Exclusive Interview
Who (& What) Will Ana Huang’s ‘The Keeper’ Be About? She Spills Key Details
What To Know
- Ana Huang confirmed that her upcoming novel, The Keeper, will follow single dad Noah Wilson.
- In her interview with Swooon, Huang revealed new details about Noah’s love story and the book’s main trope.
- The book is set for release on October 10, 2026.
By now, Anaverse fans know that Ana Huang‘s third (and final) book in the Gods of the Game series will be The Keeper, following the love story of elusive single dad, Noah Wilson. However, the leading lad’s love interest and storyline remained unclear — until now.
Following the release of Twisted Love author Ana Huang’s newest book, she sat down with Swooon to talk all things The Defender, which follows Blackcastle Football captain Vincent DuBois’ relationship with his coach’s daughter, Brooklyn Armstrong. However, we couldn’t let Huang go before finding out what she has in store for readers with her next Gods of the Game book, The Keeper. Let’s just say, the BookTok sensation was willing to reveal a lot more about The Keeper than we had expected!
After confirming that Noah Wilson’s love interest would be Carina Vu, the best friend of Books 1-2 FMCs, Scarlett and Brooklyn. While Carina has been known to joke that being in a relationship would “cramp her style,” Huang broke down how this unlikely pairing would cross paths outside of their mutual friends. While The Defender sported a forced proximity romance, Huang confirmed that The Keeper is “a single dad/nanny romance.” According to the author, “Their relationship is going to be such a fun dynamic.”
Huang revealed to Swooon, “It’s gonna be my first single dad romance, which I’m really excited about, but also kind of nervous about, because I’ve never really written a book with a kid.” She explained, “I don’t have children, so I’m like, ‘Okay, I need to really tap in and figure out what this is going to look like.’ I’m really excited to try a new dynamic for me.”
On the final page of The Defender, Huang teased The Keeper, writing, “He can resist any woman in the world… Except for the one he shouldn’t want.” In regard to that loaded preview, Huang explained, “I mean, Noah’s so kind of grumpy, right? And I’ll say that he’s a hotshot footballer in London. Going into this book, he had a lot of issues with previous nannies that had worked for him, who either weren’t quite as focused on his daughter as they were on him or all these other things.” Enter: Carina Vu.
“I think when Carina comes to work for him, he actually makes her sign a contract, being like you are not allowed to fall in love with me, which is kind of arrogant when you look at it,” Huang explained. “But also on his part, it just seems like a really smart thing to do.” Of course, nothing is that simple for the characters in the Anaverse. While Noah might want a nanny bound to a promise to fall for him, Huang teased, “Obviously, that leads to all sorts of complications on his part.”
Outside of the main romance, Huang promised that the final Gods of the Game novel would deliver on the “sports” aspect of the sports romance genre. “The World Cup will play a part in this story as well,” she told Swooon. “This is the final book in the series. So, of course, you have to go with the big final game, not necessarily for Blackcastle, but just for the players in general.”
We know The Defender just came out, but can we have The Keeper, like, yesterday?!
The Keeper by Ana Huang is available October 10, 2026.
