They were best friends until they became roommates.Booker Harris has spent the last several years pushing himself to become the best goalkeeper in the Championship League. Tired of living in the shadows of his headline-splashing brothers, he has finally carved a path of his own.As a child, Poppy McAdams was content in her own little make-believe world, until the boy next door with dimples and … dimples and pained eyes came barreling into her makeshift fort demanding all her attention.
Best friends for most of their lives, everything changes when Poppy abruptly leaves London for University.
Now she is back, and gone is the awkward girl from Booker’s youth. She has been replaced by a stunning woman with secrets. Secrets that Booker is desperate to know.
Sharing a bedroom wall with your best friend from childhood quickly turns to anything but sweet and innocent.
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I stumbled upon this series a few months back and have really enjoyed each book. But I must say, of all three, this by far is my favorite! Loved reading the story of Booker and Poppy. Loved catching up with the Harris fam and Andrew was hilarious. Looking forward to reading Gareth’s story when it comes out.
This is the first book in the “Harris Brothers” series. I was fortunate enough to listen to the books on audible and the “duet narration” was absolutely fantastic. The stories are romantic, sexy and interesting and brought to life by narrators Will M. Watt and Charlotte Cole. I love all of Amy Daws’ books and now I’m in love with this type of narration. I recommend all lovers of romance to listen to the entire series.
3 1/2 stars. I really enjoyed Booker and Poppy’s story. My heart broke for Booker and his abandonment fears; he was so scared to lose her again. And poor Poppy, unrequited love is the worst. Whether it’s true or false. However, I think it just tried too hard to be British. Bloke and kit or kitted was way over used.
I’ve been binging this series over the past week and I am loving every one of these Harris brothers!! I love friends to lovers probably more than any other trope and this one was absolutely fantastic. I have laughed during every one of these books but Booker and Poppy’s definitely hit me in the feels more than the first two. I love the Harris family and I can’t wait to start Gareth’s book!!
Baby Booker finally gets his story and boy is it a doozy. We never knew of his issues with his mum’s death since he was so little when it happened. But it left invisible scars on him. No one in his family understood his need for being connected.
Poppy was his best friend and she left him. No goodbye. Nothing. How do you get over that? Little did he know she was heartbroken by him. And little did she know, he didn’t do what she thought he did. Classic case of miscommunication. Six years later and they’re still not communicating.
So will she stick around? Will they rekindle their friendship? Will they become more than friends? Only time will tell.
I think my favorite part of the book was the park ranger. How is it the same ranger from their childhood catches them as adults and then doesn’t believe them. Is he crazy? And go Dad. He had Booker’s back with the park ranger and with everything else. It was good to see a softer side of Vaughn.
“Booker, as a keeper, your instincts are spot-on. Your eyes are laser sharp, so you see every player on the pitch at all times. And you protect your net with everything you have, like it holds your most prized possessions. That’s why you’re so good. Being a keeper is who you bloody well are.” His face softens. “But you are blind if you think Poppy hasn’t made it into your net.”
It was difficult to get a read on Booker through the other books in the series, because Cam & Tanner have such HUGE personalities that they sort of always took the forefront. I was really excited to finally get to know him.
The Characters
Booker. Wowza was he more complicated than I imagined. He was so concentrated on the many intricate workings of his family that he has closed himself off from anything worthwhile because he thinks it can’t last. He uses his position as keeper to close himself off from any feelings that come along. With Poppy coming back into his life, he’s faced with his biggest challenge dealing with feelings.
Poppy. She was so adorable! What a great friend to have! Poppy is the type of person who would do anything for you and she wears her heart right out on her sleeve. When she comes back into Booker’s life, she’s facing the issue of dealing with her best friend keeping himself closed off and the attraction that she’s always had. In dealing with Booker, she is always flopping back and forth into the “friendzone,” because he can’t figure out his feelings.
