The End Game

Love Games #2

by Mickey Miller

We went through all that just to be strangers again.
Carter Flynn might love me.
But I'm done with him.
He may well be the sexiest man I've ever been with, but he has a dark side.
It's a hard decision, but I say this relationship is over.
Carter begs to differ.
I just embrace my new life in New York as a dancer.
It goes smoothly until Carter sees me walking home one morning...after I've been out all night at the club with a new man.
If we have a happily ever after coming to us, I sure can't see it.

Genres: Sports Romance, Romance, Sports, Contemporary Romance, Enemies To Lovers, New Adult, Contemporary

293 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2018

About the author

Hi, there! My name is Mickey Miller and I write sexy, fun romance with smart characters. My books are great if you're looking for a light-hearted, steamy read with some humor and a happy ending! Happy reading!

Reviews

[NMmomof4 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars

Overall Opinion: I struggled with the pacing, the H's seemingly 180 change, and the ending (see all sections below). I am happy I finished it, but I feel like it's not going to be all that memorable in the long run and it's definitely not going on my favorites shelf. I disliked the dramatic conflict and how it felt a little too OTT. I also feel like there were several questions left unanswered in the end. This duet addresses a few times about how indifference is the opposite of love and not hate, and tbh I feel a little indifferent about this duet as a whole. Oh well! Moving on to the next read...

Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Lacey and Carter's story. This continues about four months from the last book. Carter has accepted his mistake, and is now on a mission to win Lacey back. He also has a lot of personal baggage that he is working on that he needs Lacey to help him with. There are some big ups and downs, some hot sexy times, and a few suspenseful scenes...and they get a HEA ending.

POV: This alternated between Lacey and Carter's POV.

Overall Pace of Story: Good until the last 10-15ish%. The ending felt rushed. I was actually worried that this was going to be stretched out into three books, because the big conflict was introduced so late in the story. Because if this, I also felt like it was resolved too easily and it felt too rushed in how we were then thrown into the epilogue and HEA.

Instalove:No, but feelings are already strong at the beginning of the story.

H rating: 3 stars. Carter. I definitely liked him more in this book, but I also felt like he was like a different character. I found his drastic change in feelings and behavior a little confusing and not believable, and maybe that was why I was so tolerant if the h pushing away so much -- because she didn't believe it either.

h rating: 3 stars. Lacey. I feel like I liked her more than the first book in this one up until close to the end. I wanted her to communicate with the H and not to jump to dramatic conclusions so easily.

Sadness level: Low, no tissues needed

Push/Pull: Yes The h pushes away a good bit in this book, and the H is probably the main pursuer of the relationship.

Heat level: Hot. They have some hot tension, chemistry, and scenes -- but not so much it takes away from the story.

Descriptive sex: Yes

OW/OM drama: Yes The h is dating OM when reunited with the H, and there is an allegation of the H cheating on the h that causes drama for the couple.

Sex scene with OW or OM: No

Cheating: Not really Though the h is kind of dating (haven't had an "exclusive" talk yet) OM when reunited with the H and becomes physical with the H before breaking it off with the OM.

Separation: Yes (if you consider them "together" in the first place -- which I didn't tbh) They are separated for ~4 months between the books. The h went on a few first dates and kissed one OM, but the H claims to have had gone on only one date and that nothing happened with him and the OW.

Possible Triggers: Yes Parent with health issues/alcoholism (h on page) and criminal activity/assault (on page).

Closure: This had alright closure with what I would reluctantly call a HEA ending they get married in the second epilogue. I think I wanted more as them being a healthy couple before the epilogue though, because it felt like they have a conflict that is resolved and then we're thrown directly into their HEA, but that's probably just me being picky again 🤷🏻‍♀️

Safety: This one is probably either Safe or Safe with exception for most safety gang readers depending on personal preferences.

- Does Not have cheating
- Does Not have a descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
- Does have both the h and H pushing away
- Does have a separation between the h and H
- Does Not have abuse
- Does Not have a HEA ending (see above)

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skim read most of the book. Gosh, characters are interesting but writing the story needed editing. Could of been one book instead of two also. Ugh. Such a waste of hot cover model.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this enemies to lovers duet! It’s fast paced and a lot of fun. I was hooked!! Full review to come.

An arc was provided for an honest review.

[anonymousreader · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh.My.Goodness. Sadly this was a complete train wreck. The first book in this duet was decent but not without issues. Turns out the biggest issue with the first book is that the story didn't stop there and now we've been subjected to this one. Look, do yourself a favor and skip this one. If you read the first one, just assume their work their shit out and end up happy and you'll be better off saving yourself from slogging through this mess.

The blurb for this book is practically non-existent so I have some mild and major spoilers ahead and have marked this review accordingly. Read at your own risk. :)

I've already mentioned how much I despise cliff hangers but this duet is particularly an egregious offender since it would actually have been much better as a single book. If the author had focused on the relationship between Lacy and Carter, come up with some reasonable turn of events for Carter to grow the hell up and act his age, and had the HEA, that would have been a vast improvement over what readers got, which was repetitious, nonsensical, and frankly at times so unbelievable that I developed a severe case of eyeroll-itis.

