Book Reviews/ September 12, 2022June 12, 2023

Fumbled by Alexa Martin Book Review

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Blurb

A second chance doesn’t guarantee a touchdown in this new contemporary romance from the author of Intercepted.

Single-mother Poppy Patterson moved across the country when she was sixteen and pregnant to find a new normal. After years of hard work, she’s built a life she loves. It may include a job at a nightclub, weekend soccer games, and more stretch marks than she anticipated, but it’s all hers, and nobody can take that away. Well, except for one person.

T.K. Moore, the starting wide receiver for the Denver Mustangs, dreamt his entire life about being in the NFL. His world is football, parties, and women. Maybe at one point he thought his future would play out with his high school sweetheart by his side, but Poppy is long gone and he’s moved on.

When Poppy and TK cross paths in the most unlikely of places, emotions they’ve suppressed for years come rushing back. But with all the secrets they never told each other lying between them, they’ll need more than a dating playbook to help them navigate their relationship.

Triggers

This book is much lighter than the the ones I normally read but there were still some sensitive topics that came up. Here are some possible triggers I observed:

Abortion
Alcohol
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)
Pregnancy
Profanity
Racism
Sexually Explicit Scenes
Terminal Illness
Stalking

Ratings

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There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

Overall Rating

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TK and Poppy made a lot of sense to me. It was very easy to believe they were deeply in love before because they instantly fall into an easy rhythm. TK is the calm to Poppy’s fire. They had really great chemistry and I did say, “Aww”, out loud more than I expected to at this story! I really enjoyed seeing these two find each other again! I love that she and TK have lots of communication as their foundation for their new relationship. They talk through almost everything that happens in their lives.

Poppy’s been a single mom for nearly 10 years with her only help coming from her Aunt. She’s strong and independent. I love how confident she is as a mom but I don’t love how she went about everything with her son before reuniting with TK. I do understand it’s because she didn’t have a lot of support. Though, it’s not fair to TK either way to never tell him directly. And I still hate his Mom. For the sake of the past is in the past, I’m happy Ace will have a father in his life now!

Poppy’s best friend Sadie had me rolling! Often! I want a Glitter Bomb Bestie too! She also makes friends with some other football wives (Charli and Vonnie) that I also would love to hang out with too! They all are so supportive of Poppy and Ace. It made me tear up to see the love they had for each other. Martin really does female friendship justice!

Spice Rating

3/5 🌶🌶

This book has some pretty steamy parts but not often.

Main Characters

Female Main Character

Poppy Patterson AKA Sparks

Poppy’s described as being petite, curvy with big curly hair and a short temper! She is always ready to square up even though, she admits, she’s never been in a fight! I loved that about her! She would always try to stay calm but, ultimately, Poppy goes off on anyone! Her commentary is pretty funny too. She is very much a fan of red wine and icecream!

She really created such a loving and supportive environment for Ace! I love the pride she has for that life because she really did it on her own! She’s not delusional but she doesn’t let anyone condescend on her life or choices! She’s fierce and headstrong!

Male Main Character

Trevor Kyle Moore AKA TK Moore

TK is described as a wide receiver with the abs to match, long perfect hair and dimples. His eyes are green and he’s got a big beard. He’s silly and playful but mostly confident! I remember TK from Marlee’s book, Intercepted, and I was hoping he would get a story! We already knew how awesome he was but this book really gave him depth. He’s not just always joking, he’s been lonely and filling the void that was Poppy. It’s clear that the split between them when they were kids really broke them both.

TK’s true acceptance of Ace, Poppy’s son, really made me respect this character so much! His life takes a complete 180° when Poppy comes back into it and he embraces everything FULLY! He becomes a partner to Poppy and