I not ashamed in the least to admit that I read this book in one single day. Thankfully it was the weekend. It was SO good. That I may have to read it a second, and even third time. And I am not a third book reader. But Holy cow!!!!

I knew any book with Lexi Winslow was going to be good and Lexi falling in love with Blake was out of this world!!!!! The app she built. Stop it. My slightly stalkerish little heart just loved that. I was obsessed with how much Blake loved her! How patient he was with her. How accepting. He saw every bit of her, all of her quirks and loved them. I just adored that. We may not all be as smart as Lexi but finding someone who loves you and your quirks and thinks that they are a bonus to you is just every womans dream. I might have cried a few times in this book. Not gonna lie.

I cannot WAIT for Ace and Julia's book. Oh my word! Waiting for that is going to be torture. Absolute torture. Much like the torture that poor Ace is going through.

I love that we are getting the second Gen of our people in this books and I hope it just continues and continues and we just keep getting the kids and maybe even the grandkids of our favorite group of billionaires.

I liked this one but not as much as the first. I feel like the book focused a little too much on the sex and there also wasn't enough of the friend group. I do however love them together and wish we could see the moment where all of their friends found out about them.

I received an arc through netgalley.

📚 Playing games- Max Monroe:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was definitely a fun read, we got a bit of a friends with benefits/ secret relationship going on that was very fun to read about. These characters have a lot of depth to them and are so interesting both alone and together. The secondary characters were my favorite though, I’m SO excited for the next book, Ace is definitely the star of the series, I don’t make the rules🤷‍♀️
“Did you need something, Boden?” She asks.
“Only you.”
Tropes:
🏈Found family
🧬Sports Romance
🏈He falls first
🧬Neurodivergent heroine
🏈Opposites attract
🧬Reverse grumpy sunshine
🏈Secret relationship
🧬Lots of banter

*Thank you Net galley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This one did not have the same feel for me as the first book, and for that reason, I didn’t like it as much but the story was still gripping and I loved the characters so it’s a 3 star for me!

Max Monroe delivers a refreshingly unique take on the college romance trope in Playing Games. This story is not just a sizzling romance but also a heartfelt exploration of love, identity, and self-discovery, centered on a neurodivergent protagonist navigating complex emotions and relationships.

The protagonist’s neurodivergence adds a deeply meaningful layer to the story. Through her journey, readers gain insight into her thought processes, creating a genuine and empathetic portrayal of what it means to understand and express feelings differently. Pairing her with a charming, utterly devoted football star who’s already head over heels in love brings both tenderness and intensity to the narrative. His patience, understanding, and determination to help her see her worth and recognize his love elevate this romance to something truly special.

What sets Playing Games apart is its balance of spicy, steamy moments with heartfelt emotional depth. The chemistry between the characters is electric, but it’s the underlying emotional connection and personal growth that make the story stand out from more conventional smutty college romances. The pacing is smooth, and the story deftly combines humor, passion, and vulnerability, making it both entertaining and deeply touching.

Verdict:
A spicy, sweet, and emotionally resonant romance that redefines the college love story. Max Monroe’s blend of heat, heart, and neurodivergent representation makes Playing Games a standout in its genre. Perfect for readers who crave a meaningful love story with plenty of sizzle.

Publication Date - 7 February 2025

Publisher - Max Monroe LLC

Genre - College

Spice level - Medium - there are several sex scenes but overall they were not, in my opinion, over-worked.

Happy ending? - Yes, although as a college romance possibly a Happy For Now rather than a Happy Ever After.

Pacing - overall a quick and enjoyable read, but a bit draggy during scenes with characters who aren't driving the plot forward.



The plot:



This is the second book in the Dickson University series written by the profilic writing duo that is Max Monroe. I hadn't read the first novel, but that didn't affect my enjoyment of Playing Games.



Twenty five year old Lexi Winslow is in the final stages of completing her stellar PhD thesis at Dickson University.



Blake Boden, Dickson's star quarterback and four years Lexi's junior is captivated by the aloof genius. Girls flock to Blake but in his eyes Lexi shines above them all.



However, there's a problem, Lexi is neurodiverse and has always struggled with making sense of her emotions, seeing logic and analysis as her refuge.



Blake works hard to break through Lexi's tough outer shell and, in small steps, they enter a relationship.



However, as Blake realises that he is falling hard for Lexi, she is unable to see a future for them both. Despite the intense physical chemistry they enjoy, she cannot see a way to open her heart fully and engage with that troublesome emotion called love.



With Lexi unwilling to be open about their relationship in public, Blake increasingly feels bruised and helpless in the relationship. They start to drift apart, and Lexi must confront her huge internal challenge - whether, for the first time, to let her unpracticed heart rule her brilliant, analytical head.



