Life isn’t only football. Just mostly. That’s Kasia Decker’s life, anyway. She’s a major fan of the Woodsmen, the local team in northern Michigan and (obviously!) the best one in the world. That’s why she knows everything about all the players, like the recently signed tight end who’s replacing a former favorite. The new guy, Tyler Hennessy, is great—he’s magic on the football field. And a jerk. He may be skilled and he may be strong and handsome (yes, he is), but when they meet, Kasia knows that they’re not going to be friends. That’s fine. She has a normal life that's very different from his existence, with his obnoxious car, his flashy clothes, and his glittering girlfriend. Kasia’s life is normal, yes, but it’s not easy—and it would nice for someone to take a bit of the load off her shoulders. Of course, Tyler won’t be that person, since he hardly seems able to handle his own responsibilities, except…sometimes, people are not quite what they seem. That’s very true for Tyler and it’s true for Kasia, too. Sometimes, people are better when they’re two halves of a whole, and if they can progress to that point? Then the magic isn’t happening only on the football field!
I know I always say this when it comes to Mrs Bennett’s books, but how she manages to make her characters so out of the ordinary when being so normal, is beyond me.
I love that her stories are not insta lust, over the charts chemistry or fall in love at first sight. She makes the slowburn burn you in the best way, and of course I could not put this down until they had their happy ending.
One thing I will say though, I want more time of their romance, always seems we have so little time of their love phase. And I love/hate they’re sometimes so oblivious when it comes to the hero’s love. But I’ll just drop everything and go running every time she releases a new book and if it’s Woodsmen, cherry on top 😻
not even joking when i say that i will literally read anything jamie bennett writes. like there’s just something so charming about her stories. i just adore how seamless their main characters come to know and love each other. my kind of thing! 4.75-5 stars 🩷
3.75 ⭐️ A return to the Woodsmen world in this book.... and I liked that the heroine was a super fan of the team and football this time around. There have been heroines who were fans in previous books but in my mind the more common dynamic has been ones that know nothing about football or the player at all. There are a couple of cameos but it stands alone better than some of the other Woodsmen books, in my opinion.
This one has some minor OW drama, since the hero has a crappy social media/influencer girlfriend at the start, and the heroine witnesses a couple of kisses during the time he is with that girl. It didn't bother me but I know some people don't like to read about that in their romances.
Just like most of the other books by this author, this has a slow, friends-to-lovers romance that is woven into the heroine's life journey. She has been taking care of her father since she was a teenager, taking care of everyone and everything in her life really, and slowly starts to let the hero and others into her circle and let them help a little. I liked the way she told the hero when he was acting badly, and tried to help him with his social issues. I liked her father and his mother and just the whole group of characters and how they supported each other.
Another well-written, fast-paced writing with slow (no) burn romance. I really, really appreciate this author and how fast she publishes too. I've been reading one book a month for a long time to go through her backlist and I have finally caught up to books published in the same calendar year so might have to slow down a bit in 2026.
Boring. Oy, so boring. Additionally, just so many things didn't work. SPOILERS- Ok, Tyler having his mom come and stay with him- yes. Having some strange woman who is his "friends" boss come and live with him with her new baby? And then spending unknown amounts of money to get her settled- come on now. It's just too much, and frankly bizarre. Not really any romance between Tyler and Kasia until the end. The last 2 chapters were good- maybe just skip to those, because all of the other blah, blah, blah going on with Kasia just feels like watching a hamster on a wheel. I skimmed at least half of this book. Im sad because I LOVED Jamies earlier books, but Im not sure Im going to read her any more.
the best kind of surprise is when a Jamie Bennett book that doesn’t immediately look familiar pops up on your Kindle Limited recs, and you realise there’s a whole new book out !!! an announcement that really does deserve every one of those 3 exclamation points, because it was by far the most exciting thing to happen all day. anywho, i gobbled this one up in one sitting, forgoing sleep because I didn’t realise how late(/early..) it had got, and I was so invested in seeing Tyler’s arc and how things would pan out for my girl Kasia. i am happy to say things turned exactly how i wanted, and this is another brilliant addition to one of my favourite series. yay for JB books.
A wonderful, sweet, warm romance with interesting, fun characters, a story with good flow that will keep you interested and a wonderful HEA at the end. It was fun to revisit the world of “The Woodsmen” football team as there are several previous books on other members of the team. This author writes the best slow burn romances and after having read her many books, I have never been disappointed. I highly recommend this book and indeed, all of Jamie Bennett’s books.
I was worried in the beginning I would hate the MMC because he felt shallow and icky, but I loved the progression of their relationship, the humor, the side characters, etc. I even liked the MMC by the end. I do wish there had been more discussion about his relationship with his previous gf because as Kasia I’d be seriously doubting the man’s staying power despite his words/actions. However, it was a happy, satisfying ending for everyone.
And single pov! Please never stop writing single pov 🙏
For some reason the first chapter of this book was really hard for me to read and I almost DNF because I didn't think I was going to like the writing style. I'm so glad I decided to give it a chance because I really ended up loving this book! It's definitely a slow burn but worth it. I liked the character development and the side characters. It definitely gives Mariana Zapata vibes.
I don’t know what it was about this book, because honestly, not a lot happened, but the style just totally and completely sucked me in. What a charming little book! It could have come off as silly or over the top, but I think the way it was written + single POV + first person with lots of internal narration really kept it from feeling like slapstick.
An easy 5 stars. I love love all of the characters Jamie Bennett writes, and Kasia and Tyler are no different. I love their story, and how they grow to rely on each other. I’m so glad Jamie Bennett is keeping the Woodsman universe going!
Jamie Bennett's books are always so much fun to read. She does the slow burn really well. I highly recommend this book. If you haven't read her books before I recommend you do a deep dive into all her books. You won't be disappointed.
It was really nice book, almost without spice (one scene only). It was really fun and Polish accents were a gem, I love it. But if it were a little longer... the ending was rushed and disappointed me.
DNF. There was hardly any conflict and the plot moved too slowly. The romance was also slow and boring to me, even though I liked how Tyler turns out to be a green flag MMC after the first few chapters. Additionally, many of the emotional reactions of the characters and their dialogue felt flat.
I love the Woodmen stories. The young ladies Jamie B.writes about are plucky and sassy and hard working. The secondary characters are richly developed and interesting. Just great fun!!
Her characters are always going through hardcore tough times but somehow it is always very delicately written! I do enjoy her Woodsmen Football series. I did like this one too.
Main character POV rambled often. Male lead underdeveloped- it would help to understand why he care, made certain decisions. Felt like a few missing plot pieces.