Author Edward Schmit
Publisher Berkley / Penguin Random House
Pub Date June 2, 2026
Quick Take
The Open Era is a queer rivals-to-lovers romance set against the backdrop of the US Open, following Austin Hardy, the first openly gay man to compete in a Grand Slam, as he navigates sudden visibility, a worsening anxiety disorder, and an unexpected connection with his most formidable competition. Edward Schmit’s debut is warm, emotionally layered, and refreshingly grounded in what it actually feels like to be out and proud in a space that wasn’t built for you. If you’re looking for a queer romance that earns its emotional payoff, this one delivers.
About the Author
Edward Schmit is a New York City-based author whose debut novel combines three things close to his heart: queer love stories, mental health awareness, and tennis. Edward Schmit brings a nonprofit background in mental health advocacy to the page, and it shows, Austin’s anxiety is written with a specificity that doesn’t feel like a plot device. It feels like something Schmit genuinely understands.
What Is The Open Era About?
Austin Hardy turned pro recently and has been out since high school, it was never a particularly big deal in his personal life. That changes the moment he becomes the first openly gay man to compete in a Grand Slam. Suddenly his sexuality is a news cycle, not just a fact about himself. The pressure triggers his anxiety disorder at the worst possible moment, and he quite literally falls, landing next to Diego Cruz, ranked second in the world and frustratingly, confusingly attractive.
What follows is a rivals-to-lovers romance built inside the pressure cooker of two weeks at the US Open, where Austin has to manage his mental health, the weight of representing an entire community, and the very inconvenient feelings developing for the man he may have to face across the net.
Queerness Without the Closet Drama
One of the most refreshing aspects of The Open Era is how it handles Austin’s queerness. He’s already out when the story begins, and rather than building tension around the fear of being exposed, Schmit focuses on something far more interesting: what it means to be visibly, publicly queer in a space that has never had to make room for you before.
There’s a meaningful difference between being out and being seen, and this book understands that. Austin isn’t struggling with his identity. He’s struggling with having his identity turned into a headline, a symbol, a talking point, without his consent. That’s a more nuanced and honestly more timely story than another coming-out arc, and Schmit handles it with sensitivity and without martyrdom. The book celebrates queer joy while also holding space for the real weight that comes with visibility, especially in professional sports.
Chemistry, Pressure, and Emotional Stakes
The chemistry between Austin and Diego is the engine of the novel, and it works. Their dynamic moves through tentative friendship, charged banter, and something warmer and harder to name, at a pace that feels earned rather than rushed. Schmit layers the romantic tension against the mounting stakes of the tournament itself, so the closer they get to potentially playing each other, the more complicated everything feels. It’s effective storytelling.
What gives the romance extra weight is Schmit’s willingness to slow down and let Austin’s inner life breathe. The anxiety representation is specific rather than decorative, Austin isn’t just “a character with anxiety” as a trait; you feel the way it operates in his body, his decision-making, his relationships. That specificity is what separates this from a lot of sports romance, where the emotional beats can feel a little interchangeable.
The Open Era ultimately reads as a book about connection under pressure, learning to trust yourself, learning to trust someone else, and figuring out whether love fits into a life that’s already close to its breaking point.
Is The Open Era Worth Reading?
Yes, particularly if you’re drawn to queer romance that does genuine character work. Schmit is a confident debut author, the pacing is tight, the tennis detail is credible without being alienating, and Austin is the kind of protagonist you root for hard. Comparisons to Red, White & Royal Blue and Challengers are circulating in the advance buzz, and they’re not wrong as reference points, though The Open Era has its own quieter register.
If the book has a limitation, it’s that some of the secondary characters could use more texture, the world feels a little thin outside of Austin and Diego’s orbit. But for a debut focused squarely on two people falling for each other under extraordinary circumstances, that’s a forgivable trade-off.
Final Verdict
The Open Era is a thoughtful, emotionally satisfying queer romance that earns its place on the shelf. Edward Schmit writes queer identity not as conflict to be resolved but as something to be lived; complicated, visible, and worth celebrating. For readers who want a love story with real stakes and a genuine point of view, this one is well worth your time.
This review is based on an advance reader copy provided via NetGalley. The Open Era publishes June 2, 2026.
Queer Book Club 