The story:



For me, the story is really about whether Lexi can see past her neurodivergence to accept that she is both worthy of accepting love from another and capable of giving love in return.



I found that the thread that held the novel together throughout. This novel is really about Lexi, first and foremost, and so her ability to accept Blake's love by the end makes for a satisfying conclusion.



Overall



I think it is a strong novel and I really enjoyed it. The main character Lexi jumps off the page as an academically brilliant woman who is struggling to make sense of love and whether she is able to offer that to a man, even one who adores her and appears, by the metrics of an AI programme that she develops, perfect for her.



Blake is more two dimensional, but that is fine. A superb athlete and generally nice and likeable person, who completely adores Lexi and wants her to love him in return.



Because they are so different, this makes for great banter between them, with Lexi's dry humour and very specific communication style, coupled with Blake's gridiron grammar and tendency to bawdy and suggestive language to describe their sex life.



The authors have done a great job in writing two very different characters and bring them together into an intense, romantic relationship in which they each have a distinct and compelling voice.



Max Monroe carries 'the will she, won't she' tension right to the end of the book in terms of keeping you guessing about whether Lexi will ever feel comfortable enough to enter into a full-blown, in the public spotlight, girlfriend-boyfriend relationship with Blake.



In the final third, I was genuinely concerned that the book might not lead to a happy finale, and was therefore pleasantly surprised when it did. This made the denouement both satisfying and also hard to predict, right up to the final pages. I didn't see the ending coming and it offered a very sweet surprise.



I loved the book overall and would recommend it. There were just a couple of things for me that make it a four rather than a five star read.



I found there was too much extraneous action and a multitude of other characters who dip in and out throughout, without adding to the plot or the story. I recognize that some characters have appeared in previous novels and will appear in future novels, but there were simply too many people and too many passages of text that weren't value adding to the plot. This often dragged me out of the story and I found myself skipping during sections that I didn't think added much.



Related to this, while the zoomed in passages with Lexi and Blake are often touching and, I found their relationship development focused too heavily on their sexual relationship. I don't think the sex scenes were overdone in any way; overall they were carefully handled. I would have preferred more time zoomed in on them both and their moments of emotional connection, instead of the large number of scenes with other characters who weren't driving the plot forward.



Rating



Four stars

Playing Games is another great read by Max Monroe. The book can be read as a standalone but the story and characters will make a little more sense if you have ready some of the previous books by Max Monroe. Our two main characters in this story are Blake and Lexi. The characters could not be any more different but work very well togther. Blake is a football star and junior in college. Lexi is a few years older than Blake and is finishing up her masters. Lexi is extremely smart and is on the spectrum of autism. Lexi does not have much relationship experience and has hard timing dealing with her feelings for Blake. Lexi and Blake bring out the best of each other. It was nice to see some familar characters throughout the story. I look forward to reading the next novel.

Great book. I loved reading it. Thank you for letting me read this arc copy. Loved all the characters.

📖 Book Review 📖 It took me one Max Monroe book to learn that as soon as a new book arrives, it’s a drop everything and read situation. And their latest read is no exception! Playing Games is the second installment in the Dickson University series but can be read as a standalone (but let’s be honest, it is so much better to read the whole series). As Lexi is wrapping up her college career and getting ready to take on the world beyond Dickson, she certainly did not expect to fall for the charms of the handsome quarterback, Blake. He’s all in but can he win her over for good? Playing Games is a delightfully delicious addition to this series.

I’ve been really looking forward to this story because Lexi is one of my favorite MM characters. And before I gush about why I adore this story, please, please, please read *Learning Curve* first; its events are crucial to understanding this one. I know authors always say “this is a stand-alone,” but trust me, the intricate plot twists and character developments in this book necessitate reading it in order. The intricate relationships between characters, so masterfully crafted in Finn and Scottie’s book, are impossible to fully appreciate without prior knowledge of their story. Obviously, you should also know her parents, uncles, and their stories too. But, IMO, Learning Curve is required.

There’s a million reasons they shouldn’t be together. Blake, the college’s star quarterback, is a really popular guy. Lexi is hyper-focused on all things scientific, and being on the spectrum, she doesn’t form personal connections well. But isn’t it true that the heart wants what it wants? Blake is the man to bring it about. Even with her uncertainty, emotional unavailability, and aloofness, he remains determined and finds a happy ending with her. So sweet, so patient, so steamy, I loved how he loved her enough to wait for her to realize she loved him too!

All the things that make MM stories wonderful are present in these pages, with our favorite characters shining brightly. This book was incredibly addictive—plan your reading time accordingly, because you won’t want to stop reading. And you know what’s next?! ACE and JULIA!! One-click it now to be ready for release day! I received my ARC from Netgalley and the authors (thank you) and happily leave my review.

