Claiming Carter

A Forbidden Relationship Sports Romance (Waverly Wildcats, Book 1)

De: Jennifer Bonds

Narrado por: Ash Beverly, Amy Hall

Three words to describe Kennedy Carter?

Smart. Driven. Killer legs. See also: my last hope of winning a national football championship.

Okay, so technically that’s more than three, but I’ve got bigger problems at the moment.

Thanks to a drunken dare, Waverly University is short a kicker and with the home opener in three weeks, I’ll do whatever it takes to lead my team to victory. Even if it means poaching talent from the women’s soccer team. Or recruiting a sassy, STEM-loving feminist who wants nothing to do with football or me.

Fortunately, Kennedy Carter has a weakness. One I’m not above exploiting if it gets her to play ball.

Sparks fly and the more time we spend together, the harder it gets to fight the sizzling attraction. But Carter’s off limits and if word of our teammates with benefits arrangement gets out, I’ll be riding the bench. I’ve always played by the rules, but this is one game I can’t afford to lose.

Not when it means choosing between my legacy and claiming Carter.

©2020 Jennifer Bonds (P)2025 Jennifer Bonds

i loved this so much

i can truly say this was a sports romance unlike anything i’ve read before! i loved Kennedy and Austin so much and I will definitely be back for more Jennifer books 📚

Austin is a star quarterback for the Waverly Wildcats and he’s trying his best to be noticed for the NFL draft. There’s just one issue… the Wildcats are down a good kicker for their team. Austin recruits Kennedy, star female soccer player, to try out as kicker. Kennedy is reluctant at first, as she’s sworn off football, but Austin sweetens the deal by helping her attain a nice athletic scholarship. They start spending more time together on and off the field but you’ll have to read to find out what happens next! 💓

Kennedy was such a cool female character! I’ve never read a female football player and it honestly was such a gratifying experience to read a character who can break into a male dominated sport. She was so smart studying to be an engineer and her banter with Austin was top tier! She didn’t take anything off the guys on the team!

Austin was this cool quarterback who is on the lookout for everyone but he had a soft spot for Kennedy. I loved how he helped her with her engineering competition and he realized by the end of the book that she was way more important than any football game or scout.

I listened to this one as an audiobook and Amy Hall + Ash Beverly do an amazing job on dual narration! They really brought the banter and relationships off the page in an amazing way. I felt like these narrators really captured Kennedy + Austin at a core level. 🎙️

You definitely have to check out this unique sports romance series! 🏈

Football, STEM, Spice…yes please👏🏻

This was such a sweet sports romance! I thought the storyline was good, I loved seeing the interaction with most of the team with the FMC. I love the relationship that forms between the MMC and FMC. I listened to the audiobook and Ash Beverly and Amy Hall did a fantastic job bringing Austin and Kennedy to life. 10/10 recommend!

Very cute!

I absolutely loved this audiobook and getting lost in Austin and Kennedy’s sweet story. When Austin approaches Kennedy about joining the football team as a kicker, she’s hesitant until she realizes the scholarship could be a game changer. Though she’s not thrilled about the idea at first, their undeniable chemistry and playful banter make for an irresistible journey. What starts as a “teammates with benefits” arrangement, set to end with the season, soon turns into something deeper, though not without its challenges.

Amy Hall and Ash Beverly were the perfect narrators for Austin and Kennedy, bringing their dynamic to life effortlessly. They captured the playful push and pull of their relationship, excelling in both the witty banter and the passion between them. If you love sports romances packed with humor, sizzling chemistry, and heartfelt moments, this audiobook is a must listen!

Austin and Kennedy

Claiming Carter is my first book by this author and won’t be my last. I’ve read many sports romance stories but never one where the FMC plays on the same team as the MMC. I absolutely loved the uniqueness of Austin and Kennedy’s story.

Austin’s football team needs a kicker and Kennedy is the best choice. Although Kennedy initially wants nothing to do with football nor football players, and is comfortable being a star soccer player, Austin makes it worth her while by offering a scholarship.

