This was great! Complex, but very fun, and great characters. I was slightly dubious of split POV at the beginning, but it was well done and allowed for some excellent suspense abut Amber's plans at the end without having to lean on "big time skip, we'll explain later, we promise :)" (which isn't necessarily bad but sometimes contrived).

Favorite things: excellent depiction of complicated family situations, like in Adler's last book "Cool for the Summer". Good sports writing! The football games are exciting and tense. Some really excellent lines, too.

ARC Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler

Release Date: June 7th

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC in return for my honest review.

Amber is a Cheerleader who wants nothing more than to be Cheer Captain next year. Even if it means using her BFF Miguel as a decoy boyfriend to stay in the closet. That is until the new Quarterback in town, Jack, turns out to be an attractive girl. Suddenly, cheerleading isn't the only thing on her mind.

Jack moved to a new town and broke up her family to have the chance to play QB. Too bad no amount of skill she shows can convince her team and the community that she belongs there. She feels alone except for moments with the Cheerleader, Amber, who she steals time and kisses with.

Can Amber and Jack convince everyone that Jack belongs on the team? Is Amber willing to come out together as a couple even if it means losing Cheer Captain?

This is an adorable Romance that will have you cheering for the characters and rooting for young Queer Love. I felt fully invested and ready to fight anyone who didn't want Jack to succeed. I lived for the moments Jack and Amber had together.

Make sure to pre-order now, you do not want to miss this book because it is a touchdown! With the extra point. 🏈

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#sportsromance #footballromance #queerlove #lgbtqromance #yaromance #loveislove #romancebook #arcreview #romancereader #romancereadersofinstagram #butimacheerleader #qb1 #homefieldadvantage #dahliaadler #windycitybookstagrammers
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When I requested this book from Net Galley I just thought the premise sounded fun. I didn't realize until I went to rate it on Goodreads that it's the same author that wrote one of my favorite new adult lesfic novels of the past few years, Out of Good Behavior! And it makes sense since I loved this book as well. This one is a young adult novel, so a younger cast, but I dont mind reliving the old days. I like that we got to hear from both protagonists as I think that's important in a romance like this one. There was plenty of angst and typical high school drama, a fun and wild ride all the way through. Thanks to Net Galley for the preview!

dahlia adler's books are super hit and miss for me. this one had some cute moments, but i'm not sure if the bad outweighed the good in the end. the characters were annoying, and the romance was underdeveloped, but the plot seemed not to have any holes. super confused on how i feel about this one, tbh

Home Field Advantage was such a cute rom-com. This is a classic quarterback-cheerleader romance except the quarterback, is female. I really loved the storyline and the author includes topics like homophobia, sexism, and biphobia. Definitely worth the read!

Home Field Advantage is the sweet, sapphic, YA sports romance I did not know I needed. Jack and Amber are characters who know what they want - or think they do - but sometimes can't quite figure out how to balance what they want with what others think of them. The question of when to come out, or whether to come out, when you think a dear friend might reject you for who you are, is executed brilliantly in Amber's arc. This book is a delightful read, and I highly recommend it.

if you liked She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen, you'll enjoy Home Field Advantage!!

Such a cute sex-positive (no spice) romance between a cheerleader and the school's first girl quarterback. This book tackles misogyny, homophobia, gender in sports, and the journey of coming out. In high school, your passion and strive to succeed can seem all encompassing and this book shows that well with the way our main characters eventually realize the way they go about their passions is keeping them from being truly happy and their whole selves.

I think the ending of this book had so much potential to address the misogyny and homophobia from the football cheerleading team- which it did but it was very minimal. I would've loved to see the cheer captain confront all of the homophobic cheerleaders and I wanted so so bad for the football coach to properly support Jack and confront the rest of the team on their ridiculous and unfair behavior.

Overall, a very digestible and entertaining story for young readers to enjoy and learn from!


This ARC was provided by St. Martin's Press via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Publishing and Netgalley for providing me an e-ARC of this book!

