One of PopSugar’s Best Romances of OctoberWith the stakes this high, it’s no longer just a game for the Mustang’s quarterback in this romance by the author of Blitzed. Elliot Reed is living her best life—or pretending to. She owes it to her dad’s memory to be happy and make the most of her new job as Strategic Communications Manager for the Denver Mustangs. Things are going well until star … Things are going well until star quarterback Quinton Howard Jr. decides to use the field as his stage and takes a knee during the national anthem.
As the son of a former professional athlete, Quinton knows the good, the bad, and the ugly about football. He’s worked his entire life to gain recognition in the sport, and now that he has it, he’s not about to waste his chance to change the league for better. Not even the brilliant but infuriating Elliot, who the Mustangs assign to manage him, will get Quinton back in line.
A rocky initial meeting leads to more tension between Quinton and Elliot. But as her new job forces them to spend time together, Elliot realizes they may have more in common than she could’ve imagined. With her job and his integrity on the line, this is one coin toss that nobody can win.
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While I returned to the Denver Mustangs and their stories, “Snapped” focused on Elliot’s and Quinton’s stories. Elliot has just snagged her dream job but will it come crashing down when she is asked to personally manage Quinton. Elliot also juggles how to be true to her identity and herself while managing her role and friendships. The story covers some hard but important topics and I appreciated Alexa Martin’s note at the beginning to give a little more insight. I also enjoyed returning to the Lady Mustangs as they support and learn from each other.
Yes, this book is more political than the others in the series. Yet the author handles the complex topics with the seriousness they deserve and the humor I’ve come to know and love from her. Personally, I am on board with Quinton’s stance, so I enjoyed this book immensely. As far as romance goes, I love how Quinton and Elliot’s relationship progresses from a rocky one, to a strong friendship, to something deeper.
Fourth in the series. The issues of the older retired NFL players is the most serious topic covered in the series.
I worked my way through the Playbook Series in February. By the time I got to book four, I felt like I really knew the Lady Mustangs and a few of the players. Snapped introduces two new characters. Elliot Reed just started a new job as Strategic Communications Manager for the Denver Mustangs and Quinton Howard Jr. is the Mustang’s quarterback.
The book starts with a prologue from Quinton’s perspective about his decision to kneel during the national anthem and cover his league logo. Once he actually does this, Elliot is assigned to help manage him and fix the PR problem. These two have a not-so-cute meet cute that made me yell at Quinton! They end up having an up and down relationship, trying to figure each other out. While Elliot is struggling to understand Quinton, she also realizes that his actions are causing her to re-evaluate her thoughts about her culture, her choices, and what part she can play in confronting racism.
Snapped covers some really important topics like players taking a knee, racism, biracial cultural concerns, and the treatment of retired football players. But Alexa Martin knows how to do that while making us laugh, cry and virtually hug the Lady Mustang crew. The ladies in this book are the girlfriends you want to have in your corner. Vonnie, oh Vonnie, her part in this book is just amazing. I need more Vonnie. Snapped made me really think while also entertaining me with a fun and steamy romance.
Although this could be read as a standalone book, the characters build in each book so it’s best to read the series in order.
Best for Last!
My love for Fumbled, book 2 in the Playbook series, is well documented but Snapped just went ahead a stole my heart!
Elliot is trying to find her place at her new dream job, part of the PR staff for the Denver Mustangs, which is really just an extension of how’s she’s felt most of her life. Quinton is tired of keeping his head down when he knows he needs to fight for those who are being ignored.
I love a good meet cute gone soooo wrong and Elliot and Quinton’s is perfection, surpassed only by their very delicious slow burn as they get to know each other and fall for each other! I mean Halloween and the Diet Cokes?! *sigh*
But at its heart Snapped is about deciding what you’re willing to fight for: your friends and family, your marriage, what is right vs what is easy, identify, and love. Alexa Martin’s authors note is a must read as she sets the stage for the reader by sharing her inspiration, goal, and personal connection to the story.
And while I’m DYING for Vonnie’s story (and okay let’s face it I want more glimpses at Poppy and TK and their adorable kids) this is a fabulous ending to an excellent series….although maybe it can just be the the end for now and we get Vonnie’s story later
I stayed up until 3am reading SNAPPED because I could not put it down – and I regret NOTHING. I’d say it’s Alexa Martin’s best yet, but singling out one as the “best” feels so wrong when they’re all so amazing. The quick wit. The depth of emotion. The LADY MUSTANGS.
Also, Diet Coke is my love language.
