Fumbled

February 25, 2019
In the second installment of the Playbook series, Martin (Intercepted) tells the witty, sexy, fun side of what happens when high school sweethearts try to rekindle a romance after living very different lives for 10 years. Single mom Poppy is a waitress at a club, trying to support her son, Ace. When NFL football star Trevor Kyle “TK” Moore shows up one night, Poppy is forced to face the last time she saw him and why she left. She was pregnant, and thought TK believed she’d had an abortion; she now realizes he may not have known about her pregnancy at all. As she adjusts to dating an NFL star, and TK adjusts to being a dad, Poppy’s friends use wine, laughs, and sass to help her navigate fans, gossip blogs, and difficult football wives. When TK is faced with a decision that shapes his future in the NFL, it also decides their future together. Readers will laugh, swoon, and grow to love every character in this entertaining contemporary romance. Agent: Jessica Watterson, Dijkstra Agency.

February 15, 2019
A hardworking single mom comes face to face with the gorgeous star athlete who got away in the second installment of a football romance series by a fresh-voiced newcomer to the genre.Poppy Patterson doesn't love her job as a scantily clad server at a nightclub in downtown Denver, but she loves the way it supports her as a single mother to 9-year-old Ace. Ten years have passed since Poppy, pregnant and abandoned by her family, fled Indiana to raise her son and try, unsuccessfully, to forget his father. TK, the famously fun-loving starting wide receiver for the Denver Mustangs, never understood why Poppy left him back in high school, since she never told him she was pregnant. When they run into each other at the club, their sizzling attraction is just as strong as ever: "TK unravels me in ways I thought impossible. I've lived such a guarded, half-life for so many years, he's a shock to my system." Poppy questions her past decisions as she and TK try to work their relationship out. Martin (Intercepted, 2018) expertly parlays her experience as the spouse of a former NFL player into compelling scenes not just of big games, but of lesser-explored preseason matchups, training camp, and the social dynamics Poppy must face as the new girlfriend of the star player. Poppy leaps off the page as a contemporary biracial woman navigating dating, motherhood, and career with seriousness and a fantastic sense of humor. TK's character is less distinct, partly due to the novel's deep first-person point of view. Martin sets up some big-stakes tropes--reunited lovers, secret baby--but they lack the emotional payoff readers expect because she rushes through them to set up even more. By the time Poppy throws up yet another barrier in Chapter 37, readers might be tempted to give up as well.A strong female lead, laugh-out-loud scenes, and an authentic pro-football setting are offset by an overstuffed romance plot that makes this more of a field goal than a touchdown.

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Starred review from April 1, 2019
Single-mom Poppy Patterson is barely making ends meet when her high-school sweetheart, TK Moore, who disappeared soon after she became pregnant, shows up at the Denver nightclub where she works. Famous for his looks and talent, the starting wide receiver for the Denver Mustangs has scads of money, fans, and women, but what he's been missing for the past 10 years is the woman standing in front of him stuffed into a too-small corset. Poppy wants to hate him, but the sparks between them are undeniable, so now she must tell TK about their son, Ace, and brace herself for the big letdown. But TK wants in, and Poppy is cautiously optimistic. They take their time merging their lives together while dealing with people who want to tear them apart as well as TK's risky profession. Martin expertly captures the struggle between the need for a quiet, ordinary life and the demands of an all-star career path that invites gossip, grudges, and jealousy. In this delicious follow-up to Intercepted (2016), Martin once again draws on her own experience as an NFL wife to create a winning sports romance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

May 24, 2019

In this follow-up to Martin's NFL-spiced debut, Intercepted, Poppy Patterson moved far from home when she was 16 and pregnant and now has a steady job while tending to her young son alone. Then she encounters her old flame, TK Moore, the starting wide receiver for the Denver Mustangs, and has a second chance at love. It's just that they have some secrets to share. From the wife of two-time Super Bowl champion Derrick Martin; an own-voices romance starring an interracial couple.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.