I love a good single parent story! this author always tells a great tale. Loved meeting the team and Max. Always love it when the tough guy finally falls. Lots of football action in this one. Some swoony moments as well. I hadn't read the other books in the series but was able to pick this one no problem.

Book three in this football series has the star receiver for the Sharks Maxwell Smith suddenly become a parent when his sister and brother-in-law are killed in an accident. He is now looking after their triplets. Not his plans but he will struggle to make it work. He decides to reach out to the children’s aunt Gillian who agreed to help but really did not want to start a relationship with Max since she had been burned in the past by men who were good-looking, had a lot of women around, and just seemed like it was easier for them to cheat. Finding who the two of them work through the kids and then each other makes this story work along with the other characters in this book.

I read this book without reading the first two books in the series. Although I probably would have enjoyed reading the first two books, I was able to get through this book just fine without the background knowledge of books 1 and 2. This book starts off with Maxwell, an NFL star, receiving his eye-sister’s toddler triplets. His sister and her husband were killed in an automobile accident and Maxwell was named their guardian.

Maxwell’s sister’s husband named his cousin, Jill, as the one to handle their estate. After moving back from the Caribbean, she goes to meet Maxwell and see her nephews / niece. As soon as Jill & Maxwell meet, the attraction is apparent. But can she get over her fear of him cheating on her in order to make the relationship last?

This was a typical Leslie North book - short, good amount of drama and romance and enjoyable all around. I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions stated above are mine without biases.

Quick read, sports main setting. Happy ending. Read this in three days and enjoyed it. Strong female character. Love story woven around triplet kids.

I’m sorry but Leslie North books are just not for me. I tried it once and it didn’t work. I tried it again and it comes with the same end. She just writes books that doesn’t hold your attention. The characters are plain and impossible to connect with. Finishing this book was talking clearly a pain in the ass

Loved this book, Pro footballer inherits 3 beautiful babies when a family member passed away. We read about him learning how to handle a football career and being a family man with a side of how to find love along the way, as he falls for his charges aunt.

The third book in the series it was well written and engaging, Prior to reading Touchdown I had not read any of the other books in the series well that wasn’t the case after finishing the book, which for me says it all as I wanted to learn and read more about these characters can’t wait for the next book in the series 5stars all round.

I hadn’t read the other books in this series before reading this one but as usual with Leslie North, it can be read as a standalone novel and still make sense!
I did find bits of the book slightly odd, such as how Maxwell and Jill had never met previously. I couldn’t connect properly to Jill and I found the relationship a bit odd.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

This is a story about true love finding its way to two people who are in love. But don’t think they are compatible. Really good book.

I really enjoyed the other two books in this series and was looking forward to Maxwell's story!

While I did enjoy Maxwell and his instant "father" storyline, I didn't feel a connection to Jill's character.

I will still read more from this author and look forward to more from this series.

Touchdown was just ok for me. It had some cute moments but others I thought were odd.
We were immediately brought into this story with little background as to the way he has three little ones. I thought it was odd that in such a tight knit family that Maxwell and Jill have these two never met. Not at the weddings or birth of the triplets. They act like complete strangers but the children , who are 2 remember her.
Maxwell is a dedicated to his niece and nephews . He's willing to do whatever it takes to make sure they are safe and happy.
The romance was there but there was also made up drama that didn't need to be there.

I received a copy of this book for a honest review.

After Mark in First Down and James in Red Zone, Leslie takes us to the story of Maxwell, the wide receiver of the Savannah Sharks.

Until a few weeks ago, Maxwell was enjoying the single life and the ladies, who like to cheer for the NFL team from very up close and personal.

But now he is suddenly a father to his sister’s two-year-old triplets, and he has no idea what he is doing.

Fortunately, suddenly Jill is there: the sister of his brother-in-law. Jill was al­ready in the middle of moving back from the Carribean, where she worked for the last few years. After her bad break up with her ex-husband, she started fresh there. But now she was opening a new dental practice for children. When her brother and his wife lost their life in a tragic accident, she is determined to become a part of the upbringing of her niece and nephews.

Maxwell is very happy to share the parental pressure with Jill. She is sweet, pragmatic and very good with children. And hot, very hot. But Maxwell is not about to cross the line with auntie Jill; afraid to lose her from the triplet’s life when their relationship would crash and burn.

Because they got some serious chemistry. And at one point they give in to the sparks flying. But having been burned before, Jill is wary to trust any man. Especially a hot sports guy, who has the attention of every woman in a ten mile radius. Jill realizes that she is just convenient, because she also takes care of the children.

Maxwell doesn’t know what to make of Jill’s behaviour. He knows they have chemistry. But she is also the first woman, who Maxwell can imagine in his life for longer than a fling. But does Jill feel the same? A wonderful, but tragic story, about family, trust and love. Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Nergalley for providing the arc.

