This is my first time reading Lynn Stevens. I enjoy new authors, watching them grow and mature. And, I adore baseball stories and the New Adult genre. The characters are young and falling in love, facing the daunting task of getting through college and making their mark on the world. Unfortunately, I didn’t get all that I was hoping for with Game On. Olivia was strange and Devon was confusing. Then, adding to that, the baseball theme wasn’t as accurate as I would have hoped.

Olivia came off as a brat. Granted, she knew what she wanted and was going for it. Being a woman in a man’s field is hard but she is determined to make a name for herself. She needs to come to terms with her nemeses, Devon Miller, being just as good as her. She’s jealous. She’s bitter. She also can’t forgive him for the one night in his bed.

Devon has no idea what he did to Olivia for her to treat him like dirt. Yes, he has gone up against her in class but, what does she expect, they are competing for the same things. She has no idea how much respect he has for her or how much he wants to have a relationship. Yes, he has to come off as disinterested or blow his own chances of making his own name for himself in the company his father works for. But, he’s done all that he can for her and she’s still being distant.

The beginning of the story really confused me. I’m not sure if the chapters in the ARC were mixed up or if that was supposed to be the flow of the story but, it didn’t make sense to me. Once we start getting into the meat of the story, it starts taking some twists and turns and, as Olivia starts warming up to Devon, it becomes a little more interesting. Then, they start talking in baseball analogies, Devon tries to explain the game to her, and I get thrown, again. I come from a baseball family and, if the terms and the name of the position players play are incorrect, I have a problem. Then, besides the first few chapters, the story just didn’t jive. I had a problem with Devon’s hot and cold act, with how quick they both jumped to conclusions and judged the other, with how quick they fell in love after so much animosity, with the story about her family and her ex-boyfriend … I’m still not sure why Henry was brought in when he was.

So, I was not as impressed with Game On as I was hoping to be. Yes, it had its light moments, loving moments as well. But, those were out-shined by the bitchiness of Olivia and the games that Devon played. I was happy that they finally came to terms with their feelings and will have a happily-ever-after but was disappointed with the way they got there.

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review Game On. I've struggled to get into it so far, so I won't be reviewing at this time. If I do get to it in the future, I will review at that time.

Olivia finds herself waking up next to a stranger after a night of fun. Olivia doesn't make mistakes; however, this is a big one. This stranger ends up being on of her biggest competitors in the engineering department and both of them are after the same internship.

Devin is a college baseball player who loves getting under Olivia's skin. Devin is charming and is determined to get to know Olivia's whole story. While he makes his intentions clear, he can't seem to get through to Olivia.....

This book is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone. This could be categorized as an enemies to lovers book.

*An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review*

Devon and Olivia has been fighting their attraction and fighting for the top spot in their engineering school. Olivia is too strong of a woman and Devon wants her despite everything she throws at him. When you spent 3 years hating each other, enemy to lovers is inevitable.

Game On was a surprising disappointment because I loved the first book in this series, Full Count. I was expecting more of the same here and didn't get it at all. Let's start with the number one problem I had with Game On - Olivia. As heroines go, she's a big fat disappointment. I think Lynn was aiming at making her a tough, modern woman who had to be in the male dominated field of engineering. But, what she actually gave us was a bitter, b***** woman who blamed the hero for things he didn't even know he had done. And then there's Devon. He's a sweet guy, but he doesn't have a lot of depth. I do like him because he's mostly a sweet guy, but he wasn't nearly as deep as I prefer my heroes to be.

When Olivia wakes up in Devon's bed, AGAIN, she's understandably mad. She had let herself get drunk and had a one night stand with him years before, and it ended up ruining the relationship she was in at the time, and she swore then that she'd never again succumb to Devon's charm. So to wake up and realize she slept with him again makes her furious. But, instead of handling it with some maturity, she acted like a brat and avoided him, even though he let her know many times that they needed to actually talk about what had happened that night. And this is how it goes the entire story. She acts like an immature diva and Devon is just left to figure out what he did and how he can fix it. Until the end when he gets mad at her for something she didn't do, and turns the tables on her and avoids her instead of the other way around. Sigh...for college students both were surprisingly immature and ridiculous. Yes, I know that college students aren't the epitome of mature adults, but I expect them to have some increasing maturity as their time in college comes to an end and they are about to head out into the real world. If only Olivia and Devon had displayed some of that maturity here. And if only the games hadn't been played to such nauseating levels.

