She can’t let him score…Call it superstition, but when a guy bats as hot as Brooks Elliott, you don’t mess with what’s working. And what’s working is him keeping his pants zipped and doing all of his scoring on the field.So when I hear he’s planning to ditch his V-card now that he’s been traded to baseball’s lovable losers—aka my home team and my reason for living every March through October—I … living every March through October—I do what any rational, dedicated, obsessed fan would do.
I make a plan to stop him.
But the thing about stopping him is that it requires spending time with him.
Lots. And lots. And lots of time.
And the more time I spend with him, the more I like him. Not as the guy who’s going to help save my favorite team and finally bring home a championship ring, but as the guy who’s helping me in my quest to bring back the team’s old mascot. Who also loves making pancake and bacon sandwiches. And who would do almost anything for his love of the game.
But after all this time of jock-blocking him…do I even have a chance?
And if I do, are we both destined to a life of celibacy in the name of winning?
Jock Blocked is a home run of a feel-good romantic comedy featuring the world’s most superstitious sports fan, baseball’s oldest virgin hero, a rogue meatball, an adorable puppy with a cussing problem, and the best lovable losers. It stands alone and comes with a happily ever after more satisfying than a game-winning grand slam.
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Do I care about baseball? Not really. It’s boring to me. This story however, made it everything but! The camaraderie between the players, building and shaping, the love for the game from Mackenzie and her family and friends… it made me look at it differently. And that is a huge feat.
But aside from instilling some love of baseball, Pippa Grant just brought a phenomenal book. A sports romance that combines real men with lots of vulnerability, jokes, the “crazy” girl with loving friends and a desire to help and seeing responsibility. This story had so much more depth than I expected from the transfer and the crazed fan keeping everyone out of his pants to preserve superstition. It had so much heart and humor, real emotion and growth from everyone.
If you like sports romance, read this. If you don’t, still try it. It is about so much more than a game, about community, about friends, about accomplishing what you set out to do, about reevaluating life and taking it by the horns. A truly standout novel, and possibly my favorite Pippa Grant book to date.
The audio of Jacob Morgan and Andi Arndt is simply amazing. Bringing to life all the hilarity and the back and forth banter. But equally bringing out the emotion, the vulnerability and all the swooniness. If you can, listen to it!
Mac and Brooks story is everything you love about Pippa’s books! You’ve got your adorable badass heroine, you’ve got the amazingly adorkable athletic hero Brooks, a memorable meeting, a puppy with a dirty mouth and cameos from some old favorites, what more could you ask for? Oh HEAT, these two are quite combustible. Oh and laughs, its not a book you can read quietly, there will be chuckling often, maybe even a guffaw or two? Animal shenanigans? CHECK! Some hilarious Parker texts too. Oh and DRAG QUEENS! Seriously, this book would win any random book lover Bingo game lol its got it all and you will love every word!
One of the craziest worlds to visit is the one created by Pippa Grant. Between Parker’s phone, the Elliott crew, Cooper Rock, and the Berger twins, this book has all the shenanigans. I was snort laughing in the very first chapter and that was pretty constant until I got to the end.
Brooks and Mackenzie left me feeling so unbelievably happy I can barely handle it. Baseball’s biggest fan is the only one brave enough to stand in the way of baseball’s oldest virgin. Seriously, I died reading this book. And the epilogues!!!!!
I can’t wait for more Fireballs!! #FieryForever
Hit it out of the park!
This ranks as one of my favorite Pippa books! This was a fun, flirty, sports romance that kept me smiling with every turn of the page.
Super fan Mackenzie will do anything to keep her team, the Fireballs, from having another horrible, no good, very bad season! Even if it means she has to actually talk to the baseball gods, kidnap mascots, puppysit, and change her view of superstitions. Fiery Forever!!
Brooks, the big hitter, Elliott has come to Copper Valley to play baseball but his heart remains in New York with his old team and family. Baseball’s oldest virgin is trying to give up his superstitions and in doing so has found his arch-nemesis in a spunky Mac who has made it her mission to keep him hitting and not get hit on.
