Playbook Books in Order

Alexa Martin’s Playbook series is a set of connected contemporary romances built around the fictional Denver Mustangs football team. Each book has a different central couple, so every romance has its own beginning and ending, but familiar characters, friendships, team events, and the public pressure of pro football carry from one story to the next.

The series begins with Intercepted. Marlee Harper has spent years dating an NFL star, only to discover he has been unfaithful. She wants a clean break from the sport and its drama, but quarterback Gavin Pope, a man from her past, is determined to show her that he is different. Their relationship has to survive gossip, resentment, and the scrutiny that comes with life around the Mustangs.

In Fumbled, single mother Poppy Patterson has built a life for herself far from the high school relationship she left behind. Then she meets T.K. Moore again, now a Denver Mustangs wide receiver. Old feelings are still there, but so are years of unanswered questions and the practical realities of Poppy’s life as a parent.

Blitzed follows Brynn Larson, whose bar has become popular with Mustangs players and their partners. That does not mean she wants an athlete in her personal life, especially not Maxwell Lewis. He is patient and serious about Brynn, but both of them have past experiences that make trust harder than attraction.

Football is the backdrop, not the whole story.

The final book, Snapped, takes a more workplace-centered view of the team. Elliot Reed works in strategic communications for the Mustangs and is assigned to handle quarterback Quinton Howard Jr. after he kneels during the national anthem. The job puts Elliot between the organization, public reaction, and Quinton’s determination to use his platform, while their professional conflict slowly becomes personal.

Across all four books, the series pays attention to the people around the game, especially women whose lives are affected by its money, fame, schedules, expectations, and gossip. The tone is warm, funny, and romantic, with real tension around family, friendship, race, parenting, and public image. Readers can enjoy the novels on their own, but reading in publication order makes the recurring friendships and shared Denver world more rewarding.

Start with Intercepted for the fullest introduction to the Mustangs and the circle around them.