Sacked (Gridiron, #1)

by Jen Frederick

• ISBN10: 151721470X
• ISBN13: 9781517214708
• Publish Date: 4 September 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 396
• Language: English

Reviews

[stacey_is_sassy]

At the core, he’s a romantic.

***4.5 Stars***

Well, I can tell you that Gridiron involves an offensive and a defensive team.

YaY!!

And the crowd goes wild!

Stacey understood ONE thing from reading Sacked.

I love a good romance and add a romantic, sexy and extremely alpha hero and I’m a puddle of goo and very happy. Knox was an AWESOME hero. This man/boy (he’s 21…still a baby in my old eyes) has ticked all my boxes and left me very impressed. Knox is determined, driven and dedicated to succeed in his chosen path. I admire a man that doesn’t let his other brain make his decisions. The biggest heart flutter moment for me though, was when he instantly decided that the beautiful, bright and busty Eliot was his perfect match. Yes, a good old case of insta-lust. I wonder if she would have run for the hills if she’d known what he was thinking the first time they met?

Elliot (poor bugger…that name, her parents were WACKO) has one person in her life that has always been there for her. Ellie’s brother Jack has been her rock, her best friend and the one person she will risk EVERYTHING for. Ellie’s story touched my heart. As a parent myself, I struggled with how her parents shoved such a huge burden on her young, twelve-year-old shoulders. Practically her whole life has been dedicated to making Jack’s life easier…without him knowing it. Imagine her horror when her first chance at happiness is at risk because of a deception that started when she was in middle school.

Knox has been solely focused on his football but when Eliot crashes into his world he realises that there is more to life than football. Yes, he’s still dedicated, but now he realises his happiness is complete with football AND Ellie in his life.

Ellie has dedicated so much of her time to Jack because of her love for him but you can tell that there is also a degree of 'begging for approval' from her parents. Every child wants to be loved and accepted but in Ellie's case it was an unattainable goal. When Knox becomes an important part of her life she realises that she needs to make some changes and one of them is facing Jack with the truth of her duplicity.

Knox and Ellie are a perfect match…eventually. We have some dramas that need to be addressed before they can find their happy ever after. I was sucked into their love story from the very first word. Knox is my kind of man. His devotion is never questionable and his love for Ellie shone through with his kind and thoughtful gestures. I loved that, because of her understanding of football and knowledge of the obligations tied to being an elite athlete, Ellie is perfect for Knox. She has her own life, understands that he can’t be with her 24/7 and accommodates his sore muscles by “taking the lead”, “controlling the play” and “riding the bronco” when needed. ;-)

I really enjoyed Sacked. I have come to realise that New Adult (genre) set in a College environment doesn’t seem to send me as bonkers. Maybe it’s the talent of the authors that makes College romance more appealing??? I kind of have a feeling it has more to do with the fact that these young peoples can mix their hi-jinx and shenanigans with dedication to education and sports/music/drama/activites. Unfortunately, when the characters lack direction and purpose the book seems to lack direction and purpose to me too. Sacked gets it right.

Sacked ticked all my boxes by making me smile, squirm, snort and smirk. This was an awesome start to my Gridiron marathon and I’m happy to say that Jockblocked is locked and loaded.



I’m an Aussie chick who loves to read and review romance, drink coffee, be a Style Setter and stalk David Gandy. To see more of my reviews, fashion, food and pervathons -

[Sam@WLABB]

A fun, flirty, NA sports romance with a lot of heart. I instantly fell in love with Knox, who wouldn't. Just when you thought he is your typical jock, he surprises you. Yes, I loved Knox, but I could not help but root for Ellie. She had so many reasons to just climb in a hole and have a pity party, but she didn't. I wanted her to feel special and to believe that she was worth Knox's love and adoration. I really enjoyed the family and team dynamics, and with some of those pep talks, I wanted to be a warrior. Looking forward to more Gridiron books.

[leelu92]

I’ve kind of gone back and forth about this book. I don’t know that I can narrow it down to a rating. I’m a football girl, born and bred, so this plot appeals to me greatly. I grew up on University of Georgia football, I was at games when I was six years old! I married a college football player and my son plays football. We are truly a football family. So, I get this world.

I liked Knox, he could’ve been a real ass but he was actually quite humble. Ellie was pretty cool especially for a new adult novel. Sometimes female new adult characters can be ridiculously self-involved and highly annoying. Ellie had a lot on her plate with school and her family and Knox was an interesting detour for her. While I was reading this, we started watching the new season of HBO’s Hard Knocks – featuring the Houston Texans. Enter, JJ Watt. Oh yeah. I’ve always liked him and thanks to Hard Knocks and Jen Fredericks, he was front and center in my brain as Knox Masters.