If you like your NA sports romances heavy on the sports, light on the drama and high on the heat, I suggest you look elsewhere, because Game On is rife with immature characters, lots of drama and games (not the sports kind), and very little baseball. I'm really disappointed Game On did not have the depth and emotional intensity of its predecessor, but I do hope the next one is better.

Olivia Dawson made a mistake when she cheated on her boyfriend at the time, especially since she ended up in the bed of her arch enemy, Devon Miller. Even worse, now they're competing for an internship at the one place Olivia has always wanted to work and both will do anything to get the coveted position. However, the more time Olivia spends with Devon, the more she realizes how wrong she's been about him. But when something happens and Devon doesn't take her side, will things ever be the same between them or is the trust they had for the other too broken for the pair to find their way back to each other?

Having enjoyed the first book of this series, I couldn't wait to discover more about the baseball team Devon plays on, how the drug scandal has affected the players and whether they can find a way to go out and play their absolute best. The way this story started had me amused by the heroine's reaction to where she is. Could she possibly find a way to get out of being where she is? However, it was the moment that the hero and heroine came together for the first time that had me absolutely hooked, as Devon is charming and there's plenty of chemistry between Olivia and the hero that just made me want to know how long it would take Devon to win the heroine over, despite their past that makes it palpable he's already won her over once.

As for the dialogue, it was very entertaining due to the main characters back stories that have Olivia determined to avoid Devon at all costs because he's her enemy; the one that she finds herself continually competing against and coming off second best more often than not. Will she ever win against him? Moreover, both the main characters were fascinating and I loved how determined Devon was to win the heroine over, no matter how many obstacles he had to face including Olivia's ex-boyfriend, whether the heroine can handle the truth of what the hero is keeping from her; and whether the hero trusts Olivia enough to see that she would never do anything to hurt him.

While the heroine, she's been through a lot and I liked that she fought for her future, even if her dad pushed her to fight for what she wanted to do when it came to college and a career. I also liked how smart and sassy Olivia is and that she can handle Devon when it comes to them conversing and him using his charm on her to make her realize that he's a good guy and not her enemy. It's palpable he likes her a lot. I also liked the way Olivia helped her friend with her relationship; a relationship her friend needed to realize was toxic. Yet, what I liked most of all about the heroine is her determination to do anything she can to prove she has what it take to be an exceptional engineer.

Overall, Ms. Stevens has delivered a fantastic read in this book where the chemistry between this couple was powerful; the romance wonderful, despite not going into a lot of detail; and the ending had me captivated because of how far Olivia is willing to go to help Devon and his friends and what she's willing to do to make things right between her and the hero since they belong together forever. I would recommend Game On by Lynn Stevens, if you enjoy New Adult romance; sports romances; the enemy to lovers trope; or books by authors Amy Daws, Stacy Borel, Alice Ward and Cindi Madsen.

Olivia Dawson doesn’t make mistakes. Unless those mistakes are a tall, broad-shouldered, cocky baseball player named Devon Miller. Devon and Olivia have been competing in their engineering classes since freshman year, and he seems to want nothing more than to get under her skin and shake her confidence. Unless you count that one time when he got under more than just her skin…

Now, they’re pitted against each other for a coveted internship that could open tons of doors for each of them. Only one of them can win. And they’re both ready to fight dirty if they need to.


Could Devon be playing for more than just his own gain—could he be after her heart?

Olivia is about to find out.

Game on.

