characters are so lovable and real.

Simon is a wonderfully self-sufficient, often confident character even though he has his moments of self-doubt. He’s occasionally a jumble of nerves about his non-existent social life and a critic who hounds him. But he’s the kind of friend who banters easily and for the most part is fairly laid back.

Declan is more difficult to get to know. He’s got an image to protect and can’t come to terms with who he really is, so he flees when he’s conflicted and just about ruins any hope of getting together with understanding Simon.

While these two are the heart of the book and keep it beating right along beautifully, Kennedy adds absolutely wonderful peripheral characters in Simon’s married friends, Simon’s assistant, and the gay reporter who hounds Simon. All add to the ambiance of the book and made the book come alive.

I’ve never been to Australia, but Kennedy’s book not only made me want to visit there but also made me curious enough about Australian football that I googled page after page about it. What I found made me nostalgic about the days sitting in our family’s rec room watching American college and professional football.

I must add, for those who aren’t readers of male / male romances, there is sex in this book. There’s not a lot, and it’s not rabidly blatant. But it is there. It’s mixed in nicely with this exploration of an older man’s coming of age sexually. And the coming into self-awareness is the magical glue that makes this book so enjoyable. show less

I can't even begin to describe how much I loved this book. It was so refreshing to see such an unapologetically Aussie setting with teams and towns and terms I recognised.

I could have just kept reading this forever. Simon and Declan are fantastic MCs: well-rounded, perfectly flawed, funny, with great chemistry. The secondary characters were interesting and nicely written, particularly the female characters. Roger frustrated me, I must admit, but I liked him more than I wanted to smack him. Realistic descriptions of life - and of the media - in Australia as well.

I will read this again and again, and I can't wait to read Sean Kennedy's other work.

This was the most addictive book to read. Written in first person, I found Simon’s story rather difficult to put down. At times he was a bit whiny and I did get a little over his trials and tribulations with his mates, but Simon was an appealing character who I found myself cheering on silently in his relationship woes. He does try, really!

Although I am not a huge sports fan, I am a total freak for sports romances and seeing one about the very high testosterone field of football was a definite winner for me. That it was also set in a city not too far away from where I am was also a huge plus. Most romance novels are set in the US. Which is fine for the most part, but it is nice to read about other places in the world and this one felt show more very familiar and the authors voice was incredibly engaging.

While I did enjoy the book a great deal, I had a few problems with the length. Some parts in the last third or so of the book felt extraneous and I wondered if the latter parts of the novel could have been a little tighter. Sometimes less is more. Despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, it was a great holiday read. More please! show less

3.5 stars. I liked the friendship between Simon and Roger as much as, if not more than the romance between Simon and Declan. The author does a good job of showing the complicated dynamics of two men who are lifelong best friends after one of them comes out of the closet. As for the romance, it starts out strong but then it gets bogged down in repetitive misunderstandings and miscommunications. At the end of the day I wasn't sure that Declan and Simon had grown or learned or changed enough that their relationship would survive in the long run.