This book had a lot of potential, and there were a lot of things I enjoyed about it, but ultimately, it didn't live up to its potential for me. I enjoyed the setting and the plot. The story certainly has a fun premise, and I liked the execution. But I found the writing to be a little rocky, and I especially felt like the pacing of the romance was off, which is mainly where the book lost me. They would go from fighting to being nice to each other to having sex super quickly, and sometimes they went right back into fighting, and every time their fights had barely any substance, it all felt a little forced. Because of this, I didn't really like their dynamic, and I wasn't convinced by the romance.

Stereotypical elements especially since Lucas is gay. 25% in sex scene and the comment about the underwear he expected him in tight underwear or a thong

I was very excited going into this book because I’m a huge lover of enemies to lovers and sports fiction. Those are two elements I always look for and to have them combined was a dream come true. Unfortunately, it became quickly evident that this book would not be for me. I had to dnf at 28% because I knew I was not going to have a change of heart.

The transitions are rough to put it honestly. One second they’re doing something mundane like eating lunch at the canteen then the next they’re about to sleep. You get barely any context of the in between motions, that’s important so you’re not suddenly thrown into something else. The development between Lucas and Oliver is severely lacking. At 24% Oliver was saying he was seeing Lucas as more than a teammate. That was after a screaming match they had. The enemies part wasn’t really there, they would be snide or aggressive but it was really lacking. You didn’t feel any connection between the two. That could’ve been due to the dialogue or the lack of emotion on the pages.

The biggest thing that I could not overcome was the stereotypes that were thrown at Lucas’s character. He is an openly gay main character but was consistently having comments made about that. His love life was the focus constantly, even with his own friends and family, it didn’t make sense why. None of the other characters had that focus like he did. Then the author decided to feminize him because he was a gay man not because Lucas was genuinely more feminine. From the small amount details we got about Lucas it was evident he was a regular more masculine passing male athlete. Not once was there mention of him taking interest into feminine things. At 25% Lucas has sex with Oliver and Oliver makes a comment that he thought Lucas would wear thongs or tight briefs. That comment was entirely unnecessary when there’s literally no reason for Oliver to think that. He only thought that because Lucas is a gay man.

Overall, I really did try to power through this to give it a proper review but the lack of details, emotion, lack of flow and then the obvious stereotypes made it impossible for me to continue. This book was not for me.

I really loved the idea of this one but I don't think the execution was as great unfortunately. The premise of this story started out so strong, but I felt like the two main characters went from hate to love too quickly. I think it had to be fleshed out a little more. I also didn't feel much of a connection between the characters and wasn't really attached to the book. That said, I really liked the idea behind the whole book and think this could be done super well

Olympic enemies was a delightful book that had a great amount of character development throughout the entire story. Throughout the novel the author told a story of 2 people that were enemies at the beginning of the book to a HEA at the end. Their relationship grew over time and their characters were flawed but lovable. Something that was different that I enjoyed was the relationship between teammates at the Olympics. This author did a great job of having characters that actually talk to each other about traumatic events that have happened to them in the past. Overall, this is a great enemies to lovers read.

Thank you for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
First of all I want to say that I highly anticipated this book. My favourite queer romances are RW&RB, Heated Rivalry and Boyfriend Material and I love gymnastics, I’ve watched it since I was tiny. I love queer sports romances, and this book seemed made for me, but boy we had some problems here.

First of all, was there an editor involved with this book? If there was, they were sleeping on the job. Some huge errors, especially in continuity. The worst one for me was this….
“It was going to hurt to see Brayden compete on rings and parallel bars today” only to turn the next page and find this….. “.. but even though Brayden was taking my spot he was only performing on vault and floor..” I can’t understand how the author wrote this and it then escaped all edits from them and the editor? There is no cohesion.
Also, the two characters had a fight, at one point it happened outside an event and a member of the public took a photo, but a few chapters later the fight happened inside a toilet.


While I believe that the author likes gymnastics, I don’t believe she really understands much about it, nor did much research. There are some glaring mistakes, one is the schedule. It’s set in every Olympics, so it follows the same pattern, so why did we get this jumbled mess? From team qualification the next day was the women’s floor and beam finals (the beam closes the whole thing) then onto floor final for men then team for women…. Nope, sorry, this isn’t right, this isn’t how it ever is and anyone who barely watches gymnastics knows this. It follows a pattern of team qualification, team finals, AA finals, apparatus finals.

