Playing Games by Max Monroe is the second book in the Dickson University series and I look forward to reading the next book in the series. I like that, for a change, the grump in the grumpy-sunshine romance trope is the FL. Also, the jock versus genius romance was interesting. Quite spicy too.
I got a complimentary copy from Max Monroe LLC via Netgalley. All opinions expressed are mine

Not my style. Should have read more on the author and/description before choosing this one. This is more for YA.

I loved Learning Curve so I was extremely excited to read Blake's story. He is so likeable that you can't help but root for him and his dream girl! Though Lexi didn't want to give Blake the time of day and resisted him for quite some time, he never gives up. Such tenacity! I also loved seeing the growth and strides that Lexi makes in this book.

In all honesty, my favorite part of the book didn't involve Blake and Lexi. Instead, it has to do with Ace and his girl. I can't wait for their story to come out!

This was overall a great read. Thank you for the advance copy to enjoy!

This was a great book! The romance and banter was so good! I would highly recommend reading this book. It was so addictive.

„Playing Games“ is a novel and the second installment in the Dickson University series by Max Monroe.

This is my second book (after Meet Me At Midnight) by Max Monroe and I ate it upppp. Finished it in less than 24 hours. I love a feel-good sports romance and this was exactly what I needed after reading some heavy-topic books.

Playing Games is a spicy college romance which follows the story of Blake who is a popular, handsome and extroverted quarterback and Lexi, an intelligent, introverted chem-nerd. The POVs change from his to hers in every chapter which allows the reader to get to know their individual characters really well while they are getting to know each other.

In this novel, opposites attract and oh boy, how they do. While he is used to getting every girl he wants, she is the only one who is not interested. While Lexi is the rational one, always focused on statistics and analytics (even regarding her love life), Blake is more on the emotional side. While she is very much a control freak, he is the one who can make her feel comfortable being OUT of control. On top of that, I love romance where the MMC falls first and that was a great example for that.

In my opinion, this was a nice feel-good read with a pleasant amount of needed drama to make it an interesting novel. I rate it 3 ⭐️.

The e-arc was provided by NetGalley and Max Monroe LLC in exchange for an honest review - thank you so much! ☺️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Huge thank you to Max Monroe and NetGalley for the ARC eread. 🤍

Start QB MMC and over achieving superior intelligent FMC. Ovi a combination for a great story. Max Monroe does not disappoint. Blake and Lexi make a delicious couple.

Blake with golden retriever tendencies. Lexi is an independent woman who is trying to be better with her feelings/relationships. They work so well together and help bring out the better traits. This was only my first book in the Dickson Universe series but I am looking forward to Ace and Julia’s story. In the meantime I will be reading Finn and Scottie’s book.

I absolutely fell in love with this book and the characters! I can't wait to read more from this author in the future! Thank you for this opportunity!

I loved everything about this book! The humour is effortless, the character development is top notch and the actual story was utterly consuming. A perfect rom com!

ARC Review: This was my second Max Monroe book and I kind of wish I would have read more books related to this world before jumping into this one.

This is a college aged romance set at Dickson University in NYC. Lexi (25), a neurodivergent grad student, is finishing up her second PhD. Girl is SMART! Spitting out random facts or reason all throughout the book. I really loved it. As a neurodivergent female myself, I found myself connecting with her inner thoughts throughout the entire book.

Blake (21) is the star QB for Dickson university, finishing up his junior year with the intent to go pro. Blake met Lexi at an event a year prior and has been fawning after her ever since. He finally gets his chance and boy, does it play it right. He is so patient with her throughout the story and really starts to understand how her brain works.

The banter, the spice and the plot were on point! The pacing of the story worked very well. I enjoyed learning about the friend group but I was a little confused by all the connections. I felt like it was repetitive and overwhelming when they listed all the family members attending an event and their relation to one another. I could have done with a family tree of some sort at the beginning of the book. Even if I would have read the previous books in this world, it still would have been confusing.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read Ace and Julia's story. Ace realizing he has feelings for his best friend is one of my favorite scenes of this book.

Some of my favorite quotes...

<i>"She's not a pick-me girl - she's a don't-pick me girl, to be honest."

"I don't want to hurt him, but I don't know how to be anything else but me. And one of the hardest parts about being me is that I don't feel things the same way most people do."</i>

Thank you Max Monroe LLC for providing this book review for consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Scrumptious!

I’ll be honest, I was pretty much all in from the Dedication page— THEY ARE MY PEOPLE!

This book kept me engaged, and I really appreciated the chuckles had throughout. Lexi & Blake are just magic together, and I was a little sad when it was over — I wanted MORE!

Well tickle & pickle me— imagine my complete and utter delight to realize there’s more in this series!

Just— YAY!

I received an ARC for this title in the hopes of my voluntarily leaving an honest review, and an honest review is what I’ve left.

I have been anxiously waiting for this book and was so excited to receive an ARC. It did not disappoint. Lexi and Blake had amazing chemistry and I could not put this book down. You will not be disappointed. I promise!

Author: Max Monroe
Publish Date: 2/7/25
ARC provided by Max Monroe for an honest review!

This is my first time reading a book from this author. It definitely gave opposites attract/sports romance one of my favorites.

Lexi is on the spectrum and a genius. Blake is the star quarterback for his college team. Blake had been pinning over Lexi for a long time and she has sent given him the time of day. Blake finally gets her to hang out with him and now they enter into relationship where one person wants it out in the open and the other doesn't.

The banter between these two was great. I felt Blake needs allot of credit for his patience because I even got frustrated with Lexi a few times. I felt Lexi grew the most through out the book since she had such a hard time with emotions.

I would recommend this book to someone. It was a quick sweet read.

