I'm going to keep this brief because I don't love writing about books I didn't finish.

I loved Armas' books "The Spanish Love Deception" and "The American Roommate Experiment" so I was really looking forward to this book. After reading some other reviews, this book seems to be either a huge hit with some reads and a disappointment to others. Unfortunately, I'm in the later half. I could not get into this story. I didn't connect to the characters or the plot at all. I do like Armas and her writing so this could simply be a fluke and I will love her next novel but I think this proves that Sports Romances are not my cup of tea.

This book was a miss for me. Characters were a lacking depth and it was hard to get into it and so I ended up putting the book down and not finishing it.

As much as this pains me, ooh boy was this not what I was expecting.

She has an extremely public freak out on the mascot of her father's MLS team (she picked the wrong person to attack but it was for a good reason, honestly) and his solution is to get her immediately out of sight. He sends her away in the adult version of professional time out so the men can handle the problem. She immediately internalizes this as she's a failure and needs to fix it. She vows to get it together and have absolutely no more slips in her control.

She meets the hero outside her sketchy rented cabin and immediately gets into a car accident for absolutely no reason. Then yells at the man who tries to help her. Then fires that man publicly for absolutely no reason the next morning. He tries to extend an olive branch and she assumes his coffee is for her and that it's been tampered with? Slip, slip, slip. But honestly, I would have liked her more if she just owned her behavior instead of berated herself for it all.

I felt the romance was flat and I couldn't think of anything other than that scene from New Girl where Nick yells not to be mean to him or he'll fall in love with her. She is frequently unkind and knows she is by how she instantly berates herself for it. She doesn't take it back or try to make things better most of the time either.

The thing that is a personal ick is that she was having frequent panic attacks and didn't acknowledge them or get help until the hero loved her and noticed. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having panic attacks and getting triggered into them. It happens to the best of us. This is a woman with all her ducks color coated and placed in a row for the most part. Why was she unwilling to address them until he said something.

Spoilers though? I cannot BELIEVE that after an entire book about how she was publicly humiliated and profited off of that she didn't get even the tiniest bit even or some cease and desists out into the world. Everyone profited in some way except for the one who took the biggest hit. This is fiction. Blow up their entire lives, Adalyn. Give me some glorious justice.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Audio for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Gah, this book. was. AMAZING. A soccer-centric slow burn romance. Absolute top-tier. A cinnamon roll retired PL/MLS goalkeeper keeping a low profile in rural North Carolina is thrown together with a disgraced girl-boss soccer executive to coach a U10 girls team as part of her redemption tour. They start out as enemies, getting on like oil and water, but the sexual tension between the two is *chef’s kiss* Their banter is like foreplay and they circle around each other before finally giving in. Cam is an absolute simp for Adalyn, and such a softie with his cats and the players. And Ada is a proud woman who has trouble asking for help and struggles with being too independent. They’re absolutely perfect together.

(3.5 Stars) I’ve enjoyed both of previous novels by Elena Armas and so went into this with high expectations. Adalyn Reyes loves working for father’s soccer team the Miami Flames. Of all his businesses, it is his passion but least successful endeavor. After she has an altercation with the teams costumed mascot that goes viral she is sent to a very small town in North Carolina to turn around a local soccer team. She doesn’t realize it is a girls under age 10 team. And she is shocked to learn that Cameron Calani is the team coach. He is a major league soccer goalie yet living incognito in the boondocks.

It took me a while to get into the story. There are extreme things that are supposed to be funny like her living in a nasty shed. But I’m a realistic reader and that comes off too cartoonish to be believable. The relationship between Cam and Adalyn of course starts rocky but grows as they let their defenses down. I do not find it charming when men call women darling when they ask for it to stop. But Cam’s encouragement of Adalyn wins me over and the second half of the book was more interesting. But again I felt let down by the ending. When you have an ex who is a villain there needs to be a comeuppance and a punch doesn’t to it for me. Also I didn’t feel her issues with the dad are anywhere near resolved. Good thing the epilogue includes therapy for the happy couple.

