Thank you Loveswept/Randomhouse for the chance to read and review this awesome book! I will post a full review soon.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing/Loveswept for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is I believe the second in a series. First time reading this author. I am not a huge fan of sport Roman es, but I did enjoy this one. I did have some issues though..Bree is a doctoral candidate, and for some reason is a TA in her last semester, and it is against the rules for teachers/students to have a relationship! She knew it, he knew it! Second, no one, no one should put up with the deal she did from her advisor!! Report him!! Even if you think they will do nothing! To me, Bree was a bit of a whiner and I didn't see much of the science geek in her. I adored Marcus. Regardless of this, I still enjoyed the story, and would read another in this series. I rate this a 3.5.

Great story and great characters! Bree is a PhD doctoral student, finishing her dissertation and about to defend her thesis. While she’s working on finishing that, she’s teaching her thesis advisors’s physics class. She has a very famous student in her class, Marcus James, tight end of the Milwaukee Dragons. He’s a great specimen of a football player, black and fabulous, and needs help with the class.

They start sharing lunch time, right after the class. The way their relation progresses is very slow and sweet, with a lot of caution because Bree’s reputation and grade depend on not being caught with a student.

Both have problems with their families, and are dealing with the disapproval of their parents regarding their choice of career. Bree is very sensitive on this subject, and is prone to anger when she faces a man being too protective and too intent on helping her without being asked.

I enjoyed reading their story and watching as their love starts and develops. They have great chemistry and their banter is sweet. I got a kick from the female character being a physicist. She’s a nerd who landed a football player. He was very much attracted to her intelligence as much as her personality. There was nothing to dislike in Marcus, he was a total gentleman, very considerate and hot in bed. Bree was sometimes too defensive, because she had faced prejudice on her chosen career. Every time she faced a stressful moment, she got an anxiety attack.

The book would have been much more enjoyable if the writing had flowed more smoothly. I found that the characters were too much in their heads, and several of their issues were repeated too many times. There was so much filler in the story that I felt it moved slowly, it stalled several times, and got a little boring. Once I skimmed over those parts, the story flowed and was a lovely read.

ARC from Netgalley

I've not read anything by this author before but her tagline ("funny, nerdy, sexy romance novels") made me curious when I came across this second book in her Milwaukee Dragons football series. As did the STEM-girl heroine. But I was less impressed than I was hoping to be.

Bree Novak is months away from finishing her Ph.D. in physics, a task made more difficult by her anxiety disorder and by having her advisor leave for another job. Being stuck with a misogynistic old boy prof for a replacement is the pits, especially when he forces her to teach an intro level course when he's short of funding. Discovering that her celebrity crush, Marcus James, tight end for Milwaukee's professional football team, will be enrolling in said class, is just another nerve-wracking addition to Bree's stress. Especially when she and Marcus start to hit it off.

(Bree is white, Marcus is black, but race issues are not the focus of the story in any way.)

Character development is pretty thin here. Bree doesn't read at all like a science nerd, except for a few external descriptive details (she paints her nails blue and has a blue streak in her hair; she plays poker); it's more like "let's call her a STEM heroine because that's cool and relevant" than any real depiction of what it's like to think like a scientist. We don't hear anything specific about Bree's research, or why she digs science so. For his part, Marcus is your perfect-except-for-one-small-detail dream guy, a detail that leads to their short breakup but which is easily overcome with some personal insight and apologizing.

The story was rather flat in regards to the romance, too. The two bond a bit over having overbearing parents, but the bonding doesn't go much beyond "yeah, me too!" Lincoln doesn't show us much of Bree and Marcus's personal interactions, or falling for one another; more time is spent with each character's group of friends during the first part of the book than with the two spending time alone.

Largely in part because A PROFESSOR IS NOT SUPPOSED TO DATE A STUDENT. As a former academic, I have a problem with characters who don't take this ban seriously. Other readers may not find it as problematic as I did when Bree first asks Marcus out to lunch with other people, then starts seeing him for solo lunches, then accompanies him to a charity event as a "not date." But such attention to a current student is not something I would recommend any professor showing. Never mind falling into bed with said student. If you're going to cross that line, then do something to address the resulting power problem. Ask Marcus to drop your class. Or have him change to a different section. Or inform your department chair that you're interested in him, and ask that someone else be in charge of grading his work. Don't just have sex and keep it a secret. I lost a lot of respect for Bree when she crossed all those lines.

The book picked up in the second half, but the Black Moment felt like more of an overreaction by Bree than a real painful difference between the two.

