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For the Love of the Game #1
Simply Connected
Once a celebrated child prodigy, Blaise Noether is now a struggling widowed mom trying to keep her head above water while she pursues her Ph.D. Only two things make her really angry: her kid's math textbooks and jocks. In her mind, all athletes are like the bullies who terrorized her in high school. So when she crosses paths with rising basketball star Christie Dillard, Blaise's interest is a null set. Christie is everything Blaise fears, fiercely competitive, brashly confident, and totally devoted to her game. That she is also endearingly awkward and irresistibly gorgeous is irrelevant data.But when Blaise glimpses a paradigm-shifting epiphany in the geometry of Christie’s jump shot, she begins to suspect this jock might be the missing variable that could balance the equation of her life.
238 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 6, 2021
60 people are currently reading
115 people want to read
About the author
Alex Washoe
17 books41 followersAlex Washoe (they/them) is a nonbinary writer, game designer, and full-time pet parent living in Seattle, WA. In previous incarnations, they have been a bookseller, a wildlife rehab care assistant, a dog walker at a companion animal shelter, a public speaker, an amateur stand-up comedian, and many other less interesting things. Alex is prone to sudden, seemingly random enthusiasms — the list currently includes birdwatching, baking, running, hair dye … and of course writing. Writing is always job one.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
February 21, 2024
This was a surprise. Blaise is a widow with a young son, struggling with a doctoral thesis, with life, and is a maths nerd who hates athletes and sport in general as well as having some unresolved gender identity issues. So when she meets Christie, star basketball player with the Seattle WNBA team, things do not start well.
The depth of the characters and story was excellent, by the end I was rooting for both of them to make it and solve heaps of personal problems on the way. 4 solid stars.
A couple of quotes I liked:
I tensed, stepped forward and touched Nash’s shoulder. “We really need to be getting home,” I said. “Mom.” He put a lot of syllables into that word. (p. 10)
I wasn’t tracking in real time. My brain felt like a browser with too many windows open. (p. 250).
The depth of the characters and story was excellent, by the end I was rooting for both of them to make it and solve heaps of personal problems on the way. 4 solid stars.
A couple of quotes I liked:
I tensed, stepped forward and touched Nash’s shoulder. “We really need to be getting home,” I said. “Mom.” He put a lot of syllables into that word. (p. 10)
I wasn’t tracking in real time. My brain felt like a browser with too many windows open. (p. 250).
September 1, 2022
Kindle Unlimited.
There's a lot to love about this story, our MC Blaise is coming to terms with the death of their husband who was their best friend, while raising a teenaged boy - and also dealing with feelings of gender-non-conformity.
Blaise is 34 and is a Math genius, who was accelerated in school but bullied very badly by 'the jocks' to the point of physical abuse and mental torment. So when Blaise meets Christie, a 23 year old Pro women's basketball player, they don't exactly hit it off well right away.
Yet, Christie persists with wanting to date Blaise. This is where I struggled. We only get Blaise's internal monologue and I think the story suffered from that. We didn't ever really understand why Christie would be at all interested in Blaise, who is 10 years older, a mother, a widow, and who clearly has a LOT of issues, especially surrounding Christie's career as an athlete. While Christie is a kind hearted and supportive girlfriend, she's also young, rash, arrogant and prideful with her sporting prowess, and seems a bit frivolous with money, and her 'take charge' attitude. So I never did understand any real connection between the two. They were polar opposites.
I DID however love seeing Blaise deal with their trauma and confront their own ideals of gender and sexuality, coming to terms with a non-binary identity for themself. I am glad that in the book Blaise seeks therapy, but it's clear she desperately needed more, and a lot sooner.
Overall though the relationship was just too unbelievable for me to accept. These are great people, but they weren't great together. I could not see how they could legitimately build a life together, at all. They were far too different, and wanted different things. There were so many red flags and obvious issues they kept trying to gloss over, fight about, then try and ignore and move on from, only for it to come up again and again.
In the end it doesn't feel happy like a romance should. They even say to each other that there's no one else they would rather be annoyed, steamrolled and agitated by than each other. Um, yeah those aren't really words I would want to form a relationship on. Even Christie's best friend in the epilogue years later, says she still 'hates' Blaise. So it's just a bitter end IMHO.
