Title: Fumbled
Series: Playbook #2
Author: Alexa Martin
Genre: Romance
Edition/Pages: Paperback, 336 pages
Goodreads page

Summary

Poppy Patterson moved across the country to live with her aunt when she got pregnant at 16. There she built a life she loves with her son. But the one person who can bring it all crashing down shows up one night at the nightclub where she waitresses.

TK Moore is the NFL’s hottest wide receiver. His life is football, parties, and women. Seeing Poppy for the first time since she disappeared has him questioning everything he thought he wanted.

But with all the secrets they’ve never told each other lying between them, starting a relationship may be more complicated than either of them can handle. 

Overview

➸ POV: 1st Person from Poppy’s POV

➸ Poppy Patterson: Waitress at exclusive nightclub, 9yo son Ace, BFF Sadie, Lived with aunt Maya after getting pregnant

➸ TK Moore: NFL wide receiver for Mustangs, bi-racial, Wealthy family, Hasn’t seen Poppy in 10 years

➸ Content Warnings: Concussions/CTE/Brain injuries, Death of a loved one, Stalking, Harassment, Sexism

My Thoughts

Gah I absolutely love this series!! I honestly have no idea why I waited so long to pick up this sequel, I loved it even more than the first book!

One of the things I love most about this series is the way Alexa Martin addresses some of the more serious and harmful sides of sports. She doesn’t romanticize football or what it’s like to married/dating a professional athlete. She shows how toxic and truly dangerous it can be and I really appreciate that. Her discussion of CTE and sports induced brain injuries is such an important topic that needs to addressed and normalized more.

Poppy is hands down a new all-time favorite heroine of mine! She was such a complex and layered character and I became attached to her immediately. Poppy is extremely strong and independent without becoming unrealistic. I loved that she stood up for herself and never let TK, or anyone else for that matter, take advantage or walk all over her. She knew what she wanted and believed in and never backed down. But she was also kind and sensitive and so damn funny! Her character just had so much personality and leapt right off the page. 

I also love Sadie and Brynn and am so glad that Brynn is the heroine in book 3!! I can’t wait to read her book! 

I liked TK but it was definitely Poppy that stole the spotlight for me. I just connected to her way more and found her character more engaging. But the romantic chemistry was absolutely amazing and their family moments were beyond adorable. I love non-traditional families represented in romance and my heart grew 3 sizes the first time Ace called TK ‘Dad’ 😭

I did think the final conflict was a little brushed over.. I loved the difficult discussions about CTE and concussions but I didn’t love how in the end TK went to a clinic for 4 weeks and everything was magically okay. I personally wanted something acknowledging the extended work and lasting consequences. 

Overall I absolutely adored this book and can’t get enough of this series. I desperately need to read book 3 before Snapped is released in October. If you’re looking for an amazing sports romance series I can’t recommend this one enough!

---

♥♥♥♥