Thank you Netgalley, all opinions are my own. 

This book was not exactly what I thought it would be.  The romance was just not clicking for me. I think it's a great story but the characters just weren't my favorite for whatever reason. 

Too much was taking away from the romance that I wanted to read about.

Poor Henrick seems to be attracted to the closeted guys. First, Klaus, then Tino. Love CAN conquer all as we find out in this heartfelt romance, set in an exotic seaside community in Albania of all places. Can two handsome men that are highly attracted to each other just be friends? If so, can friends become lovers?

I really enjoyed this book. I found the characters interesting with some complexity to their characters that made them compelling. A book with a good solid plot and found that author Mustafic's simmering story line slowly revealed an undeniable passion in a relaxing, pleasurable read. Love isn't perfect-- but perfect love is worth taking chances.

I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange fro an honest review.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

After his in-the-closet boyfriend announces he wants to take his cover relationship to the next level, Henrick Kohler decides it's time to walk away from their relationship, as he's fed up with being the other man. While taking a much needed vacation, he soon comes face-to-face with famed footballer, Tino Alessi. Tino was recently the center of a scandal, and is hiding out at his favorite vacation spot. While firmly in the closet, or at least in the public's eye, Tino is instantly smitten with Henrick. However, Henrick refuses to be in a relationship with another closeted man, and the two soon settle for friendship. Nevertheless, their mutual attraction soon makes for complications. 

Calling the Ball is the second book I've read by Mustafic, and I'm a little disappointed to find I didn't like it nearly as much as the first. While the concept was intriguing, I found myself instantly disliking Tino's character, and despite his "family man" status, I found his initial encounter with Henrick to be slightly skeevy and immature. I've never really understood characters that continuously go after another when turned down, and I didn't really find Tino and Henrick to have an abundance of chemistry. Furthermore, I didn't find their friendship to be very believable. The pacing was slow, which wouldn't normally bother me, but I just couldn't connect with the story or characters.

Overall, Calling the Ball was just not the book for me. While I wasn't in love with this book, I do still look forward to reading more from the author.

3/5

Phew... unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. That's also why it took me longer than usual to finish. I'm gonna try to explain why I had such a hard time with it:
It started off very promising. You get to know the MCs separately for the first two or three chapters which I like as an introduction. Henrick had me hooked actually when he was treated so poorly by his ex-boyfriend and promised himself to find something real next. I also liked Tino because... closet cases are my thing. Out-for-you can be a beautiful theme.
So far so good.

When Henrick and Tino meet during their holiday there is instant attraction but of course Henrick doesn't want to act on it which I get, I really do. However, this was the point when it started to go downhill for me. I felt no connection between the two MCs. Tino decided from second one that he wanted Henrick and Henrick rebuffed the guy multiple times. It grew exhausting, especially when they still stressed over and over again that they were friends (which really, they were not). There was no trust and no warmth between them.
And while being with Tino was no option at all, Henrick had no hang-ups whatsoever to have his fun with other characters in the book. If one MC gets in 'a relationship' with someone other than the 2nd MC about 50 pages before the book is supposed to end, then something just went wrong in my opinion. Plus, it takes two life threatening incidents for this couple to get together.
I don't want to scare anyone off who wants to try but as I said in the beginning... it wasn't for me.

This one was a bit slow for me. I didn't enjoy it as much as I've been enjoying the Outcasts series.

Very nice and touching story. I love it. I can feel the emotion while reading it. The love and hurts and pains.

This book was so boring. The characters were one dimensional and the plot was slow. I wanted to like this one! However, it's not one I would recommend.

When Henrick gets out of a two year relationship with his coworker he decides to take a vacation to the beach to get his life back on track. When he meets famous footballer Tino, he tries to keep his distance but Tino doesn’t take no for an answer... until he finally does. But as time passes, their friendship means more and more. Will they both change their lives to be happy?

This is the second book I’ve read by CL Mustafic and I’m so glad I was given the opportunity to read this one. I was very impressed by the writing and the story. I literally did not want to put this one down. Henrick was funny and witty and stood up for himself over and over again while Tino was so charming and patient and such a family guy. I loved this so much!

This was a lovely slow burn romance about Henrick, who recently got out of a relationship with a closeted man, and Valentino, a “football” player. The story takes place in Europe, and Henrick and Valentino meet on vacation in Albania. (It was interesting to learn about the Italian-Albanian connection when it was briefly mentioned!) It was an unusual setting, which I appreciated. When the two men meet, Henrick is hesitant to pursue more, as dating the famous Valentino would mean yet another relationship with a closeted man, but on a bigger scale this time. Matters are complicated when another man expresses interest in Henrick as well - one who is not closeted. Personally I didn’t care for that addition, as I wanted even more focus on Henrick with Valentino, but it was probably a necessary plot device to help Valentino make a decision in some ways. There was some use of Italian and other European languages, and I would have liked to know what was being said there on the less obvious words/phrases, but I liked how Valentino called Henrick “tesoro,” as that was so sweet and cute. The subplot between Valentino and his model friend also served its purpose, and Valentino’s team convinced him not to come out until something happens later in the book that makes Valentino understand how much he needs Henrick. I really enjoyed this book, and was so pleased with the ending.