Wild Card by Maggie Rawdon is live!
A fun and spicy frenemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, opposites attract sports romance full of snark and chemistry, with a sexy, slow-building love story. This is a great read, and I loved it!
Amazon
Blurb
The infamous playboy and star wide receiver for the Seattle Phantom is the last person on earth I would ever expect to come to my rescue. Tobias Westfield and I can’t see eye-to-eye on anything.
But when my date goes to hell and I end up stranded in the pouring rain on my birthday, he’s there—holding my hand and playing the adoring boyfriend. I might have had him all wrong.
Until a leaked video and a motorcycle accident turn everything upside down.
When he struggles in the aftermath, walling himself off from the rest of the world, our friends volunteer my help—whether he wants it or not.
So we’re stuck together while my job is in limbo and he fights to save his career. But every door I open and every day we spend together has me wondering if we’re really all that different…
Review
4 stars!
A fun and spicy enemies-to-lovers sports romance full of snark and chemistry, with a sexy, slow-building love story. This is a great read, and I loved it!
This is the third book in the Seattle Phantom Football series. Tobias and Scarlett have both appeared in earlier books of the series (and Tobias in the Plays & Penalties series), and there is quite a bit of character crossover, but you could read this one as a standalone.
Tobias is a loud and fun-loving NFL player. He’s lively and playful, and a bit of a player, tending to avoid relationships or serious commitment. Scarlett is a quiet museum curator who is looking for love after watching all of her friends settle down. They met through their mutual best friends (Alex and Harper, from Pick Six), and while Tobias takes great pleasure in antagonising Scarlett at every opportunity, she wants nothing to do with him.
I’m fairly certain she thinks I’m a dumb jock with shit for brains and the fact that she still imagines riding me probably gives her existential rage. The kind that could be channelled into the kind of hate fucking I’d die for.
Their ‘relationship’ is purely insults and snarky banter, but when Scarlett needs rescuing during an awkward romantic set-up, Tobias comes to her rescue, and they end up having a one night stand which rocks both of their worlds. They agree that they don’t want to pursue anything romantic, but they also agree that one night is not enough. So they start secretly hooking up, and oh holy damn, it’s SO freaking sexy! These two are FIRE together, both a little wild, and their connection absolutely sizzles.
“This was just supposed to be a weird friendly-banter-tension thing between us. It was working pretty well. Now we’ve fucked it all up.”
Things take a turn when Tobias is badly injured in an accident, and Scarlett steps in to help care for him. They see a whole new side to each other as Tobias struggles physically and mentally with his injuries, and Scarlett’s nurturing side comes out as she is there for him in ways neither of them allowed in the past. And with them both wide open emotionally, they truly get to know each other. They actually have a lot in common, and Tobias, in particular, has a much deeper side that Scarlett (and I) really enjoyed getting to see. And pretty soon, everything starts to change.
I want to earn her. Deserve her. … She isn’t broken like I am, clawing her way back to something even approaching normal. She’s fucking sweet and perfect. So thoughtful and smart. Everything I’ve ever thought I wanted … Fuck, I want a shot at something with her.
This man is going to be my undoing. There’s very little chance at this point, I don’t fall for him if I haven’t lost myself already to it. But I don’t care.
There’s some push and pull between them, but it’s entertaining rather than angsty, and I loved watching these two fall so hard and so completely for each other. We get to see lots of together time, which I love in a romance, their physical connection continues to be out of control hot ,and the swooniness of it all was a great surprise.
“You’re perfect. Frighteningly so.” Her fingertips run along my jaw, over the now fading scar the accident left on my face.
“Even scarred?”
“Scarred. Broken. Whatever you are. I don’t care. I’m here and I want it.”“I love you, Scarlett. A maddening fucking amount if we’re being honest.”
Their close circle of friends are a part of the action, and I enjoyed seeing them all again. This group has a fun dynamic, and so much fun to read about.
This is a fun, sexy, gorgeously romantic read. I loved it. 4 stars.
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Seattle Phantom Football
Defensive End (#0.5) (Alex & Harper)
Review
Free: Available on author’s website
Pick Six (#1) (Alex & Harper)
Review
Buy: Amazon
About the Author
Maggie loves books, travel and wandering through museums. She lives in the Midwest where you can find her writing on her laptop with her two pups at her side, in between binge watching epic historical and fantasy dramas and cheering for her favorite American (and European) football teams on the weekends. She loves writing dirty athletes and smart women and has a soft spot for writing characters who banter instead of flirt.
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