Always a good time!

Let’s face it Monica knows exactly what she’s doing when she writes these stories. Sure she writes about colleges students, and she gives them maturity and responsibility but she also lets them make mistakes, and own up to them and make them right.

Gavin and Sienna have been denying their feelings for each other for a few years now, but something changed for them and all the reasons to be apart just don’t seem to be as important anymore. But can they actually work?

This is the second book in this world, and it actually follows the same timeline as book one, with the focus on a different couple, which I know could not have been easy for Monica to do, but she did it beautifully. I will never pass up a chance to read a book of Monica’s and you shouldn’t either!

I enjoyed Sienna and Gavin's story, there was good banter and chemistry. I didn't like the miscommunication and Gavin ignoring his feelings. He had some family issues that probably contributed to that but it wasn't talked about. Together, they were very supportive and loving of each other. When she revealed her business dreams, he never made her feel silly for it. When he was having problems with his dad, she made sure he felt her love.

Sienna and Gavin had quite the road to happiness. Gavin just kept getting in his own way. I enjoyed the storyline and I liked all the characters. I'm hoping for more books in this world. Overall a good story I read in a couple of hours.

I loved this book and devoured it in one binge session. I'm such a sucker for a forbidden romance, brother's best friend and sports romance. Monica does such a great job of storytelling and having such fun characters. While also creating such great MMC! He was a boy obsessed, possessive, alpha and all things yummy. The banter and friend group had me laughing and spice was spicing through out!

If you love these tropes then I know you will love this book!
Gavin was a top tier MMC who fell hard for his girl even when fighting it! Sienna was a breath of fresh air and a like-able FMC!

Tropes:
Football romance
Forbidden
Found family alpha male
College romance

Play It Off is book 2 in the Kings of Campus series by Monica Murphy and I am here for it! This is a brother's best friend, forbidden, sports romance. It has the fun, the spice, the chemistry.
Gavin is the hot, football player, not a relationship type of guy. Sienna is his best friend's sister and off limits. The two have chemistry that is apparent to everyone.
A secret hookup leads to avoidance, until the two can't and don't want to avoid each other anymore. Once they give in to their feelings, their connection jumps off the page.
There is so much to love about these two. They understand each other and respect each other's wants and needs. I just loved how much they cared about each other, almost to a fault.
Monica Murphy did a great job with developing these characters as you watch them grow and mature throughout the story. I also loved Sienna's relationship with Everleigh. And getting more glimpses of Nico and Everleigh in this story (they are in book 1).
I loved Play It Off!

This is the sports romance that Murphy knows how to deliver that makes me feel all swoony inside. I was sweet, it was steamy, and it was full of great characters.

Gavin Maddox and Sienna Cooper have a constant - will they, won't they...as these two have it bad for one another from the start, but as circumstances make it where neither one really acts upon their attraction, after an initial incident that shall go untalked about, their chemistry builds behind the scenes into a secret romance that kept me turning pages late into the night.

Both Sienna Cooper and Gavin Maddox are relatable characters. I rooted for them from the beginning and I felt that they both desperately deserved happiness. It was easy to classify them as friendly, outgoing, and charismatic, except when they were in the same room around each other for years, but little did everyone know, it was an act. These two had been harboring feelings for one another and did a great job of hiding it. Their story is one of the best kept secrets on campus and it's written with perfection. Beginning from Sienna’s freshman year, woven through Everleigh's arrival on campus and into Sienna's Junior year of school. This book covers a lot of ground, but it's also an intimate look at the relationship between Gavin and Sienna.

Sienna has grown up under the spotlight of her brother, whom she adores, but she wants to be liked for herself, not for her connections or to be tossed aside once a moment of bliss passes. She likes Gavin and knows she doesn't want to mess it up. Hence, keeping things friendly-ish since he's the QB on campus. Sienna knows what life has been like living with her brother and she isn't sure she's ready to live back under a microscope again. Does she like Gavin...100%, but is she willing to risk everything for him...time will tell.

Gavin is best friends with Coop, Sienna’s brother, and he too doesn’t want to mess up his friendship for something quick, nor does he want to mess up a good thing with Sienna. He knows she's special and he knows he's not ready, or if he ever will be. He likes her a lot, but is it enough. Gavin grapples with this a lot, but I feel it's an adult decision and not in any way playing with Sienna's feelings. At the end of the day he's a really good guy and it shows with every person he comes in contact with. Eventually his big feelings become too big even for a guy like him, but is the big guy on campus ready to make his play...time will tell.

Play It Off felt like coming home to one of Murphy's classic sports romances. It had all the comforts of what I love to read when I'm settling in to read a good college sports romance book.

