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ibbbbs's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kristenraeham's review against another edition
3.0
Second chance + football romance!
High school sweethearts Poppy & TK reconnect unexpectedly after years apart. They're forced to deal with the emotions & secrets between them.
Read if you love...
✨single parent, FMC
🏈MMC pro football player
✨second chance
👏🏼dual perspective
✨hilarious kiddo
To be honest, once again, I should have written the review right after finishing the book because now I don't remember all the things to write a proper review.
I listened to this one quickly because I was curious how everything played out, and there were definitely things I liked & didn't like.
Liked...
• the kiddo is hilarious
• if it's actually all true, the insider knowledge of how football training camp, pre-season, and games work for family is really cool
• the friendships between Poppy and a couple of the other player's girlfriends / wives
• the writing improved from her debut to the second book
Disliked...
• the whiplash of how quickly they were physical / back together after yeaaars of not seeing each other to pulling back and being distant - it could be the demi/gray in me, but it felt so off to me that they just jumped back in without really talking about anything & then when they did talk things loosely fell apart
• I semi understand within the context of their past, but how quickly (with a kid involved) they moved relationship wise just didn't work for me
It was a quick read and I'll continue the series because I'm curious to see what happens and see Martin's writing approve, but so far mixed feelings about this series.
📍Colorado
✨Representation: Black MCs & side characters
‼️Content: stalking; abandonment; sexual harassment; abortion; medical trauma
ceena's review against another edition
4.0
*I voluntarily read and reviewed and ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. *
As soon as I finished reading Intercepted I went and requested this one from Netgalley, I was So. Excited. Then when the approval came in I threw my TBR list out the window in order to read this one. The thing is, it didn't live up to the hype.
Does that mean it isn't a good book??? Heck no, techno, I just wasn't as enchanted with it as I was the first -- which would have been hard with all my internal hype too.
Poppy is a strong amazing character and her son Ace is so, so adorable. TK isn't who I thought he would be, which threw me for a loop. I thought he would be more goofy and carefree, but we didn't get that. Although, it is also brought up a bit and I appreciated the drama there. Brynn returns here and I gotta admit that she is stealing my heart.
This book is a bit more serious than the first. I don't remember laughing here, which is a HUGE change since I laughed all the time with the first book. I'm just trying to show why my expectations were off and how it might have affected my rating.
With Poppy and TK, I didn't feel a ton of chemistry. I think this is because they had so much in the past that they just picked right back up and didn't really do much on page. Plus, their relationship along with other aspects of the book just felt like it happened so... easily. Everything just fell into place, which ended up making some things feel anticlimatic. Not all relationships need drama, this is true, but I needed a bit more oomph.
Look, I still really enjoyed this book and I am so very excited to eventually read the third book featuring Brynn as the main character. I'm just hoping I'm not wrong with Maxwell's personality this time. If you liked the first book, I think you should give this one a try, just don't expect the same kind of story. Also, this can be read as a standalone -- Marlee and Gavin are mentioned, but knowing their story doesn't help with understanding this one.
As soon as I finished reading Intercepted I went and requested this one from Netgalley, I was So. Excited. Then when the approval came in I threw my TBR list out the window in order to read this one. The thing is, it didn't live up to the hype.
Does that mean it isn't a good book??? Heck no, techno, I just wasn't as enchanted with it as I was the first -- which would have been hard with all my internal hype too.
Poppy is a strong amazing character and her son Ace is so, so adorable. TK isn't who I thought he would be, which threw me for a loop. I thought he would be more goofy and carefree, but we didn't get that. Although, it is also brought up a bit and I appreciated the drama there. Brynn returns here and I gotta admit that she is stealing my heart.
This book is a bit more serious than the first. I don't remember laughing here, which is a HUGE change since I laughed all the time with the first book. I'm just trying to show why my expectations were off and how it might have affected my rating.
With Poppy and TK, I didn't feel a ton of chemistry. I think this is because they had so much in the past that they just picked right back up and didn't really do much on page. Plus, their relationship along with other aspects of the book just felt like it happened so... easily. Everything just fell into place, which ended up making some things feel anticlimatic. Not all relationships need drama, this is true, but I needed a bit more oomph.
