{"id":31960,"date":"2025-11-03T10:04:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T14:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=31960"},"modified":"2025-11-03T11:18:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T15:18:00","slug":"review-the-game-plan-by-kristen-callihan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2025\/11\/03\/review-the-game-plan-by-kristen-callihan\/","title":{"rendered":"Review \u2764\ufe0f The Game Plan by Kristen Callihan"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-31960\" data-postid=\"31960\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-31960 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    \t\t\t<!-- module_row -->\n\t<div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_o10a767 tb_first tf_w tf_clearfix\">\n\t    \t\t\t<div class=\"row_inner col_align_top gutter-narrow tb_col_count_2 tf_box tf_rel\">\n\t\t            <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-1 tb_obqz767 first\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module image -->\n<div  class=\"module module-image tb_rts5767 rounded drop-shadow customBorderRad_top image-center auto_fullwidth tf_mw\" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"image-wrap tf_rel tf_mw\">\n\t\t    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"960\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-game-plan-kristen-callihan.jpg?resize=640%2C960&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-post-image wp-image-31961\" title=\"the-game-plan-kristen-callihan\" alt=\"the-game-plan-kristen-callihan\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-game-plan-kristen-callihan.jpg?w=1000&amp;ssl=1 1000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-game-plan-kristen-callihan.jpg?resize=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-game-plan-kristen-callihan.jpg?resize=683%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 683w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-game-plan-kristen-callihan.jpg?resize=768%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-game-plan-kristen-callihan.jpg?resize=400%2C600&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/>\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/image-wrap -->\n    \n    \t<\/div>\n<!-- \/module image --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_d3mt767 customBorderRad_bottom repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"><strong><span class=\"a-text-bold\">A beard-related dare and one hot-as-hell kiss changes everything.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">NFL center Ethan Dexter\u2019s focus has always been on playing football and little else. Except when it comes to one particular woman. The lovely Fiona Mackenzie might not care about his fame, but she\u2019s also never looked at him as anything more than one of her brother-in-law\u2019s best friends. That ends now.<\/span><br \/><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Fi doesn\u2019t know what to make of Dex. The bearded, tattooed mountain of man-muscle looks more like a biker than a football player. Rumor has it he\u2019s a virgin, but she finds that hard to believe. Because from the moment he decides to turn his quiet intensity on her, she\u2019s left weak at the knees and aching to see his famous control fully unleashed.<\/span><br \/><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Fi ought to guard her heart and walk away; they live vastly different lives in separate cities. And Dex is looking for a forever girl. But Dex has upped his game and is using all his considerable charm to convince Fi he\u2019s her forever man.<\/span><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-2 tb_0d5k767 last\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_9ru1767  repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-16466 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/3-hearts-1.jpg?resize=135%2C44&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"135\" height=\"44\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Jul 29, 2025<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Game On<br \/><\/em><strong>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>3<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Hot<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> HarperCollins\/Harlequin Books<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong> Canary Street Press<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $12.99<\/p><hr \/><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Ethan Dexter<\/strong> has been eyeing Fiona for quite some time. Her sister (Ivy) is married to his best friend, so the two are friendly. The problem is that Ethan wants to be more than friends with <strong>Fiona<\/strong>. They are both in town visiting her sister and the new baby when things turn more than friendly.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dex, as he is referred, is such a sexy character. The author makes him not only physically appealing but also emotionally. He is a virgin, which was an interesting take because we don\u2019t always get a virgin hero. He is this big, tatted, pierced dude who takes extreme measures to control his sexual urges. I had a hard time believing that he was a virgin. Perhaps I was judging him because of his career and overall appearance, but I couldn\u2019t understand it. I did like that Fiona was willing to make him lose all his control, and she definitely pushed him to do so.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">If a reader hasn\u2019t read the past book in the series, The Friend Zone (Ivy and Gray\u2019s story), then they may not understand how much Dex has lusted after Fiona. The story can be read as a standalone, but it will give insta-love vibes that are almost too much. Since Fiona never really took an interest in him, I found her newfound feelings very strange. Yes, the attraction was real from the moment she got up close and personal at the bar, but instantly, they went into a relationship full speed ahead.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The drama surrounding their relationship detracted from the story. It was bad enough that they were trying to navigate their feelings, the sexual tension, and being so far away from each other. The author really didn\u2019t need to throw anything else in the mix. I did like seeing what happened to the other characters, since everyone is pretty close.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fans who have been waiting for this story will enjoy <strong>The Game Plan<\/strong>. Ms. Callihan is an author I enjoy, so I will likely read anything by her.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Samantha<\/em><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_8ijx767 customBorderRad repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4qFAhxp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a><\/span><span class=\"s2\">\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/47UC4qU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">iBooks<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/the-game-plan-kristen-callihan\/1122876295?ean=9780369760449\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">B&amp;N<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/the-game-plan-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Kobo<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Kristen_Callihan_The_Game_Plan?id=qYrsEAAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Google Play<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n            \t    <\/div>\n\t    <!