This book would have been less bad if the author had done some research - any research at all - into anything, including the basics of DNA testing, organ donation, counseling/therapy, or law enforcement. It's laughably bad in places.

In this installment in the duet, we find Lacy in New York working on her dance career and Carter still in Chicago playing ball. Carter was able to hire The World's Best Private Investigator to find his deadbeat dad, and by that, I mean that some PI is able to uncover facts that actual law enforcement can't find and apparently has major connections and some sort of security clearance. Mm hmm. If a PI was able to find out about this person's criminal activity, there's no way none of it surfaces with them running for US Senate.

Here's Carter and Lacy chatting about what the PI found out about:

“Well, according to the reports, he has mob connections and owns a chain of warehouses,” Carter says.

“What’s so bad about owning warehouses?”

He swallows. “He uses those warehouses to run an international drug dealing operation.”

My eyes widen. “Holy shit. Which drugs?”

“It’s mostly a cocaine operation.” Carter takes a deep breath. “The point is, he’s a powerful billionaire. If we ever raise a paternity suit in public, it would lead to a lot of digging around in his personal and business life that he wouldn’t want exposed. It would likely ruin his political career, and then some. So we need to tread lightly about that. He’s a shady motherfucker.” Carter stops walking and stares out into the distance.

“But, what are you scared of? What do you think he’d actually do?”

“When my mom finally told me the truth about him, she shared her biggest fear was that he would kill me and get away with it.”

My eyes bulge, and I feel my stomach twisting. As shady as Jeff Doonsbury is, I have a hard time processing the fact that he could be a murderer, too. “You don’t think he’d do that for real though, do you?”

“I don’t know what he’s capable of, honestly.”

Carter tries to grow up and be a big boy and deal with his issues by seeing a therapist and man, were those scenes terrible. His therapist makes judgmental comments, displays frustration and other emotions with him, and talks to him like a friend at the bar instead of a licensed professional therapist. He later punches a tree b/c he can't have Lacy and breaks his hand, leaving him off the team for the season. Seriously what kind of pro athlete would do something that stupid? He is seriously immature.

Major spoiler-train ahead - click at your own risk. :)

He then decides to go to Costa Rica to track down his dad and asks Lacy to go with him as a friend "for support". Lacy goes from basically telling him to eff off moments before to "sure, I'll go to a foreign country with you and stay in a beach house together while you track down your deadbeat dad....but only as friends." Mmm hmm, sure. This woman needs to seriously grow a spine. Of course you know they hooked up again after like a day. I will try to ignore that it took them 5 hours to drive to the beach from the airport but only 2 hours to drive back.

So off they go. Somehow, despite his dad being a drug dealing billionaire, Carter is able to walk up to his McMansion unfettered by security and miraculously finds Pops outside his house and they have a chat. Um, yeah right. I've been to Costa Rica and I'm certainly no billionaire criminal and even the house we stayed in had security. In the mountains. Barely accessible by car. No way a guy like this is right off a public beach and has no security.

Anyhoo, as expected, his dad is a jerk but he does at least tell Carter that if he pursues things, Lacy will get hurt. So here's a guy who your PI told you had mob connections and is deep in the drug trade and might be a murderer so I think it would be wise to maybe take Pop's word on this one. At first Carter does, but then for no reason, he apparently forgets the major threat his dad made and decides that it's a great idea to go public and "out" his father, as well as reveal that his teammate is his brother. He never really says what he hopes to gain by doing this, much less why it's worth the risk to do so. It's just dumb.

Then he gets a threatening call telling him to withdraw the story about his father and his brilliant conclusion: this must be my childhood friend (Liam Blackwell from....their home town of Blackwell) pranking me. Carter is not only emotionally crippled and immature, he's dumb as a box of rocks.

So back to the US they go (earlier than planned b/c Lacy saw that a past f-buddy texted Carter and now she's all hurt and upset that other women still have his phone number). Lacy continues on alone from Chicago to New York and ends up sitting next to a woman she strikes up a conversation with. They meet up for coffee days later in the city and the woman shows her a pic of one of her clients cozied up to Carter. Lacy thinks he's cheating and breaks up (again) with him. Turns out, the woman was an operative of Carter's dad - how the hell did she just happen to be assigned in the seat next to Lacy on the plane, especially when Lacy had to reschedule her flight multiple times? Mm hmm.

Lacy then gets a call from her family that her dad is in the hospital due to liver failure after being an alcoholic for years and is on the brink of death. According to the doc, they just need to wait for someone to die and he can get a new liver. That is SO not how this works. I mean, at a high level it is, but given that he's an alcoholic who is still drinking, the odds are about zero that he would get one. Yet I've never seen a dude get a liver faster than this guy.

This story really goes off the rails with the "grand finale". Lacy and Carter have broken up over his supposed cheating and so she is staying by herself in her friend's apartment in Chicago.

Meanwhile. Carter and his PI have a little chat:

“The man is as shady as shady comes. It’s as though legalities don’t apply to him. He’s like the fucking mob, Carter, If he wants the Senate, he’ll smear the opposition, pay people off, whatever it takes. I don’t know how he convinced Lacy that you weren’t faithful. But he’s done crazier shit in his heyday. You don’t father seventeen kids, just because you like to fuck, and then pay people off continuously without incurring any debt. He’s got people in debt to you. Goddamnit Carter, I feel like I’m teaching you Mafia 101 here.”

