Playmaker was a super cute story. This brother's best friend trope was well done.
Cameron was a playboy but he was always different with Maddie. She brought out the best in him and I loved that.
Surprisingly, there wasn't a lot of football in this book. I could have went with a little more about the game but others might enjoy the lack of sports talk!
Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I would love to hear more about their story in the future but I would also LOVE to read Maya and Ethan's story next!

Playmaker follows childhood friends Maddie and Cameron. This is your typical brother’s best friend, playboy, soon to be NFL player romance.

Nothing really stood out to me good or bad. Just meh.

If you enjoy these tropes and want a quick read, this book is for you.

Thank you NetGalley and wattpad for the ARC.

Playmaker is definitely the romance story you’re looking for. It has all the best tropes including enemies to lovers, forbidden love, brothers best friend and second chances.

Playmaker is a sweet and very spicy story about a friendship that was ended too soon. Maddie is in college and home visiting when she realizes her brother’s best friend (and her former friend) are home too. Cameron is set to be picked up by the NFL any day now. He’s gorgeous and absolutely knows it. He uses women to fill that hurt that he’s had since he was a little boy. His number one rule is no relationships. When Maddie realizes there is something there after six years of not talking things start to heat up. This spicy romance has all details for those who love “romance scenes”. It’s also a story of finding healing. Every one handles death and heartache in different ways. Is there one right way to make it all better? As the characters grow and learn more about themselves and each other you’ll be hooked to see how this relationship ends.

Thank you Deanna Faison and NetGalley this read in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this sports romance! I thought the pacing of the book was really well done, and I enjoyed the development of the romance between the two characters. This book was definitely a lot spicier than I expected it to be, but I do not think it was out of place for the story line that it was supporting. This book touches on a few more emotional topics without going to in depth into the topics. I highly recommend this one for anyone looking for a fun, fast-paced football romance.

Thanks, Wattpadbooks, for the arc!

(3.5 stars rounded up) I’m in my sports romance era, so the cover of PLAYMAKER by Deanna Faison 100% called to me with its cuteness. Maddie and Cameron staring at one another gives me all the feels of the moments they stare at each other in the book. And the book has a lot of teasing and sensual eye contact!

I was invited to the Wattpad Webtoon Book Group 2024 Influencer Preview in August, and Faison was a special guest! She spoke about the novel and answered questions from those of us in attendance. I loved hearing how PLAYMAKER went from being set initially with the characters in high school on Wattpad to having the characters aged up to college in the novel published by Wattpadbooks. You can tell that Faison put a lot of work into editing her story to age the characters and tweak the plot points to make sense. I think there were a few times that language or actions seemed a little high schoolish. Still, when I was in my first few years of college, I wasn’t suddenly a sophisticated colligate speaking eloquently with the obscure words from the Oxford dictionary.

Spoiler warning: The virgin trope is not one of my favorites. I’ll read them, but I don’t actively search for them. I like how it was handled in this book and how patient Cameron was with Maddie. But I HATED how it was after the fact, and it became this big thing, “but I took your virginity,” over and over again.

A significant content warning is a cancer death off the page; the grief aspect from it is handled in an excellent way. Faison really shows how grief can affect people differently and how grief is not linear - one person’s ride with grief can cover all sorts of pathways.

I liked PLAYMAKER. It entertained me, and I look forward to more from Faison. There weren't a lot of sportsball, but there was a lot of spice, which I’m okay with!

PS—On a personal note, this took me from 8/19 to 9/28 to read. It should have never taken me that long. I liked it way more than letting it take over a month to read. I’m not a fan of MMC’s name, so I just had to pace myself.