So many hits, but just as many misses I'm afraid.
There's a lot to love about this story, our MC Blaise is coming to terms with the death of their husband who was their best friend, while raising a teenaged boy - and also dealing with feelings of gender-non-conformity.
Blaise is 34 and is a Math genius, who was accelerated in school but bullied very badly by 'the jocks' to the point of physical abuse and mental torment. So when Blaise meets Christie, a 23 year old Pro women's basketball player, they don't exactly hit it off well right away.
Yet, Christie persists with wanting to date Blaise. This is where I struggled. We only get Blaise's internal monologue and I think the story suffered from that. We didn't ever really understand why Christie would be at all interested in Blaise, who is 10 years older, a mother, a widow, and who clearly has a LOT of issues, especially surrounding Christie's career as an athlete. While Christie is a kind hearted and supportive girlfriend, she's also young, rash, arrogant and prideful with her sporting prowess, and seems a bit frivolous with money, and her 'take charge' attitude. So I never did understand any real connection between the two. They were polar opposites.
I DID however love seeing Blaise deal with their trauma and confront their own ideals of gender and sexuality, coming to terms with a non-binary identity for themself. I am glad that in the book Blaise seeks therapy, but it's clear she desperately needed more, and a lot sooner.
Overall though the relationship was just too unbelievable for me to accept. These are great people, but they weren't great together. I could not see how they could legitimately build a life together, at all. They were far too different, and wanted different things. There were so many red flags and obvious issues they kept trying to gloss over, fight about, then try and ignore and move on from, only for it to come up again and again.
In the end it doesn't feel happy like a romance should. They even say to each other that there's no one else they would rather be annoyed, steamrolled and agitated by than each other. Um, yeah those aren't really words I would want to form a relationship on. Even Christie's best friend in the epilogue years later, says she still 'hates' Blaise. So it's just a bitter end IMHO.
So many hits, but just as many misses I'm afraid.
July 22, 2021
Ok read with non binary character
August 24, 2022
First I've read of them - surprisingly powerful if a bit preachy on trans and Maths. A good story recommended.
January 23, 2022
Great read. Real emotions here.
Just desappointed about the FTB because i like a steamy scene in my books.
Just desappointed about the FTB because i like a steamy scene in my books.
July 20, 2021
I "Simply connected" with this story. This was my first book by Alex Washoe and it reads well and real. The math was explained in a fun and elegant manner. I really liked the way simple illustrations within the story.
Jea's SRC
nerdy/geeky character
age gap romance
character of a different ethnicity, culture, or race than you
part of a series
character is a business owner
new-to-you author
Unicorn
sapphic nonbinary character
Jea's SRC
nerdy/geeky character
age gap romance
character of a different ethnicity, culture, or race than you
part of a series
character is a business owner
new-to-you author
Unicorn
sapphic nonbinary character
August 5, 2021
Great representation of non-binary character and sapphic relationship, interesting and well written.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
April 7, 2023
I originally picked up this title to meet one of the prompts for Around the Year in 52 Books Challenge 2023. Chosen for my affinity with the "Sporty" personality of the Spice Girls growing up, I wasn't prepared for just how seen I felt because of the character that didn't fit that description at all. Perhaps that could be because I was always both a nerd and a jock. Perhaps it's just the fact that Simply Connected manages to elevate itself above just another opposites attract romance novel.
The characters drive the story, and the fact one of the love interest's kids is a fully fleshed-out character and not just a plot device (usually just a romantic foil) speaks volumes. All of the supporting characters in general still manage to feel more multi-dimensional than many main characters I've read elsewhere. Yet, the author was still able to keep those more minor characters from stealing the spotlight too much. And their "realness" helped make both of the leads feel more real too. Incredibly competent in their respective fields, Christie and Blaise had me worried at first that I'd be reading a romance between Mary Sues. To liken them to such after reading their story though, doesn't do them justice at all.