Leslie North never fails. Again this was a brilliant and sweet romance. As soon as I see her name I request the book and I'm never disappointed.

Kurzweilige Unterhaltung

Wer eine nette Unterhaltung für zwischendurch sucht, könnte mit dem Buch glücklich werden. Wer allerdings auf der Suche nach einem besonderen Liebesroman mit viel Tiefe ist, sollte von dem Buch lieber die Finger lassen.

Das Buch ist das dritte in einer Reihe, kann aber gut ohne Vorwissen gelesen werden. Die Geschichte ist eine sports romance und vom Verlauf absolut vorhersehbar. Die Autorin hat sich leider nicht die Mühe gemacht, einer altbekannten Grundidee neues Leben einzuhauchen.

Die Charaktere fand ich ok, aufgrund ihrer mangelnden Tiefe waren sie aber sicherlich keine große Attraktion und haben keinen bleibenden Eindruck auf mich hinterlassen.

Alles an dem Buch ist eher durchschnittlich und hat man schon zig Mal gelesen, wenn man häufiger zu Büchern aus dem Genre greift.

Ich hätte mir Charaktere gewünscht, die mit mehr Liebe geschrieben worden wären. So war das Buch durchaus unterhaltsam, aber auch etwas platt und sehr kurzweilig.

- Rezension eines Leseexemplar -

I am in love with Leslie North books! This one was so sweet and super sexy! It took a little bit for me to get into it and felt a little slow at times but still loved how Max and Jill found each other under these unexpected circumstances.

I enjoyed the read very much, but it isn’t my favorite of the series!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Relay Publishing for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is book 3 in a series, but reads well as a stand alone. This is Maxwell's story-the wide receiver. It's a fun book, quick about 1.5 hours or less and pretty straight forward. 3 stars

The cover shows a very gorgeous black guy yet the book is about a guy with ‘olive skin’ so it just felt wrong. It felt like the author wanted to be part of supporting black be more visible in romantic fiction (which I totally agree with) but not this way. The heroine is black so a cover with both of them or even just her hands would work???

I felt uncomfortable reading it so in the end I dnf’d. But I think the story has potential.

I’m also really aware that in the past I’ve read books where the cover image portrayed a white or European guy and the hero wasn’t. I think the past year has made me more aware of these issues. Also I’m not in the US so it might be something that’s more acceptable in the author’s homeland.

I’ve enjoyed the previous books in this series, and whilst this one is still enjoyable, it did slightly miss the mark for me.

The storyline is engaging, the triplets adorable and the team interactions are just as present as in the previous stories but I found it hard to emotionally invest in either of the two main characters.

Other than the lightest touch to explain Jills past, neither had a robust back story to explain their reluctance to entertain a relationship with each other in the beginning and the miscommunication between them were not enough for me to believe they cared enough.

There was humour and realism in the story, the raising of the triplets struck a chord in how they approached it, though the grief part of them losing their parents was glossed over somewhat.

The ending was nice, I do love a HEA but again it didn’t leave me fully satisfied in that there just seemed to be a light bulb moment for each and then they forgave and moved on without each explaining the reasons they were the way they were, Jill for instance never explained about her ex and yet he just forgave her behaviour despite it being a deal breaker the previous weeks.

Last in this football series and the best of the three. The hunky football player inherits triplets along with their Auntie. Sweet read, with trust issues and the requisite HEA. Good, easy read. Great for a beach or vacation, no deep thoughts allowed.

This is the third in the Sharks Football series. This one was not as good as the second book. Maxwell and Jill never seemed to really develop their relationship. It seemed centered on co-parenting the triplets that they found themselves now taking care of. I also agree with another reviewer that Maxwell's' heritage was confusing. The male model on the cover is definitely black but in the book he is described as being an olive-skinned man of Italian descent. I was further confused because Maxwell's step-sister (the mother of the triplets) married a black man which angered her mother (who was Maxwell's step-mother!) Jill was definitely a black heroine. Just confusing...

Also, there was little actual football in the book. It mostly filled in as background material.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars rounded down.

Overall, I really enjoyed this!! Cute kid content. Good use of football. A good setup for bringing the kids into the picture and throwing the couple together. I thought the hero was great. The heroine.. eh less so. She has some serious communication issues which cause the vast majority of their issues.

And then, and this is a big one, the couple never actually resolves any of these issues, they never talk things through and get everything out into the open. That’s the main reason this got rounded down.

Also, the hero is an olive-skinned man of Italian descent. The model on the cover is ... not. (The heroine is a black woman.)

Overall I’d recommend this book, and was intruiged by the glimpses we got of previous couples, but I’m not sure I liked it enough to read the rest of the series.


ARC provided by NetGalley in return for an honest review.