The Game Plan
Series: Game On #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Kristen Callihan
Release Date: November 1, 2015
A beard-related dare and one hot-as-hell kiss changes everything.
NFL center Ethan Dexter’s focus has always been on playing football and little else. Except when it comes to one particular woman. The lovely Fiona Mackenzie might not care about his fame, but she’s also never looked at him as anything more than one of her brother-in-law’s best friend. That ends now.
Fi doesn’t know what to make of Dex. The bearded, tattooed, mountain of man-muscle looks more like a biker than a football player. Rumor has it he’s a virgin, but she finds that hard to believe. Because from the moment he decides to turn his quiet intensity on her she’s left weak at the knees and aching to see his famous control fully unleashed.
Dex is looking for a forever girl, but they live vastly different lives in separate cities. Fi ought to guard her heart and walk away. But Dex has upped his game and is using all his considerable charm to convince Fi he’s her forever man.
Game On
I didn’t expect you, Ethan.”
His eyes search my face. “I’ve been waiting two years for you to see me.”
See that utterly pathetic pile of melted, swooning goo on the floor right now? Yep. That’s me. Who would have thought I’d meet my end at the hands of a bearded, pierced, and man-bun wearing virgin?
Because if anyone was going to make my manwhore and asshole loving self fall completely head over heals for a virgin, it had to be Kristen Callihan. Having read 2 other male virgin books before this and being mostly underwhelmed, third time was most certainly the charm for me. Because this book? I loved it. I beyond loved it. I want to marry it and have it’s babies. I want to rub myself in it and roll around basking in it’s pure awesome all day. I want to lick it. Alright, you get the point here I think.
Ethan “Dex” Dexter has always been he voice of reason. The calm and collected one. The unassuming lumbersexual. Sexy, sure. A little shy, maybe. But there was also always something clearly swimming under that calm surface and you just knew that it would come out when he got his own book. And if you haven’t? Clearly you haven’t read the Game On series yet. I suggest you rectify that immediately.
Dex has had his eye on Fionna since the first day he met her. Fionna happens to be his college teammates and best friend Drew’s sister in law. Two years ago she may have been too young for him. But now? All rules are off. As an NFL center, Dex is accustomed to assessing the defense and finding a way to run right through it. And it doesn’t matter what defenses Fi throws out at him; they don’t live in the same city, she’s not into professional athletes…because when Dex sets his eyes on her, all bets are off. Game on.
What I love particularly about this series, aside from the swoony heroes that somehow get better with each new book, is that the timeline progresses. What I mean is, with The Hook Up started when the boys were in college, and The Game Plan finds them as NFL professionals. The timeline for them progresses and isn’t just stagnant with each new couple, which makes the story that much better. Because with each new book, you always get a little more about the couples from the past ones and I will never have enough of that.
Ethan is quite easily my favorite hero in this series to date. It just doesn’t get any better than him. For once an author managed to give the readers a virgin hero, but actually have a good reason to go along with it. The character development is what makes this as good as it was. Dex is a character that you will fall for after just the first chapter, and continue to fall even harder with each new one. He’s this perfect balance of sweet and sexy. Dirty talker and romantic.
Fionna was the perfect ying to his yang. She may fight anything serious with him for a hot second, but it doesn’t take Dex long to tear through all of her defenses. I really loved her personality and vulnerability. I really loved that she’s just as protective of him as he is of her. She’s not a perfect character, but she owns her imperfections. As a matter of fact she makes you like her for her imperfections.
Kristen Callihan has written yet another deliciously swoony romance in her addicting series. This book had a little of everything and all of it perfectly balanced; great story, incredibly sexy, swoon worthy romantic, all tied together with wonderful secondary characters that just bring it all together. I couldn’t get enough of it. There wasn’t one thing about this book that I didn’t love. But at the center of everything was Dex. *dreamy pervy sigh* Who would have ever thought I’d be raving this much about a male virgin. But this sweet guy had just the right amount of edge to him to appease even perverts like me. I loved him to absolute pieces.
If you haven’t yet discovered this series, you’ve been living under a rock and need to come out immediately and see the light. If sexy sports romances are your thing, it just doesn’t get better than Game On. Period. If you’ve read it and loved it, prepare to have your heart stolen by Dex. Considering each book just keeps getting better and better, I can’t wait to see what Kristen Calliahan has in store for us next.
Read the rest of the series
The Hook Up
Game On Series Book 1
The Friend Zone
Game On Series Book 2
The sexual tension between these two is instant and so deliciously thick you can almost taste it. There’s nothing I love more than a good buildup and this book serves that up perfectly. Cari and Taryn know exactly what they’re doing and these two sure know how to tease and entice.