My only complaint character wise would be that Blaise can be a little whiny at times...but it's never piled on too much, and it's usually justified for the most part. If I was to be completely honest, my issue with it might also just be because of how much of myself I found in common with them. Not just a mathematician but someone mired in it. Finding patterns where other people wouldn't even think to look. Or amusing oneself with the numbers that make up our lives. It reminded me of the numerology movie with Jim Carrey without the added dose of horror. But to have a character not only see the world that way but also struggle with the realization they don't quite fit the mold society thinks they should because of the equipment they were born with, I'm very thankful I read this book.
Despite that personal connection with Simply Connected and how much I enjoyed the characters, I couldn't quite give it full marks though. For me, I need a novel to be near perfect on both a technical standpoint and a content-based one. It was right about there on the content side for me, but there needs to be more polish when it comes to the technical. There are quite a few errors scattered throughout, usually confused homonyms or punctuation. In addition, there's just a bit too much repetition, especially when it comes to inner monologuing.
The characters drive the story, and the fact one of the love interest's kids is a fully fleshed-out character and not just a plot device (usually just a romantic foil) speaks volumes. All of the supporting characters in general still manage to feel more multi-dimensional than many main characters I've read elsewhere. Yet, the author was still able to keep those more minor characters from stealing the spotlight too much. And their "realness" helped make both of the leads feel more real too. Incredibly competent in their respective fields, Christie and Blaise had me worried at first that I'd be reading a romance between Mary Sues. To liken them to such after reading their story though, doesn't do them justice at all.
My only complaint character wise would be that Blaise can be a little whiny at times...but it's never piled on too much, and it's usually justified for the most part. If I was to be completely honest, my issue with it might also just be because of how much of myself I found in common with them. Not just a mathematician but someone mired in it. Finding patterns where other people wouldn't even think to look. Or amusing oneself with the numbers that make up our lives. It reminded me of the numerology movie with Jim Carrey without the added dose of horror. But to have a character not only see the world that way but also struggle with the realization they don't quite fit the mold society thinks they should because of the equipment they were born with, I'm very thankful I read this book.
Despite that personal connection with Simply Connected and how much I enjoyed the characters, I couldn't quite give it full marks though. For me, I need a novel to be near perfect on both a technical standpoint and a content-based one. It was right about there on the content side for me, but there needs to be more polish when it comes to the technical. There are quite a few errors scattered throughout, usually confused homonyms or punctuation. In addition, there's just a bit too much repetition, especially when it comes to inner monologuing.
February 20, 2024
Not so child-prodigy, more than likely neuro-spicy, and very anxious meets and falls in love with a woman that represents all the pain she's experienced in life. I liked Blaise working out her gender identity and expression, especially since she talked to a therapist about it. Mental health rep is always great. The relationship between the two women just seemed too railroaded, and unbelievable. They have nothing in common, nothing to remotely talk about with each other. Blaise lives, breathes, and sleeps math. Christie has a learning disorder that doesn't allow her to understand math concepts...and blaming it on a concussion seems cheap and like it brushes off the people in real life that are born with actual learning disabilities and their struggles. Both women don't take the other into account and do what they want, hurting the other in the process multiple times. And both used Blaise's son as a work around to actually communicating with each other. All around, just a toxic relationship that shouldn't have happened in the first place.
March 6, 2021
Nonbinary Character
Blaise is trying to complete her Thesis in mathematics. She has lost her husband and raising a son on her own. She sees the world in mathematical equations. Struggling to keep her live together, her business and understanding her son as he is developing into a person with his own goals, wants and needs in area she doesn’t understand at all
Christie is a gay professional Basketball playing at the top of her game.
Meeting Christie has sparked something in her she did not understand.
I loved this book! I am not a fan of mathematics. However this book helped me understand quite a few thing.
It is a story of a woman trying to understand the world around her and most importantly about self discovery. How self acceptance can change your perspective and live.
Blaise is trying to complete her Thesis in mathematics. She has lost her husband and raising a son on her own. She sees the world in mathematical equations. Struggling to keep her live together, her business and understanding her son as he is developing into a person with his own goals, wants and needs in area she doesn’t understand at all
Christie is a gay professional Basketball playing at the top of her game.
Meeting Christie has sparked something in her she did not understand.
