"𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮. 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘞𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥."

🐈🐐🐓

Just wow.

This was my first Elena Armas book (I know, I KNOW - don't come at me)... but it absolutely makes me excited to dive into some of her others!

This book was so fun and I loved everything about it! Our main man, Cam, gave me some real Roy Kent vibes (IYKYK) 😍

PLUS... you have some witty banter, farm animal side characters, an infuriatingly sloooooooow burn, enemies to lovers with forced proximity, plenty of soccer references, small town romance, sassy 9-year-olds, and a beautiful ending.

But Elena, girl, tell me we're getting a Matthew/Josie sequel!?! I need that in my life!

Thank you to @atriabooks and @netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for this review!

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#bookstagram #booksta #books #booksbooksbooks #avidreader #ilovereading #thetwistedlibrarian #professionalbookworm #thelonggame #elenaarmas #book56of2023 #whatsnikkireading #enemiestolovers #forcedproximity #slowburn #smalltownromance #notsomeetcute #soccerromance #romance #netgalley #atriabooks

I was looking for a light read to help relax after the busy summer days-- and I just couldn't get into this one. It felt completely over predictable and just when things could get interesting, the chapter would end and we'd jump ahead in time. The relationships didn't feel authentic and I definitely struggled to connect to the characters.

If The Mighty Ducks was crossed with It Happened One Summer, you would have The Long Game. The sport this time is soccer and instead of running a bar, Adalyn has to work with Cameron to coach a small town youth soccer team. I enjoyed the plot very much. It was an easy story to follow with two loveable main characters, funny and warm side characters, and a charming small town setting.

Small Town romance
Enemies to lovers
Dual POV
Slow Burn

I received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.

Overall, I enjoyed the plot very much. It was an easy story to follow with two loveable main characters, funny and warm side characters, other side characters you want to strangle but comes to a satisfying conclusion.
The two main characters were very likeable, Cameron was a Roy Kent (Ted Lasso) inspired character who is a retired soccer star with some trauma and a whole lot of facial hair. He's your typical grumpy main male character. He growls..just like the rest and also just like Roy Kent he has a British accent. He's rough around the edges, curses a lot but he has that standard heart of gold and some possessiveness over the new city girl in town. Adalyn was a very self aware character at times and so stubborn at other times. A few times in the beginning turned me off because I'm not a huge fan of childish, immature characters who do things out of spite. Especially if in the narrative they are fully aware they are being mean or doing something wrong. But as the story progressed she gets better and starts to realize who's actually in the wrong. She's a character who might need to grow on you. She did for me. The chemistry between the two characters have a slower start as most enemies to lovers tend to do.
The plot was a mash of the literal definitions of the tropes. Small town romance? check. The setting was a woodsy, small town described with greenery, farms and even goats. It had the small town feel and charm down to the friendly and not so friendly town folk.
Enemies to lovers? Yup. The two main characters have a decent amount of chemistry but I personally feel the enemies to lovers part of the chemistry was lacking. I didn't feel the tension as they were getting know each other. It was a slower, sweeter type of getting to know and like you. The two main characters start off on the wrong foot and stay that way for about 40% with each interaction making them warm up to each other. Since this was a slower burn, I didn't really feel the chemistry until the mid 50% when the main couple was at more of the reluctant friends/ funny frenemies stage of their love story, but when they get kicking..it's delicious.
This is a dual pov and that is something I love in romance books because I need to be in the heads of both characters especially in a situation like this.
The grumpy/sunshine trope could have been possible here but Adalyn wasn't much of a sunshine character. She was very straight to the point and guarded. Even when the walls finally came down I felt like she didn't have that much personality.
The book as a whole was enjoyable but was a little flat overall. I certainly enjoyed the later half of the book more than the start. I wish the ending was stronger. Maybe 50/60 pages too long.

I liked this book a lot! It definitely felt in vein of Elena's style and it made me smile and laugh all the same. If I had to articulate one critique, I would say that I find it semi difficult to read two people who are very open about liking each other but for some reason are not together. It took me out of the story a little bit, but overall it was a very enjoyable read.

