This book was a cute and fast read for anyone needing a nice little pallet cleanser between books.

Maddie and Cameron are childhood r friends turned lovers.
This cute little college romance shows sports, as well as the amazing brothers best friend trope, and I found myself reading it relatively quickly!

Definitely good if you need something with anything mentioned above.

It also had a nice dusting of spice to round out the plot.

UN-PUT-DOWNABLE!

Deanna Faison wrote a truly captivating and fun romance that is sure to keep you intrigued from start to finish!

I had so much fun reading this one, and the characters were so well thought out and relatable!

Highly recommend this one!

Playmaker by Deanna Faison follows Maddie and Cameron. They have known each other their whole lives, especially with Cameron being best friends with Maddie’s brother. Cameron was Maddie’s first crush and when she thought they could finally possibly be something more, Cameron decides to basically ignore her for a few years.

When I first started this book I honestly thought it wasn’t going to be for me that I’ve outgrown this genre. But as soon as I pushed through the first 10 chapters, I fell in love with the characters. You could feel the chemistry between Cameron and Maddie. You could feel Cameron’s grief from losing his mother (which hit way too close to home for me) and the abandonment he felt from his father. You can see how beautiful Cameron’s friendship was with Ethan.

My only issue with the book is not being warned whether the chapter or section of the book is written in the past. It also ended a bit abruptly for me and wanted a bit more after their third act breakup.

All in all, I ended up enjoying this book more than I expected. Thank you NetGalley and wattpad for providing me with this arc for my honest review.

A mood reader and couldn’t quite get into this one. Will revisit at a later time. Love sports romances so hoping to enjoy this soon

Thank you to Deanna Faison and NetGalley, for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review. I loved Playmaker! I didn't want to put it down!! We love a brothers best friend trope! I really think it was a great sports romance with the perfect amount of spice!

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book. This book almost brought me back to my Wattpad days. I read books like this all the time. I wasn’t sure how this book wasn’t going to go for me because the beginning I wasn’t feeling. I’m glad I decided to continue the book because Maddie and Cameron story was a cute love story. I enjoyed it however one thing I wish was there was an epilogue to completely wrap up Maddie and Cameron’s love story. I recommend this book definitely check it out and give it a read.

I loved Playmaker! I didn't want to put it down, but you know, I do have children I have to keep alive as well.

I really liked Deanna Faison's writing style and how she builds the world of Playmaker. I could clearly envision each character and location in my head.

I don't think I've ever read a book from Wattpad WEBTOON, but I know what Wattpad is so I wasn't sure what to expect from this book in the beginning. I am happy that the plot was a good one, but this also had a healthy amount of spice.

I really liked that the author included flashbacks from the FMC and MMC past, as it allowed us to understand both characters more, and in turn allowed empathy and understanding.

If you enjoy a sports romance that also has the brothers best friend trope along with a dual POV and spice, you'll enjoy this book.

Thank you to Deanna Faison, NetGalley, and Wattpad WEBTOON for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

Such a fun story and I just raced through the whole thing. I love a good book that pulls you in from the first paragraph and this one definitely did that and more. I’m excited to read anything else this author decides to write for us.

This book had potential but it wasn’t my favorite. I felt like it was something that I have read before which struck me as not unique. I wanted to know more about the MMC and his involvement with the sport of football, as well as more background between him and the FMC.

There will be spoilers in this review - consider this your warning!
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I do love sports romances (which this was marketed as) - but this entire book took place during spring break - so outside of a few gym workouts there actually wasn't any games or practices...

I honestly didn't like either character. Cameron's sluttiness was way too much, and Maddie had no self control over the guy. She hated him, but she only wanted him to take her virginity and didn't hesitate when it came to sleeping with him (despite catching him hooking up with some other random girl in the guest bedroom of HER HOUSE only days earlier).

Look, Cameron, I understand that losing your Mom to cancer is terrible, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone - but it's been like 6 years! Stop using that as your excuse to be a piece of human shit. I was pretty tired of hearing about his "trauma" every second page - just man up and admit you're a cocky, arrogant, hit-it-and-quit-it guy who likes having an excuse to be an asshole.

There's no way this relationship works. Guaranteed Cameron cheats on her with the first sorority girl he sees once he's back at university.

3 stars because I thought about DNFing this, but kept picking it up again and again until I finished...

Thank you Netgalley for the free ARC!

Oh my goodness yall! What a sexy steamy best friends brother sneaky sexytime sports romance this was! 🔥😍

After nurturing a crush on her brothers best friend since childhood, Maddie is now starting college. A grown woman who no longer has any interest in her brothers hot best friend. Atleast, that's what she tells herself. After a peer pressured game of 7 Minutes in Heaven, they both give into the feelings they've done their best to hide. Only they must do so in secret because brothers best friend.

The absolute game changer for this book is the addidtion of real life struggles and growth. We find out why Cameron pushed Maddie away so long ago, and we watch them both grow in their own ways but also love each other through their own personal growths. And the banter! I love a good witty dialogue in a love story and this was some of the best! While I don't love a third act breakup, atleast this one seemed plausible and wasn't over endless or annoying. In short, this is such a beautiful spicy novel that you absolutely must pick up!

✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️/5

I received an advanced copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to NetGalley, Deanna Faison, and Wattpad for the copy. ❤️

✨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.