I usually don't pick up romance books with half-naked bodies on the cover, but something about the setting and vibe just drew me in. I read around 50 pages or something and the book is not bad, but it's soooo linear. I really wanted to read ahead to see if it gets better but the lack of tension just didn't let me. I dug the 'After' and 'My Fault' vibe and was craving a cheesy high-school happily-ever-after but DNF.

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

I wished the book had been like the blurb promised and I'm not for unnecessary name-calling of women for just living their lives as the males do.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book received from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I thought this book was college not high school so that threw me off a little.
I felt like the book flowed well and was your classic cute romance. I did think it needed a little more drama though!

Omg I loved it... A slow build up. Football, drama,laughter, and some hot scenes! Would so want to read the next book in the series...

Copy received from the Next Step PR. Voluntarily reviewing and all opinions are objective and my own.

Looking for a feel-good sports romance book? This is the book for you. The writing may not be 100% top-notch but it’s one of those books that make you not care about that. I got so sucked into the cutesy romance of the characters and Brady’s possessiveness that I stopped caring about life altogether. This book made me want to put away my tasks and focus on it and only it.

The romance moves quickly, but it works for the characters. Underlying the romance there’s some initial jealousy and pettiness from other characters, which I was pleased to see come back around at the end.

All in all, solid read and I look forward to the rest of the series.

I really did try to get into this one. It’s not badly written, it’s just not the story for me. Simply put. I DNF this one.

All In is Bella Matthews debut novel but reading this story you would never guess it. With a brothers-best-friend trope, an amazing cast of characters, and a romantic hero not afraid to show his feelings, this is a book that will draw you in and make you fall in love.

Natalie Sinclair just moved back into town where her father is the new professional football coach and her twin brother is a top player on the high school football team. Football pretty much surrounds her life, but little does she know her world will be forever changed when she meets her brother’s friend, Brady Ryan, who is the quarterback and Captain of the team. When Brady meets Natalie for the first time, he knows she should be off limits, but he can’t help the crazy pull he has towards her, and he’s on a mission to make her his.

This was a cute romance but it felt empty in places. I didn't feel like anything had consequences or that anything that happened was really leading anywhere. It was more just a sequence of events that were cute. Brady and Nat's relationship felt quite hollow at the start - it was written that they just had this amazing connection but we didn't see that happen. We get a couple of lines of conversation and then a cut to later in the evening which was disappointing because I often think the starting conversations is where you start rooting for a couple. This definitely improved as the story progressed however and they arguably gained chemistry as the story progressed which often isn't the case.
Some of the characters did feel a little hollow, but that did also improve as the story progressed. One thing it couldn't shake was the empty feeling, especially at the end. It felt quite abrupt and like everything was shoved into the last few chapters but also not answering everything because I presume it leads into other books in the series despite no longer being directly about Brady and Nat.
I did really like the writing style and there were some funny moments. Once the relationship built it was really nice to read and the sex was very tastefully done.
Ultimately I enjoyed this, definitely missed the mark when it came to plot but the romance was sweet.

I thought that this was going to be more of a college romance but it was a high school one. which was not bad it just took me some time to get into the story and I felt like I was behind with the characters and just the story overall. I am sure it was just me and for other people, they will find this book to be a good read.

Thank you NetGalley, Victory Editing Co-op and Bella Matthews for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
There are 311 ratings on Goodreads, giving the book a 4 rating.... So take my opinion with a grain of salt because I seem to be an outlier here! I’m not sure if I wasn’t in the right mood/mindset to get into this one, or what, but I couldn’t get through the whole thing. The timeline is all over the place. Sometimes it seemed like they were in college, sometimes high school, I couldn’t tell who was being coached and who was a friend. All in all, it just ended up not being worth it to finish the book!

Fab book. I’m a huge fan of the male athlete and cute girlfriend book and this is an excellent version. Popular and moneyed group of friends accept the sisters in to the group and romance ensues. A few bumps along the road and emotions get involved. The story develops in a well crafted but standard way but a great twist in the second half grabs you in and pushes you on to the end - you don’t off the bedroom light till you get to the epilogue, and who doesn’t love an epilogue? Five stars from me.

It was cute. Nothing special, with just enough BIG scenes to keep things interesting. It was a very on-the-surface story. Nothing very deep or profound going one. Just two senior prep high schoolers falling in love and an asshat trying to get in their way. The smutty parts were nice, but they felt very rushed to me, whereas I'd think you'd take your sweet time with someone you love 🤷🏻‍♀️ All In gets 2,5 stars from me.

