Making the Play

The book follows Kayley during her second semester at Bennu. Her Dad is the coach of the baseball team and her brother is a member of the team as well. She has grown up in those bleachers. She meets the star of the team Jax,and they have a relationship in secret to avoid judgment from her family and Jax's teammates. Then one night they get caught. The pacing is fantastic, and it leads into the other books in the series. Overall, if you love college romance Making The Play is a home run!

MAKING THE PLAY by Cait Marie is a college romance where a baseball player falls for the coach’s daughter. The tension in this book is fantastic. I loved watching Jax and Kaley sneak around because they felt like they couldn’t let anyone know about their relationship. Jax plays for the Bennu Firebirds with Kaley’s brother Kade, and her dad is the coach. He’s afraid if the coach or Kade find out he’s dating Kaley he might lose his spot on the team. That would basically destroy his dream of joining a MLB team.

What Worked: The sneaking around was so fun to read about. I’m a big fan of the forbidden love trope and the brother’s best friend trope, so putting these together was a lot of fun. It was fun to read about Kaley performing the lead in Wicked. I always love it when there’s some theater in a book. Jax’s tragic backstory was really sad to read about, especially concerning his little sister. I couldn’t believe that he had decided to hide that part of his history from Kaley. That was a pretty huge thing to hide from the person you’re dating. When she finally found out, it was really sweet to read about how supportive she was for him. So satisfying!

What Left Me Wanting More: Some of the pacing in this book felt a little off to me. Their love story felt a bit rushed. I kept thinking, we shouldn’t be this far along in the story yet. It wasn’t a big deal, but just felt a bit strange.

The Final Verdict: MAKING THE PLAY is a fun college romance that makes for a great read on a Sunday afternoon. The book flies by quickly and doesn’t disappoint!

Okay. So how to put how much I loved this book into words? From the very beginning I was so invested into these characters. I loved everything about them and just wanted more and more and more. Good thing there are two more books! But focusing on this one, it starts with Kaley literally running into Jax and the sparks fly from there. This is definitely a forbidden romance book as Jax is the star of the Bennu Firebirds baseball team whom Kaley’s brother is on and her dad is the coach. Oh, Kaley’s brother? Yeah, also happens to be Jax’s best friend and won’t talk to Kaley without arguing her for some unknown reason to her. So the tension is there. I loved all of the baseball and Wicked references because those two things make me so happy! It was definitely really easy to get into this story. While the formula is exactly what you expected and it doesn’t really bring anything new to the genre, it was well written and paced. The characters were very realistic and I just rooted for them to succeed so much.

This was told in Kaley and Jax’s point of view and I’m so glad it was written this way. This wasn’t the type of story to only get one perspective from. I absolutely loved both characters and it was so easy to get behind both of them. I flew through their story and I loved it so much. I teared up in the end because it was just so good and I’ve already grown emotionally connected to them.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, Making the Play by Cait Marie was amazing. I flew through this book and needed this story. The tension and secrets and revelations were just all perfectly plotted out. It was a shorter book but it worked because it had all the necessary details to make me feel connected without too much filler. Cait succeeded in making this a story that I wanted to read and know how it ended. Kaley and Jax were perfect for each other and I’m so glad that they work out! While the story follows the basic formula and nothing new is really brought to this genre, it was so much fun to read and I absolutely loved it!

‘Making the Play’ by Cait Marie follows Kaley and Jax as they navigate a relationship with each other, despite hurdles that they must overcome before they can be truly happy. One such hurdle is Kaley’s brother Kade, who just so happens to be Jax’s best friend and roommate. They play on the college’s baseball team, and while Kaley’s relationship with her brother is strained at best, she still doesn’t want to hurt him. When she and Jax start seeing each other, even for tutoring sessions, she keeps it a secret, as does Jax. What Jax doesn’t expect in return is to fall for his best friend’s sister, especially when he’s never had too much more than some one-night stands.

The story reflects so many emotions, from caring to uncertainty, like to love, anger to understanding, and more. The sweetness of Kaley and Jax’s relationship with each other comes across, even through the conflict that must occur in any book of this nature that is meant to keep them apart and shine a light on the troubles that might ensue if they stay together. Yet, through it all, they keep finding that they are drawn to each other, no matter how many obstacles stand in their way.

Jax is a great book boyfriend, and Kaley is definitely deserving of the love he so desperately has to give based on other issues in his life, from his parents to his sister and aunt. Life isn’t always easy, as Jax very well knows, and even though he doesn’t share his troubles with Kaley right away, readers do learn how he and Kade understand each other and find ways to cope with their issues together, making it all that much harder for Jax to tell Kade the truth about his feelings for Kade’s sister.

Definitely a recommended contemporary romance for any lover of that genre!

Kaley absolutely loves being at her dream school, but starts having trouble in one of her classes. She enlists the help of Jax, a baseball player and her brother's best friend. But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to ignore the connection they have. Kaley feels comfortable with Jax and grows more and more excited to see him with each tutoring session.

Jax doesn't date. He has enough going on in life with family and wanting to get into MLB. Then, he meets Kaley. She feels different from other girls he's talked to and it isn't because she's his best friend's sister. Not wanting to risk his bond with her brother Kade, Jax decides it's best to keep their meetings a secret. But the more time he hangs out with Kaley, the more he realizes that she isn't like other girls at all. She keeps him wanting more.

MAKING THE PLAY is a contemporary romance with characters people can relate to. Everything seems perfect in Kaley's life, but her brother won't even talk to her. As for Jax, he has a lot going at home with helping his sister and is known for being a player around school. Jax and Kaley compliment each other and I enjoyed watching as their relationship progressed. Both are strong characters with imperfections anyone can have. The hardest part is to overcome and rise above them.


Final Verdict: MAKING THE PLAY is a perfect read for fans of sweet love and sports, especially baseball. This was a book I didn't want to put down, which is to be expected from Cait Marie's books.