I loved this book! I am not a fan of mathematics. However this book helped me understand quite a few thing.
It is a story of a woman trying to understand the world around her and most importantly about self discovery. How self acceptance can change your perspective and live.
March 30, 2022
2.5
Honestly there were some good parts. this is a book by a non-binary author and it handles Blaise's journey and coming out gracefully (with some idealised world of coming out but they deserve it).
The romance was not likeable and the whole concept of nerd vs jock bu adults in their 30's was frankly annoying (also Blaise has some serious trauma from bullying and grief and does not see a therapist about it but immediatly goes to see a gender therapist when they realise something about themselves? really incoherent.
Christie was not a good love interest: obsessive, always pushing without asking (and this gets adressed and then happen again), they had no chemistry and I couldn't understand how they got together.
Honestly there were some good parts. this is a book by a non-binary author and it handles Blaise's journey and coming out gracefully (with some idealised world of coming out but they deserve it).
The romance was not likeable and the whole concept of nerd vs jock bu adults in their 30's was frankly annoying (also Blaise has some serious trauma from bullying and grief and does not see a therapist about it but immediatly goes to see a gender therapist when they realise something about themselves? really incoherent.
Christie was not a good love interest: obsessive, always pushing without asking (and this gets adressed and then happen again), they had no chemistry and I couldn't understand how they got together.
February 15, 2021
The main characters in this unusual romance make an extremely interesting pair. One is a young, successful professional basketball player. The other is an all grown up child prodigy, widowed, single mother struggling with her grief, her PhD thesis, her gender identity, her deep distrust of athletes and her general place in the world. Stumbling through injury, therapy and lots of math they ultimately work their way to each other and a satisfying HEA. This reader's only complaint is that the novella format leaves little room to explore many of these things in greater depth.
July 21, 2021
Fear, trust, and love
How does a mathematical genius and a professional basketball player get together. That is a real question. The characters couldn’t be more different. B LAISE and Christy mad as a bakery and then the fun begins. I found the plat very good and really Got emotionally involved. The book involves many things including being a math genius, fear of Athletes and gender identity. I recommend this book for all who like a love story, sports story, and a gender identity story.
How does a mathematical genius and a professional basketball player get together. That is a real question. The characters couldn’t be more different. B LAISE and Christy mad as a bakery and then the fun begins. I found the plat very good and really Got emotionally involved. The book involves many things including being a math genius, fear of Athletes and gender identity. I recommend this book for all who like a love story, sports story, and a gender identity story.
July 18, 2022
For Christie it was love at first sight, for Blaise, who was promoted as a math genius as a child only when she saw a possible solution to her mathematical problem in the game of basketball. Her son Nash struggles with her views on athletes and in addition to discovering herself, Blaise has to deal with the loss of her husband, her work, and her concern for Nash. It is not easy for her and gave me insights into the way of thinking of a mathematician and when she discovers, that she is nonbinary.
August 25, 2022
This is a great book written well. It really drew me in with the unusual way that Blaise sees the world through mathematical formulae and equations. You really don’t have to understand the maths to be able to understand how it makes Blaise tick. This is not your normal girl meets girl romance it is so much more and comes across with real feeling and insight into what Blaise is having to deal with. This is my first book of Alex Washoe and I shall be looking for more from this author in the future.
November 16, 2021
The Math of the Game
Blaise was a gifted prodigy in mathematics and skipped grades and entered college at sixteen. She married her best friend and took a break to raise her son Nash. Hating jocks because of being bullied in high school. When she meets Christie Dillard a basketball phenomenon who has worked for everything she’d gotten. Now they are trying to solve the love equation.
Blaise was a gifted prodigy in mathematics and skipped grades and entered college at sixteen. She married her best friend and took a break to raise her son Nash. Hating jocks because of being bullied in high school. When she meets Christie Dillard a basketball phenomenon who has worked for everything she’d gotten. Now they are trying to solve the love equation.
February 20, 2023
Good read
Once I started this book I couldn’t put it down. Blaise is a child prodigy and still deals with trauma of what happened in high school by “dumb jocks”. Then losing her husband/best friend during a sports related to raise their son. Blaise allows her son to take Judo lessons but won’t allow him to compete, which cause more problems.
