This new adult sports romance is just a little bit excellent. The events of Unloved take place at the same time as last year’s Unsteady and tells the story of Freddy and Ro.

Freddy is a college hockey player and failing student – and a bit of a goofball whose only talents are, apparently, playing hockey and sex. Freddy’s backstory unfolds slowly for us in his PoV; he’s got ADHD, some learning challenges, arrested grief, a toxic relationship with his father and he is being low-level bullied by some of the tutors at college. That’s a lot for one young man to unpack.

Ro is a smart girl, and a tutor at college, who also has a serious set of challenges. She’s been in a long-term first-time relationship which is toxic for her, and as a people pleaser, she hasn’t got the skills or the maturity to understand that she’s being played. Of course, her boyfriend is also one of the young men bullying Freddy. When Ro starts tutoring Freddy there’s lots of stopping and starting, but these two very quickly form a supportive bond and look out for each other in a way that neither of them has really experienced before. This is so wonderful to read. Freddie is a himbo, good with his body but with no confidence outside of that, and while Ro isn’t able to stand up for herself, she can step in and advocate for Freddy in a really admirable way. There’s lots of character development for both of them as their self-confidence begins to grow. I loved it!

The romance is a slow burn, which is important as Ro is with her boyfriend on and off for more than half of the novel and Freddy is a player. They roll from respect to admiration to love before they actually hit the sheets, and of course, when they do, it’s sexy, funny, energetic and really lovely. Peyton Corinne is flourishing as a writer and even with some repetition this is a great read.

Unloved balances the angst of Ro and Freddy’s circumstances with the warmth between them, and if you loved Unsteady, then Unloved will be a treat.