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
Adorably quirky, laugh out loud funny, and deliciously sexy, Nuts was the perfect escape read I’ve had in quite a while. Alice Clayton just gets better and better with each new book, but she simply outdid herself with this one. If the Nuts is anything to go by, we have quite a bit to look forward to in Alice’s new Hudson Valley series.
Roxie Callahan is a celbrity chef in hollywood catering to the rich, famous and the entitled. She loves to cook…dealing with some of her clients? Not so much. So when an unfortunate butter incident costs her almost most of her clients, suddenly her kooky mother’s request for her to come back to the town she grew up in and run the restaurant while she’s away doesn’t sound so bad. Then a certain bearded farmer changes her outlook on the small town entirely…
In addition to the fantastic secondary characters, the wit and the humor, the setting of the book is what really hooked me. The author did such a fabulous job truly engrossing the reader in this wonderful town. I couldn’t help but be transported there myself as I was reading it.
Ella Frank is a chameleon of genres. The woman is a damn genius is what she is. Whether it be contemporary, MM, Urban Fantasy, and now PNR, it seems like she really cannot do any wrong. I had no idea what to expect when I picked this book up, but I knew two things for sure:
Truth be told, I’m always hesitant with the first book in a PNR series because almost always it will suffer what I refer to as a case of the firsts. What I mean is, between the introduction of all the characters, the world building, and everything in between, I often find myself taking a while to get into the story and wrap my mind around everything. I was beyond thrilled and not a little surprised that that wasn’t the case here. I was sucked into the book immediately. The character development, the rich world building, the unbelievably sizzling sexual tension is what made this book the unputdownable read that it was.
Alasdair is a first sired; one of the most powerful vampires in existence second only to his sire; Vasilios. Ruthless, unapologetic, and with a magnetic sexual appeal there’s not much in life that Alasdair doesn’t have. His face has lured plenty a human to their death while experiencing a pleasure unlike any they’ve ever experienced. But he’s also a vampire of particular tastes. Being alive for centuries has ensured that not just anyone experiences the pleasure of receiving his carnal attentions. But then one human changes everything…
You know how sometimes you read a book by a new author and you just know that this is someone that you’re going to be hooked on for a long time? Exposed by Ivy Stone was that book for me. It was a page turner I never wanted to set down. The writing was complex, enthralling, with a touch of grit and incredibly sexy. The characters were well developed and multi-layered. What truly hooked me was the author’s voice and writing style. I simply couldn’t get enough of it. If this book is anything to go by, Miss Stone has quite the career ahead of her and she certainly got herself a huge fan in me.
Lindsey Jenkins has been to hell and back. She’s lost everything and had to pick up the pieces not only for herself but her younger sister when she was just a kid herself. Now she’s older, stronger, and with enough secrets that may very well bury her.
There were a few things that left me with questions about both Mason and Lindsey. Things that I wished were fleshed out a little bit more. Things about Lindsey’s past and how she got into the life that she did that I wish we got more development on. I also found myself questioning a few decisions that Mason made as a cop that I had difficulty suspending my disbelief on.
I became an instant fan of Meghan March when I first read 
Yve Santos is determined to stand on her own two feet. She’s no one’s mistress or kept woman. The last thing she needs in her life is an entitled billionaire, even if the asshole is sexier than sin. She wants nothing to do with him, and tells him that often. Unfortunately her words lack conviction when said asshole also turns her own body traitor on her and turns her on with just his broody stare and husky voice alone. 
But it’s also so much more than billionaire meets sassy but down on her luck heroine. There’s a very solid story that weaves flawlessly with the romance to make this one unputdownable read. While it’s clear that Lucas has his secrets, Yve has her own, and they may just be deadly. Can she let Lucas in enough to save her or will they crash and burn with their fiery passion? Guess you’ll have to read to find that out. You didn’t expect me to tell you that, did you? What I can tell you is that these books seem to get better and better for me. I loved everything about it; the characters, the romance, the writing, and the oh sweet baby jebus scorching hot sex. What? I never claimed to be virtuous here and the sex was that hot. All growly and hatey and everything. DELICIOUS. If you haven’t read this series yet, I strongly recommend you do. While you can just as easy read this book as a standalone, I think it’d be best enjoyed read in series order. Besides, if the last 2 heroes I read by Meghan March are anything to go by, Con and Simon are sure to be just as hot. Trust me on this, this is a series you need to read.
It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with all things J. Daniels (see what I did there?) and for damn good reason too. The woman never fails to serve up a hero that is guaranteed to make me pant and drool over. Ever since Mason was first introduced in 
Between her inner monologue and banter with Joey, Billy and Dylan, Sweet Obsession brought some major LOLs which is what I’ve come to associate with this author. She just has this perfect combination of sweet and sexy with laugh out loud funny. I can’t get enough of it.
