Another amazingnovel from Racquel Marie!⚽️🧡🏳️‍🌈

What I loved…
-Diverse LGBTQ+ (queer, asexual, pan/bi undecided, trans) and complex set of characters!
-Slow burn enemies to lovers
-Valentina is a messy main character, her flaws are made clear from the beginning and it’s so rewarding to see her grow throughout the novel.
-Leticia is such a special character, love how we slowly get to learn more about her as Valentina lets her in and starts to change her perception of their “rivalry.”
-Valentina’s relationship with her siblings and her Dad was tough to read at times.
Their family’s grief and Valentina’s anxiety was beautifully written.
-Fun stuff….soccer!!! I loved reading about the games and especially liked the scenes where Leticia and Valentina train one on one.

Solid 4.5 ⭐️ read! Looking forward to the next book!!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC💚

I have never been an athlete and I have never been to a summer camp so now I really felt like I missed out. This story brings sports(wo)manship, camaraderie, and friendship into such an engaging story.
The characters were well-written with humor, faults, and selfishness. But this just made the story more real and you really rooted for the teams.
The author managed to make the reader feel the emotional pressures the athletes were under. Whether it be winning, friendship, family, or romantic relationships, the characters had multiple different reactions to the pressure.
I really enjoyed this book.

I am always on the lookout for sapphic sports books and whew does this one deliver! Vale and Leticia hate each other at the start but are forced to work together as co-captains of their summer camp team. Their road from hate to love is lovely to watch. They're both fully formed, rich, flawed characters and they complement each other so well throughout the book.
This book is funny -- the jock banter is A+ -- but also deals with very real issues of parental loss, mental health, asshole parents, and navigating the pressure filled college process as an athlete (although that part was, um, not entirely true to life...)
Highly recommend!

I loved Ophelia After All and was so excited to get a copy of this book to review. It did not disappoint! I really enjoyed the setting of the soccer camp and seeing Vale's arc throughout the novel was so wonderful. The storyline that was the most powerful to me was the one with her dad and coming to terms with how their relationship has evolved throughout the years.

I also loved the journey that Vale went on with her friends and becoming a kinder, softer person. And of course, you can't forget the romance! Love a slow burn. Would definitely recommend this book for our kids' library.

I have finally got an arc of one of my most anticipated novels of 2023 and I, instead of taking my time with it, read it all within 24hrs. I would say I'm sorry but I really did try to at least wait another day to read the last 25% but then my body didn't let my physically fall asleep until I had finished it.

Ahhh!!!! This book was everything I hoped it was going to be and so much more!! I feel like I re-entered my soccer era (I played soccer for 7 years, never good but I did play). Being able to read Racquel write a SLOW BURN romance was honestly such a blessing. I know that this review won't make any sense but that's how you can know that I truly loved this book. I want to put Vale and Leticia in my pocket as my emotional support gay people.

Also, I know that there were a lot of OAA easter eggs but I only caught two so I really flopped on my job and a re-read to catch them all is a need not a want.

If you know anything about me, you know I'm Ophelia's biggest fan. It's one of my favorite books of all time, so you can imagine how excited I was for this book. My expectations were through the roof, and somehow this book managed to exceed them. It is definitely a new favourite. This is the standard for a YA romance.

We follow Valentina, whose life revolves around soccer. Her friends, her future, and her father's intense expectations are all related to the game. But after a fight with her longtime rival, Leticia Ortiz, everything gets complicated. She decides to run away to soccer camp for the summer, only to find out that she and Leticia will be co-captaining a team that could play in front of college scouts.

I loved every aspect of this book; from the characters to the plot. Let's start with the basics: I'm not a fan of soccer, I don't understand it, and to be honest I don't care at all about it; Still, I was really very invested in every play and plan and training, the team and the dynamic that the author created made the game incredibly engaging even for a person like me.

