Four stars for Play it Off! It has all best tropes of a college romance - sports, brother’s best friend, forbidden romance, and ANGST. Neither MC was perfect, and their flaws definitely played a big part in their story. But one of my favorite things was them talking about their futures, and zero judgment coming from either of them about the other’s path. They supported each other fully, and their chemistry was definitely undeniable from the beginning.

I received Play it Off as an ALC, and the audio was great. Both of the narrators did the characters justice, and it was a smooth & easy listen.

Play It Off! – This was such a cute fun listen. This was a short and easy read. There was some spicey scenes – I’ll say 4🌶️.

This is a brother best friend crush – they both have feeling but they try to stay away. After years of avoiding there feeling they finally give and start a secret relationshinp – where they have to “play it off” so no one knows – specially Sienna’s brother and Gavin’s best friend.

Overall it was a cute fun read.

Loved meeting Gavin and Sienna in book 1 of this series and the overlap in the storylines. Sienna has always crushed hard on Gavin but knew her brother’s best friend would never give her a shot. Gavin has always secretly crushed in Sienna but feels broken due to his constant criticism from his father, he feels partly broken.

Sienna is now at college with her brother and Gavin and one night catches Gavin’s attention. He walks her back to her dorm and they make out until her roommate walks in on them. Now fast forward 2 years, Gavin is a Senior and Sienna is a Junior in college. They’ve kept their distance mostly but here and there they see each other close up. One night at a party, Gavin walks Sienna to her apartment due to her being drunk.

Over time they end up hooking up and then Gavin states he wants to keep her a secret. This crushes Sienna because she wants to be seen and wanted by someone since she’s overlooked by her family due to her big time football player brother.

This story had great pace. Even though they both are into each other, their story really kept a pace that seemed realistic. I also loved how Sienna showed Gavin real love and gave him a home feel.

Tropes:
College
Brother’s Team Mate
Football
Found Family
Close Friends
Secret relationship

Loved Gavin & Sienna. It was nice to witness their crushes for each other. It was angsty 😝 I really enjoyed the fact that it wasn’t one sided. And boy was it spicy 🥵 I was too Getty once they both realized it. I caught myself giggling quite a few times at their admiration for one another. Although it was a really good book it felt as if it was missing something. The side characters were great also and with that I really hope Frank gets his own book and his own love.

Play it off by Monica Murphy

This was such an enjoyable and entertaining sport romance story. The female character is tall and a red hair girl. She’s sweet and caring. The male main character is rich and he plays football. He is working hard on his dreams and can’t get distracted. But, he can’t seem to stay away from his best friend’s little sister. The spice was delicious and the chemistry between these two had me on a chokehold. I absolutely recommend this story. Avery Caris and Victor Quixabas did an amazing job narrating this story.

I enjoyed listening to this book. it was a quick and pretty easy book to follow. I did feel like it was missing a little something though.
I really enjoyed all the characters, and loved how much Gavin and Sienna wanted each other. I did kind of feel like maybe they could have admitted their true feelings a little sooner considering the other things going on in the story.
One thing that kind of fell short for me was the plot vs spice. This was definitely a very spicy book, which spice is fine but I kind of felt like the spice took over the plot. There was plot with them sneaking around her brother, seeing each other at the bar, her going on a date with someone else and Gavins response, etc but I felt like there could have been more plot.
Overall I did enjoy listening to it, I didn't feel like it was hard to read or anything, and I do want to read more of the series but I also enjoyed the side characters.

Tropes:
-teammate’s little sister
-forbidden romance
-sports romance
-romance in secret
-second chance-ish
-found family
-forced proximity
-dual POV

I enjoyed Sienna and Gavin’s story. It was entertaining and quick to listen to —I devoured it in one day. The narrators, Avery Caris and Victor Quixabas, did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life. This book and audiobook are available through KU. I recommend checking them out.

My Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Spice Meter: ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 Spicy.

General Thoughts: I have heard such good things about Monica Murphy, and so I've been excited to read one by her for a long time. Best friend's sister/brother's best friend/teammate is always a trope I love, and Monica did it well. So much spice and angst in this one. I love a she falls first, but he falls harder. The pacing and writing were great. I would definitely read more by this author and in this series. I would have liked to see more of the connection between the two main characters, but it was a great read. I received a review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you, Valentine PR and Monica Murphy.

Romantic Tropes
-dual POV
-she falls first he falls harder
-college
-sports
-football romance
-off-limits/forbidden romance
-secret romance
-best friend's sibling/brother's best friend/teammate

You can also find me on Insta @mylastromancenovel.

I really enjoyed Sienna and Gavin’s story. We met them in Nico’s book. Gavin came off as clueless to how Sienna felt about him but he’s not. She’s his best friend’s sister and off limits.
There’s attraction and chemistry between them. Once these two get together all bets are off. They get each other. He comes from money but his father won’t ever win father of the year. Sienna’s not rich but she has parents that are supportive, want her and her brother to be happy and are aware of their faults as parents.
It was a really enjoyable read. I recommend it.

I love me a good sports romance & college football is my favorite, both on the field & in a book. I listened to the audio version of this one & the narrators were awesome! Brother’s best friend, long time crushes, he’s the QB & she’s his #1 fan! They fought their feelings for each other for 2 years until the chemistry became too much. Add in a little jealousy & Gavin was toast! And Sienna was there for it with all the support he needed. The spice level between these two was combustible!

This is the second book in this series, so i was already invested in this friend group & loved Gavin & Sienna, so i was happy to see them figuring out their HEA. Here’s hoping Coop is the next to fall!!