A chill spreads over my body. “I guess I just... didn’t think it was this serious. I thought he’d be a little pissed, but I can’t believe all this.”

I mean, I guess he forgot all of the other times this PI has told him the same thing and the fact that his father threatened him directly. Either that, or this is a whole new level of stupid.

An assailant gets into the apartment and ties her up, then waits for Carter to show up because of course he will know to come to this place at 1am for no reason at all. But that's what he does after his chat with the PI - convenient how that plays into the bad guys' plans, eh? So now the assailant has Lacy and Carter tied up and at gun point and that's when Carter's dad shows up. This is a big nope. If you're a criminal billionaire who has political aspirations, you don't get your hands dirty. You sure don't show up to a double murder scene that you arranged.

Filed under "Additional Ridiculous Circumstances". the dad reveals another secret. He hit on Lacy's mother back in the day and when she said no, he got mad and burned down the plant where Lacy's dad worked and somehow turned him into an alcoholic. He also blocked her dad from getting another job anywhere and threatened him if he ever revealed who the real arsonist was. And he calls himself The Undertaker - IS THE AUTHOR SERIOUS WITH THIS SHIT RIGHT NOW?

But wait, there's more. The assailant is actually yet another one of this guy's kids but somehow Carter and Lacy (which I just wanted to type Cagney and Lacy...) convince him not to kill them and they turn the tables on the dad. Carter then says this to the man who chloroformed his girlfriend, held a gun on them, and planned to kill them moments before:

“It’s over,” he says, then takes a deep breath. “It’s over. Thank you Derrick. You did the right thing.” Carter swallows, pausing. “Brother.

What.The.Hell?

But Carter's idiocy doesn't stop there. Nope. Instead of calling the cops, he decides to call his PI. For real? The FBI ends up showing up and says that they have been investigating the dad for awhile thanks to the PI bringing his criminal enterprise to their attention. Wow, the FBI must be totally incompetent then if a PI can do a better job.

Maybe in this book world, that's true because the FBI says:

“You haven’t called the police yet about this, have you?” We both shake our heads. “Good. Don’t. For now. We need some time to gather evidence for our case.” A few minutes later, another agent comes by the apartment, and tells Carter and I we are free to go.

People have been held hostage and threatened with murder, shots have been fired, and people have been hit - including the dirtbag dad who has a serious gunshot wound. There's no way in hell they would be released from the scene with no questions asked moments after the cops got there. Also no one seems to think about calling an ambulance either.

A little while after the attempted murder incident, they get this update from the PI implying that he is in the know on matters sensitive enough to involve the president (again who the HELL is this PI and how connected is this dude, anyway?)

“With the sort of criminal behavior he was engaged in— and the fact that he was running for Senate— the order for his indictment came from on high.”

Carter’s arm wraps tight around my waist. “So what are you saying? That the president…?”

“I didn’t say that. You said that. And I can neither confirm nor deny the president’s intervention.

Towards the end of the main story (before the epilogues and HEA), Carter says this and I couldn't agree with him more:

“Our relationship is like a Latin soap opera gone very, very wrong.”

I think that's an insult to Latin soap operas, personally.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The End Game is the second book in The Game Duet by Mickey Miller. The first book, The Lying Game must be read first, as this is a continuation of the first book in the duet. After that ending, I was both excited and scared to get my hands on this book. How would it all end?

It was easy to imagine Carter and Lacy’s story over after that ending in The Lying Game. How could they ever move forward? But their journey is far from over and definitely not an easy one. Could Carter show Lacy how much he loves her? Could Lacy open her heart to Carter ever again? With so many hurdles between them, could they ever truly find their happily ever after? I was at the edge of my seat throughout the entire story!

The End Game by Mickey Miller was emotional, steamy and full of angst. Carter and Lacy are full of regret and longing, but also a lot of chemistry. I loved all their interactions! I saw a lot of growth in both characters, but especially Carter. This was a story that will pull at your heart and captivate you!

Read and reviewed for Sultry Sirens Book Blog.

Happy reading!

[BookAddict · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carter and Lacey have certainly had their ups and downs, all the way back to when they were in high school. The first part of their story, The Lying Game, ended with Lacey moving from Chicago to New York in order to persue her dancing career, along with her good friend and fellow dancer, Lance. But just when she thinks she's put Carter in the rearview mirror and decides that she’s moving on with her life, Carter turns back up. He may be an all-star basketball pro, but his personal life has been shaken to its foundation and he really needs Lacey's help and support.

Having read the first book in this duet, I was eager to read the early copy of this one. If you read my review of The Lying Game, you know I was somewhat unimpressed with Carter's behavior and expected great things from him if he was to redeem himself. Well, he certainly delivered in this book! Don’t get me wrong, there was still plenty of angst with the push and pull and the ups and downs between Carter and Lacey, but the payoff of them finally getting their forever together made it worth all the drama and emotion. The epilogues alone made this book worth reading but the rest of the story was certainly entertaining. And did I mention steamy? I definitely suggest reading both books together, and if you like a sexy sports romance that will tug on your heart and tickle your funny bone, you’ll enjoy escaping into Carter and Lacey's world.

