Fumbled by Alexa Martin

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Title: Fumbled
Author: Alexa Martin
Series: Playbook #2
Published by: Berkley
Release Date: April 23, 2019
Format: eARC
Pages: 336
Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Sports Romance
Source: NetGalley
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2019 Diversity Reading Challenge, Lenoreo's 2019 Netgalley and Edelweiss Challenge, Lenoreo's 2019 New Release Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks ✩ IndieBound ✩ Book Depository
My rating:

Blurb:

A second chance doesn't guarantee a touchdown in this new contemporary romance from the author of Intercepted.

Single-mother Poppy Patterson moved across the country when she was sixteen and pregnant to find a new normal. After years of hard work, she's built a life she loves. It may include a job at a nightclub, weekend soccer games, and more stretch marks than she anticipated, but it's all hers, and nobody can take that away. Well, except for one person.

TK Moore, the starting wide receiver for the Denver Mustangs, dreamt his entire life about being in the NFL. His world is football, parties, and women. Maybe at one point he thought his future would play out with his high school sweetheart by his side, but Poppy is long gone and he's moved on.  

When Poppy and TK cross paths in the most unlikely of places, emotions they've suppressed for years come rushing back. But with all the secrets they never told each other lying between them, they'll need more than a dating playbook to help them navigate their relationship.

My Review:

I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

3.5 stars — Another book that brought me a lot of joy, but again…had a few tiny moments that made me cringe.  And I will admit that reading this one directly following reading book 1, I did notice some similarities of jokes on occasion…not often, but there was at least one memorable instance.

Let’s get the cringe out of the way first: there were times where Poppy’s attitude and reactions made my shy/sensitive soul flinch.  Like the way she talked to and started getting up in the face of the fan girls on her first date with TK at the bowling alley.  It’s the kind of actions that prevent me from ever being interested in watching reality TV shows, b/c while I LOVE sass, I don’t love aggression and possession (by either gender), and in your face stuff…and stuff that for *ME* borders on mean and over the top.  For the most part Poppy wasn’t like that, but there were just moments here and there where I was drowning in second-hand embarrassment.

Now BESIDES that, Poppy was pretty awesome.  I loved how she was this strong single mom, but internally she was constantly worried about being enough for Ace…so basically like every other mom out there.  I was constantly worried about how she was going to treat TK and him coming into their lives, but at every turn she surprised me.  It’s not that she didn’t have a hard time sharing, but she was always up front with TK and she knew the right thing to do and always tried to do it.  She was very strong in her convictions as well, and she stood by them, for better or for worse.

TK was a bit of a surprise as well.  From the glimpse we got in the first book, I expected to love him more than I did.  I still really liked him, don’t get me wrong, but because of the background story playing out with him, I found myself angry and confused by him a LOT throughout the book.  In the end, this was by design, and it worked well, but it left me on my toes for periods.  Other than that story, I did love how he was all in once he found Poppy again, and once he accepted Ace, though I feel like I wish I knew more about what their relationship had been like when they were younger.

The two of them together had some great moments, but a lot of their chemistry felt like it was based on the physical…which is cool, just not my most favourite.

Ace was a pretty kick ass 9 year old, and he really felt his age.  He was sweet and adorable with just that little bit of kid attitude.  I loved watching Poppy try to embarrass him.

I LOVED the strong set of female friends that Poppy comes to rely on, and how different they all were but, in general, were all very accepting of their differences.  I’m always still a bit bummed when there are so many villainous girls in books…it’s not unexpected, I think I’m just personally getting weary of them.  So the way Rochelle, Dixie, even Lydia, and the groupies were depicted was…eh, not my fave.  But at least it was balanced by her diverse group of friends.

I noticed the negative look at football in the first book, but it was even more prominent in this one.  It was kind of an interesting take.  I’m not completely sure how I feel about it altogether, but I *really* appreciated how TK’s story played out and the dangers that Ms. Martin shone a spotlight on.  It was an unexpected bonus that I didn’t see coming (though perhaps I should have), and one that I thought she handled deftly.

So yeah.  Another book that gave me mixed feelings, but on the whole was a super fun read.  I am super excited to see that Brynn’s getting a book, and I’m curious how that will play out.