Don't hate the player, luv. Hate the game.College. It was supposed to be my new start. I made a promise to my father I would be a good girl from now on--focus solely on the game and play nice for once. Aside from him, basketball is my only love, therefore sacrifices must be made all in the name of the game. So, no more fights. No more trash talk. No more getting my ass into trouble. I was all set to become this new and improved Spencer Clarke--someone who would be able to open the NBA doors I've always dreamt about and coach my own team one day. The only thing standing in my way are the three hot AF basketball players that I have to share an apartment with. Apparently, they didn't get the memo that I wanted to turn a new leaf. Not an easy thing to do when they insist on playing dirty. Such a shame they have no idea who they are dealing with. But they are about to find out. Contains mature themes.
Ivy Fox is a USA Today bestselling author who thrives on angst, yearning, and the kind of soul-crushing tension that keeps readers up way past their bedtime. A shameless connoisseur of emotional chaos, Ivy crafts stories where feelings hit hard, desire simmers low, and falling in love feels completely inevitable. She believes love is beautiful and should be celebrated in all its forms, so readers can expect everything from MF, MM, and MMF romances to one lucky heroine collecting an entire harem of devoted soulmates. When she’s not unleashing emotional devastation on the page, Ivy lives a pretty chill life with her two favorite men—her husband and her son. The only thing that truly keeps her up at night are the fictional characters in her head who refuse to shut up until she tells their story. She’s long learned to let them run the show… and honestly, she wouldn’t have it any other way. A firm believer in happy endings, Ivy writes romance fueled by passion, heart, and the promise that no matter how messy things get, love will always prevail.
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What a fun RH sports romance from Ivy Fox! RH is not always my cup of tea but this one was really good as we got the POV from all of the guys as well as our lead heroine in Spencer. I will just say that Zeke was my fave as I just loved the enemies to lovers vibes between the two of them. Also really enjoyed the sports element as it really bonded them all together. And the steam level is off the charts! Definitely pick this one up if you are feeling a light and easy RH read.
This book is a standalone. So you do not need to read it behind or in front of anything else! Okay, Ivy honestly shocked me with this book. I am a huge sports fan and have never really taken the plunge to read such books. Not that I dislike them, I just honestly have been presented with the opportunity, until now. Ivy crushed this book. I loved it from front to back. The way she narrates each page so detailed it’s like you can hear the screeching basketball shoes on the court you can hear the ‘swoosh’ of the ball slicing the net. I was obsessed. I never knew how much I loved this until ivy and boy she seriously did not disappoint with this book. If you are an Ivy fan already, you know. If you are not, I encourage you to try this book. I can not say enough good about it!
Okay, the book is about a girl who is in love with the fame of basketball. Spencer eats, sleeps, and breaths basketball. She is so talented so gets scouted to USC. When she gets there and gets to her apartment, she realizes that the college has made a pretty large error and took the name ‘Spencer’ as a guy. So she is now rooming with 3 other male basketball players. Dre, Zeke, and Leo are all big men on campus and have been roommates the year prior. Boy, does having a girl cramp their style. The ups and downs the fights and tears shed are so worth it. I loved this book and the sneaky little twist it had at the end. Again, if you like sports, like ivy, haven’t tried either or love them both I think this book is exactly what you need.
Standalone, contemporary, sports romance reverse harem...I saw this book and thought it was too good to be true, considering I'm writing a darker romance novel around this genre. Spoilers beware.
The FMC's name is Spencer, a girl focused on her dream to become a female head coach of her own NBA team, but is also determined to make it as a player. She's strong and has the ego of every good athlete who knows they can play the game and play it well, and as a basketball player myself, I found that even after knowing this information, I found it hard to connect with Spencer. I felt as time went by too quickly and it was more just drama surrounding their relationship rather than me being able to see the development as a whole.