*I reviewed this book freely and voluntarily, having made no commitment to provide a review and receiving no compensation of any kind from any source for this review.

[Erika P · Rating 4 out of 5]

"To possess her, is what I want. I want her to be all mine, to have and to hold and to cherish."

So much happened in this book, it was unreal!! Hot as all get out, pulse-pounding, angsty, really left me breathless and swooning!! The HEA was so worth all the moments that you thought it wouldn't happen, and how the story was all tied together was crazy!! This duet will take you for a ride and I think most readers with fall in love with this couple as much as I did! I thank the Author for providing a copy to review!!

"My heart swirls with all the mixed emotions I've felt for him over the past few days. Weeks. Years."

~~~Erika, Book Haven Book Blog

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I skimmed quite a bit through this one. It was SO CLOSE to being a hit for me, but I needed more gut wrenching emotion. The drama went off the rails here too, which I kind of liked, but I really, really wanted my heart to hurt and it didn't. I feel like this duet could have been just one book since it lacked the intense emotion I was desperate for. But...still pretty good. Definitely reading more by this author because I'm officially intrigued.

[Julie's Book Land Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Carter and Lacy's conclusion to their story and I gotta say I wasn't prepared for the stuff that happened and what I've learned about Carter and his father that abandoned him and then finding out his father wasn't a good guy... This book was filled with laughter, love, hate amongst other things. In order to find out what I'm talking about you have to read both The Lying Game and The End Game (in this order) to get the full effect of these incredible characters and their HEA story. Another great book Mickey Miller.

[Patricia (Spellbound Stories Trish) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the final culmination of Blackwell and the Ballers series! I love how Miller ties both worlds together by something so sinister I didn’t even know it was coming!

Lacy and Carter have loved one another since high school but past mistakes and pride tore them apart! In book 1 we see the reconnection of these two but when the past has yet to be dealt with it comes rearing it’s ugly head and takes these two on an adventure that they never anticipated!

[Cheryl Graham-Petit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angst, drama, suspense, danger, humor, witty banter, turmoil, a few twists, heartbreak, forgiveness, love and awesome epilogues... everything I love in a well written, emotional and sexy sports romance story.

I volunteered to review an advance reader copy of this book.

[Gracie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book needs some serious editing!

[window · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh.My.Goodness. Sadly this was a complete train wreck. The first book in this duet was decent but not without issues. Turns out the biggest issue with the first book is that the story didn't stop there and now we've been subjected to this one. Look, do yourself a favor and skip this one. If you read the first one, just assume their work their shit out and end up happy and you'll be better off saving yourself from slogging through this mess.

The blurb for this book is practically non-existent so I have some mild and major spoilers ahead and have marked this review accordingly. Read at your own risk. :)

I've already mentioned how much I despise cliff hangers but this duet is particularly an egregious offender since it would actually have been much better as a single book. If the author had focused on the relationship between Lacy and Carter, come up with some reasonable turn of events for Carter to grow the hell up and act his age, and had the HEA, that would have been a vast improvement over what readers got, which was repetitious, nonsensical, and frankly at times so unbelievable that I developed a severe case of eyeroll-itis.

This book would have been less bad if the author had done some research - any research at all - into anything, including the basics of DNA testing, organ donation, counseling/therapy, or law enforcement. It's laughably bad in places.

In this installment in the duet, we find Lacy in New York working on her dance career and Carter still in Chicago playing ball. Carter was able to hire The World's Best Private Investigator to find his deadbeat dad, and by that, I mean that some PI is able to uncover facts that actual law enforcement can't find and apparently has major connections and some sort of security clearance. Mm hmm. If a PI was able to find out about this person's criminal activity, there's no way none of it surfaces with them running for US Senate.

Here's Carter and Lacy chatting about what the PI found out about:

“Well, according to the reports, he has mob connections and owns a chain of warehouses,” Carter says.

“What’s so bad about owning warehouses?”

He swallows. “He uses those warehouses to run an international drug dealing operation.”

My eyes widen. “Holy shit. Which drugs?”

“It’s mostly a cocaine operation.” Carter takes a deep breath. “The point is, he’s a powerful billionaire. If we ever raise a paternity suit in public, it would lead to a lot of digging around in his personal and business life that he wouldn’t want exposed. It would likely ruin his political career, and then some. So we need to tread lightly about that. He’s a shady motherfucker.” Carter stops walking and stares out into the distance.

“But, what are you scared of? What do you think he’d actually do?”

“When my mom finally told me the truth about him, she shared her biggest fear was that he would kill me and get away with it.”

My eyes bulge, and I feel my stomach twisting. As shady as Jeff Doonsbury is, I have a hard time processing the fact that he could be a murderer, too. “You don’t think he’d do that for real though, do you?”

“I don’t know what he’s capable of, honestly.”

Carter tries to grow up and be a big boy and deal with his issues by seeing a therapist and man, were those scenes terrible. His therapist makes judgmental comments, displays frustration and other emotions with him, and talks to him like a friend at the bar instead of a licensed professional therapist. He later punches a tree b/c he can't have Lacy and breaks his hand, leaving him off the team for the season. Seriously what kind of pro athlete would do something that stupid? He is seriously immature.

