Merit

Treasure State Wildcats #4

by Devney Perry

The world loves Maverick Houston. Me? I’ve hated him since we were ten.

It’s not exactly easy to escape your childhood nemesis when your parents are best friends who live on the same block. Through countless vacations, parties and holidays, Maverick and I have spent the past decade trading insults.

Until that family dinner when his mother tells us she’s dying. When she asks us to forget the past and start fresh. That’s how I found myself on a date with the Treasure State Wildcats football star. The campus playboy. The boy I kissed when I was three. The man who is the bane of my existence.

He’s arrogant. He’s blunt. He’s too handsome for his own good. But if he has a single, redeeming merit, the guy sure does love his mom. And that’s why I started fake dating Maverick Houston. That’s why I made him a proposition of my own. That’s how this sham of a relationship ruined my life.

The world loves Maverick Houston. Me? I hate that he made me love him too.

Genres: Sports Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Romance, Sports, Fake Dating, Friends To Lovers, Football

352 pages, Paperback

First published March 11, 2025

About the author

Devney is a #1 Amazon, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of over forty romance novels. After working in the technology industry for a decade, she abandoned conference calls and project schedules to pursue her passion for writing. She was born and raised in Montana and now lives in Washington with her husband and two sons.”

Visit Devney's website to sign up for her newsletters and learn more about upcoming books.

www.devneyperry.com

Reviews

[glavreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

sorry i actually didn’t consent to devney RIPPING MY HEART OUT 😭

wow, what a way to close out this series. this book is such a raw, real depiction of grief and the many different roles people play in that. i cried way too many times. stevie and maverick were so perfect, flaws and all.

[sabrina (on vacation🏝️) · Rating 5 out of 5]

well this was easily the best book of the series 🥹 I did not expect to cry so much, but this story was so beautiful 😭 My heart broke for Mav, the last 10% of the book wrecked me.

This book had substance, which I think the other books in the series, lacked. I wish Stevie and Mav didn't get together so quickly but that's my only complaint. The enemies to lovers trope was done so well, some of the arguments were so childish but it worked 🙂‍↕️

The epilogue was so long, it made my heart soar. I am a sucker for a good epilogue and I love when we get a peak into the future. This was the perfect ending to the series!

[Mira · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bittersweet ending to the series. I’m not ready to say goodbye to these characters!
I liked Merit, but Rally is still my favorite book in the series💙

[Carrie Dozier]

Another virgin h, manho H with his hook ups thrown in her face🤮Eww

[Cristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhere in between 2 and 3 stars

I wasn’t impressed by either MC. It’s silly why they were enemies (the H said the h had small boobs as a child and she told him he was chubby and had a big nose). 😑

It was tough to connect with them or even fall for them. Also, the H is a manwhore and yes you guessed it… the h is a virgin.

[EMthebooktrovert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maverick Houston is such a sweetheart. And that's why this is my favourite book in this series. He loves his family, especially his nephew and his mum. And the things he did for Stevie. I love it when he calls her Nadine. And this man cooks 🫣🫢

But the groveling part was practically non-existent and that was the main reason why it wasn’t a five star book. He basically disappeared for nearly two months, and suddenly reappeared in Stevie’s life. Abrupt and weird, even though I get that he was grieving for his mum.

Hoping for another small town romance next please!

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

incredible book!! for a fake dating romance to be believable the stakes must be high AND believable! this one is it. maverick and stevie (ex childhood best friends) decide to fake date because his mom has cancer and her dying wish is to see them date. while everyone (including his mom) knows it’s fake …the keep on fake dating and quickly the lines blur and they fall in love.

this story is so much more than a romance. it follows someone who is dealing with “pre grief” of losing someone (which i know too well). devney captured the accuracy of these feelings so well (i was like hey are you in my mind????) it was heartbreaking yet beautiful.

thank you devney for the ARC & ALC

[Syndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Merit, Miss Perry closes the chapter of this series. I enjoyed the story. The characters are likeable and the extra epilogue is sweet.
I like when everything ends well for Maverick. I was worry about him on the previous book. But now he got his own HEA.

