I had such high expectations for The Long Game based off the synopsis provided, but I couldn't seem to be bothered enough to care for the characters. It was generally an okay story but I just couldn't force myself into it.

The Long Game by Elena Armas is book 1 of the Long Game series. This is a sports romance and slow burn. The characters banter had me laughing out loud at parts. I love a good grumpy male main character and a feisty female character. This author seems to write amazing stories that hooks the reader. I'm so glad this is a series as I'm looking forward to the next book in this series!

Ahh I think this is my fave of hers!!⁣
Enemies to lovers, slow burn, with all the banter and he’s BRITISH!! Gah who doesn’t love a British man?!⁣
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But really - these two are involved in the cutest little league girls soccer team with adorable and so funny little soccer gals. Adalyn is in charge for managing the team⁣
After being banned to this neck of the woods and Cameron is the coach (and secret European soccer player, which she knows but others don’t realize.)⁣
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These two are constantly at each others throats, tormenting, teasing, bantering, torturing each other in the best way.⁣
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There’s goat yoga and cats and adorable kids in a small town who are full of sass and wise beyond their years. ⁣
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This was a blast to read and when the steam hit, it hit. Especially with all that British dominance. 🔥⁣
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Absolutely loved and devoured this.⁣
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Elena Armas’ first book, The Spanish Love Deception, was on my 2021 year’s best list, and The Long Game will be on my list for 2023.

Adalyn has been an executive at the Miami Flames MLS Soccer Club for years. Her father is the owner, and all she wants to do is impress him and get his approval. Unfortunately, her father is extremely angry with Adalyn after she has an incident with the team mascot that ends up with his head on the ground.

She’s sent to work with the Green Warriors, a team in rural NC until the fuss dies down. When she gets there, she first finds out that her neighbor is the (gorgeous) well-known former goalie Cameron Caldani. Next, she discovers that the Warriors are a girls U10 team, and Cameron is their coach.

I don’t want to say too much more about the plot, but the characters are wonderful and the book was a joy to read. I was sorry that it had to end, 5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

Armas's third romance is undoubtedly her best. She perfectly captures the pressures of being a woman working in sports, and the character growth for both leads is fantastic. The tension and chemistry between the leads practically jumps off the page from the first time they (quite literally) crash into each other. I cannot wait for the sequel!

This is by far her best book yet. Her writing has improved so much with this book i fell in love with every single word. These characters are the best she’s ever written and that’s saying a lot because i adore her other characters. The Long Game is dual pov, grumpy x grumpy, small town romance, dislike to lovers!!

If you love Elena Armas' books then you have to pick up her new release! This book has everything a good romance should have: tension, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, a workplace romance, sports romance, grumpy/grumpy MCs that you will fall in love with and a small town setting that will make you never want to stop reading. This book was so much fun to read!

I had higher expectations of this book based off the of the synopsis. Although I do love a good enemies to lovers trope I felt this one just didn't hook me. It was a solid 2.75 I just couldn't get as invested in the main characters as I would have liked.

I LOVE Elena Armas and was super excited to read this. Unfortunately, it fell short for me.

Cam and Ada find themselves flung together in a small town where they are coaching an unlikely team. Running from scandal, bad publicity, and the public eye, both characters are looking to reclaim what they lost.

Ada was an unlikable character. She didn’t have a ton of growth other than realizing that the people that she loved didn’t treat her the best.

Cam was an ideal book boyfriend — smart, considerate, always looking out for Ada. But the connection just wasn’t there… it was missing a spark.

I did like the book from about 80% on… but the beginning was harder to get hooked. I feel like there were a few ideas that were introduced and then not explored further, leaving me with a lot of questions. I’m looking forward to another book from Elena!

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5/5 - This was not my favorite. I enjoyed Armas’ first two books - she’s queen of the slow burn, so if that’s not for you then you definitely won’t enjoy her style. That being said, this was my least favorite of all three novels. It was a slow burn, yes, but also a slow start and I struggled to connect with the characters and feel invested in the plot.

I didn’t find either of the main characters particularly likable. Adalyn was kind of the worst and a bit out of touch - her lack of self (and general) awareness was frustrating at times. And while Cameron had potential - he’s got major Roy Kent vibes - something was missing for me. The side characters were kind of ridiculous, the banter fell flat, and the issues they faced seemed so trivial. It was all a bit silly and I found myself not being able to take it too seriously. The tropes are supposed to be grumpy/grumpy and enemies to lovers but I’m honestly not sure why Adalyn and Cameron started off as enemies to begin with.

Overall this was a bummer read for me. If I hadn’t received an ARC I probably would have stopped at 65%, but I will say the last 35% got a bit better and the spicy scenes were very well done.

Thank you to Atria books for an ARC of this in exchange for my honest review. Out now.

Alas, this was not for me. Although I don't usually read popular romances, I was drawn in by the Ted Lasso comparison and thought I would enjoy the enemies-to-lovers plot, but it didn't come through for me. I couldn't connect with any of the characters and found the plot to be a bit flat. That being said, I think there is a lot in the book for romance readers to enjoy: snarky banter, some spice, and a slow-burn romance starring a man I couldn't help but picture as Roy Kent.