I can understand Dre loving Spencer and maybe even Leo, but not Zeke, considering he was more than an asshole to Spence for about most of the book. He wanted her OUT of their dorm until about 5/6 of the way through and then when he realized he "loved" her after spending next to no time actually conversing with her at all, he found it weird to share Spence with her two brothers. This is a factor I'm totally okay with, but it felt very insta-love and he resigned himself to the idea without much of an issue.
I didn't really connect with any of the love interests either. I pretty much skimmed the entire novel and had to step away from the book at certain points to do other things. Considering I'm the type of person to read a book all the way through in one or two sittings, you can see how this differs from my regular behavior.
The writing style also wasn't completely my favorite. I didn't find many typos or grammatical errors, but all in all, it just felt very stilted. At a few points, I found the author using the same adjective twice or thrice in the same sentence, which made it feel even weirder. Quick example:
"Enraged with her plan backfiring, Sophie leaves the gym enraged, the crowd of girls instantly starting to discuss what they just witnessed..."
This sounds like a classic case of "might-be-a-great-fit-for-someone-else-but-not-for-me," which is something I'm totally okay with. However, I do review a bunch of books on different websites for free and otherwise and have the ability to push through really shitty books even if I really don't want to read it, and it felt like I was pushing myself to read Room for Three .
Room For Three had everything that I like to read in college sports romances. Spencer (the FMC) knows who she is and has goals, her love interests also have a strong handle on who they are and what they want to accomplish, the relationships build naturally with a mix of connection and steam, and there's just the right amount of sports action mixed in.
The guys, Dre, Leo, and Zeke, are distinct personalities and I felt like each guy had their own unique connection and draw to/with Spencer. There was still some angst and minor bumps in their road, but there was such chemistry with this group and they got a little help from a prior Bad Influence series group (which I loved seeing). I also really enjoyed how Spencer grew in the short timeframe. She arrived at college knowing that she was going to need to make some changes and as hard as it was some times, she did grow as a teammate and a player. She even made a friend (who clearly will be getting her own future book)!
My only wish for this book would have been showing more bonding time with Zeke. The emotions are there and we get the physical, but I felt like we missed out on some of the bonding time that Dre and Leo had, since more of Zeke's time together involved pushing/pulling (which was part of their thing). Their chemistry shone during those times and they were still connecting in their way though and this is just a personal preference.
There's also a great epilogue that's a peek several years into the future. This whole story overall blew me away. We need more awesome sports RH books and I'm so glad Ms. Fox's characters got their heads in the game so we could witness theirs.
This story blew me away. First of all, this cover is stunning! It drew me in immediately! I had no idea what the book was about. I was looking for an amazing standalone to devour and my book bestie recommended this book to me. We both were looking for something to buddy read together, so we dove into this amazingness! And I am so glad we did.
Spencer, Dre, Leo, and Zeke, let me tell you. Spencer is one lucky girl! These three guys are amazing! Each of them are all broken, however put the four of them together and they become whole. I loved that the story didn’t fit in just one category. It was reverse harem but it was sports romance too. Thrown in a sprinkle of enemies to lover and you’ve got an excellent book!
Ivy Fox’s writing is amazing! The story flowed! I read this in a day, I couldn’t put it down! This certainly won’t be the last book so read of hers. I loved the lessons throughout the book. I loved the characters (holy hotness, I’m claiming Zeke), though Leo and Dre were absolutely fantastic too. Spencer is a fierce, sassy and amazing character. This book had it all. A must absolutely read for sure!!!
Standalone, contemporary, sports romance reverse harem.... Yes please. Review may contain spoilers, in summary it's amazing and you should definitely read it.
Our FMC is Spencer and the first word that comes to mind is fiesty. She is focused on her dream, one that needs the strength and resilience to fight through a fairly male dominated sport. This means that her energy and focus is on that dream that her people skills and willingness to take constructive feedback is lacking. She's one the next stepping stone to achieve her dream and a mix up at the accommodation office means she falls into the den of three well established basketball layers.
The guys are strong characters, the flirty cheeky womanizer, the broody asshole and the sweet southern gentleman, with a brotherly bond so strong on and off the pitch what will Spencer's appearance do to these men?