I adored the tit for tat and antics between our H and h. These two are such a perfect match and the wild ride we get to tag along on is extremely fun. Let’s not forget that we get a good helping of our favorite Copper Valley and Bro Code characters plus the most adorable pet, Coco Puff. A must read that would get anyone out of a slump, lol.
This book is an absolute delight from start to finish. Brooks and Mackenzie are amazing together and their banter back and forth is absolute perfection. Plus, a dog with a collar that swears every time he barks – more perfection! Another grand slam (see what I did there?) from Pippa!
This book is a roller coaster ride! As with all Pippa Grant books, this is hilarious, fun, romantic and there is of course steam. All these books are tied together by family and friends, so much fun! We met Mackenzie in an earlier book and she shines in this new book. A good laugh in these sobering times. Do not miss this one.
This book is Pippa Grant at her finest!
It has everything you’ve come to love about her stories: hilarious banter, crazy pranks and wacky animal shenanigans plus a very steamy and at times emotional love story. I loved watching baseball’s biggest (and most superstitious) fan fall in love with the one baseball player who has no business dating. I honestly have not read anything else in the few days because I am just not ready to leave Mac and Brooks yet.
Great plot, fantastic characters, and the trademark Pippa Grant humor makes Jock Blocked worth way more than 5 stars!!
This is quite possibly my favorite Pippa Grant book yet to date. Just when you think she can’t out do herself with her previous book, She proves us wrong again. Brooks Elliot has been saving his virginity because he’s superstitious, Mackenzie Montana happens to know this little secret. So even though she can’t seem to speak around other Baseball players, she’s determined to make sure he doesn’t give up his V-card and her favorite baseball team wins. This book will have you laughing out loud, and in our current world of staying at home, be sure to warn your fellow housemates that spontaneous outburst of laughing will happen while you are reading this book. And like always there’s an adorable side animal character, a puppy, what could possibly go wrong?!! You’ll get a glimpse of a few previous Pippa Characters as well through this book and as always it’s fun to catch up with the whole gang.
I received an ARC in return for my honest review.
This was so good! Oh my, I couldn’t put this one down. I did have to stop to work, so it took me longer than I wanted to finish. BUT, I was not ready for it to end! Brooks & Mackenzie are one of the best couples. I loved everything about them!
4.5-stars
Every time I start a book by Pippa Grant I know I am in for a fun, over the top, laugh out loud read and I’m never disappointed. In Jock Blocked, we get a virgin hero and an obsessed female baseball fan who is willing to do whatever it takes to have her team win again. Brooks and Mackenzie were just great characters and I loved their connection. They ended up heling each other more than they ever thought they would. Mackenzie is extremely passionate about her hometown baseball team. Brooks on the other hand is a bit lost after being traded when he did not want to be. Jock Blocked by Pippa Grant was just so much fun to read and I loved it!
Read and reviewed for Reviews From the Heart.
Happy reading!
Pippa Grant is such a feel good author. I read all of her Bro Code novels and loved them all but I loved the characters even more. They were so great, I loved their crazy, quirky, individuality as much as I loved the fact they were all so close and supportive. And when I saw the sign up for this book I thought it was going to be Cooper Rock and a continuation of all the Bro Code craziness and well it was but it wasn’t.
Mackenie was such a nut job. But she was a lovable, normal kind of nutjob. She is the person most of us are only comfortable being around our closest friends. Which is completely understandable when she grew up with a family that was pretty far from conventional. And they were awesome, in fact I was really hoping to get a whole heap more of them in this book. Hopefully this series is going to continue and we will get more of them.
I was so glad to see we got to see a lot more of the bro code couples and their friends and family that we have met along the journey. I really love the secondary characters in these books but damn the storylines are so funny and so far out there but by the same thing you can see how the characters end up in the messes they get into.
Brooks was beautiful and although I knew of him mainly from his sister and her crazy phone antics I was glad to get to know him. I felt so sorry for everything he had lost and I couldn’t blame him for his initial bitterness but I am glad that he got over it quickly and fell for all of Mackenzie’s charms. He was an awesome character and has made me want to go back and read all the previous Pippa Grant books so I can get to know his family better and maybe get a little more of him.