Content warning: almost rape, violent outbursts, blackmail with naked pictures.

***Copy was given in exchange for an honest review***

This was a quick, sweet, sexy, insta-love read. Pretty straight forward boy (Brady) meets girl (Natalie) have a few bumps to weather but other then that instantly have a connection and fall in love. There is some excitement and drama but not much. Overall it was good but kinda slow.

An insta-lovey book about popular teenagers who think they are way funnier than they are and have little to no adult supervision as they party and play football should not have been something I had fun reading but I did, I would even be interested in reading books about others in their group of friends. It was like coming home on a Friday and skipping the balanced dinner to eat the fries and milkshake that you know you shouldn't have but are all you are in the mood for,

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review,

I'm not always a big fan of romances where the characters are still quite young, but this High School set book didn't really read like a Young Adult book to me. The characters are all fairly mature and not treated like overgrown children. (They are actually all, or nearly all, over 18 and so adults.)
This is Brady and Nat's story. Brady is a star American Football player. He is only focused on where that is going to take him and his future college. When he meets Nat, he can't help the draw that he feels towards her and he starts to wonder if there is room for a relationship in his life.
What never fails to surprise me in books like this, is how seriously high school sports is taken. The idea that even University level would be taken even semi-seriously is a bit of an alien concept where I'm from, so the idea that school sports might be and not only that might win you a place in Uni is just crazy.
Brady is quite a nice character as is Nat. They do have a few things against them getting together, but this is more or less insta love. Even so, they make quite a sweet couple and they don't seem as young as they could and seem pretty certain about their future together.
Overall, this was a good first in the series. I would like the other books to be featuring the characters when they are a little older, but that's just my personal preference.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was under the impression that this was a college romance and was disappointed to see that it was set in high school. I did not find Brady and Natalie realistic as high schoolers. Setting this in college would have made it more realistic for me. However, I thought they had a sweet romance and liked the drama involved in the story. I did feel like the climax was wrapped up very quickly, especially since most of the drama involved in solving the climax took place off screen, so to speak. It seems like the subsequent story is going to take place in college, so I think that will be more my pace than this story. If you want to read a romance between two high school, seniors, then this may be for you. I like my characters a little older so it just was not for me.

I absolutely loved this book and had no idea it was Bella’s first book. Natalie and Brady are so sweet together. Their chemistry is off the charts but Natalie brings out such a sweet side to Brady. Brady didn't know what hit him when this little spitfire known as Little Sinclair moved back to Kroyden Hills. I loved their little trip to get ice cream, it truly melted my heart. This book has so many layers, including how the guys all accepted Tommy, another melt my heart moment. Not only do they accept him but they make him feel like he is their friend, despite him being a kid. All the interconnections of the guys and their friends is just perfection. I absolutely loved this book, did I mention that?!?!?! I am so excited to read all The Kings of Kroydan Hills books to come. Having already read Murphy and Sabrina's book, I can tell you this series is amazing.

Wow, what an unexpectedly amazing book.

I hadn’t read this author before and whilst I love a sports romance and a college romance, the fact this was more high school based did give me concern. There was absolutely no need. This book reads a lot older than it is, but is undoubtably high school set, but I think the rest of the series will be set in college and so in that case this book was an exceptional set up for that.

The story is well written with plenty of plot twists and turns to keep you guessing, there is some content that may be triggering but it is relatively sensitively dealt with.

The characters are engaging and you can’t help but like them all, including all the supporting characters whose books I am eagerly anticipating. The relationships between the friends and the group as a whole were well written, emotional and surprisingly deep.

The romance between Nat and Brady builds gently through the story, reaching its HEA relatively early, but then of course the plot twists again and off you go.

My one criticism is that the story wrapped up very quickly and whilst there was a satisfying conclusion, it all happened very quickly and mostly off page.

Despite this I would highly recommend this read

A senior in high school Natalie meets Brady, another senior at a party. He’s the star QB and she’s one of the players sisters, an ex-ballet dancer who has reigned to live with her Karen’s after being away for a while. Brady has a bit of a reputation as a one and done and isn’t looking for a relationship, until he meets Natalie.

But Natalie has a couple of other lads interested in her and whilst she’s interested in Brady, doesn’t know he’s interested in her. The relationships between Brady, Natalie and their friends form the basis of the book.

Popular themes are navigating teen relationships. Sexual assault, domestic violence, and parental relationships. It’s a sports romance without a huge amount of the sport and fairly predictable romance, given the age of the characters.

A solid book which can be read in one longer sitting.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me an electronic copy to read and review.