Fumbled

Sexy, smart, funny; this is chicklit gold. Poppy has toughed it out as a single mom for nine years after her high school sweetheart said he was too young to be a dad. She had the kid in secret and has moved on with her life. That is until she runs into him at the nightclub she works at. When she hired on two years ago she was told that the city's NFL team never came in - well it looks as if that streak ended and now she has to deal with her football god baby daddy. He's sexy, famous, and a millionaire too boot, plus he still loves her! After ten years! The only thing is - he doesn't even know that he has a kid. What can go wrong? Cheesy, wonderful, and all around great. This second book in the Playbook series is just as good as the show more first one. I can't wait to get to the 3rd! show less

Every now and again, you need to read a sweet and sexy romance! Fumbled fits the bill. Poppy Patterson is a single mother to Ace, and is trying to make ends meet as a cocktail waitress at the Emerald Cabaret. All is going well until TK Moore walks back into her life. TK is Poppy's high school sweetheart, father of Ace (although he doesn't know it) and super hot football star.
The story is funny and sad and happy and sexy. It has great scenes between TK and Poppy, both funny and serious. It has great girl friendship scenes where Poppy's friends have her back in every situation. It has jealousy and love.
I really enjoyed Poppy and all her thoughts and emotions. I loved the way TK treated Poppy and Ace. I also appreciated the author's show more awareness of CTE and concussion, as well as the brain damage caused by all the hits in football. This needs to have more and more attention.
Although I am not a football fan, I do look forward to reading more of the Playbook series by Alexa Martin. The stories are smart, sexy, and sassy, with a lot of heart and humor.
#Fumbled #AlexaMartin show less

As a woman of many interests, including football and contemporary romance books, it was really fun to read a book that brought them together. I really enjoyed Martin's style of writing. She was witty and although the book covered some difficult topics, she kept it light. Of course, it was a feel good book which means it had a feel good ending. Even though this book is about a relationship between a football player and a single mom, you don't have to necessarily be a huge football fanatic to enjoy it, just like how you don't have to be a single mom. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a short, light, romantic read that is perfect for the summer. I'm looking forward to reading more of Martin's books.

Intercepted was one of my surprise favorites of last year, and the only reason it took me this long to read Fumbled is because I read some mixed reviews and I didn’t want to be disappointed by the author. I finally decided to pick it up and thanks to my much lowered expectations, it turned out to be an okay read.

The author impressed me a lot in her debut because the characters were well fleshed out and the plot was both deep and entertaining. That same spark was missing a bit in this sophomore attempt. While I do like the second chance romance trope because it can make for some good angst, there wasn’t that much of it here. The issues never felt more than superficial, everything getting resolved a bit too quickly and not letting the show more emotions build up in me as a reader. The pacing of the story felt too rushed, so I wasn’t feeling convinced by anything that was happening. I guess I just wanted the characters to breathe and think a little before jumping headlong into every decision. There were also multiple subplots like the stalker and evil mother which added nothing to the story and weren’t resolved properly. The one good thing I liked which had some proper emphasis was about the consequences of playing a sport like football and how repeated head injuries can lead to long term brain related ailments like CTE, but I definitely would have enjoyed more if this aspect was a little more fleshed out.

Poppy is a very fierce and sassy protagonist and I mostly liked her. She is a hard working single mom who is doing everything she can to give a good upbringing for her child and I admired her for it. She also never takes any bullshit and stands up for herself, which reminded me a bit of Marlee. But when it comes to TK, she became a totally different person. TK is a great guy and wants to be involved in his son’s life completely and I liked him a lot for it. But the author was not able to convince me why it was so easy for them to get together immediately despite a decade long separation. While I was totally rooting for the family to be together, I think the couple never took enough time to get to know each other better after all these years.

Ace is an adorable little nine year old, appropriately mischievous for his age but also very well sorted and polite on other occasions. I loved his relationship with his mother and the easy way he bonded with his dad. But I definitely would have liked to see more of the three of them together. The girl gang in this book is amazing too with some new additions. Sadie and Vonnie are both dramatic af but they brought a lot of laughs to the proceedings and I liked that Poppy was able to find her own tribe whom she could rely on for support. And I’m very very excited that the next book is going to be about the amazing Brynn.

While this book turn out to be as fun as it’s predecessor, it’s still an okay one time read. You can definitely give it a try if you like a second chance romance with a secret baby trope. I thought the book was kinda rushed but I didn’t get bored and I’m definitely looking forward to the final book of the trilogy. show less

4.5 stars.

Fumbled by Alexa Martin is a humorous second chance at love romance. Although this latest release is the second book in the Playbook series, it can easily be read as a standalone.

Poppy Patterson is a hard-working single mother of nine year old Ace. Although she's not crazy about her job as a waitress in a nightclub, she is a hard worker who is doing what she has to do to support her family. Poppy has never quite gotten over Ace's dad, Trevor Kyle "TK" Moore so when he suddenly re-enters her life, she finds herself in a bit of quandary. Although there is never any question of keeping him from Ace, she is a bit hesitant to tell him about the son he never wanted. Poppy is also uncertain about risking her heart on him again, but show more will TK convince her to take a chance on him?

Poppy is an incredibly likable character. She is refreshingly honest, upbeat and quite sassy. Poppy is fiercely protective of Ace but she is also incredibly soft-hearted when it comes to her son. She has every reason to be wary of TK's sudden reappearance in her life. However, Poppy realizes right away that TK has been "the one" but she is uncertain how he will react to Ace. Due to her past, she finds it difficult to count on anyone but herself. Will Poppy be able to let TK completely into her life and heart?

TK is a fun-loving man who does not take anything or anyone too seriously. He does not do long term relationships but he is fiercely loyal to his friends. He is absolutely stunned when he meets Poppy again and he immediately sets out to convince her to date him again. However, he is not initially receptive to her news that he has a son. Will TK welcome Ace into his life? TK has never gotten over losing Poppy, but will she be open to starting over with him?

Fumbled is a witty romance that is fast-paced and engrossing. TK and Poppy are wonderful characters who are quite endearing despite their flaws. Poppy's concerns about becoming involved with TK are well-founded. When TK's football career comes between them, will Poppy persuade him to take her fears seriously?

An outstanding romance that old and new fans of Alexa Martin's Playbook series are sure to enjoy. show less

This one was my least favourite of the four--perhaps because I read it last? I struggled to not see the formula here, especially when a few of the synonyms were exactly the same as in other books. This one also felt extremely neat--there wasn't ever really a big conflict.

Could only get through 45 mins of this. At times I thought, yes, this is going to make it to Fresh, as in Rotten Tomatoes. But it didn't. It was still cliched.