Review: Sacked by Jen Frederick
Sacked (Gridiron #1)
by: Jen Frederick
Publication Date: Sept. 6, 2015
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-ARC received via BocciPR in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 300 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars
What he wants he gets... Knox Masters is a quarterback's worst nightmare. Warrior. Champion. And...virgin. Knox knows what he wants--and he gets it. All American Football player? Check. NFL pros scouting him? Check. Now, he's set his sight on two things. The national title. And Ellie Campbell. Sure, she's the sister of his fellow teammate, but that's not going to stop him. Especially not when he’s convinced Ellie is the one.
...but he's never met her before.
But Ellie isn't as sure. She's trying to start a new life and she's not interested in a relationship...with anyone. Beside it's not just her cardinal rule of never dating her brother's teammates that keeps her away, but Ellie has a dark secret that would jeopardize everything Knox is pursuing.
Knox has no intention of losing. Ellie has no intention of giving in.
...but he's never met her before.
But Ellie isn't as sure. She's trying to start a new life and she's not interested in a relationship...with anyone. Beside it's not just her cardinal rule of never dating her brother's teammates that keeps her away, but Ellie has a dark secret that would jeopardize everything Knox is pursuing.
Knox has no intention of losing. Ellie has no intention of giving in.
Ok. So. This book is pretty much tied with THE DEAL by Elle Kennedy as favorite New Adult book of the year. I LOVED this one! I am such a fan of sports romances and I loved how vividly Frederick captured the college football atmosphere. She not only has developed a great romance, but she has developed some awesome friendships too, which I can never get enough of! I love seeing all the additional factors that surround the romance- friends, school, family.... it just makes the book so much more well-rounded and appealing for me.
I adored Knox. He is definitely the type of guy I would love to have. I loved how Ellie was it for him. No matter how much she pushed him away, he wasn't going down without a fight. I love persistence in a guy and Knox had it in spades. He's also quite the charmer. I loved his confidence and his charm isn't fake. He's got swagger for days and I loved that about him. Oh and he's a virgin. And a confident one at that. There's one scene in particular where Knox is not ashamed of that and instead of getting embarrassed he totally owns it.
I liked Ellie's character too. Her love of football is one I can relate to so that definitely endeared her to me. I did love her devotion to her brother, but I hated how her parents bullied her. They put her in a very difficult position and it angered me that her own parents would manipulate her the way they did. Her brother, Knox, and her new roommate Riley were great for her and I'm glad she could call them family instead. It just goes to show you that family can mean so much more than blood. Knox really had to work to win Ellie over. She feels immense pressure over what she's doing for her brother and she is afraid of the backlash that could occur, as it once did during high school. She is wary of Knox and she definitely makes him put in his paces.
Their romance is super sexy and sweet. Sure, I thought there were a few cheesy parts, such as what Knox and Ellie did to fix their situation, but I like a little cheese now and again. They were happy and that's what counts. I am really looking forward to getting Ty's book (Knox's twin), as well as one with Jack and Riley. I am totally shipping those two together. There are so many great side characters that I wouldn't mind reading about either!
My heart ached for her brother, Jack. It's not an easy to thing to admit you may have a learning disability because you don't want that label. It's also a pride thing. Jack didn't want to acknowledge this might be his problem and I can't blame him considering how hard his dad rode him.
This was just a fun book and it definitely brought me out of my reading slump. I loved the storyline, the characters, and I felt the angst was kept to a minimum. The Gridiron series is going to be a new favorite and I cannot wait for the next book!
I lock my legs to keep from falling over and pull out the biggest barrel I have. “Masters, there are things about me that if you knew you wouldn’t want to spend another minute in my presence.”
He considers my words, the silence taking on a heaviness and part of me already aches for what I could have if I was just any other girl at Western. “Have you killed anyone?” he finally asks. I can feel his eyes assessing me and I keep my gaze averted afraid of what
I’ll see in his moss green gaze.
“No.”
“Have you slept with my brother?”
“What?” I can’t prevent myself from gawking at Masters, who’s smiling as he asks the question. “No! God, I’ve never even met him!”
“Are you catfishing poor athletes from Auburn? Wait, don’t answer that because I don’t think I’d find that objectionable. Oh, I have it—” He snaps his fingers.
“This isn’t a joke, Masters.”
He tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear. “Until you tell me what it is, it’s not a reason to be apart either.”
I suck in my lower lip to prevent throwing myself at him and telling him to take me.
“Why?” I ask helplessly.
“Because I like you.”
He grips me by the chin and lays down gentlest, sweetest kiss. In that kiss he tells me everything. That he wants me. That he’s willing to take it slow. That he’s not giving up.
He kisses me as if this is the only thing he wants to do for the next ten hours.