Super fast read, I finished it in two sittings, with great commentary on the misogynistic culture that goes on in sports. I think both main characters had their flaws but were still complex enough that you find yourself understanding what drives them and stuff. While there were times when I didn't like the mcs I still think their romance was super cute and well written. Not gonna lie I felt kinda robbed that this didn't have even a little bit of smut but I understand it's supposed to be ya lol

Jack is the new female quarterback at school and facing backlash among her team and peers. Except Amber, who is crushing on Jack and has to decide if following her heart is worth risking her dreams of becoming cheer captain.

I really enjoyed this queer YA romance. It's a fun story with plenty of flirty banter, but we also see the characters navigate homophobia and sexism in their small Florida town. It's heartbreaking to see the exclusion Jack faces, but the drama and cattiness felt very realistic for high school. I loved seeing the supportive parents who are sometimes MIA from YA stories. This book is especially timely as Florida passed a bill to prohibit discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.

My only complaint is the teens dropped the F-bomb A LOT. I know I swore as a teen so I'm not knocking it, it just sometimes feels like lazy writing and I hope it's toned down in the final copies.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Let me just preface this by saying one thing - I love Dahlia Adler. Her books are auto-purchases for me, I trust her recommendations over some of my closest friends, and my dream round of Jewish geography involves finding out that I know someone who knows her. That being said - regardless of how much I love the author, this book was phenomenal.

Amber McCloud is the best kind of cheerleader. The kind who is there for her friends no matter what, is loyal and dependable, and does cheer because she genuinely enjoys the physicality of it. Jack Walsh is the new quarterback on the boys football team and the team hates that she can never replace the quarterback who died driving drunk one night - but she’s just undeniably so much better than he ever was. Amber and Jack are both fun, classic characters with a new and interesting spin on them. Their relationship isn’t a slow burn, which is actually quite nice, it is more of an attraction at first sight and love at first conversation situation that is adorable and sweet and made me smile down at my phone.

This book somehow was bubbly and fun yet at the same time dealt with some really heavy issues in a tasteful and mature way. In the memory of the previous quarterback, Robbie, this book talks about how to mourn while acknowledging that people are not always who we wanted them to be. It’s sad that Robbie is dead and the circumstances under which he died, but that does not mean that he was a good person. In the way that the team treats Jack when she moves to Atherton, this book deals with homophobia and just how nasty people can be to others. Somehow, though, this doesn’t feel like a book about homophobia and grief - it feels like a romance, a book about two people who are finding themselves through finding each other, that just happens to tastefully include really deep conversations.

The other characters in this book were so much fun, and for me as a reader, side characters can make or break my enjoyment of a book. Miguel complimented and balanced Amber well, and Jack’s family and friends enhanced her character and didn’t feel forced, even though they were not physically present in the majority of the scenes of the book. Amber’s mom was one of the most fun and bright book parents that I’ve probably ever read, and she stole the show in every scene that she was in.

I really don’t know how to write a review that can sufficiently encompass the way that I feel about this book, but I can say that I love it and that Dahlia Adler truly has done it again. And that I love knowing that we share a love of Schitt’s Creek that is deep enough that it earned a reference in this book. So if you’re like me and you love LGBTQ fiction, YA, cute love stories, brilliantly vibrant side characters, and Dahlia Adler, just pick this one up. It’s worth every minute and then some.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and to St. Martin’s Press for sending me an advance copy of this book for review!

Imagine my surprise by how disappointed I was for this?

A queer story with a cheerleader and a female quarterback? This had the makings of being something great, but everything was just... flat. Amber has to be the worst; she is terribly selfish even though we are told how considerate she is. And, well, that's a lot of the problem with this story. We are /told/ all of these things. Do Amber and Jack have a good relationship? Maybe. Do they like and care for each other? Apparently. I can tell you that they're attracted to each other, but there is absolutely no relationship building between these two, especially when you consider how actual shit Amber McCloud is.

