amazing book, amazing story, amazing plot everything its just so amazing and I wish the mmc was real because hello??? dream bf

This is another excellent and timely football romance from Alexa Martin. It doesn't shy away from discussing the intersection of football with race and politics. I especially loved Ellie's journey as a biracial women who was raised primarily by her white family and is now in charge of PR for a football team that has the first player to kneel for the national anthem.

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for my chance to review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free copy!

While the first three in the in the Playbook series were a little bit lighter, this fourth book is more serious and deals with lots of actual themes and issues we face everyday.

The main character herself is divided between her two different heritages, while experiences racism. It was interesting and sad, and it makes you think how much privilege some people have than others. The romance was cute, maybe a little too slow.

Snapped took a different turn than the previous books in the series. This Rom-Com took a more serious route and addressed issues in the NFL. Clever and risky move.

Romance, football, current events, self discovery, and taking a stand for what you believe in despite the risk of losing it all.

I hope you all believe in the saying better late than never.

While I did receive this advance reading copy before the book was published, I took on a lot of duties; going back to college and more responsibility at work, all while being in a pandy. A lot of these arcs fell to the wayside. (Sorry to all the reps and publishers :(, really.)
However, I will slowly work through these, and even if they are late, here are my opinions.

I liked this book, so I would give it 3.25 stars.

The premise - our female lead (Elliot) has just landed a Public Relations job with the famed Denver Mustangs. Right, when she gets to go to her first home game as a Mustang employee, the male lead (Quinton) takes a knee in his protest against systemic racism and NFL's unfair policies.

Now while our female lead is black, she's biracial, so she is white too. She feels stuck between two places, with respect and admiration for what he is trying to bring attention to, and a disconnect with how he portrays the world. They end up stuck working together to find a solution to the media coverage all this is bringing. Of course, they develop a partnership turn friendship turn relationship (I mean, duh, this is a romance.)

Now what I thought was an interesting take on this particular time in America (the NFL protests and the initial emergence of BLM Movement) was Alexa Martin's choice to write a female lead that had this particular identity issue; that issue of being bi-racial and not having a feeling of belonging. I don't want to give the whole thing away but since her background is given up pretty early in the book, I don't feel like I am necessarily spoiling anything. You see, Elliot was raised by her white father. He was a great dad, but he could only teach her and guide her so much. This caused her harm later in her life, and with her relationship and towards the end of the book, she starts to really see this, which is partly because of Quinton (bless him for this.) While I could not relate to this struggle personally, I am sure that someone else out there can and will. So for that I appreciate this being a part of the storyline.

The sad thing is while I couldn't finish this book fast enough, I did not really feel the chemistry between Quinton and Elliot. I loved the sweet moments we got of them together during the holiday chapters; the rest of the romance felt a bit flat. I also had a hard time connecting with her due to not being able to relate.

What I liked a lot about the story is that it is a softer approach for those who are not ready to read the more heavy-hitting non-fiction anti-racism books. This had an outstanding balance of the chick lit and the social injustices to dip your toes into first. Kudos to you Alexa Martin!

With all that being said, this may have worked better with someone who could connect with Elliot better, as the story is told entirely from her point of view. We only connect with Quinton through her interactions, so that was also a downer for me as I was really excited from reading the prologue from his POV and thought I might get at least a few things from his perspective. My favorite couple out of this series will still have to be TK and Poppy from Fumbled, but if any of this resonating with you, you should give this book a shot especially with the SuperBowl around the corner!

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group for an eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.<3

I didn't realize this was the fourth in a series when I picked it up- and honestly it just seems like a bunch of other romances I've read.

DNF
At this time, I'm no longer interested in this title. Thank you for the opportunity to read the book and I apologize for the inconvenience.

I’m so glad Alexa got to write this story. It’s my new favorite of the series. Elegantly tackles racism in professional sports.

I've read the books in this series out of order, but I did end up reading Snapped last. I didn't love it as much as the others - it was a little politics-heavy for me, but definitely relevant. I loved Martin's writing style and I always feel completely engrossed in the storylines and like I'm getting to know the characters in real life. I do wish that we got to hear some of the plot from Quinton's perspective, because I felt like I didn't really connect with Elliot too much. Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

I love a sports romance, especially a football one, and Martin's series is no exception. Definitely a first purchase author

2.5 STARS
⭐️⭐️💫

I’m not going to lie, this is my least favorite book in this series. I really liked the other books, but I think that this one got way too heavy on the politics and it took away from the romance story for me.

I still enjoyed the story enough to finish the book, but it had a different feel to it than the other books in the series.

I will read this author in the future, but this one just didn’t flow for me.

I'm going to be honest and admit I was nervous going into this book. In fact, it's probably one of the reasons I put it off for as long as I did. I'd seen a lot of not-great feedback for this book. Since I really enjoyed the first three books, I wasn't thrilled at the thought of not enjoying the latest installment. But you know what? I did.

Right off the bat, let me just say this is a pretty heavy book. Don't go in expecting a rom com. That's not what you'll get. You will find a few laughs and swoons (and sexy times!) along the way, but there's so much more to this story. Elliot's grief over losing her father (off the page, before the book starts) is palpable. It's impacted everything down to her job choice, the job that led her to the Mustangs and ultimately handling Quinton. Quinton is fighting his own battles. His are just far more public.

If you know me at all, you know I'm a huge football fan. A spend-your-entire-weekend-watching-football level fan. But it's not easy being a football fan sometimes. I could go into a long diatribe about all the social issues and health issues surrounding the sport I love so much, but I won't. I just want to say I have always appreciated Alexa's insight into the league and the sport. So often in sports romance, the ugly details are glossed over. But she puts them right on the page and I wholeheartedly appreciate that.