Major spoiler-train ahead - click at your own risk. :)

He then decides to go to Costa Rica to track down his dad and asks Lacy to go with him as a friend "for support". Lacy goes from basically telling him to eff off moments before to "sure, I'll go to a foreign country with you and stay in a beach house together while you track down your deadbeat dad....but only as friends." Mmm hmm, sure. This woman needs to seriously grow a spine. Of course you know they hooked up again after like a day. I will try to ignore that it took them 5 hours to drive to the beach from the airport but only 2 hours to drive back.

So off they go. Somehow, despite his dad being a drug dealing billionaire, Carter is able to walk up to his McMansion unfettered by security and miraculously finds Pops outside his house and they have a chat. Um, yeah right. I've been to Costa Rica and I'm certainly no billionaire criminal and even the house we stayed in had security. In the mountains. Barely accessible by car. No way a guy like this is right off a public beach and has no security.

Anyhoo, as expected, his dad is a jerk but he does at least tell Carter that if he pursues things, Lacy will get hurt. So here's a guy who your PI told you had mob connections and is deep in the drug trade and might be a murderer so I think it would be wise to maybe take Pop's word on this one. At first Carter does, but then for no reason, he apparently forgets the major threat his dad made and decides that it's a great idea to go public and "out" his father, as well as reveal that his teammate is his brother. He never really says what he hopes to gain by doing this, much less why it's worth the risk to do so. It's just dumb.

Then he gets a threatening call telling him to withdraw the story about his father and his brilliant conclusion: this must be my childhood friend (Liam Blackwell from....their home town of Blackwell) pranking me. Carter is not only emotionally crippled and immature, he's dumb as a box of rocks.

So back to the US they go (earlier than planned b/c Lacy saw that a past f-buddy texted Carter and now she's all hurt and upset that other women still have his phone number). Lacy continues on alone from Chicago to New York and ends up sitting next to a woman she strikes up a conversation with. They meet up for coffee days later in the city and the woman shows her a pic of one of her clients cozied up to Carter. Lacy thinks he's cheating and breaks up (again) with him. Turns out, the woman was an operative of Carter's dad - how the hell did she just happen to be assigned in the seat next to Lacy on the plane, especially when Lacy had to reschedule her flight multiple times? Mm hmm.

Lacy then gets a call from her family that her dad is in the hospital due to liver failure after being an alcoholic for years and is on the brink of death. According to the doc, they just need to wait for someone to die and he can get a new liver. That is SO not how this works. I mean, at a high level it is, but given that he's an alcoholic who is still drinking, the odds are about zero that he would get one. Yet I've never seen a dude get a liver faster than this guy.

This story really goes off the rails with the "grand finale". Lacy and Carter have broken up over his supposed cheating and so she is staying by herself in her friend's apartment in Chicago.

Meanwhile. Carter and his PI have a little chat:

“The man is as shady as shady comes. It’s as though legalities don’t apply to him. He’s like the fucking mob, Carter, If he wants the Senate, he’ll smear the opposition, pay people off, whatever it takes. I don’t know how he convinced Lacy that you weren’t faithful. But he’s done crazier shit in his heyday. You don’t father seventeen kids, just because you like to fuck, and then pay people off continuously without incurring any debt. He’s got people in debt to you. Goddamnit Carter, I feel like I’m teaching you Mafia 101 here.”

A chill spreads over my body. “I guess I just... didn’t think it was this serious. I thought he’d be a little pissed, but I can’t believe all this.”

I mean, I guess he forgot all of the other times this PI has told him the same thing and the fact that his father threatened him directly. Either that, or this is a whole new level of stupid.

An assailant gets into the apartment and ties her up, then waits for Carter to show up because of course he will know to come to this place at 1am for no reason at all. But that's what he does after his chat with the PI - convenient how that plays into the bad guys' plans, eh? So now the assailant has Lacy and Carter tied up and at gun point and that's when Carter's dad shows up. This is a big nope. If you're a criminal billionaire who has political aspirations, you don't get your hands dirty. You sure don't show up to a double murder scene that you arranged.

Filed under "Additional Ridiculous Circumstances". the dad reveals another secret. He hit on Lacy's mother back in the day and when she said no, he got mad and burned down the plant where Lacy's dad worked and somehow turned him into an alcoholic. He also blocked her dad from getting another job anywhere and threatened him if he ever revealed who the real arsonist was. And he calls himself The Undertaker - IS THE AUTHOR SERIOUS WITH THIS SHIT RIGHT NOW?

But wait, there's more. The assailant is actually yet another one of this guy's kids but somehow Carter and Lacy (which I just wanted to type Cagney and Lacy...) convince him not to kill them and they turn the tables on the dad. Carter then says this to the man who chloroformed his girlfriend, held a gun on them, and planned to kill them moments before:

“It’s over,” he says, then takes a deep breath. “It’s over. Thank you Derrick. You did the right thing.” Carter swallows, pausing. “Brother.

What.The.Hell?

But Carter's idiocy doesn't stop there. Nope. Instead of calling the cops, he decides to call his PI. For real? The FBI ends up showing up and says that they have been investigating the dad for awhile thanks to the PI bringing his criminal enterprise to their attention. Wow, the FBI must be totally incompetent then if a PI can do a better job.

Maybe in this book world, that's true because the FBI says:

“You haven’t called the police yet about this, have you?” We both shake our heads. “Good. Don’t. For now. We need some time to gather evidence for our case.” A few minutes later, another agent comes by the apartment, and tells Carter and I we are free to go.

