Big Player

Size Matters #3

by Blake Wilder

Dak

I’ve got a big pro football contract, a big appetite for women, and a big mouth. It gets me into trouble more often than not… but this time it lands me with a nerdy little PR gatekeeper who is supposed to control me.

But good luck with that. Eloise and her kitten sweaters and sexy as hell glasses have me ready to use my mouth in a whole different way…

Eloise

I’m not your typical nerd girl. Instead of video games, I love football. I’ve landed my dream job managing social media for my favorite team, but with Dakota North as quarterback it’s a 24/7 job.

When I’m told I have to spend a week making sure Dak doesn’t tweet, he seems hell-bent on using that time to flirt with me. I have to ask myself, what is more important – losing my virginity to a bad-ass quarterback or keeping my perfect job?

A Size Matters story.

Genres: Sports, Romance, Sports Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Football, Amazon

150 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 14, 2019

Reviews

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a good book and super quick read!

Big Baller was definitely a funny book. In it, you will meet Eloise and Dak. Eloise is a crazy cat lady.. which honestly I already have two friends who are like that - cough cough Andrea and Felicia. Besides being cat crazy she likes football which makes her a bit more likable in my eyes. Sorry, not a big fan of cats because I'm allergic to those demons.

Then here's Dakota, aka Dak, and he's the start quarterback of some football team (honestly can't remember right now). One day he gets in trouble because he has no filter - sounds like my kind of guy. So that means Eloise, who is now in the marketing department for said team, gets to be his glorified babysitter.

Now this definitely sounded like a movie to me - which is probably why I liked it so much. Plus these two had some amazing chemistry. I laughed so much and probably smiled like a crazy person. The sexy times between these two were good enough.. but since I love the smut - I have high expectations.

Overall, I loved this book and I definitely need another one by this author!

[Racheli Zusiman · Rating 3 out of 5]

קראתי בטיסה. רומן רומנטי די קלישאתי אבל חמוד מאוד מאוד. נהניתי.

[Debbie Orazi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a hilarious romcom story! Eloise Carter is a nerd girl, crazy cat lady, football fanatic who scored a job working in the social media marketing department of the local pro team. Dakota North is the star quarterback of the team, sexy as sin, and has no verbal filter which gets him in trouble with the team's GM on a regular basis. The GM appoints Eloise Dak's babysitter on a four day trip home to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family. Shenanigans and sexy times ensue. Highly recommend.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon & on iBooks today (8/13/2019)! 🎁

[Andrea Wimmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This reads super fast and it leaves you craving for more!

This was a sweet —and super steamy- story.

Alpha Male on POINT!!! The banter between Dak and Eloise was funny and sexy. I loved the relationship between Dak and his family (although I would’ve loved to see more of them). Eloise is the sweetest person, I loved her unique personality and style and I admired how confident she was about herself and what she wanted and needed.

The pacing was a little fast to me, but since the characters knew and flirted with each other before the story started, it didn’t feel like the relationship rushed to the next phase.

I’m definitely re reading this in the future.

[Lisa A · Rating 5 out of 5]

A funny, sweet love story
Eloise, a huge football fan, got her dream job with the marketing department of her favorite team. She is sent to Tennessee with the star quarterback, Dakota to keep him from any publicity problems. She’s a shy virgin cat lady. He’s a smooth muscular ladies man.

[Dayla · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5/5 stars

This was way too short and so cringe. No character development, yet the characters changed to fit the plot where it was needed. A quiet, reserved woman does not become a sex vixen in a chapter. A guy who is used to playing the field doesn't suddenly find himself in love with a girl over the span of a day. Just. I can't.

[Ursula]

Short on characterisation, plot and elegant writing.
Dumbass, man-whore, egotistical jock falls for vacuous, kitten "nerd" girl- very unbelievable instalust/love scenario.
This was cringingly shallow and silly, so no more by this author for me, thanks.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hope someone can enlighten me. Is this book the same with Dating the Player by Erin McCarthy? They have exactly the same blurb??