I love Ivys' books so much. Her covers are beautiful, her characters are fun to read and I love the little cameos from her other books in this world she has built. Excited for Biancas story. LOVE THIS AUTHOR.
This is my third book by this author and I have got to say, I am a pretty big fan!
This is the first book of this series I have read but now I have to go back and start from book 1. All books in this series can be read as a stand-alone.
This is the story of hot-headed Spencer. She’s been in love with basketball 🏀 since she can remember and has big dreams of becoming the first female NBA coach.
Then insert her first time college experience. When she finds herself, new roommate to USC’s three all time, sexy as sin, top male basketball players - things get hectic.
Zeke, Leo and Dre all have different opinions when it comes to Spencer. She is definitely not what they are expecting, but they definitely don’t expect to fall for her. When she realizes she is falling for all three of them back, complications arise.
Basketball is her life. It’s everything. This one thing can ruin it all. * * I loved this one. I thought it was cute and addicting. I would have loved more from the guys perspective but in stand-alone’s, it’s never enough. Spencer is your all around take no crap FMC. Leo, the playboy. Zeke the enforcer. Dre the nice one. 😂 Together they give you a force to be reckoned with and all the feels you expect in a HEA.
*Overall 5/5 *Heat? 4/5 *First person POV - all 4 characters *No cheating *12 yr later Epilogue *HEA! Yes.
So I really enjoy Ivy Fox's writing, I am not usually into sports romances, but with the right author. Yeah, I can become a fan.
So to give you the basics the story is about Spencer, she was to excel at the game so that one day she can be a head coach. So she gets assigned an apartment with three hot as hell guys. Now the fun can really begin.
So the guys are something else, you have every aspect of the types that I like. The A-hole, the playboy and a charmer. The interaction with everyone and their chemistry will draw you in.
Overall this is a great read and I enjoyed this very much.
I liked yes but can you tell me if Bianca has her own story? And in this book the characters of book 1 appear and Sander dad is a member of the MC of book 2. This was more young drama on it.
This book moved at a quick pace and kept me absolutely enthralled with the characters and the world Ivy created. Spencer and her guys were entertaining and steamy. I loved how believable the storyline was and the unique way they got their ultimate HEA. I couldn’t put this book down.
"Don’t hate the player, luv. Hate the game.” This book is a complete stand alone so you do not have to ready anything else of Ivy's to enjoy this book. It is a contemporarysports reverse harm book.
I am a massive sports fan so when I found out IVY was writing a sports book I could not wait to get my hand on this and I must say I have read lots of sports romance and for Ivy's first one, she completetly nailed it, It is one of my fave sports stories that I have read.
In Room For Three, Ivy Fox introduces us to Spencer. She's a feisty heroine who's not afraid to fight her own battles. She's determined to have a career in basketball, aiming for a coaching position in the future. When she lands herself in college, rooming up with three basketball players of the male variety, she finds herself falling for them.
For me, this is a pretty light-hearted standalone novel in the Bad Influence series. I love the mentions and cameos from other characters in this universe, effortlessly tying the books in this series together. No worries though, you can still read this one by yourself perfectly.
As always, the author's writing is on point, she has a way ton grasp my attention and keeping it until a book is finished. There were definitely some characters that intrigued me, making me want to find out more about them. Fingers crossed we might get those stories too!
I was so impressed by this story. I am always skeptical of standalone RHs, because the relationship dynamics are so complicated it can be challenging to fit into one book in a way that is believable. This book disproved my assumption! The characters had depth and thorough backstories, and their emotional connections were convincing.
Room for Three is a standalone reverse-harem, college sports (basketball), roommate romance written in multiple POVs (about 50% h and 50% split between the three Hs). It is the third in a series of standalone RH novels; I had not read the first two before reading Room for Three, and though we saw or heard of the characters from the first two books I did not feel like anything was “spoiled” and I look forward to going back and reading both.
