Marcus lives in fear that his football career is coming to an end. He can't imagine life without football. Claire is desperate to get her wearable tech seen by the US military because she believes it can save lives. She didn't think she would need to work with a football team to prove it could work.

I like a lot of aspects of this story. First, the author introduced a lot of reasons why there would be friction between Marcus and Claire. The characters work their way through the issues by fighting and talking and getting to know one another. There are some nice scenes with other characters helping them to see their way through frustrations. Second, there is a bad guy but he's just getting trying to get what he wants just like everyone else in the story. Yes, he's worthy of hate but his motivations are clear and he's not "hurting" anyone with his actions. Third, the side characters are strong and interesting. I am looking forward to more books in this series.

I did have trouble with the timeframe of the story. Claire "proves" her tech works very quickly. That didn't completely make sense to me. I also had trouble with how fast Marcus goes from A to Z in the story. He starts out totally committed to football and shuns the tech but then totally embraces the tech.

All that being said, this is a short book so there are details missing that an author would likely include in a longer book but I still think it's a good overall story. This is a contemporary book set in Portland. There is some football talk with a little wearable tech mixed in. I will definitely read more from this author in the future.

I believe that this is the first sports romance novel I've read by, Leslie North. I really enjoyed it and thought that it was well written. Both Marcus and Claire's characters were relatable. I can't wait to read book two in the series.