Stevie is also adorable. Although her chatacter is sort of mundane to me.
Overall a great book.

4 stars

[V. (¿book hangover or book slump?) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I need to cry but I don't want to since Merit already made me cry earlier today...

So I'm just sitting here in silence rn processing 🥺



It's definitely a mix of things but probably because the series has come to an end...

So I don't think I'm going to do a full review YET but once the dust has settled (my feelings) and I've reread the entire series again (because I love it), I'll give it a proper review!

Okay? Okay 🥲

- - - - - - - - - - - -

[ pre read ]

I need Stevie to runnnn Maverick thru the wringer 🥊 just like Faye wanted for him lol

.
.
.

5 stars ⭐️ Coach
3.5 stars ⭐️ Blitz
4.5 stars ⭐️ Rally

[Sammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️
🕯️Need this sooner 🕯️
🕯️than March 2025🕯️
🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️

____________________________________________
4/5 ⭐️ - billing Devney for my freaking therapy bill because I literally sobbed continuously for the last 25% of this book. Im literally dehydrated.

[abby :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

we started strong but i got lost halfway through...

this series really revived devney perry for me. i was getting kinda bored with the small town, romantic suspenses she had been writing but there was crack in the second and third books of this series. i was hoping to have it end off on a high note but i just didn't really connect with the characters in this one. because of mav's mom having cancer you would expect this book to be pretty emotional. instead it felt like we just ignored that element until the inevitable happened. i kinda just wanted more from the emotional side of this book.

stevie and maverick were a cute couple though. they had their tension from hating each other as kids so the fake dating was fun. they kinda went from frenemies to basically dating in three pages though. i was expecting slightly more buildup because after they got together we just got told things that were happening but we didn't actually read about them. while this wasn't my favorite in the series i did have a good time. i've been reading some fantasy lately and this was an excellent palette cleanser in-between them!

[Sandy (Sandy.Reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Absolute Perfection!

Devney Perry can do NO wrong in my eyes. Every. Single. Book. she writes is pure gold, and Merit is no exception. It had everything I love—heart, heat, and just the right amount of angst.

Tropes:
✔️ Fake Dating
✔️ Friends to Enemies to Lovers
✔️ Sports Romance
✔️ Small Town

I absolutely adored Stevie and Maverick. Stevie is sweet, a little stuck in her head, and needs to let go and truly live. Maverick, the jock with a reputation, wants to be seen for more than just hookups—he wants to be better. And together? Absolute magic. Their chemistry was electric, their banter was perfection, and the slow burn? WORTH. EVERY. SECOND. And when the spice finally hit? Perfection.

Now, let’s talk about the 10% of this book that wrecked me. I was SOBBING—like full-on ugly crying, couldn’t see the pages, felt physically ill kind of sobbing. But Devney knows exactly how to break us and then put us back together with an HEA that makes it all worth it.

Honestly, I could talk about this book forever, but I’ll leave you with this: pre-order it, read it, and prepare to fall in love.

[Kseniia ✨️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

➸ спортивний роман
➸ закляті вороги з дитинства
➸ від друзів до ворогів до коханців
➸ фейкові стосунки

Маверік та Стіві ненавидять один одного з самого дитинства. Але їхні батьки - найкращі друзі. Тож, коли мама Маверіка каже, що помирає, ці два дурбелика вирішують зіграти для неї закохану парочку.

Юху, це моя 3 завершена серія Девні.
Мила і солоденька книга з невеликою драмою. Не найкраща для мене в серії, але і не найгірша. Герої, любовна лінія, спайсі сцени👍🏻

Стіві мені сподобалась. Іноді дивно себе поводила, ображалася без приводу, тікала, але спишемо це на те, що у неї мало досвіду спілкування з чоловіками.

В минулій книзі Маверік іноді дратував мене, тож я не мала великих очікувань на нього. Але в своїй книзі він непоганий хлопець👍🏻
Boy, you are sooo in love❤ Він такий нужденний до уваги та любові Стіві. З самого початку і до кінця він ну таке миле цуценя.

