scarr
Written on Mar 9, 2021
A beard-related dare and one hot-as-hell kiss changes everything.
NFL center Ethan Dexter’s focus has always been on playing football and little else. Except when it comes to one particular woman. The lovely Fiona Mackenzie might not care about his fame, but she’s also never looked at him as anything more than one of her brother-in-law’s best friends. That ends now.
Fi doesn’t know what to make of Dex. The bearded, tattooed, mountain of man-muscle looks more like a biker than a football player. Rumor has it he’s a virgin, but she finds that hard to believe. Because from the moment he decides to turn his quiet intensity on her she’s left weak at the knees and aching to see his famous control fully unleashed.
Fi ought to guard her heart and walk away; they live vastly different lives in separate cities. And Dex is looking for a forever girl. But Dex has upped his game and is using all his considerable charm to convince Fi he's her forever man.
Game On
- ISBN10 1519164904
- ISBN13 9781519164902
- Publish Date 1 November 2015
- Publish Status Active
- Imprint Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 322
- Language English
Reviews
Sam@WLABB
Written on Nov 29, 2016
One beard dare, and I was lost.
Ethan was the perfect hero, even if he was not perfect. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and I swooned, I swooned hard. I really liked how Fi and Dex were able to find the best version of themselves by being with each other too. Dex tried not to feel. He suppressed his emotions so as to stay in control. Fiona cut and run every time the going got tough, and ran from commitments, but together, they were better. Dex learned to feel and Fiona found her passion. Best of all, and the number one reason why I love companion novels, is the community of friends. I loved reading about Grey, Ivy, Anna, and Drew again, and I loved that they were so well integrated into this story.
I've been waiting two years for you to see me.
Overall: Loved the romance, and Dex 3!
Kait ✨
Written on Sep 12, 2016
Romance Schmomance
Written on Feb 16, 2016
stacey_is_sassy
Written on Nov 16, 2015
The first time a Tebow was mentioned, I wrote it off as a private joke. I started The Game Plan and I was like - I'll just finish this page and I'll look it up. The second time I came across it was - I'll just finish this chapter... So, you can see how I got to the end of The Game Plan and the author's notes finally prompted me to find out why Ethan Dexter was doing a Tebow. Each to their own and all that jazz, but it's kind of scary that our society is shocked and almost horrified that a 24 year old man chooses to stay pure. Even if you willingly decided to protect your honour, it would be hard to avoid being exposed to the sins of the flesh. The fact that Dex managed to keep his legs crossed that long until he found "the one" shows that you definitely can't judge a book by its cover...cliche anyone???
Poor Fi, this review could easily turn into a homage to the great, sexy and amazingly sweet Ethan, so I'll just say that she's a pretty cool character. Everyone thinks of her as a flighty Tinkerbell, but deep down she's just trying to find her groove. We see her struggle through issues with her work, family and the budding relationship with a famous football star. By the end you can't help but admire her strength and question how you would or could handle what she faced. She is perfect for Ethan.
Ethan Dexter is introduced as...big, muscly, bearded, tattooed, pierced with a man bun...so he ticks all the HOT 'flavour of the moment' boxes. Add in the fact that he's not an egotistical jerk, thinks before he speaks, is a baby whisperer, willing designated driver and can sing...shut up the shop and call it quits...he's the perfect man. Well almost, if Kristen Callihan had made him a gourmet chef, we probably would have thought she'd got her genres mixed up and created a mythical creature. Luckily by the end we realise that Dex has struggled keeping up the perfection and he definitely becomes very real.
The storyline was great and kept me interested from start to finish. I loved the characters both main and supporting and the sexy times were sizzling. To be honest it was hard to find fault in The Game Plan or for that matter the Game On Series. The only reason this wasn't a 5 star read is because the one thing that stood out for me in the first two is the intelligence and control Drew and Gray show. Don't get me wrong, Dex showed the same control in the first two books but in his own we see him "loose it" more than once. I understand why, but unfortunately it still disappointed me. I loved finding stories where the big men knew their size and anger intimidated and stopped before acting out their frustration. This was the first one where he wasn't able to reign it in, words or actions. He doesn't turn on Fi, but she could easily have been hurt as a consequence of his "mantrum".
I love The Game On Series and really hope we get more. I would love to see the hacker get her story told too.