I’m wanted to like this more than I actually did. But it is still is a fun story and has good characters. And I will look for the next book by the author. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review.

The tension between Adalyn and Cam was absolutely off the charts and the story was also amazingly funny and heartwarming in some parts. I loved the community building in the small town setting, the cats and baby goats, and really just everything about the book! 10/10 would recommend!!!

I absolutely loved this book! The Enemies-to-lovers trope is one of my favorites. Armas does an amazing job keeping the story flowing and throwing in new details and twists to keep the reader ready for more. As someone who grew up playing soccer, dreaming of going pro and playing for a team like the Flames it was great to see her perspective of the game.

I love the grumpy attitudes Cameron has, leading to interesting character development with body language. Being able to hear their thoughts and perspectives of each other was also really funny. The duel POV was nicely done in this book. Watching Adalyn learn to let loose and live in the more rustic environment was very funny and made me want to take a vacation to a log cabin in the middle of nowhere. The character development was amazing for all the characters, even Brandy the socially anxious goat who stress poops. Watching the characters grow throughout the story was very well done.

There were a couple of things I did not like as much in the book. Some of the times they got a little too intimate in situations that made me feel second hand embarrassment, like having sex in the little shed right next to the 9 year old girls practicing soccer. I also wish there was a little more development about the fight at the end with her dad and ex. I wish we could have gotten maybe one extra chapter for a little more wrap up after the bombs dropped at the end with her dad.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with a digital reviewer copy of this amazing book in exchange for my honest opinions.

Elena Armas is a go to author for me. Her books are funny, profound, delightfully Spanish, and STEAMY.

When the heroine is triggered at work and "loses her mind" assaulting the team's mascot she gets sent away to help coach a little girl's soccer team in a tiny town far far away.

As luck would have it she ends up working with a very attractive, very retired, and very much "hiding his identity"
football star.

The attraction is there but so is the desire to murder each other. Will they able to work together and will she be able to tolerate staying away from her company and life in Miami?

This book was so perfect. It delivered on the romance front. It also provided an insight into unhealthy family relationships and what should and shouldn't be tolerated. It provided an insight into work-life harmony. It provided an insight into loving yourself enough to let others help and love you. It really spoke to the strong independent woman in me that has always felt terrified of being vulnerable or letting anyone help me.

Overall a fantastic read! Highly recommend!

3.5 Stars

It definitely took me a while to come to like the female character, Adalyn in this book. And partly the reason was we didn’t know or understand why she was the way she was until near the very end. She kept doing things that made me scratch my head, but I’m definitely glad I finished the book, since she makes so much more sense now. I just wished we would have had more of that information earlier in the book. The men in her life prior to Cameron had seriously let her down.

Cameron was hands down my favorite character in the book, and I loved how grumpy he could be.

The pacing of the book definitely picked up the last third, and I really felt myself getting into the book at that point.

This is so cute and fun. I love the main characters and the setting. There’s a slow burn between the two MCs but it’s an enjoyable journey. I love a curmudgeon who can’t resist a stubborn woman. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a very sweet yet steamy enemies to lovers read. I enjoyed this one much more than the American Roommate Experiment and I don’t really like sports. At all. Go figure.

This is a fun and fast-moving story. At times, I found the action difficult to follow. If you like rom com with a rivalry theme, this book is for you.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

possibly one of the best romance novels of 2023!! i dont care if you call it futbol or soccer (its soccer) but you need to pick up with book and devour it like it did. the humor is ted lasso level, the spice is hot, and the characters are swoonworthy. cant wait to add this to my collection!

I did not finish this book. I think this is a ‘not for me’ author, and I found the female MC to be particularly insufferable.

Thank you Atria Books for the advance copy!

Rating: 4.5 stars (rounded up)
Steam: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

The Long Game by Elena Armas is a slow burn, enemies to lovers. And I am HERE for it.

