After about 20%, I realized this book wasn't for me. Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advanced reading copy, I know it is a well-loved book for many others.

I remember the buzz about this book when it was first released, and I'm happy to have the opportunity to read and review this title on its re-release. What a terrific college sports romance!

Drew is easy to fall for -- for everyone except Anna. But it's clear from the start that she's not really being honest with her feelings. When they finally hook up things get really interesting and quite steamy. I loved the progression of their falling for each other -- it was so realistic to me and it was just wonderful to fall into this story.

I also liked that there are a few bumps in the road to their HEA and they don't all happen in the final pages. They have some things they have to work through -- it's not all unicorns and rainbows in their relationship. I adore a good break up -- and Drew and Anna take some time to work their way back to each other.

5 stars for this college romance. It's going to be a comfort read for me.

The Hook Up is a charming, steamy romance that’s equal parts fun and emotional. Callihan’s witty dialogue and relatable characters make this a perfect choice for a light, enjoyable read.

4 stars.

Engaging, compelling, a little scandalous, and full of excellent character development, "The Hook Up" by Kristen Callihan exceeded my expectations. I am not a huge sports romance fan, but this one hit the spot. The hot quarterback jock destined for the NFL meet-cutes the hot nerdy girl and a physical relationship blossoms into more. What's not to like? I found this book to be a little long at times and a bit too dramatic toward the end, but overall, it's an easy read full of spice, fun, and banter. I found the character development to be excellent and deceptively deep for both characters, particularly Drew, the main male character. Drew and Anna's relationship was very easy to get invested in, and well crafted overall. It balances the sports talk, the spicy scenes, and the emotional moments perfectly. A great book that I definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, Kristen Callihan, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Canary Street Press for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

I am so glad this is getting a new edition. It's one of my favorite sports romances ever, and even makes football players seem hot and sweet (yep, that's my own personal bias showing). I've read this so many times and can't recommend it enough.

I loved this book. Drew and Anna are a couple I could read over and over. It took me a minute to get into the story but before it was over, I loved it.

I fell for Drew's character before Anna's. Their different stories were a good pairing for each other and it showed their journey into adulthood together.

A fun story that kept me interested! A fair amount of spice and a good read! I’ll keep an eye out for this author.

Spicy, male female, 1st person dual point of view, contemporary romance. The Hook Up is the first book in the Game On series. This was a fun perfect length read. I really enjoyed both main characters and they had fantastic chemistry. I'm looking forward to reading the next book!

This isn't my usual type of read, but I did get all the way through this one. This is a new adult title, and takes place on a college campus. Star quarterback and hot nerd girl. But there is more to the story than just the tropey jock falling for the nerd. These two characters each experience, and their connection is one they make naturally while learning to rely on one another. This will definitely resonate with the intended audience.

I loved this book so much. Super easy and fun read and h just what I needed to break out of a reading rut.

I am a huge closet college romance fan. Don't ask me why I hate most sports, and I am very FAR from college aged, but this type of stories draw me in and I am just adore them. I really loved the meet cute between Anna and Drew and I love that he fell first. He was smitten and it was kind of of adorable to picture this big hulking joke just blown away by Anna. I love all their banter; I love the build up to them hooking up and to them finally kissing (hello Pretty Women call back ). I just really loved the entire first half of this book. They had the normal break up, and they even had what I assumed would be a normal get back together but then the book kinda of took a bit of a dark turn.
The fighting between Drew and Anna was childish, (I mean they are college kids so I guess that checks out). I feel like Drews mental health dealing with his injury seemed a little contrived and almost forced. It was like an obstacle that didn't need to be there. I also found Anna's friend annoying and kind of mean and stupid for going back to the cheating dude. I found the fact that she could say anything she wanted to Anna about her relationship with Drew but Anna didn't feel like she could talk to her about her relationship just not a healthy relationship.
I loved Gray and I am dying to read his book next.
Overall I love the book. College Setting, Jock falls in love with Nerdy girl, great banter, great spice. Some of the random storyline with her mother, and with her friend and the downward spiral at the end were a little overdone but not horribly.
I really recommend to anyone that like sports romance, college romances, he falls firsts type books.

Wonderful story, great character development, great writing! Highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it

I chose to dive into this super spicy football romance book right as the NFL playoffs were heating up, and I think my timing was perfect because Kristen Callihan really knows how to bring the heat with The Hook Up, the first book in her Game On series.

