Overall I enjoyed. It was well written and I liked the college setting and characters. Can’t wait to add to my bookshelf.

This book had me hooked from the beginning . A jealous Cameron is my favorite Cameron. I adored Maddie and Cameron both as individuals and as a couple. They both really grew and their behavior and character made sense from what they experienced. The only thing I would have changed is sometimes the internal dialogue became repetitive, but otherwise I loved it. Maya and Ethan are going to be fun 😍

I am newer to sports romances and was excited to dip my toes in with this one. Honestly, Deanna… what did you put in this ?! I didn’t just dip my toes, I was all in. I’ll admit I really wanted to dislike Cameron with his player vibes but quickly understood why Maddie has been crushing on him for so long! It’s spicy, in a she’s my best friend’s sister and definitely off limits kind of way. The dual POV really worked at setting the history between the two and exploring the spring break forbidden friend-with-benefits situation-ship. Definitely a binge worthy sports romance novel with some important conversations surrounding grief and friendship, while also exploring forbidden romance, my brother’s best friend and spicy, oh so spicy scenes.

✵𝖬𝖺𝗇𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗄𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝖶𝖺𝗍𝗍𝗉𝖺𝖽, 𝖣𝖾𝖺𝗇𝗇𝖺 𝖥𝖺𝗂𝗌𝗈𝗇 ＆ 𝖭𝖾𝗍𝖦𝖺𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗒 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗀𝗂𝖿𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖠𝖽𝗏𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾𝖽 𝖱𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋’𝗌 𝖢𝗈𝗉𝗒 𝗂𝗇 𝖾𝗑𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗆𝗒 𝗁𝗈𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝗋𝖾𝗏𝗂𝖾𝗐.✵

Playmaker by Deanna Faison is a steamy romance that is a prime example of the brothers best friend trope. This book is perfect for anyone that wants a fast paced romance with lots of spice and steam. This story is reliable in a sense if you are in need of a straight forward university romance. Although it was not my cup of tea, I would recommend to anyone that enjoys a university sports romance.

A great brother’s best friend romance! I was initially drawn to this book because of how cute the cover is. The main characters Maddie and Cameron were meant to be with each other. I loved how all the history they had between each other was explored.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I absolutely adored this book! It ended up being less of a sports romance and more of a book about grief and forgiveness. Cameron and Maddie were two great characters. They have flaws, but they are aware of them and want to work on them.

Cameron is an extremely flawed character. He lost his mom suddenly to cancer and still never fully processed it. His grief process was t sleep around to dull the pain. His relationship with his father is also strained since his mothers death. Cam always had feeling for Maddie, but when hi mother died he shut down and iced her out. That is where the main conflict of this story starts. Cam and Maddie are both home for spring break and realize that all those years of suppressing their true feelings is no longer feasible. Cam vows to become a better person so that he is worthy of Maddie. I will say, although we have a slight third act breakup, overall he is a pretty decent communicator. He is upfront with Maddie about his flaws so she is never in the dark for long.

Maddie is out great FMC. She is smart and protective of her heart. She has had feelings for Cam basically her whole life and even though they had a falling out, those feelings kept her from meeting other people. She had her standards set and was not willing to settle for less. She knew what Cam needed, whether it be a push or a shoulder to cry on. She is the only one who truly saw Cam and saw the pain he dealt with everyday. She never tried to hold him back from his goals, and he constantly supported her also.

Our main conflicts were Cam not being able to express how he truly felt because of fear of being abandoned, and of how Ethan would react. Luckily these two realized that they were it for one another just like Cam's mom wanted them to be.

The spice was SPICING! I really loved how there was an equal amount of plot to smut. There were enough spicy scenes to placate me, but not too much as to be without plot. Each scene felt intentional.

Normally I would say that the romance between these two characters happened very fast, but considering their past I think it was more a long time coming and the timeline actually made sense.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was my first by the author and I definitely want to read more. Can't wait to read Ethan and Maya's story!

Thank you to Wattpad and Deanna Faison for this eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this book soooooo badly. Sports romance, brothers best friend, spicy lessons are some of my favorite tropes
But at the end of the day, I couldn’t vibe with the characters
When Cameron was all proud of himself for not hooking up with anyone since him and Maddie kissed I wanted to scream it’s been like a day?!

