The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan Summary, Characters and Themes
The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan is the first book in the Game On series, a slow-burn college romance centered on two seemingly opposite individuals drawn together by undeniable chemistry. Anna Jones is a sharp, self-contained philosophy major with a cynical view of love and a distaste for attention, especially the kind that comes with dating a star quarterback.
Drew Baylor, on the other hand, is the campus heartthrob with a tragic past and unexpected depth. As they cautiously explore an intimate connection that neither of them planned for, the novel becomes a raw portrayal of young love, vulnerability, and the ways people resist—and ultimately surrender to—being seen and loved for who they really are.
Summary
Anna Jones starts her final year at college determined to keep her head down. She’s smart, sarcastic, and deeply suspicious of jocks, especially after past experiences left her feeling unseen and judged.
When she walks into her philosophy class late and sits at the back, she’s followed by another latecomer—Drew Baylor, the star quarterback of the school’s football team. Their eyes meet during roll call, and something electric passes between them.
Drew feels it instantly, and so does Anna, though she tries to bury it.
Anna’s mistrust of athletes leads her to reject Drew’s attempts to connect. He bungles their first conversation by calling her “Big Red,” an unfortunate reference to her hair that echoes her childhood insecurities.
Still, Drew doesn’t give up. Used to being admired, he’s intrigued by Anna’s resistance.
He begins showing up to class prepared, chiming into debates, and taking every chance to be near her. Anna pretends not to notice, but the tension grows.
She resents how drawn she feels to him—how her carefully built emotional armor starts to crack whenever he’s near.
At a party that her friend Iris pressures her into attending, Anna and Drew share a charged moment that explodes into a passionate encounter upstairs. It’s more than just sex—it’s emotionally intense and leaves both reeling.
Anna flees before they can talk, afraid of how exposed she suddenly feels. Drew is stunned and confused, but it only deepens his resolve.
He wants more than a fling. Anna, however, is scared of being used and dismissed like she was in high school.
The push and pull between them continues.
Despite trying to distance herself, Anna can’t help the way her body responds when Drew is near. Their intellectual sparring during class turns flirtatious, and they soon fall into a pattern of stolen kisses and hookups in secret corners, like the library.
But their connection isn’t only physical. Drew begins opening up about his past—how he lost both his parents young, how football gives his life structure and meaning.
Anna listens, and for the first time, she begins to lower her defenses.
As Drew brings Anna into his world, and she lets him into hers, the emotional stakes heighten. A drive in Drew’s restored Camaro becomes a night of laughter, deep conversation, and sex in a parking lot that feels more intimate than anything they’ve shared so far.
The next morning, she cooks for him, wears his clothes, and realizes she might be in too deep. Drew, meanwhile, is already falling.
He buys her a new espresso machine. He doesn’t hide his feelings.
But Anna still isn’t ready to be seen with him in public.
That tension explodes when Drew tries to kiss her on campus and she pulls away, shaken by some girls mocking her appearance. Drew is devastated.
He thought they had crossed into real relationship territory, but Anna still wants to hide. His anger and heartbreak come out in a passionate argument where he tells her she’s his.
Anna, overwhelmed by fear and self-doubt, shuts down. Drew walks away.
Both of them unravel. Drew is heartbroken and distracted.
He lashes out at his espresso machine, vomits from stress, and underperforms during a game. His best friend Gray urges him to move on.
Anna, meanwhile, watches him suffer from afar, but her fear keeps her silent. Seeing him with another girl nearly breaks her.
Yet she still can’t make the first move. The silence between them stretches, heavy and painful.
Eventually, Anna reaches out. She shows up not just to talk but to be there, emotionally and physically.
When she stays the night with Drew, it marks a turning point. Their intimacy deepens—not through sex, but through the comfort of simply being together.
In that quiet, she confesses her fears of never being enough, rooted in years of invisibility and shame. Drew tells her he loves her.
He’s sure, even when she isn’t.
They decide to move in together. Anna’s friends are skeptical, especially Iris, who sees the cracks already forming.
Drew begins skipping therapy. He grows irritable and distant.
At a dinner with friends, he lashes out at Gray. When Anna tries to reassure him, he misinterprets her kindness and throws her out.
But she refuses to leave. She stays, fighting for them both, telling Drew that football doesn’t define him—he defines himself.
Their reconciliation is raw and real. Drew confesses that he’s terrified of losing everything again.
