✨ARC Review✨

Thank you Netgally & Wattpad for the eARC

Rating :4⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Brothers best friend will always be one of my favorite tropes!! I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The story of Cameron and Maddie was good! I loved seeing how much they connected over Cams mom! I wish we had an epilogue though! I’d love to see where they would’ve ended up!

Fav Quotes:

“You are going to be dangerous as hell for me.”

“Yes, oh. I think being a good girl is going to become one of my favorite traits of yours.”

“I don’t want to be friends. I don’t want to explore. I want her. All of her.”

“Being with you is like that first grasp of air after being beneath the water for too long.”

“But it’s a keepsake,” “ so are you.”

I have read way better sports romance books. Unfortunately, this one was not for me. I just felt like this wasn’t very original and I didn’t like it.

As it is now football season this is the perfect book to get you into the mood fall sports! This book is brothers best friend/friends with benefits! Super cute football read for fall.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book before the release. In return, here is my honest review: Cam and Maddie felt very down to earth and relatable. The connection was genuine. They grew up together and the history had you hooked from the first couple of chapters. They did have to go through grief and other uncertainties which made their story all the more capturing. This book was a puff but spicy sports romance. With a romance that was very sweet and adorable and left you wanting more.

As soon as I read it was a brothers best friend I knew I had to read it! And be prepared to tear up a little, have some tissues near by. Maddie and Cameron’s story is meant to be in the movie screens. I love all the witty banter and love proclamations I can’t stop thinking about it! The entire atmosphere of this book and how the characters have been pining for each other for decades was worth the wait!!

ok! cute! this was cute

i love sports romance, always have, and have gotten back into it recently after some time away. i love brothers bff, that trope eats like 9/10 times and this was no different. normally i hate flashbacks, but i actually found these kind of enjoyable. it was really cute seeing their relationship when they were younger and how it's changed.

i really loved both of these characters, which isn't always a given in books, even if you enjoy them. however, these two were precious.

ARC Review


Playmaker
By Deanna Faison
Publish Date: Oct 22, 2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Thank you NetGalley for sending me copy to review.

You cannot help but root from Maddie and Cameron from the start. I loved their banter. I enjoyed the development of their relationship and both of their personal growths.

My one critique I’m not a fan of third attack break up. However the story line for the reason made perfect sense and I enjoyed it. This was a quick, light read.
I look forward to reading more books by Deanna.

Read if you enjoy
🏈 Brothers best friend
🏈 Football
🏈 Smut
🏈 Dual POV
🏈 Friends with benefits

Maddie has been in love with Cameron for as long as she can remember. They were inseparable and close to acting on their feelings when they were teens but something held Cameron back. That something was the fact that Camerons best friend just happened to be Maddie’s older brother. Unfortunately fate is a cruel mistress and tragedy struck when Camerons mother died from cancer. Reeling and wanting to just lose himself to grief, Cameron lashes out at Maddie and breaks her heart.

It’s been years of awkwardness since Cameron is still basically a part of her family. Both home on spring break, a fateful game of 7 minutes in heaven has them both losing themselves to feelings they’ve kept hidden away. Feelings that once they both give in to, could ruin their fragile friendship. Cameron is known for being a heartbreaker, and a playboy. The only thing that keeps his attention is his drive to play football So close to fulfilling his dream of playing in the NFL he can’t risk giving in to his feelings for Maddie or ruining his friendship with her brother. So they agree its just a short term thing while they are home on spring break. The only problem is that Maddie is the only girl Cameron has ever loved.

If you love adorable college romances, with a lot of angst and a sprink of heartbreak then you’ll love this!

I cannot wait to continue this series. Thank you to the author, publisher and net galley for this advanced copy.

Playmaker, what I am assuming is Deanna Faison's debut novel, was honestly, fine. I didn't find it overly great or poor. The writing was mostly good, but sometimes the word choice got a bit repetitive and the story circled the drain at more than one point. It was very Wattpad feeling, grassroots kind of vibe.

I liked the characters a lot. I love a lusted for brother's best friend story and the dynamics were there. I liked the forced proximity on the trip, and I liked how her brother and best friend had their own moments as well. I even liked the forbidden relationship and loved the Mark element that came back around.

What I didn't like, is that this was YA with sex. These characters lacked depth and acted like children (very 19 and 21). They couldn't communicate worth a damn and their issues were juvenile. They either needed to be aged up in their actions and choices, or take out the sex and call it what it is- YA. I don't read or care for YA so they mellowdramatic 'why doesn't he like me' stuff is just annoying.

I also did not like the flashbacks or how they were incorporated into the story. It was probably the lack of formatting in my copy, but it wasn't clearly marked when we were time jumping and that made the whole thing just confusing and unnecessary.