Our main character Valentina was amazing, I love her. At the beginning of the book we see that she is a kind of closed person. She doesn't share much of her feelings or the things she's going through with the people around her. She's really strong headed and does things a certain way. This all ties back to the relationship she has with her father, who is one of those people who says they want the best for you, but ends up being the reason you're sad and troubled.. She really internalizes all of his expectations and is so focused on winning that she can get lost in that frustration. I kind of related to Valentina in a way, like expecting the best and the worst from her at the same time, so I connected a lot with her character. She has incredible character development and by the end of the book she regains some of her balance. There are many family relationships throughout the book; her brothers, especially Jorge, her dad and her mom, who died when she was younger and shaped much of who she is now.

The romance is definitely amazing, I fell in love with Leticia too. I loved the jokes and the banter between them. Their relationship starts off a bit strained, they don't get along (although I wanted them to kiss like in page 80), but as the book progresses, we see Vale softening up. The sarcasm never ends and I love that for them. Vale. and Letty's jersey numbers being 7 and 13 feels very Taylor Swift coded, but I'm trying not to read too much into it. (just in case anyone cares, the fact that the song seven fits Vale too well hurts my soul)

The family found in this book is top tier. The team that Vale and Letty are co-capturing is not very good, which really upsets Vale. She sees all their flaws and focuses too much on them, she doesn't have this team spirit. As the story progresses, we see her making an effort to really connect with her team and trying to control the game a bit less. She cares a lot about her teammates and begins to let go of her fears of not being good enough. In the end it's just two sapphic mothers and their nine children playing soccer.

One thing I love is Racquel's writing style. It's so easy to immerse yourself in it, it flows right through the page. The plot is somewhat predictable, but that's to be expected from a romance, still I enjoyed everything about it.

Overall this is one of the best romances I've ever read. She is heartfelt, funny, wholesome and a little bit sad. Racquel Marie continues to be a favorite author and I can't wait to read her next books.

I fell in love with Racquel Marie’s debut, so naturally I was already anticipating whatever she would write next. I got even more excited when I read the summary: soccer sapphics and rivals-to-lovers no less! With a lot of heart and passion, You Don’t Have a Shot follows a girl as she must co-captain a team with her long-time rival at soccer camp.

Valentina Castillo-Green has been playing soccer for her entire life; it’s what introduced her parents and what’s allowed her to feel close to her mother after she passed. After a disastrous loss in the last game of her junior year against her rival Leticia‘s team, she finds herself at her childhood soccer camp with her two friends Dina and Ovie. There, Vale realizes winning the camp tournament might be her last chance to impress college scouts. There’s only one problem: her co-captain is Leticia, with whom she can barely hold a civil conversation. Throughout the summer, though, Vale gets to know her better, and for the first time in a long time, she begins to have fun playing soccer.

I really loved Vale’s character. She’s so focused on winning that she loses sight of a lot of other things, including her friends and just generally being a good person. She can be blunt and borderline cruel, but as we begin to learn more about her father, it’s clear that she’s internalized a lot of what he’s told her. Vale hates feeling like her father but she can’t help but act like him throughout the book, as she sometimes feels like she’s the only one who actually wants to win. Of course, this isn’t true, but I completely understand why she lashes out like she does.

Vale has a lot of character development throughout the book, aided by Leticia never failing to give her a new perspective on things. She makes a lot of rash judgments, based on initial (and unfair) impressions. She says a lot of mean things without thinking. However, it was so important to see her regret over and recognition of these moments; Vale’s grown up in a hostile household, where her father is always quick to point out other’s flaws. I think it would be very difficult for her to grow out of such a mindset, and I liked seeing how she slowly starts changing from her initial thoughts.

One such example of this was her relationship with Leticia. The two of them have hated each other since their first encounter at the same soccer camp when they were twelve. The book opens with the two of them playing against each other and Vale ending up getting very aggressive. Needless to say, she is very upset to learn that Leticia will be her co-captain.

They clash immediately and often throughout the book, but I liked how they both slowly started warming up to each other. Leticia isn’t the person Vale has been building up in her head, and vice versa. They gradually work to a good rapport and are able to bond with their team better.