Honestly, everyone but Jack is awful in this and even then, she's not that great either. I couldn't root for anyone in this, and I couldn't even root for the relationship between the two girls because there is so few interactions between them before they get together and even after they get together. It's very instalove, and absolutely no burn at all and absolutely no tension at all between them. It's much less of a romance than it's a commentary on the sexism in sports.

I had hard time believing that Jack couldn't even get one friend in the whole school and that the whole school bullied her. I had a hard time believing that with Miguel or Jack would have forgiven her for being literally the worst person ever. I had a hard time believing that the whole school would simply hate Jack just because she replaced a QB that died. I had a hard time believing that Amber and Jack cared more about each other outside of their legs, ass, or biceps.

I also has a lot of issues with everything else. There was the impression that Miguel was the one good guy on the football team, but honestly, he was no better than the rest of them. The plot line with Cara was so unnecessary and added absolutely nothing to the story and all that time used on that would have better spent building a believable relationship between Amber and Jack. Amber's explanation of her sexuality is also a bit cringey and could have been either explained better or omitted because it doesn't add anything.

The last maybe 20-30% was decent, which is why this got 2 stars and not 1, but the rest of the story was just so bland.

*Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy.

Thank you Netgalley, SaintMartins Press, and Wednesday Books for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.


This book was amazing!!!. I had low expectations since I didn’t enjoy Cool for the Summer as much but this one really surprised me. I am looking forward to reading more books by Dahlia Adler.

This gay romance was so swoon-worthy. From the flirty banter to Amber climbing onto Jack’s window.

I really appreciated how supportive Amber’s mom was. I was glad for the bisexual representation, with the mom being bi.

The author also addressed problems relating to homophobia, sexism, and biphobia.

I adored the platonic relationship between Miguel and Amber.

The way Amber came out to Cara ( her religious best friend who didn’t support gay people) was so bold and badass.

It was an enchanting and adorable rom-com. The novel was super short which made it a quick read. This is another perfect gay romance.

I am excited for you to all to read the book once it comes out. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

This was a cute story of a classic trope, the quarterback and the cheerleader but queer! The characters deal with sexism and homophobia in their small town and try to find love despite it. Amber is super likable and I really enjoyed her perspective. Jack was very sporty and often played into typically male archetypes. I liked the way it was done. Overall, though it was cute, I think some of the story could’ve been handled differently. Coming out is an important queer story. This being said, I would’ve loved Jack to have been more out and proud from the beginning, Queer people have other stories to tell besides their coming out and I think it would’ve been interesting to have Amber explore her feelings with a more out Jack.

Home Field Advantage was a fun and sweet sapphic romance. It’s an easy read that perfectly balances discussions of misogyny and homophobia with teen angst, friendship and passion for sport.

I went into this book expecting a lighthearted and readable romance and that's exactly what I got. I flew through the majority of Home Field Advantage in one sitting and had a great time with it. Adler managed to keep an overall lighthearted tone, even as she explored the misogyny and homophobia rife in small towns and their high schools. I loved the classic feel, as Adler put a queer, feminist spin on the well loved cheerleader / quarterback romance trope.

I really enjoyed reading from both girls’ perspectives. They each had a unique voice and personality so I never forgot whose perspective I was reading from. However, I will admit that to begin with I struggled to connect with them as their voices were so in your face and, at times, unlikable. But once we settled into the story the narration settled down and I began to enjoy the book. I enjoyed the romance, too, as well as the exploration of different friendships and relationships in the book.

What I usually love most about sports romances is the team dynamics; I love the friendship and joy a team can bring. As such, Home Field Advantage was an interesting read as it followed two characters who felt outcast by their teams. I really enjoyed how the novel explored this in the two girls’ different situations. I feel that Amber’s journey in particular will be very relatable, as she struggled with keeping her friends and place on the team despite not agreeing with their beliefs and actions.

Home Field Advantage is a fun, lighthearted story that’s perfect to lose yourself in for a few hours. It takes the classic quarterback / cheerleader pairing and puts its own spin on it, turning the book into a sapphic, feminist story dealing with women’s place in sport and what it takes to get what – and who – you want.

