When Erika Parker-Ward, a professional and World Cup caliber soccer player is diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, she will do anything to keep it a secret from the world. However the cost of her medical care as well as supporting her family's business is threatening to overwhelm her. After a game, she meets Nate Simmons in a bar. Nate is a wealthy tech executive who is looking for a wife to fulfill his dying grandma's last wish. Soon they find themselves entering a modern day marriage-of-convenience that they agree to keep platonic despite their attraction to each other.

I'm not sure why, but I did not have high expectations at all for this book. However, I actually really enjoyed it! Certainly it's a bit unrealistic but it was honestly really fun! I loved the representation of chronic illness, LGBTQIA, and grief (including anticipatory grief!). As a Wisconsinite, I did really enjoy the Milwaukee setting too.

I will say that the ending perhaps felt a little bit rushed and some of the stuff regarding insurance/medical care etc weren't particularly accurate (I work in healthcare) but it did not detract from the story for me at all.

Overall a solid 4 stars! Thank you to Goodreads for the eARC in exchange for a review.

Best description I’ve ever heard: “He tasted like desire and need and a little like beef stroganoff.”

The font of the audiobook was in italics which wasn’t the best for reading comfort. I tried to change it on my kindle and no luck.

They got married for convenience and both thought the other was attractive so I didn’t go into this expecting anything other than a HEA. Erika is dealing with chronic pain issues so there’s quite a bit of medical things happening in the background of the story.

I didn’t really feel like they got to know each other. All of their conversations were about sex or wanting to have it. Which is fine but don’t call him your “platonic husband” when you’re boinking.

Since I usually keep these spoiler free, they should work on communication.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

Erika and Nate were very cute together. I enjoyed their connection and how swoony Nate was. I went into it expecting a romance story and got so much more.

I think this was one of those "its not you, it's me" times. Looking at Goodreads, my opinion seems to be in the minority. I think every thing about this book sounded great, I just couldn't connect with the characters. The first few chapters had me totally sucked in and then BOOM, I felt like a skipped a few life chapters.... Literally. It totally threw off the rest of the book for me. I think the disability rep in the sports world was done well and a perspective I haven't read yet. I a!ways appreciate books I was walk away from having learned something. all in all, worth reading and making your own opinion!

I don't usually read books like this, but when I saw that it had disability representation I just knew I had to request it on NetGalley!

This definitely got better towards the second half of the book in my opinion. It even managed to make me cry, which I didn't expect at all, but yeah the way some of the scenes where written was quite heartbreaking. My arc was missing the last chapter before the epilogue tho, so I did not read a (probably) crucial part of the story... But it still liked it more than I thought I would considering it's pretty smutty and I don't like books like that a lot.

I really liked this idea of this! And I did like the characters and the representation for the lgbtqia and how the author made awareness for rheumatoid arthritis.

Despite liking the storyline and the characters, the pacing just seemed all over the place. It switched pov so often it took me a minute to register who’s pov it actually was.

I did like the initial idea and marriage of convenience is one of my favourite tropes, but this just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Thank you to netgalley and The publishers for allowing me to read this arc in exchange of my honest review

Scoring a Spouse is the first book in a new series by Liz Lincoln. Although the book cover suggests that this is a sweet romance, this story is not for traditional romance readers. The main character is bisexual and there are several lesbian characters. There is a lot of profanity and graphic sex scenes.

Erika Parker-Ward is a professional soccer player who is trying to make both the World Cup team for the US and the US Olympic team. She is also secretly struggling with rheumatoid arthritis and is sinking under medical bills because she is scared of using her health insurance. She is also financially supporting her two moms failing business.

After a match she meets a fan in a bar who she is attracted to. Nate Simmons is a wealthy and introverted tech executive who needs to get married before his elderly grandma passes away. They hatch a marriage-of-convenience scheme to solve both of their problems. They must keep secrets from the press to make their scheme successful.

This story was totally not what I expected based on the book cover and description. The first surprise was that Erika is bisexual. There was also a lot of soccer-talk in the story; other sports-themed romances I have read contained fewer references to plays, etc. the last surprise is that this story is less upbeat because Erika is in a lot of pain. Readers such as myself who prefer escapist male-female romance may be disappointed. However Scoring a Spouse may appeal to a different audience, particularly female athletes and those battling chronic health issues.

I received an advance review copy (ARC) from NetGalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Let me start by saying I loved the book, and would’ve given it 5 stars had it not been obsessed with sex, as the overall storyline was good. My issue with this book is the sex scenes were quite explicit and were so numerous it became distracting, and probably the proofreader thought so too as they’d left a note in saying should they remove one of them! My issues with the story were that it felt like it was unrealistic and at cross purposes (i.e constantly saying as someone is bisexual whilst also saying the exgirlfriend’s name; she’s obviously bisexual, it doesn’t need restating so often as though she’s coming out again in ever chapter) perhaps in the hopes of gaining the lgbt community whilst losing that audience with the overly graphic sex scenes of a heterosexual couple. Overall the premise was good, and it could’ve been a good book for everyone if there were less sex scenes or they were just implied, and let it be a natural thing that half the characters are gay, don’t make it seem as though they all frequently announce they’re gay throughout normal activities as though coming out for the first time when they’ve been out for years, it just awkward and isn’t like realistic of what it’s like at all

Erika is in the US Soccer Women's Team. She has a deep secret--she is suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. And despite her overwhelming medical fees, she didn't want her team to know that she is suffering from arthritis. Nate is a successful CEO of a company. His grandmother, Oma's last wish is for Nate to settle down and get married. So by chance, the two meet each other and soon, romance develops between the two.