The four main characters, Spencer Clarke (h), Zeke Masterson (H), Leo Maravich (H), and Andre ‘Dre’ Webber (H), were all very well-written. I loved seeing the friendship dynamics between the guys as well as Spencer’s bond forming with each of them. I appreciated that it was not an insta-love story, another thing that often turns me off standalone RHs. The plot also did not revolve entirely around the formation of a polyamorous relationship, but instead involved interpersonal relationships and conflict outside the group of MCs. I especially enjoyed the treasured bond between Spencer and her dad along with the teasers of her friend Bianca’s own RH story (which is expected to be the focus of Book 4).
A compelling theme throughout this book was female empowerment, and I felt so much connection to Spencer’s ambitious nature and drive to succeed. Early in the book, upon first meeting her coach, Spencer says “Damn. I think Coach just became my spirit animal.”, and I found myself echoing that sentiment near the end when her coach proclaimed “If what you do in your spare time was cause for removing you from the team, then there would be no players on the men’s team either. If they aren’t reprimanded for their behavior off the court, then neither will my players.” I was internally fist pumping for that!
The only thing that slightly disappointed me was the absence of smutty group activities, which I usually expect in a RH novel. However, if the trade-off was a spicy scene in exchange for an attention-grabbing plot and believable character development, I am quite alright with that. In the end, it didn’t feel worth dropping from a five-star to a four-star rating. I am already looking forward to catching up with the earlier books in this series and anticipating the release of Bianca’s book!
This was a completely unexpected love for me. I LOVE why choose romances. But, I have never read a sports romance. So, when this kept popping up in my recommendations, I was hesitant to indulge in it. Boy oh boy, am I ever glad I finally did.
This book had me straight up laughing on multiple occasions. These characters were absolutely perfect. The men were all different, but complimented each other so well.
Spencer is our FMC. She is a spicy one. Raised by her biker gang dad, she's tough as nails and 100% no nonsense. She's got a feisty temper, and smart mouth. But on the court, she's humble and just wants to achieve her one true goal. When she gets accepted to USC, she finds out things are going to be more difficult than she anticipated, when she gets to her dorm and finds out she's somehow been placed in a room with her 3 male basketball idols.
Zeke, Andre, and Leo. Zeke is arrogant. He eats sleeps and breathes ball. Anything that could distract him from making the big leagues, he wants no part in. That includes Spencer. Andre is the gentle, kind, sweetheart. Raised by his single mother, he has a lot of respect for women, and he wants to protect Spencer. Leo is the player. He's got a sweet talkin' mouth, and he's always messing around with jersey chasers.
This book was steamy. It was funny. It was heart wrenching. And it was suspenseful.
The only reason I am rating it 4 stars as opposed to 5, is because I wished there was more. The book was really short, and I feel like there was a lot of missed potential with it. I wanted to see more of this quad.
This book is also considered the third book in a series, however it's more of a standalone. I read this book without reading the two prior books and I wasn't lost at all. The first two books focus on different characters that make appearances in this one.
If you haven't read this book or are hesitant to give a sports romance a try, take your chances on this one. It's worth it!
I rarely smile at the end of books. I'm usually cranky that the characters didn't do what I wanted them to or sad that the story is over and I don't get to see my favorite characters' lives anymore. But with this book, it started and ended in the perfect places. It's happy and sappy and solid.
Every once in a while, I need a book that clears my mind by being a pure joy to read. This was one of those books. It kept me engaged, didn't drag or have moments that pulled me out of the characters' lives. The story was believable because the characters acted consistently and their setting made sense.
I enjoyed all of the characters. They were all entertainig. All of the history given informed the personalities and choices of the characters. I definitely had moments of smirking at their snark and silliness.
Overall, it's a solid read. I would recommend it for anyone, but especially for those who need a break from all of the dark stories that have been popular for the past couple years. We could all use extra smiles.
