I wanted to read this book because I didn’t mind the first book in the series. I didn’t mind Mason in the first book, he was sort of annoying, but I just took that as the annoying protective brother. However, in this book, he was a walking, talking ick and Payton is the reason this book isn’t a 1 star read. 

This book has two points of view. The first is Mason, for as long as he can remember, he had one dream. Go to the same college as his friends, becoming the starting quarterback of a division one team, and hear his name announced to the world come draft day. The path is clear, and things were falling place perfectly. And then she came along. Now he is in love with a girl who heart was buried alongside the boy she gave it to. The ghost he can’t compete with. The father of her son. She wants him to walk away, to focus on football, but he can’t, because he has a new dream. The second point of view is Payton, and she has had a rough few years – running away from her abusive mother, becoming a young mum without finishing school and then losing her boyfriend to a car accident. She doesn’t know how to carry on, but she is determined to make the best life for her son and that means she isn’t interested in boys. However, Mason is persistent and wiggling his way into her heart, but Mason will only be here temporarily with his goal of being drafted. She is not letting herself or her son getting attached to any temporarily comfort.  

Payton had the most character development ever, the girl had been through so much trauma and yet was still so trusting. If I was in her shoes, I would have clocked off and gone off the grid to avoided getting hurt ever again. I think she was allowed to feel confused and all the emotions, I liked the way the grief and her trauma was betrayed, and I would have liked this book to have been more about Payton’s grief journey.  

Mason ruined this book. He was more interested in her kid and being a dad than Payton, he proved that when he screamed at Alistair that Dayton was his kid. Like they weren’t even together and yet he is claiming her kid, if I heard that I would be running for the hills. He was just a walking red flag. She is doing her job being a photographer and yet Mason is jealous and wanted to shave anyone’s heads that keep talking about her hair like what? The timeline going back and forth made me things more confusing. Like just show what had happened last year during the first book and then bring it to the present, the time jumps back and forth weren’t needed and also ruined the book. This author really doesn’t like Chase, does she? Like he screwed up massively during Say You Swear, and I understand that Mason can still be pissed but then to make Chase a bad guy AGAIN? Like that storyline had happened – move on. The miscommunication and the whiplash between the two characters made me think they were in high school and not young adults, but again, I'm blaming Mason for that entirely. I think another thing was this could have been resolved if Mason and Payton had a conversation throughout the book instead of relaying messages between Chase, Noah, Cameron and Ari. You want to play house? Then talk and discuss issues instead of acting like five years old. You could tell that this author only wanted to put Mason in the for front and make him the star but there wasn’t really a lot of football or him being a star and I didn’t like him before the book but with no epilogue, I would hope that Payton comes to her sense and runs for the hills.  

From the author’s note, it looks like there is a third book coming within this series and before Mason’s book, I would have been excited, now I'm lowkey worried that the next book is going to be as bad as this book.