I struggled with Elliot at times during this book, but ultimately, I feel like her heart was in the right place. I adored Quinton. In fact, I would've loved it had there been a few chapters from his POV. He was fighting the good fight. Well, good fights. I loved how he and Elliot came together to fight together. Watching them begin to open up to each other and give the other a chance was perfect. Through microaggressions and with a side character who was very clearly inspired by 45 (and who made my skin crawl every time he was mentioned), Elliot and Quinton's passion for the issues at hand (and each other) warmed my heart.

There's been a lot of discussion in reviews about Elliot's seemingly clueless naivety in reviews of this book. As a white woman, I can't speak to most of that. It's not my job to judge the actions of a biracial woman. Did I stop a few times and question it while I was reading? Yes. But again, those experiences aren't mine to judge. I think one of the most important things people need to do before reading the book is read the author's note at the beginning. And maybe circle back to it once you've finished the book.

My only real complaint with the book came at the end. I'm all for a grand gesture, but aspects of the one at the end of this book made me roll my eyes. It was a little too convenient and perfect. <spoiler>Getting other players involved in Quinton's protest? Love it. But where were they for the other games in the season? But I can suspend reality for that one. It was the crowd at the stadium who have booed Quinton suddenly having a collective change of heart and supporting him just because there were more players protesting?</spoiler> Oh, how I wish things worked that way in real life.

Snapped has a different vibe than the earlier books in this series, but I still feel like it fits really well in the overall series arc. Each of the books has tackled either a social issue or a football-specific issue in one way or another. This one just took on two big issues. But it did it with the same humor and heart that made the earlier books in the series such a joy to read. I'm still hopeful there's one more book to come — Vonnie needs a story of her own — but if this is it for the series, I thought it rounded things out nicely by talking about racial issues and the long-term effects of playing the sport.

DNF at 52%.

I've loved this series so far - the concept of a football team and all of the ladies who date the players was SO fun. Unfortunately, the final book wasn't working for me. I was struggling to get motivation to sit down and read this one, and some of the plot points rubbed me the wrong way.

Goodreads review: I read some reviews and I don’t like where things are headed as of my stopping point. Just no desire to read this unfortunately. I enjoyed all of the previous books in the series but don’t love how they’ve all ended, and it seems like this will be more of the same. Oh well.

I LOVE Alexa Martin's first two books in this series, the third was mediocre for me. I went into this last book with some apprehension and I just don't know if it worked for me as well as I hoped. I liked it more than the third book, and I think she handled the heavier topics well, but I didn't feel as invested in the characters like I did with the first two books. Three stars.

I’ve been a fan of Alexa Martin in this series since book one. I’m so invested I read each book as soon as I can get my hands on it once again the other brings us into the world of professional sports and romance colliding!

Started but have not finished at this time, do not plan to resume reading at this time but hopefully will finish in the future - I have read the other books in this series and have loved them!

I was completely captivated from the authors note before the prologue, and it is such a great women’s fiction, but I’m not sure I’d call it a romance. Q and Elliot don’t kiss until around 75% in! I just wish there was more romance in it

This is the fourth in the Playbook series, and while you don’t have to read them in order you should definitely read them all, because they’re amazing.

While the first three in the series had loads of hilarious moments and dialogue (spit tea out your nose funny) Snapped definitely has a more serious vibe, and it’s so, so good. It deals with issues of race, identity, privilege, institutional racism, brain injuries, parental death, and so much more.

Elliot Reed just started what she thinks is her dream job, working in PR for the Mustangs team. Football was something she always shared with her father, and now that he’s passed away she just knows this job would have made him proud.

Star quarterback Quinton Howard Jr. is taking a stand against, and raising awareness of, the racism and mistreatment of Black players, by becoming the first player to take a knee during the national anthem and covering the team logo on his jersey. Elle is assigned to work one-on-one with Quinton and ‘manage’ public perception.

Elle is forced to confront the feelings she has about her own identity, looking more like her Black mother who died when she was young, but having been raised by her white father. She also feels like more than just her job is on the line right now.

This book was so moving, and the characters gave me a glimpse into an experience other than my own and made me consider some of the complex emotions that accompany racial identity. The book also shone a light on how companies and institutions can be perpetuating racism while publicly looking like they are doing the right thing. It’s definitely a book that’s going to stay with me.

It goes without saying that I love the romance in this series, but what tugged at my heartstrings more than the relationship between the two main characters, was the female friendships. Their bonds, their ride-or-die loyalties to one another, that’s what really made this series a stand-out for me. Of course, it didn’t hurt that they’re all set in Colorado—my favorite place I’ve lived so far.

I really can’t say enough good things about this whole series, I think they’re a must for any romance-reader (and even if you don’t consider yourself one I think you’ll love these books).

Sport romances are one of my biggest weaknesses when it comes to the romance genre. And Alexa Martin is quickly becoming one of my favorite sport romance authors. I am sure it helps that she has personal experience helps with it giving it more oomph than other books.

This story also has so much relevance for what is happening currently when it comes to protesting and taking a stance for what is right. Quinton Howard Jr. loves football but he also knows he has a platform that can make a change. Elliot Reed is working for the Mustangs and living her dad's dream but is also ignoring to what is happening in front of her eyes. Her relationship with Quinton starts on rocky ground but it grew to something magical.

"I just hope that you can put aside whatever issues are fuckin' with your head and start seeing Q for the man he is, not the man you think you're supposed to see."

We have met Donny in a few books but I absolutely love his character and his protection of his players is great. Another great aspect of this book and the series is the connection, banter and friendships with all of the wives/girlfriends of the players.

I liked the evolution of Elliot's character's and how she had to see the truth of her reality and while she does this she's also able to fall in love. I liked Quinton and Elliot together. This is such a great series and a great book. Fingers crossed we get more from this series and this author.