Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: Blitz Replay
SERIES: Desert Football #3
AUTHOR: Christie Gordon
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 296 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 30, 2025
BLURB:
Breaking eye contact on the fifty-yard line would’ve been smart. Instead, I saw him—pom-poms, perfect smile, and the only boy I’ve ever loved.
Eli
Football is my future, and nothing can shake me.
Until Wren Lewis shows up on the Spirit Squad.
My high school boyfriend.
The one I lost because I stayed silent when he needed me most.
Now he’s back, flipping across my field, and I’ll do anything to prove I’ve changed.
I’ve spent four years wishing I could undo that day.
I’ll earn his trust back inch by inch.
Flowers, apologies, and maybe a kiss I’ve been starving for since our senior year of high school.
Wren
I swore I’d never forgive him.
One silence shattered us.
Then fate sticks us on the same sidelines, the same flights, the same hotel lobbies.
And he shows up with apologies I didn’t ask for…and a smile I never forgot.
But Eli is relentless—bigger, steadier, and still looking at me like I’m his whole world.
I want to resist. I need to.
But one slow dance, one stolen touch, and my walls start to crumble.
I crave the man who held me like I was everything.
Blitz Replay is book 3 of the Desert Football series, featuring a protective linebacker and the gymnast-turned-cheerleader he lost and can’t stop fighting for. Expect: second chance, jock/cheerleader, hurt/comfort, past betrayal + real grovel, jealousy done right, found family teammates, on-field adrenaline, and plenty of steam.
Buy now and let a linebacker tackle your heart, because some plays are worth running again.
REVIEW:
I love this series and all the previous series this spin-off has come from!
Eli is a a senior at ASU. He is also a star linebacker tackle soon to be playing for the NFL. He just has to keep playing his top game along side is teammates and his roommates from the Desert Dogs house. Those men are his brothers. He also volunteers his time that the college queer hotline. And he’s an all-around great guy. So when the newest member of the Spirit Squad cheerleader’s catches his eye on the sidelines, as they come out of the tunnel for their first game of the season, he can’t believe his eyes. His ex-high school boyfriend is cheering and it messes with his game. If he can’t figure how to get back on track his pro-career is a lost dream!
I love the Desert Dogs house and the roommates that are there for each other. Eli has been the backbone and to hear his back story was shocking. This is the mother hen of the group. He makes sure his roomies are eating his nutritious meals. He volunteers at the school’s LGBTQ+ hotline. He works hard at school and on the field. He’s an all-around good guy. So hearing him be so closeted that he lost the love of his lifetime because he was too afraid to stand up for him. That he chickened out defending him against his small-town bigoted and homophobic football teammates in high school was shocking to everyone. He had his fears, unlike the out and proud gymnast Wren, that included his parent’s, especially his logger dad, not accepting him when he was back home in school. I believe that Eli became whom he is because of those experiences. He understood the fear that queer kids face and how that fear eats at them. He was one. And he never stopped loving Wren. He was his soulmate. The one that got away because of his fears and being “too chicken” to stand up for his love.
I also get where Wren was coming from. His trust and heart were shattered when his best friend told him what happened in the high school school restroom. And learning to trust Eli again was a huge step. But he knew he never stopped loving Eli and he also figured out super fast that Eli never stopped loving him. But his trust kept holding him back. Maybe a bit too long! But it wasn’t just Eli that Wren didn’t trust. He didn’t trust his father for sure. Or his father’s new wife. He even questioned his mom a couple times. I was so thankful that Eli finally convinced him to seek the free counseling/therapists that the college provided. And then that moment in the bar over Christmas back home was the true breakthrough. Although I understood Wren’s hesitancy I felt that is was too long. Others did too. Like Wren’s bestie and roommate Grace questioned him.
I loved how Eli never gave up. His pursuit of his soulmate came from deep in his heart. I was kinda sad when his “gifts” to Wren stopped. He was super creative in getting suggestions from Wren’s roommate/bestie and figuring special ways to let him know he was not only a matured and different man from that scared high school boy. But that he really still loved Wren. That he had never stopped loving him.
I love this series! I love the Desert Dogs and can’t get enough of these out and proud men. And I can’t wait for Malik and Tex’s stories to come! 💕
RATING: 
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