Dak
I’ve got a big pro football contract, a big appetite for women, and a big mouth. It gets me into trouble more often than not… but this time it lands me with a nerdy little PR gatekeeper who is supposed to control me. But good luck with that.
Eloise and her kitten sweaters and adorable glasses have me thinking about her in a whole different way…
Eloise
I’m not your typical nerd girl. Instead of video games, I love football. I’ve landed my dream job managing social media for my favorite team, but with Dakota North as quarterback it’s a 24/7 job. When I’m told I have to spend a week making sure Dak doesn’t tweet, he seems determined to use that time to flirt with me.
I have to ask myself, what is more important- losing my virginity to a bad boy quarterback or keeping my perfect job?
| Title: | Dating the Player |
| Author: | Erin McCarthy |
| Series: | The Legends (Book 1) |
| Pages: | 230 |
| Category / Genre(s): | Contemporary |
| Trope(s): | Sports Romance (American Football) Virgin |
| Point of View: | First Person, Past Tense, Dual Viewpoint (H & h) |
| Location: | Various places, USA |
| HEA: | ✔️ |
| Release Date: | 17th May, 2021 |
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Didn’t float my boat
It’s been a number of years since I’ve read Erin McCarthy and looking back through the books of hers I’ve read previously, she’s been a bit hit or miss for me. While this wasn’t quite a miss – but it just didn’t click with me.
Our hero is Dakota – a successful pro football player with a very wicked reputation with both the ladies and the press. His rep is completely deserved and he has no problem with admitting he enjoys sex and with as many different people as possible. I suppose I don’t have a problem with this attitude – and I don’t even really mind it in a hero… but it does make it VERY hard to believe his quick descent into love with the heroine. He says all the right things but, much like the heroine (and the hero’s mother!), I just didn’t buy he was in it for the long haul. And you have to admit that’s a major problem in a romance novel.
Eloise was a likeable heroine and when we first meet her I definitely identified with her. She’s so nervous around Dak and sees his teasing as some sort of game – I felt her anxiety and massively empathised. As we find out more about her, and as the book progresses, she comes across less and less like a geek. I don’t necessarily want cookie-cutter nerds – but what exactly about her made her a nerd? Her glasses? Her love of football? Her virginity? I was confused.
“…a well written book and just a smidge away from a cute and fun read.”
I did like our couple as a pair but this was all under the spectre of not believing in their love. They talked so much about whether or not they would have sex that when it came I was more relieved to get it over with than anything else. Equally, after the inevitable fall-out between the pair, it took so long for them to finally get themselves back together that I got a little bored, if I’m honest.
I’ve been a bit harsh in this review but it was still a well written book and just a smidge away from a cute and fun read. For the most part it held my attention but I’m not sure I’ll pick up the next book in the series unless it sounds super cute, or other readers give it glowing reviews. Not the book for me but not wholly bad – just 3 stars.
*I received this book in exchange for my honest review.*
USA Today and New York Times Bestselling author Erin McCarthy sold her first book in 2002 and has since written over seventy novels and novellas in teen fiction, new adult, and adult romance. Erin has a special weakness for high-heeled boots, beaches and martinis. She lives in Ohio with her family, two grumpy cats and a socially awkward dog.
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The Legends Series:
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