Okay y'all this book...GAH!!! And not in a good way!!! So, let's put me in this book - you know I liked the first one, but for argument's sake, let's say that I'm Olivia in this book and I sleep with this guy while I'm with the guy I'm dating. Let's say this guy is Devon "the baseball player extraordinaire" and that when my boyfriend finds out - he dumps me....reading this book did NOT give me warm fuzzies about Olivia. In fact, it kind of made me not like her. I couldn't relate to her in any sense. Of course, when she does it she's drunk and that's an excuse and free pass, but let me tell you - I will throw you a Ho Hat for free girlfriend!!! I might have liked her if she was a wee bit upset or apologetic, but she wasn't. She was horrible and judgemental. The whole time I read this, I wanted to throat punch her and my kindle. I didn't want to write this review, hence the waiting awhile and lets just say that Devon could do sooooooo much better. Just pick a hooker off the corner and that would have been so much better for him. Toss a dollar at them for goodness sake. I thought "it has to get better" and it didn't!!!!!!!!! I don't like cheating. I don't like reading about it and I don't condone it, so when I have to read about it and review it - it pisses me off to write a review about it. I didn't DNF this book, I trudged to the end because I was going to do this crap come hell or high water. I believed that the author would save this train wreck and make it right....it didn't happen. I'm hoping the next book in the series is better because the first book was good in my honest opinion!!! I feel like the author took a vacation, got a ghostwriter and then didn't read the manuscript or maybe she wanted to piss us off just to see if we were really reading it. Well we were and we're pissed!!! I don't know. I just don't. I don't even know what to rate it. I try to always give a 3 or above, but I just don't think I can do it. I mean, you get a star because it was well-written as far as grammar and crap, you made us hate your book - so there's a star for making us feel! However, I just can't write this review anymore. Read at your own risk people.

I was given an ARC copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own and do not reflect anyone else's.

The enemies to lovers trope is probably my favorite but this one just fell flat for me. Maybe because the characters came off too immature but that is usually hit or miss when it comes to new adult romances. There was definitely chemistry between Liv and Devon but there were too many games being played between them. I don't mind when there's a struggle but this just went overboard. It was especially annoying when Devon tried so hard for years to get Liv and the second things go wrong he bolts without giving Liv even a chance to explain. I just found myself more annoyed than actually enjoying the book. I honestly think young adult readers would enjoy this and could maybe relate to it better. After reading the first two in this series, I think it's safe to say that this series just isn't for me.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R1WACS112KOF0T/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

I had enjoyed reading ‘Full Count’, the first book in this series, so was keen to read this, the second. However, I have to say that I much preferred the first book - but that could just be me.

Olivia Dawson is a young lady who took control of many aspects of her home after the untimely death of her mother in childbirth. Olivia has always been determined and is used to competing with males - well, she does have four brothers! Now she is studying to become an engineer and her chief competitor is Devon Miller, who she had an unforgettable encounter with during her freshman year. Since then her life plans and may aspects of her life have changed. The one constant through it all is her competitiveness with Devon! Maybe they’re protesting just a little too much?

This is a cute romance but there are so many side aspects to this story that, to be honest, I really wish some had been edited out. I thought Devon was a great hero for the story but often had mixed feelings about Olivia - though her family were great! She’s so judgemental and at times readily blames others for her own actions/reactions whilst at other times I just felt like trying to hug her better or giving her a figurative pat on the back for doing so well. At no point did I not want to finish the book, it kept me reading and I suspect some people will love it, why don’t you give it a go and see what you think? You don't need to read the first book in the series to appreciate this one - but I do think the first book is a more engaging story!

I requested and was given a copy of this book via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion after choosing to read it.

Mixed emotions about this one. I really enjoyed the story but Olivia annoyed the heck out of me. She came across as very judgmental and stubborn. She and Devon are always competing. Scholarships, interviews, and now an internship. Yet there is definitely a strong attraction between them. Devon comes across and genuine and true while Olivia just seems petty and envious. Yet Devon really seems drawn to her if she will only give him a chance.

Overall a good read but be ready to want to strangle Olivia at times. I'd recommend it.

game on picks up after the events of full count. the westland baseball team has been racked with a steroid scandal and the remaining players are suffering the consequences. devon miller for one is trying to keep his head in the game both on the field and off.

olivia dawson is the one person who keeps him off his game. she's the girl who got away after they had a one night stand freshman year. at the time she was seeing someone, and then they were often in the same classes, competing for the same awards.

while olivia can't figure devon out, his intentions are clear from the get go. the problem is that olivia doesn't trust devon. she doesn't trust his motives, she doesn't trust his feelings for her, she just doesn't trust him.

and this is what keeps derailing them. trust. both of them have their reasons for distrusting each other. but at the end of the day the only way forward is for them to risk everything and trust each other with their hearts. because what grows between them is something special and sweet and strong.

i loved olivia and devon together. i enjoyed game on so much. moreso than full count because here neither lead does anything so catastrophically stupid. olivia and devon are complex and fully realized and that makes everything that happens between them resonate deeply. i loved it.

