While the read was fun and entertaining and Maddie and Cameron had tons of chemistry, i still wanted to like it more overall.
I feel like we needed more of them as kids to make their dynamic as adults make more sense.
Stoll fun though

Playmaker is the kind of emotional rollercoaster that sneaks up on you and completely takes over. It’s a brother’s best friend love story that had me reaching for tissues more than once—when I say the tears were flowing, they were FLOWING. Maddie and Cameron’s love story feels like it was made for the big screen, capturing the ups and downs of a relationship that’s been simmering with feelings for years. The witty banter, the heartfelt declarations, and the entire atmosphere of this book are just incredible.

And let’s talk about the sports romance with spice—this book nails it! When these two elements come together with such well-crafted characters, it’s pure magic. Both Maddie and Cameron are brilliantly written, making it impossible not to root for them. The plotline had me hooked from start to finish, and I absolutely loved every minute of it. This story will be staying with me for a long time, and I hope it becomes your next favorite read too.

This book was so cute! It follows Maddie and Cameron, who were friends growing up. When tragedy struck, Cameron pulled away from Maddie, leaving their relationship non-existent for years. Although they no longer spoke, they both kept secret crushes on each other for years until one spring break when they both were home and decided to upgrade their relationship to friends with benefits. This was such a fun book! Greif was heavy in the story, but it was so beautifully written into Maddie and Cameron's story.

Playmaker is an emotional brothers best friend love story, it takes a good book to make me cry, and when I tell you the tears were flowing with this one, man were they FLOWING. Maddie and Cameron’s love story is one made for movie screens, it shows the hardships and the highs of being in an early relationship that’s been rooted with feelings for decades. The witty banter, the love proclamations, and just the general atmosphere created in this book is amazing. Will be thinking about this story for a long time and I hope you’ll give it a shot to be your next favourite read.

Thank you to netgally for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own

I instantly liked the chemistry between the main characters. Also enjoyed that they both loved eachother even after that happen when Cam hurt Maddie. I thought the characters had good growth through the book, their on page chemistry together was fantastic. I do wish ever chapter wasn't such a trauma dump from him losing his mom to cancer. He made it his whole personality and I'm glad he was able to get past it on the end but I didn't think it needed referenced in ever chapter. Also loved the note from Cams mom, she knew even then that they were destined to be together!

One thing that did bother me was that Maddie and Ethans parents were very close to Cameron's parents and I had trouble believing that they would sit back and watch Cam fall apart without his dad there, to completely shut down and throw himself into football and partying. With how attentive and caring they are it was hard to believe.

Overall it was a great book and I definitely recommend!

Playmaker was a cute, spicy read that I enjoyed overall. The story was entertaining and fast-paced, but it did feel a little high school-ish at times with the back-and-forth questioning of if the FMC and MMC were together or not. There were also some parts that were probably supposed to make me feel swoony over Cameron being this protective, concerned love interest but it just felt overdramatic and a bit cringey (looking at you, hiking scene). I did really enjoy the little snippets we got of Ethan and Maya and would love a book focused on them! If you're a fan of brother's best friend, childhood friends to enemies(ish) to lovers, and spicy books you'll probably enjoy this. Thanks Netgalley for the e-arc!

Thank you to Netgalley and Wattpad Books for this advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Everything changes on spring break for Maddie and Cameron. After a falling out in their past, and some family trauma, Cameron is still best friends with Maddie's brother Ethan. Cameron is a football player, and a player when it comes to girls. Maddie, a pre-med student, once had the biggest crush on Cameron, but she is convinced she is over that. They start a steamy affair, which includes sneaking around and hiding it from their families.

I would give this book a 3.75, but will round up to a 4 stars. I liked the characters, and really enjoyed their dynamic. I think some of the parts about Cameron saying he's a player and doesn't deserve Maddie became a little repetitive, but I think their relationship and journey to get there was sweet. I also loved the tropes. From brother's best friend, to childhood friends to lovers, the story was cute, and I enjoyed reading it.

I would recommend this book to people who love the childhood friends to lovers trope or readers that love a good sports romance.

The Playmaker by Deanna Faison comes out on October 22.

Aw this sweet sweet book. Thank you to the Publisher, Deanna Faison, and NetGalley for this arc. I blazed through it and really had a nice time reading it. Sometimes the flashbacks in the beginning confused me, but I loved this. It was sweet and a little spicy. Loveee Cam’s golden retriever energy with Maddie ONLY. Love that the family was so accepting too!

Wonderful book! Sped right through the book,
I couldn’t stop myself. It was a cute love story with a few complications, and some funny moments as well!

Sports romance with spice is my jam!! I love when these two elements come together with a brilliant set of protagonists. Both, our MMC and FMC were brilliantly penned and drafted. I loved both of them.
The plotline was superb, I had a great time reading this. I absolutely enjoyed and loved the book.

A rekindling of love between childhood best friends and a short journey of how to overcome and navigate grief in order to find love.