For my rating.. as is its 2 stars, but I really think its a YA 3 stars. But we can't call it YA because we got every. single. intimate. scene. for about a whole week, so yeah. 2.5 I guess.

Thank you to NetGalley and for Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Playmaker by Deanna Faison is a fiery romance that follows Maddie and Cameron, whose casual Spring Break fling quickly turns serious. Cameron, a promising NFL star, and Maddie, with her own big dreams, rekindle old feelings, much to their surprise. The heat between them is undeniable, but navigating their secret relationship is complicated by Maddie’s protective brother, who also happens to be Cameron’s best friend.

As they sneak around and explore their intense connection, Maddie and Cameron face the challenge of confronting their true emotions while balancing family dynamics. Their story is a blend of steamy moments and genuine emotional growth, with a dash of humor and heart.

Though it can be a bit repetitive at times, Playmaker offers a delightful mix of romance and sports drama. It’s a perfect read for those who enjoy a spicy love story with a side of family intrigue.

This one was cute. I Enjoyed the relationship between Cameron and Maddie. I liked how there was a lot of past experience between the two of them. This made their relationship feel a little deeper at points. I just felt like the characters seemed a little immature. This had me having a hard time connecting with how they acted at certain points.

I chose to review this book because it is not a genre I typically read. Although I may be a tad older than the demographic this was written for it was a light, fun read and perfect for the fall season.

This book was a fresh take on football! I really enjoyed it! Cameron and Maddie are just the cutest and I was rooting for them from the first page! The plot was good and it doesn’t have a ton of football terms or playing, but I really didn’t mind it because I know nothing about football!

I loved the dynamic between Maddie and her family and how much they love Cameron. I loved all the characters!

The world building was good!

Highly recommend!

I wanted to like this so much but the two main characters were very frustrating to get past. I didn’t understand the dynamics with the family. I was just left wanting more from all of it.

This was such a fun book that exceeded my expectations! I love a sports romance but I have not read a ton that were centered around football so that was interesting to read. I also really enjoyed the love story. Maddie and Cameron had such great chemistry and they had me rooting for them the entire time. I absolutely loved this book.

***ARC REVIEW***
This was such a fun and quick book to read. I love sports romance so I devoured this book. The characters were great and loved the development of them. The chemistry between Cameron and Maddie was very strong. I loved that they got a second chance to be together. However I did feel like the plot got lost in the second half of the book. I love a spicy book but sometimes it felt like that’s all that was happening. The flashbacks started to get confusing because it would just go right back into the present. I caught myself having to reread parts to figure out if it was the past or present happening. I also wish there was an epilogue so that we could see how their relationship worked after spring break. Overall I still enjoyed this book and recommend if you want a quick sports romance book.
Thank you Netgalley and Wattpad WEBTOON for letting me read this arc 🫶🏻

4.5⭐️

Playmaker is basically the Summer I Turned Pretty minus the Love triangle and I honestly preferred it without the love triangle.

The angst, the jealousy, the drama, the confessions, the SPICE!? Everything within this story was edible 🙂‍↕️🤌🏼✨

Cam and Maddie had my heart from the start but Ethan and Maya became some of my favorite side characters.
Seeing Cam navigate the passing of his mother through self destruction and Ethan sticking by his side the entire time made my heart so full.

Also Maddie and Ethan’s parents really gave me all the warm feelings, and their endless support of their relationship was adorable.


Overall I would definitely recommend this story to
1. The people who love The Summer I turned Pretty.
2. Anyone who is obsessed with early 2000s TV dramas.
3. Any one who is a sucker for brother’s best friend romances.

REVIEW 3.5/5

Cameron and Maddie’s relationship was so addictive! I was at a concert for one of my favorite bands and I couldn’t keep thinking about when I could pick up the book next.

Knowing this book was published in connection with Wattpad I had an assumption about the writing style and level. Deanna Faison exceeded my expectations and kept me hooked to a Wattpad story much longer than I thought was possible. This story was cute and had the tropes I fall for, but does not have the re-read quality I look for when rating books higher.

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

3.5 ⭐️

Playmaker was so cute! It's a very quick and enjoyable read. Two of my biggest gripes when reading romance books, especially one with MCs who are younger, are insta-love and having an annoying FMC. It happens way too often. I was pleasantly surprised when neither of those issues were in this book. Maddie and Cameron grew up together. Cameron is Maddie's older brother's best friend. It's also a bit of an enemies to lovers as they had a falling out. I really enjoyed seeing their character development. Loved the chemistry between the two! Definitely worth the read!

I thought I would love it but I struggled with it. It might have been the way it was written but I am not sure.