Lynn Painter was added to my auto buy author list after I read Better Than the Movies. Her YA books are amazing and I’ve loved her adult contemporary romances. All of her books leave a smile on my face, so when I was invited to participate in the blog tour for her newest release, First and Forever, I couldn’t say no! Keep on reading to find out more about the book and what I thought!
A big thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the (free) eARC to read and review. This doesn’t affect my opinion in any way.
A football star and a diehard fan entangled in a PR stunt—that only one side knows is fake—might be the right play in this new romantic comedy by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lynn Painter.
Duffy Distefano loves three things: her dad, the family cat, and Minneapolis Coyotes football. So when she gets booed out of a game and becomes the internet’s villain, she is distraught—and disgruntled. All she did was shove Coyote Carl away when he made a move on her, but everyone else just saw a woman attacking their team’s beloved mascot. Eager to clear the air, Duffy agrees to an interview on a hit morning show. She doesn’t expect a co-guest to join her—especially not the Coyotes’ star tight end.
When MVP Connor Cunningham gets tasked with damage control to help his team out of their PR nightmare, he thought that meant saying a few words on the team’s behalf. Instead, he finds himself in a highly amusing verbal sparring match with a recently wronged fan on live TV. Duffy pelts him with fiery jabs but is also clearly diehard about the Coyotes—color him intrigued…and attracted.
The interview instantly goes viral, and the public is obsessed with them. A strong push from the Coyotes’ PR team to ride the wave results in Connor asking Duffy out. Despite his distaste for PR stunts, he’s surprised to discover being with Duffy is much easier than he thought, and somehow it doesn’t feel fake to him. Harboring this secret can only blow up, but all he knows is that if he messes things up with Duffy, it’ll be the greatest fumble of his life.
Review
Lynn Painter is one of my favorite romcom authors and First and Forever showed me again why I love her writing so much. Fake dating is my favorite trope, so when I saw this was going to be a bit of fake dating on a few levels I was intrigued. Also, I can never say no to a romance between a fan and a football star. First and Forever was a wild ride!
Duffy ends up being a villain to her favorite team after an incident goes viral. To try and make things right, she goes on a TV show where said team’s MVP shows up as well. Duffy is such a fun character and sometimes doesn’t know when to not say certain things. I loved her from the start. Connor is playing for his dream team and really just wants the chance to stay with them a bit longer. So fake dating doesn’t seem like a bad idea, right?
The banter between these two was a lot of fun and I would be like Duffy and not believe that a famous athlete would want to date me, haha. Duffy does give him a chance and their banter is amazing. Even though they’re faking it in many ways, the tension is there and we see the feelings grow. It was so much fun reading about them getting closer. Add in Duffy’s fanatic and present family and it was a great time.
Connor is also just trying to come to terms with actually accomplishing his dream and having a lot of money. All he really wants to do is take care of his grandfather. He’s a very caring and protective book boyfriend and Duffy doesn’t even ask for a single thing. I love the protective side we see and how down to earth he is.
The tension is there and even though this one isn’t spicy, I don’t feel like we needed that in this story. The sparks were already flying off the page. I will say I could’ve done without some of the miscommunication near the end, but all in all, I had a great time! I’m already ready for Lynn Painter to give us more love stories to devour.
If Lynn Painter writes it, I’ll read it! Have you read anything by her? Do you have any favorites? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!