Overview: Setting: contemporary, college, real world Tense: first person, present Relationship: RH, no m/m POV: multi, only FMC and harem
Grammar: only one or two typos, very clean Editing: impressively good; noticed no continuity errors; internally consistent throughout Humor: occasional, not heavy-handed Triggers: mostly in past; present bullying, but it's not the focus
Spencer is a tomboy, raised by her father and an amazing basketball player, she now it’s going to attend college ( the first of the family to achieve this goal) with a full scholarship and for her dream to be a coach in NBA she’ll have to control her temper. Being an introvert e super focused in the game, Spence has the hard time to make friends and her short temper doesn’t help at all. Moving to her dorm she discovers that she’s going to share a room with not one, but three basketball Gods! Zeke, Dre and Leo. The first one smells trouble and it’s the first to kick her out of the house, Leo it’s the flirt who doesn’t care about anyone except his friends and Dre it’s the only one who doesn’t see the problem to have a girl living with them. All three of them are extremely attract to her and it’s finding hard to not act on there feelings, but since she’s a beautiful distraction it’s even hard to not bond and form a friendship. Spence it’s trying to prove herself in court and struggling to control her hormones. Having to live with the guys and sharing moments with them individually are confusing enough! The question is: will they be able to work their relationship together and face the judgment or they will drift apart and forget about it?
So I didn’t really know what to think when opening this book. I don’t like basketball, but the cover and the blurb hooked me, so I figured I’d give it a chance.
I was immediately drawn in. While this story is about Spencer, an 18 year old girl striving to excel at the game in order to become a head coach one day, I get more of the college student vibe, with the undertone of basketball, enough to give the sports aspect, but it’s more about the day to day life of being assigned to a quad apartment with three hot as hell seniors.
Zeke, Leo, and Dre. Oh my. These guys are all the highest end of the spectrum for their personality types, and I love it! Zeke is the alpha-hole to the extreme, Leo is the lovable play boy, and Dre is the Southern charmer. Watching Spencer try and resist these guys is so fun! Plus, the emotions of this book twist from me needing to fan myself, to me reaching for tissues.
And then... then Spencer is attacked. And I was surprised with the ending! I really need to go back and check the other books of this collection, I have a feeling I’ll love them all!
Her whole life is basketball. She eats, sleeps dreams and breaths the sport.
Now is her chance to shine, to achieve greatness, but it comes crashing down as the door to her new home is slammed in her face...
This is the third book in the bad influence series and oh boy what a read it is! I couldn't put it down, I read the whole book in one sitting! Hot guys, arch enemies and one ball that bounces between them all! So much angst, and drama I was in book heaven!
Spencer is an awesome character, who is very real. She's all about her passion and not the petty day to day antics that come with folks her age.
The three star basketball players Zeke, Leo and Dre are trouble with a capital T!
If mean and moody is your thing, look for Zeke, if you want a serial womanizer then cosy upto Leo or maybe you prefer an easy going all round good guy, if so got you covered there too that's Dre. This book seriously has the perfect character to fall in love with for everyone!
Put them all together and there's never a dull moment!
I loved the sass, the sizzle and the tension. It's almost as if this book was written for me! it's THAT perfect!
I actually give this book 4 1/2 ⭐️ , but that isn’t an option for the above lol. First off this book is a standalone. You do not need to read any other books before this nor is there any cliffhangers. I would almost say sports romances and reverse harems are my favorite tropes, so this book was right up my alley. The only reason I took 1/2 a star off is because I wanted a little more angst. But this was such a fun read.
Spencer is a soon to be college freshman going to USC on a full basketball scholarship. She lives, eats and breaths basketball and is kind of hard to get along with. Due to a mix up with the housing department, she gets put in a room with three HOT basketball players...MALE! I’m sure we all know it is about to get good. Zeke is the closed off moody one, Leo is the flirty player, and Dre is the sweet southern gentleman. After she moves in, will they all be able to get along?
Leo is my absolute favorite. I love his flirty playfulness and how Spencer hands him his tush so many times over lol. It is great lol.
This is for sure a fun read. Took me less than a day to read it (with work getting in the way) because it was just so fun.