To buy The Game Plan from Amazon - http://amzn.to/1YcL8eH
leelu92
Written on Nov 8, 2015
Ethan Dexter will go down as one of my favorite male MCs from 2015. Big, bad and bearded but with a heart of gold. Fi was... fine and I enjoyed this book more than the previous 2.
EBookObsessed
Written on Nov 2, 2015
We saw the way Dex was staring at Fiona at the party held by Gray and Ivy in The Friend Zone. It was like he found a missing treasure.
In The Game Plan , Ethan Dexter takes his one week vacation break to go stay with Ivy, Gray and their new baby, Leo, and gets a bonus when Fi is also going to be visiting at the same time. (Very impressive for new, sleep deprived parents to take in two houseguests at the same time. That shows just how much they love these two people.)
Although Dex has spent the last two years wanting Fi, he has held himself back as he always does, first because she had a boyfriend and then after they broke up, just…because. On his first night in San Francisco, he is sent by Gray out to the club where Fi is hanging out (by herself?) to check up on her. It takes Fi a moment to realize why the man staring at her looks so familiar but soon thereafter Dex teases Fi into kissing him when she makes comments about his bushy beard. And the sparks fly!
Dex does a 180 in his “I should stay away from Fi” and starts pursuing her immediately, asking her on a date the next morning. Fi acknowledges that she is feeling very interested in Dex but she rightfully has concerns. Dex is such a solid, quiet man. He’s not a hook-up kind of guy. Both Ivy and Gray point out to her that if she starts something with Dex, she better have real interest and not play with him since Dex will no doubt want a relationship with her, not just sex. Deciding to throw her heart completely into a new relationship is one thing, but Fi lives in New York and Dex plays for a team in New Orleans. They would be starting a new relationship at a great disadvantage since they are so far apart. But sparks are flying and they give it a chance.
Their relationship is amazing but each time they get to see each other, the parting and being apart is harder and harder.
We begin to see a change in Dex because of his relationship with Fi. He is spending more time with his new team mates and becoming a part of the conversation and not just sitting back and observing.
When one of Dex’s rivals starts running off his mouth to the press about the rumors that Dex is a virgin (which he was until Fi), the spotlight turns on Dex with women wanting to help him out, and paparazzi and reporters taking pictures. Fi wants to bring their relationship out to the world, but Dex doesn’t want to drag her into a media circus. Being in the limelight was the one thing Fi didn’t want. When Dex’s phone is stolen and private pictures hits the internet, will the ensuing media circus be the end of Fi’s trust is Dex and the end to any future they were trying to fight for?
THOUGHTS:
How could you not love this odd couple of Dex, the big strong, quiet lumberjack of a man, and tiny, tinkerbell Fiona, who is bubbly, chatty and the life of the party? They are such opposites that they are perfect together. It takes a bit for Fi to realize all the things she has noticed over the years about quiet, unassuming Dex, like how he is always in a corner watching everyone around him. It is Fi that starts to drag him into his life rather than just sitting back and observing everyone living theirs.
Dex gives Fi an anchor to hold onto. He is so solid both in stature and in his feelings for her. Dex also points out that Fi isn’t “flighty” as her parents point out to her. She is just searching to find what makes her happy and doesn’t settle for something that won’t. Because of Dex she can finally let go of her fears of disappointing everyone because she doesn’t like her new job. It gives her to confidence to not worry about what other people think of her and she is only concerned how she and Dex think about her and her choices.
I missed the lighthearted, flirty fun that we had with Ivy and Gray, but we know from the beginning the Dex and Fi are just a different dynamic. Dex is more intense and the story wasn’t a where does our relationship stand like Anna/Drew or Ivy/Gray, it was how can we make this work when we are so far apart physically.
You know that I have to love this series since I am not on the list of review copies and had to buy a copy; it only came out on Sunday and I was finished by Monday night, and yes, I skipped it to the top of my giant book list.
I love this group of characters. I don’t know if there is plans for more stories or if she is leaving this as a trilogy. There is no one who stands out as a next chapter except Rolando, who has been with them all since college and is now on the team with Dex. Rolando is gay so that would take us into a m/m romance. Since that is not always popular, I find that authors only throw those into a series when you have become quite invested in both the male characters and need to see them happy. We’ll just have to see who comes along next.
Cocktails and Books
Written on Oct 24, 2015