INTERCEPTED (PLAYBOOK #1)

Marlee thought she scored the man of her dreams only to be scorched by a bad breakup. But there's a new player on the horizon, and he's in a league of his own...

Marlee Harper is the perfect girlfriend. She's definitely had enough practice by dating her NFL-star boyfriend for the last ten years. But when she discovers he has been tackling other women on the sly, she vows to never date an athlete again. There's just one problem: Gavin Pope, the new hotshot quarterback and a fling from the past, has Marlee in his sights.

Gavin fights to show Marlee he's nothing like her ex. Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to let her escape her past. The team's wives, who never led the welcome wagon, are not happy with Marlee's return. They have only one thing on their minds: taking her down. But when the gossip makes Marlee public enemy number one, she worries about more than just her reputation.

Between their own fumbles and the wicked wives, it will take a Hail Mary for Marlee and Gavin's relationship to survive the season. 

Release Date: September 11, 2018

Berkley Penguin Group

Playbook #1

Contemporary Sports Romance

Review copy provided by publisher 

Liza's Review: 

Intercepted is the debut release from author Alexa Martin and is the first book in her Playbook series. When Intercepted starts, Marlee Harper is happily in a relationship with her boyfriend of 10 year, Chris Alexander, who she quickly discovers has been cheating on her and she is forced to move home with pretty much only her clothes and a few other items in the house, as Chris the asshole bought everything, including her car, and won't let her take anything with her. Luckily for Marlee, Gavin Pope had come home with Chris and was there to help her out when she needed to leave. Of course the fact that Gavin is also the man Marlee had a one-night stand with 4 years ago when she and Chris were on a break was pretty funny and convenient.

While I did end up liking Marlee in the end, she was pretty immature for most of the book. I get there are mean girls everywhere, but it seemed like anyone Marlee wasn't friends with all ended up being portrayed as totally bitches. I'm not saying some of the women were two-faced and total bitches, but I just find it hard to believe that only one woman in the group could end up being a nice person other than Marlee. 

I did like the romance between Marlee and Gavin, but hated it took her so long to stop comparing Gavin to Chris. Gavin was an honest hard working man who knew what he wanted and did what it took to get what he wanted. I loved he was willing to take things slow with Marlee, especially after she went radio-silent with him, but was there as soon as she needed him again. Gavin and Marlee had really amazing chemistry and I did like them as a couple. I just wish Marlee were more mature. I really do think that was my biggest issue with this book. Marlee was a fun character and had amazing wit and talent, yet almost still seemed like she was still the high school girlfriend through much of the book. Maybe it was because she started dating her ex while they were in high school and their relationship was so much like a couple of high school kids even at the end. I'm not saying Gavin was perfect, but he was more mature than Marlee through most of the book. He did mess up in a major way in my opinion and I absolutely agreed with exactly what Marlee did to make him understand what she needed. 

Intercepted was a tough read for me. It seemed to drag on at times and while I did like many of the characters, there were others that were so horrible, I struggled not to DNF this book a couple of times. Add in not one but two could-be physical attacks on Marlee at various times, and it made it even harder for me to keep reading. However, I needed to see if Marlee would grow up and be the person I knew she could be, and I was glad to see I was right. I do plan on reading the second book in this series when it is released later this year. 

Rating: 3.5 Stars (B-)