This was my first Elena Armas novel and I’m sad to say, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped I would. When I heard it was inspired by Ted Lasso, I was so excited to dig in and enjoy some fun characters and be immersed in the soccer world, but these aspects fell short for me. I found Adalyn to be quite unlikable and was really frustrated with a lot her decisions and how unkind she was to herself. I did like Cam and thought he, along with some of the secondary characters, really carried the storyline for most of the book. I’m usually all about the slow burn but to have to wait 300 pages for any action and then for the conflict to happen within a day or so, it felt like a letdown.

The location, Green Oaks soccer team, Josie, and various scenarios that provided some laughs did keep me wanting to finish this story. I also thought the last few chapters were great and tied up the storylines nicely, but it just wasn’t a favorite romance read for me.

Thank you Simon & Schuster, Bookclub Favorites, and Atria Books for the arc copy and gifted paperback copy of The Long Game.

I started reading this book back in May as it was an anticipated ARC but I ended up putting it down as I felt mostly bored by the reading experience. I didn't feel the chemistry between Cam and Adaline. I was lucky enough to finish listening to this book and the narration was excellent which is the reason I finished this book.

Loved the kids in the book and I am not a kid person. They were the only redeeming aspect of the story.

This book absolutely rocked my world! Ted Lasso meets Schitt's Creek? SIGN ME UP.
Things I loved:
- the girls: watching Ada find her strength and love for herself through these cuties was so tender to experience.
- CAM: I mean... a british, tattooed, grumpy soccer player? SWOON. And boy is he just sweet as pie.
- the plot: just perfect. so sweet and simple--leaves so much room for the depth of self discovery.
- the plot TWISTS: these twists added *just* enough to the story to add such intrigue without overwhelming.

The perfect book. I have 0 complaints.

Any book of Elena Armas is an instant read for me so when I had the change to read The Long Game prior to its highly anticipated release, I was more than excited! This book is seriously breathtaking and fiercly romantic. It has every component of a good romance that I love and it deserves all of the love it has already and will continue to recieve. Armas' writing style is just so inviting and really leaves a lasting impression. Its on of those books that sticks around in your thoughts for days and weeks and months after reading and I am so happy to have had the chance to read it.

Turns out I am not a fan of slow burn romances. I liked the concept of the story, which reads like a Hallmark Movie. Career woman Adalyn has an altercation with a team mascot, this gets caught on camera and goes viral. Her father, the head of the soccer club where Adalyn works, sends her on a goodwill mission to a small town to coach a little league soccer team. The story felt long and a lot of slow burn tension, which isn't for me. I am sure others would enjoy.

Rounding down from 3.5 stars.

Thank you Netgalley & Atria Books for the advanced reader copy.

This didn't work for me, I'm sorry. The main reason I didn't like this book is because I just didn't like our main characters. They were so insufferable. I mean, Adalyn mainly did but by extension I also found Cameron annoying. I thought Adalyn was just an adult child. At times she acted more immature than the literal children in this book. She's also so incredibly selfish. She can't possibly imagine something not being about her. It got so incredibly insufferable. Cameron was alright for quite some time in this novel, if not a bit rude. However, as he catches feelings for Adalyn his personality just dissapears. His only personality trait is loving Adalyn and wanting to take care of her, to the point where he just changes who he is completely to please her. He made me want to bash my brains in because of that. To no one's surprise that also caused me to just not like the romance either. I mean, how could I? But on top of just not liking the characters I also just simply didn't think they have chemistry together, and besides there being a sexual attraction I just didn't think their feelings were really well developed. So yeah, it completely didn't work. I did really like the small town setting, and the bunch of different characters in this small town were EVERYTHING. That truly kept me from fully hating this novel.

Okay absolutely adorrrrredddd this story, as I figured I probably would haha we love a sports romance. And really, is there anything cuter than a hot guy kindly coaching a bunch of kids? I think not. Add in a british accent and I'm dead.
Adalyn has had a truly terrible week. Should anyone really blame her for attacking the team mascot? NO, mascots are annoying as hell all on their own, I'd do it without provocation haha. Does the entire world judge her for it anyways? Sadly yes. While I think it was unfair for her dad to banish her to NC, I applaud the results. I loved how her relationship grew with the girls and didn't just have them on the sidelines (no pun intended). In regards to the enemies-to-lovers scenario with a certain Brit, I wish there hadn't been quite as much pressure put on him during the third act, but daddy issues do be messing with relationships...Speaking of her relationship with her father, I truly saw zero of the twist and it was *chef's kiss*. The author has yet again kept me captivated til the last second, and beyond if I'm honest considering how much I've thought about Cameron after hehe. Absolutely recommend this.

“Adalyn, love… This is no longer a game.”

Get ready for a swoony, sporty love story in “The Longest Game.” Two big city people head to the same small town and end up working together with a youth soccer team. Cameron and Adalyn start off as difficult partners, and not by choice. Cam is doing his best to lead a private life out of the spotlight after a professional soccer career. Adalyn has been exiled from her career and her father’s company, which happens to be a different pro soccer team. Now they’ve been forced to team up to coach a memorable team of youth soccer girls, in their small town of interesting characters, events, and… goats and cats. Will they find a path forward together?

I really got into this book in the second half (definitely a SLOW burn story 🔥), and would recommend it to fans of the author’s previous novels.

P. S. Pottery wheel scene?! IYKYK.

Thank you, @netgalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I have loved Elena Armas previous books, and was so excited to get my hands on this one! Her books are always so steamy with lovable characters. I also have been loving sports romance, so I loved the soccer aspect of this book! I love the balance of spice and romance that Armas seems to nail every time she writes a book. This may be my favorite of hers so far!