Snapped

The Playbook, Book 4

By: Alexa Martin

Narrated by: Soneela Nankani, Cary Hite

Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

One of PopSugar's Best Romances of October

With the stakes this high, it’s no longer just a game for the Mustang’s quarterback in this romance by the author of Blitzed.

Elliot Reed is living her best life — or pretending to. She owes it to her dad’s memory to be happy and make the most of her new job as Strategic Communications Manager for the Denver Mustangs. Things are going well until star quarterback Quinton Howard Jr. decides to use the field as his stage and takes a knee during the national anthem.

As the son of a former professional athlete, Quinton knows the good, the bad, and the ugly about football. He's worked his entire life to gain recognition in the sport, and now that he has it, he’s not about to waste his chance to change the league for better. Not even the brilliant but infuriating Elliot, who the Mustangs assign to manage him, will get Quinton back in line.

A rocky initial meeting leads to more tension between Quinton and Elliot. But as her new job forces them to spend time together, Elliot realizes they may have more in common than she could've imagined. With her job and his integrity on the line, this is one coin toss that nobody can win.

©2020 Alexa Martin (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

One of PopSugar's Best New Fall 2020 Books

"Martin is an incredible storyteller and has a unique ability to blend fiction with real-life situations in the sports world. ”—La La Anthony, New York Times bestselling author

“Martin skillfully crafts a delicate balance between romance, politics, current events and a main character's self-realization in a story that rarely feels predictable.”—NPR

“The ups and downs of love in the NFL are well portrayed with a heavy dose of humor and snark in Martin’s sports romance...Perfect for readers looking for a fun contemporary.”—Publishers Weekly

Great Story

I liked the story but it was a struggle at the beginning. There should have been more focus on the characters who seemed a bit shallow at times instead of focusing so much on black pop culture. Being a black American Woman this can be a bit tiresome and it looks like they're trying to hard.

Right On Time

Entertaining and speaking to recent history and history in the community of people of color. Loved it!

Almost...

Story took too long to build...i appreciate showing what could have happened if the league would have got behind kap as well as shedding light on cte...but it would have been nice for the racist maller guy to be exposed in some way...the story overall was too easy but had potential to be really good

Pure Fun!

I don’t understand the reviewer who read all four books in this series, judged them “mediocre,” and then complained about all of the “racial identity stuff” in all four books! I rarely write reviews, but that is enough to piss me off. First off, if they are just “mediocre,” why read the whole damn series? I’ll tell you why: because Alexa Martin’s books are fun and sexy escapism. I’ve enjoyed all of them immensely, and I am a white woman — like, super-white suburban WASP white with a mom named Karen — I’ll fight anyone who thinks that is a reasonable excuse for not supporting black authors (among other things). Being anti-racist doesn’t mean just reading Ibram X. Kendi books and serious academic tomes all day. It also means allowing space for BIPOC to fully exist everywhere, including romance novels! I don’t need characters in books to be just like me, I need them to be interesting. Hell, I don’t even like or watch football, and I’m still looking forward to Alexa Martin’s NEXT book. I don’t feel like anything in her books is being forced on me. Her characters are fun and smart, her story lines are modern and relevant (especially this last one; frequent references to CTE, racism, pension parity, etc. in the NFL franchise remind you that this sport is seriously scary and ever-evolving), and she keeps just enough realism in there to make it feel like fun, almost-believable escapism, not a straight fantasy novel. Ugh. Read the book and have fun — also, great narrators!!!

Enjoyed it from start to finish

I thought the story was as good as I ever heard. You won’t be disappointed. I hope Ms.Martin continues to write more stories she’s an excellent author.

Adored

I have totally enjoyed the series! Great job 👏🏽! Some very necessary issues addressed and tastefully so. My only hesitation is the narrator, she fails to bring the emotion out, she tells the story like she’s reading it and not living it.

Love it!!

I’m a huge fan and just like her other books, this one was wonderful! Outstanding!

Anther One

Loved this entire series! Like the others, book 4 did not disappoint. A must read!

Okay!!!!

So, having gotten to this book in the series I have a LOT more clarity about how/why the other books read as they do. I really appreciate how this book take a clearer, more deliberate look at the way race impacts this franchise and everyone in it, even when you’re a Black woman who’s been raised not to see it. Though I still had some issues with the pacing (the friendships btw the Lady Mustangs and Elliott seemed HELLA forced), it really enjoyed how the story took shape! Even with this being THEE SLOWEST burn I’ve ever read I laughed at many parts, and rooted for this couple throughout. 4/5 stars for narration (a Black girl who can sound Black for Vonnie would be AWESOME—and matter of fact, when is HER story coming?!); would definitely recommend a read!

Don’t bother reading.

This book was written for teens. Not a lot of substance to the book. The plot was shallow.