Update (9/6/2021): I just learned that Blake Wilder is a pen name by three authors, namely, Erin Nicholas, Mari Carr, and Erin McCarthy. Hence, the similar story of "Big Balls" and "Dating the Player."

If by any chance you are interested to know more about the people around Dak and Eloise, Erin McCarthy has "extended" the storyline with The Legends series. The next story is about Olek (Dak's friend) and Sydney (Eloise's cousin) in The Player and the Bookworm. There is also a third book set to be released in November 2021 which is about JJ.

[Carol 27 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this romantic comedy about Dakota, an irrepressible quarterback and Eloise, the nerdy PR gal tasked with controlling his Twitter feed. While Dak is the typical superstar athlete with scores of women and tons of money, I liked that he was also a well-mannered, respectful Southern boy at heart. I enjoyed the interactions between him and Eloise. The more he tried to push her to her limits – all in good fun, the more Eloise surprised them both with her often bold reactions. While their romance was somewhat of a whirlwind, their journey to their HEA was not without its bumps. The story is well written and the characters are likeable and engaging. There’s quite a bit of drama and angst as well as witty banter and several very steamy encounters. All in all – good fun!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Treena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the first 30%. But then things just sort of sped up and I was missing the details. And I wanted more scenes with conversations/banter/dates so that I could get to know the MC's and get the feels for them.

What do I mean? Well, the first few chapters are devoted to the time spent between the MC's over the course of couple of hours/days. Somewhere along the way, the details get lost bec the days/weeks get summarized in a paragraph or two. It took me by surprise bec I felt there was a nice build-up of "getting-to-know-you", flirting, and attraction. Then, all of a sudden, it's all insta-love and forever. The back half of the book, I was like "Whoa! Wait up! What did I miss? How did that happen?" I felt like I fell asleep and skipped out on a lot of the movie :(

I finished the book but I can't help but feel that this book could've been so much better.

[Gitte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hot and funny

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun! The characters were lovable and the plot was decent. My only problem was the time jumps. Like, I wanted to know what happened during their week together.

[Elizabeth Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know I am thinking this book ranks the highest of all 3! I love this bestest, the Big Head followed by Big Hose ... and please don't get me wrong I have loved them all, but this one ranks highest for me ...due to the humor, u just wanna love Dak and Eloise so so much!! See and read their story now, and if you have missed the others please read those as well. Blake Wilder is becoming one of my go 2 authors, will try and wait patiently (lots of silly, girly giggles there, try!!) til the next read!!! ...it is just that awesome. i love this series ... so funny ... romantic, steamy hotness as well. I am always a sucker for a great nickname. NO clue why? I just love it, i love that some1 who loves u will take the time 2 give a cute thoughtful name. I think Eloise needs a movie, i think there are lots of cat lovers, cat parents who would appreciate this read or soon to be movie, i am kidding, but really i think there should be a movie, I have no clue if there will ever be one??! i love humor ... i think that is my take away ... HUMOR rocks and i appreciate it when an author puts it throughout the whole book. who doesn't need more humor in their lives??! i saw in the newsletter Blake sent today (Sunday 2/17) that there are 3 more reads coming: Big Rod (April 4), Big Deck (May 9), and Big Puck (June 20). I am so excited to hear that!!! can not wait. i love series ...is it a series?

[Alis Renzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Questi librettini stanno diventando la mia droga! Sono strepitosi! Tranne il primo, ovvio...
Questo qui è uno sport romance, con il solito ragazzo figo, sexy e pronto a tutto per portare una donna nel suo letto, e la solita ragazza timida che gli va dietro.

Dakota, detto anche Dak, è un giocatore di football americano che non sa gestire i reporter o la sua vita sui social. Ha una lingua tagliente e non si perde in chiacchiere. E questo molte volte lo mette in posizioni poco gradevoli. E qui entra in gioco una brava PR come Eloise.
Tutta la storia parte da una vacanza dai genitori di Dak, dove Eloise deve fargli da babysitter...