The Story
I really enjoyed Booker’s story. It was a little complicated, kind of messy, and was the type of best friend love story that is enjoyable. These two were definitely perfect for each other – this was evident in their friendship. Watching them navigate the messy waters of love within that friendship was actually kind of perfect. I wanted to knock both their heads in for being so stubborn and blind, but it was completely realistic how difficult things were for them.
Learning more about the Harris family in this one just causes me to fall more in love with all of them. There’s so much complication between them, but love is always at the forefront. This family is one of my favorites to read about, always. I am SO looking forward to Gareth’s story.
NO SPOILERS!
Keeper was another sexy, funny, and entertaining standalone sports romance in the Harris Brothers series, and I really enjoyed it! The storyline and characters were wonderful, and I loved Amy Daws’s writing style and sense of humor. She has done an excellent job with this series so far, and I can’t wait to read the rest in Surrender and Dominate!
The storyline was really good. I love the best friends to lovers trope; it’s one of my favorite sub-genres to read in romance. While the plot of Keeper was entertaining, I wished certain things had progressed differently between Booker and Poppy. There were a lot of frustrating and annoying moments between them, which was disappointing. There was just too much angst and back and forth between the main characters for the book to be a five-star read. However, Amy Daws definitely made up for some of the parts at the end. I was pleasantly surprised by the conclusion, and it made me very happy.
The characters were great. Booker and Poppy were wonderful, and I loved them so much. I really enjoyed their personalities and chemistry together, and how certain parts of their friendship/relationship progressed. I loved reading the book from both Booker and Poppy’s point of view, and some of their banter and interactions with each other. As I stated above, there were a few aspects between Booker and Poppy that weren’t to my liking, and I wished had progressed differently. However, I was extremely happy with the conclusion to Booker and Poppy’s story. Another part I loved were the secondary characters, specifically the Harris family and all of their significant others. It was amazing to see them again, and I loved the depth and entertainment they added to the story. It made it much more enjoyable and entertaining.
Keeper was a sexy, humorous, and entertaining standalone sports romance in the Harris Brothers series, and while it hasn’t been my favorite book from Amy Daws, I still really enjoyed it from beginning to end. Amy Daws did a great job with this book despite some of its flaws, and I was extremely pleased with the outcome to Booker and Poppy’s story. The Harris Brothers series has been amazing so far, and I’m so excited to get my hands on Gareth Harris’s duet in Surrender and Dominate!
Keeper by Amy Daws a five-star read that you will need to catch. This is the third book in the Harris Brothers series and what a read, Baby Booker takes his turn to shine. Aaaawww Booker, you are so much more than your big brothers, he may have some bad tendencies towards the ladies but when you read the story you so get why, why do boys not grow up as quickly as girls!! Life just isn’t fair. Poppy, Poppy, Poppy you are amazing and so talented with your bi-lingual lounge I am sure she has many talents with. As a keep Booker has good hands is what a pair made in heaven, if only they realised that. Growing up is hard to do, but boy can it be so much fun. I loved seeing the others in this book, watching their relationships growing and the six of them all become so much more. My only question through the whole book was what secrets is Gareth keeping, mmmm you know big brother is like little brother and those waters run deep and full. What a thrilling story.
She makes it past the keeper to score a HEA for them both
Booker may be the baby of the family, but he’s far from babyish. I love his and Poppy’s friends to lovers story. I love how she turns his footy position into a verb. Lol. He has to find his way to realizing Poppy’s already in his heart. And she is whimsical & wonderful. And in the end, she makes him work for it. This is my second read thru. I adore the Harris family.
Oh Booker! How can you not love him????
The Harris brothers are a group of men who know what they want (well, sometimes) and will go after it and fight for it.
The chemistry between Booker and Poppy was perfect! Their connection never faded, even over time. But, they had their ups and downs and everything in-between.
I loved reading all the Harris boys books, go grab this one! And make sure you grab Booker’s brothers books too
Just when I thought I had found my favorite Harris brother in Tanner…..along comes Booker!! Keeper was such an awesome story, and I loved the relationship between Booker & Poppy. It was a great friends to lovers romance and I enjoyed every minute of it!! Poppy definitely was the right match for Booker, even though it took him awhile to realize it. Can’t wait for more of these Harris boy when Gareth gets his own story!