Причина чому вони закляті вороги дуже дурна. Вона набагато більше його ображала. Взагалі Стіві наче їжачок. Маверік постійно намагався з нею контактувати, а вона кололась. Я думала авторка докрутить, що Стіві екстра вьорджин, бо на неї так вплинули його слова в дитинстві + її батько з дивним бажанням мати сина. А вийшло наче вона 12 років сиділа дулась і чекала поки Маверік набереться досвіду.

Але в цілому я співчувала Стіві. Нікого не цікавлять її почуття і бажання. Мене так це обурило. Від простого вибору смаку піци (батько чгг все життя наполягає, що їй сподобається м'ясна з грибами) до вибору роботи. Її батя трохи дивний. Замість того, щоб віддати керівництво фірмою доньці, яка цього хоче, він призначає головним її заклятого ворога.
Мама чгг теж ще той великий стратег, змушує людей робити те, що вони не хочуть, під приводом "це моє передсмертне бажання." Ну що за маніпуля��ії? Звичайно вони пересилять себе і через почуття провини та жалість, зроблять все, що завгодно.

А розрив в 3 акті? Маверіка не цікавить, що Стіві теж втратила близьку людину і їй теж боляче. А батьку зовсім на неї начхати. У мене немає слів від його геніальних дій.

Троп фейкові стосунки насправді тут так собі. По-перше, незрозуміло нащо їм вдавати, що вони зустрічаються, якщо можна було б просто вдати, що вони помирились, і мати була б задоволена. А по-друге, це не було фейкове зустрічання, скільки б вони не переконували себе, вони ходили на справжні побачення😁

Але попри деякі недоліки, мені сподобалась книга і серія. Бо це ж Девні Перрі, вона так пише, що важко відірватися від читання. А які милі епілоги в цій серію😍

My Ranking:
(3) Rally
(2) Blitz
(4) Merit
(1) Coach

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

The tears were flowing.

4.5 stars
3 on the spice scale

CW: cancer, loss of a parent

[Ainhoa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am very lonely in this world of not liking this book, so it’s probably just me and my moody judgemental ass.

But I very much hated their inmature hatred towards each other, and I disliked their fake dating the most. It was awful.

They are cute towards the end but getting there was exhausting, and by then, I disliked them both.

[Inna ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Чудова історія, мені дуже сподобався сюжет і взаємодія між героями 🥰
Іноді варто слухати маму, вона поганого не порадить😏

[crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

another amazing 5 star sports romance from devney!! expect this one CRUSHED ME!!😭

i absolutely adored this book so much. i have not read a good childhood friends to enemies to lovers in such a long time and devney delivered!! stevie and maverick were everything. from hate to love, i ate up every little interaction between these two. something about seeing forgiveness and learning to be yourself around someone again was so touching. and the workings of this family! 🥺 the found family between stevie’s family and maverick’s was so so sweet… this book made me shed tears…🥺 overall, LOVED THIS ONE!

please check tws🩷

[Edith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh, this could’ve been a 4-5 stars read for me but seriously????? In 2025 we are still writing about virgin and insecures adult 22 yo girls?? With a manwhore for a love interest who was a complete jerk to her, made her feel bad about her jealousy and insecurities? It was painful to read

Also, Stevie’s dad being an as*???

[bean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will devour anything that Devney Perry writes! Merit follows Stevie and Maverick, who have been at each other’s throats forever, but when his mom drops the ultimate guilt trip, they agree to fake date! Their banter is top-tier and the steam between them heats up at the *perfect* moment. Maverick is a delicious mix of cocky football star and secret softie.

Stevie is a total badass with just the right amount of pettiness, and watching her fall for the one person she swore to hate was just too fun. The childhood friends-to-enemies-to-lovers dynamic is everything, to the point where it really felt more like "it had always been you.. unfortunately". One minute I was cackling at their ridiculous fights, and the next I was SOBBING because, wow, the emotions hit. Devney balances the angst, humor, and romance so effortlessly, I felt like I was on a rollercoaster.

