I really enjoyed this! The book is on the shorter side - the audio book runs just over 7hrs - but honestly it was the perfect length for the narrative. I loved the dual narrators (Natalie Naudus and Lori Prince) and they did a great job with their characters which were a sort of light grumpy/sunshine pairing. I say light because ultimatly everyone is an adorkable nerd.

I just found myself smiling by the end and I think I finished the whole book in about 2 days. It was just such a feel good read/listen. There is some drama, and bullying, and the stress of being a queer teen with the how and when to come out, and all the worrying that comes with navigating high school. But the stress comes to just the right point. The characters are uncomfortable, and you are uncomfortable on their behalf, and the pressure builds, but it doesn't last longer than it has to and you leave the book feeling pretty happy (or at least I did). I think the only criticism I can really come up with is that a few of the sexy thoughts just didn't appeal to me. But that is a total personal preference and I only mention it because those were the few times in the book that I was like eeehhh...

All in all I would absolutely recommend this as a queer romantic YA read! Thank you NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for the advance copy.

TW for this book: Mentions of drunk driving (events prior to the start of the story), character death (events prior to the start of the story), homophobia, lesbiphobia, mentions of miscarriage (events prior to the start of the story), sexism

Have you ever watched one of those high school rom-coms where the football player gets the girl? Now imagine that in book form, except the football player is not your typical character.

When Atherton High School's Golden Boy Quarterback unexpectedly dies in a drunk driving incident, the coach finds the perfect replacement in Jack Walsh. The only thing is, Jack is short for Jaclyn. After she transfers to Atherton to fill in the QB1 spot, she catches the eye of Cheer Captain hopeful Amber McCloud. Between the first day of school and homecoming, Jack and Amber deal with burgeoning feelings, less than subtle pushback from the rest of the football team and cheer squad, and finding their place even if it isn't where they expected it to be.

Home Field Advantage is a feel good high school romance. Having read this as an audiobook, the performances by the narrators Natalie Naudus and Lori Prince only enhance the story and make the reader root for the characters even more. As an adult reader I did have to remind myself to not be too hard on the teenager characters for acting like, well, teenagers. Teenagers are not always kind. But Dahlia's portrayal of not only the main characters but the circle of friends was entertaining and painfully accurate at times.

I loved the relationship between Amber and Jack, but also Amber and Miguel. They're best friends who are really there for one another. And while Amber had a tendency to use that friendship as a crutch to keep herself from really growing at times, it was heartwarming to see their friendship throughout the book. It reminded me of a close friendship I'd had at that age.

I went in looking for a high school romance and Dahlia Adler delivered. By the end I was tearing up it was so cute. As soon as I was done I wanted to start it right back up again.

This is so great!! I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it. I love gay rom-coms, and this one got me actually excited about a football game, which has never happened to me before and is unlikely to happen again. It’s very well-written and feels pretty believable as far as rom-coms go. It features some sexism and homophobia, but it never feels unbearably heavy. I’d highly recommend it to my fellow rom-com fans!

A book worth DANCING for!
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Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Alder is SO FREAKING GOOD! Adler is the queen of writing amazing friend groups and big beautiful endings. This book was a TOUCHDOWN for me (hehe sportsball)
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I absolutely loved how this book is a mix of happy and emotional, covering heavy topics of homophobia and sexism, while being a really sweet romance. I was rooting for both of the characters the entire time.

Home Field Advantage was a fun read that I'd been looking forward to since I heard about it. Amber is a cheerleader who is working hard her junior year to become captain her last year. However, when a girl named Jack moves to her school to be the quarterback, her allegiance to the squad will be tested. The audiobook narrated by Lori Prince and Natalie Naudus was amazing! I loved both of the narrators and the way that they portrayed the characters. The narration added a lot of personality to the story, especially Jack's perspective. Overall, this was a great quick read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me digital ARCs of both the audiobook and the ebook. They gave me a nice way to spend my afternoon.

