One thing that I can rely on when I read a book by Ginger Scott is that the hero will be lovable, strong, special and I have yet to read about a heroine of hers I dislike. Another thing we often get: present day problems addressed in a delicate manner.

In this book we meet Nico Medina, an 18 year old scholarship student who earned his way into a prestigious high school with his intelligence and hard work. The football team's head coach's daughter Reagan Prescott is his opponent in class and more often than not they debate just for the heck of it. When Reagan watches Nico play football she sees his raw, vast talent and her twin brother, starting quarterback of The Tradition, injures his leg and can't play for the season she convinces her dad that Nico could be the person to take the team to the top again. And a win is what they need this season...

With Reagan spending a lot of time around the football field for her movie about the team she gets to know Nico. Their grudging respect for each other turns into a friendship and eventually love. Along the way to their happy ending however lies a lot of adversity.

"You can be a toad in love with a beautiful girl all you want, but in the end, you’re still a toad. That’s how everyone is going to see you, and you know what? That’s how the beautiful girl sees you, too—when other people are looking"

The perfect facade the Prescotts hold up crumbles when forces work against the coach and he may lose his job. Nico's struggles on the team because he's the Latino kid and replacing the popular quarterback, his need to prove his worth as a football player and the fight to overcome prejudice and racism are portrayed as well as Reagan's own conflict about their budding love.

“Make me earn it,” he says, pausing again to take my top lip between both of his. “I’ll earn it. I’ll never stop trying to earn it…to earn you.”

One thing that I absolutely love about YA books is that the characters' love is pure and innocent, the few sex scenes are tasteful and oddly erotic in their innocence and definitely don't distract from the story but complement the relationship of the main characters. And that's exactly what Ginger Scott does best. I think she *gets* young people. She is a kickass YA/NA author who always brings something new to the table and fills her stories with beautiful words and deep emotions that I feel physically. Nico Medina and Reagan Prescott are special, like all her other characters. They are the ideal people should strive to be.

"Nico is the twist in the tale. He's the element of good. He's what humanity should be-the lesson to be learned. He is hope."

LOVED, LOVED this book!! So good!! I am a huge lover of sports-themed romances and this one did not disappoint! The storyline was so powerful! Loved the characters and the writing was exceptional!! Ginger's writing is so engaging and captivating, This is a must read!!

*I received this via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review*
The Hard Count is a stand-alone Young Adult book by author Ginger Scott. The Hard Count is a story about Reagan and Nico, who have always been against one another and debated in school. Nico is a the guy with the scholarship from the opposite and rough side of the tracks, and Reagan is the coach's daughter in a school where football is top priority. A spark emerges between them when Reagan watched Nico playing football on the same night her twin brother, Noah, who is the quaterback on the football team gets seriously injured and cannot continue playing the season. Reagan talks her dad into giving Nico a shot at playing the opening position of quarterback. As Nico begins to find himself on the football field, sparks begin to start between him and Reagan.
The book is told in two point of views. It switches between Reagan and Nico's POV. However Nico's POV was in flashbacks with exception of the epilogue.

So onto my views about the book. This book made me feel as if it wasn't just a story about Nico and Reagan falling in love, but also about family and being there and fighting for one another no matter what. It showed that no matter who you are, where you are from or how you present yourself that everyone has fears and struggles of their own. I loved the family feel to this book. It was nice to have a YA contemporary book which focused of something else rather than just romance. That being said I wouldn't have been opposed to having more romance portions throughout the book.
The book was fast paced and easy to read. I loved Nico's character and the amount of respect he had for people was lovely to see a male main character have. I also really liked Reagan's character, she wasn't winy like the usual YA female main character, which I liked a lot. This book had a few sad moments and there was one part near the end of the book that made me tear up a little.
Something I do want to point out is the way Scott described all aspects, sounds, sights, and feelings of the football games so well to the point where you felt as if you were actually at the game on the sidelines.

I thoroughly enjoyed and loved this book, and I would like to thank NetGalley and Ginger Scott for providing me an ARC to read and review.

Ginger Scott is a genius. That sums it up. Enough words. My review ends here.

She's one of the best authors out there. I wish I had any physical copy of hers on my shelf, but unfortunately, I only read her books as eBooks. Shame on me, right?! There are stories that need to be on your shelf, and Ginger happens to write these stories for me. Her characters are always so complex, so real. I never once felt like they couldn't exist in real life, too. They're like friends. Or at least let me say they don't feel like strangers to you when you're reading the books.

Same goes for Nico and Reagan. I can't say they're my favourite characters Ginger created, but this story needs to be read. It's different from her previous books (the ones I have read) and yet you will recognize her voice anywhere. While her other books belong into the new adult genre, this one focuses on young adult. And I loved that. Ginger's voice fits so perfectly into that genre - for these deep, life-changing young adult books you long for. Her characters always go through a development that works for new adult, yes, perfectly, of course... But it's incredibly amazing for young adult books. Their change as a person is so important and I am glad there are authors that manage to find the right words, the right pace. Ta-dah: Ginger Scott.

This is actually a secret love letter to the author, if you can't tell already, haha. It's weird - the more I love a book, the harder it is for me to write a review. One that makes sense, that is.

I know adults that aren't behaving as adult-ish as Nico and Reagan did in the book. And that made them seem real to me, as well, because these days, young teens carry around so many burdens on their shoulders, you quickly find yourself judging them (or being judged) without really knowing them. Both of their stories couldn't be more different from one another, but none of them is less important than the other one.

I can say it out loud now - I wish I was more like Reagan. She seemed like such a strong, independent woman, especially when she and Nico fought in class. I loved reading about those "discussions". There was a smile tugging at my lips. So many scenes caused me to smile and others caused me to silently cry. I shouldn't be surprised. Tears are always predictable when it comes to Ginger's books - no matter if they are happy tears or sad ones.

What's different from her other books is also the point of view. It's mainly written in Reagan's point of view, but every once in a while, you get to read about Nico's past in his point of view. I was excited about reading these chapters. I craved them. I wanted to get inside Nico's head, I assumed it'd be so important to understand him, get a good view on his thoughts. Of all the guys Ginger Scott has created so far, I think Nico might be my favourite. I didn't always understand his motives, but I really, really, really loved the way he treated Reagan and was there for her, though Reagan wanted to be the one for him. Tell me, why did I say they weren't my favourite characters earlier in this review? I can't remember why I thought that. But it's just too hard to choose, so I'd rather not.

I found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable story.
The plot deals with some very serious issues but does not get bogged down with them.
A great read.