Read the ups and downs of the child prodigy and the All-Stars relationship, you’ll laugh, cry and get a HEA.
Once I started this book I couldn’t put it down. Blaise is a child prodigy and still deals with trauma of what happened in high school by “dumb jocks”. Then losing her husband/best friend during a sports related to raise their son. Blaise allows her son to take Judo lessons but won’t allow him to compete, which cause more problems.
Read the ups and downs of the child prodigy and the All-Stars relationship, you’ll laugh, cry and get a HEA.
June 10, 2023
This was a surprise. While i expected romance it give me so much more. It gave me loss, forgiveness, tragedy, hope, identity, and math 😂. I’m glad this wasn’t a run oh the mill tale this really told of 2 people from different worlds doing there best to be there for one another. Not to mention one of them trying to find out who they want to be. My only issue is the fade to black sex scenes. Other than that great book.
February 26, 2021
I enjoyed this book
This book was a different kind of story than I have ever read. So burn love story . Characters are likable and interesting. I didn't understand all the math ,I still enjoyed the growth of the two main characters.
This book was a different kind of story than I have ever read. So burn love story . Characters are likable and interesting. I didn't understand all the math ,I still enjoyed the growth of the two main characters.
August 4, 2022
An Incredible Story
This is the first book I have read by Alex Washoe. They did an excellent job with defining and creating a loving relationship between a "dumb jock and a genius." I greatly enjoyed the depth of the characters.
This is the first book I have read by Alex Washoe. They did an excellent job with defining and creating a loving relationship between a "dumb jock and a genius." I greatly enjoyed the depth of the characters.
July 7, 2023
interesting book
I liked the book but did get a bit bogged down with all the math references. I, also, got some education as I had to research what the terms meant. Liked the ending!
I liked the book but did get a bit bogged down with all the math references. I, also, got some education as I had to research what the terms meant. Liked the ending!
June 17, 2021
Wonderful story
I have enjoyed this wonderful heartfelt story of Blaise a widow and a mom meet a woman basketball star and the sparks fly.
I have enjoyed this wonderful heartfelt story of Blaise a widow and a mom meet a woman basketball star and the sparks fly.
November 18, 2021
I liked the character's self discovery of being non-binary and the story taking us through that with her. Otherwise, the story was a bit "choppy" for me although I liked the storyline.
March 15, 2022
complicated story
Not being a math nerd, I found some of the storyline a bit hard to follow but I really enjoyed the premise of the story.
Not being a math nerd, I found some of the storyline a bit hard to follow but I really enjoyed the premise of the story.
February 10, 2023
Good
This is the first book I read by this author. I really enjoyed the development between the two characters. I like the athlete and the genius love stories.
This is the first book I read by this author. I really enjoyed the development between the two characters. I like the athlete and the genius love stories.
June 15, 2025
What a fun read! I loved the math. I loved the basketball. I loved the gender identity journey. I want more!
December 21, 2022
Fraught With Errors And Peppered With Nonsense
Not a bad story but the editing is horrendous. Also, if one chooses to write about a subject such as Women's Basketball one might seriously consider researching what one decides to write about. Sure it's fiction but the errors make it bad fiction. Inexcusable for the intended audience.
Not a bad story but the editing is horrendous. Also, if one chooses to write about a subject such as Women's Basketball one might seriously consider researching what one decides to write about. Sure it's fiction but the errors make it bad fiction. Inexcusable for the intended audience.
September 14, 2021
I love smart complicated stories and Alex Washoe gives us one with Simply Connected.
Washoe mixes sports and math in a creative way and with different viewpoints. At the same time, they explore gender identity through the main character of Blaise.
Check out the rest of my review at Phoebe's Randoms. Link in bio.
Washoe mixes sports and math in a creative way and with different viewpoints. At the same time, they explore gender identity through the main character of Blaise.
Check out the rest of my review at Phoebe's Randoms. Link in bio.
January 15, 2023
This book is a gift in understanding people who struggle with their gender. It gave me a new view to people who are living this way and be not understood.
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