I don’t normally read sports romance but I enjoyed this one. A fun & quick read. YA romance. Includes - Brother’s best friend, Friends to lovers & Sports romance.

Thank you to Wattpad Webtoon Book Group, Netgalley and Deanna Faison for an ARC copy. All opinions are my own.

“Playmaker” by Deanna Faison is an irresistible blend of steamy sports romance and the forbidden brother’s best friend trope. What was supposed to be a fling for spring break quickly turns into something more for Maddie and Cameron, rekindling Maddie’s unrequited childhood crush on Cameron, now a hot NFL prospect and total player. Their chemistry is electric, and their sneaky, behind-the-scenes relationship keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Set in the beautiful backdrop of Arizona, which I particularly enjoyed as a local, the story captures the thrill of forbidden love and the challenges of navigating feelings in a world of high stakes and family expectations. Maddie’s overprotective brother, who is also Cameron’s best friend, adds an exciting layer of tension and conflict to the story.

Through a satisfying Dual POV, Faison skillfully develops the characters, making their journey from a casual spring break fling to a potentially serious relationship both engaging and emotionally satisfying.

“Playmaker” is the perfect college romance—young, steamy, and full of ambition. It’s based on the smash Webnovel “MY BROTHER’S BEST FRIEND” and is perfect for fans of Hannah Grace’s “Icebreaker,” Annie Crown’s “Night Shift,” and Tessa Bailey’s spicy rom-coms. This BookTok sensation delivers all the heat, heart, and drama you could want in a college sports romance. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a fun and spicy story that’s a breeze to read.

Read if you like:
🏈 Brother’s Best Friend
🏈 Friends to Lovers
🏈 Reformed Playboy
🏈 Sports Romance
🏈 Open Door Romance

3.5⭐️ but I think 4 stars is more fair, solely because I just don’t think that I am the targeted audience.

The story, characters, dialogue is very very very much college minded. It’s all very juvenile…it feels like my favorite romance books I read in high school, but much spicier (which was well written spice scenes I’ll give you that). With that said though, I would’ve enjoyed the hell out of this book in my early 20’s. The writing was great, the characters were really fun to read about. There were big feelings and trauma that they had to navigate. Cameron and Maddie were so damn cute! I mean seriously, what a sweet young couple!! 🥹 All in all, this was a very fun, great, lovely little romance book to read I just don’t think it’s in my romance space that I usually go for!

Thank you so much for the arc🫶🏼

An easy to read sports romance between a brother’s best friend and little sister dynamics, and includes a childhood crush. This book is more romance than romcom, more spice than plot.

I have two big issues with the story.

First off, the characters aren’t well thought out and read as more caricatures or tropes. Maddie’s personality is solely that she wants to be a doctor and is a virgin. Just because partying isn’t her thing doesn’t mean she couldn’t have hobbies, things in the story that give her depth, etc. Cameron has a few more elements to his character (football player, playboy, dealing with the loss of his mom, etc) but it still comes across as more convenient to pull in traditional literary trips vs a well thought through main character.

Secondly, the contradiction of how both characters come across as more YA but there is so much sexual content it obviously can’t be a YA book. For example, their ’love’ for each other feels like that of teenagers (closer to lust) since it’s based in physical desire and not aligning to anything more substantial (e.g., shared interests, life goals, etc). I would have been much happier if either this was a YA book (and sexual content removed) or if the characters and plot were more mature to match the new adult romance genre.

I received a free copy of this book; I wasn’t paid for this review.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book! I enjoyed it as it was a fun and easy read. I loved the characters and I love a sports romance. I wish there had been more banter and tension between Maddie and Cameron. I felt like they fell too fast. I did enjoy their love story and kind of hoping it will continue. Would love to hear Maya and Ethans story and see if Maddie and Cameron make it. Does Cameron get drafted? I need to know lol!

