Intercepted

The Playbook, Book 1

By: Alexa Martin

Narrated by: January LaVoy

Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Series in development with Starz & G-Unit Films and Television by 50 Cent and La La Anthony

One of NPR's Best Books of 2018

An Amazon Best Romance of 2018 Pick

An iBooks "Best of September" Pick

A GoodReads Best of the Month pick for September

One of Booklist's Top 10 Romance Debuts for 2018

One of BookBub's Best Fall Romances of 2018

Marlee thought she scored the man of her dreams only to be scorched by a bad breakup. But there's a new player on the horizon, and he's in a league of his own...

Marlee Harper is the perfect girlfriend. She's definitely had enough practice by dating her NFL-star boyfriend for the last 10 years. But when she discovers he has been tackling other women on the sly, she vows to never date an athlete again. There's just one problem: Gavin Pope, the new hotshot quarterback and a fling from the past, has Marlee in his sights.

Gavin fights to show Marlee he's nothing like her ex. Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to let her escape her past. The team's wives, who never led the welcome wagon, are not happy with Marlee's return. They have only one thing on their minds: taking her down. But when the gossip makes Marlee public enemy number one, she worries about more than just her reputation.

Between their own fumbles and the wicked wives, it will take a Hail Mary for Marlee and Gavin's relationship to survive the season.

©2018 Alexa Martin (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Narrator January LaVoy's performance of this contemporary sports romance will have listeners cheering.... LaVoy brings humor, drama, and conflict to life as she nails unique and consistent voices for a host of characters. Her comedic timing and portrayals of emotional pain will make binge-listening the easiest play in the audiobook." (AudioFile)

"The writing is snappy, the pacing is quick, the romance is sublime, and the humor is off-the-charts. Alexa Martin delivers a stellar love story, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next." (USA Today)

"Martin scores a touchdown of a debut with Intercepted, a witty rom-com set in the world of professional football players and their wives." (Entertainment Weekly)

"[Marlee's] love story isn't about which football player is The One for her, it's about a woman claiming her independence on her own terms, even when a hunky guy keeps coming to the rescue." (NPR)

Perfect Escapism Romance

I love this book. It is sweet and cheesy with a little more angst than I’d want. But that’s what makes a great romance. I really like how complete this story is. It doesn’t end when they get together. We get to see their journey And how they deal with different challenges to find and recommit to each other. Gavin is an absolute dream of an unrealistic man. He is my romance novel boyfriend and so perfect. I love that he is always concerned with how the heroine is doing and extremely emotionally available. I can’t wait to see this as a series since it’s been picked up by STARZ. I hope he remains true to his character. Marlee was a little irritating but I’ve read much worse. Loved this cheesy perfect contemporary romance.

Fantastic!

This is a fantastic book. The perfect mix of romance and edge-of-your-seat drama! It is a mixture of Gossip Girl and All American tv shows in the NFL world. I swear Marley is me! An independent, sassy, outspoken hot mess of a woman. The narrator was perfect! The tones and accents used made me feel like I was in the book.

Oh wow

Im so glad I bought this book to listen to on my drive. It was well written, funny, they characters were well rounded...I bought the audible—and it was READ WELL...with expression. I love it

#nomorehashtags

I enjoyed the story and was intrigued as the story progressed. But the hashtags! I could have really done with out that. I also don’t think the narrator depicted the true voice of the character. Overall pretty good.

Great Book

This book was very good. it kept me laughing and caught up in the storyline. the hashtags were so hilarious. Great Writing.

Great story hate the #s

The story was entertaining. The performance was great. My deal is with the #s no one talks like this. No millennial would say that outside of twitter and IG. Hopefully the next book lays off the #s

A Book You Can Get Lost in.

Love the writing the internal monologue of the protagonist is so much fun. The character development is fun nothing too heavy though which is what I need in my life. I feel like I’ve found a literary equivalent of sipping margaritas in unrestrained sunshine!

Touchdown!

Great story and awesome performance by January LaVoy! Marley was entertaining throughout, and Gavin is a RomCom dream boyfriend you’ll love.

#LovedIt

Alexa Martin delivers a quirky and zany read about Marlee, who is the girlfriend of Chris, a NFL wide receiver and all around #Douchebag. She is also not your typical pro baller girlfriend being a short woman with curves, independent, and a hard worker. All of the things that make her unique and special are frowned upon by the elite wives club. Her tower of support are her best friend Naomi—another NFL wife and her husband, her boss turned friend, Brynn, and her parents.

While Marlee genuinely loves Chris, her uneasiness and unhappiness with their relationship and life slowly eats away at her until the inevitable happens, and she’s forced to walk away.

Enter #DreamMan Gavin Pope, the new QB of the team and the man—out of all the men in the world—Marlee had a one time fling with during a “break” between she and Chris. It has been years since she last saw Gavin, and while Marlee never forgot him, she’s convinced he’s forgotten her, until she finds out he hasn’t. #ItsAboutToGoDown

This story was fun and hilarious, and it’s always a beauty when the characters are so well developed (hint: Marlee loves to talk in hashtags lol). Even as light as the story is, it covers deep and meaningful issues that the author didn’t shy away from with societal pressures, the mental, emotional and physical abuse of women, relationship trauma, bigotry, self-care, and self-love. This story will indeed intercept and steal your heart! #AllTheFeels

Miscategorized

I think the book is miscategorized as an “African American romance.” I tried to still give it a shot but wasn’t what I thought I was getting, which could be in how it’s shown.