I loved the Spanish Love Deception, but was pretty take it or leave it on the American Roommate Experiment.
This book missed the mark. It was just kinda boring.

The plot doesn't make sense and important moments seem skipped. The romance had no chemistry.

Maria and her goats were the best part of the book.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

The Long Game
Elena Armas
4⭐️

If you’re in the mood for a slooowww burn romance filled with banter, pining and a whole lot of tension, the Long Game is for you! While it took me a bit to get into (again slow burn), but once I did I enjoyed the story, the quirky main and side characters, the baby goats, and the small town vibes. It was a good mix of rom, com, and steam. Hoping to see more from these characters. Say maybe… Josie and Matthew?? 😁

What I enjoyed;
⚽️ Enemies To Lovers
⚽️ Sports Romance
⚽️ Forced Proximity
🐓 Meet Cute
🐐 Brandy

The Long Game publishes 9/5!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Bookclub Favorites, and Atria Books for the digital and physical ARC’s in exchange for my honest review.

*thank you to the author and publisher for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately, this one wasn't for me - which I am so sad about because I loved the author's debut novel, The Spanish Love Deception. It didn't feel like the main characters were fully developed and I didn't feel their connection building between the chapters. It kind of felt like insta-lust to me and not too much of an enemies to lovers, grumpy sunshine romance. I just really had a hard time getting into it.

I think this is definitely a "it's me, hi, I'm the problem" with this book because I am sure other people will LOVE it and fall head over heels for Adalyn and Cameron.

Adalyn, the Type-A daughter of the owner of the MLS team The Miami Flames finds her self in the middle of a media nightmare after a video goes viral of her attacking the team mascot- Sparkles. Her father sends her to a tiny town in North Carolina to find some good press in the sea of negative that surrounds the team. While she's there she finds more than just the soccer team of 9 year old girls she's tasked with turning their season around-namely Cameron Caldani, esteemed goalkeeper and her new grumpy neighbor.
This book was such a fun read. Its nice to read a sports romance about a sport that isn't hockey, baseball or football. While I would classify this as a slow burn, it did't read like one. Usually reading a slow burn I find myself waiting impatiently to get to some romance but the progression of their romance felt believable and before I realized it I found myself at the end of this book and wanting more of Adalyn and Cameron. Not only did i thoroughly enjoy their relationship but I loved the spunk of the girls on the Green Warriors.

This book came at the perfect time for a few reasons:

⚽ The Women’s World Cup for soccer is currently taking place in Australia
⚽ Local soccer is ramping back up and I basically spend everyday on the pitch now for my son’s practice and games
⚽ I’m still distraught that Ted Lasso is possibly over after three amazing seasons

I opted for a hybrid read of THE LONG GAME, going back and forth between my physical copy and my Kindle version. I was hooked fast by the story and enjoyed seeing two uptight characters (one giving off major Roy Kent vibes) unravel for each other. In regards to chemistry, the reader is definitely in for a Long Game, but once it happens the fireworks propel you to the final quarter of the story.

The third act argument wasn't my favorite, but this could very well be a "me" thing because I'm really not a big fan of them in any rom com.

There was a cute little cliffhanger that sets up her next book 🥰. My biggest complaint for this one was there was a big advertisement for a rooster named Sebastian Stan and he was barely in it... give me more SEB! 🐓

I think The American Roommate Experiment remains my favorite by Elena, but I still had a fun time with The Long Game! I hope we get sprinkles of Cameron and Adalyn in whatever she has planned next!

THE LONG GAME ARC REVIEW ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ 4/5

✨ SPOILER-FREE REVIEW! ✨

The story follows Adalyn Reyes, who just went viral all over social media after someone released a video of her in the middle of an altercation with the team’s mascot. The exact same team that she happens to work for, and that her father owns. Her father then decides to send her away on a different job to keep her out of the public eye. When she is sent to North Carolina to help a struggling soccer team, she meets the coach who happens to be world famous soccer prodigy, Cameron Caldani. At first, they don’t seem to get along quite well— but as they spend more and more time together, that starts to change a bit..