I liked this book. I especially liked how strong and sensible Sienna was when dealing with her feelings for Gavin. And Gavin was your normal silly guy, although he fell pretty hard for Sienna. Their chemistry was great, and the peripheral characters were perfect. I wish there had been more continuity towards the end of the book, though. I feel like we skipped several chapters and lost details to the story. Although we read Everleigh and Nico's story in End Game, if this was to be a true stand alone, there should have been more to their story in this book. Overall, I enjoyed this story. I was sent a copy and these are my personal thoughts on this book.

Play It Off is book 2 in the King of Campus series featuring Sienna and Gavin who we were introduced to in the End Game and this book didn’t disappoint. Full of angst, drama and chemistry as we learn about Sienna and Gavin’s past encounter and the reasons for their hostility. This is a brother’s best friend college football romance with a fabulous cast of characters who truly help make this story. I truly can’t wait for the next book in this wonderful series. Highly recommend!

Play It Off by Monica Murphy 💙
Kings of Campus, Book 2
Interconnected Standalone

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
NA • Sports Romance
ARC Review
267 pages
🗓️ April 29

🏈football romance
💙brother’s best friend
🏈second(ish) chance
💙forbidden love
🏈frenemies to more
💙no 3rd act breakup

📌“Her words strike me right in the damn heart, and for a second, I’m tempted to clutch it. Because in this very moment I’m realizing how great Sienna truly is. I’ve been feeling that way for a while, but the force of my emotions for her are coming at me one after the other, and I can’t speak.”

Who doesn’t love a brother’s best friend romance? Who doesn’t love a forbidden love?
I sure do. And I could read this book every day for the rest of my life, and my days would be better and brighter because of it.

I was already invested in Gavin and Sienna when I was reading End Game. That one scene at the table when she storms off is still so vivid in my mind. I read so many books, and so many just disappear from easy memory. But there are a few which scenes just live on, rent free in my mind and in my heart. And don’t even get me started on Ever and Nico. I’m still so, so in love with them. It’s not even funny at this point. Seeing them go back and forth through Sienna’s eyes just made that love even bigger, which I didn’t think possible.

I fear I can’t handle a book on Coop. I might cease all existence.

ARC Review. This was a really cute story! I love Gavin and Sienna relationship. Them hiding it from Sienna Brother which is Gavin best friend and how Gavin fell in love with her. The spice was just right and I really enjoyed the book.

Book 2 in the King of Campus series we meet Sienna known as Coop’s little sister and Gavin. QB and best friend to Coop. You won’t be mad at how Gavin and Sienna play the game of best friend’s little sister romance. Tons of chemistry and drama that will make you see red but also melt your heart.

Play It Off was an enjoyable read. I loved the connection and chemistry between Sienna and Gavin. I loved how he felt comfortable enough with her to share things that he hadn't shared with others and vice versa. She was definitely his peace and he was hers. Their story was a bit cute, a bit sweet, steamy with a fair amount of angst and a sprinkle of pining. It was an awesome read that I devoured in one sitting. I definitely recommend to sports romance fans.

3.5 Stars.
I enjoyed Play It Off. i liked both Gavin and Sienna and their individual personalities. I enjoyed learning about Sienna and her dreams for the future and what she was doing to accomplish them. I enjoyed seeing her start to believe in herself more and get the support she deserved from those around her. I liked Gavin and enjoyed learning about how he’d been raised and how it affected him now and what he did to make himself better and to be there for the people he considered friends/family. The friendships that they all had with one another from the guys, to Sienna and Ever to the individual relationships and group friendships we saw was well done and you saw how supportive they were of one another. I didn’t particularly feel the chemistry between Gavin and Sienna and thought that the way they went about their relationship could’ve been done better. We also really didn’t see much of them together or see their relationship at all.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Play It Off is a fun story of a girl and one of her brother’s best friends and teammates falling in love. A connection between Siena and Gavin was instant and hard to fight. But if they spent time together, they couldn’t help but stoke the fire between them. It was sweet, maddening, and full of fun. Siena was obsessed with Gavin, but avoided him. He was just as obsessed but played the role of oblivious while he also avoided her. When they decide to stop avoiding each other, they grew closer without effort. I think they spent more effort trying to stay away then they ever had to in order to get to know each other. I can’t wait to read more.

This was a really good second book in the King of Campus Series! I loved this one because it had all the perfect tropes… brother’s best friend, forbidden romance, forced proximity, flirty banter…

When you put a brother’s best friend and forbidden together, you get one hell of a story and Monica Murphy gave just that. Sienna and Gavin were so perfectly imperfect for each other. Gavin is a college football player who every girl wants. Hot, star player, and Sienna wants him. She doesn’t keep it much of a secret either. She may play hard to get though. This is a second chance romance too! Two years later, after a night they’ll never forget, they find their magnetic energy again.

