Book Review: Hold Me Like A Grudge by Celine Ong

Official Synopsis: From death-defying stunts to campy character gimmicks, everything in the world of professional wrestling is an act. Asher Ross’s hatred for Caleb Knight, however, is not. When Asher finally gets drafted to Global Elite Wrestling’s main roster and is thrown into a feud with Caleb for the World Championship title, he’s hell-bent on making Caleb’s life a living nightmare. But as both men trade barbs and blows across arenas, they’re each surprised to find their chemistry is so electric, it can’t be just for show.

Through rehearsals, training sessions, and injuries, Caleb’s icy walls begin to thaw, revealing the real man hidden behind the ruthless person GEW has molded him into. An unlikely truce blossoms into feelings neither wants to deny, but, set in old ways, the company won’t let them be seen as anything more than bitter rivals, both in and out of the ring.

With the risk of their forbidden romance upending their lifelong dreams, Asher and Caleb grapple with what they truly want in an industry known to erase queerness from its history, and face the hardest battle yet: how much of their hearts are they prepared to give up, and if they are willing to fight to leave a legacy of their own.

Did I know next to nothing about professional wresting? Yes. Did I request an arc of this book because it's title is also the name of a Fall Out Boy song? Yes.

Asher Ross has finally made it to GEW (Global Elite Wrestling) main roster, meaning he can finally show up his skills to a wider audience, while also competing against some of the best. The current World Championship title belongs to Caleb Knight, also known as the Ice Prince, who is known for being strong and aggressive in the ring, but is an outcast among the rest of the roster. Caleb spends most of the traveling days alone, has hotel rooms in different places, and overall doesn't interact with the group in their activities. When Asher and Caleb are rooted against each other as face and heel, Asher is ready to take on the person he looked up to. But Caleb is already a villain in Asher's story, and he is determined to make his time as the world champion a living nightmare.

But then there is an accident while they are competing, leaving Asher with a concussion and unable to perform. When Caleb is the one who shows up with food and stays to take care of him, Asher's feelings for Caleb start to change. Caleb, in his own way, is trying to be better, but has a fear of the people he loves leaving him. As Asher and Caleb grow closer, both as friend and then as more, they are risking their contract and their 'public outlook' but being more than friends behind the scenes. As Asher tries to figure out his own sexuality, he learns how Caleb's has been used against him throughout his life, and how having two queer wrestlers who are meant to be enemies isn't the narrative the GEW wants.

Firstly, I found the writing in this book to be well done, especially the wrestling parts that are written in Asher and Caleb's point-of-views. You can see how their feelings for the sport changes throughout the story, and how they are feeling internally during all the events of the book. Caleb is definitely a dark cloud kind of character, who has been through a lot and feels threatened by the thought of having what he has now taken away. He is definitely more scared and hiding than we see Asher being. We also get to see Asher start to understand himself more as he realizes his 'looking up to' Caleb may have been other feelings entirely. I did like the behind the scenes moments where everyone learned about how poorly queer people were treated within the GEW and how that changes into trying to make it better. As per usual with some stories like this, I don't love when someone is forced to come out and that leads to them maybe having to hide again, but I did like how that was worked through during the story.

One thing I did find really funny and don't know if it was on purpose or not, is that many of the lines in the book definitely were close to pop=punk song lyrics and each time I caught one I felt like I was in on a secret. Reminder, I did request this book because of the title.

Overall, I liked diving into a new type of queer sports romance, because I know literally nothing about wrestling, and I did enjoy how the book was written.

Happy Pride Month everyone!

I rated this book 3 out of 5 stars!

Hold Me Like a Grudge comes out June 30, 2026!

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