Home Field Advantage by Liz Lincoln

Home Field Advantage (Milwaukee Dragons, #3)

by Liz Lincoln

Is the Dragons’ new wide receiver: A) a fallen NFL star looking for a comeback, B) the sexy player your boss wants you to write an exposé on, or C) the former love of your life?
 
For Milwaukee Dragons beat reporter Natalie Griffith, he’s clearly D) all of the above. Three years ago, Natalie’s bombshell report on her ex-boyfriend’s off-the-field scandals landed her the job she loves, but she still feels guilty about destroying his career. Now Quinn Lowry’s back, and he’s taking over her locker room, flashing his charming smile and reminding her exactly how hot they were together.
 
After two years out of the league, Quinn is sober and on the field again. He’s worked his ass off and he’s not going to blow his second chance, not even for the woman who broke his heart—twice. Having Natalie around is the last thing Quinn needs while he’s trying to prove he deserves to stay on the team.
 
Maybe one final night together will give them both some much-needed closure. But with Natalie’s boss pressuring her for another headline-grabbing scoop, can she admit to herself that she’s falling for Quinn all over again?

Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on

4 of 5 stars

Share
Rating: 3.5 Stars

I am all about second chances, and this story was filled with them.

Quinn and Natalie thought they were each others' forever, but after Natalie left Quinn in the middle of the night without explanation, and then years later, wrote an expose on him, they both imagined the door to their relationship was sealed forever. But, eight years after their breakup, Quinn was making his NFL comeback, and Natalie was a sport reporter working closely with his team. Both Natalie and Quinn found that the head and the heart were not totally in agreement, when it came to their relationship.

Let me just warn you - there is a LOT of "we should/we shouldn't" in this one. Sometimes that makes me do a hard eye-roll, but a very plausible case was built to support both characters' reticence regarding rekindling their romantic ties in this book. At times, I just wanted them to do a sit down and clear the air, but I thought Lincoln did a good job distracting me from my wait by showing me pieces of their past, and that is one of my favorite things about a second chance romance. I love learning about the couple's history, and I got to see the good, the bad, and the ugly in this one, which were also intertwined with pieces of each characters' personal past.

Quinn was also getting a second chance career wise. Here he was, two years after his drug and alcohol addiction was revealed, playing for an NFL team. In addition to the everyday struggles elite athletes face, he also had to fight cravings and dodge his past, which was made more difficult with his ex seemingly everywhere. I know I was rooting for Quinn to not only reconcile with Natalie, but to achieve great things on the field.

A few other things I enjoyed:

• I loved that Quinn and Natalie shared not only a love for classic cars, but a penchant for restoring said cars. It was fun spending time with them as they retooled a few engines.
• I enjoyed getting to know Matt better. I already knew bits and pieces about him from the previous books, but here, a lot more was revealed of the QB. His cooking and his daughters made me smile, but the situation with his wife really grabbed my interest, and I am hoping that couple will be featured in a future book.
• Natalie thought she was living her dream, but she was starting to see that the expectations for female sports reporters was not the same as for their male counterparts. I appreciated that Lincoln included this in the book, and I loved where she had Natalie's career heading at the end of the story.
• I am also a fan of bromances, and the one between Matt and Quinn was great. They shared some pretty meaningful moments, and that one out on the field was probably one of my favorites.

Overall: The Milwaukee Dragons series continues to entertain me. I found myself rooting for this couple as they worked through their past in hopes of building a future together, and cannot wait to catch up with them in future installments of this series.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 6 July, 2019: Finished reading
  • 6 July, 2019: Reviewed