I had so much fun reading the banter and the sarcasm and the flirty encounters between Sienna and Gavin. It was just a wonderful love story that seems like it could be real. I’m a sucker for it! *This can be read as a standalone.

I have been so excited for Gavin and Sienna’s story and it definitely did not disappoint. Gavin has had a thing for his best friend’s younger sister since the day he met her. Now a couple of years have passed and we get to watch as both of them fight the attraction, all the while keep everything that they feel for each other a secret from everyone else around them. It may look like they can’t stand to be in the same room, but it is the furthest from the truth. Yet as they work on Gavin achieving his goal of playing pro football, all the while dealing with the pressure from his family, he learns that having a shoulder to lean on has become his saving grace. Sienna has only ever wanted Gavin and when she comes to the realization that maybe he truly doesn’t see her as anything more than Coop’s sister it is time to step away. It is that moment that allows them both to know that this chemistry between them is so much more than just infatuation. I love their push and pull in the story as well as how they are keeping things secret from everyone. Gavin is so much more than just a football player and Sienna is just amazing with how she puts herself out there and is truly who she is. There is something great about a female that just owns herself, even if it is having a dream of owning a business by the ocean.

I can’t believe the same person wrote Keep Me in Your Heart and this. I was expecting a wow effect from this book and at least a 4.5-star read, but I ended up completely disappointed.

I honestly can’t remember the last time I disliked a male main character this much. He just didn’t work for me at all, and I couldn’t see a single reason why anyone would fall for him.

From his constant back-and-forth attitude toward Sienna, which drove me insane, to some of his absolutely awful lines. The worst one—and the moment I officially gave up on him—was: “Because what woman is worth getting on my knees for?” Like... what even?? Who do you think you are to say something like that?

Sienna had her irritating moments too, she definitely wasn’t perfect, but compared to Gavin, she was a solid ten.

What also bothered me was how their “love” felt like it was based solely on sex. It just didn’t sit right with me. I ended up skipping most of their spicy scenes because I simply wasn’t interested in them as a couple.

And I was honestly so mad that Monica had to ruin Rynald’s character just to make Gavin look even slightly better. There was literally no other reason to make him that sleazy.

I still want to read the Lancaster Prep series and finish Lancaster Prep: Next Generation, but Kings of Campus is a definite no for me. In my opinion, you can totally skip this book.

My rating: 4.5/5

My Thoughts: Sienna has been harboring a crush on Gavin since freshman year. Things started heating up between them until an unexpected interruption spooked Gavin. Gavin is the Quarterback and her older brother's best friend. Now, Sienna does her best to avoid her attraction to Gavin while they're forced together in mutual college settings. Gavin has always harbored feelings for her, but he's afraid of the repercussions between him and his best friend Cooper. The angst and attraction between these two are undeniable. As much as they try to avoid one another and forget that one night, they're always drawn back to one another.

The excitement I have had since their book was announced has been nonstop. I loved their book and couldn't put it down. This book has a brother's best friend, football romance, drama, spice, enemies to lovers, and second chances. Monica Murphy writes sports romance so well and is such a comfort author for me. I highly recommend reading this book.

New installment of the Kings of the Campus series is perfect mix of a college second chance romance, our favourite brother's best friend trope and all the feelings.

Sienna Cooper is a headstrong girl with a secret crush in a form of Gavin Maddox who in return is a best friend of her brother.
But senior year is here and they have to spend time around each other. Sienna's worries and feelings are so raw and pulling readers' heartstrings. And Gavin is also starting to crumble in front of her. He can't be only platonic anymore, he aches.

Chemistry is top charts! They are so enamored.

This is a great continuation of the series, can't wait for what Monica will have for us in store!


Tropes:
- Slow burn
- Second chance
- Brother's best friend
- College romance

Play It Off is the second book in the Kings of Campus series by Monica Murphy. This is the book of Sienna and Gavin.

Gavin Maddox is the star quarterback of the Santa Mira Dolphins football team. Sienna Cooper a very independent woman who is a student at Santa Mira and is the little sister of Gavin's teammate. Sienna has had a crush on Gavin for many years and an interlude between them two years ago is something that neither one of them has forgotten.

It's now Gavin's senior year and he and Sienna continue to find themselves in one another's space. The chemistry between them is undeniable, but neither of them wants to voice how they are really feeling. Will they eventually be able to admit how they really feel? Will Sienna's brother be an issue?

There is a lot of emotion in this book and the way the two main characters navigate it is understandable. There is tension, emotion and a lot of chemistry between Gavin and Sienna. I also liked how the other teammates played into the story.

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**