I’m always a sucker for a sports romance (especially football) and became obsessed with their story! It’s a quick read and perfect for the fall! Loved the chemistry between Cam and Maddie! Would definitely rec this!

What a fun read! A huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced read. While there are many sports romance novels out there, this was much deeper about the bonds of family. I loved it!

This book was cute! A fun blend of drama, spice, and romance. I enjoyed the characters and their “it’s always been you” love story, my favorite kind!

“The truth is, anywhere he goes, I’ll gladly follow because home isn’t a place. It’s with him.” Maddie - Playmaker: Deanna Faison

I was so thrilled to have the chance to read this before it comes out! This is my first arc and I was not disappointed in the least!!

Wattpad knows what’s up. All the authors I’ve ever read from there, understands the assignment!

This book was no different!! I loved this book with everything in me! The characters, the dialogue, and the emotions all came together for me and it could not have been more perfect! Maddie is resilient and an undeniable force that just pulls you just as much as it pulled Cameron. Cameron! MY MAN! He might be an occasional a** BUT… he always knew how to treat Maddie. There was no ifs, ands, or buts when it came to her!

I was a little irritated but that’s because I feel the situation with Maddie’s Brother could totally have been handled another way, I wasn’t mad, nor does it drop my rating because I loved the book through and through.

This is the perfect summer/spring break read!! I enjoyed every minute and you will too 😍❤️

OKKKKK BUCKLE UP TEAM going back to college for this one but it is EXACTLY the fluff and fun you expect it to be from the cover.

3.5 stars from me!! A cute and fluffy read with undertones of collegiate drama, but if you’re looking for a brothers best friend, “it’s always been you” kind of book - pick this one up!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishing team for the ARC - such a blast to read!

I read this very very quickly, and while it was an easy summertime read, it wasn't the most well-written or thought out plot. It was pretty simplistic, but easy to get through. A good palate cleanser.

I felt this as college age setting. Maddie and Cameron grew up together. Cameron was best friends with her brother. He always had a thing for her. He was the type to play the field with other girls. That's until Maddie came back into his life at a party. He was trying to figure out to fit Maddie into his life with football. Overall it was cute sports romance book.

First, I just have to say I'm so over the brother being angry that his best friend wants to date his sister. Can this please not be a thing anymore? That drove me crazy in the book. The constant fear of her brothers wrath. Now, for the rest of the book. THIS WAS SO CUTE! I really love Maddie and Cameron. Their story starting when they were just kids made it even sweeter. I love the banter between the two. Getting to see both of them grow was great. Maddie's chosen career path is bitter sweet. Cameron's dad was another one that just irritated me. I'm so glad Cameron had Mary and Richard to lean on. This was such a cute read. I started this yesterday afternoon and almost finished it last night.

Playmaker is a very young adult romance. Perfect beach /pool book this a story of teen/young 20s crushes

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"Playmaker" is the type of book you pick up when you want a steamy bingeable romance. I read this book cover to cover in a few hours and really enjoyed Cameron and Maddie's love story.

I would love to see this developed into an interconnected series to some of the side character's storylines and also more for Cam and Maddie.

Definitely worth checking out of you love a spicy sports romance.

Thank you Deanna Faison, Net Galley and Wattpad Webtoon Book Group for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Thank you to Wattpad Webtoon Book Group and NetGalley for the ARC of Playmaker: A Hidden Attractions Novel in exchange for an honest and independent review.

YES, YES, YES! So much YES with this book! Without question, I loved it from start to finish and all I felt was deep disappointment when the book was over that it couldn't go on and on. Please, please, please give us more from Maddie and Cam!

Maddie is home for Spring Break from college. It's her freshman year and she's already studying for her MCATs, while everyone else is out having fun. She's planed out her time to make the most of her break, but what she hasn't planned on was falling head over heals for her brothers best friend, Cam. Maddie's been in love with Cam since she was little. Two years, older than her and destined to be a first round NFL draft pick, Maddie knows that even though they have a past (which he single handedly brought crashing to the ground), there's not room for her in his future.

