Elliott Reed has found her dream job as the Strategic Communications Manager for the Denver Mustangs when their brand new star quarterback Quinton Howard Jr. slaps a piece of black tape on the football logo on his jersey and kneels during the national anthem of their opening football game. When Elliott is given the task of “handling” him she finds herself battling her feelings of respect for the cause he’s fighting and her need to keep her new job. The job that she feels her dead father would have loved for his daughter.

Alexa Martin’s forward states that this is very loosely based upon her own experiences as the wife of a player in the NFL but is also influenced by Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling for the national anthem that started that protesting movement, but that the relationship story is all fiction. I thought she did a GREAT job relaying the story and describing the feelings that her characters, and people of color feel at being treated in the way they were treated in this book. I could never put myself in their shoes, but I felt the hurt, confusion, and anger these characters felt at their treatment and that goes a long way towards helping me understand. I appreciated and welcomed that lesson even if it was just in a fictional romance novel.

Elliott’s mother was black and died when she was a baby. She was raised by her white father and so had conflicted feelings about race, how she should feel and react in certain situations. She has always hidden her feelings and just tried to fit in so when Quinton’s stance made her face her own tendencies to brush things under the rug, it was eye opening and upsetting for her. The fact that she so admired him for what he was doing and was even helping him set up his foundation while at the same time feeling uncomfortable at bringing her feelings out into the open was, I thought, very realistic for how a lot of people may be feeling towards the Black Matter movement and protesting that is ongoing today. It made the point this author was making more relevant and real for me to have her main character so conflicted in the beginning.

With such a serious subject at the center of the love story as a reader you can’t help but feel that the romance took a back seat to the stance on racial inequality and how football players from before 1993 are being mistreated with a lack of benefits and healthcare. You know what? I didn’t miss the romance at all. I still felt the sizzling attraction and the pain of difficult conversations that helped move the relationship forward. The story had a more serious tone than the previous novels but with the help of her friends also brought touches of light and funny. At the end I felt totally satisfied and when I looked back on the book realized how much I enjoyed the story and their romance.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase! Snapped (Playbook, The)

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Poppy Patterson left her hometown at sixteen. Kicked out because of her pregnancy, she found a new home with her aunt in Denver. Now in her 20’s, Poppy is raising her son alone and working as a waitress in a nightclub when Wide Receiver, T. K. Moore is seated at her table. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem except that T. K. is the father of her son… and he doesn’t know it.

This second chance love story had everything the first novel had, and I ate it up. Two great lead characters, wonderful female friendships, and a renewal of a love story that should never have ended. I like that they were an interracial couple and whereas this is a fictional novel I felt like some of the problems they’d see in real life as an interracial couple also played out in this book. However, the biggest conflict in this book was portraying the consequences of head injuries in the NFL. I really liked how real that made Poppy and T. K.’s relationship and how she struggled with helping him see how much his personality had changed since high school. I thought that topic was really relevant. Especially after reading the author’s bio and knowing that her own husband played in the NFL. It may be a real topic in her own household (?).

Once again Alexa Martin hits a home run. Poppy was a female protagonist that a reader loves. She fell on hard times but never gave up, worked hard, and put herself in a place she can be proud of. T. K. was a little more stereotypical but I really liked him once he got past the shock of being a father. This story was a little more serious than the first but once Poppy was introduced to her WAGS group those friendships brought out the fun and funny.

Again, if you haven’t read this series and you are a fan of contemporary romances, you must pick them up! I do think the first couple of books could be read as stand alone’s. After all, I read the third novel first. There’s a tiny bit of backstory with a couple of other characters but I think you can catch on pretty quickly and enjoy the story on it’s own. However, if you’ve got the time to read them in order go for it! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“I really enjoyed reading the book, both times. It made me happy. It’s a good book. Right after I finished it the first time, I read book 1 of this series called Intercepted, which was also really nice.” The Wordy Habitat

“I thought the book was kinda rushed but I didn’t get bored and I’m definitely looking forward to the final book of the trilogy.” My World of Books

Click this link to purchase!* Fumbled (Playbook, The)

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*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I will receive a small stipend.