Look, I still really enjoyed this book and I am so very excited to eventually read the third book featuring Brynn as the main character. I'm just hoping I'm not wrong with Maxwell's personality this time. If you liked the first book, I think you should give this one a try, just don't expect the same kind of story. Also, this can be read as a standalone -- Marlee and Gavin are mentioned, but knowing their story doesn't help with understanding this one.
bnryan95's review against another edition
3.0
In a series about football, I really appreciate that this book did not completely glorify the sport, and instead tackled (no pun intended) the very real problem of CTE. As the wife of a former NFL player, I'm sure this is an issue on the forefront of the author's mind.
That being said, this book was okay, but not great. Overall, I did enjoy it and I will be reading the rest of the series. I like how all of the books intertwine, but can be read as stand-alones as well.
What I didn't like:
- Why did Poppy send TK a text that she was pregnant. I get teenagers love texting blah blah blah, but this was a real big deal and even teenagers are more mature than that. I wish we would have gotten a little more backstory about this time in their lives.
- Why was TK's mother written as such a lunatic? And Rochelle? The nurse for some reason?? Any female character that didn't get along with the main character was written as a deranged psycho/asshole/bitch/etc. This also was the case in the first book of this series "Intercepted". Not everyone is going to get along in life, that's a given. But these women are written as over the top catty and ridiculous. I just expect more than the boiled down women against women tropes in a book that also praises the importance of strong female friendships.
- Rochelle was not in the book enough to be the villain sending the threatening messages. I thought for sure it was going to be Cole the way the author periodically mentioned his bad attitude after Poppy and TK got together. Just another example of women being crazy for no reason.
- Why was Poppy so quick to fall back into things with TK when she was under the impression he'd abandoned her at 16 and pregnant? This was wild to me. Yes, nine years had passed but GIRL WHAT. There was NOT enough written about this plot line. TK's mom not informing him he'd gotten a girl pregnant and then never telling him was not discussed enough! The ramifications of this was not discussed enough! Also who was the girl who answered TK's phone when Poppy tried to call him? Whhhhhy didn't they talk about this more. They just fell into a happy family so seamlessly, it was unbelievable.
- Ace should have needed more adjusting. Yes, he just found out his sports hero was his dad, but c'mon. There should have been a bit more friction between the trio trying to work things out and exist as a newly formed family.
- Why was there not more press about TK discovering out of the blue that he had a nine year old child? In "Intercepeted" the media went wild on Marlee and Gavin when they got together after she broke up with Chris. A secret child is way bigger of a headline in my opinion.
That being said, this book was okay, but not great. Overall, I did enjoy it and I will be reading the rest of the series. I like how all of the books intertwine, but can be read as stand-alones as well.
What I didn't like:
- Why did Poppy send TK a text that she was pregnant. I get teenagers love texting blah blah blah, but this was a real big deal and even teenagers are more mature than that. I wish we would have gotten a little more backstory about this time in their lives.
- Why was TK's mother written as such a lunatic? And Rochelle? The nurse for some reason?? Any female character that didn't get along with the main character was written as a deranged psycho/asshole/bitch/etc. This also was the case in the first book of this series "Intercepted". Not everyone is going to get along in life, that's a given. But these women are written as over the top catty and ridiculous. I just expect more than the boiled down women against women tropes in a book that also praises the importance of strong female friendships.
- Rochelle was not in the book enough to be the villain sending the threatening messages. I thought for sure it was going to be Cole the way the author periodically mentioned his bad attitude after Poppy and TK got together. Just another example of women being crazy for no reason.
- Why was Poppy so quick to fall back into things with TK when she was under the impression he'd abandoned her at 16 and pregnant? This was wild to me. Yes, nine years had passed but GIRL WHAT. There was NOT enough written about this plot line. TK's mom not informing him he'd gotten a girl pregnant and then never telling him was not discussed enough! The ramifications of this was not discussed enough! Also who was the girl who answered TK's phone when Poppy tried to call him? Whhhhhy didn't they talk about this more. They just fell into a happy family so seamlessly, it was unbelievable.
- Ace should have needed more adjusting. Yes, he just found out his sports hero was his dad, but c'mon. There should have been a bit more friction between the trio trying to work things out and exist as a newly formed family.
- Why was there not more press about TK discovering out of the blue that he had a nine year old child? In "Intercepeted" the media went wild on Marlee and Gavin when they got together after she broke up with Chris. A secret child is way bigger of a headline in my opinion.
mccosgrove's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0