It started a bit slow to me but gradually the story grew into me. I do like the chemistry between Erike and Nate and the author has done a good job with the chemistry. The front cover of the story is really cute as well and appealing as well. Besides all the love story between Erika and Nate (and steamy scenes), the story does follow the journey of Erika when she is dealing with her diagnosis in arthritis. As someone who just recently got diagnosed with arthrtitis, I can totally relate to Erika's story.

Overall, I cannot wait to read more from this author--worth four stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Ms. Lincoln is a new-to-me author, so I had no specific expectations before reading. The story was quite entertaining and enjoyable. I'm not a big sports romance fan, but I do like a good marriage of convenience story that turns into something more. Erika is a professional soccer player and she meets Nate, who is a wealthy tech executive, at a bar and they hit it off immediately. Erika has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and struggling to pay for her medications and hide her diagnosis from her coach. Nate's predicament is that his grandmother is sick and she wants to see him happily married before she dies. His grandmother took him in when be was young and has always been there for him. He owes his success to her and he wants nothing more than to make her happy. Erika and Nate hatch a plan to enter a marriage of convenience to solve both their problems. He will be giving his grandmother exactly what she wants, and Erika will have the means to pay for her medication and keep her condition a secret. And so begins their charming journey to love..
An entertaining story that I am glad to have had the opportunity to read. I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Despite only giving this one three stars, I would still recommend it, depending on what you're looking for. Erika and Nate are wonderful main characters and I think they worked very well together. Lately I've grown a bit tired of the alpha male trope with super overbearing male main characters and women that secretly long to be "taken care off". I was very glad to see that Nate was just a very sweet and caring guy, that wanted to give his grandma a bit of happiness in her last few years.
Erika is just as awesome. A professional football player struggling with chronic illness and determined to stay at the top off her field (lol), she is determined and focused without being too narrow minded. I loved the representation and thought it was very well done with being a major aspect of the book without it being Erika's main characteristic.
The reason(s) I'm giving three stars despite some solid strong points is that I didn't really get the main conflict. Erika and Nate decided it's better to not date "for real" because it might go wrong an create problems. I kind of got the logic behind the reasoning but I just wasn't convinced. They could have just as easily try dating and taken it slowly. If it hadn't worked out, it would have made their eventual split much more convincing to their families and friends. The conflict just felt very forced to me and overly drawn out, which kind of made the whole thing feel kind of... pointless. Besides that the book was just a bit too predictable to me and it dragged a bit. Still I didn't actively dislike it and I think someone else might enjoy this a lot.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed the book, all opinions are my own.

This book is a sport romance with LGBTQ rep and also disability rep-rheumatoid arthritis.. It is part of a series and has a decent amount of spice. It also included lots of soccer, a cute puppy and a fake marriage which leads to it being an enjoyable read.

Mein Leseerlebnis

Nach dem Lesen des Romans bin ich mit gemischten Gefühlen zurückgeblieben.

Einige Aspekte des Liebesromans haben mir gut gefallen. So fand ich die Charaktere sympathisch und interessant. Auch fühlte sich die Geschichte aufgrund einiger Entwicklungen frisch und recht unverbraucht an.

Der Schreibstil der Autorin wirkte auf mich leider nicht so einnehmend wie erhofft. Ich konnte die Chemie und das Knistern zwischen den Charakteren leicht, aber nicht besonders intensiv spüren. Auch konnte ich zu beiden Hauptcharakteren keine allzu tiefe Verbindung aufbauen. In Bezug darauf habe ich auf mehr gehofft.

Blicke ich auf mein Leseerlebnis zurück, so war es ganz nett, aber leider nicht mehr. 🖤🖤3/4

Für wen?

Schaut in eine Leseprobe rein, spricht euch der Schreibstil in dieser an und empfindet ihr eine gute Verbindung mit den Hauptcharakteren, könntet ihr mit dem Liebesroman eine gute Zeit haben.