Tropes:
- Fake Dating
- Childhood Friends to Enemies to Lovers
- Sports Romance (football)

I THINK THIS WAS THE FIRST THIRD-ACT BREAKUP I'VE READ BY DEVNEY PERRY??? And I'm okay with it. It falls under the "forgivable" third-act breakups category.

[Alia ✩ ♬ ₊.🎧⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not ready to say goodbye. 🥹 This series seriously stole my heart, and Merit was such a bittersweet way to end it. Every single book had me completely hooked—I’m talking staying up until 2AM because I had to know what happened next. Addicting doesn’t even begin to cover it.
I loved Stevie and Maverick's story. Their relationship felt so real and grounded because it was built on friendship first. It was so wholesome and sweet. But wow, this book hit hard with the emotions. The way it tackled grief was heavy but so beautifully done. I don’t think I’ve ever cried as much as I did reading this one 😭.
If I’m honest, Rally is still my favorite 💙, but Merit was such a heartfelt, perfect ending. I’m going to miss this whole world and these characters more than I can say.

[Sav | SavtheBookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been a week since I finished this book and I am STILL thinking about it every single day.

Maverick and Stevie were once best friends, their families have always been together so that just meant they were together all of the time. That is, until he ruined it. Now they are in college and hate each other.

That is, until Maverick gets the worst news of his life and his mom’s only wish is that they go on one date. Just one. That is, until they agree to fake date until they have convinced their families it won’t work out.

These two end up spending every Saturday together and start to actual enjoy it. The tension was immaculate, the banter was top tier, and the way this story ripped out and threw my heart on the ground and then put it back together was just incredible.

If you loved a friends to lovers, second chance, fake dating story. This is for you.

infinity/5 stars
2/5 spice

[Anna-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Devney Perry books hands down. INSANELY GOOD. Wow.

[CNA · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stayed up almost all night reading this book. I’m torn between 3 and 4 stars. The thing is, Devney was the author that got me into reading again. I discovered her and quickly read her entire backlog of books and thought each was perfection. As my reading palate grew, I actually realized there’s often at least one thing in each of her books that gives me the ick.
Merit was no different.
While moving, emotional, touching, and powerful… I was also left wishing for a bit more.
The past few books from this author have had cringe, needless OW drama, and the past two heros have been reformed players. I’m not sure if she’s been too busy working on her romantasy book that she’s been falling back to using tired romance novel tropes to finish these past few books, but the man whores and OW are getting tiring. And in this one, Mav wasn’t even that reassuring to Stevie over the topic. He’s just like well I don’t do that anymore, I can’t change the past, and doesn’t seem to appreciate why running into his past hookups constantly would be annoying for Stevie. I DID appreciate how two out of the three times he made clear from his body language that he wasn’t even remotely interested. But I felt he could have been more verbally reassuring to Stevie over it.
Then- the 3rd act break up- ick. Like I get it … but also… no thought was given to Stevie’s feelings. She was also grieving during that time. With no friends around, no Mav around, she was at odds with her dad, she was just alone. And Mav was like I gotta concentrate on myself so see ya. I was looking forward to a good grovel, but he literally just said “sorry” and she forgave him. I would have appreciated SEEING him realizing her house was for sale, she was on a date with someone else, and she had literally given up thinking he wasn’t coming back … and him ACTUALLY groveling.
Also, there were a couple times he was just a bit too much an a**hole for me with his comments.
Sooooo… maybe 3.75 stars? There were some really good, sweet moments here. But it just missed the mark for me a bit.