I think what I enjoyed most about this book was truly the characters. Even though Cam was meant to not have the best track record I think he made up for it when we could see his thoughts and feelings through his POV chapters. The chemistry between these two was really strong and I love when we get a sort of second chance romance and there is history shared between the two characters. The parallel dynamic between the brother and Maddie's best friend was also interesting and I think it added a bit of perspective for the main characters.
The spice in this book was also super good and it started out fairly early on and built in intensity. Overall it was also just well written spice.

I wish we had gotten to see a bit more depth in the plot for these characters and also that there had been an epilogue to tell us how it was going with the whole long distance relationship. There was a lot left at the end that we finish not knowing and I think that bit of resolution would have been nice to have.
The flashback to childhood memories was a really great idea and always gives such a wholesome sense to the friendship and building relationship but I think in this case the flashbacks might have been written with the wrong voice for the age the characters were supposed to be in some of them. Also a big thing in this book I wanted more of was the sports aspect. We see Cam work out and talk about his future but there wasn't a ton involved in the football realm to give it that true sports romance feel. It was great seeing the author write about the behind the scenes of being an athlete with the pressure, strict schedule and dieting!

Everything you could possibly want in a brothers best friend sports romance. Especially liked seeing the character growth as well as relationship growth. I feel like it’s so common to only see one or the other in detail .
This was my first Deanna Faison book and I can’t wait for more!

Arc review for Playmaker by Deanna Faison 🌺

5🌟

This book was so freaking cute! I absolutely adored Maddie and Cameron. Their second chance love story was so heartwarming and had my feet kicking and giggling. The chemistry of the two of them was insane and I also enjoyed the flashbacks showing their childhood.

I was excited for this one but it just felt okay. It was better than I expected in some parts and underwhelming in others. I actually liked both main characters. They were both pretty likeable with a flushed out back story alone and together. I don’t read a lot of ‘brothers best friend’ trope romance, but based on this I’d definitely read another.

I think what I enjoyed the most was all the back stories intertwined with each other. It definitely made me want to root for both of them! But what I didn’t like was just the overall pacing. The 3 rd act breakup was unique, but especially near the end I felt that things ended too conveniently.

*ARC REVIEW*

Maddie always had a crush on Cameron growing up but never knew he felt the same way.

When they end up back in their hometown on spring break, they realize how attracted they are to each other. They agree to spend the rest of spring break hooking up in secret, hiding it from their families which backfires on them when Maddie's brother catches on. Find out what happens between them as they navigate if they want to continue a relationship hundreds of miles apart, attending different colleges.

Tropes
- Brother's Best Friend
- Childhood Friend's
- Sports Romance (Football)
- Dual POV
- Friends With Benefits

Spice Level: 4

Romance. Character growth. SPICE. I loved it! I read this in one sitting and loved it so much! I can’t wait to read more from this author!!

This book was great at capturing the reader and rooting for both the male and female characters. Maddie immediately seemed like a woman who you wanted to be happy while Cameron was the playboy you want to see change and fall in love. You feel Maddie wanting to show Cameron what she means to him while Cameron suffering from his own grief he can’t seem to be happy. It was captivating, heartwarming and heartbreaking while leaving you whole at the end.

The only thing that fell flat what the difference in less than 24 hours with his father and the too quick changes. It seemed not genuine. I would have also liked an epilogue. Overall a great read.

I could not put this book down! Playmaker had all my favorite tropes wrapped into a very cute love story!
I really enjoyed the growth and relationship between Cameron and Maddie. This book was very well written and I am obsessed with the cover. This was easily a 4.5 star read for me and I look forward to reading more books by Deanna Faison!



✨brother best friend
✨secret romance
✨sports romance
✨friends, to enemies, to lovers.
✨ childhood friends to lovers


Thank you Netgally for sending me an ARC of Playmaker by Deanna Faison!

It was so hard to put this book down until I finished it! Adorable story and great writing -- but I would love to read the story of Ethan and Maya (her brother and her best friend) falling in love! It's a really cute story but not super sporty - although Cameron (our MMC) is focusing on football and does a lot of training and gym work in the book.

Both characters Maddie and Cameron are struggling with the death of his mother from cancer that happened 6 years before the book starts. When his mother died, Cameron decided to focus only on football and getting into the NFL -- and numbed everything else including his crush on Maddie and broke her heart. Maddie decided when Cameron's mother died that she would become a doctor and tried her best to get over Cam.

Yet years later Spring Break, they cannot control their attraction any longer and secretly begin pursuing each other -- despite Cameron being her brother's best friend, despite Cameron's womanizing reputation, despite their trauma.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Deanna Faison for an ARC of this book!

Cameron and Maddie were such perfect main characters. It was almost enemy to lovers style but with added emotion of sibling friendships and a mother lost at a young age. It fit well in the current trend of sports romance without overly relying on football to take up pages.