*5 Stars*
ARC kindly received in exchange for an honest review.
Hot damn Booker Harris, you’re in my net. This is the 3rd book in the Harris Brothers series, and I’m absolutely loving all of their stories. The dynamic of this family is amazing.
I’ll go balls deep with them every time.
This novel is Bookers story. He’s the youngest of the bunch and like his older brothers he plays soccer (footy for the Brits), and he’s the Keeper for his team.
Booker is sick of being seen as the baby brother, but he also has a lot of issues he needs to come to terms with. Things he doesn’t even realise to begin with really. He needs his eyes opened, and Poppy, his best friend from his childhood, might just be the one to do it.
Poppy is a pretty cool character, she fits right in with Indie and Belle. She’s quirky and not afraid to show her true self to people. She is how she is and thats all there is to it.
Booker is just so damned adorable and I loved watching he and Poppy grow, and learning all about how they work/fit together. I particularly loved the moments when he would “Keeper” her.
Andrew was a great secondary character in this one, and of course we got Cam, Tanner, Gareth and Vi back as well as their Dad and respective partners. I really do love this family.
This one had lots of feels, moments where I was like “Im not crying, you’re crying” – but in a good way, I promise. I’d get frustrated with the characters, I’d laugh with them, I’d get smug when they did, and I fell in love with them.
Booker might just be my fave Harris. It’s between him and Cam, I can’t decide. *sigh*
You’ll love Booker, in all his Keeper glory, with all his insecurities and his typical Harris moments. Baby Booker, you’re in my net, what a Keeper *swoon*.
I fly through these books in no time, and I can’t wait for Gareths book, which is the next one we can expect from Amy. I highly recommend this series.
This is the first book by Amy Daws that I’ve read, but I honestly enjoyed it alot. Unlike alot of sports romances, instead of focusing on a professional athlete that falls in love, she chose to focus the story on a couple of childhood best friends, one of whom just happens to be a “footie” player. It’s refreshing for the focus to be on romance instead of on the life of the athlete with a little romance thrown in.
Booker and Poppy were childhood neighbors and best friends. At 18, Poppy moved away for college. Now she’s back and Booker invites her to stay with him until her lease is open.
This story takes place in London, over a period of a couple of months. Since they’ve not seen each other in six years, Booker is in for a surprise when he first sees Poppy. She’s not the shy 18 year old girl that she was when she left. He begins having thoughts and feelings he’s not so sure about.
Although Poppy really came into her own while away from home, she is still very unsure about herself in certain aspects, and Booker’s own insecurities and issues don’t help in that respect. She’s a strong, self assured girl for the most part, but seems to have tunnel vision when it comes to Booker. As for Booker, he has his own problems that are explained in the book, but he is loyal to those that he allows close to him.
Although I enjoyed this book immensely, it took me a few pages to get used to some of the word usage in the book. I will say however, the author did an amazing job with making sure anyone not familiar with those words would understand, (footie player, knickers, etc)
Now I just have to go back and read the other stories……
HOLY CRAP!!! WHAT A BOOK!!! I got the pleasure of listening to this book and Will M. Watt & Charlotte Cole are just perfection, best narration I have heard to date. They really bring the characters to life in a way that I haven’t heard before. We meet Booker Harris a footy player who is excelling on the field but has never been able to allow himself to love anyone, the closest he came to it was his best mate Poppy McAdams. She has always been there for him through all the pain and joys they shared growing up. That is until she up and left six years ago, while leaving him confused as to why. So when Poppy comes back and Booker asks her to be his roommate things start to happen between them. Poppy has loved Booker all their lives but the secret hurt that caused her to run away from him before may destroy her. WOW!!! What a story I love Amy Daws and I have become a new fan. How she takes her readers hand and walks them through a beautiful, sexy and emotional journey is so amazing. This is a must read and really a must listen to book. HIGHLY RECOMMEND and if I could give it more than five stars I would. BRILLIANT STORY!!!!