*fans self*

I am shallow. I’m not afraid to admit it. I read The Game Plan in 2015, but didn’t review it for CBR7. Mrs. Julien did though, and you can read her review here. I took the title for this review from my comment on her review. Because that’s how I still feel about Ethan “Dex” Dexter. He is hot and I am shallow.

Why is he hot? He is tall, heavily muscled, heavily tattooed, bearded, artistic, intense and patient. He pushes Fiona out of her comfort zone, but is also respectful of her as a person. In a bit of a twist, he’s a virgin, and while that is not interesting to me, it is a bit of a plot point. He and Fiona move past that fairly easily. Fiona is fine. She’s feisty and not terribly irritating. This book is Dex’s show, whether we are in Ethan Dexter’s head or seeing him through Fiona. Somehow, Kristen Callihan created some magic.

I have liked some of Callihan’s books and loathed at least one. I hated the hero of Managed so much I couldn’t finish the book. Managed’s Gabriel Scott is also intense and manages Sophie, but he manipulates her for his own good and steamrollers over her concerns. Ethan, by contrast, is honest about what he wants and while he does have arguments and strategies, they are persuasive, not controlling. When Fiona says back off, he backs off. That’s sexy.

The Game Plan isn’t a great book, but it is good enough. There’s some drama about what happens when private things become public. Fiona has some work drama that I did not care about. Read it for the Ethan Dexter.