Review: Game On

22718738About Game On

Release Date: August 16, 2016
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

As king of baseball in the small town of Lewis Creek, Eric Perry can have any girl he wants and win every game he plays. But when a fight lands him in jail, he’s only got one more strike before his baseball career is over for good. His only chance for redemption? The girl next door, Bri Johnson.

Bri hasn’t talked to Eric in months—for starters, she’s been too busy dealing with her jerk of an ex-boyfriend, not to mention the fact that Eric’s been preoccupied trying to drink every keg in the country dry. But when he needs a way to stay on the team, she proposes a plan: if he helps her out with community service, he can stay on the team. At first it’s a nightmare—Eric and Bri stopped being friends years ago, surely that was for a good reason, right? But as volunteering turns to bonding over old memories of first kisses under the stars, they start to have trouble remembering what pushed them apart.

In a town as small as Lewis Creek, nothing stays secret for long and their friendship and romance might mean bad news. But in this final, tumultuous spring before graduation, Eric and Bri are about to realize that nobody’s perfect alone, but they might just be perfect together.


Game On is book two in the Lewis Creek series, a companion novel to Play OnPlay On has been in my TBR pile since I heard about it around it’s release last year, so I was excited to receive a copy of Game On to review. I mean small towns, baseball, southern charm, and falling for the neighbor next door? That sounds just like the kind of book I’d enjoy, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Eric Perry is in need of a little redemption. He’s finally off the bench this year as Lewis Creek’s newest starting pitcher. However, now that the spotlight’s on him, everyone knows about his troublemaking ways and wants him off the team. After his coach bails him out of jail for a second, and this time final, time, Eric needs to shape up quick and face some consequences. One of them being community service with his neighbor and childhood friend, Bri Johnson. After ending a terrible and emotionally abusive relationship, Bri is trying to find herself again. She’s alone constantly due to her father’s job as a truck driver. In need of someone, Bri turns to Eric, who, even though they haven’t really been friends these past couple of years, is in need of someone to turn to, too.

Game On definitely had a huge Friday Night Lights vibe going on, which I loved. It even had it’s own Coach Taylor, who I couldn’t help but see as Coach Taylor from Friday Night Lights. I really did love how much Coach Taylor was a part of the book and how he supported Eric (and even Bri). Small towns sure can have a lot of politics with their high school sports teams, and Lewis Creek is no exception when it comes to baseball. The whole time I was hoping that the town would just give Eric a break. Yes he screwed up majorly, but he was becoming better and everyone just needed to realize that.

The romance between Eric and Bri was sweet but definitely a slow build. Most of the book focuses on them repairing their friendship, which was so, so important. Though, I have to say, I do wish there was a little bit more romance once they became a thing. I was happy with how they finally got together and the ending, but I definitely wish we could’ve seen more of them together!

I really enjoyed Eric’s family as well as Eric and Bri’s friends, but I definitely wanted to see more of all of them. I would love to read more stories in the Lewis Creek world, especially if it involves their friends or Eric’s sister. I also wanted to see more with Bri’s dad and with soccer. The book is told in dual POVs, but there seemed to be just a tad bit more about Eric and I would’ve liked some more about Bri.

Overall, I enjoyed Game On and I think fans of Katie McGarry and Miranda Kenneally will enjoy it, too. I look forward to reading Play On and any other books that might be planned for this series.

My Rating:

4 Hearts

*This ARC was provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

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