I was eating up Vale and Leticia’s hate-to-love relationship! Their banter was so good, and I loved how they constantly tease each other. I couldn’t stop smiling while reading this book, especially at the last chapter.

I also really liked the exploration of Vale’s complex relationship with soccer and her family. Of course, soccer is her life and the only way to keep a connection with her mother, who passed away suddenly from cancer when she was thirteen. It’s also the only thing she can sort-of bond over with her emotionally unavailable father, even if much of this relationship is him berating her over what she allegedly could have done better. The combination of these two things have led her to love the sport, but she hasn’t actually had fun playing since she was a kid. This summer allows her to open up and remember what she actually loves about the sport.

There’s more I could get into about this book, but just know that I really loved it. The character arcs were so well done, and the romance had so much tension that I was screaming. If you’re intrigued by a hate-to-love, sapphic soccer contemporary novel, I think you’ll love You Don’t Have a Shot!

Racquel Marie is an auto-buy, auto-read author for me at this point. Ophelia After All was one of my favorite books of last year, and You Don't Have a Shot is probably going to be one of my favorites of this year. It's beautiful. It's adorable. It's so unbelievably messy but in a good way. I still know nothing about how soccer works. I love the soccer gays, though.

Valentina was a brilliant character to follow, perfectly imperfect. Her flaws were clear to the readers but so where the reasons for those flaws. Her relationships with her family were complex and intricately multi-layered; it was wonderful to see Vale grow and change through out the course of the book.

Leticia is just...I really like Leticia. I really enjoyed the fact that we got to know her slowly and that our perception of her changed in time with Vale's. Their dynamic was well developed and highly enjoyable. The side characters were developed just enough to not be flat but to not consume the story and instead add to it.

The grief and expectations themes were very well fleshed out. The writing was great too (sorry, I'm running out of words. I really liked this book.)

The plot was not inventive but, my god, was it fun. Honestly, I don't really know what else to say.

Overall, really good book! You should read it.

Thank you to Feiwel and Friends and Netgalley for an e arc of this book!


When Vale ruins her last soccer game as captain junior year by getting redcarded in an altercation with her ultimate rival, Leticia, she is desperate to do whatever she can to catch college scouts eyes and have another chance at being recruited. Even if that means going to a soccer camp from childhood she thinks is beneath her. Even if that means making a deal with the devil--Leticia-- to co-captain a team with less skill than she is used to all the way to finals and those recruiters. Along the way, she just might realize that the whole Everyone Else is in the Wrong attitude she's been stoking might not be exactly the problem. Could Vale herself be her own worst enemy?


This book made me cry while I was sick which is rude!!! But they were also happy tears which I probably needed so I guess I will forgive it. Racquel did it again with an outstanding standalone novel that shows growing up and coming to terms with the possibility that you might be part of the problem? And maybe change isn't always bad? Oh, and also, you are NOT defined by what others say about you.

Leticia is absolutely peak love interest *chef's kiss*. She is such an interesting character and is the catalyst for so.much growth and understanding and SUCK IT miscommunication trope because Leticia is not stupid and she knows BS when she sees/hears it!

The soccer aspects of this novel are so good. I never really played soccer (except in kindergarten lol) but I loved reading about the positions and the workouts and the FOUND FAMILY team love that always keeps me coming back to the queer sports romances.

I loved this book so much and you will too!!!


CW: emotional abuse, death of a parent, cancer, grief, bullying

Thank you Netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

5/5 ⭐️

This is a glorious magnificent book. I could not put it down. Valentina is hands down one of my favorite protagonists of the year so far. Her character development some of the best I’ve read. I loved the way that the the team Vale thought would be a waste of time would help her love soccer again. I also just adored the team in general their dynamics were amazing. Vale truly cared about her team and it was magnificent.

