Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Quarterback Sneak

hmm i liked this one :) i liked the whole sneaking around, coach’s daughter, forbidden romance bit. i didn’t expect to cry while reading this?? like holden’s past was hella sad. all-in-all, this one was good - not my fave of the series but not my least fave either!!

⚠️: death, grief, death of parent, child death, drug abuse, suicide, suicidal thoughts, addiction, drug use

Content Warnings

dianaschmidty's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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lilyemmaaa's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Julep and Holden were ADORABLE. I loved everything about this book. The way all hard topics were depicted, their relationship and chemistry, the banter, the forbidden aspect, and the quick pacing throughout it all.

Holden was a sweetheart. He tried to ignore and put his feelings down, but when he finally accepted them for what they were and went after what he wanted it was ah-mazing. I loved how he cared so much for Julep. How he never forced her to do anything and went at her pace. How he reminded her how much she was loved, and how he helped her realize she was not at fault for what happened to her sister. He was adorable, and sweet, and had me blushing the whole time.

Gosh, Julep broke my heart. She carried so much guilt and hurt and reading it was just heartbreaking. Seeing the way she coped and the reasoning her father was so hard on her was just a cherry on top. I am so glad that she found the love she deserved and that she got the happy ending she never imagined getting. She carried herself so well and I just wish I could’ve given her a hug throughout the whole book.

Overall, I loved this book. It had everything in it and it just made me giddy. I will admit that Juleps father PISSED ME OFF to absolutely no end. But whatever, I’ll just imagine slapping him across the face. Anyways, read this book. It was amazing.

Content Warnings

bribreez's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Holden Moore, star quarterback for the North Boston University, good looking guy as well as a heart of gold, this guy was all around amazing. Holden had always had his sights set on football, and with the dream of making it in the first round drafts of the NFL, he had a lot riding on his future. Until one day, when meeting the team’s new head coach, in came along a mysterious, beautiful young woman by the name of, Julep Lee. Oh, did I forget to mention that her dad Coach Lee was Holden’s new coach? Oops. Seemed like Holden wasn’t going to be able to get near Julep since Coach made it extremely clear no one was to date his daughter… forbidden romance, coach’s daughter, reverse grumpy/sunshine, and more! Kandi Steiner knows how to teach us readers to a fantastic time!

Back in the football college universe that Kandi Steiner has created, I got to see more of Holden (obviously) and of course some familiar faces like Zeke, Riley, Clay, Giana, more! I love all the characters and seeing them all together just makes the experience even better. Not to mention seeing how Giana and Riley tried befriending Julep so it was like another another girl to the group. So along with the storyline, just seeing everyone from past characters, to new ones that I’m pretty sure will be the next couple in the interconnected series, I’m curious to see what will see next.

With Holden being team captain, he was use to being in charge with his team mates and even off the field he was always focused on school and football in general. Julep coming into the picture changed things for Holden because, one not only was Holden attracted to Julep, but for the first time he was thinking about things, ahem a specific somebody besides football. Holden found himself flirting with Julep and loved pushing her buttons to get a reaction out of her, and honestly I loved seeing the playful come out of Holden. Holden was charming, flirty, dreamy, and just an amazing guy. Too bad for Holden that Julep was off limits and it seemed like she wasn’t going to give him the time of day… at least that’s how it was in the beginning.

Julep was the type of character I immediately was intrigued by, especially with the way, “Blind Side” ended I was waiting for this book to come out! Based off the first few chapters, it was clear that Julep had her own share of darkness and tragedy that she went through. With the loss of her sister, Julep mentioned (in her chapters) that her sister passed away due to one night of them taking drugs. That night changed not only Julep’s life, but also her family’s. Julep had been a bit of a lone wolf after the passing of her sister, just going through the motions of life just to go by and assure her parents that she wasn’t going to revert back to her rebellious stage that she had once grown through. Part of Julep’s way of de-stressing and doing something for herself as doing pole dancing. I actually found it very fascinating and empowering that Julep did pole dancing, and ironically enough I’ve also been very interested to try it myself since I’ve seen a few people give it a go. I liked the meaning behind why Julep enjoyed pole dancing and it made me appreciate that part of her even more. Julep was all around kind of grumpy, sassy, independent, strong, and admirable.