People have been held hostage and threatened with murder, shots have been fired, and people have been hit - including the dirtbag dad who has a serious gunshot wound. There's no way in hell they would be released from the scene with no questions asked moments after the cops got there. Also no one seems to think about calling an ambulance either.

A little while after the attempted murder incident, they get this update from the PI implying that he is in the know on matters sensitive enough to involve the president (again who the HELL is this PI and how connected is this dude, anyway?)

“With the sort of criminal behavior he was engaged in— and the fact that he was running for Senate— the order for his indictment came from on high.”

Carter’s arm wraps tight around my waist. “So what are you saying? That the president…?”

“I didn’t say that. You said that. And I can neither confirm nor deny the president’s intervention.

Towards the end of the main story (before the epilogues and HEA), Carter says this and I couldn't agree with him more:

“Our relationship is like a Latin soap opera gone very, very wrong.”

I think that's an insult to Latin soap operas, personally.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

All's well that ends well!

I enjoyed this novel! Carter and Lacy were perfect together! I wanted to smack her a couple times but in the end they got their happily ever after! Overall great storyline!

[Cheryl Graham-Petit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Angst, drama, suspense, danger, humor, witty banter, turmoil, a few twists, heartbreak, forgiveness, love and awesome epilogues... everything I love in a well written, emotional and sexy sports romance story.

I volunteered to review an advance reader copy of this book.

[D. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yikes! I continued to read the rest of the book hoping that part two of the duet would make up for part one...it was actually worse than the first. As mentioned in my review of the first part, I didn't feel connected to either Carter or Lacey. After months apart, I thought they would have "grown up" and some kind of revelation would have redeemed them from the mess they both created.

Again, without writing any spoilers, this second part is just a continuation of the first. The author tried to reveal the reasoning behind Carter's asshole personality. The love/hate feelings towards Lacey didn't really convince this reader that they were able to move on from the past. The alpha/possessive route just didn't work - it was still just sex. Carter's "change" was not believable enough to garner him to have real feelings towards Lacey.

There were so many subplots shoved into the second part. The way he required Lacey to go to him to another country to face something from his past (spoiler). Lacey also was a fool to just drop everything for a guy that has treated her like crap. She says one thing, yet the "attraction" towards Carter overrides all - then she plays the victim when things don't go her way. (Still too immature for my liking and too stupid to like!)

Revelation of the reasons behind her father's health and what caused it. The continuation of Carter's paternal history and said's sperm donors weird power obsessed reasons (spoiler). The slight "intrigue" thrown into the mess. Also, the continued stupidity of Lacey (trusting a complete stranger and revealing personal information) that gets her into trouble. And the way all of the mysterious paternal revelations without the aid of police intervention, but went on a Federal level (FBI). Too much thrown into the pot without anything really solid to make sense in the end.

Giving this book one star for effort. After reading he has written 15 books previously to this duet was a bit shocking. Apparently the characters for these 2 books are part of a group of people from the same town of Blackwell or connected to people of said town. I will also note that the sex still lacked a believable emotional connection between Carter and Lacey, which is a huge part of why I read romance. If the intent was a dom/sub relationship, I've read better. This author has potential and seems others like his style of writing, unfortunately, this reader will have to shelf the rest of his collection.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rousing Conclusion

Lacy and Carter are completely on the outs when this second book of the Love Games duet begins. Carter is in Chicago playing for his NBA team and Lacy has moved to NYC to dance with the Blue Illusion dance group, along with her friend and NYC roommate, Lance (who is trying to continue with his partner, Joseph, long distance).

Although Lacy is truly attempting to separate herself from her redeveloped feelings for Carter, it's been quite difficult to do. She eventually begins to date Josh, who is willing to let their relationship develop at its own pace. But as much as her head tells her he's the right kind of man for her, Lacy's heart is not cooperating. Similarly, former playboy, Carter, is unable to get past his feelings for Lacy, and is unable to return to his prior practices with other women. He is growing beyond his previous asinine ways and has begun therapy and decided to pursue his efforts to learn more about his father. Carter also realized that ending his relationship with Lacy was not what he wanted and tried to resume contact. Unfortunately, Lacy's opposing efforts seemed to be shutting down his options.
Even so, Carter is very persistent when he has a goal in mind.

The storyline becomes way more intricate in this book, but Mickey Miller was able to remain true to the two primary characters, while interweaving the necessary aspects of the other players and circumstances into this book. As a first time reader of this author's books, I can absolutely say that this duet will not be the only of their books I will be reading. I know a good writer when I read books written by one.

[Sherill · Rating 5 out of 5]

FIERY PASSION-DANGER & AN AWESOME ENDING!

THE END GAME - IS SENSUOUS and TUGS your heart strings making you feel true emotions for the admirable characters. Inside breathtaking moments wow you, a bit of jealousy, intriguing suspense, spine-chilling life-threatening and dangerous moments, humor, friendship, a romance that burns with passion and a heavenly ending that was worth all the turmoil.

