3.5 Stars

Matt Kingston is a sports agent who goes above and beyond for his clients... and his family. So when his sister moves in and brings a surprise guest... he can't very well kick them out... right?

Parker Speedman needs to resurrect her career, and she knows just the sports agent who can help her do it. But, when Matt signs on to help her, he isn't taking any chances with her training... or her bathroom time...

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Kickin' It was a funny and sweet story set in the midst of a unfortunately darker reality for young women everywhere. Parker and Matt's complicated attraction only gets far more difficult with every practice, meeting and roommate run-in they endure...

Parker once felt like she could achieve anything that she set her mind to, until she suffers an incident that strips her confidence completely away. She is a highly accomplished athlete who has lost her way, but is determined to work for her next big break. And when she finds herself having to face the demons who took her down in the first place,  Parker will attain something even more important than her dream of playing professional soccer...

Matt enjoys being viewed as a tough, no nonsense agent, but underneath all of his gruff attitude lies a patient and observant man who cares so much more than he lets on. With a soft and supportive approach to Parker's feelings and her trepidation about sharing, he takes things slow and shows her just how trustworthy of a man he can be. 

I really enjoyed this book. The silly humor interjected was fun and on point with this authors writing style, and the premise was well done and original. And, while I thought the characters were great, I felt like there were some missing elements to their relationship that would have made it a little more believable and interesting.  

This book deals with some very sensitive and important subjects that deserved to be highlighted in the delicate way that this book handled them. The plot was incredibly well done with how it covered a very difficult subject, but still included enough humor to lighten it's possible intensity. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book for my honest and unbiased review.

I loved these characters Parker and Matt. As always with Rachel Van Dyken books, one minute I’m laughing the next I’m crying. I love how much I feel when reading her books. This one had me hooked from start to finish.

So I know I'm in the minority, but this just didn't do it for me. I spent the first quarter hating most of the characters. I understood why Parker was lashing out, but it didn't change my opinion of her. And Willow was awful. I thought the plot wa incredibly predictable, what little there was. It pains me to give a negative review to a RVD book, but this one missed the mark for me.

I can’t say enough about this book. I like the 1st in the series... it was great to read the storyline and get to know new characters while also having RVD’s amazing writing.... BUT this story. Y’all, Rachel knows how to get you right where the feels are. She writes about things that are relevant this day and age and is not afraid to cross those lines while keeping true to herself and her writing style.

These characters were AMAZING! Yes, we met one of them in book one and fell for him, but the heroine, y’all she is just the best!

Way to go RVD! You kept my attention, you wrote an amazing story, had great characters and everything was just straight badass! I love your rom-coms just as much as your mafias. 🖤🖤🖤

This book has a very touching plot. The struggles that young athletes go through to move up in the ranks can be life changing and sometimes not in a good way. I loved how these characters connect and how their relationship bloomed in the perfect way. It felt pure and real. I adore Rachel's writing style. She has this magic that grabs onto and has you finishing her books before anything else. It's a pleasure to read her books and I can't thank her enough for the escape she allows her readers from their everyday lives. This is a great summer read I would suggest you pickup a copy ASAP.

Spectacular read! Kickin' It is a perfect example of everything I LOVE about Rachel Van Dyken's work. She is hands down my favorite author. IF you are in the mood for a witty, super funny, sweet, sexy sports romance - one click now! You'll fall in love with Matt & Parker and the rest of the supporting cast of phenomenal characters including Willow and Jagger.

I adore how she artfully constructs these intelligently planned out storylines with complex, unique characters. She writes the BEST witty banter and hilarity ever. Yet she layers her humor and these fantastic characters with a serious issue that is real and relatable. She writes this all with the utmost class and grace.

Evokes all the feels - covers the entire spectrum. From laugh out loud funny moments to a cry in fear or emotional pain AND then expertly executed, delicious angst and build up. ((Whistles)) All beautifully articulated making this book another, amongst a long list of her books, I simply cannot put down. Once I start - I am consumed and reach for it every chance I get.

I love this series! I love the characters, the action, the heat. I can't wait to read more in this world.

