I would say this book was…fine.

Maddie and Cameron have known each other their entire lives, and Maddie has had a crush on Cam for nearly as long. However, a major tragedy completely changes the trajectory of Maddie and Cam’s relationship for six years…until Spring Break of Maddie’s freshman year of college.

In the span of two weeks (how can it only be two weeks?!), Maddie and Cameron go from not being able to be in the same room together to trying to find every excuse to be in the same room together. The problem(s)?? Cameron’s best friend is Maddie’s brother, and Cameron’s dad is handling their family tragedy by micromanaging every aspect of Cameron’s life in order to get him drafted into the NFL.

While the story itself kept me fairly engaged, the inner dialogue got quite repetitive. I also wish the flashbacks had been italicized or something like that to distinguish between then and present day.

Thank you, Net Galley and Wattpad Webtoon Book Group for giving me the chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. This book will appeal to fans of Elle Kennedy and Hannah Grace. The book is enjoyable and read quickly.

I DNF'ed at 67%. This book was something I thought I would really enjoy, but it was a lot different than what I was expecting. It was full of spice, and it felt like it was every other chapter. I couldn't handle there being no plot or chemistry outside of the physical aspects.

✨️eARC Review✨️

4.5/5 ⭐️
2.5/5 🌶

Cam and Maddie have been friends since they were kids until Cam pushes her away. Now they're all home for spring break and she's forced to see him since he's her brother's best friend and basically adopted into their family's yearly vacation. Cam is so tired of fighting his feelings for Maddie but is torn between taking the short time he can get or give her up to someone who can treat her right. Maddie had always had a soft spot for Cam and can't say no but will spring break bring them closer together or implode their loves even more.

Not only is this my first book by Deanna but I also go into most books reading nothing more than the blurb or tropes as to not spoil anything. When I saw the football cover and description on NetGalley I instantly signed up and realized it was so much more than just a cute and spicy football romance. Without giving any spoilers, Cam has been through a lot but has remained the fun loving playboy always taking care of everyone else, especially his dad. Vice versa, sweet Maddie is so sensitive to everyone around her and while she should be mad at Cam, she can't move on. I don't read many books where the MMC's of brother's best friend have tension rather than lust so it was nerve wracking yet refreshing watching Maddie and Cam rebuild their relationship. Aside from that, Cam also had some work to do on his relationship with his dad. This was such a sweet story and I can't wait for the next book!

Tropes:
✔️ College Football Romance
✔️ Spring Break
✔️ Brother's Best Friend
✔️ Friends to Lovers
✔️ Reformed Playboy
✔️ Friends With Benefits

"Playmaker" by Deanna Faison is a spicy college sports romance based on the Webnovel, "My Brother's Best Friend" initially published on Wattpad. The novel centers around college students, Maddie and her unrequited childhood crush, Cameron - hot NFL prospect and total player. It also doesn't help that Cameron is Maddie's overprotective older brother's best friend. The story kicks off after a their casual fling during Spring Break and continues as they start seeing each other as friends with benefits, sneaking around their families' back.

It's a New Adult sports romance with about childhood friends, friends with benefits, and best friend's little sister. I loved the romance between Maddie and Cameron and felt actual chemistry between them. I loved reading the flashbacks and going from each other's POV. The level and amount of spice was fantastic and it was such a read great read altogether.

Overall, I really enjoyed it and would recommend "Playmaker" to other romance readers who enjoy spicy college sports romance books. This was such a fun read!

….. this book WRECKED ME. I am deeply upset there is no epilogue. Also, what the heck is with leaving ALL THE HEALING TO THE LAST 5% of the book!?! I LOVED CAM and I LOVED MADDIE. I loved that the book seemed to be more in Cams perspective. It added a lot to it that I would have thought of. I also really liked Maya.

I would have liked to have seen more connection between maddie and her brother. I would have liked to have Maddie and Ethan to have specific scenes where they’re being rough with each other, or communicating more with each other to make her guilt have a stronger effect. (I may be biased as I have a younger brother and we are very close)

Okay now onto some notes I have.

I found the flashbacks confusing because there was no differentiating between the current timeline and the past. The format of the ebook was a little strange also, sometimes words were paced awkwardly. It was alright for the most part.