Home Field Advantage was an abso-fucking-lutely take on the classic cheerleader-quarterback romance with a sapphic twist. From the very first page, I was enthralled. It was such a fun, lighthearted, cute story that had me smiling like an idiot.

When Jack Walsh “moves” (cough recruited cough) to Atherton and becomes the quarterback for the football team, she certainly didn’t expect the entire football team, cheer squad, and the student body to hate her. The only one to talk to Jack like a human being is Amber McCloud, aspiring cheer captain. Amber quickly falls for Jack but with an anti-queer town, a fake boyfriend, and securing cheer captain for next year against her, Amber faces the difficulties of her desires conflicting. Home Field Advantage follows Jack and Amber as they navigate a homophobic and misogynistic high school that is constantly wanting to shove both of them farther into the closet than they can imagine.

My only complaint with this book is the writing style. It’s really not that bad but the language and word choice can be really modern at times. The kind of modern that can easily become annoying, cringey, and will definitely date the book (and not in the best way). It’s not a constant issue in the book, and only really shows up a handful of times, but it’s consistent throughout the story.

While this story does not delve much on serious issues and is more of a cute rom-com, there is one content warning that readers should definitely be aware of. That being miscarriage/abortion. It was not really explained whether Cara missing Kelsey’s party was due to her having a miscarriage or an unsafe abortion. I’m leaning towards miscarriage because she did mention that she wanted to raise the baby and that her very religious parents wouldn’t take her (since she doesn’t have her own vehicle) to get an abortion.

We are living in the golden age of sapphic YA romances and this one sets the gold standard. (I'm trying to think of apt sports metaphors but I simply do not understand football.) A romance between a quarterback and a cheerleader but make it sapphic. It gives me all of the warm and fuzzy feelings and I am just sitting here crying thinking about the fact that we live in a world with such beautiful and unabashed sapphic YA stories.

Thanks to Wednesday and NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Overall really enjoyed this one! I really enjoyed Cool For the Summer, so of course I was excited for this one! While I'm not a big football fan, I always love seeing female characters getting the chance to play. A sapphic QB and cheerleader story was a really awesome premise, so I couldn't wait to dive in.

While I really enjoyed Jack as a character, though, I didn't much care for Amber. Amber was selfish throughout the book, and although I understand that her main motivation is not wanted to be outed, it was also to be cheer Captain and it's just kind of gross. Brought it down to 4⭐ for me.

Still, overall a solid read, but just not a fan of Amber, even if she gets a bit better in the end.

Maybe because I was more obsessed with learning how to put top spin on my serve than perfect a spiral throw in high school, the whole jock-cheerleader dynamic has never interested me much in real life or in stories.

Until Dahlia Adler got to start the game.

In the Dahliaverse, the quarterback is a prodigy named Jack, new in town with dreams of school victories leading to a college scholarship. Complicating this is the fact that Jack is short for Jaclyn, and also that since the town’s QB recently died, none of the team is keen on his legacy being shown up by a girl of all people. Amber, the cheerleader in this equation, has her heart set on a college scholarship, too, and to her, that means staying in the good graces of the cheer squad to be named captain. It also means definitely not letting her closeted queer heart fall for Jack.

This update makes for a fresh innovative read, but it’s the nuanced complexity Adler gives these characters that wins a reader’s heart. Their hopes and fears are treated with such respect that by the inevitable pivotal homecoming game, you’re genuinely rooting for these two girls to somehow cartwheel into the sunset together. Home Field Advantage is an all-Pro special team of a book– part coming out, part Super Bowl, all love story — that seems impossible, but Adler beautifully launches this sapphic Hail Mary right into the Happily Ever After end zone. Touchdown! Frak, I mean, all the stars!

I really enjoyed Home Field Advantage. It's a great addition to any library's queer romance section in the Teen Room. The dual perspectives helped me get to know the characters and their problems. Totally love the sports romance angle too!

I loved this queer take on a classic trope. The characters are great and the writing is a lot of fun. It can be a bit tough at times with how homophobic and misogynistic some of the characters are, but they get their happy ending and it's a good read overall!