MAI TOCCARE IL CELL è LA REGOLA di ELOISE....
TOCCARE E FAR IMPAZZIRE LA PR è LA REGOLA DI DAK...

Un volo, una confessione e qualche giorno nella casa di famiglia di Dak, fanno girar la testa della povera ragazza che cade nella tela del ragno...

Amore, erotismo, scene comiche e brillanti perchè sono poco comuni. E' un libricino che fa divertire e fa amare i giocatori di football. Certo il tempo di crescita e ridotto (un cambiamento così rapido si vede pochissime volte.. anzi.. quasi mai... ma l'insta-love è un classico per questa serie). Ma lo accettiamo e non diciamo nulla, perché merita davvero!

Voto massimo per questa dolce coppia!

[M Hurford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the Chemistry Between Dak and Eloise.
Big Balls, by author Blake Wilder is right up there with the other Size Matters Series books, where males large egos and other things are flaunted and not necessarily taken to seriously thanks to the snappy and witty dialogue.
This storyline centers around football. Particularly a QB named Dak, one of his PR social media team members, Eloise, or who he likes to refer to her as, Kitty. Probably because she wears images of cats on her clothes. She also has two cats named Eli and Manning. Oh, and did I mention she’s a stay ay home football fanatic? Yup.
Dak has a fun family especially his mom which I won’t spoil here.
This is truly an opposites attract which makes for a fun evening of reading. Definitely recommending this book for your reading enjoyment and I am leaving this review for your consideration.

[Laila Viking · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this story has a lot of potential. But in this version it is way to short and for most of the story it felt too fast paced. I liked the beginning and was caught by the chemistry and connection between the two main characters but after some of the story that went away because it was speed up. It lacked depth because of the fast pacing and got confusing.

[Darlene I read WAY to many books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giving blake another chance since last one was okayish.  So lets get started!!! It was fast pace, funny steamyish pretty good book better then the last one i read..

So we have our MCs a sports shyish nerdy gal and a manwhore flirty gentleman.. so far it took me few to warm up to Dak.. since when we first meet him hes very flirty and nice to everyone but still a guy with a big mouth that causes problems he likes to tease and flirt with Eloise aka Kitty just cuz he enjoys it and loves the way she blushes. Now Eloise she is such a stubborn, smart kinda shy and a cat lady and loves football.. which i love..

Dak is kinda on social media lock down since he tends to make things worse so boss man sends Eloise with him when he heads home for awhile they have some cute moments, funny banters and very hands on moments ;) plus they are so good with Dak's family.

Eloise is keeping her heart close since she knows he's a hit it and quit it guy.. even after she gave him her virginity.. but Dak doesn't feel that way he wants her she isnt a one time thing he wants to date her and keep her in his life... but some drama happens that has her pushing him away.... he's fighting tooth and nail to fix what happened and he wont rest until shes back with him..


Low angst, no cheating, no om mentions ow flirting & sending him pictures but he hasn't dated or fked anyone, drama, manwhoreish but not really?? and a virgin gal (shes not to pure she done stuff)

Instalove/lust
Push/pull
Separation for a month
Hea

[Angie Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I desperately needed a book like this after reading the sad book I just finished!

From the very beginning I was laughing!! Eloise and Dakota were HYSTERICAL! They were both witty and charming, it made it for such a fun read. In addition to funny, it was HOT! I loved every second of this book. It was a light read and had just the perfect amount of emotions!! A good romcom is more than just laughs and this has a little bit of everything!

Can’t wait to go and read other work by Blake!

[Sandra R · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Some fun banter between the H/h which I enjoyed. The amusing storyline quickly morphed into steamy erotica in the second half which I admit I skimmed a bit - not that it bothered me, I'm just a bit 'over' those type of scenes lately. I guess I've been looking for more substance to the romances I've been reading - not just hot scene upon hot scene, based on lust and insta love. The writing style was fine.