I felt like some instances the male and female character were so immature which is super normal! They are 19/21!
But other times they were so profound and deep and I’m like what 19 talks and thinks like that

Playmaker is a steamy rom-com that is perfect for those bookworms looking for a new sports romance to sink into.

This is a fun and easy book to get lost in for a weekend. I am a sucker for a brother's best-friend/ secret romance. There is just something so exciting and delicious watching the characters fall in love with each other in secret. The heightened emotions of getting caught just make for such an addictive read. This is a dual POV story, which I loved. It was great being able to see inside both character's heads and watch as they try and fail to fight those emotions they are feeling for each other. The spice was great, and I loved that steamy, lusty tension between these two characters.

For those in their icebreaker and off-campus era! We have a brother's bestie/estranged childhood bestie reconnecting when they're both home over spring break. Plenty of spice, melt worthy moments and alllllll the longing glances until Maddie and Cameron finally giving into their feelings. And it's everything you wanted it to be.

While I wanted a bit more depth to the emotional portions of the plot and really really wanted an epilogue, I loved watching Maddie and Cameron fall in love in this one sitting read, perfect for anytime of year!


Thank you Netgalley and Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group | W by Wattpad Books for the ARC in exchange for my review!

Rating: 2.5 stars rounded up

Review: In general, was this a bad book? No, not at all. But there were definitely issues with it that editing should've caught. One, the writing style was incredibly chunky. The sentences often left me stumbling over how uncomfortable/uncoordinated they were. There was also such potential for the plot/character development, but the focus SO quickly shifted to the spicy scenes that a lot of the potential was lost. Like we already knew Cam was someone who hooked up with a lot of people, providing a very detailed example of him hooking up with someone who wasn't Maddie was incredibly unnecessary and felt like spice for spice's sake. While I understand that the point was that Cam was traumatized and broken by the loss of his mom, we just heard about it over and over again, in near verbatim sentences, and he didn't really do anything to try to change except say that he was going to try at the very end. In general, just fell flat for me. I'd definitely give the author another chance because again, I really think these are things an editor should have caught, but I'm not running to recommend it

Synopsis: Cameron's a hot NFL prospect, and a total player on and off the field. But his moves don't seem to work on Maddie. While she once crushed on him hard, that crush has since faded. She’s got big plans of her own and they don’t include him.

Then Spring Break turns their plans, and their feelings, upside down. Maddie and Cameron start a steamy affair, sneaking around behind their families’ backs. But there's one big problem: Maddie’s WAY overprotective brother–who happens to be Cameron’s BFF.

Will Cam be able to admit he's got real feelings? Will Maddie ever be able to stand up to her brother and make her own decisions?

One thing's for sure, their choices will change their life playbooks for good.

So first off I want to say how good this book was, I loved it.
Also I really liked the cover of this book. :)

Maddie and Cameron were best friends growing up along Maddie’s brother Ethan. Maddie's brother is a major background character in this book, his role in this story is very important. So Maddie and Cameron grew feelings that they could both feel and Cameron had to do what he thought was the right thing and stop the friendship. Was he right???? The way he did it broke her heart and she has always had issues with dating and finding the right guy all throughout her life, do they get their 2nd chance or does Cameron push her away again????
You are gonna have to read to find out about that whole journey. And what a story it is.
College Spring Break is here and they all are back in town together.
There was a lot of emotions, bickering, chemistry and drama. The thought of Maddie being his best friend's sister plays a ton in his head and so does how much his best friend's family was there for him through everything. The history between these two (how they grew up together and all the family dynamics) had me cheering them from page one. A lot of dad drama for Cameron also. There is a lot going on in this book. That's what makes it good and you wanting to keep reading it to find out more.
I think that the one negative thing I could say about this book was maybe the character development could have been a bit better and more sweet scenes (not all spicy) to show that it's not just hormones or physical attraction but real caring about each other. But not every book can be exactly just that or the plots might get boring, so I am ok with the decisions made for this book.

This was my first book from the author and I cant wait to see what else they have written now. :)

I love a good sports romance book and this one had me blushing and giggling! Best friend's little sister, childhood friends, dual POV. It was entertaining from start to finish and I loved every second!

Thank you to Wattpad books and NetGalley for the advanced E-ARC of this title.
Tropes included: Brother's best friend, college aged romance, childhood crush, virgin MFC, and found family.

