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My need for a beach read has grown after finishing today’s book.  I really want the Eddie Izzard filling in my romance sandwich, but Emily Henry’s Beach Read is calling my name!  Do you ever have that experience where one book in a genre makes you crave more, and not just from the same series?  Join us for the book club discussion on Friday, June 18th at 7:30pm Central Time and let us know what you think!  I hope you’ll SIGN UP HERE and let us know about how genres flow together, or don’t, in your reading life!

Dear readers, today’s pick is one of those titles that I wish I knew how it made it’s happy little way to my TBR because I’m SO grateful there are already three more in the series.  I tried to #blameAnne at Modern Mrs. Darcy, and despite finding this delightful post, I don’t think that’s it. [Ashley’s theory is that romance author Kathryn Nolan probably suggested it in a past email newsletter. She’s very helpful in adding diverse authors to our TBR.  Nikki confirmed!] 

Intercepted by Alexa Martin is a delightful debut that includes all the things I love about a romance novel, including the societal issues I wanted addressed in a contemporary novel featuring an NFL player, written by the wife of a retired NFL player.  I didn’t know anything except the series is about NFL players and the content was spicy (read: open door), and I didn’t read the marketing copy.  So, when the novel opens and Marlee is with Chris and he is… almost nothing I want him to be… I was confused, and then read about the new quarterback in town and I understood where we were headed.  

As we start the story in Intercepted, Chris is very disrespectful to Marlee, and he’s trying to prove himself to anyone who’ll pay attention to him, except Marlee.  This concern does not follow him to the football field, which is really where he should have this particular concern, as a wide receiver.  Another aspect that frustrated me, almost as much as Chris did, was the NFL wives, who are more hateful than the mean girls and I. Just. Cannot.  Legit, Ashley and I had a text conversation about why in the world supposedly grown adults treat life and society like The Hunger Games.  Folks, if your life partner has made it to the point of being a professional athlete, he has survived The Hunger Games, and you were never helpful in the actual game part anyway.  And for the rest of us, a rising tide raises all ships, we don’t have to put each other down, ever.  It makes us all look and feel bad, and is almost never worth the energy.  There is enough to go around if we can all be kind to one another!  Naomi is the fantastic exception to my frustrations.  She is Marlee’s BFF, and her character is delightful, becoming only more so as we move through the story.  

I feel like I’m complaining about the book, but I am not.  I’m complaining about the characters and I’m more frustrated by them because they feel so real, which is a compliment to Alexa Martin and Intercepted!  Martin’s writing is engaging and descriptive and pulled me in from the first page.  There were so many actions from the characters that were frustrating and real, which made the book feel even more relatable.  Either I’ve been in the shoes of one of the characters or one of my friends has.  Not the professional sports adjacent pieces, but the hot mess relationship pieces.  This is exactly one of the issues I sometimes have with romance novels, particularly titles that focus on people who are not ordinary (royals, billionaires, professional athletes, etc.).  People who are so removed from my real life can be a struggle to relate to if there are no other pieces of their story that provide a connection.  It’s easy for the guy or gal next door to be a caricature of some sort, but for someone who already feels so outside of my life, I need to have a reason to root for them.  Speaking of, this novel is told entirely from Marlee’s perspective, which I adore because her sass and snark are on point and she’s living that #hashtaglife just like Ashley is!  Because of that, we don’t get to know Gavin or his point of view as much.  I wanted to like Gavin more than I did (I wanted him to join the Bromance Book Club so badly), but because all the reader’s pages are spent in Marlee’s head and I was hundop rooting for her, it worked out, like a romance novel does, with that HEA.  

I’m giving Intercepted by Alexa Martin three stars for a fun, fast read with real relationship and life struggles.  I’m not likely to reread this title, but I’m very interested in reading TK’s story (Fumbled, Playbook #2) from his brief participation in Intercepted.  Also, I’ve already recommended to my library Martin’s anticipated 2021 release Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes and I’m thoroughly looking forward to reading it this fall!

What book had characters that made you mad, but their antics made you enjoy the book more?

~Nikki 

Let me make something perfectly clear, if it wasn’t already: I’m a sucker for a sports romance. I’m finding that out about myself. Yeah, small town romance is super relatable. Shifter romance can be interesting. But those chiseled NFL and NHL men with their badass heroines who don’t let them walk all over them… that’s my jam. Yeah, we have to deal with heroes going into the hospital for concussions amid other numerous injuries, but that’s ok. Plus, the hockey books never talk about missing teeth, so I’m ok to imagine they all have their own full-sets instead of dentures, but I digress. Intercepted by Alexa Martin is everything I want a football romance to be, so much so that the second book in the four book The Playbook Series, Fumbled, is awaiting download from the digital library right this very second.

Alexa Martin is the wife of a former NFL player – who is a current high school football coach at the highschool where they met!-, and as Nikki said, Intercepted is her debut novel based upon the 8 years she spent as an NFL wife. She is, undoubtedly, ‘our people’ as apparent by the snark and sass found on her website bio page. My favorite part is where she discusses how her children are unimpressed with anything she does. Martin gives a specific example about how the STARZ adaptation of the playbook series by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and LaLa Anthony is going to be ‘disgusting’ according to her kid. It’s pure hilarity! She and her husband live in Colorado where their four kids run their lives.

I, like Nikki, don’t want to seem like I am complaining about this solid 3 star romance read, but I kinda wanted a little bit more schmexytimes. The number of occurrences was delicious like a home cooked meal, not like a Michelin starred restaurant. I was satisfied but not overcome with emotions about it. I’m excited about the STARZ series once it’s slated for release! I will probably be reading more books in the series this month, and I, too, recommended Martin’s September release to the library.

~Ashley

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