And Vale and Leticia?? When I say I want sapphic rivals to lovers sports romance THIS is what I’m talking about. I was giggling, I was screaming, I was having the time of my life. When I heard Leticia call Vale Princesa I was deceased. Their banter was truly amazing and their development was just amazing. And this was definitely a slow burn, I was begging for them to kiss like 40 pages in.

I can’t wait for people to get their hands on Racquel Marie’s sophomore novel so I can see everyone love this book as much as I do.

This book was so incredible, and felt so endearingly nostalgic to me! EVERYONE should read this but especially all the girls who turned to soccer when they didn't have anything else growing up. This book reminded me of my childhood; a world of bright pink cleats, grass allergies, and headband-braid combos worn day after day. This story was so healing for me, to put it simply! The acespec rep was amazing, and the relationships explored between friends, siblings, and parents all resonated so deeply.
5/5 ⭐️

I came away from this with slightly mixed feelings, in part because it wasn't quite what I expected in tone, and in part because I had some issues with the pacing.

I'm a huge fan of queer sports romances, so in that sense this should have been a win, as it's set at soccer camp. I was expecting this to be more romance-heavy and a little lighter in tone, though, so I might enjoy this more as a reread when I know better what to expect. Because this was largely focused on Valentina's personal struggle, dealing with her abusive father and grieving her mother who passed away a few years before, which has left her not always acting the way she would want.

Even though this was heavier in tone than I expected, I did appreciate how Valentina was given the space to fuck up and make amends, but I also kind of felt like the pacing was off here. Most of her character development happened after the 80% mark, which felt pretty late for me, and made her redemption feel a little rushed.

I felt the same way about the romance. For the first half of the book, we know barely anything about Leticia, so while I did end up really liking her, it took a little too long for me for the romance to kick off, so I didn't feel as invested as I would have wanted.

All in all, this is a book I would recommend, and it's one I might have to reread eventually, but as of now it isn't a new favourite.

I absolutely loved this sapphic soccer story! With themes/tropes of enemies to lovers, healing from deep, deep grief, and learning how to be a good friend and an even better teammate. This book feels like a Disney film come to life with excellent queer rep and a sincerely fun storyline.

Just like Racquel Marie's other book, Ophelia After All I loved this book too! I love the way she writes complex characters who the reader can relate to! I'll definitely be recommend this to all of my friends!

Thank you, Macmillan Children's Group, for allowing me to read You Don't Have a Shot early.

I loved She Drives me Crazy, Ophelia After All and I'm a huge soccer fan so I was really eager to read You Don't Have a Shot. Just like I fell head over heels with Ophelia, I also fell for Vale and Lecicia!. Loved, loved, loved this book!

You had me at soccer gays.

You Don't Have a Shot is a heartwarming, funny, and incredibly gay YA sports romance. It also features one of my favorite tropes: enemies to lovers. I loved the banter between Vale and Leticia and the deep connections the girls at camp formed with each other. This had me smiling big at the end. A book I'll certainly be suggesting to others.

I'M SCREAMING!!! I loved loved loved this book! Reading this book made me want to rewatch Bend it Like Beckham and She's the Man. The enemies to lovers trope was executed so well, I could feel the tension! The found family aspect was really sweet and there was depth in the side characters that made it feel more genuine. This book also touched on some heavy family themes that I was not expecting to relate to as much as I did. I can't recommend this book enough!

Where to start? This book follows Valentina Castillo-Green's summer at soccer camp as she co-captains her team with her rival Leticia. While she finds the experiences very aggravating in the beginning, them ending up paired together probably is the best thing that could have to Vale. I love the banter that they have between each other, it's very easy to understand why her best friends Ovie and Dina would make fun of her so much about her obsession with Leticia. I feel like this book was able to grapple with how the pressures from a parent (especially a parent that is very scant with their affection) can lead to someone pushing themself into become a person that they may not really want to be. Seeing Vale slowly regain a love of soccer with the help of her team and rebuild the relationships that she actively damaged was touching. With this and Ophelia After All under her belt, I am very excited to see the next thing that Racquel Marie whips up.