Delay of Game

Plays & Penalties #2

by Maggie Rawdon

She wants lessons to end her wallflower era, but the only thing I want to teach her is how to be mine.
Olivia is my best friend and the one person who was there for me when I wanted to quit football freshman year.
We’re just friends. A fact I have to remind myself of every time I see another guy flirt with her.
She thinks I’m a nice guy. A good friend. Her grumpy protective “bestie”.
But what I really want? It would make her blush.
So when she tells me she’s tired of blending into the background and asks me to tutor her, I can’t say no.
Even though I should, because my past means she’s the last person on earth I should touch.
And with everything on the line right now—championships, the draft and our final year—I need her more than ever.
So when it all catches up with me in the worst possible way, I have to face an impossible choice—or risk dragging her down with me.
And this game is one I can't afford to lose.

Genres: Sports Romance, Friends To Lovers, Sports, Romance, College, Football, College Romance

288 pages, Paperback

Published December 13, 2022

Reviews

[Dani (Daniiireads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tropes:
- sports/college romance
- best friends to lovers
- grumpy x sunshine

Friends since high school, Liv & Liam were brought closer together after a tragedy strikes right before their freshman year of college. For the last three years the pair have been each other's anchor, but Liv wants more and is ready to get out of the friendzone.

When her best friends (and roomies) Mac and Wren suggest that she convince Liam to 'tutor' her sexually under the guise of boosting her confidence after being dumped, she goes along with the plan in the hopes that she can either screw him out of her system or get him to realize they belong together for real. What could go wrong?

If yall have read Play Fake, then yall know aaallll about the tension between Liv & Liam, and you know that these two dorks belong together but their ridiculously solid friendship is holding them back. Liam is obviously very easily convinced to go along with Liv's 'tutoring' because he's secretly felt the same way for her for years, but harbors a lot of guilt because of their shared trauma.

Honestly, I thought loved Waylon and Mac, but Liam and Olivia have definitely knocked them down to second place (for now). Seeing these two act on the chemistry that's been sizzling between them for years was everything, but unfortunately reality swept in way too fast--DAMN YOU THIRD AT CONFLICT!!! I loved that Liv did not take Liam's BS excuses and reasons for not being together and was willing to fight for him while he needed to pull his head out of his bum.

I would have loved to see more of their relationship throughout the years in the epilogue, but I loved that ending so much anyway!

[Hey Lin]

Ew. She's gross. Saying her friends (quarterback football dude) name while her man (a hockey player) is making out with her. Wtfuckerooooooo is this shiet? I don't care who is doing the cheating, but I don't tolerate that shit. Would it be ok if he was friends with a girl but he had a girlfriend who he said the other girls name to? No. That's just a no for me, irl or my books. I was giving g this author the benefit of the doubt because I dnfed another book of hers but I don't want to read this 😭😖😤😤😤👿 I'm getting MAD

Hopefully no one gets blundsided like me with all these 5 star arc reviews. Thats a disservice to readers who don't want to read this shit

Ended after about three pages. 🤦😐😐😐

[Haily Therres · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5⭐️
3/5 🌶️

Tropes:
- Best Friends to Lovers
- Sports Romance🏈
- Grumpy x Sunshine

Friends to lovers isn’t my favorite trope but man did Maggie killed this one!! I was hooked from the start and loved every minute of it.

Liv and Liam have been best friends since high school. They are now seniors in college and there has been a shift in their relationship. Liv wants to get out of the friend zone with Liam so she decided to be brave and ask him to help with her confidence after her relationship ended with Mason. Liam agrees to help but doesn’t want this to affect their friendship and ends up being friends with benefits.

I love how Liv steps out of her comfort zone and goes for what she wants. She is such a strong FMC.

Idk why it took me soo long to finally jump into this series but I’m so glad that I did.

[Jenn (The Book Refuge) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Annotated for a Patron

Fun Friends with Benefits but lacked a real pull for me.

4 Stars
3 on the spice scale

cw: sports injury, surgery, restraints in sexy time, public sex and light exhibitionism.

[Jessi ❤️ H. Vojsk [if villain, why hot?] · Rating 4 out of 5]

"You're the love of my life Liv.
I thought I could have that in half measures with us just being friends.
I thought it would be enough, but it's not.
I want all of you.

Cute friends to lovers with an interesting background story.