His lips barely move but I can feel everything in me surge toward him. The short wedges
I shoved on this morning suddenly feel precarious. I grip his shoulders to steady myself and then find myself rising up on my tiptoes to press deeper against him. He hauls me flush against him until I can no longer touch the floor.
His one hand palms nearly my entire back while the other angles my head for better access. He may be a virgin, but the guy knows how to kiss. His tongue is finding places inside my mouth that I didn’t even know would feel good.
All the pent up desire that has been boiling in me for days comes pouring out of me. I attack him with my next kiss, biting his lower lip, sucking on his tongue. Against my belly I can feel the hard ridge of his erection.
“God,” I breathe as he abandons my mouth to trace the line of my jaw with his lips. He growls in response and pushes me back against the bookcases but I don’t even mind that the shelves are biting into my back. I just want more.
And he gives it to me. We cling to each other, feeding off of each other’s seemingly endless need until I hear a gasp and then a muted giggle. And those two faint sounds somehow manage to break through the haze of lust and bring with it the realization that
I am in a very public place. I wriggle against him and he sets me down reluctantly.
“We’re in the bookstore,” I say in a scandalized voice.
“You’ve never kissed a guy in the bookstore before?” He grins, the wicked mischievous one I’m beginning to associate with something tremendously naughty. “There’s a first time for everything.”
He considers my words, the silence taking on a heaviness and part of me already aches for what I could have if I was just any other girl at Western. “Have you killed anyone?” he finally asks. I can feel his eyes assessing me and I keep my gaze averted afraid of what
I’ll see in his moss green gaze.
“No.”
“Have you slept with my brother?”
“What?” I can’t prevent myself from gawking at Masters, who’s smiling as he asks the question. “No! God, I’ve never even met him!”
“Are you catfishing poor athletes from Auburn? Wait, don’t answer that because I don’t think I’d find that objectionable. Oh, I have it—” He snaps his fingers.
“This isn’t a joke, Masters.”
He tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear. “Until you tell me what it is, it’s not a reason to be apart either.”
I suck in my lower lip to prevent throwing myself at him and telling him to take me.
“Why?” I ask helplessly.
“Because I like you.”
He grips me by the chin and lays down gentlest, sweetest kiss. In that kiss he tells me everything. That he wants me. That he’s willing to take it slow. That he’s not giving up.
He kisses me as if this is the only thing he wants to do for the next ten hours.
His lips barely move but I can feel everything in me surge toward him. The short wedges
I shoved on this morning suddenly feel precarious. I grip his shoulders to steady myself and then find myself rising up on my tiptoes to press deeper against him. He hauls me flush against him until I can no longer touch the floor.
His one hand palms nearly my entire back while the other angles my head for better access. He may be a virgin, but the guy knows how to kiss. His tongue is finding places inside my mouth that I didn’t even know would feel good.
All the pent up desire that has been boiling in me for days comes pouring out of me. I attack him with my next kiss, biting his lower lip, sucking on his tongue. Against my belly I can feel the hard ridge of his erection.
“God,” I breathe as he abandons my mouth to trace the line of my jaw with his lips. He growls in response and pushes me back against the bookcases but I don’t even mind that the shelves are biting into my back. I just want more.
And he gives it to me. We cling to each other, feeding off of each other’s seemingly endless need until I hear a gasp and then a muted giggle. And those two faint sounds somehow manage to break through the haze of lust and bring with it the realization that
I am in a very public place. I wriggle against him and he sets me down reluctantly.
“We’re in the bookstore,” I say in a scandalized voice.
“You’ve never kissed a guy in the bookstore before?” He grins, the wicked mischievous one I’m beginning to associate with something tremendously naughty. “There’s a first time for everything.”
5 comments
I wanna read this one! Yay football!!! I know Danielle also loved it. I can handle a bit of cheese now and again I think. :)
ReplyDeleteFavorite of the year, huh? That's high praise. Well, those abs alone got my attention! :-)
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
So I love that his name is Knox, that's really sexy. And I haven't read a good sports romance in a while so I'll have to add this one to my wish list (you are killing my tbr in the best way possible haha). Great review.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed this book as much as I did! I loved the romance (even with the eye-rolling cheesy bits) but it really was the way the author captured the feel of college football that got me. It hit me hard. (And the timing with the start of the football season couldn't have been more perfect!) That part where she's like "Oh no. That can't be it. There has to be more time on the clock." Well... what die-hard football fan hasn't felt that particular gut punch a time or two (or three)? PERFECTION.
ReplyDeleteExcellent review!
YAY! I'm so happy you loved this too! I thought it was such a FUN and refreshing book to read, and hey, I like some cheese every once and a while too. :D I can't wait for more books in this series!
ReplyDeleteGreat review, babe!
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