Anna promises she isn’t going anywhere. Slowly, Drew recommits to his recovery, emotionally and physically.
Their bond strengthens, rooted not in fantasy but in the hard-earned trust that comes from choosing each other through every storm.
Two years later, Drew debuts in the NFL. Anna, now his fiancée, watches with pride.
She’s no longer the girl hiding in the shadows. He’s no longer the quarterback masking his pain.
They’ve grown together. What began as a hookup has become something enduring—a love forged not in perfection but in persistence, in vulnerability, and in the belief that sometimes, the hardest game is letting yourself be loved.
The Hook Up ends with the promise that even in a world filled with pressure, fame, and fear, love can still be the most powerful play.
Characters
Anna Jones
Anna Jones is a deeply nuanced and emotionally guarded protagonist whose journey in The Hook Up Game On Book 1 revolves around learning to trust, to feel worthy of love, and to confront the vulnerabilities she’s spent years burying. A college senior with a sharp mind and a sharper tongue, Anna is fiercely independent, often using her intelligence and sarcasm as a shield to protect herself from emotional entanglements.
Her disdain for jocks is not rooted in mere stereotype but in lived experience—she’s been objectified, dismissed, and scarred by previous encounters, which makes her initial hostility toward Drew Baylor not only understandable but emotionally resonant. Anna carries with her the weight of adolescent trauma: years of being overlooked, mocked for her appearance, and made to feel invisible.
These insecurities are tightly woven into her adult persona, influencing her every romantic decision.
Despite this emotional armor, Anna is drawn to Drew in ways she cannot rationalize. His fame, physique, and popularity trigger every defense mechanism she’s honed, but his kindness, patience, and sincerity gradually chip away at those walls.
Anna’s greatest internal conflict is her fear of being seen—truly seen—and the vulnerability that comes with it. Her journey is a slow unraveling of this fear, marked by moments of intimacy that she often runs from, and moments of courage when she chooses to stay.
Her love for Drew becomes the catalyst for transformation: from a woman hiding behind sarcasm and distance to someone who is willing to risk heartache for the sake of genuine connection. Ultimately, Anna’s character arc is one of healing and empowerment, learning that love is not synonymous with weakness, and that she is worthy of being chosen just as she is.
Drew Baylor
Drew Baylor is far more than the golden-boy quarterback stereotype he initially embodies. In The Hook Up Game On Book 1, Drew emerges as a deeply sensitive, emotionally intelligent young man who, despite his physical prowess and public acclaim, is searching for a real, grounded connection.
His attraction to Anna is instantaneous, but what begins as lust quickly evolves into something far more profound. Drew is captivated by Anna’s refusal to be charmed by him, her intellect, and her refusal to conform to the expectations people usually place on him.
Unlike many around him who idolize him for his athletic success, Anna’s indifference is both a challenge and a breath of fresh air. It forces Drew to engage on deeper emotional and intellectual levels, revealing layers of thoughtfulness and vulnerability that others rarely see.
His backstory, marked by the early death of his parents, adds significant emotional weight to his character. This loss has shaped him into someone who values loyalty, craves connection, and fears abandonment.
When he falls for Anna, it is with an open, almost childlike intensity—he doesn’t play games, doesn’t hide his feelings, and wears his heart on his sleeve. His emotional honesty contrasts sharply with Anna’s guarded nature, making their dynamic all the more poignant.
Drew’s struggles, especially following a career-threatening injury, showcase his resilience and his need for support, something he learns to accept from Anna. His breakdowns, his moments of doubt, and his open declarations of love reflect a vulnerability that is rarely afforded to male characters in romance.
In the end, Drew is not just a romantic lead but a portrait of emotional growth, a man who learns that strength lies not in perfection, but in allowing oneself to be known and loved fully.
Iris
Iris, Anna’s best friend and roommate, serves as both a grounding force and a source of comic relief in The Hook Up Game On Book 1. She’s outspoken, fiercely loyal, and unafraid to push Anna out of her comfort zone.
It is Iris who tricks Anna into going to the party where the emotional and physical intensity between Anna and Drew first combusts. Her actions, while meddlesome, are born of concern and affection.
Iris wants Anna to be happy, to open herself up to the possibilities of love, and she often plays the role of both instigator and confidante. Yet Iris is not just a sidekick; she has emotional depth, particularly seen when she experiences heartbreak of her own.