[Sarah~Book Obsession Confessions · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 STARS
This romance has many common tropes- College sports romance, Grumpy/Sunshine, Best friends to lovers, Fake relationship and a bit of Forbidden romance.
𝐀𝐍𝐃 this book is why I 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 these tropes! When they work for me, they are like this book was-butterfly inducing, emotional, sexy, 𝐅𝐔𝐍!
Liam and Liv are friends from high school, they shared a big personal, traumatic loss at the beginning of college that bonded them very strongly. Liv supported and encouraged Liam at his lowest and they became each other’s “person” to lean on and depend on.
Senior year of college, Liv and her friends devise a sneaky “seduction lessons” plan that she talks Liam into being her tutor for. She feels like she can’t move forward with anyone while she still has her crush on him. She tells him a different reason of course.
This changes things for the best friends obviously. They have danced around their attraction for a few reasons, now it has to be dealt with.
I love the tension and chemistry between them as much as I love the friendship and companionship. I love that they understand and get each other so well.
I love that they both look out for each other, they are each other’s biggest supporters and they are very protective.
I was like a college girl with a crush right with Liv. It was so swoony and spicy.
The two have fun and very 𝐇𝐎𝐓 chemistry. I really enjoyed the intimate and sexy scenes between them. It’s not just heat and passion there’s a lot of emotions and some light, fun moments as well.
It’s paced well, it’s lower angst, despite some serious emotional aspects.
The secondary characters are really fantastic and I look forward to reading more of them. They added lots of humor and heart to the story. I loved how their friends had so many rarely kept secret conversations with and about the two. The meddling and the involvement of their friends was hilarious and a really endearing addition.
It was such a fun, engaging and steamy story. Both main characters are really likable. I felt the connection was based on real things, not just attraction or familiarity.
I loved that they are at a transitional stage in their lives, it’s the end of college so big life decisions and changes are very front and center for them.
I love the way they subtly grow and mature. Liv doesn’t act like a timid wallflower and she handles Liam’s stubbornness so well. I loved that she didn’t put up with his BS. (I say that with affection, I really adore him!)
The ending was great! I wasn’t sure which way things were going to go for them and I love where life took them. It was a bit unexpected, a nice surprise.
It was a story with characters that really captured my attention and my heart. It was so enjoyable, I can’t wait to read more by this author.

[Vi D. · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 26 pages.

She cheated on her boyfriend and led him on and I just can’t get that out of my head. She said Liam’s name while hooking up w her bf and then claims it’s nothing. She said she’d been trying to forget her feelings for Liam. I’m sorry but if you’ve got feelings for someone else, especially strong one, why tf are you getting in a relationship with someone who thinks they’ve actually got a chance? That’s just cruel in my mind, in books and in reality.

Then there’s the attitude she has toward Liam. She claims she still wants his friendship but I’m sorry, ghosting him, getting hammered and being pissed at him when he gets someone off you who quite literally picked you up to grind on you, this is not the behaviour of a friend. Sorry not sorry. Def not a friends to lovers.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probs my least favourite of the series
Also took me forever to read cause school is schooling at the moment

[Jenifer Briggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one a lot better than the first book! You can tell this author is finding her voice for sure, and there's just something about the way she writes that I really like.

I was so excited for this book, especially because of all the snippets of Liam and Liv we got in the previous book. And while did take me longer than I would have liked to really get into it, once I was, I was hooked!

Liv and Liam have been best of friends for years now, but where she's in the friend zone, Liv has grown intense feelings for her best friend-- so intense she calls out his name in the throes of passion with another person (oops!) But he's made it very clear that friends is all they will ever be, yet whenever she tries to move on, he's always right there in her way. So she asks him to help 'tutor' her so she can not only scratch the itch she so desperately wants with Liam, but hopes this wakes him up and he realizes just how perfect they would be together. But she never expected to fall more in love with Liam.. or to have her feelings actually be reciprocated.

I liked Liam, I really did, but I hated the third act conflict. If felt like they had just gotten together and were happy, and then BAM. Sudden heartbreak. I wish we could have seen them just *be* together a bit more, especially with how much angst they went through to actually be together. I get why he thought he had to push her away, and im glad that Liv was always there and helped him realize he didn't need to feel the way he did about their relationship, all the while maintaining her boundaries and keeping her backbone. It all came together really well, I just wish it was done in a different way. It also felt like the ending was rushed, and I would jave liked to see them in the future as well.