I am a Max Monroe fan. I've read many of their books before and will continue to read them. So, I went into this with high expectations, and it did not disappoint! The banter, the chemistry, and the authors handle Lexie's neurodivergence with such care! I highly recommend this book if you want a light, fun read!

This book was so good. Hot young college football star falls first and hard for a neurodivergent genius PHD student.
The journey they go through, and the character development of Lexie was everything. But make no mistake, this is no average college sports romance. The side stories going with their friends and family will have you invested and all in. This is one game you will be happy you played!

Max Monroe books have been a firm favourite of mine since their Billionaire Bad Boy series and this book just made me fall even more in love with them!

Lexi and Blake were just so perfect together. Truly opposites attract. I love how we got to see deeper into how Lexi’s mind works and the way Blake just melts for her. There’s just something about the “he falls first” trope that gets me every time. It was also the perfect balance of laugh out loud moments, spice and drama.

Loved how interlinked all the characters are with previous series! Now I can’t wait to read Ace and Julia’s stories ✨

This was such a sweet and cozy read. I love a boy obsessed and watching logical, analytical-minded Lexi come to terms with this new aspect of her life was so well done. It was so fun to see all of our favorites characters again, even if I'm salty I didn't get to see my main man Kline. Looking forward to Ace and Julia's book.

Read if you like: college romance, opposites attract, sports romance, stem romance, she’s older than him, he falls first, neurodivergent fmc,

I was super hesitant about starting this book because I didn’t like Learning Curve. However, the blurb hooked me in and decided to give it a go anyway. Yeah … I regret it 🥲

This was just not for me, maybe I’m just not into Max Monroe’s college romances. Everyone seems young so I just couldn’t get into any of the characters. I wanted to be sucked into a romance and this wasn’t delivering.
Also this book was so long 😭 like WHY??

This is my second book from these authors and I love it just as much as the first! Both were ARC’s and I feel really lucky. I was able to read both before they came out.
This one is a part of a series and I did not read the first book. I read this one as a standalone. But you can bet I’ve already got the first book queued up on Kindle right now..

I love all the characters and I absolutely love the representation here of autism love (or neurodivergence but I think it’s autism)
It’s very sweetly done
The main guy is so sweet and understand and loyal while letting his girl work through it all even when it’s killing him.

𝒫𝓁𝒶𝓎𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑔𝒶𝓂𝑒𝓈
3 stars ✨
Spice level 🌶️🌶️
_____
“𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘵—𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘯.”

Ok I am currently watching single inferno season 4 and Theo from this show is the greenest green flag of men, kinda make me think of Blake? Not physically, but they are both green flags. They both pursue their love interest even tho they are rejected? Both are attentive and kind. And I reallyyy like Theo from inferno, so Blake being like him is a good things. He’s completely obsessed with her. He’s the football jocks who fallen for the nerdyy girl.

“𝘓𝘦𝘹𝘪 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘻𝘻𝘭𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘱, 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭—𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭.”

Lexi is neurodivergent, she’s a loner and she’s fine with it. Her way of thinking of analyzing everything is funny and special, but not in a bad way. She’s four years older than Blake. When she’s with him she easily forget that the rest of the world exists and that’s not an easy things for her.

“𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘐’𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘣. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘦.”

The book is really fast paced, a little too much for my taste. & really short. I enjoyed it, but it could have been more in depth. The plot only center around Blake and Lexi relationship. We see a lot of side characters, but they feel like they are not doing much? I know Lexi has a way of thinking, but I didn’t like the reasons why they can’t be together. Like girl, you finally find someone you like spending time with & you say no because of his age? The age-gap was only 4 years!

“𝘈𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯.“

Blake and Lexi were so great together. Lexi is about to be a college graduate and has been working on her final and busy running the Double C's. In between everything else that she has going on, she's trying to avoid the campus QB Blake Boden.
Blake has been trying to win Lexi's heart for a long time now, Blake is not sure if Lexi has feelings for anyone because it seems to him, she's not much of a relationship person.. Blake knows he could be setting himself up to be hurt by Lexi but decides to follow his heart. But he also needs to be careful. He handles her in the exact way she needed. Blake showed her his true character when he treated her with such kindness and patience as their relationship grew. They both had to learn to navigate this new relationship.
This was such a warm and fuzzy book from Max Monroe and one u don't want to miss.

I feel pretty neutral about this one. I did enjoy the characters, especially Lexi and her seriousness, but the drama in this wasn’t for me.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book early. I’m still looking forward to read Ace & Julia’s book!

I was thrilled to get the chance to read this ARC through NetGalley...as I read Learning Curve and immediately fell in love with Dickson University and the whole network of characters. Lexi and Blake's story was written so well. Being able to truly get a better look/feel into each of their minds really made me fall in love with each of them separately, and then together. I cannot wait for Julie and Ace's story!