Blitzed by Alexa Martin

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Title: Blitzed
Author: Alexa Martin
Series: Playbook #3
Published by: Berkley
Release Date: December 3, 2019
Format: eARC
Pages: 336
Genres: Sports Romance, Romance, Contemporary
Source: NetGalley
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2019 Diversity Reading Challenge, Lenoreo's 2019 Netgalley and Edelweiss Challenge, Lenoreo's 2019 New Release Challenge, Lenoreo's COYER With Friends
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks ✩ IndieBound ✩ Book Depository
My rating:

Blurb:

Maxwell has finally met an opponent that he can't best in this new football romance from the author of Fumbled.

According to Brynn Larson, Maxwell Lewis is more trouble than he's worth. She doesn't care if he's a football god with a rock-hard body that brings most women to their knees. After an encounter that ends poorly, she's not interested in giving him a second chance. The last thing Brynn expects is for him to turn up at her bar months later, hat in hand. It doesn't matter if he brings more customers to her business--she's still not going on a date with him.

Maxwell knows he made a mistake. He'd been waiting to make his move on Brynn since the day he laid eyes on her and he was finally ready to go for it until he screwed up. He wishes he could tell her the truth about what happened that night, but he just can't. He can't tell anyone, so he'll make amends and hope she'll forgive him.

Brynn's not like other women, though. Playing for the Mustangs doesn't impress her and gifts make her scoff. Max will have to bring his A game if he hopes to win her over.

My Review:

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

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.