All in all, this is definite step up from the first book, and I'm really looking forward to more in this series!

**I received an ARC of this book and these are my honest opinions **

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Another solid read. Parts of the story I wish would have been more developed, but another book with likable characters and good steam. I absolutely love the friend group.

[Larissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Liam is the literal worst. 🤮

[Desiree · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars. Friends to lovers is so underrated. I loved Liv and Liam. How protective they were of each other. Their backstory 😭. The spice 🥵. I’m just glad they were genuinely there for each other the entire time. It was nice to see how effortless their relationship was, and how they fit to explore new sides of each other. And then in the third act when Liam was being an asshole, Liv did not care, she was determined to be there for him whether he liked it or not. I loved seeing Waylon and Mackenzie along with crumbs of Easton and Wren. Once again, I loved how their friends helped them get back together, it’s so sweet. And then in the epilogue, I was happy things worked out for Liam🥲.


Summary:
One day, Livs crush on Liam is confirmed when something happens 🤭. With the discovery of this information, she doesn’t know what to do because Liam claims he only sees her as a sister. Then, Liv and her friends come up with the idea to ask Liam for “lessons” to build her confidence up when in reality she wants to test the waters with Liam. Whereas, Liam is having an inner conflict about moving forward with this with his best friend. Will their friendship survive or will something more come out of this?


Favorite quotes/scenes:

“I don’t feel beautiful.”
“We can fix that.”

“Just a warning though that there’s an added soundtrack these days.”
“What?”
“Mac and Waylon.”
“Oh fuck.”
“Yeah.”
“We’ll just have to be louder then.”

“You can just look at a girl and tell her to get in your bed and she will. The last thing the men on those apps need is the two of you competing with them.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, and you know this. Don’t play stupid.”
“Then go upstairs and get in my bed. I’ll be up in a minute.”

“What happened?”
“Hit during practice.”
“Who? I will kill him myself if Waylon hasn’t. Did he not remember you’re his fucking quarterback?” (I love that she’s protective over him too)

“She’s like a fucking siren begging me to crash against the rocks, and I want so badly to give in to her. Claim her. Make her mine.”

“This woman is going to kill me with the things she says. The way she makes me feel. The way I want her. The way I love her. How I need her.”

“Livvvvv…Thank fuck you’re here. I was just talking to them, and they were saying that we should elope you know?”
“Who says?”
“The pink elephants. I know it sounds crazy, but they were kind of wise.”
“I bet they were.”

“Does that mean you’re going to give me a chance?”
“Of course I’m going to give you a chance. I’m madly in love with you, Montgomery, you know that. Besides we’re already engaged.”

“Thank you. For forgiving me. For being patient with me. Fighting for us.”
“I will always. There is no one else but you, Liam.”

“The moment I feel her in my arms again is the same moment the world feels right again for me. Like I can breathe again and part of my heart isn’t living out of my body half way around the world.”

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delay of Game by Maggie Rawdon is a prime new adult sports romance involving best friends turning into more when wallflower Olivia enlists her best friend & star quarterback, Liam, into helping coach her back into the dating game. Their chemistry is immediate, but their heart-wrenching history has kept them from crossing lines before. Will Liam coach Liv into another man’s arms or will the play backfire & they realize the they’re meant to be?! Read Delay of Game to find out!
This is a wonderfully messy new adult romance full of high emotions, tangled feelings & lots of spice along the way. I haven’t read the New Adult genre in awhile, but it’s a nice mix of drama, figuring out futures, steamy parts & the chaos of roommates. I enjoyed the friend group & how they balanced each other out. I also appreciated how they were there in the difficult times. I thought Liam & Liv’s difficult history made for excellent personal growth & development with how it molded them as people.
I really enjoyed the ending & being able to see how things all came together with the extended epilogue.

If you’re looking for a new adult, sexy sports romance, Delay of Game is out now!

Massive thanks to Wildfire Marketing & Maggie Rawdon for the arc, which I voluntarily read & reviewed. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

[Emily Johnston (Booked.Up.With.Emily) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 STARS ⭐️

What a great ready about two best friends who venture into more. If you are looking for any of these, then this is the book for you!

