Tag: football romance

Book Review: Blitz (Treasure State Wildcats #2) by Devney Perry

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 356 pages
Author: Devney Perry
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: March 7th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A forbidden, small town, sports romance from Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Devney Perry.

A coach. A student. The rules were concrete. We broke them anyway.

The night I met Toren Greely was the night I learned how to lie. He was a Treasure State football coach. I was the star of the volleyball team. Coaches and students were forbidden. My future was on the line, so I told myself it was only one night.

That was the first lie. They got easier to tell after that. The lines blurred. The boundaries shifted. Our relationship became a game of its own.

A chaste smile. A knowing glance. A veiled touch or a hushed kiss. We hid in plain sight. We were invincible. Or so we thought. Neither of us saw the blitz coming until it was too late.

Game over. The night I left Toren Greely was the night I learned how to lose.

I LIKED IT.

I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this forbidden romance, but honestly, it didn’t bug me all that much. I liked the set-up and just kind of rolled with the fantasy of this plot. I was here for vibes, and I liked the vibes.

The FMC was a bit dumb though. I didn’t like her POV as much with how repetitive she was and kind of unobservant of her situation. I think multiple things could have been handled differently, but I did love that she was a volleyball player and eventually found her passion and dreams.

I adored Toren. He was a sweet and I could not get enough of this age gap. There is something in Perry’s writing that pulls me in and I find myself flipping pages as fast as I can. I enjoyed the plot and had a good time reading this.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Sports Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 3-4 open door
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: inappropriate coach/student relationship, underage drinking

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Book Review: The Hardest Fall by Ella Maise

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: NA Sports Romance
Length: 430 pages
Author: Ella Maise
Publisher: Self published
Release Date: April 16th, 2018
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The first time you meet someone, you make eye contact. You smile, say hello. Should be simple, if you’re anyone but me. The first time I met Dylan Reed, I found myself making eye contact with a different part of his body. You see, I’m very good at being shy, not to mention extremely well-versed in rambling nonsense and, unfortunately, rather highly skilled at making a fool of myself in front of a guy I’m attracted to.

At the time, I knew nothing about him and thought none of what I said would matter since I’d never speak to him again. Turns out, I was very wrong. He was the star wide receiver of the football team, one of the few players expected to make it into the NFL, and I ended up seeing him all over campus.
I might have also propositioned him, run away from him, attacked him with a cooking utensil…and…uh, maybe I shouldn’t tell you all of it. It’s pretty normal stuff, things you’d expect…from me. Eventually, the time came when I couldn’t hide anymore—not that he’d have let me even if I tried.
Before now, he never knew I was secretly watching him. Now that we see each other every day, he knows when I have a hard time looking away. It doesn’t help that I’m not the most subtle person in the world either.

He smiles at me and tells me he finds me fascinating because of my quirks. I can’t even tell him that I think my heart beats differently whenever he’s around.

He thinks we’re going to be best friends. I think I have a big thing for him, and the more I get to know him, the more I don’t care that I’m not allowed to be his friend, let alone fall for him.
The thing is, that’s exactly what I’m doing—what we’re doing, I think.

Falling.
Hard.

EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED.

I started this one off not knowing how I would feel about it and then found myself holding my hand to my open mouth in shock watching the other shoe drop angry I had to put my audio book away for real life things because I NEEDED ANSWERS. Cleary this book wrapped me up and I was utterly smitten with Dylan and Zoe.

This turned out to be a really sweet strangers to friends to lovers scenario. I loved the forced proximity and all of the subtle moments that brought Dylan and Zoe together. I can’t help but love a good jealousy or protective moment and this had BOTH. I can also happily say this is definitely a sports romance. I loved the football aspects that were woven in well to the plot too.

I thought the Mark thing was initially off putting until fully explained and I wish that that creep factor hadn’t bee there at all. I don’t have any major issues otherwise. This was a swoony new adult romance that I could not put down.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Sports Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 3-4 open; high explicit
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: rape (occurs to a side character, aftermath depicted), physical assault

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ALC Book Review: The Rule Book by Sarah Adams

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Sarah Adams
Publisher: Dell
Release Date: April 2nd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

College sweethearts meet again years later, in this highly anticipated romance and companion story to the viral TikTok sensation The Cheat Sheet.