The second book in this series belongs to Marcus James, the team's tight end who is rehabbing from a season ending injury. While laid up, he is taking a few classes to finish his college degree. He meets Bree who is finishing up her PhD and there is instant attraction, but Bree can't date him since he is her student. This goes on for a while until one night they give in to temptation. They start to date secretly until Marcus tries to help Bree one too many times and she gets mad and leaves him. Both are miserable and end up getting back together. This book left me a little cold. I didn't feel like there was much in terms of falling in love. I felt they were attracted to each other, but the spark wasn't there. I also had a hard time relating to Bree. The whole anxiety thing got old after a while and all the whining! I feel like this one is a HFN not a HEA.

Sports romance is one of my least liked sub genres but this was a very cute love story. The slow build up was a nice change of pace and was done in a way that wasn't boring. It was a good story although not a great story. But I can totally see fans of sports romance enjoying it.

I like sport's novels and I was definitely looking forward to Bree and Marcu's story. But the actual book did not seem to live up to its potential. I found this book kind of boring. I voluntarily read this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I love football books! Liz Lincoln delivers a lot in this second installment of the Milwaukee Dragons series. I was so pleased to find that even though star tight end Marcus James is sidelined for a year with a knee surgery we still get a bit of football action. While he's out of commission and rehabbing that knee Marcus is taking two classes to finish up his business degree. Geology and Physics from the prettiest grad student he's ever seen. Bree Novak is in the last semester of her physics PhD program and teaching The Marcus James her favorite player on top of completing and defending her dissertation. They have instant chemistry but have a self imposed slow burn.

Lincoln has done amazing world building with the Dragons, the layers of characters within the organization and in Bree's life add so much to the story. It was nice to get a few peaks at Seth and Carrie from the previous book as well as several of the other players. It will be great to continue with this series and see how they're all getting along.

The family pressure and expectation are so real and the panic inducing pressure of life altering work and decisions creates so much tension for Bree and Marcus. I really felt the panic along with Bree. Marcus is a thoughtful and character and I really liked him from the start. There is a lot of heat going on but I really enjoyed the slow build up.

I look forward to the next Dragon story.

Will love recommending this Milwaukee-based romance series to my library's patrons! Hoping we can find print editions of this book as we currently are not carrying this author.

This was an okay read. I loved the premise, but the story was just okay. Perhaps if I had read it at a different time and not following up a book I was gaga over, It would have liked it better.

The heroine is in grad school studying physics. The hero is a football player who is injured and working on finishing his degree. She also is his teacher for a course he is taking. We never get to see them in class together. There are some other interactions that happen off page and I would have preferred to see them on the page. The secondary characters, are great and I do look forward to seeing more of them. Good but not great story.

I'm a sucker for a romance novel with a hot athlete, & this book delivers in spades. I enjoyed the character of Marcus & a little glimpse into the life of a NFL player on the injured list for a season. Bree is a good counter to him as a woman pursuing a degree in a male dominated field. The interactions between these characters & their friends & families are well worth the read. Highly recommend this book!

Being from the city the book was set in, made it all tge more interesting to read. The way Liz dealt with the issues that women face in dealing with men was spot on. The sexy athlete and smart woman combination was fantastic and hot, hot, hot. I hope there's more to come from Liz.

Swagger is the love story of an injured foootball player, Marcus, and his hot physics teacher Bree. I love football love stories especially those where the female lead is intellectual and just a little nerdy. So after reading the synopsis, I had pretty high expectations for this book. I'll start with what I liked then tell you why this book fell flat at the end for me.

Bree and Marcus had a really cute, realistic love story. The kind of story that makes intelligent girls swoon over the possibility of find a hot football player to fall in love with. I also loved that their love was not rushed and instead grew slowly over the course of the book. Plus I'm drooling over Marcus, he was everything I hoped for and more. It's been a while since I loved a male lead that much.

Now, I wish I had loved Bree just as much. I found her character to be whiny, weak, and flawed without much redemption. As a strong feminist myself, I love female characters that take charge of their own lives and destinies but I've also learned that you can't let that drive become self-righteous. And unfortunately, that's what happens to Bree. I also hated the conversation between her and Celia and the things Celia said about an all female team. If that conversation had been had between two male characters every reviewer would have been screaming mad! Equal treatment regardless of sex is the true meaning of feminism. Lastly, the fact that Bree was not strong enough to admit she overreacted during her break up with Marcus and made him grovel unnecessarily was almost enough for me not to finish with only two chapters to go. Finally, when Bree and Marcus do reconcile their resolution was rushed and their love story incomplete. For example, why would she not bringing home of she's so in love with him? This book definitely needed at least another chapter.