Marlee Harper has been dating her boyfriend on and off since high school. When she finally faces up to him being a player she moves out, with the help of brand new Denver Mustangs quarterback and one time fling Gavin Pope. Vowing to never date a pro football “player” again, Gavin has his work cut out for him.

I recently got an ARC and reviewed the third book in this series, Blitzed. I LOVED it and vowed to read the first two in the series immediately. Thank goodness I had a vacation where I could binge read this series. Seriously, I read this book in a few hours, then the second, back to back.

There were a few reasons why I liked this novel so much. 1) I loved how respectfully Gavin treated Marlee. After her horrible prior relationship Gavin’s treatment shone a light on how wonderful she should be treated. 2) Marlee was sassy and smart. I liked that she had self respect and dumped her boyfriends butt. It did take her a little while to want to see how horrible he was, but once she did? It was O-V-E-R. 3) I liked the behinds the scenes look into the wives and girlfriends of pro players. I know this is fiction but it fit what I had imagined to a T. 4) I LOVED the female friendships! I am a sucker for a romance novel with a great group of side characters and this series reminds me of how Kristen Ashley used to write before she went all S&M. Female friendships can be fun and loyal and this novel showed that strength. 5) At first I was put off by the hashtags, but after the third chapter I started to laugh at the intended humor and started to look forward to them. #luvthehumor

So, yeah, I loved this novel. I thought it was fun, had a great message, and loved the characters so much I am asking for a sequel. LOL. Luckily you can catch up with these characters in future novels because, you know, great friendships! If you haven’t yet read this novel and like light hearted romances, well what are you waiting for?!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“All in all, I’m kicking myself for not picking up Intercepted so much earlier. I fell in love with the characters and the romance and I can’t wait to pick up the next book in this series.” Books and Blends

Click this link to purchase!* Intercepted (Playbook, The)

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*Amazon Associate- if you should purchase this book through the above link I will receive a small stipend.

Brynn Larson is the owner of the female-centric bar HERS where the Denver Mustangs WAGS hang out to watch their men play. Being on their reality show has brought notoriety and fans to her business and given her a solid group of ladies to call friends. Star player and shy guy Maxwell Lewis, has admired Brynn from the sidelines long enough and has decided to step up his game and make his play, but his past creates mixed signals that gun-shy Brynn has a hard time reading and isn’t sure she wants to open herself up to more betrayal.

Yes, once again I picked up a book in the middle of a series. However, this time instead of feeling a bit confused I was intrigued by all of these strong women and immediately went into my Overdrive app to look up the previous two books and bookmarked them. I haven’t read any previous Alexa Martin books before but I love her style of writing! Brynn had depth but she was also really funny, and her fictional friends were more solid than the RHONY group you see on reality TV, and a LOT more hilarious!

I was really intrigued by the concept of Brynn’s bar HERS. Created for women to hang out and be themselves, make friends, and stop being so harsh with each other is awesome! I wish I had a neighborhood bar like this one! Brynn also had quite a bit of depth in her character. Being abandoned by her mother gave her strong opinions about relationships and what she would and would not put up with and Maxwell was smart enough to see that he’d have to work through her protective shell to win the prize within.

Brynn wasn’t the only one who had some depth, Maxwell also had a secret in his past which isn’t revealed until almost 3/4’s of the way through the book. Surprisingly I didn’t get annoyed at his waffling and instead was intrigued. I think it was because the author did such a great job of making him such a nice, sweet guy. I really bought into his good character. I love these fictional good guys, it seems a rarity in a book world of too many alpha males!

I thought Blitzed was thoroughly enjoyable with just enough meat in the story to make it feel real. Brynn also had a solid group of female friends that were fun, funny, and loving. I’m a sucker for female friendships in romance novels! Since I started this series in book #3, I’m excited to go back and read the first two and re-introduce myself to this group of gals and hear their individual stories. I love finding a new to me author! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase!* Blitzed (Playbook, The)

Copyright The Reading Chick 2019 All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.