This author is new to me, but I found her writing style to be similar to that of Hannah Grace, without the long lulls in plot. Deanna Faison makes 400 pages go by in a flash.
The characters were well developed with palpable chemistry. I always love when the MMC is torn between his demons and not feeling worthy of love. Cameron is the epitome of this. He has everything to lose by falling for his best friends little sister, yet can't fight being drawn to her.

Maddie may play the role of innocent virgin, but she holds her own against bad boy Cameron. The back and forth, stolen glances, and secret moments between the two made this a delectable read.

I absolutely LOVED *Playmaker* by Deanna Faison! The relationship progression between Maddie and Cameron was pure perfection—everything just flowed so naturally between them. Cameron’s character had so much depth, especially with how he was dealing with the loss of his mother and trying to navigate his grief throughout the story. It really added layers to his character, and the yearning between him and Maddie? Chef’s kiss!

While I’m usually not a fan of a third-act breakup, I appreciated that Cameron didn’t take the typical route of saying he didn’t love Maddie. Instead, he told her the truth behind his reasons, which made the whole situation feel more honest and heartfelt. It was a refreshing take that I really respected.

This book checked all the boxes for me, and I loved how comfortable the main characters were with each other. I can’t recommend *Playmaker* enough!

OH I JUST LOVE MADDIE & CAMERON SO MUCH!

there's just something that hits different about a sports romance with brother's best friend, secret romance, friends to lovers, & childhood crush!!🔥

if you're looking for something easy to read, but filled with all things nice & spice, then this is IT for you! maddie is head over heels for cameron, who just happens to be her older brother's best friend. she's loved him since she was a kid, but as he gets older and comes off as a total playboy, she thinks her chance is long gone.. FAST FORWARD to spring break and things finally start to roll!! when i tell you this man was SAT for her, I MEAN IT!

my favorite part of this book was that we could see things unravel from both maddie and cameron's perspective. it was so clear that they both needed each other, but were afraid of what would happen if they just let their walls down and let it happen. ALTHOUGH this book was spicy, there was some raw emotions in it, too. the trauma that cameron went through made me want to run into the book and give him the biggest hug. maddie brought out the best in him, and i just love how she was there for him through it all. AND THEN WHEN HE CARRIED HER DOWN THE MOUNTAIN!! i was done for.

in all, this book was everything i needed! 4 stars for me⭐️

thank you, netgalley, wattpad books, & deanna, for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!🫶🏼

3.75 rounded up to 4⭐️ 2.5🌶️
Brother’s best friend is always a hit for me so overall, I really enjoyed this book. The tension between Cameron and Maddie was superb and I really enjoyed how the spice helped move the plot along!! I wish there would have been more development shown with their relationship and their backstory as well as a little bit more development of their current relationship rather than going from 0-100 in 2 seconds. I know they have such a huge history but without much background other than bits and pieces, I was left wanting a little bit more. The end wrapped up abruptly but it made sense for how limited the conflict was. The supporting characters were a hit and I am so happy with the Maya/Ethan subplot, it added drama to the story that was fun and I’d definitely read a book about them.

I will definitely read more from Deanna and I’d say Playmaker will be a hit for people who love brother’s best friend spicy college romances with so much tension it could be cut with a knife!!

I was excited for this based on the premise but ultimately did not enjoy this very much. I love NA sports romance but this was heavy on the spice and not much else. Honestly if this was not an arc, I would have DNFed it. Just not enough story.

It was cute. I’m a sucker for brothers best friend trope. The ending seemed a little rushed, but I liked it overall.
Thank you NetGalley for the Arc

Tropes:
Brothers best friend
Forbidden/Secret Romance
Sports Romance
Childhood friends to Loveds

What to expect:
- college romance
- he plays football
- brother's best friend
- overprotective big brother!
- lots of tension
- secret friend with benefits
- he was her childhood crush
- open door
- dual pov

This just wasn't for me.

I felt like there were too many spicy scenes. For me, they took away from everything else. There needed to be a bit more character development and really plot development. It seemed like those were sort of rushed or discarded for spice.

There really isn't much to say other than that. It was, for me, flat and became a bit boring. I found myself skimming towards the end to get through it. If you're looking for something spice heavy, you will enjoy it absolutely.


Thank you to Netgalley, Wattpad WEBTOON, and Deanna Faison for this gifted arc.