Sports romance ✔️
Best friends to lovers ✔️
College romance ✔️
Past trauma for both MCs ✔️
Great friend groups ✔️
A hard fought HEA ✔️

Liam and Olivia (Liv) have been friends turned best friends since high school. There was a tragic dynamic that brought them closer right before they started college (I don’t want to spoil). Now they are in their senior year of college and Liv is finally admitting to herself that she wants more.

Liv tells Liam that she wants him to coach her to become more openly sexually and he is hesitant because he doesn’t want to ruin their friendship. But he relents, because he is harboring feelings deep down as well.

Throughout their coaching sessions, they get closer and ultimately something happens and Liam pushes Liv away. That was truly heartbreaking for me and I really FELT for Olivia so hard.

I loved these characters, even if I wanted to slap Liam numerous times throughout the book. I’m glad that they got their HEA, but it took them awhile to get there.

Can we hope for an Easton book next? I want to see the women that finally settles that beast!

[Fanofbookfire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok I LOVED this one. I really wanted to love it - I was scared I was going to hate it - and I was on pins and needles reading it. I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was waiting for one of them to do something unforgiveable because they both were feeling the same things - but at different levels of comfort with their feelings. This was a best friends to lovers - a "teaching" arrangement - book. I loved that even though they weren't a "couple" throughout the book - they were a couple. The majority of this book is centered around them being together and the level of crazy they made each other. There is a small portion that is the monumental "break up" (not really in the case) as in all romance novels - but even that is fun (for the most part). There is a lot of emotional stuff, but it's hot as heck, fun, and loving ..... Liam and Liv are by far my favorite book out of the series. 100% 5 stars all the way with them. Nothing at all that I didn't like. I am so glad I read this book - I wasn't sure I would with the reviews and how I wasn't in love with book one - but after this one - I am willing to try for more!

[Molly Stoltzfus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to thank @maggierawdonbooks & @wildfiremarketingsolutions for the ARC

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️
friends to lovers/ grumpy, sunshine/ best friends/ football romance

my review::
i’ve become a big fan of Maggie this is the second book in the series and it didn’t disappoint. I wasn’t expecting the history between Liv and Liam it put more things into perspective especially with the feeling they each had! Liv not wanting to be known as a wallflower has truly decided to come out of her shell and make it known she’s ready for a change. Liam is to stubborn and head strong quarterback to realize a good thing in front of him! they are for-sure a fiery duo!

Delay of Game is available now!

#mollysbooklibrary #maggierawdon #wildfiremarketingsolutions #arcreader #arcreviewer #grumpysunshine #collegesportsromance #footballromance #friendstoloversromance #bookstagram #bookish #bookishthings #booksbooksandmorebooks

[my CHAOTIC BOOK CLOSET · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMFG! This book hit so hard!!
I f*cking LOVED Liam and Olivia. This is one of the best, best-friends to lovers stories I’ve ever read. Their back story is heartbreaking but it puts everything into perspective that we witnessed in Play Fake (book one - Mackenzie & Waylon’s book) where they were secondary characters that had so much sexual tension that they wouldn’t act on. I don’t know how Maggie Rawdon is going to top this one but I’m sucked into this series hardcore and can’t get enough!
The plot was fantastic! The characters were so damn likable and had me rooting for them the entire time. I loved that while they tried to hide their true feelings, they also did communicate a lot, even if it took them a minute to get their heads out of their asses.
GAHHH!!! I’m in total bliss right now! So good!
Another book I’ve devoured in one sitting which is so uncommon for my ADHD self. Maggie’s writing is just so consuming and absolutely addictive.
Can’t wait for Ben and his mystery girl and Easton and Wren! On to the next one! 🙌

[Chelsea (2_girls_bookin_it) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that we're getting to see more of the friendship dynamics in this one, and Easton is growing on me more and more. I kept thinking he better be the male main character (MMC) of the third book while reading this.

Ok, but on to who this book is actually about. I love that Olivia was ready to take control of her life and make others see her as someone other than the football mom. And while we definitely can tell that Liam and Olivia's relationship is filled with tension, she drops a bomb early on in the book I wasn't expecting, which just added more complexity to their relationship. But she still took control, throughout the whole book really, and I love that for her. This my least favorite of the series, but it still gets a solid 3.5 stars, so I wouldn't skip it.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun friends to lovers/lessons in seduction story!

