{"id":19899,"date":"2017-03-29T04:00:28","date_gmt":"2017-03-29T08:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=19899"},"modified":"2025-06-06T12:29:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T16:29:00","slug":"review-the-game-plan-game-on-3-by-kristen-callihan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=19899","title":{"rendered":"Review: The Game Plan (Game On, #3) by Kristen Callihan"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><strong>Buy: <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3HIaCly\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/1UuV8B1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Paperback<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><!--Yasr Overall Rating Shortcode--><div class=\"yasr-overall-rating\"><div class=' yasr-rater-stars'\r\n                           id='yasr-overall-rating-rater-794e1bb6359df'\r\n                           data-rating='5'\r\n                           data-rater-starsize='16'>\r\n                       <\/div><\/div><!--End Yasr Overall Rating Shortcode-->\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>Review<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>5 \u00a0stars!!<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i><strong>FearTheBeard:\u00a0<\/strong>&lt;3 &lt;&#8212; mine goes with you. Always.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><em>The Game Plan<\/em>, book three in the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?page_id=18993\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Game On<\/em><\/a> series by Kristen Callihan, is another entertaining sports romance. Like the other books in the series, it&#8217;s full of heart, humor, and heat, and I loved it.<\/p>\n<p>Ethan \u201cDex\u201d Dexter is best friends with Drew and Gray from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=19897\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>The Hook Up<\/i><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=19898\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>The Friend Zone<\/i><\/a>, respectively. Based a few years after the first two books, Dex is now out of college and playing in the NFL for New Orleans. After playing against Gray&#8217;s team, he decides to visit Gray and his new family during his bye week only to find that Fiona would be visiting at the same time.<\/p>\n<p>Fiona is the younger sister of Ivy, who is married to\u00a0Gray. She loves men and though she has had her fair share of fun with them she is ready for something serious.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>After seeing what my sister, Ivy, has with her guy? That kind of all-encompassing, I-have-to-be-with-you devotion? I want more than casual dating. I want to be someone&#8217;s necessity, and for them to be mine.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>She and Dex never had a thing but for the past two years after their initial meeting, she&#8217;s the one Dex\u00a0can&#8217;t stop thinking about. The possibility of spending a whole week with Fiona suddenly sounds great to Dex\u00a0if only he can get her to notice him. It&#8217;s time for a game plan.<\/p>\n<p>I loved this book. The story is unique and the characters are intriguing. Dex is quiet, smart, and instantly likeable. From the first time I met him in the first book I was interested in who he was. He has a lot going on in his head and is vulnerable and lonely. He is also very good at reading people.\u00a0 He always acted differently than the guys he hung out with and it isn\u2019t until this book that we get the reasons. There are things about Dex that you wouldn&#8217;t have guessed by the way he looks. He&#8217;s hard lines, sex on a stick, and a total alpha in the outside. But on the inside he is sensitive, caring, and a virgin. And his pent up sexual frustration will have you feeling it too. Don&#8217;t let that fool you though. Just because he hasn&#8217;t gone all the way doesn&#8217;t mean he can&#8217;t do other things that will make you panty-melting hot.<\/p>\n<p>Fiona is frank, snarky, fun, and always speaks her mind. Though she is the life of the party, she is still lonely, and I felt her longing for something more.\u00a0I understood her reservations about starting up a relationship and loved that she took a chance!<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>\u201cI didn\u2019t expect you, Ethan.\u201d<br \/>\nHis eyes search my face. \u201cI\u2019ve been waiting two years for you to see me.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Dex is totally not her type but that doesn&#8217;t stop the attraction growing between them.\u00a0I loved watching their relationship bloom as they got to know each other. The way they opened up and in turn saw the real person hidden beneath all of the layers\u00a0layers was heartwarming. They were sweet, silly, and totally cheesy with each other and I loved it. They could be themselves and not worry what the other thought.<\/p>\n<p>There are challenges with all relationships and Dex and Fiona&#8217;s is no exception. The simple fact that they live in two different cities complicates things. I have done the long distance thing; it is not fun. And it is not fun for Dex and Fiona. Their longing and loneliness brought me right back to that time in my life and I felt it all. Being in the spotlight can cause issues as well. The level of maturity at which they tackled their problems head on was refreshing and there wasn&#8217;t a bunch of stupid drama. They were honest and determined to make their relationship work and I loved them for it.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i>\u201cI love you. I don\u2019t say it enough. Just know that whatever I do, wherever I am, it is a constant refrain in my heart. You color my world.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>All of the secondary characters were well done. We get to see more of Gray and Ivy and I enjoyed seeing what came after\u00a0their story. I loved the camaraderie between Dex and Gray and their trust and honesty within their friendship.\u00a0We were also introduced to Finn and I am so excited to see what the author has in store for him. Overall, <i>The Game Plan<\/i> was another fantastic addition to the series and I cannot wait to read <i>The Hot Shot<\/i>! Bring on Finn!!