Ohhhh yeah. Like Maria Rose mentioned, there was an issue within Ellie’s family that was I was not crazy about how it was handled. (Basically, because her parents are giant assholes) I have a similar issue in my family, so I have a different point of view I guess. I realize that was all cryptic, but I don’t want to spoil. There was A LOT of sex. (Not that there is anything wrong with that.) Once Knox realized that Ellie was the one for him, he broke the virginity seal with her and it was on like pornographic Donkey Kong. Holy moly, there was some serious screwing going on with these two. To be honest, the sex almost eclipsed the emotional aspect of their relationship for me. I guess I would’ve enjoyed them spending more time developing their relationship outside of the bedroom. Granted there were some extenuating circumstances when it came to them spending time together…but still.

Aside from allll the sex, I enjoyed this book and I definitely want to read more in this series. I want to read about Knox’s teammates and I want his brother and Ellie’s brother, Jack, to get his own book.

Rating? 3.75 – 4 stars 🙂

[Rowena]

I hadn’t heard of this book before getting it for review but I’m all about sports romances and contemporary NA’s so I was all about reading this one. I’m so glad that I did because Jen Frederick brought the heat with this one. At every turn, I was hit with the feels and I even had to put the book down because I thought I was going to burst out of my body, I was so anxious about what was going on in the story.

Eliot Campbell, Ellie for short wasn’t dealt a good parents card. They were pretty terrible parents to both her and her brother Jack so for as long as she can remember, they’ve always had each other’s backs. Jack took care of Ellie and Ellie took care of Jack. That followed them to college, where they both attend the same University. There isn’t a thing that they wouldn’t do for each other and you see Ellie struggle with the things she did to help Jack succeed. Things Jack didn’t know about. Things that started with her mother blackmailing her to do. You see, Jack has trouble learning things. He’s a whiz with math but really struggles with English and History. So Ellie helps him…without his knowledge. She feels guilty about it because she wants him to get help for his learning disability but she’s too chicken to approach him again about getting tested so she continues to do what she can to make sure he can play football.

Knox Masters is the big man on campus. He’s on the football team and he’s a beast on the field. There isn’t a Quarterback that isn’t scared of getting sacked by Masters and he’s got big plans for the NFL. He’s been so busy keeping his eye on the NFL prize that he’s keep distractions at bay and that’s the reason he’s a junior in college and still a virgin. He’s never met a girl that he wanted to lose his virginity to until he meets his teammates sister, Ellie Campbell. Soon, the guy that turned down every girl that tried to hook up with him is in pursuit of the one girl that won’t give him the time of day.

It’s not that Ellie isn’t attracted to him. She’s still smarting from the last time she dated one of her brothers teammates and hasn’t finished feeling guilty about everything that happened after that disastrous relationship.
It doesn’t stop Knox from pursuing her though. He knows that she wants him just as much as he wants her and he’s not about to walk away from her, especially since he knows that she’s the one. The way he knows she’s the one??? The test that he conducts with his brother??? Hilarious.

This book was a good one. From beginning to end, I was wrapped up in what was going on. I really came to love both Knox and Ellie. I loved seeing them fall for each other and even though I wanted to smack some sense into Ellie in the beginning, when she finally gets her shit together and lets herself be with Knox, I was so glad. They were good together. They were true partners and their romance steamed up my iPad good. The chemistry between the two of them was scorching and I loved it all.

I’m crossing my fingers and hoping against hope that there will be more books in this series. I’m really hoping that Jack gets a book. Hammer, Ace and Matty too. And Ty, of course. Ty’s got to have his turn testing his girl. But I really, really want Jack’s book. Jack and Riley? Ty and Riley? I’m not sure who I want Riley with yet but I want her to get a book too and I want her with either Jack or Ty.

There was much to like in this book. It’s filled with lots of love, loyalty and strong friendships. It’s a book that had me laughing one minute, cheering the next and then choked up the minute after that. Frederick weaved a great story about two people coming together in love and doing what they must to stay together. The cast of characters were fantastic additions and that’s why I want a book for every single one of them. They were that awesome. You should pick this book up. This was definitely one of Frederick’s best releases yet. Prepare to be hit with all of the feels and love every minute of it.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5