Nora Mackenzie’s entire career lies in the hands of famous NFL tight end Derek Pender who also happens to be her extremely hot college ex-boyfriend. Nora didn’t end things as gracefully as she could have back then, and now it’s come back to haunt her. Derek is her first client as an official full-time sports agent and he’s holding a grudge.

Derek has set his sights on a little friendly revenge. If Nora Mackenzie, the first girl to ever break his heart, wants to be his agent, oh he’ll let her be his agent. The plan is make Nora’s life absolutely miserable. But if Derek knows anything about the woman he once loved—she won’t quit easily.

Instead of giving in, Nora starts a scheme of her own. But then a wild night in Vegas leads to Nora and Derek in bed the next morning married. With their rule book out the window, could this new relationship be the thing to save their careers?

Thank you to PRHAudio for the free audiobook.

HELD UP.

Honestly y’all. I was nervous about this one. But honestly, I loved it. It had all of the charm and swoon that I love and adore in Sarah Adams books. I laughed out loud multiple times at the well placed jokes and banter between Nora and Derek. The set-up worked really well and I loved seeing both of them pursue their separate passions while finding a way to reconnect.

My tiny quip is that I just didn’t understand the reason for breaking up in the first place. One small conversation could have changed the entire trajectory (which is an issue I often have in second chance romance books and it’s a me thing, BUT STILL).

I loved the forced proximity moments and hot dang Derek has a heated way with words. This is my favorite level of heat and steam and I looooved the combination. The audiobook narrators did an amazing job. I really appreciate with dual POV having two narrators.

And I am OBSESSED with how much we got to see Derek’s friend group (including Nathan!!). I know a lot of focus is usually around great female friendships (which is awesome), I just loved that this one had Derek and his friends as a prominent aspect. I loved how they encouraged and pushed Derek to move forward and make things work with Bree.

Absolutely another hit for Sarah Adams. Her books bring me such joy.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Sports Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: one open door; low explicit
  • Violence: low

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ARC Book Review: Where You Belong (The Abandoned Brothers #2) by Stacy Williams

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 463 pages
Author: Stacy Williams
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: February 26th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

What if you’re lost? What will it take to find your way back?

Andie has been hiding, wanting to stay in the past rather than face the uncertainty of the future. When the force of a lie pulls her out of the darkness and into the light – the spotlight she’s avoided – she has to decide if she’ll stand and fight or run for cover.

With each step, she has a choice to make. She can continue to watch life go on around her or see what might be waiting on the other side. Will fear keep her from moving on, or can she find the courage to take the leap?

Sean thought he had it all. That is…until he realized it was only surface-deep. He let himself get caught up in fame, fortune, and the life that comes with it. But when his superficial world blows up in his face, the face of the man he let himself become, he has a battle on his hands.

When the professional footballer’s career is left hanging in the balance along with a life of his own, Sean has to decide if the risk of losing all he’s worked for is worth it to get back to the man he wants to be – the man he used to be.

Where You Belong is a touching love story that reminds us that even when we don’t expect it…love shows up.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

I LOVE SLOW BURN.

Slow burn romances just hit different y’all. The tension and angst was pulled out beautifully and I was chomping at the bit waiting for them to finally kiss.

This was a beautiful love story with a lot of nuanced pieces that made of these two characters. I adored both Sean and Andie. The banter was fun and sassy, but then you can slowly see the breakdown of walls and allowing the other person to see a deeper side of you. There’s many complex situations happening in both of their lives and I love how they learned to do life together.

I do think this one felt a little more repetitive in inner dialogue, if that was scaled back the pacing would have been a little better. That’s my only iffy thing though. I love the way Stacy Williams creates a story. These are slightly heavier romances with the right amount of lightness and humor to show that hope and happiness is coming.

I absolutely loved all of the football and music content. There were some good things woven throughout and one of the cutest little characters around. Another great book in this series and I look forward to the next!

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: parental abandonment, poor mother/daughter relationship, loss of a spouse (recounted)

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