Her pain is visceral and real, and Anna’s inability to comfort her in those moments underscores the limitations of their friendship during times of mutual grief.
Iris is also one of the few characters who voices skepticism when Anna chooses to move in with Drew. Her concern is laced with protectiveness, born from watching her friend struggle with self-worth for so long.
Though she teases and banters, Iris is perceptive, always attuned to the undercurrents of Anna’s emotional state. Her presence in the story enriches the narrative by offering a perspective that is both supportive and questioning, embodying the complexities of female friendship.
Iris reminds Anna—and the reader—that love doesn’t negate the need for caution, and that the people who love you most will challenge you when it matters.
Gray
Gray, one of Drew’s closest friends and teammates, adds a layer of fraternal loyalty and emotional balance to the male side of the narrative in The Hook Up Game On Book 1. He represents the brotherhood and camaraderie that grounds Drew amid his emotional upheavals.
Gray is supportive, honest, and unafraid to call Drew out when needed, especially when Drew begins to lose himself in his grief, insecurity, and jealousy. His confrontation with Drew after a particularly aggressive outburst reveals Gray’s emotional maturity and his unwillingness to enable toxic behavior, even from his closest friend.
Gray also serves as a subtle mirror for Drew—where Drew is impulsive and heart-led, Gray is more rational and measured. His own friendship with Anna and others in their circle highlights his social fluency and capacity for empathy.
He recognizes Anna’s importance to Drew, and while he supports their relationship, he also respects boundaries, which leads to tension when Drew’s insecurities flare. In essence, Gray is not just a side character but a critical emotional anchor, whose presence in the story reinforces themes of accountability, male vulnerability, and the importance of non-romantic love.
George
George, another of Anna’s close friends, rounds out the supportive network that keeps Anna tethered to reality in The Hook Up Game On Book 1. Witty, observant, and unabashedly himself, George adds levity and emotional insight in equal measure.
Though he doesn’t occupy as much page time as Iris or Gray, his contributions are impactful, particularly when Anna turns to her friends for perspective on her relationship with Drew. George’s humor often masks a deep understanding of human emotion, and he tends to cut through Anna’s self-deception with a clarity that’s both gentle and incisive.
His presence in the friend group also normalizes a diverse emotional spectrum within the cast, showing that vulnerability, loyalty, and warmth are not gendered traits. George, like Iris and Gray, plays a role in nudging Anna toward self-awareness.
His teasing doesn’t undermine her—it invites her to laugh at herself, to soften, and to reflect. Through George, the story reinforces the value of chosen family, and the role friends play in helping us confront our fears and embrace love, even when it’s messy and unpredictable.
Themes
Emotional Vulnerability and the Fear of Exposure
Anna and Drew’s story in The Hook Up Game On Book 1 is consistently shaped by the delicate balance between wanting to be seen and fearing the consequences of exposure. Both characters are profoundly affected by past wounds—Anna by her teenage years spent feeling invisible or ridiculed for her body, and Drew by the deep grief of losing his parents at a young age.
Their initial interactions are riddled with defensiveness and misinterpretation precisely because they are emotionally guarded. Anna uses sarcasm and emotional distance as armor, refusing to acknowledge how much Drew’s attention affects her, while Drew, unaccustomed to rejection, is forced to confront the reality that charm and fame cannot protect him from emotional risk.
The theme gains strength through their escalating physical and emotional intimacy. Each step forward—be it Anna letting Drew drive her home, staying the night without having sex, or confessing childhood pain—also exposes a piece of themselves they usually keep hidden.
For Drew, admitting his love for Anna is not just a declaration of affection but a leap of vulnerability that leaves him exposed and dependent on her response. When Anna recoils from public displays of affection or falters in front of judgmental peers, it isn’t vanity—it’s the resurgence of years of being the girl who was overlooked or mocked.
This emotional exposure becomes a battleground: wanting to be loved and accepted, yet terrified that being truly seen means being hurt again. In their most heartbreaking moments—when Drew shouts his love only to be pushed away, or when Anna watches him walk off with another girl but can’t muster the courage to stop him—the narrative underscores how vulnerability without trust is a dangerous, often self-sabotaging, state.
Ultimately, their ability to choose each other despite this fear marks the beginning of true emotional safety.
