Love Game by Maggie Wells

She's earned her position

Kate Snyder is at the top of her game. She scored her first national championship at Wolcott University in her undergrad days, and now she's the coaching legend of the #1 college women's basketball team. No one knows the meaning of the phrase "work your way up" better than Kate. So when the university hires a football coach trying to escape scandal—paying him a lot more than she earns—Kate is more than annoyed.

He just sailed into his

Danny McMillan had hoped for a smooth transition at Wolcott, but the fiery Coach Snyder made that impossible. Every time he and Kate are in a room together, snark and sparks fly. Danny gets her frustration, but her pay grade isn't his problem, right? When Kate and Danny finally see eye to eye, their sparks turn into something even hotter... and they need to figure out if this is more than just a game.

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
I enjoyed this well-written and gender-equality challenging read. I thought that the injustices in recognition and pay between the super successful Kate Snyder, and the scandal-bound Danny were played out very cleverly. We are set up to hate on Danny from the beginning and yet, if you have faith in the author, she does not let you down, and in fact, his behaviour is far more forgivable.

The chemistry between the two leads is undeniable, and it is highly entertaining watching them give in to the desires they cannot fight. It works particularly well because term is out, and they are not busy with their usual routines. Touches like that are important to me, as they make the plot work so much better.

Although most of the focus is on the couple, there are some good side characters too – which maybe will feature in future books in the series. Kate's friends are fun, and instrumental in the resolution of all the issues keeping these two people apart. Mike is rather hampered by his position, but in the end, he is a good friend to both Danny and Kate.

I found this a super easy book to read and enjoyed how it played out. Thank you, Ms. Wells.


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
Wow! I have a huge girl crush on Kate Snyder! I love strong women in romance writing and the Olympic basketball star turned award winning coach has to be one of my all-time favourite characters. She’s smart, she’s quick, and she’s also very funny.

Kate’s love interest, Danny, is also a retired sports star – but his life post retirement has been a little bit messy. I love the chemistry between these two. I love that Danny is attracted to Kate’s strength and to her successes. And while Danny and Kate both might take their sports a little bit too seriously, their relationship is fun and the banter between them is brilliant.

I really appreciated some of the feminist themes that run through this book. Kate wrestles hard with the salary difference between herself – a coach with four national championship titles – and Danny – an unproven coach with a murky past. Sadly, equal pay for women’s sports seems to be a long way off for players and staff alike but I really like the way Kate fights for her contract without compromising herself or making any compromises to appease Danny.

I loved the courtship moments as Danny attempts to win Kate’s attention. The chemistry between these two is crazy hot and there are some scorching scenes in this story. But while the courtship phase is long and very satisfying, the race from bed to happily ever after felt like a breathless race. The end comes a little too quickly for me. I wanted to see these two settle into a relationship but instead I’ll have to trust that they’ll sort themselves out.

This is the kind of romance that I want to see more of. We need more ‘warrior’ women in romance. We need to be able to read about women that we can look up to and be inspired by. We also need more relationships between equals in romance. I loved this story and I will be looking for more by this author.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s not about people just starting out, it’s about people who have lived their dreams and what happens after the dream has ended – whether by injury or retirement. About how your life is not only impacted by your dreams but what happens after the dream fades away. How you conduct yourself and make new dreams.

Riding the wave of glory then defeat often tells the true story of a person's character. The aftermath of destruction of those dreams comes with a hard price and oftentimes, the price is paid with scars to a person's soul. Protecting the truly guilty is a price paid for those protectors and only those carrying the burden know the true cost.

Learning to live and love again isn't easy, but for these two, it’s a dream worth fighting for.

By day, MAGGIE WELLS is buried in spreadsheets. At night she pens tales of people tangling up the sheets. The product of a charming rogue and a shameless flirt, you only have to scratch the surface of this mild-mannered married lady to find a naughty streak a mile wide. She has a passion for college football, processed cheese foods, and happy endings. Not necessarily in that order. She lives in Arkansas.

Connect with Maggie

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Google+  ~  Instagram

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Love Game (Love Games #1) by Maggie Wells to read and review.