I can’t wait for the next book in this series and even though I would love to get Cooper Rock’s story I really don’t care who I get because I know going in that I am going to enjoy the journey no matter the destination with Pippa Grant leading the way.
Where do I even begin to talk about all the goodness that is Jockblocked? (oh and I know a hedgehog is not an echidna, Nutella and firefly emojis are not a thing, but work with me here) We’ve known some of these people for several books and seeing one of the quirkiest characters, Mackenzie, getting her HEA with a baseball player no less, means, well, Nutella bacon pancake sandwich goodness.
Brooks we’ve seen before, I still remember Brooks stalking around Parker’s HS reunion making sure no one messed with his sister in Stud in the Stacks. All of Brooks’ siblings make cameo appearances in this really really sweet book. Oh, it’s funny–wet your pants because you’re laughing so hard funny. Especially when group texts occur—with the masterful use of emojis and Parker’s rogue autocorrect. A hacker sister-in-law who gets really creative with a dog collar and whose decorating style is 70’s porn.
Mackenzie is a slave to superstitions that is from her deep love of her baseball team. Her devotion to obeying all the superstitions brings in her two dads, voodoo, eating only once a piece of popcorn at a time, and making her BFF go to the bathroom when certain players are at-bat. But all this is deeply ingrained in her love of the sense of family that is the baseball team that never wins. She wants to see that change but she does not want to see the mascot go. Needless to say, more laughter-inducing scenes unfold.
At the heart, though, this book is about family. It’s about the family that is a team. It’s about families that may not look like everyone else’s family but they’re still you’re family. It’s about loving, yelling at, and dealing with strange members of your family. It’s about helping your family overcome their fears and embrace the new. It’s about welcoming a new family. It’s about getting over your pride and fear and learning to love your new family. And it’s about being brave enough to fall in love and make a new family. All while listening to Elton John.
Such a fun book! This is one of my favorite books out of this series. Love the characters, the humor and the sweet storyline. I’m excited to see who we get to read about next. I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
I could use 100 different baseball sayings for this book from this book was a grand slam to she covered all the bases with this one to she hit it out of the park. But no words will adequately describe the joy and perfection of this book. If you read this review later on, this book came out during the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic and it was just what we needed at this time. This book takes all the good, quirky, and fun things about baseball, and gives us a chance to just escape and laugh. Now don’t worry, if you aren’t a fan of baseball, you will still enjoy this book. It’s just enough about the game to make the lovers happy, but it doesn’t bog you down with the details.
This book will have you laughing out loud at the antics and craziness of the characters. It will also have you falling in love with the characters as you peel back the layers of who they are. You will laugh and cry, swoon and shake you head at this story. You will watch these characters grow and evolve, and you’ll be cheering them on every step of the way.
The thing I think I love most about this book and about any Pippa Grant book is that she shows us that no matter how quirky, odd, or ridiculous we can be, that we all can be loved and accepted for who we are. I wish more people in the world would learn this lesson.
I’m only allowed to give this book a maximum 5 stars, but in my mind it deserves 500 stars! If you need to laugh and just add some joy in your life then read this book…read any Pippa Grant book.
It’s no secret that I LOVE Pippa Grant. Her style is completely engaging and her characters are a riot. I love falling into her worlds for a bit and just reveling in the hilarity and romance!
Brooks and Mackenzie are quite the pair and their high levels of superstition just MAKE the comedy in this story. It’s always nice to visit with the Bro Code family, and this pair finding their way to one another is no exception!
