Fumbled by Lizzi Stone – ARC review

Published: 22 January 2022
Series: Chesapeake Commanders #1
Pages: 186
Warnings: Language

Hawk Florence has always been the football star, the guy that can make any girl fall in love with him- and then break their heart. And that’s exactly what he did to me way back in high school. Now I’ve been assigned to do a puff piece on him for a national sports journal, and I’m more than ready to get my revenge.

The plan is simple. First, sit him down and flatter the shit out of him. Laugh at his crappy jokes. Touch his arm, let it linger. When he asks me out, I’ll flutter my eyelashes and shyly accept. Then, make him fall in love. And devour him. I’m ready. I won’t fail. But there’s one thing that I didn’t plan for: he doesn’t ask me out. Instead, he calls me out on my BS. He’s not wrong, but that’s just one of the ways that my plan has already gone terribly wrong before it even begins.

When he does finally ask me out, it isn’t much of a date. Instead, it’s a few agonizing hours of going back and forth about why we hate each other. But there is one interesting thing that came out of our brief time together: the bet that Hawk makes with me- that he will make me fall in love in 3 weeks, in love for real. If he fails, he’ll give me every exclusive for the season. Of course, I accept. Why wouldn’t I? This will help my career, and it’s not like he has a prayer anyway. This jerk broke my heart in high school, and there’s no way that I will fall for the same trick twice. Or will I?

All bets are off when it comes to the heart. Fumbled is a standalone sports romcom that will make you wonder what to do when love- and football- gives you a second chance….

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Fumbled by Lizzi Stone is a story of two people with a past from back in their high school days that haven’t seen each other in many years. It’s a fun, light story that I read in one day.

Becca Anderson tutored Conrad ‘Hawk’ Florence when they were in high school together. Becca had ideas of a romance forming between the two of them, but Hawk was all about the football. One embarrassing incident later and Hawk has moved on with fond memories, while Becca has been left with anger and resentment.

Flash forward to now and Hawk is a star football player and Becca is the successful reporter that has been sent to interview him. She starts out with a plan to get a bit of revenge going, but she gets caught out pretty quickly and lets her visions of revenge go.

I really like these two characters. Becca is the sort of girl that will be popular at a party and get along with everyone. Hawk is serious about his football, but he also has a light hearted side that really shows up when he’s interacting with others, especially his team mates.

I especially enjoyed the interactions between the various members of the football team, as the banter between the various characters can be quite entertaining. And Becca gets her turn in the humorous department too, as some of her inner monologues are very amusing. This is probably because I could totally relate to the strange directions that her mind wanders in.

The reasons and motivations behind the angst in Fumbled I found a little weak in places, but not enough so to be annoying. I just would have liked to see our man characters portrayed with a little more oomph (that’s the technical term for it), as at times I felt they – and their thoughts / actions – were a bit wishy-washy and lacking in depth. And be prepared for the romance to move from ‘like’ to ‘love’ very quickly!

I’ve given Fumbled 2 chilis as the sexy times are there and the chemistry is strong, but they are a little more discreetly handled than what seems lately to have become the norm. And I liked that about it. It’s a nice change to sometimes leave a little to the imagination.

Fumbled is the first book by Lizzi Stone in the Chesapeake Commanders series. And there is plenty of opportunity here for you to get to know the other characters enough to want to meet them again in later installments. This book is a really easy and amusing read. It’s perfect for when you’re looking for something light and quick.

Thank you to Lizzi Stone and Romance Me With Books for my copy of Fumbled.

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