Drew Baylor might be the big man on campus when it comes to college football, but he has it bad for fellow senior Anna Jones. Drew tries to make his feelings known over and over again, but Anna keeps shooting him down. Anna was a bit of a late bloomer and, still haunted by the nickname of Big Red from her chubby high school days, she cannot fathom that there’s any way Drew Baylor could possibly be attracted to her. Drew is persistent though and once they finally do hook up at a party, it doesn’t take long for them to realize they have incredible chemistry, which leads to even more hook ups between them. While the sex is undeniably hot, is there any way that Drew can actually win Anna’s heart?

At first I wasn’t the biggest fan of Anna because I thought she came across as a bit prickly, but as Drew started to wear down her defenses, I started to enjoy her character more. Drew was a sweetheart and an easy character to like. Both of them did have some personal issues that they needed to work through and I liked that they ultimately helped each other to heal. I came for the spice, but I stayed to see the wonderful progression of their relationship.

If you’re in the mood for a quick, easy read that really delivers on the spice and on emotional moments between the main characters, be sure to check this one out!

I just loved Drew and Anna! I hated the fact that Anna was always pushing Drew away and didn’t want a relationship but the drama keeps you interested for sure!

This book was fun, spicy, and overall had my kicking and giggling the whole time. For lovers of Meghan Quinn, and other similar romcoms, this will be the perfect pick. The writing was easy to follow, as was the story, and overall just a feel good book! I thought the characters had great chemistry as well.

I loved this book until the last 10%. The fight was overdone and so dramatic, and didnt seem to fit well within the book, as there had already been issues/third act breakup etc. It was such a cute story I just wish the ending had been done a different way!

Kristen Callihan is an awesome writer.

I had previously despaired of finding a NA book that
+ realistically captured the experience of being a so-called "new-adult"
+ AVOIDED the majority of the NA cliche traps
+ abstained from the giant male grovel to win back the hypocritical female
+ featured a pair of main characters that weren't basically an insensitive twerp and a whiny insecure twit (not assigning any genders here so read into this as you like)

Kristen Callihan has finally written that book. Not only has she written that book, but she's also written a book that's HOT. I mean, REALLY HOT. If you know what I mean.

It's also the most realistic book I've found to date that shares a fairly true-to-life collegiate experience, particularly with regards to college athletes. For an even better review on this subject, see this review. In short, The Hook Up portrays a moderately true-to-life experience for an athlete like Drew: Redshirting. Mental and physical exhaustion. People bothering him all the time. Professors "helping." (sometimes this kind of "help" is taken with both hands out but [surprisingly?] not always.) And primarily, the complete and total lack of free time once you're done with class, study hall, tutoring, video review, practice, lifting, coaches' meetings, supplemental practices, homework, icing down, PT, oh and did I mention after-hours optional-but-in-reality-mandatory practices? Cramming in a sandwich here or an energy bar there and sneaking in a quick text between friends is the extent of free time my roommates (4 athletes in a division 1 big 10 school) had a lot of days.

Anyways. The writing: excellent. The setting: realistic. The plot: HOT HOT HOT and REAL REAL REAL. I think I'm in love. Kristen Callihan, please never ever stop writing. <3

2024 Update: Read again since The Hook Up hit the big time and got picked up by Harlequin. Supposedly there is bonus content but it was hard for me to tell where it was, since I've read the book so many times now. I still scratch my head at the whole Fluevog thing (I think it's a nod to her steampunk romance series) but otherwise I enjoyed this book as much as the first several times. Recommended.

This was such a cute book! If you are looking for a football romance with some great spice, this is your book!
Sometimes sports romances don't have a lot of depth, but that wasn't the case with this book at all. I loved all of the mental health and body image issues that were addressed. The story was very relatable, even with Drew being a football star.
Drew's dirty mouth was fantastic!
Anna's issues from her past really tore at my heartstrings. So much of the things we experience in our youth can have a major impact on the rest of our lives. It's so nice when we have hope that people can get past those issues and love themselves and allow others to love them.
I would definitely recommend this book to romance lovers alike! Can't wait to read Gray and Dex's stories next!

This is such a cute and fun football romance. Anna and Drew had a wonderful chemistry. The book flowed really well and allowed you to be fully immersed in their story. There was some conflict and issues that they had to work through, but they were not able to stay away from each other.

This is a wonderful book for those who love he falls first, sports romance, and friends with benefits.

Thank you to Kristen Calllihan and Harlequin for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Here I was, thinking I was walking into a lightheaded sports romance, but the last quarter of the book absolutely killed me and made me fall for the characters more than I thought I could. The feelings felt raw and genuine, and I couldn’t stop to think about my insecurities and faults and all of the people who’ve stayed. So happy to pick this one up.