-- \/row_inner -->\n\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/module_row -->\n\t<\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A beard-related dare and one hot-as-hell kiss changes everything.NFL center Ethan Dexter\u2019s focus has always been on playing football and little else. Except when it [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[572,105,106,48,50],"tags":[146,216,217,558],"class_list":["post-31960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-canary-street-press","category-harlequin","category-harpercollins","category-reviews","category-samantha","tag-3-stars","tag-contemporary","tag-contemporary-romance","tag-sports-romance"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Review \u2764\ufe0f The Game Plan by Kristen Callihan - Smitten by Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2025\/11\/03\/review-the-game-plan-by-kristen-callihan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review \u2764\ufe0f The Game Plan by Kristen Callihan - Smitten by Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A beard-related dare and one hot-as-hell kiss changes everything.NFL center Ethan Dexter\u2019s focus has always been on playing football and little else. 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Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5a4181aeb9cd5641e30023b9b4d3e00d","name":"beverley","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"beverley"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog"],"url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/author\/beverley\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-game-plan-kristen-callihan.jpg?fit=1000%2C1500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"builder_content":"<img src=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-game-plan-kristen-callihan.jpg\" title=\"the-game-plan-kristen-callihan\" alt=\"the-game-plan-kristen-callihan\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-game-plan-kristen-callihan.jpg?w=1000&amp;ssl=1 1000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-game-plan-kristen-callihan.jpg?resize=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-game-plan-kristen-callihan.jpg?resize=683%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 683w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-game-plan-kristen-callihan.jpg?resize=768%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-game-plan-kristen-callihan.jpg?resize=400%2C600&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/>\n<p><strong>A beard-related dare and one hot-as-hell kiss changes everything.<\/strong><br \/><br \/>NFL center Ethan Dexter\u2019s focus has always been on playing football and little else. Except when it comes to one particular woman. The lovely Fiona Mackenzie might not care about his fame, but she\u2019s also never looked at him as anything more than one of her brother-in-law\u2019s best friends. That ends now.<br \/><br \/>Fi doesn\u2019t know what to make of Dex. The bearded, tattooed mountain of man-muscle looks more like a biker than a football player. Rumor has it he\u2019s a virgin, but she finds that hard to believe. Because from the moment he decides to turn his quiet intensity on her, she\u2019s left weak at the knees and aching to see his famous control fully unleashed.<br \/><br \/>Fi ought to guard her heart and walk away; they live vastly different lives in separate cities. And Dex is looking for a forever girl. But Dex has upped his game and is using all his considerable charm to convince Fi he\u2019s her forever man.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/3-hearts-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"135\" height=\"44\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Jul 29, 2025<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Game On<br \/><\/em><strong>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>3<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Hot<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> HarperCollins\/Harlequin Books<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong> Canary Street Press<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $12.99<\/p><hr \/><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Ethan Dexter<\/strong> has been eyeing Fiona for quite some time. Her sister (Ivy) is married to his best friend, so the two are friendly. The problem is that Ethan wants to be more than friends with <strong>Fiona<\/strong>. They are both in town visiting her sister and the new baby when things turn more than friendly.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dex, as he is referred, is such a sexy character. The author makes him not only physically appealing but also emotionally. He is a virgin, which was an interesting take because we don\u2019t always get a virgin hero. He is this big, tatted, pierced dude who takes extreme measures to control his sexual urges. I had a hard time believing that he was a virgin. Perhaps I was judging him because of his career and overall appearance, but I couldn\u2019t understand it. I did like that Fiona was willing to make him lose all his control, and she definitely pushed him to do so.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">If a reader hasn\u2019t read the past book in the series, The Friend Zone (Ivy and Gray\u2019s story), then they may not understand how much Dex has lusted after Fiona. The story can be read as a standalone, but it will give insta-love vibes that are almost too much. Since Fiona never really took an interest in him, I found her newfound feelings very strange. Yes, the attraction was real from the moment she got up close and personal at the bar, but instantly, they went into a relationship full speed ahead.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The drama surrounding their relationship detracted from the story. It was bad enough that they were trying to navigate their feelings, the sexual tension, and being so far away from each other. The author really didn\u2019t need to throw anything else in the mix. I did like seeing what happened to the other characters, since everyone is pretty close.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Fans who have been waiting for this story will enjoy <strong>The Game Plan<\/strong>. Ms. Callihan is an author I enjoy, so I will likely read anything by her.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Samantha<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4qFAhxp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/47UC4qU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iBooks<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/the-game-plan-kristen-callihan\/1122876295?ean=9780369760449\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">B&amp;N<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/the-game-plan-20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kobo<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Kristen_Callihan_The_Game_Plan?id=qYrsEAAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Play<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31960"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31977,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31960\/revisions\/31977"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}