Julia Blake is one of my favorite authors. I was never into sports romance until I read this book. I wish this series would continue.

Nick and Rachel’s story was different, in a wonderful way. The secret she was keeping for Kevin is something that needs to be shown more. Loved this book.

Blake was a new author to me, and with all new, to me authors, I gave it a chance. This one just happened to pan out. I loved Changing the Play so much. It all started with a slow burn and who doesn't like one of those? However, once the characters meet up, they soon find out they've known each other from high school. Their chemistry is just off the charts. Grab this one up today and fall in love as I did.

This was a new author for me, and I found I absolutely loved it! The book moved a little slowly at first, but it wasn't long before the two main characters meet and spark! They both knew each other in high school where Rachel was the nerdy sport stats girl, and Nick was the athletic star. Of course, neither knew they had any interest in each other back then. Nick has avoided Rachel since moving to NY trying to ensure he had his own career set from his own accomplishments as an interviewer on a Sports News show. Rachel was now a renowned sports agent. The two worlds do not work well together! Hence the conflicting emotions while both are falling further for each other. I found that I really enjoyed the smart, powerful character Rachel portrays. I was not thrilled that Nick initially contacts Rachel because he needs to use her to get an exclusive interview with a rookie nor that he somewhat exploits the rookie to lock in a job for himself and his crew.

I found that I wanted to learn more about Emma and Louise (Rachel's friends at the agency), but I am truly looking forward to another strong female who guides Nick - Erica. Erica works at the news stations with Nick and gives him strong advice in a no-nonsense manner! Can't wait to read more from Julia Blake!

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a story about second chances. Rachel had a crush on Nick when she was in high school, but he never even looked her way. Nick always liked Rachel but he thought that she would not give a guy like him a chance. Ten years later, Rachel is well known Sports Agent, and Nick needs a favor to save his job as a known journalist. They go head to head, all the while fighting their attraction, but not too well. They both know how disastrous a relationship can be for them, but what happens? And who wins? It is entertaining..

Julia Blake is a fresh voice in Romance. Her stories are always contemporary and feature strong female lead characters. Rachel's story does not disappoint. Nick is a solid match for her and I look forward to seeing the supporting cast develop in future installments.

This may be one of the best sports romances I've read (even though the two MCs are behind the scenes and not athletes).

Rachel's and Nick's relationship is a slow burn, done very well. She, an agent to the athletes, and he, a sportscaster, have plenty of obstacles to overcome including a past (high school peers) and conflicts of interests where their jobs are concerned. But all of this was perfectly balanced. It didn't feel angsty or juvenile. Blake does a good job at creating just enough conflict to keep the story going, but none of it is superfluous.

I love that Blake actually knew her sports. One of my biggest pet peeves in sports romances is that the sport itself is often used as a plot device or a way to make a character seem more attractive and then there is very little research or accuracy as far as the sport's concerned. But Blake had her references and sporting events down pat and it made for such a smoother read not getting caught up in errors.

I will warn that the book is sport heavy. Since both characters love sports and work in that field, a lot of talk revolves around it. But if you are a girl (or guy) who loves sports as well as romances, then I highly recommend this book.

I LOVED this book! More so than I thought I would in all honesty.

It was the perfect, fast-paced, steamy, and hot romantic read. I could not put it down and read it in the span of a couple of hours. I loved the main couple but most admirably, I loved the strength of the main female character. Too often it seems that a main female character in romance novels can be portrayed as "weak", "submissive", "whiny", etc. This was not the case in this novel. Rachel was a strong, independent, and sassy woman! Sometimes it could be debatable whether it was healthy for her lifestyle, but she stuck with her personality and morals even when a man entered into the story. It was amazing to read about and I don't find many books out there that I truly identify with the main character and respect her.

As for the romance, let me tell you, I don't think readers will be disappointed. This book was HOT from the very first chapter. I also liked how the relationship developed. I really liked the two main characters (in case you didn't notice).

Also, aside from the main characters, I liked the supporting characters in this novel. I liked the friendships between Rachel, Emma, and Louise. I liked Nathan and his loyalty. I was rooting for Kevin from the get go and his story was important and really tugged at the heartstrings. Honestly, name a character, I probably enjoyed their role in the story.

I definitely recommend this book to those who like romance novels or even those who enjoy novels with a strong female main character. Typically, I would see a title with sports integrated and I would have been put off but I really liked how sports related and was involved within this story. As I don't know anything about sports, I was worried that the story would lose my interest but that was not the case at all! In fact, I probably will look for more romance novels with sports integrated in the future as I really enjoyed that element.

I will definitely be keeping my eyes out for more in this series as well as more written by Julia Blake. I truly enjoyed her writing style as well as this novel as a whole.

**Thank you to the publisher for supplying me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Ok, this book had a lot of potential but fell short in the interest category. I wanted so bad to like it but I just couldn't get myself to care.

Well written and enjoyable sports romance.

*ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review *

I loved the book, it was well written and fast paced. The characters were flushed out nicely and I cared and empathized with both of them. Can't wait for the next one! There was a great dialogue and I really enjoyed the secondary characters as well. I wish I could find more from this author

really entertaining. It's such a fresh breath of air to see a confident strong female heroine, romance is so lacking of those these days

I hated Nick right away. There is no excuse for his duplicitous actions. Oh, she had a crush on him in n high school, so it's all okay that he went behind her back and called her just to,use her. No. Sorry, but she isn't the heroine for me. She's supposed to be a strong female lead, but ends up being a doormat.

