Max’s best friend has finally convinced him to go out for a drink. Max is incredibly focused on school and graduating and then getting into law school, which all takes up most of his time. However, Max has only agreed to the one bar and has no intention of joining the group on a pub crawl. When his friends leave, a gorgeous man sits down next to him and it takes Max no time to recognize the college’s football running back, Patrick Guinness. The men hit it off and after an entertaining conversation at the bar, end the night back at Max’s place for the hottest one nights either of them have ever had. But in the light of day, they go their separate ways, Max to law school, and Patrick to the NFL.

Three years later, Max is returning home with one month to go before the bar exam. When Max takes his car in for service, he has no idea he will come face-to-face with the one man he has never been able to forget. The men come from different worlds and Patrick knows a smart guy like Max would never want anything serious with a mechanic like him. But the sparks fly once again and they might just set out to prove that opposites can not only attract, but can last.

This was a lighter opposites attract kind of book for a good portion of it. We see Max and Patrick meet for the first time and the attraction clearly sparks. Max was always been focused on school as his father is expecting him to become a full partner in the family law firm, while Patrick has been focused on getting to the NFL and being able to help his family financially. But, despite their differences, they totally connect, hit it off, and are way good together.

When they reconnect three years later, the attraction is still there, but the divide is even bigger. Patrick’s life has changed considerably as the NFL didn’t work out and he took over the family auto shop after his father died and now has custody of his teenage brother. While Patrick can barely stand to even look away from Max, he knows that he could never fit into Max’s upscale world and thinks Max could never be serious about a mechanic.

The conflict for most of the book is the financial divide. When Patrick’s brother has legal troubles, Patrick gets a first hand look at the kind of life Max lives and can’t get past it. Max, for his part, says he could be all in with Patrick, but Max’s father still calls the shots and as long as Max doesn’t show up publicly with a man on his arm, all will be fine. Max has yet to stand up to his father.

The men take tentative steps towards each other and then their relationship consists of them exploring each other intimately. The scenes were all well written, but there was little given to show why else these men wanted to be together and we were just simply told it was so.

The book was moving along at an even, although at times uneventful, pace until Max’s father, who was primarily an off page character, came on page. Then, there was drama with the father, drama with Patrick’s brother, work drama, and relationship drama all one after the other. It was at this point the book sort of starting spluttering along for me.

The epilogue moves the story slightly ahead where we see Patrick, as well as Max’s father, have a complete change of thought process and there wasn’t enough there for me to get fully on board with how fast they changed what had been the core of their character for the entire book.

I liked the outline of the story here and it did have some good moments, but ultimately didn’t have enough depth in some areas for me. This was the first book I have read from this author and overall there just enough that could tempt me to check out what she puts out next.

This book just wasn’t for me, the writing style and me just didn’t mix but I can see how this would be enjoyable for many others

Opposites attract…

Patrick and Max may be going to the same college but they couldn’t be more different. Patrick is a jock, a football player, his focus on where his talent was going to take him. Max is going to be a lawyer, his family setting his path long ago, so his nose is to the grindstone, knowing where his devotion to studies is going to take him.

“I had fun, but…you know, football has to come first.”

A one night hookup, and years in between, meant their chance meeting should have been nothing more than a quick trip down memory lane. Instead, that memory became the start of something that could be amazing for both of them. If they let it…

They are still opposites with more than money separating them from a future together. Both of their families have issues with their relationship so navigating that and their own insecurities was a loud backdrop to incredibly steamy scenes (okay, scorching hot). They were getting to know each other, one misstep, one sexy scene at a time… I liked these characters who weren’t perfect yet were perfect for each other.

This author is new to me but a solid story, compelling characters and a natural writing style will have me coming back for more.

A romantic book about finding love in strange places, and then being strong enough to allow yourself to follow that love. Yes, it's a sports book and the romance is slightly hidden, but it's there.. and this new to me author is one I will look for again.

Review published on Amazon, Goodreads, B & N and V's Reads: https://vsreads.com/2017/05/31/catching-up-falling-for-the-player-a-review/

Max Segreti is a nerdy college kid working hard on his studies when he meets Patrick Guinness, star college running back, sure to be picked high in the NFL draft, one night at a bar. They hit it off and the hit the sheets for a hot, hot night. In the morning they go their own ways, Max to law school and Patrick to a pro football career. Neither man forgot the other, however...

Three years later they meet by chance again. Only now, Max is studying to take the bar exam and Patrick is back home, running the family garage and caring for his teen brother, Liam, now that both their parents are deceased. His NFL dreams quashed by a devastating knee injury, Patrick isn't sure he can measure up to whatever standard Max may have.

