Pop Stars and Playbooks is a light-hearted contemporary romance about a famous pop star and a professional football player.
Main Themes
Aria loves her life as a professional musical and famous pop star, but her record label is hounding her for a new album and the songs just aren’t coming. With her contract limiting her creative options, she’s torn between having to produce the same songs she did a decade ago and wanting to find a new level of maturity in her songs as she gets older.
Griffin also loves his career as a professional football player, but is starting to think about what life is going to look like when he inevitably has to retire. When a chance viral moment brings him and Aria together, they realize their feels for each other are far beyond just a professional relationship. Aria wants to believe she can trust Griffin is to there when the songs end and the lights turn off, but when the pressure from both of their careers starts to pull them apart, she wonders if love will win in the end or if this is just another failed friendship.
There are main themes of finding purpose in work, doing what you love, being authentic, and staying loyal to friends.
Favorite Scenes
One of my favorite scenes was when Griffin and Aria are shooting a commercial for a sports drink. Aria was supposed to take a sip and say the company’s tagline, but she confined in Griffin that she actually hated how it tasted. Like a true gentleman, Griffin offered to take a swallow of the drink instead. Like Aria, I’m not a huge fan of most sports drinks myself, so I appreciated that Griffin was looking out for her like that.
Faith Elements
There are no overt faith elements in Pop Stars and Playbooks.
Family Friendly Considerations
I was pleasantly surprised at how clean Pop Stars and Playbooks was! A character dropped one swear word, but other than that, it was a very clean and a true kisses-only novel. This is a perfectly fine option for teens looking for a sweet, wholesome romance.
Interested in Similar Reads?
If you love clean, kisses-only romances, you might swoon over these love stories as well:
- Autumn at the Cat Cafe by Kathleen Fuller
- Bookmarked for Love by Sarah Monzon
- Candy Apple Kisses by Amy Clipston