[Lucy Edwards · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was difficult to rate because the storyline is one that is typically go for. I liked Eloise but I really didn't take to Dak at all. The first part of the book was good but then it just seemed to take off into warp speed and there wasn't enough time to really get invested. Things happened a little to fast for my liking which is a shame as this couldve been a really good book

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

I liked the story and the characters, but I feel like it was missing a lot of the gritty parts that make a relationship real. First we're told rather than shown they have an odd sort of flirtation for a long period of time prior to the beginning of the story, he gets in trouble every Monday and stops by her desk to chat and flirt with her when he's in the offices getting yelled at. Then we're vaguely told one of her other coworkers is interested her again not shown. We are shown that her boss is a sexist pig who probably only hired her because of equal opportunity laws rather than respecting her ability to do her job. In real life his treatment of her would result in at minimum a lawsuit for sexual harassment. In a position such as his, his behavior toward her would not only be headline worthy, but the team owner wouldn't be willing to keep an administrative employee who thought it was acceptable or appropriate to make comments on the appearance and attire of a female employee to one of the team members. If you think what Dak does is bad publicity, he's a drop in the ocean compared to the displayed behavior of the GM in the story and unlike the superbowl winning quarterback, the GM would be expendable. And the fact that she just allows it and did nothing but run away and cry makes me lose a lot of respect for her as a character. I don't want to read about an adult woman who handles real world problems by running away and bawling about it like she's a 13 year old who learned her crush doesn't like her back. Ignoring behavior like that in a superior reinforces their mistaken idea that treating women like that in the workplace is somehow okay. She may have quit to not have to face him, but she left the door open for him to behave in the same manner to whatever woman walks into that office after her and all the women who remained when she left. You just don't do something like that and still manage to respect yourself when you look in the mirror. We should have seen her at HR and if not them the department of labor recounting what happened and making sure it never happens to anyone else again. From what I've seen of her actions Eloise might be sweet but she has no backbone. She's everyone's doormat and I find it very hard to respect her because of that.

She forgives too easily, I mean he bought her a sweater even though he not only cost her her job and humiliated her at work, he opened her up to national ridicule with no protection. Sounds like a real fucking gem to me. And oh he bought a cat sweater so that makes it all better?! Seriously?!

Not to mention most of their great love story occurs in 3 days and then weeks off page where nothing actually happens.

There's so many things this story could have been, but the gritty parts where people conflict are the parts that make a fictional relationship seem real and those aren't present in this story. And the only thing that happens between a couple in 3 days is lust, not love.

Okay and it had so much potential but it didn't really achieve it.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh what a fun read this was. Full of snarky sass and quirky fun.

Eloise is a nerdy cat lady who loves football. She has her dream job working for her dream teams marketing department, monitoring and cleaning up Dakota Norths social media goof ups. She loves her job and takes it very seriously. It helps that she gets to see her favorite quarter back, who is sexy as hell.

Dakota North is a very successful and sexy as sin quarterback. He loves the game and has a hard time keeping his mouth shut and behaving on social media. He burns through women and never plans to settle down. But after another goof up, Dakota’s general manager Jeff is pissed. Which leads to why Dakota has to take a baby sitter with him to his parents for the Thanksgiving holidays.

Jeff may think he is control, but Dakota knows exactly who should babysit him. Kitty, the nerdy girl who wears cat sweaters and has the smoking hot body under them. He wants her. He has to have her. But will this be a touchdown for Dakota?

This is a quirky fun read. This book is full of fun loving characters and has a cute story line. The book is steady paced and focuses on the main two characters, rather than a bunch. The story flows flawlessly and is a page turner of fun, that is entertaining and full of laughs. The perfect rom-com to put you in a good mood.