Content warnings: cancer, familial death, gaslighting, emotional abuse

This novel presents a familiar enemies-to-lovers trope, but it often feels juvenile in its execution. The narrative centers around a young protagonist pursuing their brother's friend, which diminishes the tension and depth typically found in this genre. While there are moments of charm, the subtlety of the romance leaves much to be desired, making it more akin to a playful crush than a compelling relationship. Overall, it's an easy read, but it lacks the emotional resonance and sophistication that would elevate it.

please note that the trigger warnings and topes/themes may contain spoilers
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
HEA: HFN
POV: dual 1st person
spice: a few open-door spicy scenes
TWs: mild bullying, cancer, cheating, death of a parent, emotional abuse, manipulation
Kinky Content: boob job, car sex, cumming in pants, eyes on me, finger licking good, fingering, grinding, hair pulling, manhandling, mirror sex, nipple play, oral, outdoor play, praise, public play, shower sex, virgin
standalone: standalone
final thoughts: this was a cute story. There was a good amount of angst, secret relationships, hidden secrets, grief, and pining which made the story interesting and had me needing to know what happens next. Honestly it lost some stars for the first half of the book having open door scenes between the MMC and other characters- I hatedddd it. I’m okay with the reformed playboy trope but I don’t like reading open door scenes where both MCs aren’t involved.

read this book if you love
😬 angst
😆 banter
👦 brother’s best friend
💞 childhood crush
🏫 college setting
🤩 curvy FMC
📅 dual timeline
😳 forbidden lovers
🏝️ forced proximity
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 found family
🤜 friends-to-frenemies-to-lovers
🛁 he washes her
🤫 hidden secrets
🧠 “it’s always been you”
🛏️ “it’s just a fling”
💞 mutual pining
😎 reformed bad boy
🤐 secret relationship
👦 she falls first, he falls harder
🏈 sports romance (football)
💔 third act breakup
💳 virgin
👕 wearing his clothes scene
👕 wearing his jersey scene

I really enjoyed this sports romance! It contained tropes including childhood friends to lovers, dual pov, flashbacks, open door romance. I loved watching Maddie and Cameron's relationship develop. Their chemistry was so sweet and addictive. The story is sweet but don't let that deceive you, it is also spicy. I loved it.

Thank you Wattpad and Deanna Faison for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Loved the main characters and their chemistry, the plot kept me engaged and wanting more. character development was okay. the tropes are right up my alley so I couldn't go wrong reading this. love that it had some spice to it

This was poorly written but i tried to push through, only to be totally turned off by the whole "I've cheated on lots of girls but I wouldn't cheat on Maddie" bit. Terrible main male character that I have no interest in reading about.

Maddie is a character that I can completely relate to as a person who is more of a homebody than a party goer. This is a great story about hiding from grief, longing for happiness and love, and trusting that working through the tough parts will eventually get you to the best parts of life. I'm looking forward to recommending this!

Playmaker is a pretty classic brother’s best friend sexual romp in a way that isn’t really my favorite. Plenty of spice, not a ton of interesting character.

This was a fun read. Young love, second chances, and cliche moments. Sometimes you just need to read a New adult romance with good spice. Don’t let the cover fool you, there is some good spicy scenes in this one.

I received an arc from netgalley and the publisher.

Football Sportsmance
Brothers best friend
Childhood friends to strangers to lovers
Reformed playboy
Secret Friends with benefits

Not great, just ok.

I used to love reformed playboy books. Now it’s hit or miss. I don’t want to see a scene with MMC being intimate with anyone other than the FMC, no matter haw brief. This is when I’m ok with closed door/implied and even then I prefer it happen before the story begins. Thefore, Cam’s short hook up scene was a no go. But even if that wasn’t in a he story, I could’t connect to Cameron. The reformed playboy was ick for me with all his talk and thoughts in the beginning about his playboy ways, it was a turn off and made it hard to change my opinion.

I wanted more from Maddie. And the ending in her POV didn’t give me forever HEA vibes.