That’s not even mentioning the mistakes within their own schedule, Brandon was getting the shot for the next day’s team final event, but then it was the floor finals the next day….. The writer herself seems confused with her own schedule!

I also doubt she knows much about professional athletes. In no universe are those competing at the pinnacle of their career going drinking before the event. And they don’t wake up and go straight on a walking tour of Paris all day, they stretch and foam roll their muscles for at least an hour and train, they’re not wondering around Paris drunk at night and getting tattoos 2 days before they’re going to be on the floor. Gymnasts are very precious with their bodies, the things they ask of them, they don’t just drink all the time.
Also the time off, a day off for family day into a day off bunking to see the diving goes into a day off to tour Paris into a day off to deal with the press, this isn’t it, but OK…..

The characters were not fleshed out at all. They didn’t even have their own distinct voice or personalities. Instead they were given ‘things’ Oliver was given loss, he lost his girlfriend and unborn baby and his mother at birth (seriously how much loss) and Lucas was given a masters degree he was working on, why did he need to be working on this, well without that and watching B-99, he would have no discernible personality (he’s very young to be doing this anyway, but a Olympian too?). Also, at different points it’s a dissertation and then a thesis, that’s not the same thing.


Both had no depth at all, mentioned in shallow ways and had no real impact on either character, everything was barely on surface level, if that.

Brayden, why was he excluded so often? He was on the team, the reserve is as much a part of the team and this is exactly how any team would treat him, as one of them. The team as a whole seems pretty toxic, first the three of them bully Lucius and then ignore Brayden, who is obviously key to them winning gold, but OK. I doubt Oliver would ever be a leader of a team where he had gone to attack one of his teammates either.

Where did Oliver get the money to send Lucius’ family over first class? Also the time to arrange this in a day?

I read there was Demi representation (I’m Demi) and really didn’t feel that came across at all, I guess it’s Lucus, it was never mentioned and it wasn’t as if he had much of a bond with Oliver, so it wasn’t well done.

I do question the sense of naming them Lucas and Oliver, I in no way think this has anything to do with Boyfriend Material, however when there is already an established and well loved pairing named Luc and Oliver, why not rename them? Just doesn’t seem well thought out, it would save answering any questions about it with one name change.

There were other issues too, one being that the incorrect ‘to’ was used numerous times when ‘too was actually the correct version to use. I fail to believe a writer would make the mistake and then it’s missed by editors too. Why are British characters saying ‘mom’? It reads as if the writer probably reads a lot of US fics, perhaps?
There were also pacing issues too.

There were some cute moments between them.

From expecting to love it, this book was actually a bit of a mess. I didn’t want to write this review, but books are not cheap, and this is an honest review.
I’m genuinely sorry to the author, I know they all hate bad reviews, but there were some huge flaws here and I can’t believe they were missed by a publisher, it reads as completely self published. There may have been some potential but this reads as an extremely early and rough draft of a fic rather than a novel and it was let down by a non-existent edit.

Rebecca Caffery brilliantly creates a story that of Lucas & Oliver, enemies to lovers, that has you not wanting their story to end! I love the concept of Olympic Enemies & how the two overcome the obstacles that are put in their life to only grow closer together & into each others lives. It’s through our pain that we can find relief & those around us that help us through difficult times. I greatly enjoyed how the topic of Oliver being outed by the press & the anger he experienced from that moment, because it’s a precious moment that some are forced out. A very happy read & loved the the inclusion for the upcoming Olympics. Here’s to hoping that we can see more of Lucas & Oliver! I know we aren’t supposed to judge a book by the cover but having curly hair myself my only gripe is that Lucas’s curly hair is constantly referenced yet neither of the characters on the cover have curly hair.
Thank you NetGalley & Wild Rose Press for this eARC!

Thank you to Wild Rose and netgalley for an ARC copy of Olympic Enemies for an honest review.

This was my first m/m romance and I adored Lucas and Oliver.

My favorite part of this book was them building their relationship from hatred to love. The author captured all the sweet moments perfectly and I liked how it was more sweet over spice and them trying to get a grasp on their feelings for one another. Although the bathroom scene had me cackling out loud 😉

In the beginning I did have a bit of a hard time telling the voices apart but otherwise this story left me with a huge smile on my face when I was done.

If you're looking for a quick m/m sweet romance this book is worth the read.