Max still find Patrick devastatingly sexy, but he's been closeted by his overbearing father and isn't sure he can/should have any sort of relationship in the near future. Max is a good guy, though, and helps Patrick secure excellent counsel from his father's firm for Liam when Liam gets into a bit of a mess.

For me, this book was heavy on the sexytimes and light on the relationship. All the times I thought, okay we're going to see these guys build a strong bond, they either didn't, or the narrative shifted into the future. The tense moments--like Max being pushy about money or Patrick being stubborn about accepting charity--seemed too conveniently resolved. Patrick has a big problem dating someone who has a lot of money--like Max--but I wondered where his multimillion dollar NFL signing bonus went? Because he likely didn't spend all of it in his short stint in the game...so that was perplexing. I also got aggravated by some of the word choices, like referring "the other man" all the time in close quarters. I like hearing the guys' names in the books I read, and that sort of linguistic choice always kept me on the outside, hampering my connection to the characters.

That said, there is a sweetish resolution with Max and Patrick finding a common ground that satisfies all of their needs. Also, this feelgood end includes a happy teen and a puppy, so the cute quota is satisfied. A Review copy was provided by NetGalley.

This was an okay read for me personally. It wasn’t one that completely stood out for me, but it wasn’t one that was a complete bust either.

I personally haven’t read anything by this author before, but I did enjoy Lee’s writing style. Which is what drew me into the story. Max and Patrick were both good characters, and while I could get a feel of the chemistry between the two of them, the story itself was predictable for me personally.

Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed the story, and I did enjoy the twist that Lee threw in with Max’s father, but the story just left me wanting for a bit more I suppose. But, this was a good read for a Sunday afternoon. It kept my attention and kept me in the story.

Overall, I would say if your looking for a lazy day read, then be sure to check this one out.

I knew I needed this book as soon as I saw the cover.. Overall, this was a great read. If you're looking for a book that's got a lot of sexy time mixed with some cute romance between some extremely hot men, you need this book in your life immediately.

Imagine having a smoking hot encounter with your college's star football player, who then goes on to the NFL. You're the nerdy guy studying too hard, being forced to go out by your BFF, then you end up hooking up with the football god. One night to fantasize about over the long, lonely nights of undergrad, then law school. Then, you're having car trouble, walk into the shop to get it fixed and there he is - the football god.

Patrick is the bisexual football god and Max is the sort-of our, sort-of closeted geek fresh out of law school. Their reunion at the shop leads to more and these two have to figure out of the blue collar ex-jock and the rich brainiac can find a way to make it work.

Falling for the Player is a charming romance. Of course, Patrick and Max make all kinds of mistakes along the way and deal with interference from both of their families. Falling for the Player has the fantasy most of us enjoyed and the satisfying HEA we all crave.

I received an ARC from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Max and Patrick had sizzling chemistry. From their first hookup until the end. They come from two different worlds and that could affect their relationship.It was a fast pace m/m romance. I felt like something was missing. Still, I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Regret is a terrible thing. Regret for past mistakes. Regret for not standing up to someone. Regret for a decision made. Regret sucks.

Patrick Guinness is filled with regrets. Regrets over his career—he’s no longer living the dream life of an NFL star, he’s living smack dab in the reality of running the family business. Regrets over his relationships, especially the one that got away three years ago. A one-night-stand with Max Segreti still sits at the forefront of Patrick’s memory. The chance circumstance that brings Max to the mechanic shop brings Max into Patrick’s life again. And into his every thought.

Max is also filled with regrets. Regrets that he’s not stood up for what he wants and desires out of life to his family—especially his father. But Max is bound to make a change with Patrick—the man who’s never left his mind from their encounter when they were in college. Max has walked the straight and narrow of what’s expected, but he just can’t help waver from the path when given the opportunity to have a future with Patrick. Now he just needs to take the chance on love.

I really enjoyed my time spent with Patrick and Max. Both of them have been through so much. Both of them want to do the right thing by their families, but they’re both tired of putting their own wants and desires to the side. They are so unsure of themselves and each other, but watching them get closer (and closer in their sexy bedroom times too *fans self*) and stronger in their own right, I couldn’t help but root for them to get it together.

The book started out so light hearted and sweet. But it is so much more. We see two men grow and find love. Fight themselves and others so they can be together. Break down walls and preconceived notions so they can explore their attraction and love for one another. Their attraction is through the roof and their struggle to get past societal thoughts and be together is endearing and has you root for them.