Kickin' It by Rachel Van Dyken is book Two in the Red Card Series. This is the story of Parker Speedman and Matt Kingston. I have read (and Loved!) the previous books but feel you could make this a standalone book if you wish to do so.
Parker is a very talented soccer player but has been pretty much blacked-balled after she did something to her coach on Live TV. Parker does have past issues that seems to touch on her present life. But then her friend Willow offers her a help, which leads to her to Matt. Matt is a Agent who has to keep his team member clients in line which isn't easy of course. So when his sister moves in to his house offering to help him with things and to learn the business, he wasn't ready for who she was bringing...Parker. Now besides having his sister underfoot he has Parker who is young, beautiful and hothead then all this leads him to start helping her get back into what she wants to do.
Loved this book, their story and this writer!!! Most have more soon from Ms. Van Dyken.

Matt and Parker push each other’s buttons. He can be such a douchebag with her but Parker lashes out at people. She has a reason for being the way she is. Matt pushes her because he knows aside from her attitude he knows what she’s capable and he knows how good she is.
Parker’s secret is painful and heartbreaking. But once she finds who to confide in her attitude starts to change. Matt’s sister is quite hilarious and so are Matt’s friends.
I highly recommend this book.

Kickin' It is the second book in the Red Card series, but it can be read as a complete standalone.

Matt Kingston is a hot shot sports agent, and Parker Speedman is an up and coming soccer player. The two meet through Matt's sister, Willow, and their first encounter left me grinning like a Cheshire cat! The banter back and forth between the two cracked me up!

The story is so well written, and covers a subject many women are unfortunately familiar with.

Rachel Van Dyken has done it yet again – loved this book – 5 stars!

This is part of a series and I haven't read the first book but I don't think I missed anything when I read this. I love all Rachel Van Dyken books for her strong, sassy heroines and understanding/sensitive alpha hero. This is no different. I love the relationships between the characters. It's nice to see great friendships and wonderful family along with the hot romance. I will definitely go to the first book because it's a great series!

*Book Received In Exchange for Honest Opinion/Review*

I pride myself on writing honest reviews, and there isn't much I don't love about Rachel Van Dyken's books, but this book was an absolute miss for me, and I am devastated. This didn't have the playful charm, or the comedic banter to break up the heaviness of the story. But in addition, I felt so disconnected from these characters that I couldn't feel anything towards them.

So Parker has some heavy drama in her past (i.e. trigger warning type of stuff) that she needs to work through. I think my problem with her as a character is she doesn't grow or go through anything without Matt holding her hand. Matt made her feel better, Matt made her realize her self-worth, Matt yada-yada-yada. You get the idea and this made me mad beyond reason. For a character that is proclaimed to be strong and stubborn essentially use a man as a crutch to move past her trauma was something I couldn't look past. As a soccer player, she was a rock star, as a character, she was fickle and weak.

I really adored Matt in Risky Play so I was excited when I saw that he was getting his own book. But I didn't see the chemistry between Matt and Parker. The bromance between Matt, Slade, and Jagger was that had me in fits of giggles in the first book, was non-existent in this book. And the book needed these moments desperately because it was so dry and serious otherwise. While Willow and Jagger provided glimpses of lighter moods, it wasn't enough to combat the drowning, dense story line.

I my classic nit-pick moments, condoms and protection are only discussed after sex....TWICE. And we all know by now how I feel about that (HATE IT). And the last thing that bothered me was the entire story line was predictable. Rachel is a master at the plot twist and I knew exactly how this story was going to play out at around 30% and to say I was disappointed by the lack of surprise was an understatement. This is not anywhere near Rachel's best work.

"[I] wondered how I could save her when she refused to be the girl who needed saving."

This book takes my breath away just thinking about it. I absorbed every single word and locked it away in a special place in my brain. I loved the first book Risky Play, but if possible, I may love Kickin' It even more!

Matt is a sports agent, and Parker is an athlete. They're a strong team together on and off the field! And one of the things I enjoyed the most about this story was that Parker is a very talented soccer player. The heroines aren't often the athletes, in my reading experiences, so this was a very nice and empowering change of pace for me.

Beyond that, Matt is angry and wound up. Parker is angry as well, but she's troubled and haunted by her past that needs to be dealt with. Together, Matt and Parker are FIRE. They have fantastic and sizzling chemistry. Their banter is hilarious, witty, and quick. Their relationship is a complex mixture of professional and personal, tense and compassionate, and hot and sweet. Basically - EVERYTHING that is right in romance.

"She had lifeboats surrounding her and yet she was still drowning. I could try to be one of those lifeboats... or I could end up sinking right along with her."

