What happens when an almost thirty-year-old virgin agrees to let her Scottish footballer best friend give her some lessons in seduction? Lots of banter, awkwardness, jealousy, and heat. Midfielder Maclay “Mac” Logan is a loud-mouthed, tattooed ginger content with focusing on football. But when an adorable, freckled seamstress comes barreling into his life, he finds Netflix-And-Bickering with her … Netflix-And-Bickering with her to be his new favorite pastime.
Freya Cook is used to being the invisible woman with a needle and thread, offering cheeky punchlines as she helps dress London’s finest. She’s plus-sized in body and spirit, and other than her friendship with Mac, talking to the opposite sex is one skill she never mastered.
However, after one innocent game of Never Have I Ever, Mac offers to play Love Coach for Freya.
What neither of them see coming are the feelings that develop when the clothes come off.
Now they’re both about to learn the biggest lesson of all: Don’t fall in love with your best friend.
Blindsided is a full length (97,000 words) contemporary rom-com standalone with a sports theme.
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A great read. More than a few times I laughed out loud (mostly in public). I thoroughly enjoyed the banter between Mac and Freya, as well as the cast of characters. Best moment was the hemming of the kilt. When you stop breathing because you’re laughing so hard, you know the book is good.
This book was EVERYTHING!!! I enjoyed every page from start to finish!! Romantic with all the laughs and feels. If you want something to get you out of your funk this is it. Freya was snarky and sassy even with all her insecurities which Mac was quite sure of himself and his Loch Ness Monster!!
Was this book perfect? NO! It did exactly what I wanted it to though, it made me laugh and that is something worth mentioning.
This book kept coming up in ads for me. I felt like the world was repeatedly telling me that this was a book I needed to read. The world was not wrong! I think I found this book at just the right time. Reading a romance book with a lead female that isn’t super thin was just what I needed. It’s so refreshing to read books where the man actually likes a woman to be more than stick thin. After all, aren’t we all beautiful?
The setting for this book is London. This aspect of the book proved to add a whole slew of new slang words for me. Some times I wasn’t quite sure what they meant but I think the author did a great job of bridging that gap for me in the way she described the scenes.
Mac and Freya have been best mates for about a year now. Freya finds Mac extremely attractive but she doesn’t think anyone of his caliber would ever be interested in anyone her size. When Freya reveals she’s an almost 30 year old virgin things take an interesting twist in the friendship. These two are absolutely adorable together but the angst surrounding their situation will have you wanting to knock some sense into both of them. Wanting to find out if these two would find a way to make it work kept me turning the pages at a rapid rate.
I love everything about this book! The feel-good wholesomeness is EVERYTHING. The characters are addicting and realistic. The vulnerability is so raw. I had moments I actually cried. Great job!
Okay. This book goes exactly like all friends to lovers go. Girl’s best friend is a smoking hot professional athlete. Girl’s best friend offers to help her out when she tells him she’s almost 30 and still holds her V-card. Even though they say they will only be friends, of course they fall for each other. Then the guy does something stupid and girls is crushed. Guy fixes it and HEA. Characters are wonderful. Recommended.
A story based in London and very slow in places for me. Freya has issues she has learned to deal with and she became friends with Mac. Mac a professional footballer is well known and enjoys life. Even with it being slow for me you can still finish the story.
NEVER HAVE I EVER LOVED A BOOK MORE!
OMG! This might be one of my favorite books, and is absolutely one of my favorite Amy books yet! I just love everything that Amy writes, and this one is no exception!
How can you not fall in love with Mac and Freya?!
I don’t think I’ve ever connected with a character quite like Freya…I feel everything she goes through on a personal level…her insecurities and her general quirkiness strikes such a cord with me. I love seeing her come more out of her shell, but stay true to who she is.
And Mac?! SWOON! This big, burly Scotsman had me falling in love with him immediately. I just loved everything about him and his sweet personality under all that gruff!
There were tears and laughter and just all the feels! I could not put this book down — it was just so amazing!
This book is full of heat, heart and so much humor that you’re grinning like a fool and laughing at these two! Where can I find my own Scotsman?!
4.5 ’s.
AM never disappoints for me. I know when I pick up one of her books that I’m going to laugh and snort throughout but she can also have me near tears and holding my breath when times get tough. Mac and Freya is no exception. This friends to lovers romance had plenty of funny moments and they also had issues that made their relationship a little rocky. It’s not easy being a near thirty year old virgin or someone who’s not experienced love before, it can take some time and hiccups along to the way to find your HEA, and Freya and Mac hit some big bumps. Both are stubborn, fiery at each other and very passionate. For Mac, he thought his biggest passion was football, and Freya’s would be her cat and sewing. It’s not until they experience major loss that makes them rethink everything. I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to read this tale, but I’m glad because I’m all set and ready for Tilly and Santino’s book.
Swooning over sexy accents is unavoidable in this book.
Lusting for some one on one time with the Loch Ness Monster…also unavoidable.
Finding yourself crying and looking for peanut M&M’s…well, that’s up to you.
Amy Daws was savage with her treatment of my tender, fragile maiden tag…okay, not my maiden tag but my heart. She slaughtered it and butchered up the pieces. Fortunately, a giant Scot pulled his head out of his unmentionables and made me ridiculously happy.
All I need now is a visit for my birthday…
Emotional, sexy, sweet, and all the things on needs in a novel…Blindsided is an absolute wee treasure!