Loved!! Once I started this book there was no way I was putting it down. The sizzling chemistry between the characters is amazing and everything about them just works. Such a pleasure to read and definitely a book to read in the sun. Would recommend to everyone

Whoa...I was blown away by the exceptional writing by this new to me author. I was so engrossed in the story that before I knew it ended...was I ever disappointed...I would happily spend more time immersed in Nick and Rachel's lives. It has been a long time since I have read a story with characters who were so absolutely interesting and captivating.

Nick and Rachel's chemistry was explosive, but also had its moments of heartbreak. Ms Blake has created not only a story with a freshness and originality to it, but also one that is relatable as well as emotionally mesmerizing. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to escape into the captivating world of sports management, journalistic integrity, with romance thrown in for good measure...and with a dialogue that moves quickly, is whip smart along with wry banter.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

Love that this was not a cliche love story, Rachel is a strong female lead, a woman in a traditionally mans world and her story and character is well written and doesn't fall into some of the usual things you see in romance novels. Julia is a new author for me, but I can't wait to read more!

Julia Blake is a new author for me, but ‘Changing the Play’ ensures I’ll be coming back for more. The book captures the mad, competitive world of sports management and journalism perfectly, with such sharp, insightful writing that I knew that it was going to be a read I wouldn’t be able to forget. I loved the frenetic rush, the constant flurry of activity of the whole sports scene that was detailed and wholly engrossing—even though it isn’t quite my thing—as well as the conflict that was so very real when Rachel and Nick clashed.

Most of all though, Blake has written such a memorable heroine for whom I found myself cheering the whole way. There was everything to love about Rachel—her tenacity, her compassion for the players she managed and how she was able to call Nick out on the bullshit he piled on her as well as the strength that it took to say no to his charm offensive that was in many ways, professionally and personally insulting. I liked her protective instincts towards her players even when they’re idiots and her actions with Kevin made her a character who really deserved better than Nick who had everything to prove but didn’t.

In contrast, I was way less impressed by Nick as the selfish, entitled playboy journalist, who had really only sought Rachel out for his own purposes rather than wanting to do so because he wanted only her with no strings. Not only that made him hard to like, but I didn’t feel as though he wanted to date Rachel for herself—that seemed to come incidentally as his job had always been his first priority—even though he brought up the sob story of being an idiot in high school who never asked her out anyway. Somehow his actions and rationale(s) never stopped being questionable the whole time and those were pretty much the major blimps that prevented ‘Changing the Play’ from becoming an exceptional story for me.

I enjoyed this book. I liked how it wasn't the typical second chance novel and the hero actually did notice the heroine in high school but didn't know how to tell her. I really loved how strong the heroine was and how they approached their relationship. The resolution was a little drawn out but I loved how the heroine called him out for saying "I love you" when he was about to lose her

Title and author: Changing the Play by Julia Blake
Series: Game Changer – Book 1
Publisher: Pocket Star
Releases: August 21, 2017
Purchase: http://tinyurl.com/yas6kmsd
Genre: Contemporary
Author website: http://www.juliakellywrites.com/
Rating: 4 Stars

Professional athletes can bring in the big bucks, and they want someone who is very clever to help their careers advance. Rachel Pollard has been interested in sports since she was young, and becoming a manager for up-and-coming players is rewarding when she gets them a profitable deal. Though he had wanted to actually play a sport and not report on the action, Nick Ruben is happy with how his life has turned out working on TV. But when the paths of these two crosses after having not been in contact for years, the situation immediately becomes heated when none of their wishes are the same. The first book in the Game Changer series is about a sports agent repeatedly squaring off against a television reporter who is just as determined as she to get his objective accomplished. Julia Blake brings much realism to CHANGING THE PLAY because reactions are so candidly honest. I definitely felt the issues this couple faced could really happen, as the predicaments seemed so believable.

As the agent for numerous individuals who play professional sports, Rachel Pollard has a reputation for making certain the best interest of her clients is met as long as they follow her rules. When a reporter for a local NYC television station calls, she wonders about his reason. She remembers Nick Ruben from high school, and though she secretly liked him then, he will get no special treatment from her now because protecting her athletes is a priority.

When Rachel hears that Nick wants an interview with Kevin Loder, she firmly refuses. The NFL hopeful is a young man whose attention needs to stay on getting picked in the upcoming draft, and she is not letting anyone break his concentration. But Nick needs to do this interview, as it is imperative to his career. Yet he also soon wants Rachel to realize they could be good together if she will just give them a chance.

Since Rachel and Nick express their feelings during any challenging dilemma with such heartfelt sentiments, I quickly became caught up in their complicated relationship. Both are very confident when it comes to fulfilling their professional responsibilities, but they feel doubts when exploring the gradual change in how each think about the other. Though they did go to school together, their current awareness is that of an adult so their perception is much different. I liked how their feelings still need a big push because their way of thinking is usually poles apart, so it often takes some newly revealed insight to change their minds. Julia Blake knows when to make things easy for Rachel and Nick, but she also can throw in a struggle when least unexpected to increase the tension.

CHANGING THE PLAY is a fascinating entanglement of romance and sports. Much research must have been done by Julia Blake, as I felt as though any of the circumstances related to sports came across as very conceivable. Whether it had to do with being an agent or a reporter, her characters seemed to know exactly what needed to be done. Conflicts between these two professions could be numerous, and I thought each one imagined by the author was shrewdly written.

I voluntarily reviewed the book from the publisher via NetGalley, and all thoughts are my honest opinion

What a great read! I found these characters relatable, their chemistry was strong and the sources of tension and path to resolution were credible... Well written and a pleasure to read - Julia Blake will definitely have a place on my favourite authors' shelf!