<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4><strong>The Game On series<\/strong><\/h4>\n<div data-post-id=\"18993\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-18993 \"><h4><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"80452\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?attachment_id=80452\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Hook-Up.jpg?fit=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"200,300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"The Hook Up\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Hook-Up.jpg?fit=150%2C225&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-80452\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Hook-Up.jpg?resize=80%2C122&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"80\" height=\"122\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Hook-Up.jpg?resize=80%2C122&amp;ssl=1 80w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Hook-Up.jpg?zoom=2&amp;resize=80%2C122&amp;ssl=1 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 80px) 100vw, 80px\" \/> \u00a0<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"80451\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?attachment_id=80451\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Friend-Zone.jpg?fit=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"200,300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"The Friend Zone\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Friend-Zone.jpg?fit=150%2C225&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-80451\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Friend-Zone.jpg?resize=80%2C122&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"80\" height=\"122\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Friend-Zone.jpg?resize=80%2C122&amp;ssl=1 80w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Friend-Zone.jpg?zoom=2&amp;resize=80%2C122&amp;ssl=1 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 80px) 100vw, 80px\" \/> \u00a0<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"80449\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?attachment_id=80449\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Game-Plan.jpg?fit=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"200,300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"The Game Plan\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Game-Plan.jpg?fit=150%2C225&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-80449\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Game-Plan.jpg?resize=80%2C122&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"80\" height=\"122\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Game-Plan.jpg?resize=80%2C122&amp;ssl=1 80w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Game-Plan.jpg?zoom=2&amp;resize=80%2C122&amp;ssl=1 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 80px) 100vw, 80px\" \/> \u00a0<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"80450\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?attachment_id=80450\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Hot-Shot.jpg?fit=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"200,300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"The Hot Shot\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Hot-Shot.jpg?fit=150%2C225&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-80450\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Hot-Shot.jpg?resize=80%2C122&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"80\" height=\"122\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Hot-Shot.jpg?resize=80%2C122&amp;ssl=1 80w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Hot-Shot.jpg?zoom=2&amp;resize=80%2C122&amp;ssl=1 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 80px) 100vw, 80px\" \/><\/h4>\n<p><strong>The Hook Up (#1)\u00a0<\/strong>(Drew &amp; Anna)<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=19897\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Review<\/a><br \/>\nBuy:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4dQF3lN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a> |\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/1VauXOV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Friend Zone\u00a0(#2)\u00a0<\/strong>(Gray &amp; Ivy)<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=19898\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Review<\/a><br \/>\nBuy:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3HtRwje\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/1RPFZtR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>The\u00a0Game Plan\u00a0(#3)\u00a0<\/strong>(Dex &amp; Fiona)<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=19899\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Review<\/a><br \/>\nBuy:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3HIaCly\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/1UuV8B1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Hot\u00a0Shot (#4)\u00a0<\/strong>(Finn &amp; Chess)<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=20710\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Review<\/a><br \/>\nBuy:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3TgxHOI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/the-hot-shot-3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2ozuRri\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Buy: Kindle Ebook\u00a0|\u00a0Paperback Review 5 \u00a0stars!! FearTheBeard:\u00a0&lt;3 &lt;&#8212; mine goes with you. Always. The Game Plan, book three in the\u00a0Game On series by Kristen Callihan, is another entertaining sports romance. Like the other books in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,65,9,29],"tags":[613,400,48],"class_list":["post-19899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feeeeeeels","category-lol-funny","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-game-on","tag-kristen-callihan","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/The-Game-Plan.jpg?fit=150%2C234&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-5aX","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19899\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}