At the end of book 1 of this duet Carter and Lacy parted ways. Carter's past interferes with his future when it comes to committing to Lacy. She tries to move on but no man can compare to the feelings she has buried for Carter. A roller coaster of emotions and horrific danger happen before they get to their happily ever after.

FANTASTIC ENTERTAINING; well-written read; a page-turner until the conclusion. The epilogues are awesome and the backstories definitely give the reader an understanding of the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed how Carter finally proved how much he truly loved Lacy; their chemistry shines and is quite genuine. Lacy becomes quite the heroine and Carter a true protector. The full cast of characters were fabulous as was the witty banter. Loving this story so much; {of my own volition without any stipulations, I reviewed an advanced copy.} Without hesitation, I recommend this read.

[Shelly Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Face it Carter, boundaries were never our thing."
"I know. But I wanted to respect them, for once in my life."

What a great finale to the duet!! I loved Carter and Lacy in book one. I wanted to slap Carter at the end of Lying Game but now? Now, he's wiggled his way in to my heart for good!

Carter Flynn realized he made the biggest mistake of his life. Letting her go. It's always been her. It will always be her. Now, he just has to convince her to talk to him. Piece of cake, right? He needs her now more than ever as he confronts his past and the emotional fallout that results. But, when his actions bring danger to their door, will he lose her all over again? Will either of them come out of this alive? He let her go once, but this time he's holding on with everything he has.

Lacy Benson is done with him. He used her. Humiliated her. She's blocked his number. She's finally ready to move on. But, the universe has other plans. He's back, he's irresistible, and he needs her. Despite her anger, she can't turn him down. And he's.....different. Can they make it work this time, or is the Carter she blocked still lurking in the shadows? Can she risk letting her guard down again?

I love a good second-chance romance and this one was the best!! I'd recommend this duet to anyone who loves a friends-to-enemies-to lovers -to enemies-to lovers story!!

[Dora Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Wow, this book is simply phenomenal that you NEED to READ—you won’t regret it! This is the epic conclusion of the duet of the Love Games—this is a very good enemy to lover’s sports romance. An engaging story that will keep you captivated and glued to the pages of this fascinating storyline, and the momentum of the story keeps you wanting to read more. This was a perfect blend of lust, steam, danger, suspense, a little humor, and navigating the emotional angst of love with the added complication of the lying game. Carter Flynn made a grave mistake by letting Lacy leave for New York. The tension between Lacy and Carter has reached its boiling point, and Lacy is discovering that maybe she doesn’t hate Carter. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game. Still, Lacy is not willing to give him another chance because Carter is not one to make a commitment. When they finally see each other again, the chemistry is off-the-chart hot, but will Lacy be able to trust Carter knowing there will be no commitment? Will Lacy need to move on? The storyline is fluid, and the characters are extremely well developed. If you are looking for a love story like no other you have read before, then this is definitely the book for you.

[Janell Loveland · Rating 2 out of 5]

So frustrating. Pick a plot line. It’s like she tried to stuff 5 books into one. I’m honestly surprised she was able to keep up without keeping stories mixed up.

So far we have
-Carter meeting his dad/uncle who maybe be a political candidate or may be a hillbilly cuz he has a identical twin brother.
-Carter broke his hand and is off basketball for 6 months.
-Carter’s dad is a mobster and drug runner and would be politician.
-Carter is cuddle my getting traded to Canada. (Cuz they would totally trade the MVP over a 6 month injury.) 🙄
-Lacy’s dad is dying from too much drinking.
-Now there’s a fire that caused her dads drinking and he knows who did it and only wakes up to spill the beans.
-Lacy believes all things a fortune teller says but rolls over on Carter at first chance after hearing gossip from a stranger.
-Now Carter’s dad is this weird villain that started the fire and blackmailed a man to drink all the time. Wth?!

If I wasn’t already at the end, I’d stop reading lol. Definitely won’t be readying any more from this author.

This book makes no sense. It’s like reading a soap opera. 🤦🏻‍♀️

[Mindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book 2 of a duet set, you need to read book 1 first! In The Lying Game-Lacey moves to Chicago to take part in a dance camp, needing a place to stay her mom arranges a place with her mom's best friend's son, who happens to be Lacey's ex. Carter is cocky, sexy and pro basketball player. The Lying Game leave the story with them ending a summer fling, she going to New York to dance and him staying in Chicago playing ball, a cliffy for sure. The End Game picks up with Lacey in New York trying to start her life over, getting back into the dating game. Carter has taken the time to grow up, mature if you will, his personal life has a lot more things going on, mainly coming terming with his father not being there. I felt this story was a little darker than the first story, more frustration of not falling back into a relationship, Lacey feels very betrayed by the harshness of their relationship ending and is not wanting to go back to someone who couldn't commit. Ending is very unexpected! Love the way everything gets tied up. Good read!

[Tanya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kind of want to take back my 4 star review on the first book in the duet now. This book was all over the place and some threads seemed to be added and then ignored, only to have them be brushed away later. Lacy has credit card debt introduced in the first book that seemed like it might be important (she worries about it once or twice), it's mentioned again in this book but it's certainly not something she really thinks about as she jets between Chicago and New York. Segments are repeated from one part of the book, sometimes in the same paragraph. In the climactic scene, Carter gets the keys to the handcuffs and unlocks himself and then in the next sentence he unlocks them again. The story of Carter's father makes very little sense and what's with all the pizza and take-out they eat in this book? Shouldn't an athlete and a dancer be more health conscious?

