The Game Plan is a football sports romance that follows Ethan Dexter, a burly, clearly very hot football player, and Fiona, his longtime crush. Ethan has been quietly pining for Fiona for years, but when he finally makes his move, he’s confident, clear, and all in. The first half of this book had me hooked. The chemistry between them was phenomenal, and Ethan’s emotional availability was everything. He wasn’t just hot, he was supportive. The man hears she’s upset and books a flight to New York just for the night. He believes in her dreams, encourages her every step of the way, and makes it very clear how much he wants her. I was obsessed.

But then....around the 60% mark, the story started to unravel for me. A plotline involving the media targeting Fiona left a sour taste in my mouth, mostly because the fallout seemed to affect only her. The woman who caused the whole mess just vanished from the plot with zero consequences, which felt lazy and unresolved.

Then, around the 90% mark, Ethan had a temper tantrum and basically destroyed a part of his house. Fiona acted like the behaviour was okay and comforted him, telling him he needed to let out his feelings. If my partner did that, I would be gone, especially since they hadn't been together that long. I kind of wondered if the behaviour was only deemed acceptable because he was rich and hot.

It’s frustrating because I loved the first half of this book, but the second half just kind of ruined the whole thing.

While overall the connection between the MCs was adorable when their passion had a hold of them, the plot point of his being a “virgin” did not work well; the tale of his initial attempt to relieve himself of that status was distasteful due to the prudish way he handled the situation and his oversized reaction afterwards. Also, the 2025 definition of “virgin” needs to be reviewed because Dex’ previous experiences make him ineligible for the title. Sorry, but that misstep and others by the MMC ruined the book for me. Others will likely overlook my issues and so I rated this a 3.

A 3 because, beyond that initial issue, the way “virgin” is weaponised to humiliate the MMC creates the main conflict in their relationship, and the author dealt with it in a surprising way. This IS a well-written story; I just hope that having it out as an ARC means that some care will be given to how sex is discussed and portrayed; just because you might not like something doesn’t automatically make it “kinky” or disgusting.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC of a book that was originally published in 2015. All opinions here are my own.

📖 Book Title: The Game Plan
Author: Kristen Callihan
Tropes: Sports Romance, Friends-to-Lovers, Long-Distance Struggle, Virgin Hero, Found Family
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

⸻

🤩 The Vibe:
A slow-burn sports romance steeped in loyalty, brooding hero energy, and emotional connection. Dex and Fiona’s romance unfolds through shared history, witty banter, and unspoken desire. It’s that delicious mix where friendship bleeds into something more, and every glance carries weight — perfect for when you crave depth and heat.

⸻

👩‍❤️‍👨 Main Characters:
Fiona “Fi” Mackenzie: Vibrant, headstrong, and heartfelt with a major crush on her brother in law’s best friend. She’s carried emotional baggage but meets Dex with open eyes and an open heart.
Ethan “Dex” Dexter: The quiet, steady football player with a gentle soul and a surprising vulnerability. A virgin hero with deep loyalty, he’s all in once he wins her over.

⸻

💕 What I Loved:
• The intimacy Callihan builds—those small, emotional moments where Dex and Fi’s trust deepens    .
• Dex’s dependable, tender-hearted nature—flying across the country to babysit is chef’s kiss!
• Found family vibes with their tight-knit football crew adding both humor and heart.
• Their sizzling chemistry—feels real and powerful, not rushed .
• A strong, satisfying HEA—these characters feel ready to face anything together .

⸻

🚫 What Didn’t Work For Me:
• The long-distance conflict dragged at times—it reemphasized the distance they already knew.
• Some workplace drama from Fi’s side felt a bit rushed and underexplored .

⸻

💭 Final Thoughts:
The Game Plan is a love story rooted in friendship, loyalty, and feeling worth fighting for. Dex is every bit the gentle giant you want in a romance, and Fi meets him with both challenge and chase. If you enjoy sports romance with emotional weight, found family, and a hero whose steady presence wins your heart, give this one a read—I’ll be eager to revisit this series again.