[Shabby -BookBistroBlog · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rocking love story, takes you on the highest of highs till you see stars, then brings down the emotional roller-coaster at warp speed. Devney's tone is more preppier, more wittier in this story of Treasure State Wildcats player - Maverick Houston. He's a true happy-go-lucky guy, popular jock, loves life and fun with friends. His only bane of existence, next door neighbour Stevie Adair.
The petty banter, the will to one up and outdo each other is the baseline of Enemies-to-lovers trope and hence my favourite. It's hilariously childish, adorable to read
These two families are close like family. Mav's mom, Meredith has cancer and is dying. Her last hurrah, make Maverick & Stevie date so they can be a couple hopefully.
They both start the pretend relationship and as you know it...felling get real!!
Mavericks characters shows the most growth. As is in tragedies, the person effected goes through a gamut of emotions. The four stages of grief are well played out till he comes to his senses to grovel his way back to life on his knees
Devney is a refreshing writer. Every story is approached and treated differently. I'm a forever fan and now excited what she brings out next.
Narration by Robert Hatchet and Megan Wicks is EXCELLENT!
5 stars for Fuck Cancer
Follow me on:
Email🌻 Bookbub 🌻 Twitter🌻 Instagram🌻 Blog🌻 Facebook🌻 Amazon 🌻

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Big no.

When am I going to learn that I just don’t vibe with DP’s work anymore. Her storylines are so icky and her MMCs are straight up garbage.

This might be the last for me.

[Celeste Velocci (bookrecs_by_celeste) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75⭐️

I loved this one SO much. The characters and love story was amazing. No one writes real romance quite like Devney Perry. I loved everything about this one - it was fast paced, realistic, full of love and just everything I look for in a romance. It was a great way to wrap up this series. I’m sad it’s over but cannot wait to read all of the rest of Devney Perry’s work.

Childhood frenemies Maverick and Stevie have been in one another’s lives forever. Without ever exploring what it would be like to fall in love with one another due to their animosity Maverick’s mom has always know Stevie was the girl for her son. As her dying wish Maverick’s mom makes them promise they’ll bury the hatchet once and for all and go on a date. To appease his mother they agree but both think it’ll be a waste of their time…I mean this is their sworn enemy since they were kids of course they couldn’t really love one another. An incredible heartfelt love story that shows sometimes what we didn’t even know we needed has been there all along.

[Joana (joanasbookshelf) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this one!! Such and emotional book but still heartwarming. I cried reading this one which is saying something for me.
I read this book in one sitting. It was such an emotional book, with amazing characters. Stevie and Maverick are fantastic and two childhood friends, who have been at in a fight with each other since they were 10. But then his mother makes him promise to go on a date with Stevie. Their chemistry and banter is just chef's kiss perfection.
I'm a sucker for a childhood friends to enemies to lovers and this one was perfection!!!!

I laughed, I swooned and I cried. This book is my new fav in this series. No notes. Another masterpiece by Devney Perry.
Consider this your sign to read this book (and this series, in case you've been living under a rock).

tropes you can find in this books:
fake dating
childhood friends to enemies to lovers
sports romance

Thank you Devney Perry and Valentine PR for the arc for this book.

[jenna 💘✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

the you so much to Devney Perry for the arc!

the treasure state wildcats series has been such a fun time & im so sad to see it go! merit easily became my second favorite, behind coach! i loved stevie & maverick and found it so fun to see their relationship develop from childhood friends to enemies to lovers!!!

i really enjoyed both maverick & stevie's characters! two stubborn, kind, loving, fun people who love to get under each other's skin!!! their dynamic was so fun to read, the banter was great, and i truly loved getting to see these two reconcile their relationship. it was easy to tell how much they truly loved & cared for each other, and just how well they knew each other.

the grief aspect of this book was strong and made me tear up!!! it was so emotional, both heartbreaking and sweet. the way that Devney handled the loss & grieving process in this book was well done and realistic, especially given the personalities of maverick & stevie.

merit is the final installment in the treasure state wildcats series & is a fake dating, childhood friends to enemies to lovers romance, with themes of grief, loss, & family!

[Literary Child (Tania)]

DNF 19%

Жодна адекватна матір не буде маніпулювати почуттями своєї дитини задля власного задоволення

[Em (semi-hiatus) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reads like a romance novel written by someone who fundamentally dislikes romance.