Cam has been a part of Maddie's family since she was little. Six years ago, Maddie and Cam had their shot at love, which was immediately destroyed when Cam's mom passed away form cancer. In that time, Cam pushed the world away, including Maddie, and turned to meaningless sex with random girls and partying to fill the gaping void in his heart. It's been six years since Cam cast Maddie out of his life, but his feelings for her under the surface have never changed, even though his persona has.

Fast forward to this spring, after being thrust together for a mind blowing seven minutes in heaven at a house party, Cam and Maddie decide to bury their past and take a chance on exploring where this could go and their years of pent up feelings towards each other. Knowing Cam could never commit to anything serious, Maddie has set herself up for a potentially devastating heartbreak. Maddie also doesn't love the idea of keeping their relationship a secret from her brother either, but the secrecy adds a level of excitement for them both, and they cannot trust telling Ethan until they know exactly what is happening between the two of them.

The forbidden romance trope can go horribly wrong if not done right, but this was executed perfectly. The characters in this were so loveable, well thought out, and complicated. Cam is lost and broken from the loss of his mother, but it only makes you love him that much more. Maddie is so pure and love struck, you cannot help but remember your own first love while reading through Maddie's emotions the deeper her and Cam get. The supporting cast brought the story full circle and the plot never seemed forced and was light hearted. There was nothing here that felt unbelievable or a stretch of the imagination. The spicy scenes were the perfect level of spice and the feelings between Maddie and Cam were palpable. I could not bring myself to put this one down and I will be researching Deanna's other works. I seriously hope this turns into a series, if it isn't already as this was a major win for me. I cannot wait to see what else she comes out with as this one was a complete touchdown in my opinion!

This book felt as if we started on the wrong foot and ended up we’re just not going to get along.

The story is about childhood best friends Maddie and Cameron who had a falling out. Cameron stayed best friends with Ethan, Maddie's older brother as they’re the same age. However, later on, it would say that they sort of grew apart because Cameron is pursuing his football career and Ethan went to community college. They only hung out on breaks, like most siblings do.

Cameron’s feelings for Maddie intensifies when he sees Maddie again when I believe they’re 22 and 19. With “feelings,” I meant a lot of lust and regret has resurfaced and Maddie's presence is giving Cameron big feelings that he has decided to act on.

Before anything else, the spice for this book was *chef's kiss*.

This story feels like a fanfic for the Summer I Turned Pretty. There are a lot of differences but when I got to the part where Madison focuses on Cameron’s emerald eyes, it felt so similar to Jeremiah’s ocean blue eyes. So many SITP parallels, it is making me think this is SITP's older sibling...which is not really a bad thing.

Cameron is written as an over thinker. All of his dialogue is lead or followed by a paragraph of thoughts. It was exhausting to read through all the thoughts. I wish he were having the conversations with someone else...the only time he did was when he was speaking to his dad in the third act.

Labels such as *four years ago* or *Spring Break, four years ago* would have been helpful while going through this book. The formatting on Kindle was a little distracting, I hope it gets fixed before publishing.

This story took place during what seems like a two-week spring break. The build up to their annual family spring break trip felt big but the actual vacation and ending felt rushed.

I usually enjoy NA romances but this one felt written for YA however, there’s a lot of spice in there and would not recommend to YA readers. Speaking of spice, there was a lot of mention about virginity, I do understand it's a huge deal for a lot of people but I think it's not huge deal for people this book should be targeting.

I thought this book was so cute! I could not put it down because I was so into it. It was a nice and quick read.

High drama and heavy sex -- everything you would expect from a wattpad story. No hate whatsoever because this is totally my jam!

4.5⭐️ ARC Review 🫶🏼 This was such a cute romance! I love Cam & Maddie! All of my fav tropes - older brother’s best friend, childhood crush, football player sports romance. This was a fun, easy, quick read that I would definitely recommend to my friends when it is released this fall!