Tuesday, 27th September was my spot on LoveBooksTours blog tour for Red Flags by J.N. Welsh. I read this romantic novel as an ebook for this tour and I’m glad that I did as I really liked this delightful novel. It was lighthearted, pleasant and an entertaining read. I liked the fact that the main character was a strong, fierce and independent leading female character, I also love football so the football boots storyline was great too. I like reading romance novels where the main character is a sports star. I also loved Ireland as a location for this novel. I like to travel to exotic places via novels, and both Ireland and New York are very exciting locations. I also liked the fact that the main character of this romance novel was a successful businesswoman designing sports wear and footwear.
I liked the author’s writing style, and discovering a new author for me whose writing I like. I loved the character development and finding out more about the main characters as the story unfolded. This romantic novel made me smile while I was reading it. It was nice to read a happy, light novel for a change as I read a lot of tense thrillers and crime novels. I’m giving Red Flags 4 stars as I really liked it and I’m sure other readers will do too especially if they are fans of romantic novels.

I had a really good time with this book. It was fun, witty and a quick read for me.

We follow the journey of Charlotte, a successful business woman from New York who grabs a new opportunity ‘by the balls’ (pun intended)! What she doesn’t realise is that this will put her back in very close contact with her one night stand Eoghan.

I enjoyed the developing relationship between the two central characters. We see their personal insecurities surface which then impacts on their ability to fully commit to each other. The story follows them as they navigate this new territory together and what it could mean for them individually and as a couple.

Whilst this was an easy read, the author also explores several important topics. Including; a strained father-son relationship, the mental impact on someone following a serious and potentially career-ending injury and the prejudices faced by a black business woman in a largely male dominated sector.

Although this is part of a series and having not read the first, I don’t feel like I have missed out on too much as the background surrounding Charlotte and Eoghan, as well as some of the other characters, is summarised at points throughout.

Thank you to Love Book Tours, J.N. Welsh and Montlake for the eArc through Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

Charlotte Bowman checks all the preferred boxes for the female protagonist of a modern romance. Gone are the damsels in distress—Charlotte’s a damsel doing her damn best.

An owner of her dream business designing shoes and sportswear, Bowman’s hustling so hard you half expect Carly Simon to break in at any moment with “Let the River Run.”

As she grinds to bloom her career, Irish football hunk Eoghan (rhymes w/ glowin’) O’Farrell is trying to save his. He’s not convalescing as expected after an injury on the pitch left him hobbled. Convinced of the difference a new pair of cleats could make for his game, Eoghan (rhymes w/ easygoin’) turns to Bowman for pitch-perfect footwear.

It’s quit a coincidence that the womanizing star athlete would turn in his time of need to a designer with whom he’s already spent one passionate night: or is it??

In the second installment of a romance series featuring two high achievers, it’s up to Bowman to keep her eyes on the prize and not let her ambitions be scuttled by the charming athlete who needs her now more than ever.

Through a quirky romance that reads light as an Irish breeze, we learn if it’s possible for the heart to want what the feet want.

I loved this book and I couldn't put it down once I started reading it. If you love a great sports romance book you will love this book. The chemistry and attraction was great and it fun seeing them try to hide there attraction towards each other.

This is the second book in a series which I didn’t realise before starting to read this one. It does work ok as a stand-alone but to have a better understanding you would be better off reading them in order.

There were lots of great characters in this story. I liked Charlotte, she was a strong and successful woman with her own business.

I did find it hard to keep track of who’s POV I was reading about. I had to keep looking back to check. I also struggled with the writing style.

It was a light hearted read, if you like a fun romance with a sports theme then maybe this book is for you.

Thank you to Love Book Tours for having me on the tour and for my gifted ebook.

Gosh how I love being in Ireland, even if it is through a story. Eoghan is one tough nut as we saw in the previous story, Open Play. Our physical therapist extraordinaire finally has him ready to get back on the field but something is holding him back. He can't quite seem to get into the rhythm like he used to. He's a player both on and off the field. A fact that Charlotte knows well. Little do either of them know, what they need is each other and not only in a physical sense. As Charlotte gets to know our erstwhile Eoghan, she soon learns that there is way more than meets the eye with him and soon sparks are flying all over the place. I felt like I was back in Ireland and enjoyed the journey.

I had high hopes for Red Flags as I love a good sports romance. So I thought Red Flags would be right in my wheelhouse. However, I REALLY struggled with the writing style, it was all over the place.

Oh boy. I’m regretfully writing this. I tried. I TRIED. I tried to read this book multiple times over the months I’ve had it. I’ve tried multiple settings and times of the day, but it just didn’t work for me. I had a lot of trouble with the transitions and flow. At times portions almost read like an itinerary as opposed to a story. I’m so sorry, but Red Flags was a DNF for me

I started Red Flags expecting an easy, breezy sports romance. It delivered, but the writing left a little to be desired. Some phrases are annoyingly overused (sports-brand-apparel comes to mind), and the plot moved forward with little relationship development between our main characters. Though it does become obvious whose perspective you are in as you read, it is also helpful to mention it at the beginning of the chapter. I found myself rereading the beginning of chapters as I realized too late that we had switched POVs without notification.