Really cute book !
Fi and Dex(Ethan ) story was adorable ! It seemed a little rushed in some parts but it was a quick and fast read ! Defiantly would recommend

This was the first book I read by this author and in the series. I really enjoyed the beginning of the story. I feel like the pace of the book was a little fast, although I think I was just missing something about the story. I do love the characters and the problem in the middle seems very on brand for professional athletes. I did enjoy the style of writing and the story in general but there was just a little something I can p it my finger in that was missing for me.
Overall I really enjoyed this book.

I fell in love with Ethan! He is the biggest teddy bear. The entire relationship between Ethan and Fi was so amazing and melted my heart. Such an amazing book. A must read! Highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Canary Street Press for the arc of this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

3 1/2 ⭐️ rounded up

This was a quick fun read, and a best friend’s sister-in-law, opposites attract romance. While the MMC, Dex, has has had feelings for the FMC, Fiona, for years, the relationship feels a little like it starts as insta-lust to insta-love, but the author does a good job of making communication a key part of their relationship and giving it more depth. This was my first read by this author and I will be going back and reading the rest in the series.

If you’re not familiar with this series yet, you’ve been living under a rock, so come on out and bask in the SUN! When it comes to sexy sports romances, Game On is the absolute pinnacle. And if you already fell for it, just wait, Dex is here to steal your heart all over again. With each installment outdoing the last, I’m on the edge of my seat, eager to see what Kristen Callihan has in store next.

I have always enjoyed Kristen Callihan’s books. This was actually the first of hers I read, so this is actually a reread. I enjoyed it almost as much as the first time. Good character development, good pacing. Ethan is a super enjoyable lead and so is the FMC.

Know that you might have read this back n 2015 when it was first published. It's also part of an interconnected series where each book can stand alone. Dex and Fiona are drawn to one another but they've both got issues so they banter a lot. And then things do get steamy. This is an unusual one in that Dex is the, ahem, less experienced partner. And he uses pain to keep desire at bay. I can't quite put my finger on why this didn't work for me but I'm sure others will enjoy it.

Thank you Kristen Callihan and Harlequin Trade Publishing. I was given this book as an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

As a football girlie, I was really excited to dive into this book after reading the blurb. Sadly, this one was a bit of a flop for me. It started off strong with great potential, but the momentum fizzled out as the story went on.

I really enjoyed the banter between the two main characters and the spice was definitely well done. I also appreciated the twist of having the male lead be the less experienced one for a change; it added a fun and refreshing dynamic.

I did not read the first two books in the series prior to reading this. Even though this is part of an interconnected series, I had no trouble following along. All of the previous conflicts and established relationships were easy to pick up on.

My biggest issue was with the pacing. Some events felt rushed or resolved too easily, while other parts dragged on and made it hard to stay engaged. Overall, it had its moments, but it just didn’t quite stick the landing for me.

Happy reading friends,
~ Maebae 💚

I was really excited to read "The Game Plan" because I loooveee sports romances. Plus, this one is different where the MMC is a virgin and the FMC is the more experienced one. It's rare to find that in books so I was eager to review this one.

I enjoyed the banter between Fiona and Dex. They were really cute together and the smut was SO good. Especially the first scene of them together, the tension and the intimacy was *chef's kiss.* There were some pretty humorous moments in the book that helped me get to know the characters better, especially since I haven't read other books in the series. In that regard, I did feel like this book was a pure standalone, which I appreciate because sometimes it can be difficult to follow standalone books in an interconnected series. I didn't feel lost and the world building and pre-established relationships were easy to pick up on.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of things that honestly put me off while reading. I normally love insta-lust/insta-love, but I don't think it worked well in this book considering Fiona kept going on in the beginning about how Dex wasn't her type at all and there were things she didn't like such as facial hair and being an athlete (which is Dex), but then all of a sudden she was obsessed with him. It felt like the relationship was purely, or mostly, physical attraction. Dex had feelings for Fiona apparently forever and the way he dealt with his sexual urges since he couldn't have her was... really weird (if you read, you know what I'm talking about). I found that the characters—while being in their 20's and 30's I believe—acted pretty immature and it was hard for me to take them seriously and relate to them. The pacing and conflicts were also all over the place. There were times where I was surprised that certain events happened/were resolved so quickly and at other times, the story moved so slowly that it was difficult to want to keep reading. I also haven't seen any other reviewers write about this, but Dex tells Fiona about a time where he was blackout drunk in college and these women tried to have sex with him, but it felt like sexual assault to me? I'm a firm believer that you cannot give enthusiastic consent while under the influence and there's a stigma that "men can't be assaulted" so this scene REALLY bothered me (perhaps I am just taking this personally, but it really rubbed me the wrong way).