Adalyn Ramos is a sassy, fiery woman with daddy issues galore. She’s going thru a bit of a hard time FOR REASONS. Cameron Caldani is a British grumpy ex soccer player that is a cinnamon roll at heart. He’s total book boyfriend material. The two start off on the wrong foot in EPIC PROPORTIONS. I mean…their meet cute is an absolute disaster and one of the best I have read in a long time.

The Long Game is a very slloooowwwwww burn but Armas totally makes up for it. Personally I love a slow burn. The slower the better. And once I figured out it TLG was a slow burn, I was ALL in.

Read if you love:
• Banter of all kinds
• Sport romances
• Enemies to lovers
• He falls first
• Angst
• A MMC that says all the swoony things
• “Good girl”

Closed Door Modifications: Chapter 29, 31, 32

Slow burn romances aren’t always my favorite, but I love the way Elena writes them. This one has enemies to lovers mixed in, so I could not wait to read it.

There were a lot of Ted Lasso vibes in The Long Game with Cameron coaching a girls soccer league and Adalyn brought in to help oversee the team. Initially Cameron was like Roy Kent, but his softer side started to peek through as the book went on. I loved the dual perspectives throughout the story, and Cameron’s chapters may have been my favorite.

There were some parts of the story that I felt were a little too drawn out and slowed the storyline down. Adalyn at times would get on my nerves with how she was acting towards the situation she was in and Cameron. Some of the reveals at the end I wish were detailed more since there was a lot thrown at the reader that I needed a few more paragraphs on. But the epilogue sets this up for a sequel, so maybe things will be fleshed out more then.

Adalyn and Cameron were a great pairing for each other and the slow burn for them to get together was worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the eARC! I loved the slow burn and enemies to lovers tropes with these two characters (Cameron & Adalyn), idk if this was the intent but for all my fellow Ted Lasso fans I pictured Cameron as Roy Kent and that enhanced my reading experience.😂

I did find some of the dialogue to be a bit cringe after what was a satisfying reading experience: specifically the declarations of love between the two characters. I also felt that the reveal and the ending were rushed.

I enjoyed the small town of Green Oak and the girls’ soccer team, Maria’s character was sassy and adorable. I hope we get more of the dynamic revealed at the tail end of the book in the next one and I’m so excited to see more of Green Oak! The Long Game releases September 5, 2023.

3.5 Stars!

This was a really great enemies to lovers read! I am a sucker for sports romance too. I will say it seemed a little repudiative at times though.

Adalyn works for an MLS team, makes a bad decision and is sent to work for a girl’s youth team in small town, North Carolina. Their coach is a former premier league turned MLS star and he and Adalyn immediately butt heads.

This had the potential to be so cute! The first half of the book I could only picture Cam as Roy Kent and then he completely changed character when they got together. I wanted more of the girls and wish that had been a larger focus!

Thank you so much to net galley and Atria Books for providing me with a digital arc in exchange for an honest review. Definitely to my favorite Elena Armas novels. The first half of the story was definitely a very slow burn between the two main characters, cam and Adalyn. First off the circumstances that bring them to the same place in time is rather unbelievable. Adalyn is sent away from her high level job following an incident which goes viral. When the couple finally comes together the romance is a bit underwhelming. The characters are not as likable as those in previous novels by Armas. There wasn’t the excitement of the character development which brings the reader into the relationship and has you rooting for this couple. The last third of the book did pick things up quite a bit but the journey through the issues of the characters bogged down the story a bit. That being said it was a love story with a very strong female character which is definitely refreshing. For that reason alone it definitely deserves a look. I would rate it at about 2.5 stars if possible but will round to 3.

I had to DNF at 40%. I just couldn't get into this one. I guess youth sports, small town quirky, mysterious incident to cause banishment, goats, enemies to lovers, him calling her Darling, unrealistic child dialogue....I just couldn't do it. I'm not a huge fan of Hallmark movies so that is probably why this is a miss for me but I can see that other readers would find it fun and cute. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.