Identity and the Pressure of Expectations
Drew and Anna both wrestle with the weight of external expectations and the pressure to conform to roles they never fully chose. Drew, the adored quarterback, is expected to embody perfection—physically dominant, emotionally stoic, and constantly composed.
His fame on campus brings admiration, but also isolation. People worship him for what he represents, not for who he is.
When he meets Anna, someone who refuses to be impressed by surface-level accomplishments, he experiences a rare sense of authenticity. Anna, in turn, has defined herself in opposition to the social elite.
She sees jocks as vapid and emotionally unavailable, forming that belief through painful experience. Her identity is built around being sharp, independent, and above the social game, which makes falling for someone like Drew feel like a betrayal of the values she’s used to protect herself.
This conflict between self-perception and social perception plays out in critical scenes, such as when Anna refuses to kiss Drew in public out of fear of ridicule, or when Drew’s frustrations boil over during dinner with teammates, revealing the cracks in his carefully maintained facade. Anna’s fears are deeply rooted in a lifetime of being dismissed or categorized, while Drew’s struggle is the suffocating pressure to live up to an image that allows no room for weakness or doubt.
Their relationship forces both of them to reassess their identities: not who the world sees, but who they are when they are alone with each other. Drew learns that being vulnerable doesn’t make him less of a leader or a man, while Anna realizes that letting someone in doesn’t mean she’s weak or dependent.
The growth they undergo is not about changing for each other but about becoming more honest versions of themselves.
Trust, Miscommunication, and the Cost of Pride
The emotional arc of The Hook Up Game On Book 1 is heavily defined by the push-and-pull of trust and the miscommunications that arise from pride and fear. Both Anna and Drew struggle to articulate what they truly feel, often defaulting to withdrawal, sarcasm, or defensiveness when faced with emotional discomfort.
These communication failures are not just frustrating—they are devastating, often resulting in explosive conflict or prolonged silence. A crucial example is the incident on the quad, when Anna’s refusal to be publicly affectionate wounds Drew so deeply that he lashes out, not just with anger, but with a plea disguised as a demand.
His “You are mine! ” is less a possessive declaration and more a cry for emotional clarity that Anna isn’t ready to offer.
Her silence in response widens the rift between them.
Even as their relationship deepens, these lapses in communication continue. Drew’s depression manifests in distance and irritability, which Anna mistakes for detachment rather than grief.
Similarly, Anna’s attempts to support Drew are often misread as control or pity. Their pride becomes a defensive shield that prevents them from admitting fear or asking for reassurance.
When Drew accuses Anna of betrayal during a dinner with friends, it’s not jealousy—it’s the culmination of weeks of unspoken resentment and internalized insecurity. These moments show how pride distorts love, turning it into something that feels conditional and fraught.
Yet the narrative also emphasizes that trust isn’t a one-time decision—it’s a repeated act of vulnerability. When Anna refuses to walk away after their fight, when Drew admits he feels broken, they begin to break the cycle.
Their reconciliation is not romanticized but grounded in honest, messy, difficult conversation. Only then does healing become possible, and only then does love feel real, not performative.
Healing Through Mutual Support
Anna and Drew’s journey is ultimately about the transformative power of being loved and accepted by someone who sees you fully. Both characters carry deep emotional wounds—Anna’s from years of invisibility and Drew’s from grief and the burden of heroism.
Their relationship becomes a space not only for passion but for emotional safety and renewal. When Anna massages Drew’s hands during a migraine or when Drew comforts Anna after a panic-filled encounter with her past, these acts are more than gestures of affection—they are expressions of care rooted in recognition.
Each character begins to heal because the other offers something no one else has: presence without judgment.
The evolution of their relationship from casual hook-up to profound partnership shows how consistent emotional support can change not only how one feels but how one sees oneself. Anna begins to believe she is beautiful, not because Drew says so, but because he treats her like she is worth cherishing.
Drew, in turn, stops seeing football as the sole measure of his worth, realizing that love, stability, and connection can exist beyond his career. Their home becomes a sanctuary—a place filled with music, jokes, shared meals, and hard conversations.
Even their fights contribute to this process of healing because they begin to argue not to wound but to be understood. By the time Drew takes the field in his NFL debut, it’s not just a victory for his athletic comeback but a testament to the emotional growth that came from being deeply known and loved.
Anna and Drew don’t just survive their individual pain; they transform it through each other.