Patrick was a hardworking, loving guy. He was honest and loved his brother with all he had. When his dad died he took over being the parent to him. His strength and love is amazing to see. He accepted the fate that brought him to where he was but he fought the feelings for Max at first. This was due to their stations in life and his brother. He didn’t want to hurt his brother and have him become more angry. When his brother gets in trouble he lets Max back in and we get to see a sweet and beautiful romance grow but also a friendship and support system. Max and Patrick belonged together. They understood one another and respected each other. Patrick wanted so much to believe that their circumstances wouldn’t define them or their relationship.

Max was a great guy. He believed in family and love. He worked hard for his law degree and to earn the respect of his father. His sexual preference was the one thing his father didn’t deal well with. It frustrated Max to no end and almost cost him his relationship. It took Patrick and his love and support for Max to stand up for himself and in the process find himself and what he wants. Max and Patrick are stand up guys and truly are what each other needs.

This is the sweet, real, honest and wonderful story of Patrick and Max. How they find themselves and accept who they are. How they overcome what family and their stations in life to just love one another and support each other. How they overcome obstacles to be with one another and learn to be what the other needs. The writing is honest and so are the characters. We see them stand up and fight for love and each other. A wonderfully endearing story that has you hope that Patrick and Max can overcome the odds and be together for they are each others rocks and love each other with all that they are.

Falling for the Player by Jessica.....This story flowed nicely and keeps you flipping pages. Max and Patrick have some issues, but overall are a great couple and enjoyable to watch. This is my first M/M book and Jessica Lee did a great job, I am excited to read more by her. I voluntarily reviewed an advance review copy of this book from publisher via NetGalley.

Gives one hot, steamy, roll-around-a-lot sex between two sexy males that are very different from each other, but yet they have a chemical connection that spanned the time they were apart. Patrick and Max are at different points in their lives when the meet the first time. Neither was looking for more than what he got out of that night. Neither was expecting the night to have an impact on their lives moving forward. Now three years later, a chance meeting, a need of help, and more hot steamy encounters and Max and Patrick have a chance to see if this thing between them could be more.

I was on board with this read then somewhere I began to lose the interest that I had began with. The characters lost their draw. The relationship path forward almost stalled. My connection to the destination just was not there at the end. It was more I am done. Next read please.

holy snowballs, that was HOT!!!

3.5 Stars I enjoyed Falling for the Player. Patrick and Max both have their problems that seem to get in the way of their relationship but if they want it enough they will find a way to get through it especially Patrick. I look forward to seeing if the author turns this into a series

Just like Max , I too I fell for the player. Patrick has had his share of hard knocks but knows how to come out on top. He's from the wrong side of the town but that doesn't stop Max from pursuing Patrick.

I liked reading how these two men became so important to each other. The trails that they both faced from family. The ups and downs that help build their relationship stronger

During college, Max and Patrick met at a bar one night. Max, a bit of a "nerd" and very focused on finishing school early, was surprised that Patrick was flirting with him, thinking the star football player was straight. In fact, Patrick is bisexual, and while he doesn't hide it, he had been dating only women the last few years at school.


(Which isn't an excuse for assuming someone's sexuality, trust me, but it does give a bit of background info on why Max would think he's straight rather than gay or bi. BTW, his bisexuality is never an issue in the book, so there's that at least.)


After a few drinks, Max offers to drive Patrick home, but instead they agree to go to Max's place and watch a movie. There's a bit of a cute/awkward moment during the movie when coffee is spilled on Patrick's shirt, requiring him to take it off while Max is freaking out that he might have burned him . . . and also flustered at Patrick's abs and body, of course. This leads to a kiss, which turns into a hookup. Patrick doesn't do serious relationships though, as he's focused on football, making the draft, and making it big for his family's sake, etc. So after their night together, he walks right out of Max's life.


Three years later, and Patrick not only blew out his knee and lost his football dream, but also lost his father. Now he's running his father's mechanic shop and raising his teenage brother. Max is ready to take the bar and work at the family's firm, something that's been expected of him his entire life. They run into each other again and of course realize that the mutual attraction is still there. They dance around whether they should start something up again or not. But they just can't resist, even if it's just another temporary hook up.


When Liam, Patrick's brother, gets into trouble, Patrick seeks Max's help. But with this comes the reminder that Patrick and Max are from different sides of the track; Patrick thinks he's not good enough for Max, and Max has to decide if he's going to finally step up and publicly claim his sexuality -- something his family has made him keep quiet about for the sake of their image. Will the former jock and nerd have their HEA?


