Review: To Win Her Love by Mackenzie Crowne (Players #1)

Note: This ARC was provided by Kensington Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Gracie Gamble intends to keep the promise she made her late sister and be the best possible guardian for her twin nieces, but a stipulation in the will left behind by her recently deceased brother-in-law has her vying for custody with Jake Malone, who turns out to be the girls' half-brother. The fact that she's had a thing for the football superstar for years isn't going to help her stay focused over the next three months they need to spend together in the same house with the twins. It doesn't take long for their adversarial relationship to develop into something much more for both of them. But Gracie is keeping one explosive secret, one that could very well cost her custody of the girls and a chance at a family and forever with Jake.

To Win Her Love is the first novel in the Players series from Mackenzie Crowne and is an enemies to lovers contemporary romance between Gracie Gamble, a professional blogger who writes about football, and Jake Malone, a professional football player. Gracie is an independent, no-nonsense kind of woman who isn't afraid to put a man in his place, even if it happens to be her favorite football player who has starred in many a fantasy. She and Jake know what it's like to not have a father around, but Gracie doesn't have the feelings of resentment that Jake has toward his late father. Learning that his estranged father married someone and had twin daughters adds to his negative feelings but the last thing he needs is negative press thrown his way if he were to turn his back on his sisters. Soon enough, they become an unplanned family unit, but Jake has issues stemming from his past and Gracie has her potential scandal.

Gracie and Jake were great lead characters and they had the chemistry necessary to make them believable as a fictional couple. Yes, there were moments that the two didn't think highly of each other, but the undeniable attraction was there from the beginning, something that grated on them because of the distrust and dislike. There were silly antics that the two would employ in order push the other's buttons. I liked the tension between the two of them and it was good to see their relationship develop over time instead of rushing into it and their living in the same house had them on faster pace compared to how long it would have taken had they been living separately. Even when they became a couple, there was Gracie's secret standing in the way and when it finally came out in the open, my heart couldn't help but break alongside hers and I seriously wanted to smack Jake upside the head for how he treated her afterward.

This book had a good cast of supporting characters--from Jake's twin sisters, Angel and Charlie Thompson, to Jake's and Gracie's respective best friends, Victoria "V" Price and Max Grayson, plus Kevin "Tuck" Tucker, Jake's teammate and fellow man candy, and Murphy, Gracie's dog--with each one proving to be as memorable as lead characters Jake and Gracie. I'm sure Tuck will get his own story told in the series and I hope the same for Max and V, whether separately or together. This was a story about finding family in the most unlikely of circumstances and trusting in the person that you love and it was told in an entertaining yet still heartwarming manner. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for future installments in the Players series and would more than recommend To Win Her Love to anyone who loves sports-related romances with humor and heart. Perfect for a weekend read, I'm giving this first in a series 4.5 stars. ♥

Release Date: 04 August 2015

Date Read: 31 July 2015

Learn more about Mackenzie Crowne here.

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