Title: THE FRIEND ZONE (GAME ON #2)
by KRISTEN CALLIHAN
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Genres: Sports Romance, New Adult Contemporary, College Romance
Gray doesn’t make friends with women. He has sex with them. Until Ivy.
The last thing star tight-end Gray Grayson wants to do is drive his agent’s daughter’s bubblegum pink car. But he needs the wheels and she’s studying abroad. Something he explains when she sends him an irate text to let him know exactly how much pain she’ll put him in if he crashes her beloved ride. Before he knows it, Ivy Mackenzie has become his best texting bud. But then Ivy comes home and everything goes haywire. Because the only thing Gray can think of is being with Ivy.
Ivy doesn’t have sex with friends. Especially not with a certain football player. No matter how hot he makes her…
Gray drives Ivy crazy. He’s irreverent, sex on a stick, and completely off limits. Because, Ivy has one golden rule: never get involved with one of her father’s clients. A rule that’s proving harder to keep now that Gray is doing his best to seduce her. Her best friend is fast becoming the most irresistible guy she’s ever met.
Which means Gray is going to have to use all his skills to get himself out of the friend zone and into Ivy’s heart. Game on
Review:
Swoon!!! Ladies and gentleman, meet Gray Grayson and prepare to fall in LOVE!!
THE FREIND ZONE is a super-funny, very steamy, and very romantic sports romance that I absolutely adored. It can be read as a standalone although two characters from The Hook-Up make appearances here. If you are looking for a fast-paced, clever story, then THE FRIEND ZONE is for you.
I think one of my favorite quotes of the year so far has to be from this book:
“I’m trying to commiserate, you noodle. Because the itching was torture when it grew back. And do not get me started on the pain of waxing. I was certain that evil woman had ripped my lady lips off.”
“Lady lips? Oh Christ.” His gleeful laughter echoes through the stadium.
“This is so not funny,” I protest, my hands on my hips as his abs clench—which, unf—and he cracks up. “It was the worst pain of my life. And I’ve broken my arm in two places.”
Lady lips! I love it! But the story is great and the supporting characters all vital to the story and just as interesting as Gray and Ivy. Ivy has vowed never to do casual hook-ups, especially with an athlete. Her sports-agent father’s lifestyle turned her off to that. And Gray isn’t interested in a monogamous relationship, until of course, he meets Ivy.
This book is extremely clever and the author creates a real and meaningful friendship between Ivy and Gray. Their relationship is believable, sweet and honest, and so their eventual sexy times did not feel rushed at all, but instead felt like a perfectly natural progression of their growing passion.
And speaking of sex, did I mention that Gray is irresistible? Yep, perfect boyfriend material. The nighttime stadium scene? I died a little. He’s an intelligent and incredibly gifted athlete with a bright future ahead if only he can withstand his sorry excuse for a family.
“To me it’s a cathedral. I sit here and I feel calm, centered. And yet it’s like all the energy of games past remains, coursing through my veins, and I can’t wait for the next game.”
These two are meant for each other, it’s just that they don’t quite realize it at the beginning:
“His forearm tenses, and I find him staring at me with wide eyes. Pain resides there, and a sort of longing too. I recognize it in myself — that need to have someone understand how empty life can feel, as if you’re the only one in your universe.
Gray holds my gaze for another second then clears his throat. “Shit, Mac, you’re going to have me bawling like a baby soon.” He gives me a lopsided smile.”
Ivy and Gray care deeply for each other; they both had sad and lonely lives when they were younger, some of which has spilled over into their young adult lives and which has brought them closer together. But never fear, the author watches over your heart and doesn’t let anything too painful happen to it.
Gray falls for ivy, despite his surprise at the depth of his feelings for her. It was actually quite beautiful to watch his feelings unfold
“And that strange dichotomy is my Ivy. Insane planner mixed with a free spirit who goes with the flow. A surge of affection hits me, and I sink further into the pillows.”
Lest I forget to rave about the sexy times, they are HAWT!! Take one 6’6″ football player who weighs well over 200 pounds, with a drop-dead body and a very sensitive and loving soul and you have the recipe for PERFECT sex! And they both like to act out fantasies. THUD.
There are some very serious and sensitive moments in The Friend Zone, but they are handled with sensitivity and grace by the author. And the Epilogue was perfect! Not completely unexpected but tender and loving nonetheless.
Buy #2 The Friend Zone
Buy #1 The Hook Up
(ARC provided by the author in return for an honest review.)