I was super excited going into this book cause I absolutely LOVED The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas. The one thing I did not absolutely love about this book though, it was an extremely slowwww burn. Super, super slow. I actually didn’t expect it to be that slow, but I still loved the book nonetheless! Once things started to fall into place I couldn’t put the book down & I ended up really enjoying it!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This was my first Elena Armas book and I'm happy to say that it will not be my last!

The "Long Game" is a slow burn romance filled with tropes such as enemies to lovers, forced proximity, sports and a small town. Adalyn and Cameron's love story started with a hilarious meet-cute and developed into can't keep my hands off you tension.

Overall, this book was a very sweet read! However, I did find that the first half dragged on and that there were certain aspects of the plot that needed more explanations, resolutions, etc.

Solid 4 stars! Available September 5th :)

Elena Armas does it again!! As a huge fan of The Spanish Love Deception and The American Roommate Experiment, I was thrilled to get my hands on her brand new romcom and I am so happy to say it did not disappoint. She is the queen of slow burn and manages to make me smile and cry all within a singular chapter. I had so much love for the characters and the small town setting, everyone has the perfect amount of quirk and broodiness. I was in it from the first page and was hooked until the last page, Armas is in my opinion one of the best romcom writers out there and I cannot wait for the follow up, which seems like it will have some of our beloved characters in it! Also I'm just obsessed with Cameron and his overprotectiveness and fear of goats, a delight all around!

I am always and forever in my sports romance era and I haven’t read much soccer romance, but now I’m looking for more recommendations because WOW. This gave me those Hallmark Christmas movie vibes where the city girl has to go to a small town and help out with a bakery and falls in love with the grumpy owner (except this isn’t during Christmas and it’s a girls little league soccer team and he’s the coach, but you know what I mean).

Adalyn currently works for the Miami Flames, but after a breakdown with the mascot that ended up going viral, she has been forced by the club owner, aka her father, to fly to North Carolina to help a struggling local soccer team. What she doesn’t realize is that the Green Warriors consist of nine year old girls. And to top it all off, the coach happens to be a famous ex goalie, Cameron Caldani, who she hit with her car. All in all, a great start! It can only go up from here…right?

I love a good small town romance as well because the townspeople are all so eccentric and caring for one another because they’re basically one big family. Plus, they love to gossip. However, they respect and understand Cam’s wanting of privacy because after certain events in the past, he’s done with people snooping around his life.

As I kept reading Adalyn’s perspective, all I could hear was mirrorball by Taylor Swift. She is such a strong and independent character and only wants to be the best for her father, the Green Warriors and for Cam. However, he sees right through her heavily guarded exterior. Adalyn has wanted to make her mark in the world and show everyone that she has what it takes to help redeem the little league team. She deals with panic attacks when thinking about the cause of her viral fiasco and tends to bottle up her emotions until Cam is there to bring her back to reality.

One thing I really loved that was mentioned a couple times is that Adalyn didn’t need anyone to fight her battles for her, that she has been fine on her own.

“I don’t intend on slaying your dragons for you. Not because I don’t want to, believe me, I do. But because you would hate it, and you don’t need me to.”

Like??? I’m in love with this man. Also! Cam calls Adalyn “love” and “darling” and I literally melted every time I read that cause all I could hear was his English accent. Oh, and he’s covered in tattoos…even has a thigh tattoo. Need I say more?

This is a slow, and I mean SLOW burn, but the tension between them is so thick that it made all that build up so worth it and satisfying (pun intended). And the MOUTH on Cam?? It had me blushing so much.

“I’ve always felt like I never really clicked anywhere. Like, I always needed to make a bigger effort to show everyone that I deserved to be there. And here you are…Making me feel like you’d close the bridge to get to me. Like I don’t need to convince you.”

And to add on top of all of that, I’m predicting and hoping we get a second book for Josie and Matthew! Because with how The Long Game ended, I needed answers now!!

Thank you so much Atria Books and NetGalley for sending me one of my most anticipated reads for this year for my honest opinions!