After that ending, I’m not sure whether to rock myself in a corner somewhere in my wait for the next installment or to hunt down Cari and Taryn and beat them until they give it to me. All I know, is I’m hooked and I want it. I need it. I have to have it.
I have a little secret…*whispers* I have an unhealthy addiction to legal dramas…comedies….romances…whatever. You name it, if legal procedures and trials are involved, odds are I’ve watched it or read it. So when I saw a new Legal Affairs book from Sawyer Bennett, it was a no brainer to read. This is only my third book by this author, and admittedly the other two I’ve read by her left me a bit underwhelmed. But having heard so many amazing things about her Legal Affairs series, I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go. And boy am I glad that I did, because Friction was absolutely fantastic!.
And so awkward, shy trailer trash Leary becomes sexy powerhouse Leary; using all her feminine wiles to win her cases. But she’s not just sexy and sassy, there’s a brain on her and that just made her that much more fun to read about. Now she’s handling the biggest case of her life; not so much in the form of money, but meaning. It means everything to her to win, and she needs to crush her opponent. Too bad her opponent is the sexy Reeve Holloway, a defense attorney working for the client that hers is suing…and determined to give as good as he gets.
It’s been a long while since I’ve read a book that touched me on such a visceral level. I don’t cry in books. Maybe I have a cold black heart, maybe I don’t have a soul, I dunno, it just doesn’t happen mkay. But here? I was a mess. A wreck. Absolutely and utterly pathetic. Sniveling, ugly crying, uncontrollably emotional wreck. In case you’re still not with me, basically I spent the first half of this book in this particular state:
My husband came home from work and caught me reading it, and after taking in my ugly crying state freaked out thinking someone died. True story. Basically, the moral of this story is do NOT read this book in public unless you want people to think there’s something seriously wrong with you. This book will tug at every heart string you have and rip it to smithereens. I’m not even kidding. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I though it was just a fluke at first, so I went back to re-read a few key parts and nope! I was a wreck all over again.
That gif basically sums up my feelings for High and the rest of Chaos for the first half of this book. High is a royal asshole to Millie when he sees her again. She broke his heart all those years ago and he’s not about to let her forget it. She walked out on him and Chaos, and now that she seems to want the chance to explain, he’ll use the opportunity to switch the roles from twenty years ago.
I was afraid that I wouldn’t like Millie when I originally read the first chapter of this book as a preview in 
It’s not secret that I love all things Aly Martinez. The woman can do no wrong in my eyes. Between her emotional stories, captivating multi-dimensional characters, and incredible romances, I will never get enough of her books. But this one? This wonderful, beautiful, unforgettable book? She simply outdid herself with this one. It’s not often where I’ll read about a hero that’s neither a manwhore or an asshole, and fall completely head over heels in love. But that’s precisely what happened here. Sam Rivers may very well be one of my favorite heroes this year.
Let’s talk dark erotic taboo. This depraved pervert can’t get enough of it. Take a look at my read shelves and you’ll see what I mean. I loves me some kink. But here’s the thing, even my perviness has it’s limit, and it doesn’t matter who writes it or how amazing the book is, it is guaranteed to deflate my enjoyment quicker than whisky dick: The “Daddy/Little One” kink. Can I look past it to finish a book where I’m loving the story, as was the case here? Absolutely. Does it tickle my particular fancy?
True story.
Candice met Ivan when she had nothing. Leaving behind everyone she knows and everything she has, she was running and desperate. Ivan fed on her need but not in a sexual way. At least not at first. After all, when they first meet she’s only 16 years old. The sexual aspect of their relationship only comes into play three years later. I never did pick up on Ivan’s age. Perhaps this was mentioned in the previous books, but I’m left to believe that he was considerably older and so the Daddy thing icked me out even more.
There’s the added element of suspense that weaved into the plot flawlessly and I really enjoyed that aspect of it. Unfortunately as much as I loved Ivan and Candy individually, together they were just OK for me and I blame that entirely on the “daddy” thing.
Honestly, between Candy’s inexperience, Ivan’s domineering personality and need to “take care” of her, the sexual aspect of this book did absolutely nothing for me. At all. I didn’t find it hot or erotic. It just was.
Now now, don’t judge me here! It’s fair to say that this had absolutely nothing to do with the book and absolutely everything to do with reader preference. I prefer my heroes alphas, and a more unassuming beta hero doesn’t tickle my fancy as much. While Sebastian is a great hero, he’s just not what I prefer in my books. If you’re looking for a story with a hero that’s as rich as he is nice, then Sebastian is definitely your guy.