Alexa slays as always with the newest book in this series. The Playbook series is a top read for me every time.
This is the final novel in this series and I am in love with it. I wish we were getting more! I adore sports romance and this series is the perfect read for me. It has the sexy and the funny. Rom com at its best.
This book did bring the feels though guys. It was amazing and I loved every word of it. It had everything in a perfect blend. The characters were perfect and I swooned over them as expected. They also felt more relatable in this read for me than the previous novels. This will be the type of read you either love or hate, but if its the book or you then it will really resonate with you.
Alexa Martin manages to achieve a near-impossible task in romance series: producing a book that is clearly from the same voice, related enough to its predecessors to seriously be considered a series, but also had a unique, new plot that doesn’t regurgitate ideas from its firsts-in-series. There’s only so many romance tropes, and when you combine that with the universe of professional football, the options dwindle more, so color me majorly impressed by this original addition to the series.
I truly love all the characters in this series (and book), with side characters Donny and Vonnie (never noticed they rhymed before…) totally capturing my heart. Each character is so thought-through with their own quirks and backstories that are provided to us in a natural way. Elle and Quinton are no exception. When Quinton decided to take a stand by kneeling during the National Anthem at a game and taping over the league logo on his jersey, the team’s PR manager, Elle, is forced to work with him. Of course, Quinton can’t help but get off on completely the wrong foot…
As much as I loved this book, I saw two major drawbacks. One, I think the issues of kneeling for racial equality and taping over the league logo in protest of the league’s treatment of players got a little muddled. I would have preferred Martin had picked one of the two issues to provide a clearer storyline and stance. Second, I absolutely loved the Vonnie subplot. Not that it’s happy, but I’m glad it’s something being addressed. Women shouldn’t feel like they can only be one thing (a mother, a careerwoman) and men shouldn’t be so insecure they feel the need to make their women dependent on them. Great subplot! HOWEVER, I don’t feel Vonnie got the ending to her story she and we deserve. All I can hope for is that this means Vonnie gets the fifth book??? WILL THERE BE A FIFTH BOOK? HUH, BERKLEY? If Vonnie gets the next book, fantastic, this was the perfect set-up, but if not, it felt unfinished. I would be HERE for Vonnie getting a second-chance romance reunion (love that trope) or a new flame–JUST GIVE ME MORE VONNIE.
Also, I highly recommend reading the Author’s Note at the beginning. I don’t typically read Author’s Notes, but when they’re placed before the story it seems like the author really wants us to read it. I truly appreciate Martin sharing a little bit more of her personal story with us, and it influenced how I read the story.
5 Stars – 9/10
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for my free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
I have been reading this series since the first book released a couple years ago. Each book follows a different player’s love interest. I have mostly enjoyed this series. It’s nice to read books that aren’t so cliche’.
I think I should just dive right in here. If you are a reader looking for a book that hits the current climate on things going on in our country right now with sports, this book is probably for you. If you’re like me, and you prefer to not have books reflect current real life things so closely and want to read to escape all of it, then this one might not be for you.
I tried really hard with this book. I didn’t like the characters. The plot was too close to real-life in a time where I just want to read to escape reality. Did I mention I didn’t like the characters? When you mix the inability to read this book as an escape and a dislike for the main characters, you have a book that you are struggling to finish. You have a book that takes you days to finish instead of hours.
I kept my rating in the middle range because the book isn’t necessarily written poorly. It’s not. I kept the rating in the middle because for the right reader, it’s a good book. For me, it’s just meh.
I was so excited when I saw that Alexa Martin had another book releasing in the Playbook series. I devoured her first three books and couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one!
I love how the author writes. It always grabs my attention and has me flying through the pages. She writes such colorful characters that I can so easily picture in my head.
While I have loved the first three books (they are all standalones, you can easily pick any book in the series and start there and be 100% fine!), I was pleased to see that this book dealt with current social issues. I know that some people may take issue with that for various reasons, but me — it made me love Snapped that much more! It is important for people to be able to see the struggles that others face with racism, identity, and taking a stand for something they believe in.
The characters and secondary characters are what make these books so special. I want to be able to hang with the girls at HERS (the super cool bar) and would love to have friends that really stand by me and are so invested in things working out for me. And that is what these women share — a true sisterhood.
For me, this book had it all — great characters, tension, romance, emotion, strong bonds of sisterhood, timely issues such as racism, and of course, football — all wrapped up in a sexy story that will keep you entranced from start to finish.
And yes, Alexa Martin, I definitely felt “the love and heart” that you put into this book. Thank you!