Overall, Swagger was a cute love story. I just had a hard time to connecting to the female lead specially in the last few chapters. I still give it 3 chilli peppers of hotness so give it a shot and see if you agree with me or not.

Thanks Loveswept and NetGalley for the ARC!!

Holy hotness, look at that cover! Is it getting hot in here? Simple answer, yes; Swagger is as hot as it's cover model. A cold shower was needed after reading it.

Marcus James is a tight end for the Milwaukee Dragons who injured his knee right before the football season started. Now he's out for the whole season and while he's bummed not to be playing, he's taking advantage of his time off to finish his college degree. He literally gets swept off his feet by his new physics professor, Bree Novak.

Bree is in the final stages of completing her PHD. A wrench was thrown into the process when her advisor moved to France and now she's stuck with Dr. Bryant as her advisor. Dr. Bryant is a sexist jerkwad of a human being and he's making Bree miserable. He's also making her teach his physics class, where one of her students is Marcus, who just happens to be her favorite football player. She might have a huge crush on Marcus, but since she's his teacher, she definitely feels like that's a line she can't cross.

Marcus and Bree have a great story. They don't fall in insta-love, which as a reader I appreciate. There's an excellent Star Trek vs. Star Wars debate, which made me laugh. Liz Lincoln is a good writer who writes solid, layered characters. I'd definitely read another book by this author and recommend Swagger.

I really enjoyed this title. There's something about an athlete and a nerd that just speaks to me. :)

Entertaining, captivating, well written read. Bree and Marcus story shows the hardships a female can go thru in what most consider a male world. Bree is finishing her doctorate in physics. Marcus an injured professional football player is taking classes to finish his degree. They're teacher student with lots of chemistry between them. Plenty of interaction with each others friends. You will enjoy the read.

DNF
I was really excited to read Swagger after having enjoyed Liz Lincoln previous book in the series. Unfortunately, I had to give up on this one after a while. As a person of color myself, I appreciated the author for writing a book about a black character and other characters of color in this installment, but was it necessary for her to constantly - and I do mean CONSTANTLY - comment on the race and ethnicities of all the characters that were introduced? It almost felt like she forced herself to do it and it was very unnatural. I had to give up after a while because of it.

Thank you for the publisher for allowing me to read this book early. I appreciate it.

I gobbled up the first book in this series like it was Thanksgiving Dinner. I was addicted to it, and 100% invested from start to finish. I loved Marcus in that book and was really looking forward to his story.

Unfortunately, whatever magic the first book contained for me was missing in the second. I felt like some of that zippy personality that we saw from Marcus in On the Line was missing from Swagger. And while the story started off well for me, by about 25% I found myself feeling a little bored and not connecting with the romance at all. It just somehow fell flat for me.

So, unfortunately this wound up being a DNF. I would definitely give the series another shot because I did love the first book so much. I just have a reader palate that's tough to please these days, and this one missed the mark.

HOT! That’s one way to describe this book. This is an opposites attract kind of book. It’s the book nerd with the football player love book. The one where you want the happily ever after. Then guess what happens? Bree reminds us that not all girls need to be saved. That she can make things happen. BANG!!!!! She’s her own hero. Marcus oh how I fell in lobe with this man. He is everything you want and more.

When an injury leaves tight end Marcus James sidelined for the season, he finds himself struggling with how to spend all the new free time he has on his hands, everything in his life revolves around the game, and if he doesn't that have that what does he have? He decides his time might best be used to finish the classes he needs in order to obtain his degree, which means he must take a physics class, and he instantly has reservations about it, that is until he meets his teacher!

Bree Novak is beyond gorgeous, funny, smart, and he has a feeling she is going to be an excellent teacher, but he wouldn't mind being more than just her student. But that would be crossing the line into dangerous territory...

Swagger is an absorbing little page-turner that joins the football world with the science world together, and boy what a entertaining duo they make! I really enjoyed this newest installment in the Milwaukee Dragons series, it drew me almost immediately, and kept me entertained the whole way through, who knew science could be so hot! The chemistry between these two burned brightly from start to finish, and every encounter they had was filled with so much heated passion and intensity that I found myself in need of a fan more than a few times! As a sports romance fan I have to say this one brought some serious game, the characters were great, the words were engaging, it was a win-win!! Highly recommend!!

I requested an advanced copy of this title from NetGalley, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.