Game On (Westland University #2)
Lynn Stevens
My Review: ♥ ♥
Unfortunately, Game On just wasn't for me.

Olivia Dawson has decided to take a night off from brooding over her ex-boyfriend and let her hair down. Before Henry became her ex, Olivia made a mistake. That mistake was Devon. Her night off involved a college party where she ends up playing beer pong with Devon. One too many drinks later she wakes up in his bed. She has already made this mistake once and now wants to escape her new slip up.
Devon and Olivia have always been competitive. They find themselves working together giving them the opportunity for a friendship and more.

I felt the cover and synopsis for this book was misleading. Devon is a baseball player but the story is more focused on an engineering internship. Olivia not wanting to hear what Devon wanting to share was used to give the story suspense, but this quality made me dislike her. There were other factors to her personality I didn't like but I don't want to give too much away. Other books based around the college age group have matured characters and I found this one to be a little more immature. I also felt Devon wasn't the cocky character I was expecting. He always like Olivia she just didn't listen and blamed him for her mistakes.

Sorry :(. 2 stars out of 5. I would recommend reading another review of this book on Goodreads if it is something you are interested in reading.

ARC in exchange for a fair review

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36054491-game-on

ebook £6.41
Expected publication: September 18th 2017 by Entangled Publishing (Embrace)

Publisher's Description:
Olivia Dawson doesn’t make mistakes. Unless those mistakes are a tall, broad-shouldered, cocky baseball player named Devon Miller. Devon and Olivia have been competing in their engineering classes since freshman year, and he seems to want nothing more than to get under her skin and shake her confidence. Unless you count that one time when he got under more than just her skin…

Now, they’re pitted against each other for a coveted internship that could open tons of doors for each of them. Only one of them can win. And they’re both ready to fight dirty if they need to.

Could Devon be playing for more than just his own gain—could he be after her heart?

Olivia is about to find out.

Game on.

My Thoughts:
This book is not my usual read but since it included a back drop of baseball I was sure I would like it and even though baseball was only a small part of this story I still found it impossible to put down.
I really enjoyed Liv and Devon's story. There is just enough of a sensual nature in spite of no actual sex that we come to expect it to happen around the corner or possibly on the next page. It becomes an expectation that never happens but it remains an eventuality.
The only thing that may have made this book better is that one expected encounter.
I gave this book 4.25 of 5.0 stars for storyline and characterization and a sensual rating of 3 of 5 flames. The attraction between our hero and heroine is palpable.
I received a complimentary digital ARC copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley to read. This in no way affected my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

MY RATING: 2/5 STARS

I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Where do I start with reviewing Game on? Okay, let's begin with our heroine, Olivia. I'm going to give major kudos to Lynn Stevens for trying to create a strong and smart female heroine trying to survive in a male dominated career field such as aviation engineering. While the idea of Olivia was perfect because why not support fella females in diverse and hard roles, she still came out to be a character worth despising. 

Okay, maybe despising is a harsh way to describe how I feel about her. Like other reviewers of this book, I had the same problem. Olivia jumped to conclusions about people way too quickly. In fact, if she gave a tad bit of a chance to our hero, Devon, there wouldn't even be a major love-hate relationship between them. If she just listened to what the hell happened between them and tried to understand Devon beyond his looks, his family, and his intelligence, Olivia might have found her happily ever after before this book even started. 

Which is why the book is not rated highly in my records. 

Next, let's talk about Devon. Can he even be possible? In my experience, engineer students, sleep, eat, and breathe engineering work. They don't have time to train and let alone play baseball like what Devon does on the side. In the book, they mentioned he barely sleeps and buddy, I believe that because if he were to be a superstar in baseball and in the classroom, he's not real. I know, what you're thinking. But Lisa, he isn't real. He's fictional. But this is a contemporary novel so it has to be realistic in a lot of ways and this isn't. I don't want to be nit picky but this does feel like our fellow author is trying to incorporate sports into a romance that has no place to belong. 