Blake loves playing football. He wants to play in the NFL one day. First, he has to get through college. Second, he needs to get Lexi’s attention because he is sure she is “the one”. Lexi is finishing up her PhD and is trying to figure out what she wants to do next. She knows a lot about Blake and she is concerned about their age difference among other issues. She has spent her life surrounded by football players and she isn’t sure she wants to take a chance on one. Will Lexi take a chance on Blake or will she break his heart because she is scared?
The author does a good job showing how Blake and Lexi know each other and all of the little connections they have. For example, they are part of the Double C group (I am oversimplifying). This relationship was set up in the prior book. If it weren’t for Double C and Blake being on the football team, they would still have ended up in each other’s orbits due to family and friends. They are good for each other. She helps Blake to grow up a little bit and he helps her to see that she might be a little different from other people but that isn’t a bad thing. Their love story is very sweet. I love that he wants to be with her to the point of distraction and she finds ways to help him focus on what’s important for his future. I thought there would be the big dramatic break and makeup or maybe the family doesn’t approve so there’s angst but the author chose a different route. It was refreshing. But more importantly, it made me smile.
Playing Games is book 2 in the Dickson University series. You don’t have to read the books in order but I think it will give context about the main couple of this book as well as better understand the second storyline that is in the background of this book. This is a college romance with a splash of football. This book continues the story of Finn and Scotty from book 1 and it sets up the next book in the series. I will read more from this author in the future.

Who doesn’t love an opposites attract moment? Lexi is a neurodivergent, driven, and incredibly bright graduate student. She knows who she is and what she wants and pursues it with purpose.

Blake is an absolute cinnamon roll of a lead! He is the start quarterback, good guy, and all around golden retriever. When Blake first spots Lexi at a secret society event, he even tells his friend “I’m gonna marry that girl someday”. What’s not to love about that?!

This story follows these two as they both spend a summer on campus while she finishes her doctorate (an academic queen). Blake is smitten and makes that clear to Lexi. But she isn’t totally sure, since emotions are often difficult for her to process in both herself and others.

This story features two likable characters from completely opposite spaces. Lexi’s point of view as a neurodivergent woman was done well. She loves her people, has her own unique interests, and struggles through big feelings like so many of us do. Blake’s point of view features an understanding of many of the things which are uniquely her and how they make her more special. I couldn’t help but love these two and I think you will too!

This is a solid college sports romance. I loved that the FMC is neurodivergent and that the MMC is 100% accepting of that. He doesn’t try to change her at all. He was actually way too mature for a 21 year old but we can all suspend belief to read about hot football players being all-around great guys.

I also think the supporting cast and characters were so well-rounded and it made me want to read all of their books, too. I basically need to read every book in that universe. I’m hooked!

Such a good read romance read. I loved our main characters. Especially Lexi, it’s not often you have a character with autism and I loved what she brought to the story and how Blake understood her from the beginning.

I got to read this book thanks to NetGalley and I was excited to do it because I love Max Monroe books!
This one certainly didn’t disappoint! A sweet romance with the perfect amount of spice!

3/5 stars

I was super excited to jump into this book. I even did a quick reread of the OG characters before reading this one. I've not read many books with autistic FMCs, and I was excited to see how M&M portrayed Lexi. She's been a steeple of a character since the beginning!

Sadly, this book just didn't hit it for me in the way I thought it would. I knew Lexi's character was going to be complex, but I hated that I wasn't able to connect with her or sympathize when she breaks poor Blake's heart again and again. I did love her logical side of the brain, though!

I was disheartened that M&M did not have their typical spicy scenes that they normally have. This one felt more fade to black. While spice isn't the only thing to focus on, I felt like the fade to black/partial intimate scenes took away from the more romantic side of the relationship. Maybe it was because of Lexi, maybe not. It just wasn't what I was expecting when I picked this book up.

Blake absolutely had my heart!! This man is OBSESSED with Lexi, and I was all there for it! I loved his patience and pursuit in the book!

I also loved how M&M gave us a hint and helped Scottie and Finn's storyline feel more resolved after what they did to her in the 1st book.

Thank you, NetGalley and Max Monroe, for the ARC! I'm still super excited to read Ace and Julia's book. Ace's freak out in this book was *chef's kiss!

2 stars ⭐️

One thing that I did like about this book was that the main character was neurodivergent, and, in a lot of romance books especially, there is little representation of diverse characters. However, I tried to read a Max Monroe book before and I wasn't a big fan, but I tried again and I still didn't like it. This honestly felt like the plot of a Wattpad story which isn't a bad thing, but it felt like the plot of the story could have used some more development.

Yallill this series is just so good! I love when the second book is just as amazing as the first, and that definitely is the case with Playing Games and The Learning Curve.
"If subjected to this level of swoon for a prolonged period of time, how long does it take to fall in love?"
Blake Boden is the star quarterback at Dickson
University and no stranger to girl fawning all over him.
When he meets Lexi Winslow, it's love at first sight when she is unaffected by his charm and social status.
He spends the better part of a year pining for her attention.
Lexi doesn't do emotions. She is driven by research and facts only. When Blake starts inserting himself in her life she creates a research experiment to see if she should give him a chance. She tells herself it is purely research as she spends more time with him.
I absolutely adored Lexi and her drive for research and no nonsense attitude. The banter between Lexi's facts only personality compared to Blake's complete opposite golden retriever vibes was so fun. This story highlights the struggles of neurodivergence, but also that love conquers all. There were times I laughed out loud, swoon worthy moments and many instances of heartfelt emotions - this book had it all!
Secret Dating
Neurodivergent FMC
Sports Romance
He Falls First
Opposites Attract
He Delivers Food