It’s easy to convince the world that you have it all.
I was Quinn Miller––record breaking running back, professional football’s favorite rags-to-riches story, all-around good guy.
What’s not so easy? Repairing your reputation after mistakes both on and off the field leave you labeled as a disgrace to the league.
With only one team willing to give me a chance, I had no time for a … relationship.
But, after one night with Georgia Reed, the hopeless romantic with fiery red hair and an attitude to match, I was hooked.
With Georgia cheering me on, it didn’t feel like the world was against me anymore.
That was, until her father stepped into the locker room as my new head coach.
Finding the woman of my dreams was the easy part; it was keeping her that would be the hardest play of all.
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A.S. Teague totally scores with her sports romance The Hardest Play! Beautifully written and completely absorbing, I devoured this story in one go!
Let me say it now: I LOVED QUINN! The man was total book boyfriend perfection. A sexy jock, but completely grounded and humble. It made him even sexier! Georgia was great too. The girl was strong, confident, and full of sass. Together they had the best chemistry and banter. I cheered on these two the entire way. I loved watching them grow and especially getting to see Quinn open up to Georgia and let her in. It melted my heart and left me in a puddle of swoon. I really loved this story and definitely recommend for lovers of sports romances and fantastic heroes! 5 stars.
I want to start of by saying this: Thank you so much for humanizing people who suffer from addiction. So many don’t see them as people, let alone people who are suffering from a horrible disease and in this book it was so well done. You saw Jamie as a person, who yes did horrible things to her brother despite him being there for her, but you also saw how much she loved her brother and how much she suffered. If only addiction were less stigmatized this world would be a better place.
Now with that said I have loved all 3 of these books about these friends. They are all amazing characters and Quinn was no exception. I am completely in love with him and then you add in Georgia, well she is just absolute perfection. These two had an instant connection and their chemistry was palpable. This was an incredibly realistic book as it showed not only how addiction affects the person who is addicted but the family members who love those people through their addictions and the toll it takes on them. That is what I have loved about all 3 of these books, they all have real situations that people deal with every day and they all have incredible, but realistic HEA’s. I love all these characters so much and all 3 books will go on my all time favorite lists.
***i did receive a free advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review***
Overall Grade:
Warning: This is an ode to A.S. Teague, so read carefully. The feelings are strong here.
I’m going to share a personal value with you about me related to romance blogging and a value related to my teaching of writing. One of the best moments of romance blogging isn’t reading books and reviewing them. That can be an onerous task: finding the words to convey your thoughts and feelings about a book that helps other people decide to read it AND honors the writer’s storytelling is difficult. Some people don’t care about the words they splay on the page about a writer’s baby (which is a travesty). Instead, one of my favorite moments as a blogger is finding a new to me author and falling in love with their ability to create fiction that grabs my heart and soul. I will promote, review, and work hard to push their work out to the masses, even though my own following isn’t large. But I’ll work it for them.
In terms of teaching writing, my favorite moments don’t revolve around incredible pieces of writing. Instead, the best moments of my teaching career have centered around moments when the growth of a writer is apparent to me and to the writer. It’s a moment when you recall their first essay and read their current one, and they’ve found their voice and owned it.
Why am I sharing these thoughts in the space of a book review? Because A.S Teague has illustrated both of these ideas with her newest book, The Hardest Play, and it feels like pride (not in any condescending way) and peace in my soul. You might be saying, “Professor A, why do you care so much?” Quite simply, writing always comes from the soul of a writer. When our favorite authors bleed words onto the page for their readers to enjoy, and they do it brilliantly as A.S. Teague has done with this book, I want to shout for them, celebrate them, and encourage them to keep doing it because I want more of it. And boy, does The Hardest Play make me want more of Teague’s storytelling.
I found Teague with the first book of her Hardest series, The Hardest Route. Here’s the thing: I thought it was good, but in my review for that book, I noted that she had incorporated too many plot points so it muddled Griff and Brooke’s connection. It was still a good story, but it lacked “the thing” that tells my gut the book is great. Still, I knew that I wanted to read the other books in the series because there was something in THR that invested me. Then, Teague published Aidan and Mel’s story in The Hardest Hit, and she broke my heart and mended it over and over again in that story. The issues that I thought plagued her first book were not present in THH. Instead, my admiration for her grew because her storytelling was impeccable (by my estimation) as she crafted Aidan’s anguish and Mel’s inextinguishable strength. The Hardest Hit quickly became my favorite of her series (and one of my favorite sports romances), and I didn’t think The Hardest Play would overcome it. Boy, was I wrong.
