Review: The Backup Plan by K. Bromberg (Lone Star Rebels #1)


Note: An advance reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author.

We may still be in the off-season, but K. Bromberg is giving her readers something to cheer for with the release of the first book in her Lone Star Rebels American football romance series. If you're a longtime reader of Bromberg's, you'll know that sports romance isn't anything new to her, but it has been over a year since her last foray in the genre. The Backup Plan is a firm reminder of just how adept she is when it comes to writing sports and romance together. It's got main characters in their 30s, both trying to start new chapters to their respective lives in a new city, and a whole lot of slow burn goodness. If the beginning of the series is this good, then the bar has been set high, at the very least, for the next novel.

Football is Lucas Hale's life. At thirty-four and with lingering concerns regarding his throwing shoulder, he knows the end of his career has increasingly become a matter of not if but when. When he accepted the Lone Star Rebels' offer, he knew that he would no longer be QB1. He would be the backup...the mentor. But first, he needed to make it on the team. One of the people standing in his way is the team's new injury specialist, Dr. Emery Porter. Not only is she good at what she does, she also happens to be the woman who Lucas helped out before either of them knew who the other was, AND she's his neighbor. They're friends, and they could be more, but will it cost them their careers and all of the plans they had?

I enjoyed the heck out of this series starter. I loved that we had main characters who had some maturity to them and navigating through a different season, one filled with hope and discovery. While Emery may have needed some rescuing, she certainly wasn't a damsel in distress. She was a woman wasn't going to waste this chance to live the life that she wanted. Of course, Lucas was thinking the same thing--that becoming part of the Lone Star Rebels was going to prove that he wasn't ready to call it quits on what had been a stellar career so far. But you know what they say about best laid plans... I loved these two together. They were perfectly imperfect, and their story was quite lovely. Five stars for The Backup Plan.

Release Date: 29 April 2026

Date Read: 29 April 2026

Learn more about K. Bromberg.

Pre-order The Backup Plan on Amazon.

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