[Pansy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it

As fun as I am finding this series, there are some eye-roll worthy moments. Like a chick wearing her glasses to bed and the guy pushing them up her nose for her. (Or a nickname like Big Hose.) In my experience, the glasses get tossed on the night stand, the coffee table, the dashboard, or even the floor, but rarely are they left on the face. They get fogged up, smeared up, knocked cockeyed - if not totally knocked off, and can hurt. I can only supposed that the author was going for the eye-roll. Just a thought. Otherwise, I did mostly enjoy this story. Not being a fan of social media, I didn't quite appreciate that aspect of the story. Also an eye-roll worthy activity for me. However, I am a football fan. Having a long standing crush on the quarterback makes complete sense to me. And having him notice, *sigh* a fantasy come true. Bottom line, story not only holds the interest, but evoked emotions too. Good job.

[Magali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good romantic comedy
This book is excellent for its story, its characters, its sharp dialogues. I loved the characters characters: Héloise lives with her two cats and is a fan of American football, who manages for his team the problems of communication in the media, and her biggest problem every week is Dakota a player with a terrible reputation, and that seems to take everything lightly. Unfortunately for her, she has to manages him to stay "clean", and she has to babysit him. She finds herself to follow him to his family so he does not create a new scandal.
Their relationship quickly becomes complicated because Héloïse knows how he is and she stepbacks, then the mother of Dakota warns her also, while Dakota is only looking for her either to annoy her or to tease her.I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book

[Loz · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

In the first half of this, I didn't like Dak. He's a football star, complete ho and just tweets and posts whatever the hell he wants. Eloise is one of his team's social media managers, in other words, she's responsible for glossing over and shining a positive light on every stupid thing the guy puts out there. She's also a terribly cliched cat-loving, socially-awkward, virginal twenty-six year old.
And now she's being sent to babysit him and his phone for the bye weekend, at his parents place, for thanksgiving.

My opinion on these two switched somewhere on the middle and it was Dak who I suddenly preferred over the walking romance-novel-cliche, aka Eloise.
This is way predictable, they have some funny moments and as I said Dak grew on me, but it could have been better.

[BusyM3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG I loved this story. Eloise is a nerdy, crazy cat lady, and a football fanatic who happens to work in the social media department for a pro football team. The sexy Dakota is the star quarterback, that has no filter when it comes to everything and it gets him in trouble all the time with the team. So the GM decides that when Dakota is going home to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family that Eloise is going to go and babysit him and keep him out of trouble. What could go wrong, Dakota would never go for a girl like Eloise? Or was this his plan all alone. I totally recommend this book. It will keep you giggling and turning the pages till the end.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jessica CW · Rating 4 out of 5]

After months of casual flirting and her crush she gets an unexpected assignment keep Dak off his phone. He's frequent stunts of not filtering his thoughts gets him in a lot of trouble. But going to his parents was not going to overshadowed by that with Eloise going with him to babysit him from his phone.

Who knew a trip away together would spike their flirting into so much more... he's Mr. Celebrity and she's a cat sweater wearing back stage girl.

I thought this was a cute story. With a sweet innocent heroine and a lustful football star that fell hard. Steamy, sweet and a little corny too. Perfect. Never underestimate the power of opposites.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I volunteered to read this ARC for an honest review. I loved this fun story about Dakota/Dak and Eloise/Kitty. He's the bad boy Quarterback that keeps getting into trouble with his mouth on social media. Eloise works in the teams PR department and had been tasked with keeping Dak in line on a trip to Tennessee. Dak has always found Kitty adorable with her kitten sweaters and glasses. She was nothing like the girls he normally dated. But she had fantasized about him. So image her surprise when things heat up with in Tennessee. Is it just a fluke or can he really care for her? Love the chemistry between them and the crazy banter. Great quick read and HEA.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Yvette89 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series of big egos and bigger fun. Eloise is a sports nerd working at her dream job. Just like ever woman in the building, she has a crush on the star quarterback. But he would never date a girl like her; or would he. Dakota is your typical sport athlete. He has a big ego, loves woman and makes no apologies. He has no filter which gets him in plenty of trouble. After the last fiasco, the GM gives him a babysitter. Eloise and Dak go on a fun journey to HEA. The banter between the two is at times fun and sexy. another great add to the series

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.