I was looking forward to this one not only because of the f/f love story, but also because I was excited to see a female athlete crushing it in an otherwise all-male team. Oftentimes I am upset that authors erase many of the difficulties someone in Jack' situation would face, but the book does not shy away from portraying some of the sexism, homophobia, and toxic masculinity that a player like Jack would have faced in that situation.

As for the love story itself, it felt a bit rushed. Amber liked Jack only because of her looks, Jack sidled up to Amber only so that she may get what she wanted and suddenly they had a relationship. I would have liked to see them build something over a sturdier foundation. Nevertheless, I was invested to see how they faced the hostilities coming from the cheerleaders and the football team as well as how they'd eventually make their relationship public considering everyone thought Amber had a boy friend.

I have discovered that I enjoy listening to audiobooks as I read along to the printed/digital text so it was a treat to have the audiobook copy. I enjoyed the narrator who read for Amber's chapters, but not so much the one who was reading for Jack, but I don't know if that is due to the narration itself or the fact that audiobook ARC quality is notoriously poor.

I really loved this book, as I expected to. Dahlia Adler is never a miss for me, and the narration by Lori Prince and Natalie Naudus was spot on. As a team, they brought Jack and Amber to life in a really beautiful way! I loved the real teenage messiness in this book and the way it didn't shy away from the consequences that come from being out in a homophobic school. I also desperately loved the ending. It was just perfect. I hope that Cara finds her way out someday soon.

I liked the idea of this one, and I think it explored a lot of important topics especially re: homophobia in more "red" states and how difficult it can be to be out in high school. I was put off by how characters adopted Black culture (using AAVE, a scene with a weird Hamilton rapping moment) yet we hear only a description of one Black person, and don't even get to know them. I also had issues with how Cara's character unfolded and (mild spoilers) the lack of accountability for her homophobia, as if dealing with her grief absolved it. I also wish there was more build up of Jack and Amber getting together.

Rating 4.5/5☆
Audiobook
304 pages
Pub date June 7, 2022
Wednesday Books
GR avg. 4.17/5⭐

This was an excellent YA LGBT+ book. The audiobook was spectacular. Nothing worse then the villan in life or in a book being a bully. This is a great book filled with genuine characters going through teenage life, friendship, self discovery and figuring things out.

I really enjoyed the narration and highly recommend this book. I will be purchasing a copy for my forever shelf.

Amber’s dream is to become cheer captain at the end of the year in order to be able to get a promotion to go away for college but when the new quarterback, Jack, joins the team after the preview QB died in a car accident in the summer, the cheer and football team refuse to accept her, it puts Amber in a situation. The teams being against Jack makes it impossible for Jack to be able to be a part of the team fully, though both Amber and Jack start to build a connection and are falling for each other, it’s hard to be open when everyone is against Jack and Amber can’t seem to be able to fight for her.

I had a lot of fun listening to this audiobook, the narrators did an amazing job portraying the voices of the characters. The author, Adler, did such a good job creating this story with youthful angst and love. I really loved the typical cheerleader and quarterback trope, but even more so because it’s sapphic!

4.5 stars

A sapphic twist on the classic story of the cheerleader falling for the quarterback, Home Field Advantage is a poignant YA contemporary that does not shy away from presenting its teenage characters in all of their messy, imperfect glory. Adler tackles a number of issues in this novel (homophobia, misogyny in sports, religious bigotry, and the pressures of deciding when and how to come out, just to name a few) in a way that I found to be both sensitive and thought-provoking.

What I appreciated most about this romance, however, is how it struck a balance between what I often see as the extremes of YA contemporary. I have recently found myself getting turned off by the genre after reading books that were either so soft and overly romanticized or so hardcore and dark to the point of feeling completely disingenuous to the experience of adolescence. This book does such a wonderful job of finding that happy medium and I am so thankful for this book for getting over my YA contemporary hump.