Tropes:
-Sports romance
-Enemies to lovers
-Forced proximity
-Grumpy FMC/MMC (but in reality they’re both softies)
-Slow burn and thick tension

Really wanted to like this one more, and the first half was a lot better then the second. First of all the author kept saying paws for the goats it was weird. Also Maria as a little kid having the wise make you realize you need to go after her monologue to cam was very put of place for a kid. I also hate a third act break up so much and this one wasn't done very well. The characters were really well done but even them at the end were getting on my nerves. So in all it was pretty basic and fell apart at the end. But I love the over all plot and vibes of the story

The fire between Cameron and Adalyn was so fun to follow. Cameron is an ex-soccer player who moved away from the limelight while Adalyn is the daughter of a soccer club owner who was shamed and put on sabbatical in a tiny town. The weaving of their stories were well done. The clever banter was fun to follow. There were some scenes a bit far-fetched. Overall a sweet read.
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

I fully admit to wanting to read this book because I adore Armas’ debut novel, The Spanish Love Deception.
Romance books about retired pro athletes who are a bit of a curmudgeon are so much fun to read so I was also looking forward to meeting Cameron and seeing how Adalyn gets herself out of her mess.

While I think Armas is a good writer, there were also a few things, including its slow start, that kept me from loving it.

Adalyn’s meltdown moment was a great hook and kept you guessing as to what caused her to implode on the team mascot and sent her away from the soccer team she works for and that her father owns.

I liked her characterization as a woman seen as frigid and never put first by her father, but it was a lot of telling vs showing to see this characterization fully realized.

Adalyn and Cam had a great meet cute which also set the stage for some sparks but I didn’t get truly invested in them until about 65% into the book.

There was a small town angle to this romance as well but it could have been flushed out more. I loved Maria and her family and Josie but those storylines felt unfinished (though I get that Josie’s story is her next book).
The last bit with Adalyn’s father also felt like it came out of left field and was purely for setting up her next book but it felt thrown into this one.

The hardest thing to reconcile was the purpose of Adalyn going to Green Oak in the first place.

What was she even doing? Yes, she made her binder but I didn’t understand the whole point of her banishment and what she was supposed to do to earn her place back which was the whole point of the story I thought. Did she even do much for the team besides get new uniforms? This part was completely glossed over.

I would have loved more actual soccer with the girls and Cam’s coaching but that was missing too.

So, this story had some great elements and has promise for fans of enemies to lovers books and alpha male heroes, but the execution just wasn’t there. I’m intrigued by Josie’s story but will see if I end up reading it.

*Thank you to Netgalley for this advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

I was excited to get my hands on The Long Game knowing it’s a buzzy book. I wish I had reminded myself though that I haven’t been a huge fan of Armas’s previous books, but I’ve still enjoyed them. That was again the case here, but I had a harder time connecting to the characters and getting into the story. I think Armas’s tendency is to write slow and (in my opinion) overly long books, so I feel like this drags a bit. I wish I’d enjoyed it more, but knowing Armas has loyal fans tells me others will be very excited for this title.

I know I’m in the minority here, but I did not enjoy this book. I was really excited when I saw that I was approved on NetGalley to read this one. I had heard the Spanish Love Deception was really good and I have it on my TBR, however I was really disappointed. I could not connect with the characters, and I felt like the reason for Adalyn and Cameron‘s “enemies to lovers “situation was kind of far-fetched. I also felt like the writing was a bit choppy and all of a sudden it would be the next day. I felt like the slow burn was too slow but also it was awkward when the two characters would have public moments of being turned on— like the pottery scene etc…. anyway, I was really just hoping for more out of this book than I got. I was hoping for a Roy Kent in Ted Lasso kind of vibe but it just didn’t happen.

I was so excited to receive this ARC because I really liked the other 2 things I’ve read by Elena.

This enemies to lovers is set in a small town focusing on the world of soccer. I loved the small town vibes! Cameron and Adalyn’s chemistry is swoon-worthy, and all of the citizens in the small town were precious, especially all the girls on the soccer team.

Elena knows how to write romance and book boyfriends, but this book was just very middle of road for me. I don’t think I will keep thinking about it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!