I loved Austin and Kennedy together. Their chemistry is electric and it doesn’t take long for their teammates with benefits arrangement to turn into more. This story is a page turner packed with lots of banter and laugh out loud moments. I loved the fun side characters and the team shenanigans.

Their romance is a slow burn, but the buildup of Austin and Kennedy’s relationship is worth the wait. Austin was down bad for her and there is nothing better than a grand gesture. Claiming Carter is a great start to this series and I can’t wait for the next book.

Narration:
When I found out who was narrating this book, I couldn’t wait to listen. Amy Hall and Ash Beverly did a fantastic job brining Kennedy and Austin to life. They really embodied the characters, and expertly portrayed the essence of their personalities.

Fantastic Story with Wonderful Narration!

Claiming Carter is the first audiobook in the new Waverly Wildcats series by Jennifer Bonds, and I must say, this series is off to a great start! When the football team loses its star kicker, their QB, Austin, thinks out of the box to recruit Kennedy Carter, a powerhouse of a female soccer player to take his place. Problem is she just happens to hold all football players in disdain, thanks in large part to a deadbeat dad who was a football player. These two can’t deny their off-the-charts chemistry, though. But when their teammates-with-benefits arrangement turns out not to be enough for either of them, they both struggle to accept it. This incredible love story with a backdrop of intense football play, witty team banter, and parental issues makes for a fascinating story. I can’t wait to see what comes next in this series!

The dual narration is provided by Amy Hall and Ash Beverly, who are both brilliant in these roles. They bring this fantastic story to life with real and nuanced portrayals of these wonderful characters. I loved every minute of their performances!

Great start to this series!

Story -❤️❤️❤️❤️
Spice -🌶🌶
Narration -⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Claiming Carter is book #1 in the new sports series Waverly Wildcats. This is a new author for me and I enjoyed the story. Austin Reed and Kennedy Carter are navigating their senior year of college as athletes. He's a star QB for football and she plays soccer. When the Wildcats lose their kicker, Kennedy is recruited to take his place. He doesn't date because he doesn't need distractions. She doesn't date football players because her father was a deadbeat. Coach's no fraternizing rule means they have to fight their attraction...FAIL! The author really gave us a complete picture of the characters, their family issues, school pressure, and peer problems. So many good things going on with this story and the team, I just know the rest of this series is going to be good!

The narration was fabulous. Ash Beverly (Austin) and Amy Hall (Kennedy) delivered their characters angst, their slow-burn passion, and their emotions with self-discovery brilliantly. Loved this duo!! 5/5 stars! ⭐️

lovely story

This is my first Jennifer Bonds and won't be my last. I loved it and couldn't put it down! Plus, it's such a unique storyline with the FMC becoming the kicker for the men's college football team. The chemistry between Austin and Kennedy is so much fun as they try to fight it and eventually give in. I love that he challenges her, having faith in her ability to try this new gig. I also love that she supports him and his dreams. As their relationship grows, they learn to lean on each other which is huge considering they've both struggled with that in the past.

Amy Hall and Ash Beverly are fantastic as Kennedy and Austin. I love the confidence Amy is able to voice in Kennedy's character giving her not only that fierce FMC personality but the vibrant go getter attribute as well. Her performance in the more vulnerable moments truly shined through for me. Ash Beverly was incredible and convincing as the charming MMC Austin. His tone leaves no doubt that he's passionate about Kennedy and will show up for her. The banter between these two is so much fun and Amy and Ash both delivered.