Thank you to NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Audiobook review - I absolutely loved this book! The characters are believable and you just want to cheer them on both on and off the field. The descriptions of game play are well written and make you feel the adrenaline as Jack battles both the opposing team and her teammates. A great addition to all teen collections!

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio in exchange for an honest review.

Content warning: bullying, bigotry, sexism, racism, blackmail, anti-lgbtqia+ sentiments, teen death, miscarriage

Adler does it again! HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE not only tackles the inherent sexism in women wanting to play male dominated sports... or even play on the same team as men, but it also addresses how gender and sexuality isn't an either-or, that there are more than two options.

I really loved how Adler showed readers 3 different experiences into the queer world... and that even with supportive and understanding parents/guardians that it still can be hard or messy to figure out who you are and what you want (out of life and in a partner). The athlete high after a good game oozes off the page as does the stress of will-they-or-won't-they-win in the big game. Those moments were so fun to read. It was a smart move to have this novel told from two POVs (Amber and Jack) so that readers can see both sides.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE manages to be both lighthearted and something that tackles heavy subject matter. I can't wait for this to come out so I can get it into the hands of my teen patrons!

Natalie Naudus and Lori Prince do a great job with the audiobook narration - though cutting from one to the other is a little jarring.

Their quarterback dies in a car accident and is replaced by the new kid Jack Walsh, Jack happens to be short for Jacklyn and having a girl replace their fav QB is a huge task. Jack's team and the cheerleaders are mad and try to take her down at all costs, Amber, a cheerleader aiming for captain next year tries to calm tension, her team mates make it clear that she will lose cheer captain if she helps jack.....the problem with that Jack and Amber are falling in love.

I WISH I HAD THIS IN HIGH SCHOOL!!!! this was the sapphic cheerleader and QB romance I was dying for when I was younger and I was genuinely sad for this book to end; Natalie Naudus and Lori Prince did a fantastic job with the chemistry between the two characters and I thoroughly enjoyed how they brought them to life (I loved Natalie already). I didn't really get into any of the sports/cheer/popular kid scene in high school because of ✨bullying✨ so I was that kid who read all the books about the popular and cool kids to see what the 'ideal' high school experience is like and this was my fav trope so when I saw this on NetGalley i knew i NEEDED it. It defiantly lived up to the hype! It was fantastic writing and an adorable story.

Amber identifies as polysexual which I absolutely loved seeing a micro-label talked about, I generally really enjoyed the queer rep in this book; a line in particular I loved is when Jack talks about how amazing it was to hear Ambers mom mentioning being queer so casually. Ambers mom says something about having a bi bob and I know its a small thing but i totally would've picked up on that too, especially when i was younger seeing adults be queer casually was such a big thing and i loved that it was added in. the dynamics between Amber, Jack, and Miguel and them with their teams/other cheerleaders was also done well, although I do wish there was a bit more from the storyline between Amber and Cara(?I don't know spelling it was the audiobook), I think I would have enjoyed them discussing how Cara played into the bullying and hate the three of them faced a bit more, but it also isn't enough of a complaint for me to even think of lowering the rating.

This was such a beautiful story of queer love with the popular cheerleader and football QB trope done perfectly, and I cant recommend it more. Especially the audio book Natalie Naudus and Lori Prince crushed this!

*I received this as an audiobook arc from NetGalley, but these are my un-influenced thoughts*

This is the book I needed in high school!!

Jack aka Jacyln Walsh is the new quarterback at Atherton High School after their previous qb Robbie died in a tragic drunk driving accident. Everyone worships the memory of Robbie, making it even harder for Jack to make a positive impact with the team. They already hate her for being a girl, but they real hate her for "replacing" Robbie. She took a big chance coming to Atherton to play since her old school wouldn't let girls play on their football team, she even split up her families living situation to make her dreams of playing football come true.

