First and foremost, thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad WEBTOON group for sending me this ARC in exchange for n honest review.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A sweet brother’s best friend book detailing a journey of grief and overcoming parental expectations to find your own happiness. I loved most of the aspects of this book. The romance was sweet and the spice was just enough not to retract from the storyline.

My only dislikes were it being marketed as a sports romance, but there was no sports outside of mention of him being an athlete and his professional aspirations.

I wouldn't say that I was entirely impressed with this book. It read like a bad fanfiction with so many errors and very little plot besides a girl having a crush on her brothers best friend, and him feeling the same but expressing it by sleeping with any girl that moves, except her, until he does.

Thank you to Deanna Faison, Wattpad Webtoon Book Group, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. This is my honest review.

This book was an easy, entertaining binge read. I loved the characters, on the surface very typical “I’m madly in love with my older brothers best friend” Maddie and “I sleep around because I’ve been hurt and didn’t learn how to emote in a healthy way” Cameron are a solid win for this genre of novel. However, to go deeper and have them both experience a loss that shaped them and is integral to both their past and who they become was another layer that made this novel even better. Spicy, fun, and with two characters that you can actually believe could figure it out, this novel was genuinely enjoyable.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

The plot was fun and flirty with lots of chemistry between main characters. Somehow I wasn't sold on the sum of the parts together, because separately they are great. Beware that there is trauma within this through death of a parent so don't read if this is something that can trigger you.

There was character development, but not enough to sell it for me. I think because the writing felt a little lazy in the sense that over and over and over they called Maddy "a bore" when they could literally use any other language to get the point across. In this sense it felt repetitive.

Thank you NetGalley, Wattpad Webtoon Book Group and Deanna Faison for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Maddie, her brother Ethan and his best friend Cam grew up together and were extremely close until a few years ago when Cam pushed Maddie way while grieving the loss of his mother. Fast forward to now, they’re all home over spring break and Maddie and Cam still aren’t friends. Despite this, both of them cannot get the other out of their mind. A few tense interactions pushes both of them towards crossing lines.

This book was a lot of lust, partying and sex but also had pieces of grief, basically parent abandonment, self discovery and support.

Open door.
Brother’s best friend.
Secrecy.
Former ‘playboy’

3.75/5 ⭐️s
🌶️🌶️1/2 - medium to heavy spice

LOVES:
- I am absolutely here for the side story with Maddie’s brother, Ethan and Maddie’s friend, Maya 💖
- The flashback scenes are cute
- Maddie is a relatable, real person who takes no shit. She has insecurities like anyone, but she’s mature and kind. She’s a great FMC.
- Ethan is really good friend to Cameron 💕 I really appreciate when they have real talk moments
- As much as Cameron irritates for a while, he does have a good redemption arc. He’s still a little cocky for my personal preference, but I did grow to like him.

CRITIQUES:
- The way it’s written is not completely off-putting, but I just don’t want to see the MMC get with another girl
- Cameron is kind of a major jerk. I’m cool with the bad boy being sweet for only one girl, but he takes it a little too far for my tastes 😒 he just needs therapy real bad.
- Yikes, Cameron’s dad. Obviously written as a problematic character, but he just made me so MAD.

This quote kind of represents one of my major issues with this book:

“Doesn’t she realize how much I care for her her?
*Why would she when you’ve treated her like shit for the past six years?*”

I really enjoyed a lot of this book. There were some things that didn’t match up with what I was looking for, but I was still rooting for these two in their relationship and in their relationships with the other characters too.

Thanks to @netgalley and @wattpadbooks for the eARC 💝

Dual childhood crushes with an only for her reformed playboy, yes please! Too bad it wasn't as well executed as I would have hoped. I wanted to like our MC's but had issues connecting with them both. Maddie lacked dimension with more telling than showing. I wanted more about her connection to Cameron's mom Stacey to explain her dive for school work and to become an oncologist. And Cameron repetitively bring up how many women he's slept with and how good he was at it just wore thin. I think if written differently it could have come off more as confident and cocky vs borderline sleazy. And he leaned on his trauma as a constant excuse as opposed to learning from it.

The dialogue was also cringy at times, like the author was trying to hard to make it sound dirty. I will give Faison credit for the fact that it was a fast read, that I breezed though. I would consider picking up a future book to see if it had the same issues, but not in the near future.

Tropes: best friends sister, dual pov, childhood crush, sports romance, virgin FMC
TW's: Cancer, death of a parent, toxic parental relationship, grief

Thank you to Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group | W by Wattpad Books for the ARC of Playmaker!

Deanna Faison delivers an addictive mix of sports romance and the ever-enticing brother’s best friend trope. What starts as a casual spring break fling quickly escalates for Maddie and Cameron, bringing to life Maddie’s long-buried childhood crush on her brother’s best friend—now a rising NFL prospect with a reputation as a total player. Their chemistry is off-the-charts, and their secretive relationship is packed with tension, making each stolen moment feel all the more thrilling.

Set against the stunning Arizona landscape, the story weaves together the excitement of forbidden romance and the complexities of navigating feelings in a high-stakes world. Maddie’s protective brother adds an extra layer of conflict, keeping readers on edge as she and Cameron try to balance their budding relationship with family loyalty and future ambitions.

With a well-crafted dual POV, Faison allows readers to dive deep into both characters' perspectives, making their journey from a spring break fling to a deeper connection feel incredibly satisfying. Playmaker is a perfect college romance for fans of steamy sports novels, offering just the right mix of heat, heart, and high-stakes drama. If you loved Icebreaker, Night Shift, or Tessa Bailey's spicier rom-coms, this BookTok favorite is sure to hit the mark. Highly recommended for those craving a fast-paced, entertaining read with a hint of drama and plenty of romance!