Get ready to have your hearts melted by Lucas and Oliver, gymnastic rivals and 'enemies' turned lovers. This is one of my favourite tropes so I was excited to read it transplanted into the high stakes world of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Serious Lucas has come to Paris completely focused on winning gold on floor and completing his master's dissertation; there is no time to fraternise with the team, even if his team captain Oliver is distractingly handsome. He is out of the closet but resisting the limelight as far as possible. Enter fun-loving Oliver and his mischievous teammates, determined to win but not at the expense of having a good time. For two such different people, sparks fly when they are forced to share a room at the games.

Despite an abrupt shift at the beginning of the novel (Is there truly an 'enemies' phase for these two? If there is, it only last five minutes before they cannot resist each other), the romance between Lucas and Oliver is convincing. Their differences, and the journey they come on as a result, is satisfying, Lucas lightening up and Oliver taking things a bit more seriously. The narrative was at its best when the games start properly, the romance and intrusive publicity at every turn presented alongside the tension of competition. This was also enhanced by the strength of Lucas and Oliver's bond with their families and the humanity they bring to the central couple.

Overall, this is a cute novel and I hope we get some bonus, post-Olympic content about these two once they finally admit their feelings (let's all admit they were boyfriends looooong before they cared to confess as such!). 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Having been interested in the book for quite a while, I had quite some expectations. I mean how could I resist a queer rivals to lovers athlete book??
And I definitely did not get disappointed!

Olympic Enemies absolutely caught me with its emotional writing style and I couldn’t help but fall head over heals for Lucas and Olivers story.
The author perfectly pictured the reality of being such a popular athlete and how hard it is to be open about your sexuality when the whole world is watching you.

So a big thank you to Rebecca J. Caffery for writing such an amazing and real book!

Actual rating- 4.5 stars

I absolutely loved this book! The romance, the setting, the friendships, all chef's kiss amazing.
The book started with Lucas and Oliver having to share a room at the Olympics not particularly liking each other. I went into this thinking it was an enemies to lovers book, but it really felt more like there wasn't enough effort put into getting to know each other compared to being enemies.
I absolutely adored the friendship that the team had with each other, it really was an unbreakable friendship and as the book continued on, it was really apparent.
As the characters made mistakes, they did their best to fix it immediately and I really loved seeing that as it's not really seen like that very often. Especially when it's side characters who made these mistakes. It was all just really well written and I really enjoyed it.
Thank you to NetGalley and The Wild Rose Press for an eARC copy of this book.

3.5 stars

this book wasn't as bad as people made it out to be. did it have its faults? yes. however, i enjoyed the overall romance and plot. i thought that lucas and oliver made a good couple, and i loved their friendship with julius and tom. i wish we saw more of lucas's sister or best friend, but it made sense that we saw mostly julius and tom because that was who was with them every second of the day.

my only two qualms were the pacing and the grammar mistakes. hopefully, seeing as this book is getting published in a month, the grammar mistakes have been looked over and fixed. it's nothing big, just some small mistakes that can easily be understood regardless, but they are something that should be fixed before any book is released into the world.

the pacing was quite fast. this book is marketed to readers as enemies-to-lovers, which it is, but it doesn't have a good in between stage that makes enemies-to-lovers work. in the beginning when they are enemies, they are going at each other's throats. it's a little too strong to be a mutual dislike and is more a hate. it's hard to make that work since enemies-to-lovers is actually more of a dislike-to-lovers, which appeals to people and allows them to see how these two characters could learn to love each other. in this book, because the "enemies" stage is so strong, it's necessary to have a stage in between where they learn to like each other before delving into love. it is missing that part and moves right into them being lovers, which felt too abrupt to me. it worked out in the end, but i didn't like how fast the beginning moved. plus, the third-act breakup was just not done as well as it could have been. it happened really fast and ended even faster.

this book was 290 pages. it's not like it's a long book; it could have had more pages and more time to fully explore some of the stages of oliver and lucas's relationship.

i still liked it. i wouldn't go back to reread it, but i enjoyed it while reading it the first time.

3.5 stars.

Overall, I enjoyed this book! The premise was interesting the characters were cute together.

I often find myself shying away from books that have sports because, well, I know nothing about sports. But since the sport in question is gymnastics I had no problem learning quickly what the lingo meant and following what was happening in the arena. The setting of this being in the Olympic Village was also really fun and fresh, especially following our most recent olympics where, due to social media, we got a closer look at what it’s like behind the scenes there.

