Blitzed

Alexa Martin

Dec 2019 · Playbook, The Book 3 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

One of Buzzfeed's 16 Romantic Books To Read This Fall
One of Popsugar's Best Books for Winter
One of Refinery29's Best Books of December

"Definitely a must-read!”—La La Anthony, New York Times bestselling author

Maxwell Lewis has to make the play of his life in order to breach the woman of his dream’s defenses in this new football romance from the author of Fumbled. 

Brynn Larson owes a lot to reality television and professional athletes. Her bar hit new heights of success after becoming a local haunt for the Denver Mustangs players and their WAGs. But although she’s grateful, that doesn’t mean she’s crazy. And that’s exactly what she would be to ever consider dating a professional athlete. Even if it’s Maxwell Lewis, whose shy smile makes her wonder what going on behind those beautiful brown eyes. 

Maxwell knew from the moment he met Brynn that she was going to change his life. It was only a matter of time. But when he finally makes a move, fate conspires against him and everything goes wrong. Now he has to show her that their potential is real. Too bad for him, Brynn isn’t fooled by his glamorous NFL life, and when ghosts from both their pasts make a sudden reappearance, she must decide who she can trust. But when the person she’s most afraid of is herself, navigating life’s tackles is harder than anticipated.

Ratings and reviews

4 stars — Another one where I’m debating between 3.5 and 4, but the good stuff that delighted me really delighted me, so I’m giving it the boost. I enjoy these books by Ms. Martin in this series, but I can’t say I’m particularly blown away. There’s something about the writing that feels a bit disjointed or something, and for this one in particular, I wasn’t a fan of the conflict/climax and how that played out. But there are other things that, like I said above, just absolutely delighted me. One of the things that truly stands out is how Ms. Martin takes a group of women I would probably NEVER be friends with, have VERY little in common with, but still makes me care about them. I love that she presents a view on women that might normally be seen as catty or superficial, and gives them dimension and depth. I’m so tired of how society tears down one group to make another group feel better, instead of just celebrating our differences. And I honestly felt that way about the Mustang Ladies. I don’t watch reality TV. I don’t care about Louboutins (or however you spell that), or any of those “designer” things. I’m also not big on makeup and glamour and all that shiznit. But we got elements of all of those in the Lady Mustangs, and I still cared about them, and I got to see different sides to them. I also got to see a group of ladies SUPPORTING one another, and being there for one another, which was a major element of this story (particularly since Brynn provided a place for them to all meet and celebrate women together). I think the part that delighted me the most was the way Eloise’s characters role played out in the story. I was expecting it to go the same mean girl way, and it didn’t! Yay for delightful surprises! Brynn was pretty easy to like on the whole. I particularly connected with her ability to get ridiculously excited about the things she loves (Hamilton, Parks and Rec, Louboutin sneakers). Maybe not her need to force others to like the same things, but it was all in good fun. I also appreciated how genuine she was. She truly loves the people in her life (despite how snarky she is with them), and wants them to succeed. And when she meets new people, in general she delights in learning about them (with exceptions). My disconnect with her is how quickly she jumps to conclusions, and just doesn’t think things through all the way. This came to play in both her Dad and Maxwell…she’s passionate, but also volatile in her emotions. It made me cringe occasionally, and I was particularly bummed with how little she thought about the Theo/Maxwell stuff. Basically, I was disappointed in her, and I kind of wished she’d figured it out on her own a bit more. Maxwell was pretty sweet and endearing in general. I loved his shy self, and how kind and caring he was. His crush and pursuit of Brynn was nothing short of adorable. It made the bouts of temper and the secrets a bit harder to believe…like, I got it a bit, but not to that extent. He definitely didn’t help the situation, though I understood there was more at play than just trust. And the two of them together were pretty sweet actually. It was definitely fun watching their courtship. So yeah. A solid sports romance, with a bit more of a beta hero (which I love), and some good girl power thrown in.

About the author

Alexa Martin is a writer and stay at home mom. A Nashville transplant, she’s intent on instilling a deep love and respect for the great Dolly Parton in her four children and husband. The Playbook Series was inspired by the eight years she spent as a NFL wife and her deep love of all things pop culture, sparkles, leggings, and wine. When she’s not repeating herself to her kids, you can find her catching up on whatever Real Housewives franchise is currently airing or filling up her Etsy cart with items she doesn’t need.