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

I’m a sucker for sports romance and this one definitely didn’t disappoint. Highly recommend and can’t wait to add it to my bookshelf.

Wowww I absolutely loved this sports romance for football season and I highly recommend this book if you're looking for a spicy, bingeable story! I loved the relationship between Cameron and Maddie, their chemistry was entertaining and the sneaking around was added fun.

What To Expect:
-- Brother’s Best Friend
-- Friends to Lovers
-- Reformed Playboy

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and Deanna Faison for an eARC of Playmaker!

Thank you so much to Wattpad books for an advance copy of this!

This book comes out on October 22nd.

This book has been on my radar since I saw it popped up on NetGalley and my goodness, I absolutely LOVED IT! As soon as I started reading it, I knew very early on that I was going to love this book.

"The truth is, plenty of girls have called me hot, Maddie, but you're the only one I've ever wanted to hear it from."

I just love the relationship between Maddie and Cameron. I have read a lot of brother's best friend books this year and this one is right up there. It gave me all the swoony feelings! Maddie and Cameron have had mutual crushes on each other for years but neither acted on it. They have come close but never went through with it.

They both were just so in love with one another but I love how we got to see them when they were younger and how their relationship grew. Cameron was so protective of Mads and knew that she was the one for him. He tried so hard not to want her, heck she even interrupted him while he was with someone else!

"You stayed the night..Trust me when I say I wouldn't have allowed that if I didn't find you absolutely addicting, okay?"

I was unfamiliar with the author prior to this and I really liked her writing style. Cameron had more of a storyline than Maddie and with that I thought Faison did a good job blended the story and spice. And lord, she did not hold back on the spice!!! There was a moment at a restaurant and made me feverishly keep on reading and it was just so hot! Another moment that will live rent free in my mind is when she texts him to come to her room after he was done playing video games with her brother - whewwwww!

I just really loved this book and breezed right on through! I am looking forward to the next book in the series!

Check this book out if you love a brother's best friend, childhood friends, full of swoon & spice!

BROTHER'S BEST FRIEND IS SO HOT. Period. That’s it. 🔥

This is the PERFECT palette cleanser for anyone craving some sugar, spice, and everything nice 🍬🌶️✨ It was so cute seeing Maddie, who’s always had a crush on Cameron, finally accepting it would never happen... until Spring Break rolls around, and wowza! Who doesn’t love a man going, "Why am I jealous? She’s off-limits." 😏

I loved the dual POV because you could totally feel their emotions tangled up in every interaction until they finally cut the tension and started to untangle everything 💖 Not gonna lie, I was worried for them, our boy Cameron has some serious trauma, and it shows lmao! But I’m so glad with how things wrapped up.

And let’s not forget the spice because it was CALIENTE 🌶️🔥 I enjoyed every single scene sometimes, you just need to read it for the smut and this one DELIVERED. 😍

Tropes:
✨Brother's best friend
✨Childhood crush
✨Friends to lovers
✨Secret romance
✨Sports Romance (he plays football-but in spring break setting)

Thank you, NetGalley, Wattpad Books, & Deanna, for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Maddie has been harboring a crush on her brother's best friend, Cameron, for YEARS. This spring break, Maddie has decided to step out of her comfort zone by going to parties and catches the attention of Cameron. They decide to explore this relationship while they are both home from college. What could possibly go wrong as playboy Cameron and good girl Maddie try to keep their relationship under wraps from her overprotective brother? Throughout the book, there are will they-won't they vibes which keeps you enthralled. Cameron is charming and her their banter had me laughing. If you are looking for a strong female lead, secret relationship, and a dash of family drama, this book has it all! Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow this book had me hooked so fast and loved everything about it! The tension, the sneaking around I loved it all! The only thing I would wish for is more, I think the book ended so abruptly and I wish I had a little more.


Read if you love:
Brothers best friend
Childhood friends


Thank you for this arc 🩶🩶

Thanks to Netgalley and Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group for the E-Arc. This was about 2 really young characters 19 Maddie and 21 Cameron who have been friends since babies but they are not friends anymore. Maddie and Cameron have crushes on each other but Cameron is her brothers best friend and your typical playboy. While this was the typical teenage/young adult story I liked that we really saw Cameron trying to change and grow from what happened to him.

I thought this was so cute! The style was super similar to Hannah Grace’s Icebreaker/Wildfire/Daydreamer or Elle Kennedy’s The Graham Effect or Dixon Rule and I loved it! The spice was spicy, the romance was top tier swoon with butterflies, the heart break was gut wrenching and tear inducing. I loved the writing style. Overall, I loved this book and would definitely read more by this author.

Oof this was a huge miss for me! I always feel so bad writing these reviews but I honestly couldn’t even get through it. Unfortunately this was a dnf

i had trouble with the writing of this one, i felt it required maybe another round of edits

thank you to netgalley for an arc of this in exchange for my honest review

I had such high hopes for this to be a cute love story between a sister and brother’s best friend with some football thrown in. Unfortunately, it just didn’t hit the bar.

This book was way too angsty to enjoy, and had a lot of (too many) spicy scenes that just didn’t add to the story the way well written spice does. I wish there was a bit more character development and substantial plot. The characters seemed super, super immature.

*ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and truthful review.

Okay who was keeping the football romances a secret?? I knew hockey was great but football now too?

Sports romances never fail to be equally spicy and sweet and this book is no exception. We have a childhood best friend/brother’s best friend romance that is delicious. Not only have the two main characters been infatuated with each other for years but they also secretly share the same ambitions brought on by grief. In the book we got to see both characters overcome a lot to be happy but it was a beautiful story on the way there.
PS if you have a praise kink read immediately.
PSS are we getting another book for Ethan now?