Maddie and Cameron are childhood best friends, and he also happens to be her brother's best friend. They both want to suppress their feelings to spare her brother’s feelings, but their constant close contact during spring break complicates things.
This is my first read by Deanna Faison, and I love discovering new authors. I’m a fan of sports romance novels, and I appreciated the childhood flashbacks that laid the foundation for Maddie and Cameron’s relationship. The book is filled with spicy scenes, though at times it felt like there were so many that they detracted from the storyline.
As someone approaching thirty, I found it challenging to fully relate to the characters, particularly since they are both nineteen. This made me feel somewhat detached throughout the novel.
Overall, it was a quick and enjoyable read. If you’re looking for a spicy collegiate sports romance, I think Playmaker might be the perfect choice for you!

I loved this book! It's super sweet with lots of heat! I was hooked from the beginning and I just couldn't put it down. I really enjoyed reading Maddie and Cameron's love story. The chemistry between them was fantastic. If you like steamy sports romance then this book is for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for allowing me to read this book ahead of release in exchange for my honest opinion.

DNF at 52%

tried, I really did. This whole book felt so disjointed. It bounced between past and present without notice. You would be in the past, move on to the next paragraph and it would take you 4 liens to realize you’re back in the present time. It made it very confusing to follow.

I also felt like both MCs were very unlikable. Cam had so many red flags and Maddie all of a sudden became a new person just for him. I’m also fairly sure the first 50% takes place over like 4 days.

This just wasn’t for me.

This was quick, fun, spicy read with off limits brothers best friend troupe. I liked the flash backs from childhood memories.

3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
5/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Thank you to Deanna Faison & Netgalley for the E-ARC of this book.

It was a nice palette cleanser. I have been so hooked on fantasy and romantasy books that I burnt myself out and needed something else to get out of my reading slumps.

This book did just that finishing it in 2 1/2 days.

This was a nice little steamy romance! But sometimes got to be too much with the steamy scenes.

Also can I just say I was happy that there was not a proposal or a baby! Those books are just not for me.

Tropes:
Friends to lovers
Dating her brothers best friend
Football

For the most part the characters were pretty likable as well.

"Love is the strongest force on earth. It's capable of moving mountains if you try hard enough, and your partner should be the driving force of it all." ~Stacy Holden

Perfect for fans of football(American) and spice!

Maddie and Cameron have had feelings for each other for their whole lives. The only thing in the way is Ethan, Maddie's overprotective older brother and Cameron's best friend.
But when a plan of fixing their friendship that went awire years ago get's turned upside down, the two find themselves in a secret, spicy, affair.
Can they rebuild their old friendship and can they admit their feelings not just to each other but everyone else?

I devoured this book in a day!
I've read a few books originally written on Wattpad and Deanna's book is the first one I've enjoyed. I couldn't put the book down.
I loved how easy to read. I sped through so many chapters because of this, but never felt uninterested in the story.
The pacing was spot on, flowing seamlessly from scene to scene. And Deanna's writing style was amazing. The way she brought the characters to life was perfect. I felt like I was right alongside everyone, knowing about their pasts and experiencing the story with them.

I loved Maddie and Cameron's relationship, how it goes from them having feelings for each other but being worried about hurting the people around them, to not caring about anyone but each other.
I love how dedicated Maddie is to her university course work through the entire book, I'd like to see more of her actually at her uni in the next book.
And I'd love to see Cameron playing some football(American) in the next book.

I loved Maddie's relationship with both her brother and Maya(her best friend).
I loved the sibling bond Maddie and Ethan shared and how they wanted the best for each other, whilst also not wanting to hurt each other with the choices they were both making.
Maddie and Maya were such sweet friends. Both there for each other, and ready with some words of advice or an understanding smile when needed. I'd love to see more of that in book 2

Cameron's friendship with Ethan was amazingly done. We spend the whole book thinking they're both the same only tofind out that they couldn't be more different.
But what I loved the most about their relationship was how they were ready to drop everything when the other needed them! When Cameron needed Ethan to find him and give him a hug Ethan didn't shy away from doing so.

I am so glad that Deanna is currently writing a second book about Ethan and Maya's love story! We didn't get much of them together in this book so I'm excited to get to see more of them as a couple in the future.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for more of Deanna's books!