The Penalty for Holding Praise

“Ms. Gouveia can really write compelling narratives and vivid sympathetic characters in this fast paced story. You will want to turn the pages to know what happens next and you don't have to be a sports fan to truly enjoy this book as there is so many other elements that are a part of this story. Lots of twists and turns makes The Penalty for Holding a sure winner. Well done Ms. Gouveia!”
– John DeRosa Jr.

“WOW! This is my first book by Georgette Gouveia and I was blown away by how much I enjoyed reading about these 3 very different men and their twisted relationships. The story begins with Quinn growing up in Jakarta, Indonesia with a mother and stepfather that are not very loving parents. His Aunt Lena takes him away from Jakarta to live in the United States. There is a spoiler here but I won't reveal it. Quinn is drafted by a professional football team as a quarterback, but his coach is one mean, dirty, m*(&f*(&(r who refuses to play Quinn. That is until his star QB is injured. This is Quinn's time to shine. He gets to meet two QBs from other teams that he has admired and secretly lusted after, Mal and Tam. He begins a steamy affair with both of them whenever they can get together, but neither knows about the other. I hated Mal in how badly he treated Quinn and fell in love with Tam. There is a wide range of characters and events that occur that kept me turning the pages until the very end and I loved that the author had Quinn return to his childhood home and reunite with his parents. The ending has a HFN but I am hoping there will be a followup of Quinn and "whichever man he ends up with) NO SPOILER You must read the book!”
– Barb Ingram

“This is an extremely smart and engaging book, even for somebody with little interest in football and even less in gay sex. Nevertheless, I found this book riveting, a tantalizing psychological menage which works extremely well on many levels. Contemporary bodice-ripper meets cautionary tale, the characterization is first class and the sex and skulduggery are deftly handled. A cleverly, carefully constructed modern novel with some deliciously dark elements, free of sentimentalism or guff, The Penalty for Holding held my attention to the very last sentence.”
– Amazon Customer