Romance wise, this story worked well for me. It was enemies to lovers but not the unbearable they actually hate each other kind, more of the unspoken tension they just don’t understand each other kind. It also didn’t fall into the usual tropes I see in these kinds of books, throughout the whole thing it was always clear to us the reader and also to the characters that they cared about each other. Lucas really was a shining light for me in this book, out of all the characters he felt the most fleshed out and complex to me, because of this though I found myself not warming up to Oliver for a while - He was really set on changing Lucas into an extrovert when he just wasn’t and as someone who honestly prefers my own company and relates to Lucas a lot, that was frustrating to have to read.

In the end, though I didn’t exactly agree with the way Lucas and his introversion was treated by others, it was a sweet book and I would recommend it to anyone who had enjoyed Casey McQuiston or Alexis Hall’s work.

Thank you to Netgalley, The Wild Rose Press, Inc. and Rebecca J Caffery for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

NOTE: Netgalley was unable to post review to goodreads due to no ISBN. I will be posting separately and providing a link.

I liked this so much more than I thought I would! Oliver and Lucas are Olympic gymnasts competing for England. Oliver is the captain and very into team-building. Lucas is aloof and reserved. They hate each other until they hook up, and both perform well afterwards, so hthey decide to continue quietly hooking up, but just hooking up—no feelings. We all know where this leads.

The best parts of this book is the Inside Baseball (Inside Pommel?) look at gymnastics and all the details of the competition. Oliver and Lucas connect in large part because they’re two of a very small group who have dedicated their life to gymnastics and achieved so much, which could also slip away at any time. That comes across well.

It’s a little hard to picture the future for Oliver and Lucas, but that’s customary of most New Age romances since they’re so young. Still, I liked this and would read more from this author.

I got an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have so many thoughts I don't even know where to begin. I'm an avid fan of sports romances and the plot sounded like something that would be right up my alley. I guess in a way it was but then it was also not. Although the pace is rather weird, the story managed to keep me interested in the actual sport, it didn't just brush it to the side in favor of the romance, instead, it created such an amazing atmosphere while describing the practices that even while missing half of it due to the technical descriptions I still found myself immersed in it.

However, everything else felt a bit flat, not precisely bad, just flat. For instance, the characters' personalities seemed to be... well, not entirely developed. They were not completely unlikable but it felt like the author only cared about giving actual depth to the two main characters and even then their actions would sometimes come across as straight-up illogical.

I understand human beings are complex and their feelings don't always have to make sense, but when a book is narrated in first-person I truly expect to understand their feelings and motivations a little bit better. Frankly, I couldn't even tell you when the transition between their so-called animosity and the actual relationship happened (if you could even call that a transition). It's like it came out of nowhere, it was rushed, there was no build-up, no tension leading up to it, one moment they were fighting, the next they wanna sleep together. What am I supposed to do then? Just go with the flow?

To this I wanna add that I feel like the characters don't even have their own narrative voices, what I mean by this is that I often forgot whose perspective I was reading through and couldn't for the life of my tell based solely on their voices because they're simply indistinguishable. I needed to keep going and wait to see any references or go back and check the beginning of the chapter. So yeah... that could've been better

[About the secondary characters, can anyone tell me what the character of Brayden was even created for? he was supposed to be the one on the team who was -if only a little bit- closer to Lucas prior to the story, yet once he actually showed up, with no further explanation, he was just painted as an annoyance and completely ignored. What was that about? Also, I don't want to go on a rant but characters like Lucy, Alicia, Estelle, etc. should've been developed and should've had more interactions, I feel like all I know about them I've learned through the boys' perspectives, which isn't ideal (hide spoiler)]

Regarding the main topics, I personally would have loved to see an in-depth exploration of the motive of grief. [It would've made sense to have at least a single paragraph just about Amber. She was supposedly so damn important to Oliver, yet I still don't know much of her? (hide spoiler)] Julius and Oliver both live with it, I was constantly told it was present in them, but I never truly felt their grief. At the end of the day, I understand things like death are often used in these kinds of works as plot devices but it just felt empty at times.

There were some issues with the grammar and expression as well but this being an arc I'm guessing it's just the lack of an editor that I'm sensing.