My best,
MJ

Ok yes everything is a big yes about this book. Also the cover is delicious I love a good best friends sister romance and then to top it off you have tons of "when they were young" style chapters and I love that as well. I feel like anyone whos read wildfire and Icebreaker will love this. Its very much sports romcom but with more smut in my opinion. I love it

I will be recommending Playmaker to romance readers at my library. It was fun story that I couldn’t put down. The characters were relatable and likable. Can’t wait to read more by Faison.

If college romances with brothers best friend football players is your jam, look no further.

I randomly stumbled across DEANNA post on threads a while back asking how to find ARC readers, so I did what any individual would do and went to her Instagram to read all about the book she was planning on releasing. Turns out it was a football romance that featured brother’s best friend. Say less. I signed up right away and was later granted an ARC from NetGalley.

This was a good debut novel. Overall, I enjoyed the plot and the tropes and the love that Maddie and Cameron had for each other.

It did feel a little rushed but maybe that’s just the case when the entire story takes place in under two weeks and not necessarily a comment on the story telling.

I occasionally had a hard time relating to the characters but maybe it’s just a sign that I’m becoming too old for college romances.

There were quite a few spicy scenes in this book but none of them were overly explicit. They were all pretty short.

A lot of this book felt predictable, but - isn’t that part of why we love romance novels? It did have a HEA and even had me tearing up a tiny bit at the end.

If college romances with brothers best friend football players is your jam - check out this book!

Plot: 3/5
Spice: 2.5/5

I liked this. But I am 100% the wrong demographic.

Would have liked more back story, like the school stuff to help understand the dynamic a bit more.

Thank you so much to Deanna Faison and Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group and W by Wattpad Books. Great romcom with a good amount of spice. Loved the tropes.

Brothers best friend, childhood friends, forbidden romance, Spring break.

I wanted to love this book. I wanted to devour it the way I have other college, sports romances. But i didn't. DNF after 40%. It felt very juvenile and was hard for me to get into. As someone who used to read WATTPAD's and loved them, i was hoping to feel the same way. But I can't yuck others yums. Cam and Maddie were good, but it was very HEAVY on the drama and High on the sex, which is ok, but didn't feel realistic to me.

This book was great. I could not put it down. The romance was so cute. And I loved the writing. I would recommend this book!

Thank you for allowing me to read this! I really enjoyed the characters and the storyline. There were parts of the story where I just could not put the book down!

The spice in this book was good.

The plot was interesting and the character development was better than I expected going in. I really enjoyed the progression of the relationship.

This book is a cutesy sports romance with a little bit spice. Had me laughing through out the book. I couldn’t put it down..

Thank you to NetGalley and WattPad for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Did this book feel like it was written by a college student? Yes. Did I still read it? Yes. I couldn’t out it down but at the same time the cringeworthy moments were every chapter it felt like. The repetition of how he is incapable of having a relationship became a bit annoying. I know it’s an ARC so formatting isn’t necessarily complete but there was no way to decipher the flashbacks from the present. Some of the line breaks were odd but it didn’t take away from the story.

Maddie and Cameron can’t keep their hands off each other after years of hiding their feelings for each other in this brother’s best friend, forbidden love, friends to lovers story. Cameron changed after his mom passed away from cancer. Maddie’s feelings for him have stayed through their years long silence. Will Cameron get over himself and confess his feelings to Maddie? Read and find out.

This book wasn’t 100% for me — it gave Ice Breaker vibes, for sure, but I think it was just a case of “not every book is for every person” (which I think is totally fine!) it certainly wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t my taste. I had a hard time liking Cameron, and felt frustrated by his personality and the way he treated women in general. But, it could definitely be a book others would enjoy, and I’m still glad I read it!

This is an ARC review! ⭐️⭐️

Unfortunately, this book was a miss for me. It’s hard to say if it’s due to me not being the right audience - but the juxtaposition of the plot feeling YA but there being so much sexual content that there is no plot… making it not YA?

The first 80% of the book is ⭐️. And that is due to, as I said, there being so much sexual content that there truly isn’t a plot or any character development.

That being said, the last 20% was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. It felt like it was written by a completely different author. Bummer! Would have loved to read more of that type of writing and plot.

Also a note, the kindle formatting is super off so you can’t tell between time jumps as you could have you read it on NetGalley specifically (where it’s italicized).

Thank you to Deanna Faison, Netgalley, and Wattpad WEEBTOON for this ARC!

I thought the storyline was really cute, but the writing didn’t feel super well-developed for me. Some things that were written came across really juvenile but I was reading about characters that were like 19 and 21. Idk it was just alright!