Can we also talk about their blossoming relationship? 

I'm all for insta-love and jumping into the relationship boat without warning but I expected more from a full length novel that advertises the fact that two people have pitted against each other since their freshman year and now you're telling me in just some short time spent together, Olivia and Devon are suddenly okay with everything and they want to start a relationship?

Yeah. 

Kind of hard to believe. 

Although, the book wasn't what I was expecting, it was still cute in most aspects and it did have a bit of heat I wanted. However, in addition to the mess I just described, the mess towards the end with the misunderstandings and the fights was just too much. I rolled my eyes way too much to try to give this a higher rating.

MY RECOMMENDATION: 

Probably read Lynn Steven's other books first.

I loved the first book on this series, but this one fell flat.. there was no baseball only small portions of what already happened in the first book.. the couple to me didn't have any chemistry.. I wanted to find out what happened in the past.. a flashback would have been nice.. I know its an arc, but it need a better format because everything is mashed together

This book is technically book 2 of the Westland University series but it completely stands alone - you do not have to have read the first book to enjoy this one. Any sex is of the fade-to-black sort, but there is cursing including some f-bombs. And yes, Devon and Olivia had a one night stand while she was in a relationship – it happens off-screen and in the past. If that fact alone will cause you to leave a bad review before you finish the book, you might want to skip this one.

I have to admit that I didn't connect with Olivia immediately. I struggled with the fact that she cheated on her long-term boyfriend, and her constantly changing attitude was incredibly frustrating, but the more we got to know her, the more I realized why she was the way that she was and I found myself really invested in her. (She might not have cried at that awful moment, but my eyes watered!) While the part where they had sex while she was with someone else bothered me and could have cost this book stars, *slight spoiler to the end of this paragraph* I thought the guilt that she had about it and the way that she and Henry talked things out toward the end was a really nice touch. If Henry and Olivia's story had ended that afternoon in her apartment, my opinion of this book would have varied greatly.

I requested and was generously granted an ARC of this book via NetGalley and the publisher. I was under no obligation to write this review, I did so because I enjoyed the book.

If you like your sports romances like I do then this book is for you. Not read anything by this author but that is going to change from now on, if anything like this book I will be a happy girl. I throughly enjoy everything about this book and was a pleasure to read. Would recommend

Olivia has always had a plan in mind, finish college, get the internship she needs to finish her engineering degree. But what she was not planning on was another drunk night with Devon, the star baseball player on campus. What she feels is a regret, Devon feels is a win as he has been after her since Freshman year. But will falling for Devon but a crease in her well thought out plan, or is it time to let someone else in and start on a different journey? This was a coming of age emotional story. The character had real depth to them and the plot was anything but straight and narrow. You could feel Olivia's angst in figuring out which path to eventually take. It was a joy to see the two get to the end result. With lovable characters and a storyline that made the pages turn quickly I highly recommend this book.

‘Game On’ is a step back for me into New Adult, or rather, a college-age sports romance and after reading a few more ‘adult-ish’ books, took a wee bit of mental adjustment. Normally the transition is typically near-seamless, particularly if the plot and characters are stellar and there isn’t a huge step back in maturity levels. With the rivals to lovers trope in play here, ‘Game On’ sounded like something I could dig into.

But what I hadn’t counted on—which made me decidedly lukewarm—was Olivia Dawson’s past one-night stand with baseball player Devon Miller that happened when she was with another guy, who later broke up with her after she confessed that affair. It’s admittedly in the past and considered ‘just a mistake’ under the influence of alcohol, though that didn’t give me the best impression of her, not when she continued being judgemental, pugnacious and just an all-round pain in the arse after all this time.

That she nevertheless ends up with Devon—the guy she cheated with—while having a relationship somehow made light of that remorse. Cheating isn’t my thing (neither do I get off on it, though lately I find myself getting increasingly intolerant of it) and that tanked the book for me early on, as it tainted my whole impression of Olivia. With the entire story in her POV as well, ‘Game On’ was quite a let down from the start, especially when I found myself unable to take anymore of Olivia and gave up midway.

Obviously this series just isn’t for me—my preference rearing its head again quite strongly here—but as I’ve said before, it’s probably someone else’s cup of tea.