Scoring a Spouse by Liz Lincoln is the perfectly sexy sports romance that’s been missing from the genre because it has fake dating/marriage of convenience, forced proximity & a bisexual main character that has a chronic illness….do I need to say more?! This was an easy 4.5 stars & everybody should go read it please!
As a chronically ill person, I was ecstatic that the main character Erika Parker-Ward has rheumatoid arthritis while being a professional soccer player! I love that it didn’t shy away from showing the realities of living with chronic illness but it also showcased her capabilities & successes as well, especially when she had people in her corner supporting her.
I read this post procedure when I was in high pain & this book had me grinning, which the ability to do that despite my extremely high pain levels is majorly high praise. I love a swoon worthy romance & this definitely delivered.
It harps on the outrageous cost of paying out of pocket for anything medical related, like medicine & as someone who has had to do this, it felt realistically raw & conveyed that struggle well. I could empathize with many of her struggles of dealing with the constant pain, flareups, trials & errors with medicines, side effects & more.
This book is also frequently peppered with spice & the chemistry between these characters is electric. I love that it showcased the fact disabled/chronically ill people deserve the love stories & the spicy parts that come with it just like everyone else!
The ending felt a little rushed to me. I thought there would be more fallout with everything but I guess I could be a tad pessimistic from my own chronic illness past. However, I just loved this story, the team & both sets of friends & I want/hope to be able to read more from this world! This author definitely has a new fan! As someone who has arthritis myself, I’m so grateful for the chronic illness representation!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Scoring a Spouse comes out August 16, 2022!

Massive thanks to NetGalley & Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for giving me the opportunity to read an arc of this in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warnings: This book mentions &/or contains death specifically loss of parents & loss of grandparents, medical descriptions, chronic illness & sex.

I will share this to my socials closer to release day & add links once I do!

I didn't love it as much as I wanted to. I couldn't understand why she couldn't tell anyone. RA is a chronic illness, but treated correctly, you can do sports, even that high of a level. Also, my mind didn't compute when she said she wanted to be alone, to holding his hand on the next page (second chapter)?

love, passion, romance, found family, friendship and sports.
what's not to love? I enjoyed this read. I love a good marriage of convenience.
this wasnt a romcom, not even close. but it was a very well put together story.
I'll be recommending it to friends who are interested in sports romances

I just want to thank @netgalley and @lizlincolnauthor for allowing me an e-ARC copy of this book. I knew as soon as I read the synopsis that this would be right up my street. The cover is super cute too.

I love Erika, her suffering with rheumatoid arthritis is heart-breaking considering she is a football player, that can’t be easy and keeping it under wraps and to herself must be so hard.

Then we have Nate. Erika meets Nate whilst sitting in a bar after her match. Nate is a big fan of Erika so really takes an interest to her when she comes to talk to him. The pair hit it off and the rest is pretty much history – with a wee twist right at the start!

I loved it, I loved the romance, the slight spice and storyline. It was a great summer read. Both characters went on a journey and I respect them both.

I’d highly recommend if you like an easy, romance read.

Scoring a Spouse tells us about Erika Parker-Ward, 31-year-old woman, who has been playing soccer since the age of 9 and now she is a professional soccer player. Erica pays a lot of money for doctors and medications, because she suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. And she doesn't want anyone to know about it.

One day after a match she is sitting in the bar and meets there Nate Simmons - CCO of a company that creates video games (and Erika loves them!). He is also a huge fan of Erika, so Nate is really interested, when Erika comes to talk to him.

The two of them get to know each other that night and decide that they should marry, because Nate's insurance would help Erika to pay her bills for medications, and seeing Nate happily married would make his Oma (aka 91-year-old grandma who raised him) really happy. Yeah, that's the beginning of the story: Erika and Nate get married after knowing each other for one day.

I'm sorry, but I'm a sucker for celebrity romance books and forced proximity trope. In addition, this one has a disability representation AND a female is famous, not the guy. Sounds so cool! Side characters (both Erika's and Nate's friends) are amazing here, I would love to be part of their friend group. Also, I really loved how respectful they both were to each other in the beginning (when they only started pretending to be a married couple) and how they always communicated like real adults without any dramatic fights. Overall, this was a really cute read!

Some books with a contract agreement as a basis of a relationship can be tedious but this was brilliant. I love a good sports romance and this was pretty good. Especially having one of the protagonists Biexual, with lesbian mums, it really showed up for that type of audience. Perhaps if there is a sequel it can be about a female relationship of lauren or rose, or even better: Lauren and Rose.
The scene where Erika was on the phone talking to Nate's Oma had me in tears. Not many modern novels have this ability to create genuine feelings and encourage empathy. It may be a large loss that we do not have chick-flicks like the original Nicholas Sparks novel or P.S.I Love you by Ceclia Ahern, but this book had some of that relatability. As well it is amazing that the protagonist, Erika, who is a professional footballer, breaking gender norms of most fictional sports romances, she has RA. From a person who also has a chronic pain disorder, this needs to be shown in characters and in sports. We do sports but sometimes we feel like being on fire and Liz Lincoln mastered this beautifully. Erika the Chronic Pain Warrior I really want to read about in literature.

In this marriage of convenience romantic comedy, Erika and Nate are tasked with the impossible - pretend to be in love without actually falling in love. Neither of them want or have time for a serious relationship right now, but they both need to be married for their own reasons. So of course, a "fake" marriage sounds like it will solve all the problems, right?

I don't care if it's a predictable trope... it's still my favorite. You'll get me every time with a fake dating or marriage of convenience. There's something about the chemistry that's always there, just under the surface waiting to bubble over. And then once it does... holy hotness! The steamy scenes were fantastic, but so was the build up in their relationship. I also loved the friends each of them have and would love to see a series continue with more about them!

And I really enjoyed all the various types of rep in this book, diversity, chronic illness, LGBTQ+.