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I am Lover of romance, who indulges in the romantic adventures of literature

My name is Renee, and I am the host of this site. I am a 34 year old woman, on the prowl for her mate, searching out the best of books, exploring the wilds of the imagination and delving into the heart of a beautiful love story.

 

Double the Romance Book Review-The Friend Zone and the Game Plan

by | Nov 27, 2015 | Book Reviews, Double The Romance Reviews | 5 comments

Double the Romance Book Review-The Friend Zone and the Game Plan

Double the Romance Book Review-The Friend Zone and the Game PlanThe Friend Zone by Kristen Callihan
Series: Game On #2
Published by NLA Digital LLC on January 1st 1970
Genres: Contemporary Romance, New Adult
Pages: 309
Format: eBook
Source: Self Purchased
Goodreads
AmazonLibrary ThingLibrary Thing
four-stars

Gray doesn’t make friends with women. He has sex with them. Until Ivy.
The last thing star tight-end Gray Grayson wants to do is drive his agent’s daughter’s bubblegum pink car. But he needs the wheels and she’s studying abroad. Something he explains when she sends him an irate text to let him know exactly how much pain she’ll put him in if he crashes her beloved ride. Before he knows it, Ivy Mackenzie has become his best texting bud. But then Ivy comes home and everything goes haywire. Because the only thing Gray can think of is being with Ivy.
Ivy doesn’t have sex with friends. Especially not with a certain football player. No matter how hot he makes her…
Gray drives Ivy crazy. He’s irreverent, sex on a stick, and completely off limits. Because, Ivy has one golden rule: never get involved with one of her father’s clients. A rule that’s proving harder to keep now that Gray is doing his best to seduce her. Her best friend is fast becoming the most irresistible guy she’s ever met.
Which means Gray is going to have to use all his skills to get himself out of the friend zone and into Ivy’s heart. Game on

In The Friend Zone, Gray Grayson, who spends his time driving his agent’s daughter pink car and become friends with Ivy over texts while she is in London training to take over one of her mother’s bakeries. When she returns home, chemistry sizzles between Gray and Ivy. Despite the complications it could bring, both Gray and Ivy can’t deny what is between them.

I had a ball of fun and giggles with The Friend Zone and I still have no clue why I waited so long to read it. Especially when I couldn’t get enough of the first book. However there were many unique qualities to this story that makes it a fantastic romance. One of the things I was drawn by was the friends to lovers trope that is put in this one. I love this trope for many reasons, but I love seeing a solid friendship turn into a winning romantic relationship. Because in my mind….they make some of the best relationships when the friendship is solid and their relationship already has a great foundation that they both build on. They do come across some hurdles they have to cross, including the fact that Ivy will need to decided what she really wants to do with her life, and come to terms with her parents unstable marriage and take fate into her own hands and trust in what she has with Gray. There were some unexpected happening in this story, and I loved the surprise that comes upon them. Because it truly tests them both, but they come together when it matters and lean on each other in the good times and the bad times. We see their relationship gets tested in brutal ways but also in joyous ones. I love the depth of emotion but also is balanced out with play and giggles.

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Double the Romance Book Review-The Friend Zone and the Game PlanThe Game Plan by Kristen Callihan
Series: Game On #3
Published by NLA Digital LLC on January 1st 1970
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 323
Format: eBook
Source: Self Purchased
Goodreads
AmazonLibrary ThingLibrary Thing
three-half-stars

A beard-related dare and one hot-as-hell kiss changes everything.
NFL center Ethan Dexter’s focus has always been on playing football and little else. Except when it comes to one particular woman. The lovely Fiona Mackenzie might not care about his fame, but she’s also never looked at him as anything more than one of her brother-in-law’s best friends. That ends now.
Fi doesn’t know what to make of Dex. The bearded, tattooed, mountain of man-muscle looks more like a biker than a football player. Rumor has it he’s a virgin, but she finds that hard to believe. Because from the moment he decides to turn his quiet intensity on her she’s left weak at the knees and aching to see his famous control fully unleashed.
Fi ought to guard her heart and walk away; they live vastly different lives in separate cities. And Dex is looking for a forever girl. But Dex has upped his game and is using all his considerable charm to convince Fi he's her forever man.
Game On

 

I read The Game Plan right after The Friend Zone, because quite frankly, I couldn’t resist the cover. There are many covers that appeal to me, but this one just draws me more than the other two covers!! This one is sexy but it also has a deep emotional quality to it that just draws me like a bee to honey. So what really surprised me about this story is that a sexy pro football player, is a virgin hero. It is always a delight to see this aspect in a romance…but a contemporary–very rare. So I just swallowed up this story like you couldn’t believe. I was interested in this aspect because we see a man that probably could have any woman day or night. But he only wants one woman and he wants to save that part of himself for her, despite all the media attention he tends to get. Man, our hero, Ethan Dexter is one solid man. Fiona, our heroine, has made it her policy to never get involved with football players. She has issues with her father, and refuses to be hurt in the same way. But Ethan is different, and after entering a dare they begin a unique relationship that turns out being long distance. Both Ethan and Fiona realize how solid their bond is to each other, after the distance. But the tides turn, when the media learns about Ethan having been a virgin, and Fiona and Ethan truly realize that love isn’t full of roses and daisies….its full of oppsotion and conflict and they will have to fight to keep it together and strong. What I was really drawn to was seeing how much their relationship gets strengthened in this one because they are tested in some of the most horrid ways but come out on top. This is a romance that is superb on every page.

The Hook UpThe Friend ZoneThe Game Plan

About Kristen Callihan

Kristen Callihan is an author because there is nothing else she'd rather be. She is a RITA winner and three-time nominee and winner of two RT Reviewer's Choice awards. Her novels have garnered starred reviews from Publisher's Weekly and the Library Journal, as well as being awarded top picks by many reviewers. Her debut book FIRELIGHT received RT Magazine's Seal of Excellence, was named a best book of the year by Library Journal, best book of Spring 2012 by Publisher's Weekly, and was named the best romance book of 2012 by ALA RUSA. When she is not writing, she is reading.

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5 Comments

  1. Red Iza

    I’m so glad you liked Friend zone too ! I loved The hook-up and have already bought Friend zone – haven’t gotten to reading it yet, of course lol, but I will 😉

    Reply
    • Lover Of Romance

      oh if you enjoyed the Hook Up than you will have a blast with the other two!!! I guarantee it. Hope you are well.

      Reply
      • Red Iza

        After a mojito and a good Thaï meal at lunch ? I’m in an excellent mood, thank you 😉

        Reply
        • Lover Of Romance

          ooh delicious!!! Love those mojito’s!!!

  2. Sophia Rose

    I’ve only read book one and I can see I’m missing out.

    Reply

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