Finally, after being such a downer I feel like I have to clear up why I DID like the book since I gave it 3 stars. Well, the thing is it actually does what it intends pretty well. It's entertaining, it's sweet, it's just undoubtedly a quick fun read. If you want to sit in the evening with a cup of tea and read something that will not change your life but will surely make you laugh and feel all warm inside then this may still be your book! I do not regret the time I spent reading it and would love to see what the result may be if the author just polishes it a bit.

What a way to start my 2023 reading off! This was cheesy, cute, and a wonderful way to end my work week. There were some editing issues that I'm sure will be worked out (some words missing or wrong words) and there were times where I felt a little weird about Oliver and if he was really over Amber. But I think it all came together nicely in the end. It was low angst and a light enemies to lovers. Solid 4/5, I will be buying this book once it comes out.

In a year where we have no Olympics following the back to back Winter/Summer Olympic rush of the last two years, Olympic Enemies is such a gift. The story seems simple at first - two guys on the same team absolutely can't stand each other but are forced to be roommates and sparks inevitably fly. But the story has so many more layers than that. It tactfully and thoughtfully handles grief, what it means to be private in the public eye, the tough decisions we are all making, the drive to win gold at any cost. And honestly, I was delighted by every single sweet moment that unfolded. Our main characters had great chemistry and rich backstories; so did their teammates and the other friends we got snippets of along the way. I found myself really rooting for them once they started to catch feelings and already rooting for them on their gold medal journeys. Being set in Paris, having the obsessive training and drive of athletes to ground the story added texture that was easy to get lost in. The romance was swoonworthy, even when our characters were trying to figure everything out for themselves and their careers and their lives.

I am a sucker for Olympics books, so Olympic Enemies caught my attention. I really enjoyed the initial reasons that Oliver and Lucas did not get along and it was very different from a lot of enemies to lovers books, but a perfectly reasonable reason to dislike one another. It was charming to read them overcoming those differences and falling for one another over the course of their competition. I appreciated the representation this book offered for queer athletes and the statements it made about the public and private lives of those in the spotlight.

Olympic Enemies gave me Red White and Royal Blue meets Boyfriend Material vibes. Just think: two guys who hate each other immensely start liking each other and keep their relationship a secret until the press finds out. Two guys named Lucas and Oliver (did Rebecca J. Caffery do this on purpose?).

Sadly, those vibes didn’t quite live up to my expectations. The story felt like a pale imitation of the two books mentioned above. Don’t get me wrong, the book is incredibly easy to read, it’s sweet, I loved the humor, and a smile danced on my face whenever Lucas and Oliver interacted. But the two voices were very indistinguishable, and sometimes I didn’t know if I was reading Lucas’ or Oliver’s chapters. Furthermore, this book needs far more editing, and can I scream for a moment about the constant use of the word whilst? Besides, I didn’t understand why Olympic athletes carelessly drank alcohol. They’re fulfilling their dream, and on their day off, they’re just getting drunk, including a visit to a tattoo shop at 1 AM?

I flew through the story within twenty-four hours, mostly because I started scanning the text instead of actually reading it at a certain point. And when the third-act breakup arrived, I almost threw my Kindle away in frustration.

I always hate it when I’m writing a more negative review. Sorry!!! And I know a lot of you will probably love this romance. So, if you want to read this book, please check out other, more positive reviews and just ignore mine.

Actual rating 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 because I liked the sweetness of the romance.

4.5 stars. There’s just something about the Olympics that makes me SOB. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There were a few typos but nothing could prevent me from being fully engrossed in Lucas and Oliver’s story. I loved both of these boys so much, and I thought the author did such a great job of portraying what it’s like to be a queer athlete. A quick, light-hearted read that doesn’t take itself too seriously and makes you feel all the feels.

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the eARC!

Overall, this is a wonderful story and the way Lucas and Oliver come together is sweet.

And while I did enjoy the book and didn't want to put it down, the last 25% or so of the book seemed less put together than the rest. Some random plot issues, like saying something would happen at 8am and then the next character saying it is happening at 8:30am and the error is not part of the book plot. This isn't the only one, but they are all minor like this.

The last quarter of the book also felt rushed and like some of the plot was out of order. Without giving much away, the inevitable argument/hurt/issues the characters have leave one MC really upset. But in the next couple scenes the hurt MC doesn't share any internal battle or upset and is just acting normal around the other MC. And then after these scenes both MCs seem to address what happened internally. It felt like something was missing from the internal dialogue of one or both MCs to help the reader seamlessly through the narrative.

Again, it's a sweet book and I'd absolutely recommend it when it releases.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this book!