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readerpants's review against another edition
5.0
Ripped Bodice Bingo 2019: either wine & spirits or costume.
I haven't read Intercepted yet, but I have a copy thanks to my fabulous reader buddy / hairdresser and I am now bumping it way up the list. I really enjoyed this!
I liked:
-Smooth, effortless-feeling writing! Great voice.
-Poppy! There is a lot to like about Poppy. I liked Maya too even though I never met her.
- LADY FRIENDS!!
-not dissing strippers and waitresses in the club where she works in the beginning. THANK YOU.
-honestly, all the names. Small but true. Poppy is a great name, and so is Ace. And Sparks is a freaking adorable nickname, it works so well.
-the plot, including the CTE storyline.
-TK! I was very uncertain about whether I'd like him, especially after the weird blowup where he said she was lying (WTAF). But he was a really good hero and a good partner: he listened, he learned, he apologized, he paid attention.
-You know when you're reading a book and you're like, wow, this romance author is an expert in maritime history or eels or whatever? and then it turns out she has a master's degree in that area? And there's that very tangible pleasure of hearing somebody write about an area in which they have obvious, rare expertise and insight? That very much came through with the author's knowledge of being a football spouse.
Didn't like as much:
- I was really thrown by TK's initial angry reaction to learning about Ace, and I don't think he grovelled sufficiently. It would have taken me personally a long time to get over feeling wary.
- There were times when Poppy was like, man, he is so hot I'm totally angry but I can't get over how hot he is. And I just... I don't know what that didn't work for me, I couldn't really believe he was THAT hot that it could distract her from everything else? This might be a "just not how I roll" thing though.
Overall highly recommended, especially for women's fiction readers who are moving over into romance. It's got steamy bits but not a ton -- a little like Jasmine Guillory or Helen Hoang.
I haven't read Intercepted yet, but I have a copy thanks to my fabulous reader buddy / hairdresser and I am now bumping it way up the list. I really enjoyed this!
I liked:
-Smooth, effortless-feeling writing! Great voice.
-Poppy! There is a lot to like about Poppy. I liked Maya too even though I never met her.
- LADY FRIENDS!!
-not dissing strippers and waitresses in the club where she works in the beginning. THANK YOU.
-honestly, all the names. Small but true. Poppy is a great name, and so is Ace. And Sparks is a freaking adorable nickname, it works so well.
-the plot, including the CTE storyline.
-TK! I was very uncertain about whether I'd like him, especially after the weird blowup where he said she was lying (WTAF). But he was a really good hero and a good partner: he listened, he learned, he apologized, he paid attention.
-You know when you're reading a book and you're like, wow, this romance author is an expert in maritime history or eels or whatever? and then it turns out she has a master's degree in that area? And there's that very tangible pleasure of hearing somebody write about an area in which they have obvious, rare expertise and insight? That very much came through with the author's knowledge of being a football spouse.
Didn't like as much:
- I was really thrown by TK's initial angry reaction to learning about Ace, and I don't think he grovelled sufficiently. It would have taken me personally a long time to get over feeling wary.
- There were times when Poppy was like, man, he is so hot I'm totally angry but I can't get over how hot he is. And I just... I don't know what that didn't work for me, I couldn't really believe he was THAT hot that it could distract her from everything else? This might be a "just not how I roll" thing though.
Overall highly recommended, especially for women's fiction readers who are moving over into romance. It's got steamy bits but not a ton -- a little like Jasmine Guillory or Helen Hoang.
mindfullibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
(free review copy) LOVED IT. Alexa Martin is now on my list of must-read authors, with her second book being even more delectable than her first. Fierce, strong, hilarious and smart female leads with men who worship them - SO GOOD. I loved how little drama and angst this story had, and it cements my theory that I care zero about football unless it’s in an empowering romance story.
This is 2nd in a series and while it has different main characters I would still recommend reading Intercepted first since that storyline is mentioned in this one. And it’s amazing, so why skip it???
This is 2nd in a series and while it has different main characters I would still recommend reading Intercepted first since that storyline is mentioned in this one. And it’s amazing, so why skip it???
shaydelayed's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars!
This series is getting better & better and I’m ready for more!
This series is getting better & better and I’m ready for more!
brunsssy's review against another edition
3.0
Would have rated this higher but the bitchy mom storyline and the stalker storyline were incredibly anticlimactic. Leaving them out of fleshing out one over the other in addition to the brain injury stuff would have made more sense.
briamide's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
literallymeggs's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
shellysbookcorner's review against another edition
4.0
I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book after reading and loving Intercepted by this author. I love me a good second chance romance and this was a sign I needed to read. I have to say that this book has one particular trope that I don’t care for BUT the author was able to execute it in a way that I was able to enjoy. It wasn’t dragged out for the entire book and the reasoning was legit.
I really loved Poppy in this story. She was a strong single mother who did the best she could with the crappy hand she was dealt at such a young age.
T.K. took some time to grow on me after his initial reaction to Poppy’s news. I get that several years have passed and he was blindsided but still....that was no way to conduct yourself. I did love that he was able to redeem himself throughout the book. It was nice seeing him adjust to his new role and he was such a sweetheart.
Martin has created such a cast of characters that I’ve come to adore and wish were in my tribe. It was nice to see characters from the first book as well. I also liked that Martin touched on the seriousness of CTE in football without it coming off as a public service announcement. I look forward to reading “Blitzed” later this year! If you’re a fan of sport romance I highly recommend you reading this book/series.
*NetGalley Review*
I really loved Poppy in this story. She was a strong single mother who did the best she could with the crappy hand she was dealt at such a young age.
T.K. took some time to grow on me after his initial reaction to Poppy’s news. I get that several years have passed and he was blindsided but still....that was no way to conduct yourself. I did love that he was able to redeem himself throughout the book. It was nice seeing him adjust to his new role and he was such a sweetheart.
Martin has created such a cast of characters that I’ve come to adore and wish were in my tribe. It was nice to see characters from the first book as well. I also liked that Martin touched on the seriousness of CTE in football without it coming off as a public service announcement. I look forward to reading “Blitzed” later this year! If you’re a fan of sport romance I highly recommend you reading this book/series.
*NetGalley Review*
tazbrown18's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
This characters are so relatable and actually made me cry. Seeing the two characters actually struggle with their families, last regrets and make difficult choices made this romance so much more. Loved it!
amandalorianxo's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Vaguely similar to Intercepted except Poppy is a single mom barely making ends meet when stumbling on her former flame instead of a single person bumping into a former 1night stand. This had a lovely relationship between mother x son ( Ace was adorable & believable as an upper elementary school child.) The topic of concussions and serious impact on men playing football was an important topic that I’m glad was brought up. Sadly, the romance parallels confirmed why romance isn’t always the genre for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing
brianna_4pawsandabook's review against another edition
3.0
I honestly don't have many thoughts about this book. It was fine. Not my favorite football romance, but I liked the conversation about CTE. I don't really like the ending though.