I liked this story well enough and finished it quickly but I had some issues with it. Mostly minor things, but still more than enough to make me take notice:



The conflict felt minimal and really superficial to the story; what little was there was quickly wiped away without adding much to the story's movement.
I'm not sure about the genre and story aim here: is it trying to be New Adult because of their age? Because it didn't feel or read as NA at all to me and I actually pictured both heroes as late 20s or even early 30s even though, I believe, they're meant to be no more than 24 or so.
Was it trying to be a sports romance with the title and cover? Because it wasn't that, either. Patrick played in college, but the novel takes place entirely after college AND after he had injured his knee and no longer played. Sooooo . . . not a sports romance, either, though it seems like it's being marketed as one? I'm just confused and felt like it was being written and marketed as something it's not.
I wish there had been more shown from their original college hookup. And I don't just mean the sex itself, but rather to show more of the morning after, Patrick's leaving, and how both of them felt about that. Instead we get their meeting at the bar, a few pages leading up to the kiss and BJ, and then that's it until the story picks up 3 years later. I wanted more! When a couple has a past, even if it was only a quickie hookup, I want to see it on page as much as possible in order to understand why they should get together again permanently this time.


The other issues I had were more related to the writing/editing and word choices:


The sex scenes switch between "cock", "dick", and "shaft". Every. Single. Time. Now, I've read other books where more than one word is used throughout the book and never noticed or been bothered by it. But something about how it was done in this book -- almost methodically, like Use Word 1 in Sentence 1, Word 2 in Sentence 2, and Word 3 in Sentence 3, rinse and repeat every page -- caught my attention, and not in a good way.
Maybe it's just me, but authors: pick one word and stick to it! Preferably not shaft, ever. How many guys (today, not talking about a HR) think of their peen as a shaft? None.
Also during the sex scenes, Max kept using the words "his lover" (internal dialogue/thoughts). As in "...the salty-sweet flavor of his lover exploded over his taste buds".
"His lover" was used repeatedly. I counted 25 times in the book. Why? Why not reword the sentences so that it would say "his (cock, flavor, body, whatever)"? Was the author/editor worried that readers would confuse the two hes in a sentence? If so, the writing's not clear enough and needs to be fixed. But putting in "his lover" during the sex scenes just threw me out of the scene. Really, that's his lover? I never would have guessed. THANKS.
CUM. This author uses "cum" instead of "come". Nooooo. I hate the word cum. Hate it and it drags me out of the scene so damn fast; it's not a sexy word for me. Cum is very much rooted in the male gaze so I don't think I could ever, in any book, find it sexy. True, that's just me and some may have the opposite opinion. That's fine; you do you. But for me, I cringed every time cum was used (at least 6 times that I marked, if you were wondering). Please, authors/editors/publishers, always use come. WE KNOW WHAT IT MEANS IN THE CONTEXT OF A SEX SCENE, I PROMISE.
Related: shortly before I started reading this, a conversation about cum vs come was going around on Twitter. Here's my tweet on it and the original tweet from an author, if you're interested.
In short, the sex scenes felt . . . stiff. I could see the potential and they weren't outright NOT sexy, but between all these things mentioned above, the scenes were more "meh..." than "UNF" because the writing would pull me out of the moment at every turn.

Overall:

Did I like it? Yes, it was okay.
Would I recommend it? Possibly to someone; it's not bad by any means, but there are dozens of M/M romances I would recommend above this one.
Would I try another from this author? Maybe. I'm not dying to do so, but I'm not cutting her out completely either. Yet.



3 STARS!

“The heart knows when it’s met its soul mate.”

Of all of Falling for the Player, that line ^^ is my favorite. That line made me smile and nod my head. That line made me wish I'd felt more of a connection to this book, and this couple. Because, to be honest, it was a little bit of a struggle for me at times.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy parts of it—because I did—but between those sweet, sexy moments I enjoyed, I found myself skimming pages to get to the end. Patrick and Max were good but not great together, and although the idea of the jock and the law student was what sold me on the book, I didn't feel those differences nearly as much as I might have expected. In fact, on the whole, I didn't find PG and Blue Eyes to be so different at all, which meant their relationship tension didn’t always hold my attention.

Having said that, I did quite like the tension between Max and his father, and truly wished that had been built on a little more. It was a plot line that had a lot of potential, but wasn't explored enough to feel complete.

In addition to that, I really liked Abbie and although she wasn't a big player in this book, she charmed me and made me wish I was reading her story more than once. Likewise, Liam was a good secondary character—he felt quite authentic and again, was someone I could see reading a story about in the future.

Which, perhaps will happen. I don't know if Jessica Lee—a new-to-me author—has plans to turn this into a series or follow up on these characters, but I do believe I'd come back for more if she did. Because while this book was far from perfect, it had enough to compel me to reach the end—and it was an ending that made me glad I'd followed through.

Think about it, dude. A jock and a book nerd getting it on?
No way could this be happening.

~ 2.5 STARS ~