Amber McCloud is the preppy cheerleader, she has the perfect boyfriend and wants nothing more than that C embroidered on her uniform next year. She has the perfect life, or so it seems. Amber is living in the closet, because if she comes out she can kiss that spot has captain goodbye as well as most of her friendships. You don't just come out in a small town Florida High school. But the new quarterback Jack has caught her eye and might make her question everything she wants.

Home Field Advantage was written so well, and more importantly was narrated so well. Lori and Natalie worked so well as Jack and Amber. I could feel the chemistry between the two of them even though their parts were separate. I also really related to Jack, since the team really ostracized her and I went through something extremely similar to that when I was a freshman on the varsity woman's water polo team in high school. So during the parts of the books that were talking about how the team was treating Jack I kept crying.

This was absolutely a five star read, with the content, writing, narration and story. It is one of my favorite books to date. I wish so much that I had had this book 15 years ago when I was in high school.

Cw/tw
Death
Car Accident
Homophobia
Religious Rhetoric
Black Mail
Miscarriage

Home Field Advantage is a quarterback/cheerleader romance with a twist. It is a wonderful coming of age story that touches on many heavy topics. The overall message is positive and focuses on being true to yourself.
I love how the MC have wonderful support systems within their own families. While the world inside the walls of high school is cruel enough for straight teens, it is even more difficult for LGBT teens. I was happy to see a few teammates finally stick up for Amber, Jack, Miguel, and Malcom.
I paired the eBook with the audio, and I am glad I did. The narrators did a wonderful job with the voices. I especially enjoyed being able to hear the emotions during Jack’s chapters.
Thank you to Net Galley, St. Martin’s Publishing Group and OrangeSky Audio for my eArc and audiobook copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book! I thought the audio was very well done. Lori Prince did a fantastic job of bringing Jack's character to life. Jack and Amber were both likable characters and the romance between them felt very real. I liked that this is a sapphic twist on the quarterback and cheerleader love story.

This does take place in a conservative town in Florida so there is some homophobia and misogyny within the story. It could be hard to read/listen to for some, but overall I think the author handled it in a realistic way.

I would recommend this one to fans of YA, sports, and LGBTQIA stories. This had similar vibes to She Drives Me Crazy and Some Girls Do, so if you enjoyed those, then you would probably like this one as well!

Thank you to netgalley for sending me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I wish I could give this 3.5 stars, but alas I have to round up or down. There were many aspects about this book that I really did enjoy, but there were other parts that I didn't particularly care for enough for me to not round up to 4 stars.

I do think the author is talented, of course. My complaint was that I felt as though some topics could have been handled with more care or perhaps research. Other than that I did appreciate the premise of a sapphic cheerleader and lesbian QB romance– very very cute.

Thank you to the author for delivering a happily ever after for the LGBT+ characters.

Thank you to OrangeSky Audio and NetGalley for the advance copy of the audiobook! Home Field Advantage is out on 6/7! Natalie Naudus (love her) and Lori Prince narrate. It was a fine audiobook, no complaints.
The story itself was just okay for me. It’s very cute. I am very hit or miss on if I like a YA book or not. I’m 30 so I guess that makes sense. I think because I just read a YA high school sapphic romance in a town full of bigots that this just didn’t feel like anything new or exciting for me reading it.
It was a short listen, under 8 hours. If you are looking for YA sapphic books it wouldn’t hurt to read this it’s a fine book I just didn’t personally love it.

A closeted bisexual cheerleader falls for the new girl quarterback in this charming queer YA love story set in small town Florida. I loved this book on audio narrated by Natalie Naudus and Lori Prince. The narrators did SUCH a great job bringing these characters to life. If you enjoy fake dating, coming of age stories and seeing characters find the courage to stand up for what's right against hatred and homophobia, this book is for you. Perfect for fans of I kissed Shara Wheeler, She gets the girl or Throw like a girl. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copies.