A FMC Playing D1 Football

Claiming Carter is the first in the Waverly Wildcats series by Jennifer Bond. After a dare led to a broken leg, Waverly University’s football team needed a new place kicker, and Quarterback and Team Captain Austin Reid found the best replacement in Kennedy Carter, a member of the women’s soccer team. Lured to the sport she hated by the promise of a full scholarship, Kennedy committed to becoming the team’s new Kicker. The Coach insisted on “no funny business” and her mother extracted a promise that she wouldn’t get involved with a football player. However, there was a spark between Austin and Kennedy that was impossible to resist. It would be fine as long as it was a secret, physical only relationship and ended at the end of the football season. So what we ended up with was a spicy, New Adult, enemies to lovers, found family, slow burn, secret, forbidden, sex only, time limited relationship where he fell first. I really liked Austin, who was the antithesis of everything Kennedy’s mother had told her about football players. I liked Kennedy, who was a smart, accomplished mechanical engineering student athlete. I loved that she did learn to appreciate her teammates and acknowledged when they didn’t all lend themselves to the stereotype that she had been raised with. Both Kennedy and Austin had issues they had to overcome in relation to their parents’ expectations and their own happiness. While they did stumble (third act breakup,) they did get there in the end. The narrators, Ash Beverly and Amy Hall, both did a great job with their respective POV. This was a fun audiobook, and I would definitely recommend it for listeners who enjoy contemporary sports (soccer, football) romance and the tropes mentioned above.

I would like to thank Pinup Audio for providing this audiobook in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

Good college football romance with great narration!

𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 is the first book in the Waverly Wildcats series by Jennifer Bonds, featuring forced proximity/ secret romance between Austin and Kennedy. When the Wildcats lose their kicker to injury and stupidity, team captain, Austin Reid obliterates the box by recruiting Kennedy Carter from the women’s soccer team. She has a killer leg and the potential to save their season. The problem? She hates football players and the chemistry between them is going to be impossible to deny, no matter what Coach says. A secret Teammates with Benefits arrangement seems like a good solution, but will it really work without someone getting hurt?

I really enjoyed going back to where this series began for the release of the new covers. I loved the premise of introducing a female kicker to the team, and the drama that comes with that. Austin is a great character with more layers than you realize at first. He’s a strong leader, a good friend, and he is willing to sacrifice entirely too much to make his father proud. When it comes to Kennedy, I’m a bit conflicted. I appreciate her strength, her drive to succeed, and my heart certainly went out to her over the emotional issues she still carries from her father. However, it felt like she spent way too much of the book painting every football player with a broad brush, making them pay for her father’s shortcomings, especially Austin. Yes, he made a mistake late in the book, while under family pressure, but she couldn’t give him an inch. I don’t know, it just frustrated me. Other than that, I enjoyed their relationship, their banter, the angst and definitely their passion. I also loved the dynamics of the guys on the team, and this book definitely succeeded in setting up an interesting world for a series.

The newly released audio version is narrated by Ash Beverly and Amy Hall, who both did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life, through the banter, emotion, chemistry, and that team camaraderie! I really enjoyed this story on audio, and I look forward to listening to the rest of the series as they are released in this format!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️.5
🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️

She's the kicker!

I love a good sports romance and this one in particular is so good because Kennedy is the kicker. After the football team loses their field goal kicker to injury, Austin does his best to get Kennedy put on the team. She is accurate and the perfect fit for this position, but convincing the coach to give her a full ride scholarship as well as have a girl on the team is not easy. Now she is there, and the chemistry between these two is palpable. Exploding into passion, it only leads to friends with benefits, but does it really? As time goes on, these two realize there is more to life than just their own paths. But will they be able to meld their paths to a future? I loved this for so many reasons. Kennedy is a strong woman. She is smart, capable and knows where she is going in life as long as she gets her degree. Austin needs her. She is his kick in the pants to help him follow his own dreams. I love their chemistry, their friendship and their banter. It's a touchdown!

Ash Beverly is new to me, and I loved his voice. Perfect for the new adult genre, he dove into Austin and portrayed him perfectly. A parent pleaser, a confident quarterback, he finds his niche and is amazing. Amy Hall comes in as Kennedy. Strong, smart and passionate about her work. she is right there with her, creating the person she is. Loved it!