Similar to the first book in the series Maggie took a trope I know very well and had a little bit of a different spin to it. This “coaching” dynamic if you will was different but I still ate it up. Liv and Liam are so much fun and have insatiable chemistry with each other.

Liam really goes from being a golden retriever to possessive and little alpha-y in a second and I loved it so much. Like where was my QB friend in college to literally go unhinged with me dancing with another guy? 👀

This series is super easy to read and I am so excited to continue on!

[Doris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liam and Liv

If you want a book that gives you the “feels” this is a book you want to get your hands on. This is a sports romance with Liam as quarterback and also a friends to lovers since Liam’s best friend is Liv. Now they are in their senior year at college and Liv wants more and knows just how to push Liam in the right direction. Liv wants Liam to help her in the “dating” arena. The problem is he isn’t sure because he doesn’t want to ruin their friendship.

Their story made me crazy at times but I’m so glad their found their HEA.

[Amber Carpenter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liv and Liam are the quintessential duo who have bonded over their shared brokenness,and the loss of a best friend and lover.

Being stuck in a will they/won't they limbo of avoidance,and scared to destroy the friendship they've cultivated throughout their High School and College years, they decide to change up the rules of their closely guarded relationship,and give romance a chance.

Their acknowledged passion and chemistry means they have to decide to let the past go, but with new challenges, the future looks even more troubled than Liam anticipated.

I loved the sweet and wholesome moments these two have,and the comfort they displayed in knowing the other so well. The sexy encounters were made even more appealing because of their easy familiarity. Being seen and known so intimately,and cared for so deeply by one another made their connection jump off the page.

It was a hard won HEA for these two,but a nice one nonetheless.

*I enjoyed seeing Waylon and Mackenzie once again, and the rest of their circle of friends and their antics made me laugh,as usual.
Here's hoping that Wren and Easton will be featured in the next installment of this series.

4.5⭐
4🧯🥵

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

livliam have rocked my world. how did we progress from good kinda smutty books like these that use every smut scene to show relationship progress to whatever is happening these days in name of smut?


anyways. they're everything I needed and moree. I'm a slut for the fmc being loved by the team and this was perfect. written for me. liam kinda my best man but I suspect easton might beat him which is crazyyy because I did not expect to love easton on paper 😭😭😭

omw to wreneaston

[Sarah - Lifeofabookqueen · Rating 5 out of 5]

And the Maggie Rawdon obsession continues 😍

🏈Football Romance (college)
🏈Friends to Lovers
🏈Friends with Benefits
🏈Grumpy/Sunshine
🏈Complicated Past
🏈Melding Friends

I love friends to lovers! Jealous, Angst, Will They/Won’t They. All of it. I will not lie, I absolutely wanted to place my hands on Liam’s neck and squeeze a few times 😅😆

These two have been been inseparable since high school. But something has shifted, even if they won’t talk about it or act on it. When Olivia’s relationship falls apart because of Liam, she decides something needs to change. She proposes he help her with her confidence in hopes that she will get him out of her system and be able to move away from her crush.

As always, the banter, the tension, the SPICE… it’s all fantastic. I love this group of friends and if you enjoy football romance,
You should pick up Maggie’s books 🏈🫶🏼

[Emily P · Rating 5 out of 5]

With this book, Maggie became an “insta-purchase” author for me. I flew through this book in one sitting because I simply could not put it down. Their banter, history, chemistry, all of it pulled me in.
Olivia yearns for her best friend Liam. They’ve been inseparable for years. Liv acting like the team mom, and Liam being her fierce protector. When Liv starts to realize she likes Liam, she comes up with a plan to get him out of her system.
Liam’s dirty mouth alone gave this book five stars. Holy crap that man was HOT. Friends to lovers, grumpy/sunshine, and a happily ever after. What’s not to love ❤️
5/5 ⭐️
🌶🌶🌶🌶

[Emily Farthing · Rating 4 out of 5]

i am embarrassingly attached to these characters.

[Sarahlynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m kind of disappointed in this book because I like some of her other ones a lot, but this one just felt really childish and immature. :(

[Majo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just don’t know why this took me so long to read.

[Misha Ahuja · Rating 4 out of 5]

holy shit i loved liv (3.75)

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️ RTC

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute, so spicy and loved every single page. I read all in one sitting.

Super cute series. Reminds me of the Campus Series.

Diving into book 3 immediately!