This book did take a while to get to the romance story, as the characters did build a relationship as friends first. But it worked and IMO it was necessary. The characters ended up needing to have the fake engagement in large part due to a series of events caused by the notoriety of the hero. The author used the reputation of the hero to put the characters in the position they were in and the time while building up the romance to allow the heroine and the readers to get a feel for who the hero really was. It worked. 3 1/2 stars - Football player with yummy abs, you know it!First Impressions...I love football. I love romance stories with football players. I love pretend relationships that become more. So, yeah, this one sounded great.The Characters...I love Brandon. Never saw his player side just the sweet side. He may not have been looking for a relationship when he scooped Emily up and took her to the hospital after her fall but he sure found one. He took care of her. He made her laugh. He stood up to her diva ways. What really won me over was how he was always so quiet and controlled when he was angry. I actually think that's more scary than yelling and it impressed me.Emily really is a diva but her opera singing ways are pretty fun mixed with an NFL defensive end. I did want to shake her a few times but she got over it eventually. She does need to learn some football though. This football lover was not pleased with her lack of plays.Emily's parents where strange. Her dad mostly annoyed me but I did love her sister. She's the star of book two so that should be fun.The Story... Mostly I enjoyed this story. There was this strange quality to it that had me tilting my head and staring at my iPad. Honestly, the story felt like it was a month long but actually spanned about a year. The story was stretched to fit and I felt like I missed things along the way. Two weeks would go by and the only real indication was the phrase "two weeks later". I just found it odd that this couple in this situation would have nothing noteworthy in two weeks. I guess I either wanted it to last a month or wanted to know the details.Could I Put It Down...I raced through the first half of this book. It's a long one at 496 pages but the first half zipped by. The second half was a little harder. That's the time when I noticed the passage of time issue I was having. I'm thinking that the book could have lost a hundred pages and been a lot better. But in the end, I did read it in two nights.In The End...I enjoyed Brandon and Emily's story. The incident where the boy scouts found them was pretty darn hysterical. People who love sports players with yummy abs mixed into their romance will love this one.
Cute but way too long. And really, sharing a bed without smexy times?
—SoME3
I'm confused... So was the baby his?
—tinku
I love most football romance.
—Shazy
3 1/2 stars! A cute read!
—Jackie
It's cute :)
—TriciaMarieAd