I wasn't a big fan of "The Game Plan," but if you enjoy insta-love and football romances, you might like this short read. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an electronic ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Game Plan started off so good, but fizzled out unfortunately. I LOOOOVED the chemistry between Dex and Fiona and the spice was immaculate, but the pacing left a lot to be desired. Overall not bad, but not my favorite.

This book was just weird. I got the ick so many times…

Reasons I didn’t like this one:

1. Right from the start, this was insta-lust. I won’t call it love, because I think these two were simply infatuated with the other’s body. That’s it. No other chemistry could be found.

2. The scene at the Japanese tea garden…with the baby there…ew. Just ew.

3. So Dex and Fiona are visiting their best friend and sister (respectively) in another state, but everyone just keeps doing their own thing. I’ve never visited a friend and had them treat me like a roommate where we all just went about and did our own thing. Shouldn’t they be seeing San Fran together? I get this is a ploy by the author to get Dex and Fiona alone, but it isn’t realistic and doesn’t work.

4. Dex is strange. Sure, he’s a 24 year old virgin, which, yeah, that could happen…but the way he acts like he’s super experienced and sure of himself, I just don’t know.

5. Dex likes pain…there is your first red flag that would make me book the first ticket back home. The dude uses pain to keep his “urges” at bay. Don’t know if I like that in my MMC. Not my jam.

6. Are we sure these are adults here? They are very childish. Yes, they are early to mid twenties and I’m 30, but I don’t think I was this stupid 5-10 years ago. Just saying.

This just wasn’t for me. This was my first time reading this author, and I don’t think I’ll partake again.

*An ARC was received by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Canary Street Press for the eARC!

This romance was delightful! Full of sweet moments, deep thoughts, and steamy scenes. I love both Fiona and Ethan - such wonderfully complicated characters. I love that they each make mistakes throughout the story and we get to watch them grow. And I like that things weren't super easy for them from the get go - the relationship was work, but it was lovely to watch it grow.
This is the third in a series, but I haven't read the other two and didn't feel lost. I only felt like I also want to read the other two to watch their stories blossom too!

The Game Plan by Kristen Callihan is good, I finished in one day. I think the main character is overdramatic at times. It is spicy and romantic. A virgin football player that isnt a virgin anymore how to jump through hoops to stay unnoticed and it doesnt work that well.

This book started off SO strong, Dex and Fiona had great chemistry, the spice was chefs kiss, and I was hooked early on. I really liked Dex for most of the story, and I appreciated how emotionally open and supportive he was… at least until the end.

Unfortunately, the pacing was all over the place. Major milestones and conflicts happened wayyy too early, leaving the middle of the book to drag with little at stake. And when the real conflict finally hit near the end, it escalated (and resolved) fast in a way that felt unearned and out of character (especially with Dex’s sudden red flag behavior, which almost ruined it for me). While I enjoyed parts of the journey, the lack of structure and abrupt tone shift at the end made the resolution feel rushed and unsatisfying.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

It was alright. I was really excited to read it after I read the blurb but it just ended up not being for me. The whole reason why Dex had tattoos and piercings was just kinda weird. It wasn’t bad but I’m sure some people will enjoy it more than I did.

Love a realistic plot. There are so many ups and downs in their fast paced relationship but definitely not over done. The HEA is a must and Those prequel scenes at the end of the book showing their first meeting at the Christmas dinner and again at Ivy and Gray’s wedding were 👌

The Game Plan by Kristen Callihan is the 3rd book in the Game On series. Ethan has focused on his NFL career and not much else, other than his unrequited crush on Fi of course. Fiona has known Ethan for years, but only ever saw him as her brother-in-law's friend, until now 😍🩷. I did enjoy getting to read Ethan's story and thought the author did a great job of continuing the previous storyline. This has been a really fun, heartwarming, emotional, and engaging series!

Thank you Netgalley, Storm Publishing, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.