Foreplayer was one of those books I could not put down, I was invested from the start and I couldn’t wait to see how it would all play out. I loved every minute of this well thought out, intense, fun, emotional, and sexy story. ~ Slick – Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews
Synopsis:
After a very public breakup and a viral post that declares him the villain, power forward Cal Foreman is taking a timeout from women and relationships to focus on hockey. When Chicago Rebels captain and old friend, Vadim Petrov, “volunteers” him to help train Vadim’s sister Mia, Cal figures he can do a favor for a pal and get ready for the season with his new team. But the imperious Russian would slice a skate blade through Cal’s internal organs if he knew what lessons Mia really wants.
Yeah, not that kind of stickhandling.
Hockey phenom and Olympics hopeful Mia Wallace needs help seducing the man of her dreams. That man is most definitely not Cal Foreman: notorious playboy, thorn in her side, and her brother’s bestie. But surely a guy with his reputed skill set has a few tips on how she can nail her target—which makes him the perfect foreplayer.
Cal knows Mia sees him as merely the warm-up act in her grand plan to win another man, but as they spend more time together, he wonders if that’s enough.
If they could be more.
And if he could convince her he’s worthy of the starting line-up . . . in her heart?
One thing I’ve loved about Kate Meader and the original Chicago Rebels series and the Rookie Rebels series is she’s 
brought to light the obstacles that women face in the world of sports at all levels and in Foreplayer we see just how difficult it can be when you are a woman accusing a man of untoward behavior, especially when that “man’s” mother is in a position of power and while that was a big part of this book, the romance portion of this book was spectacular. What’s a man to do when his best friend who is out of commission with an injury asks his best friend to help his little sister train, the little sister that has been starring in his nightly fantasies after calling him on his cr*p at a teammates wedding? Well, you go all in and get way more than you bargained for.
Mia Wallace is ready to get her hockey career back on track, by trying out for the Olympic Women’s Hockey team, after it was derailed following a college incident she’s tried to put behind her. Mia is also ready to get on with her dating life and has decided that her brother’s agent is the man for her if she can figure out a way to get his attention and keep it. What she doesn’t count on is her brother, Vadim Petrov, enlisting the help of his best friend, Callum (Cal) Foreman to help her train and Cal’s former girlfriend to suggest Mia ask him for pointers on how to get and keep a guy. Sounds a bit crazy, right? It is, but that’s the beauty of this story, there are so many, many layers and watching them get peeled back and the surprises that come with them keeps you hooked from start to finish.
I loved Mia in that she’s didn’t realize her beauty or how her insane talent, intelligence, and fierce spirit are so insanely attractive to men. She is young and because of her childhood she’s been sheltered, but Mia has come to realize that she’s tired of hanging back and going with the flow and she’s ready to show the hockey world what she’s made of on a worldwide stage. It was easy to see she craved relationships with people outside of her small circle, she wanted to make friends on her own and she wanted people to like her for her not because of her family name, or her money, or even her hockey playing ability but as a person and I enjoyed watching her put herself out there to do just that. She blossomed in this book, came into her own, and learned how important it is to not only stand up for yourself but to let people you trust be there when you need them. I thoroughly enjoyed watching her metamorphosis throughout this story.
I’m a sucker for a good guy hero and honestly Cal is just that; he avoids conflict and has good reasons why he does that. He is kind, when he’s with a woman he’s monogamous, and he doesn’t trash talk people who’ve done him wrong. Cal’s got some baggage that has shaped him into the man today, the one who doesn’t do long term, the one who doesn’t argue, and who stays on good terms with women he’s been with in the past, but with Mia he knows she’s hiding something that hurt her and has kept her from playing at her level for the last two years, he doesn’t know what, but he does know he wants to figure it out and then he wants to make it right for her.
I enjoyed their antagonistic relationship at the start and how they slowly began to peel away each other’s layers and become friends and eventually lovers. They are different people at different points in their lives (an 8 year age difference will do that), but between hockey, the love of good food, and friends they have a lot in common as well. It was the little things that they did for one another that made their relationship special.
Foreplayer was one of those books I could not put down, I was invested from the start and I couldn’t wait to see how it would all play out. I loved every minute of this well thought out, intense, fun, emotional, and sexy story.
5 stars
Purchase from
AMAZON
