Intercepted
(Playbook #1)
by Alexa Martin
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: Sept. 11, 2018
Genre: Romance
Rating:
Marlee thought she scored the man of her dreams only to be scorched by a bad breakup. But there’s a new player on the horizon, and he’s in a league of his own…
Marlee Harper is the perfect girlfriend. She’s definitely had enough practice by dating her NFL-star boyfriend for the last ten years. But when she discovers he has been tackling other women on the sly, she vows to never date an athlete again. There’s just one problem: Gavin Pope, the new hotshot quarterback and a fling from the past, has Marlee in his sights.
Gavin fights to show Marlee he’s nothing like her ex. Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to let her escape her past. The team’s wives, who never led the welcome wagon, are not happy with Marlee’s return. They have only one thing on their minds: taking her down. But when the gossip makes Marlee public enemy number one, she worries about more than just her reputation.
Between their own fumbles and the wicked wives, it will take a Hail Mary for Marlee and Gavin’s relationship to survive the season.
Intercepted is a cute, quick read about a second chance romance. You see, when Marlee finds out that her long time boyfriend of ten years is cheating on her, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with yet another football player. She’s spent 10 years of her life on Chris and she’s not about to lose herself within another superstar athlete. However, many many moons ago, Marlee had a one-night-stand with a man who turns out to be the new quarterback for her home team. Not only does he remember her, but he’s also witness to her disastrous breakup with her boyfriend. Gavin is everything her ex isn’t and pretty soon she finds herself letting him in. Except, not everyone is as receptive to Marlee and Gavin. After all, she did go from dating the receiver to dating the star quarterback. These two definitely have some obstacles to overcome if they are to get their happily ever after.
The story is told in Marlee’s POV and we are witness to everything that goes on in her head. Which made me wonder why she stayed with Chris as long as she did. I mean, she knew he treated her like a servant. Always having her cook, clean, given commands over an intercom, and she knew about his previous affairs. Yet she still stayed with him. So when Gavin comes around, she may be hesitant to give him a chance, but she immediately recognizes him and has a hard time thinking about anything else other than how hot he is. She even admits to thinking about their one night together after all these years. With that being said, I never really felt like I fully grasped their deep connection. So, I was a little reserved when I realized this was an insta-love type of romance. I wish we could have maybe had a chapter or epilogue that reflected their one night together so that I could see what connection they made. Apparently it was a pretty powerful one for them to both think about it after all these years.
I guess I would have liked to see more of Gavin as Gavin. Sure Marlee goes to his games, but I never felt like I understood him as a person. He was always just with Marlee every second of the day. It didn’t seem like the guy had any hobbies or friends. I get that with the book being in Marlee’s POV, you aren’t going to get one on one time with him, but I would have liked to have seen a bit more of his personality shine through.
I did have one rather large gripe and it seems like it’s becoming a trend, but what is up with hashtags in a story. It’s one thing if I’m reading about someone typing a Twitter or Instagram post, but it’s a whole other for the narrator to keep hashtagging shit. It seemed like after each PARAGRAPH we are given a hashtag summarizing it all. If I read this on my kindle I would do a quick scan for all the hashtags, because I’m sure the number is horrifyingly large. Maybe because I’m ab old hag at 30 and everyone talks in hashtags now, but I felt it to be very distracting, unnecessary, and annoying. Seriously, can someone explain this hashtag stuff to me, because I just don’t get it.
Intercepted was a quick, light read about a NFL girlfriend. I really liked that the author used her inside knowledge on the story. The fact that she was a NFL wife made me feel like I was getting some sort of insight into it all. Maybe she dealt with some catty rich bitches. Maybe she was witness to some cheating scum playing his girl friend behind her back. Who knows. However, I really liked the idea that she had a front row seat to it all and experienced it in real life. While I did find some of the drama to be a bit overboard, I still found the story to be entertaining. I would have liked more connection with Gavin, but I still thought he was a sweet guy and seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. This was a great debut novel and I look forward to reading Fumbled. I just really hope that the hashtags are toned down for it.
LOL! This reminds me a little of WAGs(Wives and Girlfriends of sport stars) that I was watching and there’s a lot of cattiness going on, along with some good relationships. I always love getting those insider tips of what goes on behind the scenes. Glad you enjoyed the book! Hugs…RO
Everyone has been liking this one.
I like the sound of this story, Kristin, mostly because I’m a sucker for second chances. 🙂 However, I understand what you’re saying how how long it took Marley to get out of the relationship with Chris. And I think I’d agree with you on the prologue or flashback or something substantial about Marley and Gavin’s night together so we’d better understand the impact it had on them both. And seeing as this story revolves around football, it’d make sense to have seen a little more of Gavin being Gavin…I mean, don’t the guys hang out and stuff? Ha! I’m totally stereotyping but still…seems like there was an opportunity to spend a little time on the field or in the locker room or on the bus or something that would have helped in character development for Gavin.
Anyway, glad you enjoyed it for the most part. And I’m gonna read this one. 🙂