This is such a cute book! The narrator for the MMC sounded too young, but still did a great job. I love a good older brother’s best friend trope.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️.5

Play It Off is the 2nd book in the Kings of Campus series and delivers a sweet brother's best friend, sports romance. I enjoyed the first book in the series, and it had me intrigued about the obvious crush Sienna had on the quarterback.

Sienna has had a crush on the star quarterback and her brother's best friend for a few years. They almost hooked up a couple of years ago during a drunken night for Sienna. They are in the same friend group, so they have been keeping their distance. Sienna thinks she is the only one crushing, but Gavin has also been pinning after her. He wants to stay focused on his football, and he doesn't want any distractions, but he can't stay away from Sienna anymore. They finally talk about that night and realize they are both into each other. However, they were both worried about how her brother and his friends would respond to their relationship, so they decided to keep it a secret.

This was a fast-paced and sweet read. I love all of the side characters and enjoy everyone on the team. I did think the conflict with the guy she went on the date with was not needed. It felt like it was just dropped near the end, which felt weird.

🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧
This audiobook was narrated by Avery Caris and Victor Quixabas. I thought they did an amazing job bringing their chemistry and banter to life. I really enjoyed their performances.

Thank you to Valentine PR and NetGalley for providing the ALC.

There are so many great sports romances out there — this just isn’t one of them.

So uh… this book starts with the MMC getting the FMC drunk at a bar and basically forcing her to take him back to her dorm. Despite her being visibly drunk, he ends up in her bed — and only leaves when her roommate walks in. It’s somehow supposed to be okay because he’s her brother’s best friend and she’s had a crush on him? Yeah… instant ick.

Then there’s a two-year time jump where the FMC gives us the classic ‘I’m not like other girls’ memo line — she’s not into the attention of football players, has no real friends, talks like one of the guys… and yet also wants to hook up with the QB? Sure.

Meanwhile, the MMC is the usual bad-family, emotionally unavailable, sleeps-around type who is suddenly all about his friend’s sister cause conveniently does not “like other girls” because he wants one doesn’t throw herself at him like all the others, even though he’s just here for a good time.

Then at a random party, two years after the dorm thing, they just… decide to be friends? I didn’t stick around to find out where this was going.

DNF. This book felt like it took all the worst tropes from bad sports romances and smashed them into one.

This is a college football romance where fmc loves the sport has an older brother in the team who's also mmc's best friend. It has vibes for second chance romance and the forbidden fruit aspect plays into the story very well too.
While I really liked the mmc who's focused and is fighting through his issues with his dad, I couldn't find it in my heart to love the fmc. She's a little too naive when it comes to the mmc and I think she forgave him a little too quickly.
I have to say I definitely liked the previous one better but this book is also good for a one time read.
The narration on the other hand was amazingly performed.
Thank you valentine pr and the author for the Alc in exchange for an honest review.

sienna + gavin stole my heart. ilove when two characters just click, and monica murphy delivered that magic again. this one is full of banter, chemistry, and just the right amount of slow-burn sweetness. add to your tbr if you’re craving a feel-good sports romance!

I absolutely devoured this audiobook! Monica Murphy is the queen of NA sports romance, and this book is the perfect example of how seamless and addictive her storytelling is when it comes to college romance.

I LOVE the brother's best friend trope - seriously LOVE it - and Gavin and Sienna's chemistry has been brewing for a couple of years, which we even saw a glimpse of in Book 1 of the series. The fact that Gavin pines over Sienna just as hard as she does him made me fall in love with him immediately. But this Golden Boy is a devil in the sheets, and I ate up every little surprise he gave us.

Sienna is sassy, independent, and not afraid to go after what she wants... which is Gavin. I cheered her on like I was her bestie and swooned so hard over these two.

Thank you M Murphy for giving us a fun college escape with characters who are relatable and swoon-worthy. Can't wait for what's next in the series!! Well done once again!

This is the second book in the Kings of Campus series, a steamy college football romance. Sienna and Gavin’s forbidden romance is sweet, passionate and complex, filled with family drama, angst, and plenty of push and pull. Gavin is enigmatic, obsessive, and fiercely possessive. Sienna is beautiful and pure sunshine. Their chemistry is absolutely sizzling! The friendships and found family elements made the story even better. Avery Caris and Victor Quixabas totally nailed the narration, truly bringing the story to life. I’ll definitely be continuing the series.

This was my first book by Monica Murphy. I really enjoyed the narrators (new ones to me). They did an excellent job. Sienna and Gavin's long history just kept building tension, making the end results so good. There was alot of back and forth throughout the story. I was nervous that Ryland was going to something worse so I'm glad that she was safe from him. Also what the uber driver did was not ok but glad everything worked out.

Sienna has harbored feelings for Gavin for a while, and one night, they shared a passionate moment only to be interrupted by her roommate. After that, they both went out of their way to avoid each other, until nearing the end of their college years. As members of the same friend group, they found themselves spending more time together, and eventually, their undeniable chemistry took over. However, their path to love wasn’t without its challenges. Avery Caris and Victor Quixabas absolutely nailed their roles as Sienna and Gavin. Caris brought Sienna’s sweet yet strong personality to life, while Quixabas perfectly captured Gavin’s vulnerability beneath his tough exterior. If you’re a fan of steamy brother's best friend romances, this book is a must add to your TBR list!

Thank you, Monica Murphy and Valentine PR for the ALC.

Brother’s best friend college romance. Sienna has had a crush on her older brother’s friend for a while now but it was doomed before it started. Avoiding each other seemed the best route until they could no longer hide they both have feelings. Very cute HEA and no third act break up.