I really enjoyed Room for Three by Ivy Fox. It’s a well written, quick RH read. The characters are the perfect blend of caring, charming and a$$hole meets sassy, with a touch of basketball. I loved their dynamics. Spencer lives for basketball and wants to start fresh at her new college. So when she starts college life assigned to an apartment with three star basketball players of the hot male variety, life gets very interesting. She never saw what was coming. The mistake with her housing situation would change her life forever. Zeke is an alpha hole and treats her badly, Andre wants to look after her and Leo, he wants to charm the pants off her. If your familiar with the Bad Influence Series, your in for a treat. Ivy treats us to a cameo appearance of characters from one of the other books in the series. Absolutely loved the new addition to the series. Highly recommend this great read.
I’m a huge fan of spots romance and was super excited to learn that Ivy’s next book was a sports RH. For her first sports romance, Ivy completely hit it out of the park! This book is part of Ivy’s Bad Influence series but is a complete standalone.
Spencer is at USC on a basketball scholarship and ends up roommates with 3 of the star players from the men’s team. Spencer was closed off at first, but starts to open up once she gets to know her roommates. Eventually, they become close friends and more. I loved these characters and they all had such amazing chemistry. This book was a pretty quick read and the plot moved along at a good pace. In addition to the romance, there’s a bit of outside drama but nothing too angsty. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more from this series!
I really enjoyed this book. It was fun, easy to read. I loved all the characters even if Zeke was questionable at times. The guys were a good balance and true to themselves. Each had a very distinctive personality that really fit the fmc. I really adored Spencer. I loved how rough around the edges she was. The dialogue was witty and the relationships very sweet. I smiled a lot while reading and didn’t want to put it down. I did read it in one sitting and just flew through it. Overall it was very enjoyable and I would recommend. I loved the characters, I just wanted a little bit more. The last third of the book just went by so fast with so much happening. I wish it would have been a bit slower paced with a little more growth from the characters and the relationships. I really would have loved more of Spencer with her team as well.
Spencer starts her freshman year at USC with a housing error. She is accidentally placed as the new roommate of the college’s top three basketball stars, Zeke, Dre, and Leo. Seeing as there are no vacancies she has no choice but to stay there. Things don’t start off on the right foot but after getting close their feelings grow from friends to more.
This was such a great quick read. I don’t read many books were sports are the main focus but I really enjoyed that aspect in this. Having all the main characters love the same sport made their connection even better. The chemistry was off the charts. You could feel how much the characters loved each other. It’s a pretty fast burn in terms of feelings. I’m going to hope we get a book with Bianca and the men from her past. Definitely interested in that story!
I had a sneaking suspicion I would love this book after reading its synopsis. I knew I would get a rowdy, fun time - and I did, though there were not nearly enough steamy scenes for me to be satisfied. This book definitely had the least amount of sex scenes compared to the first two, which is saying something, so I was a little disappointed, not gunna lie.
But, the three main guys were such goofy sweethearts (Zeke took awhile to warm up) and Spencer was such an awesome lead. She was strong, sassy, and superior to the men. I appreciated her gusto and her wittiness. Her and Zeke’s enemy-ness was definitely hot and Dre was such a teddy bear. Leo was the goofy Brit and I loved him too.
If you want a super quick, pretty steamy basketball romance, I recommend this one.
This book is referred as a pallet cleanser. It's a quick read without a lot of substance. That's not a bad thing if you're looking for a quick standalone with a fast burn. If you're wanting to get emotionally involved in the characters then this isn't the book. There are also alot of social justice references. I will also say that at the beginning of the book the heroine is pretty unlikable. She's full of "rage". Apparently, she finds an outlet for the rage because she's fine after meeting the guys. The pacing of the book is odd. Weeks and months fly by but you're unsure what really happened during that time. They're supposed to be in college yet I don't remember seeing them attend one class. Spencer never plays a game either. Then a giant time hop. So, I read it. Read it yourself.