Amy is a new-to-me author, and I adored this quirky friends-to-lovers romance.
Mac and Cookie
This is a stunning story that I just could not put down. The characters are all vivid and interesting. Loved the word choices. Telly has become my next best word.
Absolutely loved this book. Loved Mac and Freya, how different and realistic the characters were. This book made me laugh out loud and I could not put it down. This was also the book that was my first of Amy Daws and I could not put it down. After that I picked every other book that Amy wrote…. She writes wonderful heart felt stories. This is definitively a must read!
Blindsided is truly THE book that was missing from this world.
When a plus-size woman and her best friend, a famous Scottish football player, decide to be more than friends, people, it is epic. This book is not about a woman miraculously losing weight and falling in love, it is about Freya, “Cookie”, deciding to take her love life into her own hands (in a really clumsy way) and asking her friend, Mac, to help her.
This friends to lovers romance is HILARIOUS, I was listening to the audiobook on the train and was laughing alone like a crazy woman. It is also very sexy, this Jamie Fraser vibe will leave no one indifferent, believe me. The book has some drama, but it is all forgiven with just a few kitten scenes.
It is on KU and I would really recommend the audiobook to really appreciate the different accents.
This was intro book to Amy Daws and lets just say…I’ve gone on to devour this entire series and moved onto another one. I listened to this as an audiobook which added a little spice to it. The characters were well-developed, artfully clumsy and loveable. Best friends to lovers can sometimes be a bit boring or predictable for conflict–this was hilarious. Totally entertained.
Hands down the funniest of the “series”. (I know, it was not actually part of the series, but it fits in!!) I loved all the humor in this friends to lovers romance. Blindsided was sweet, swoony, and made me laugh out loud!
Freya was good at being invisible. She wasn’t the best at talking to the opposite sex, but for some reason she found talking with Mac easy. But when he found out her secret, would she be able to keep her cool or would it soon become awkward?
Mac would take Freya any way he could get her, if friends was all they could be, then that was fine. Until he offered to help her be more comfortable around guys; what had he been thinking? When the dust settled, could they stay friends or had he lost her forever?
Seriously…Manhoodslaughter!!! I am telling you, so many laughs! Not to mention Mac was so loveable, although I did want to beat him up several times!! I was so glad to get their story but I am sad to see all these guys go!
I LOVED this book. The banter between Mac and Freya was hysterical but also realistic. The characters were interesting, and I loved that Freya was such an individual. Her self doubt was also explained in a way that wasn’t cliche or contrived.
The story is quick paced, with boatloads of humour and lots of steamy scenes. It was a pleasure to read.
I also love that we finally have some ginger haired main characters. Ginger kids need the love too!
Loved this story. And all the previous characters you see. See how the others are faring. Love the push’s and pull relationship between Freya and Mac. They are the best besties. They are Netflix and lounge buds they met and had instant connection. Mac loved that there was no fanfare from her and she truly was a down to earth person that doesn’t take his crap and always puts a smile on his face. Freya has many insecurities being more curvaceous than most but the best personality. When they embark on a journey to rid her of her virginity before her 30th birthday. Leads to quite the best fiends with benefits situation. Loved them together. They learn and grow and evolve as people and as a couple.
4.5 STARS
BLINDSIDED by Amy Daws. I enjoyed this story so much. There were many moments when I actually laughed out loud and had smiles on my face often too. There are also moments when my heart broke for the couple, Mac and Freya. Mac is a sexy, Scottish footballer that can have any woman he wants, but chooses to spend his time with his best mate, Freya. Freya, almost 30 and still a virgin, has some issues due to her being a larger girl. I can understand her thoughts and feelings as I, too, am a bit larger and often feel the same insecurities as she does. (even if I am older) The friends to lovers trope is one that I enjoy and Ms. Daws did a good job of moving the relationship along, even if both were a bit hesitant. There are ups and downs, and several heartfelt moments in this story. It is filled with friendship, family bonds, and the power of love. This is my first book by this author and I look forward to reading more.
As with many of Amy Daws’ books, this one had me up all night reading until I finished. I loved it!
Genre: British Romance
Age Genre: Adult
Type: Friends to Lovers
Page count: 305
Rated it: 4 stars
Spice level: 4 peppers (tasteful open-door sex)
Editorial thoughts:
I just want to start out by saying, this book would have been a blazing 5 stars had it not been for the occasional occurrence of typos. This book needs a professional proof edit. That’s it, just a proof edit. Otherwise, this novel is gold!
Thoughts as a reader:
Amy Daw has a fantastic sense of setting and character voice. The world-building was superb as I felt like I was standing in Freya’s apartment with her. I could literally picture it, which seems to be getting harder to do when it comes to Romances with high heat levels these days. Sure, in most, the sex is vivid, and you can see it, but that doesn’t generally carry over to the setting or atmosphere. That is NOT the case with BLINDSIDED! You will have no shortage of vivid scenes flying into your mind with this one!
You can feel the emotion emanating off the page as you go through the Journey with both Mac and Freya. Both characters are deliciously flawed while also being believable. They feel like real people you might run across in the real world. The same is true of the progression and arc of the story. The transition from scene to scene is smooth and leaves no confusion as to “what just happened.” The conclusion was oh so satisfying. I love a sense of closure, and this book gives me that. I recommend this book to mature romance readers, who like a bit of sexual excitement coupled with their independent women and swoon-worthy men.