[Ashley Olson- lovestoread08 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The End Game is the second book in the Game Duet by Mickey Miller. This book follows The Lying Game. Friends to enemies to lovers, The Lying Game did not end well for Carter and he has a lot of work to do to redeem himself to Lacy. I wasn’t sure if Lacy should forgive Carter but half way through I was team Carter and hoping Lacy could find it in her heart to forgive him. Lacy was a little childish in completely blocking all communication with Carter but she was only trying to protect her heart. Reading reviews from other people I saw a lot of 3 stars, but I honestly give both of the books in this duet 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️!!! I thought both were a quick fun read!!!

The End Game is now live!
Don't miss the sexy, twisty conclusion to The Lying Game!

Amazon US - https://amzn.to/2ym1Y5Y
Amazon UK - https://amzn.to/2QS3Ee4
Amazon AU - https://amzn.to/2PBrbzH
Amazon CA - https://amzn.to/2CjC0Ts

[*Ebony I* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much

I am glad I read the second book, because I needed closure.
However, the dialogue throughout this book was so disjointed. The characters as individuals seemed likable. Together they had awesome sexual chemistry....but that was it.
Carter was seemingly a changed man, but struggled to articulate his thoughts. Lacey struggled to trust this "new" Carter because the way it was presented was just weird. I don't think the author needed to make him a new man, but it was clear he was trying to distance him from his father. I felt like his take charge attitude didn't have to be a negative, he just needed to communicate better.
The rest of this story was just unbelievable. Like all these ramdom siblings, crazy father, it was just too much and didn't help the overall love story.
Sometimes less is more. This story needed more focus on the main characters and less on the outside stories.

[Stephanie Ditmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book. What a way to end this duet. I loved it. Carter and Lacey are amazing together, even though it was a rough start for these two. They had a summer fling, things ended and Lacey left for New York to start her career. Let’s say that Carter isn’t one to commit. A little time and growing up on his part, his life has changed and could really use a friend and he wants Lacey. When they are thrown together the chemistry is still there, the angst, the want, the desire to be with each other, but can you go back and try again with someone who was unwilling to commit the first time around? Can you trust in what you have to move forward? This is such a great book and loved the series as a whole. It’s sexy, deliciously steamy, a roller coaster of emotions and gaining back trust. I highly recommend this book.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have not read the 1st book in this duet, The Lying Game do so now. After reading the first book I could not wait for the second half. Mickey certainly delivered another knock down story line. Carter & Lacey's world will rattle your funny bone, tug at your heart, and make you see red. Not to mention all the hot and steamy scenes written in only the way Mickey can (scorching hot). There are twists in this book I so did not see coming and since I read so many books it's hard to find one that truly just blows me away. Their story takes you thru all the twists, drama, angst, love and giggle fits you could ever want in a book.

I think this duet is Mickey Miller's best work yet, although there has not been a single book of his I did not love. I don not think his readers could ever ask for more than what he gives us. This is truly a must read duet.

[Ky reads romance · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars!!
Who loves a second change romance turned enemies to lovers turned roommates?! This duet packs everything you could want!

Carter is such an asshole, and yet you can’t help but fall for him. His extensive history with Lacy makes the build up and sexual tension so much better. The constant push and pull of their relationship had me breaking out in a sweat to see what was going to happen. The angst was real, the relationship was raw and the scenes were HOT, I was fanning myself off at some parts.

I couldn’t wait to start book two, and when I did oh man was my heart in the pit of my stomach for the majority of the book. I was feeling so many types of ways. The couple went through so much, you heart shattered and ached for them.. but finally at the last moment Mickey releases the grip on your heart and gives you what you need and all is well♥️

[Bookmom1213 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know how to put this into words. “The End Game” was a great book. It is the conclusion of Carter and Lacey. At the end of book one Lacey left for NYC wanting and hoping that Carter would want to be in a relationship and he basically told her “It was nice while it lasted”. Lacey was so mad at him she blocked him and started to move on. While Lacey was trying to live her own life in NYC Carter was not doing well in Chicago. He wanted Lacey back but didn’t know what or how to do it. He ambushed Lacey in NYC and when it didn’t end the way he wanted and hoped he punched a tree and jacked up his hand and couldn’t play the game. After this he started therapy, started working on himself, how to deal with his dad, and how to win Lacey back. I couldn’t put this book down because of the twist and turns that I didn’t see coming. I could not recommend this two books enough!

[Mindy Martinez Borda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet Lord and baby Jesus! I am shaking. My body is full of adrenaline and my head is spinning. I knew I was going to get answers to many, many questions I had about many of the author's other book characters and how they were connected, but I didn't expect my mind to be blown away like this. The End Game is everything. It has everything a romance book should and more. I just can't believe how much Mickey Miller has achieve with this book. He tied his many stories together in a powerful yet tittally smooth way and he added a touch of mystery and darkness I was not prepared for. But, boy oh boy, if the whole thing wasn't worth it every bit of my out-of-control feelings. I don't think five stars does this duet justice. To me it's worth a whole galaxy of them.