Holden and Julep had great chemistry as well as that building tension between them from the beginning of the story. I couldn’t get over it! With Holden occasionally being flirty around Julep, she then couldn’t help herself with teasing him back. For instance, the scene where Holden stumbled upon Julep pole dancing one night from across the window, he couldn’t help watching her, but then Julep gave Holden a little peek at her… goodies we shall say, and OMG! Julep was not only confident, but I loved how she then closed the blinds from her window and texted him, “Goodnight, Cap.” Personally I found that as a boss move, low key Julep letting Holden know that she can be playful and teasing as well.

The spice in this book immaculate! I’ll never picture a hotel pool without thinking back to what Holden and Julep got up to during their stay at a hotel for the away game. Julep and Holden were confident in themselves individually, but once they got together and had their own sexy time, OMG! FIRE EVERYWHERE! RING THE ALARM BECAUSE IT WAS STEAMY AND SEXY UP IN THIS BOOK! WOO! Holden to me, was usually seen as the golden boy, but the way that man asserted his dominance over Julep when they were in the closet at the hotel was HOT! AMAZING! And simply put, not only was Julep the one taking back her words of saying she’d never kneel for anyone, but… HOLDEN I’LL KNEEL FOR YOU TOO!! Obviously there’s more spice along the story, but I don’t wanna give away all the fun, so you gotta read it for yourself *wink. Now that I think about, this had some of the best spice I’ve ever in a while but then again the way Kandi writes her stories she always amazes me. Plus the more I read, the more I got to see just how much Holden and Julep truly couldn’t keep their hands off each other. The raw desire and passionate between Julep and Holden was off the charts, and again this book had me seeing multiple different spicy scenes and simply put… the scenes were creative *fanning myself profusely! With the forbidden aspect playing into Holden and Julep’s story, it added a level of them trying to maintain secrecy, and I’m sure they felt it was kind of hot to sneak around, and see where they could find time to squeeze in sexy time together.

While this book was sexy, fun, and lighthearted, there were also some heavy topics mentioned in the story such as, the loss of a family member and suicide. Both Julep and Holden were no strangers when it came to losing a loved one. For Julep, it was losing her sister, and for Holden it was his parents and sister. Each struggled in their own ways after losing part of their families and in some ways, it was still an obstacle they faced in the story. Julep had made strong strides to move forward in her life, and reassure her dad that she wouldn’t end up in worse condition like she previously was after the passing of her sister. Julep’s grief was an ongoing thing and it broke my heart to see her feel anxious and think of herself in a certain light. I’m glad that Julep had Holden not only in a romantic aspect, but also as a support system to be there for her, and comfort her. In addition, I really loved seeing Julep become friends with Mary, Riley, and Giana as they became an extension of her support system, and also her friends since she didn’t have much of a reliable, loyal group of friends in what seemed like a long time.

My goodness this was such a whirlwind of a rollercoaster from the highs and lows, laughs, and tears, Kandi Steiner brought so many amazing things to Julep and Holden’s story. There were so many wonderful things about this book that yet again I cannot get over. This was one of those books that even after reading, I was going over different scenes and just simply feeling amazed! Julep was such a multilayered character with depth and her backstory was heartbreaking. Julep managed to find her way along the story from building back up a relationship with her parents, to finding love with Holden. Again seeing all the characters from the previous books made me so happy! Holden and Julep were phenomenal, and let me just say the spice in this book was fantastic, jaw dropping good, and made my heart rate go quicker than normal. The ending and epilogue’s were chef’s kiss, and I’m just so overjoyed to see that Holden and Julep ended on a VERY HEARTWARMING AND ROMANTIC NOTE! Plus the second epilogue has me SO EXCITED TO SEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT WITH LEO AND MARY’S STORY! OMG! I CAN’T WAIT! Do yourself a favor and read this book as well as the other books in this interconnected series!

Content Warnings

katharinajoha's review against another edition

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5.0

holden & julep 🥹 the forbidden aspect was done so so well. i mean, holden is the definition of "willing to risk it all" because he wore his heart on his sleeve and did NOT walk away from her even when all odds were against them. both characters were so mature, communicated remarkably well and the overall tension was superb. THEY JUST REALLY GET EACH OTHER. and the epilogue???? PERFECTION!!!! this book was everything i wanted it to be.

This was Holden Moore seeing me for absolutely everything that I was — every chaotic, fucked-up, maimed piece of me. And somehow finding it beautiful enough that he wanted to claim it.

Content Warnings

andeng's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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