Can you get a sweet and sexy romance with Melanie Harlow’s signature brand of light-hearted humor while dealing with a very heavy mental health issue? In the case of this book, that’s a resounding hell yes. As a matter of fact, I’m in awe of the author for actually pulling it off as well as she did. She wrote fantastic, multi-layered characters without taking away anything from their issue but still managing to write a feel good sort of romance. That’s no small feat if you ask me.
This beautifully written and emotional book is everything that I love about second chance romance. Everything. I’m not sure where I’ve been that I’m only discovering this fantastic author and this series now, but boy am I glad that it’s finally on my radar. Everything about this book worked for me; the writing, the secondary characters, the story, the romance, and most especially the H/h. Simply put, I adored it.
Oliver has always been Estelle’s older brother’s best friend…until a kiss changed everything. They had a few stolen moments together and then everything changed when Oliver walked away. Estelle may have moved on and got engaged to someone else, but she never got over Oliver.
I loved the alternating flashbacks from past to present in both their POVs. It truly allows the reader to be fully engrossed in their story and fall for both them just as hard. The writing is beautiful and flawless and it gripped me from the first chapter alone. I simply couldn’t put this book down.
If you’re looking for a touching and beautiful second chance romance, this series is an absolute must read. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to dive straight into 
His present was a lie and he didn’t know what his future held. One moment it seemed possible and the next a distant dream. His biggest worry was that if he stopped running, he’d die.
What is it about an MM romance by Barbara Elsborg that just does it for me? Every. Single. Time. I’m pretty sure it’s the perfect combination of incredibly erotic sex scenes with a dry wit, snark, and humor along with some suspense that all adds up to be exactly what I need it to be. If you’ve read 
If you enjoy your MM with two very distinctly ALPHA males, this is not a book that you’ll want to miss. That was quite possibly one of my favorite parts about this. The fact that both the MCs are very much alpha and have a power struggle on who will bottom. Damn but it was delicious. But beyond that, Barbara Elsborg has once again managed to deliver and emotional and erotic story about two very broken people that find strength in each other and heal.
While recovering from an injury that almost paralyzed him and may not have been quite the accident that everyone else believed it to be. he’s sequesters himself to a house on the lake to go through the physical therapy he needs to finally gain his strength back. The last thing he expects to do is save a random drowning surfer.
Barbara Elsborg has become an auto-buy author for me and this book is a perfect example of why. I only hope that there may be more books in this series, but if I’m being honest, it doesn’t even matter because whatever this woman writes, I’ll read. Without a doubt.
Wow. Suffice it to say that I’m drained. This book absolutely gutted me. It was devastating and beautiful all at once and I loved every painful second of it. Worth It is unlike any other book this author’s ever written. It has much darker undertones than the other books in this series, and it’s no light read. It’s gritty, it’s emotional, it’s devastating, made you ugly cry while hugging your kindle sort of read. It’s a beautifully unforgettable second chance romance about two people that didn’t belong, but yet belonged to each other that fate ripped apart in the cruelest of ways, only to bring them back together a little more broken to put their shattered pieces back together six years later. If you don’t recall these characters from previous books, that’s because they weren’t introduced there. Linda Kage managed to flawlessly interweave them, so if you’re wondering why they got a book before Asher, trust me when I tell you that you’ll understand once you read. Both of them have such a profound connection to a few of the previous characters that I never saw coming and definitely loved reading about. This also makes this book an easy standalone, so if you haven’t read the rest of the series, you’d still be able to enjoy this one fully.
Worth It is told in alternating POVs, jumping from present to the past of six years ago, slowly showing the reader how they fell in love and what ultimately led to the devastating event that tore them apart. This was probably my one biggest quibble about the book. The “past” is set in our “present”. Meaning the books, movies and songs that are described are from this year; but it’s set to six years ago. The “present” doesn’t have a year, but it starts pretty much almost right where 
There’s enough hints and bits and pieces given about what he’s been through to slowly let the reader connect the buttons, and my hear absolutely broke for Knox. His life was so tragic and when the whole truth of it gets revealed, I flat out sobbed. It was one thing trying to connect the pieces, but when you’re hit with the full picture of what he’d been through, it’s absolutely devastating.
This book was definitely a step away from the rest of the series, but it was amazing in it’s own right. It was emotional and completely unforgettable. It’s a story that will definitely be staying with me for a long long while. It’s just one of those books that truly touches you on a visceral level with the amount of emotions it brings out in you.
There’s also a hell of a teaser in the epilogue for Asher’s book that’s sure to whet your appetite if you’ve been waiting for it like I have. If you’re on the fence about reading this book, I can only tell you that you need to. It may not be a light read, but it’s so worth it. I love a good second chance romance, and this one was just so beautifully tragic and yet wonderful all at once. I simply can’t give you more than that because you need to experience it for yourself. But believe me when I tell you, that that’s what you need to do; experience it.