Can Charlotte and Eoghan work together?

Shoe and sportswear designer Charlotte Bowman never expected to see Irish footballer Eoghan O’Farrell after the one night they spent together. But she has to check things out when she is asked to design a custom football shoe for an Irish football star with all of the resulting NDA’s. Could it be for Eoghan O’Farrell?

Eoghan O’Farrell wants to return to his top form after his surgery and rehabilitation but his shoes just don’t feel right. Maybe he needs a custom shoe made for him by an American designer Charlotte Bowman if she could get past the night they spent together!

You might want to read Open Play by JN Welsh about the first time Charlotte and Eoghan met.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sports romance are made just for me, so i really enjoyed the story, the build up of their world (specially his,) so i recommend this book if you liked it, it was a little bit hard for me to follow the story because in the ARC, the POVs were a little bit confused, it works for me better to have it like fmc/mmc povs and here, if you missed it you were lost, other than that it was a good read

I am a sucker for a sports romance and I loved the sound of this one. I really liked the characters and enjoyed the story, though I did feel quite overwhelmed with information at the beginning.

Unfortunately the writing style wasn’t for me, I found myself getting confused as to who was talking and reading sentences multiple times before they settled in my brain - I don’t think the formatting helped this! I also didn’t like that the POV changed but it wasn’t out whos POV it was at the beginning of the chapters so I found myself getting confused a fair bit.

I think if the writing styles is one you can get in with, you’d really enjoy this book!

Charlotte is an independent and self-driven businesswoman who prioritises her up-and-coming business and is truly a motivated and inspirational character. When she is presented with a life-changing opportunity to propel her business to international recognition then she jumps at the opportunity, however when she realises that her client is an ex hookup then it causes all sorts of confusion and feelings to arise.
I loved reading about the developing relationship between Charlotte and Eoghan as well as the relationships between Charlotte and her friends and family members.
There were many relatable struggles that people face such as how to balance work and social life and when to put your own needs before anything else.
Oh and not to mention, there was a lot of unexpected spice that I was not disappointed by!
I was gifted this title in exchange for an honest review and I am so grateful for the opportunity.

I am a sports romance junkie, so I was really excited to get my hands on this.

Unfortunately, the writing style didn't work for me. From the very beginning it felt chaotic to me. There were a whole list of people's names and how they fit together, and the heroine had a history with the hero already and I felt very confused and unsettled. I didn't realize that this was book two in a series when I grabbed it, and that might have made a huge difference.

In the end, my brain wouldn't settle into this one and it was a DNF for me. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to read and review.

Ayeeee Red Flags was absolutely, deliciously wonderful. I've been waiting and searching for sports romance that feature a sport I actually KNOW and here we are. I absolutely loved this. The romance, the wit, the banter - absolutely delightful.

This is a good book. The two main characters are Charlotte and Eoghan. Charlotte has her own small shoe company and Eoghan is an Irish soccer player. They meet in New York where he is had physical therapy. They have a one night stand. Several months later Eoghan’s team offers Charlotte a contract to make Eoghan a pair of cleats. She comes to Ireland. They each have their own issues but together they work them out to fall in love.

I hadn't read any other books from this author but i loved this as a standalone.

I loved the main character because she's strong and empowering. It has a lot of unique plots that sport romance books don't usually go into. I liked that the characters had a lot of character building that keeps you intrigued.

The formatting was a bit off and the spacing was strange to read which was a bit distracting.

I love sports romance novels and had never read one with this premise of designing a shoe. I enjoy multiple POVs but found it not easy to keep straight whose chapter was who without the POVs being pointed out. This is something. That can easily be updated. The characters were enjoyable but I just didn’t feel as much chemistry between them as I hoped. I did enjoy reading this and think it is still a great sports romance.

I read this book as a standalone and didn't realise at the time that it was part of a series. Thankfully, it can very easily be read as such and it didn't take away from the book.

I really liked the lead - we love to see strong, independent women. And the romance and plot was great. There were lots of details that I haven't really seen covered in other sports romances which made this that much more enticing. I liked that the MMC had a lot of character building that kept you invested in how the story is going to end.

However, I didn't like the formatting of the book. The spacing between lines, and the overall formatting kept throwing me off and I really had to force myself to finish it. I'm blaming my neurodivergent brain for this, and understand that it won't bother most. That, and not having whose POV we're reading at the start of each chapter really bothered me. 😅

I enjoyed the first book in the series and this one was set to be more interesting. And it was even more than that, I loved it much more to be honest. The characters were interesting and likeable, their romance story was much more tangible and there are quite a few ups and downs but all to set up for a great time spend reading this book.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

Red Flags is an easy-read, romantic, 'happy ever after book'. From the beginning, you can see what and where the ending will take you - but this didn't make it any less enjoyable. The characters have depth - Eoghan is Irish, broad and strong and sporty - but complex enough to make (and keep) him interesting to the reader. Charlotte is strong - a woman with ambition and depth - and the two of them are interlinked. The story moves between the US and Ireland - some of the dialogue is quite drawn out - but overall, a quick, fun read with some 'hotter' scenes too.