My heart hurt for Parker, and the more her story unraveled, the more I hurt. She confronts a very difficult issue. The book in general tackles this issue very well. It's emotional and moving. It's important.

And you need Kickin' It in your life! A definite must read.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Matt and Parker were like oil and water at first. She is a young woman who wants nothing more than to be a professional soccer player, and he is her last hope. He is an agent, and her best friend's brother. When her best friend gets Matt to give her the summer to prover herself working for him, she also talks him into letter her live in his house with her friend.
Parker tries to get him to take her on as a client by baking him cookies, but that doesn't go over well. She is hiding something from her past and doesn't trust easily. He doesn't like liars, and finds something in her bag that makes him think that she is cheating. He agrees to reprsent her, as well as, train her, since she only has a couple of weeks until her tryout.
What Parker went through was horrific, and she feels degraded. She slowly opens up to Matt and realizes that he has a soft, sweet side to him. Matt tries to keep it professional, even when his other clients/friends call him out on the lingering looks. It is a push and pull situation. Once he finally decides to give it a chance, he finds out about her past. He doesn't push her away because of her past, but because he doesn't want to be anything like someone else who hurt her.
Just when they think they might be able to have it all, her past comes back to bite them. How they deal with the situation will either make or break them. I laughed, cried, and gasped while reading this book. I really liked the side characters of his sister and teammate and would love to read a book about their relationship. I adored every page of this book. I recieved an ARC in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.

Kickin' it is the second book of the Red Card Series of characters. It can be read as a standalone. I really liked Matt and Parker! We were introduced to Matt in Risky Play. Parker is having troubles due to her past and is acting out. . Matt can see through this and to the real Parker. With her usual wit and humor, Rachel once again gives us a wonderful story full of LOLs and sexy times.

Matt is a man who appears to have it all. He has the money to purchase whatever he wants, a successful career as a sports agent and the sexy good looks to attract any woman. He had no idea what was missing in his life until his younger sister Willow and her best friend Parker convinced him to let them move in. Now he has his sister wanting to work for him and Parker wanting him to work for her. Let the fun begin!

Once action caught on television could ruin her chance at a soccer career. She may have had her reasons, but she is now in damage control as the press is not about to just let it slide. Matt is the perfect person to help her, but will he?

I really enjoyed these two together. Matt realized that there was much more to Parker than first appeared which caused all his protective instincts to come to life and he wanted to know everything about her. The banter between the characters will have you laughing out loud and they share a hot chemistry, but it is the emotional pull of the story that will stay with you.

Kickin’ It is the second, stand-alone book in the Red Card series, and it’s a unique, emotional, heartwarming and sexy sports romance with the heroine as the professional athlete. I repeat: The heroine is the professional athlete in this story! How awesome is that? Parker is a soccer player, who is fighting for a second chance to play professionally after she was fired for punching her coach, and she needs super-agent and former pro soccer player Matt’s help to make it happen. Here’s wary of working with Parker, but he soon finds himself equally awed, charmed and attracted to her. Rachel Van Dyken takes the sports romance and gives it an inspiring twist while also exploring weighty, relevant issues and delivering a heart-stopping love story.

ARC provided, but this review was voluntarily and honestly written.

Kickin' It (Red Card, #2) by Rachel Van Dyken is a complete stand alone, contemporary sports romance. Matt and Parker are two exceptional individual characters, get them together and amazing things happen when two opposites attract. I enjoyed reading a female sports lead. It's refreshing and completely entertaining. Parker's struggle resonates throughout the story as she tries to overcome the stigma of being hard to work with. Her underlying anxiety is always in the background as Matt works to promote her career. Add in Matt's sister as well as some characters from the first book and you get another great read from this author. If you enjoyed the first in this series, you'll like this one too as it follows the same theme.

While this is the second book in the Red Card series it can be read on a stand alone basis.

I really enjoyed this book. Matt and Parker were a fab couple and just had the best chemistry. The story itself was a real page turner. It was fun and romantic but it had a real emotional kick with a serious edge to one of the storylines. As with all of RVD's books, I just devoured this story and could not put it down. This is a definite recommendation from me.

I love this book so much. The chemistry is insane and instant between the two characters, and I love Matt. I want to be his best friend/client in real life. The bromance between Jagger, Slade and Matt is refreshing to say the least.. Rachel brought something that is happening currently in the world into a book in such a way that it wasn't sketchy or sleazy. Another 5 star amazing, laugh out loud, must read book from this goddess.