Thursday 1 June 2017

*** REVIEW *** THE LONGEST GAME by Autumn Avery





I have it all. 

Money. Fame. Women 

But now – I only want her. 


As a star linebacker, I’ve had my share of fun. Girls throw themselves at me and until now I’ve been happy to let them. 



Until I met her… 



Tammy Rose. She’s gorgeous. 

She doesn’t know it. She gets my jeans bulging and my head spinning. 
And the best part? She has no idea who I am. 



It’s hard for a guy in my position to find a girl I can trust. A girl I could make mine forever – and until now I’d given up on the idea. 

But after the night we spent together, I knew she was the one. 


But I screwed up. I made a mistake and I don’t know if I can make it right. It’s been two years… 

Two years since I felt her, smelled her, looked into those gorgeous eyes. 
But now I’m back, and I’m not letting her go. Not this time – not when she’s the mother of my child. 


The Longest Game is a stand alone instalove romance with no cheating, no cliffhanger, and of course – a HEA, and plenty of steam to keep your Kindles hot! Disclaimer: not responsible for undergarments that need replacing ;) 





I’m on a run of cute books that I read through quickly.  I like them, I like the characters, and they give me some nice feels.  The Longest Game by Autumn Avery is another book that falls into this category for me.  It is good.  It is fun to read, and it makes me mentally note the author for the future.

I like sports theme books.  I like when the cocky jock gets hung up on a girl, and she wins his heart.  I like the unplanned baby.  The Longest Game has some of these qualities; it is a sweet story, and it uses the typical romance tropes in a typical romance way.  Don’t get me wrong that isn’t a bad thing; the old tropes are still used because they work. This is a good romance novel with real characters that I enjoy reading it.

What I like:

Tammy Rose--The main character.  I like her strength, her ability to love the people close to her, she takes responsibility for her actions and doesn’t blame anyone else.  These are qualities I like in female characters.  Tammy changes her long-term plans because her mother is fighting cancer and needs her close.  Instead of going to college Tammy takes a job at the local diner to be available when her mother needs her.  Her boyfriend who she thought she has a future with decides that he wants to try again with his ex.  Now it is time for her to live again and what is better than to accept an invitation from a local football hero.

Derek—At first, I’m on the fence about him.  He seems like a good guy.  He protects Tammy from a jerk who is harassing her.  There is instant-lust-love on his part for Tammy that is returned.  His inner dialog convinces the reader that he feels something special for Tammy although he does have baggage from an ex.  Then Derek makes a dumb jock move that makes me hate him for a time.  I know it sounds crazy, but I like the character even though he burns me up.

Georgina- is an enviable “best friend” character.  She inspires and stands by Tammy.  In the beginning, she urges Tammy to get a life and have a little fun.  After Tammy’s life changes again, she helps Tammy protect her heart.  She is often the voice of reason for Tammy to bounce off her frustrations.

The basic storyline is a good one.  I like the jerk who doesn’t know he is a father and then comes back onto the scene again. 

What I didn’t like:

I didn’t buy the reason for the long disappearance.  This would work in the sixties or seventies but my goodness Derek is a big football star.  He makes a lot of money.  If he really wants to make contact, he could hire a private detective…do a Google search…something.  It doesn’t work.  Are you telling me in the off-season Derek couldn’t find any time to look for the girl that is so special to him? 

It doesn’t wash that he couldn’t get information from the people at the diner.  I see sports celebrities talk people into giving them information all the time. Fans will give anything up to touch celebrities’ lives even if it is only for a second.  A little more research on the plausibility of a scenario would help.  There is an attempt to explain his actions because of an emotional upheaval, but it didn’t click completely for me. I’m sure the extra time is to give the baby time to age, however, for me, a shorter separation would work better.    


Overall, I like the story, and willing do a little eye roll and hand wave to get over the part that doesn’t feel right.  The couple has chemistry and the ending is satisfactory.  I will continue to look for books by Autumn Avery in the future.  She is a good writer.

3.5 Stars  


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