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shms's review
2.0
1.5*. I could have skipped from 30% to 85% point of the book and missed nothing. The bare minimum of plot line and an h that's so self absorbed she displays same old behaviour over and over and over again until the, you've guessed it, 85% of the book has passed. Writing is good but the rest, forget it.
shmsy's review
2.0
1.5*. I could have skipped from 30% to 85% point of the book and missed nothing. The bare minimum of plot line and an h that's so self absorbed she displays same old behaviour over and over and over again until the, you've guessed it, 85% of the book has passed. Writing is good but the rest, forget it.
rockchick's review against another edition
2.0
Too much drama, self sacrificing heroine who needed to take the chances laid for her and stop second guessing herself.
Enjoyed the friends to lovers trope.
Enjoyed the friends to lovers trope.
chroniclesofabookreader's review against another edition
4.0
Played had the best kind of friends-to-lovers romances out there. Frederick wove a tale of friendship with ease and skill, a technique that made their deep connection vibrant and their transition to lovers seamless. With a delicious slow burn that echoed in every scene, Ty and Ara’s story will keep you captivated the entire way through.
Both characters were starkly real–Ty’s struggle with image and the tricky path to being drafted along with Ara’s battle to be seen outside of her father’s shadow brought to life that identity crisis of a near college graduate and the pressures placed on those with a lot to lose (i.e. all young people entering the workforce). Their dynamic felt comfortable, a partnership of friends that melded with one another as if it were second nature. It furthered the build-up to a satisfyingly fiery romance, and gave it another wonderful layer to become captivated by.
Played was easy to fall into and addictive to keep reading, and because of that it’ll be a fast but enjoyable read. I loved both main characters and their path to recognizing the rewards of falling for your very best friend. Even if friends-to-lovers isn’t your thing, there’s a whole host of beauty to find in this story.
**Received an early copy; this had no bearing on my opinions**
Both characters were starkly real–Ty’s struggle with image and the tricky path to being drafted along with Ara’s battle to be seen outside of her father’s shadow brought to life that identity crisis of a near college graduate and the pressures placed on those with a lot to lose (i.e. all young people entering the workforce). Their dynamic felt comfortable, a partnership of friends that melded with one another as if it were second nature. It furthered the build-up to a satisfyingly fiery romance, and gave it another wonderful layer to become captivated by.
Played was easy to fall into and addictive to keep reading, and because of that it’ll be a fast but enjoyable read. I loved both main characters and their path to recognizing the rewards of falling for your very best friend. Even if friends-to-lovers isn’t your thing, there’s a whole host of beauty to find in this story.
**Received an early copy; this had no bearing on my opinions**
mylastromancenovel's review against another edition
3.0
My rating 3 stars.
Things I liked:
-Ava and Ty individually and their relationship
-the characters
-the writing
General Thoughts: I enjoyed this one. It's one of my favorites by Jen. She did a really good job developing these characters and their friendship. I thought this one was of her better ones.
Steam Meter: New adult level steam. This one was a slow burn for a lot of the novel, but I enjoyed it.
Romantic Tropes
-friends to lovers
-very slow burn
-football/sports romance
Things I liked:
-Ava and Ty individually and their relationship
-the characters
-the writing
General Thoughts: I enjoyed this one. It's one of my favorites by Jen. She did a really good job developing these characters and their friendship. I thought this one was of her better ones.
Steam Meter: New adult level steam. This one was a slow burn for a lot of the novel, but I enjoyed it.
Romantic Tropes
-friends to lovers
-very slow burn
-football/sports romance
firesbrigan's review
3.0
cute if not overplayed tropes in this one!
full disclosure, i actually didn't read the rest of the gridiron series, but frederick does a good job of individualizing each story enough that you can read each one as a standalone.
there was good tension between ty and ara and their friendship was cute. at times i felt like it was a bit longwinded in terms of internal monologues about risking the friendship, especially since we know its a HEA so like ya know how its gonna go down.
all in all, cute easy college sports romance read!
full disclosure, i actually didn't read the rest of the gridiron series, but frederick does a good job of individualizing each story enough that you can read each one as a standalone.
there was good tension between ty and ara and their friendship was cute. at times i felt like it was a bit longwinded in terms of internal monologues about risking the friendship, especially since we know its a HEA so like ya know how its gonna go down.
all in all, cute easy college sports romance read!
joaninhamia's review
4.0
Sweet, light read. Ty's a loveable hero. Typical story, friends develop feelings towards each other, but are too afraid to mess up the friendship. liked it.
tucker4's review against another edition
3.0
3 is being generous. It's more like 2.5.
I just didn't understand the author's thinking sometimes.
First of all, the book picks up a few weeks after Ty and Ara's drunken hookup. So the reader is immediately playing catch up as to what's going on and missed the event that drives all of the events after it.
Now I didn't read the first 3 books in this series so maybe there were details in those that would have filled some holes for me, but, though past events were often referenced, they were never fully explained! Which drove me crazy. Eventually, sometimes, I was able to piece together the details of an earlier event from all of the different references, but I don't think this book was supposed to feel like a puzzle I had to assemble. I even downloaded the earlier books and tried to do search's for Ty or Ara to find references that would have shed some light on things.
And this weird glossing over of details wasn't limited to past events. When you have a dual POV you expect to be included when big events happen to either person. But we weren't. When
On top of this the writing was also unclear at times and I would have to reread certain paragraphs more than once. And don't get me started on the twin test.
I just didn't understand the author's thinking sometimes.
First of all, the book picks up a few weeks after Ty and Ara's drunken hookup. So the reader is immediately playing catch up as to what's going on and missed the event that drives all of the events after it.
Now I didn't read the first 3 books in this series so maybe there were details in those that would have filled some holes for me, but, though past events were often referenced, they were never fully explained! Which drove me crazy. Eventually, sometimes, I was able to piece together the details of an earlier event from all of the different references, but I don't think this book was supposed to feel like a puzzle I had to assemble. I even downloaded the earlier books and tried to do search's for Ty or Ara to find references that would have shed some light on things.
And this weird glossing over of details wasn't limited to past events. When you have a dual POV you expect to be included when big events happen to either person. But we weren't. When
Spoiler
Ara's dad got into an accident, we find out about it from Ty's POV he finds her distraught. The chapter before Ara had been happily having dinner with her father. WHAT HAPPENED?On top of this the writing was also unclear at times and I would have to reread certain paragraphs more than once. And don't get me started on the twin test.