Pippa Grant hits this out of the Park!!! Another smash from the brilliant author who brought us the Best Hockey players to read about, Swoony Underwear Supermodels, Sexy Geek girls, Rugged SEAL’s, Bakers, goats, baby cows and glitter bombs. Mackenzie Montana and Brooks Elliott are a sizzling but unlikely pair. He’s the hot baseball trade from New York brought to Copper Valley to save the Fireballs from themselves, but he’s not happy about it. Mackenzie is the die-hard, fanatical fan of the beloved home team with the worst record in the League. When Brooks is traded and realizes that he’s stuck with the loosing team, he wants to ditch his big secret and superstition to go forth and destroy his career on the field. Enter Mackenzie who has her own big secret and personal mission to save the team and their beloved mascot and now Brooks. With their secrets revealed to only each other they find a way to save themselves and the Fireballs. Mackenzie makes it her goal to remind Brooks what it is he loves about baseball and being part of the team. Will they give into their mutual attraction and risk Brooks big secret ruining the teams luck? Will Brooks remember what he loves about the game and submerge himself in the true meaning of being part of a team again? Step up to the plate and indulge in this sexy summer baseball read with appearances from your favorite Bro Code characters, Parker’s phone, all the Elliot siblings, Beck, Rhett, and the Berger Twins!
I want to live inside the pages of a Pippa Grant book. They are legit my happy place.
Mackenzie and Brooks are just…I have no words but I love them.
This book has pickup baseball game I wish was something I could pull up on YouTube to watch.
A drag club I wish I could frequent and drag queens I want spend time with.
A baseball team that just might have me turning in my pinstripes.
A a puppy I want to take home and follow on Instagram. Who also needs to send me his collars for my own fur baby!
And a family you wish you could be added to their group texts.
You NEED this book in your life, if for no other reason than to put a smile on your face.
Hilarious and hot
Again, this is a great story from Pippa Grant. The theme is quite simple and intractable: to win, according to a large number of superstitions, Brooks, a baseball player must remain a virgin at 30, and for that one of the most relentless fans of his team, Mackenzie, does everything to preserve himself while increasingly enticing his desire to take action. Inevitably in this situation, pressure and embarrassing situations appear more and more.
I also really liked seeing the characters from previous stories, especially Eloise, Brooks’ sister-in-law, who is always unpredictable.
The story is hilarious, but also very hot.I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book
After reading the Bluewater Billionaires, I realized I was dying for a book that flips the script on the virgin trope. Why is it never the hero? Well, my prayers were answered, and them some, by Jock Blocked.
Can a virgin hero be sexy? Definitely! And if Pippa’s writing him, he’s also adorably awkward, funny, and sweet. I love that his imperfections make him more relatable to Mackenzie, so she can feel comfortable around him. And he smiles and laughs a lot in this book. It’s the cutest!
I love seeing a heroine be the one to take care of the hero in a lot of ways. This book was such a breath of fresh air. And I loved her dads! They were fantastic. It was so good to see the diversity.
Congrats, Pippa on a grand slam! Full disclosure: I cannot stand baseball. Still, I connected so hard with this story and the characters. Luckily, I know I can look forward to seeing them again in future books.
Jock Blocked is the newest book in the fabulously funny Pippa Grant’s books. This one was just as hilarious, sexy-if slow-burning, but well worth the wait, although Brooks might not agree, lol. He’s the star of the show, the hottest and sexiest baseball star to join the ranks of the Copper Valley Fireballs… and he’s a virgin to boot.
He’s ready to cash in his V-card though, now that he’s been traded to the worst team in the league, but superfan, Mackenzie Montana is here to keep him unsullied and on track to help her team go all the way this year.
Humor and chemistry abound between these two. Their first meet-cute was just that. And so, so funny.
Brooks is a man under a haze of loneliness and feeling betrayed by his old team. He’s struggling to fit in with his new one and it’s Mackenzie who ultimately helps him find his way and his mojo. Plus, she checked that pesky card for him in a laugh out loud way.
Shenanigans are what Pippa does best, and this book did not disappoint. I loved how real these two were as well as they butted heads in the beginning, before getting it on. Cameos from multiple previous characters added that extra bit of spice to this juicy story.
All Pippa’s books are stand alones, but they’re loosely connected through characters from previous stories and there are quite a lot now, so there’s a binge worthy selection from anyone who hasn’t read Pippa before. You could start here, but honestly, why not go back to where it all began with Mr. McHottie.