THE FINAL SCORE is book thirteen in Jaci Burton's Play-
by-Play series. Nathan Riley is the new hotshot QB for
the San Francisco Sabres. Mia Cassidy is a clever
entrepreneur. This is a terrific friends-to-lovers romance
with a slight twist. The twist is that Nathan and Mia have
been intimate once before while in college. Now, the
true-blue friends are a few years older, living in the same
city, and making their dreams a reality. While dealing with
the expected stress from their new careers, neither can
resist the temptation to get carnally reacquainted. This is
a story about the delights and pitfalls of mixing sex and
love with a BFF.
Jaci Burton does a bang-up job of establishing how close
Nathan and Mia are, and the particular dynamics of their
relationship. I love how the friendship is something they
both put a premium on. These two friends just differ on
whether their relationship should progress to another level.
For Nathan, his feelings for Mia are clear. His conviction
about how great they could together make Nathan more of a
romantic, rather than horndog sports superstar. Mia is
reluctant to trust her feelings for Nathan because she fears
ruining the all-important friendship, but also because she
worries how any fallout might adversely impact her fledgling
business. Throughout THE FINAL SCORE, I like how these two
kindred spirits unconditionally support each other. It's a
great component to the relationship that they both come from
sports families and can relate to how ingrained and
important sports are in their lives. Having this story told
from alternating perspectives gives the reader a window into
the anxieties and longing that the characters occasionally
hide from each other.
THE FINAL SCORE is a frankly fabulous romance with sizzle
and substance. The enjoyable teasing between Nathan and Mia
balance the sexual fireworks and intense character- driven
story. This works as a great standalone story, but reading
THE FINAL SCORE will make you want to go back and read about
Nathan's parents in THE PERFECT
PLAY. I look forward to
Jaci Burton's next Play-by-Play
novel.
In the new Play-by-Play novel by the New York Times
bestselling author of Rules of Contact, a star
quarterback is torn between his love of the game—and the
woman who may be the love of his life.
Nathan Riley is ready to follow in the footsteps of his
famous football player father. He’s been drafted as
quarterback for his dad’s former team, and his future is
bright. When his friend Mia Cassidy moves to the same city,
their years-long friendship suddenly sparks hot, reminding
him of the one night they had together in college that he
can never forget.
Like Nathan, Mia is from a sports dynasty family and
embarking on an incredible new career—as founder of her own
sports management company. Her friendship with Nathan means
everything to her, and tossing sex into the mix again could
jeopardize it. But the chemistry between them has always
sizzled, and it isn’t long before Mia realizes she wants
more with Nathan than just late-night talks and pizza.
Passion has a funny way of changing the rules, and soon
Nathan and Mia discover that to win it all, they’ll have to
make an unexpected play for love.