The Hardest Play offers the story of Quinn, one of the more serious friends of Griff and Aidan and their crew. Griff and Aidan count on him to be serious and thoughtful in his assessment of their lives. In this book, Quinn has been traded to Atlanta after a disappointing season and a string of personal mishaps. Once there, he runs into Georgia, the sister of Aidan’s orthopedic surgeon, who we meet in The Hardest Hit. In that story, sparks fly between Quinn and Georgia, and the same happens again in The Hardest Play. Quinn is enamored with Georgia from their first meeting, and they quickly entangle themselves in each other’s lives. However, Quinn has a secret that threatens to derail their journey. In order to handle the ramifications of that secret, Quinn will have to trust Georgia with his truth, something he only does with his friends. Will Quinn and Georgia make it to the endzone, or will their romantic journey end in a punt at the 3rd down, missing the endzone by a few feet?
Why is The Hardest Play my new favorite A.S. Teague book of this series? Oh, there are so many reasons.
1) Quinn. Quinn Miller is a dream hero. A DREAM HERO. I will not divulge his secrets in this review because it will ruin the story. Instead, you need to know that while Quinn is formidable in his persona, he has an intuition in his character that allows him to anticipate Georgia and her needs, both physically and emotionally. Undermining Quinn’s formidable exterior with the sensitivity of his internal values reads like cat-nip for romance readers (at least for this romance reader). The only moments where he sabotages their romantic journey exist because Quinn protects above anything else. In revealing his truth, he worries about the effect of it on Georgia. He would rather end their burgeoning relationship than hurt her. And this theme runs deeply through his characterization. Quinn has a seriousness and depth that Griff and Aidan don’t have. Griff comes closest to it, but Quinn’s empathic and compassionate nature transcends Teague’s other heroes. I fell in love with Quinn from the very beginning. He’s protective, insightful, and steady.
2)Georgia. Because Teague constructs Quinn as self-sacrificing, she must have a heroine who is stubborn and fiery to protect her hero. Georgia is strong and tenacious, and this allows her to break through Quinn’s walls to the depths of his heart and soul. These two are fated for each other. Once Georgia learns Quinn’s truth, she becomes as protective as Quinn, and their connection becomes elevated. I am so thankful that Teague uses other aspects of the story to complicate Georgia and Quinn’s romance. Once these two commit to each other, they remain there. That creates this emotional impact that feels safe for the reader and the story’s characters.
3)The story. There is a depth to this story that deals with a difficult real-life problem. Again, I won’t divulge because I think it would threaten the power of the story. Readers should read the book, knowing that The Hardest Play’s story, in my opinion, is the heaviest of the three books. It’s the gravity, though, that I fell in love with. The emotional gravitas of this book will slay you, but Teague does this, not through issues between Georgia and Quinn, she achieves this with the secrets of the story. That is the driving force of this book, and Teague’s topic is a worthy one.
4)The epilogue. Oh my goodness. I’ve felt this feeling only a few times when reading romance. It’s a feeling of nostalgia, like saying good-bye to old friends and knowing you can see them again, but it will never quite be the same. Teague’s epilogue in The Hardest Play creates that feeling and leaves you with a sigh in your heart. There is a part of me that hopes this story is the last one of the Hardest series even though we have never explored Shane and Trav because it’s such an emotional powerhouse of a book that it feels right to move on. Yet, the feeling created in this epilogue makes my heart want more of the same. I’m both ready to go and hating to leave this crew of some of my favorite characters.
Now, that I’ve waxed poetic on my love for A.S. Teague, ultimately, why should you read her newest book? Simply put, The Hardest Play is a story of allowing love to heal and support us. This truth may seem simple, but, especially in a world right now that feels so singular and isolated, a reminder that love can connect us, heal us, and uplift us feels necessary and essential.
I have been so looking forward to Quinn’s book since we were introduced to him in the first 2 books. He has always had this mystery about him and I just couldn’t wait to hear more about him. A.S. Teague definitely didn’t let us down with this amazing book.
Out of the 3 books in the Hardest Series, this is by far my favorite. Technically you don’t have to read the other 2 books in this series to enjoy but I would definitely recommend it. I remember when I read the second book The Hardest Hit that I was like wait a minute is there a book before this. LOL! So if you get the chance read the other 2 as well just to get amazing insight into the other friends discussed in this book. I did a re-read of the other books before I started reading this because I just needed to experience them all again.
Quinn, Quinn, Quinn! I absolutely love Quinn. I loved finding out what’s been going on in his life and why he approached things so much definitely than Griff or Aiden did in their books. I love those guys as well but Quinn won my heart for sure. I love how he has always put others needs ahead of his own and tried to be there for his sister Jamie. I loved when Jamie gave some insight to Georgia about not only taking care of her but the story from high school. *swoon*
I absolutely loved Georgia. I loved how she wouldn’t let Quinn push her away when he found out that her dad was the head coach for his football team, nor the other parts of the storyline.
There are so many parts that I love of this book but I don’t want to give anything away. Just know that you need to read this book. It’s amazing. Then the epilogue is SOOOO great!!! I loved getting to hear from all the guys and where they are with their families.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. The only way you’ll be disappointed in this book is if you wait to read it later and realize what you missed out on.