In Elena Armas's heartwarming romance "The Long Game," disgraced soccer executive Adalyn Reyes finds herself on an unexpected journey of redemption alongside retired soccer star, Cameron Caldani.

Accustomed to her routine at Miami Flames FC, Adalyn is abruptly sent to rural North Carolina by her father, the team's owner, after a viral altercation with the mascot. Tasked with reviving the struggling local children's soccer team, the Green Warriors, she faces challenges ranging from unconventional practices to pet goats and a team of wary nine-year-olds. Enter Cameron Caldani, a mysterious goalkeeping prodigy, whose initial clash with Adalyn sets the stage for a rocky relationship. Despite their differences, Adalyn is determined to stay and rebuild her reputation, viewing the Green Warriors as her path to redemption. Alongside the humorous antics and unlikely alliances, the story unfolds with a delightful cast of characters, including Maria, a spirited young team member, and Cameron, whose gruff exterior belies his soft spot for cats.

Armas skillfully avoids delving too deeply into soccer technicalities, ensuring accessibility for all readers, regardless of their interest in the sport. Adalyn's quirky and awkward demeanor adds charm and humor to the narrative, while Maria emerges as a standout character with her witty nicknames for Coach Cam. As the story concludes with hints of a budding romance between Adalyn's best friend Matthew and Josie, readers are left eager for potential sequels.

Overall, this engaging novel captivates with its blend of humor, heart, and lovable characters, making it a delightful read for fans of sports-themed fiction and small-town love stories alike.

I'm a sucker for soccer and Ted Lasso! It's so amazing to watch Elena's writing improve with each book!

Elena Armas can do no wrong! I loved this book so much. Just like her other two it is a fun rom com that you just want to keep reading! Highly recommend!

The Long Game is a fun read with its dual POV and grumpy & grumpy theme, but I think the story fell short and I couldn't wait to finish it. This was a bit disappointing as I have liked Elena Armas's other books.

Thank you for the advance copy.

Did not finish, I don't think Elena's books are my vibe, but I know so many others love her work! It was too long for the payoff of the relationship for me.

3.5 / 3.75 🌟

This was definitely a slooooowww burn. I like a slow burn, but this really didn’t speed up until around 60%. I think it was right around 3 stars for me until the end, and that last 40% was definitely 4 stars! Josie is quirky and I love her character and her many talents 😂 I can’t wait to read a book about her story! I personally would have loved a little more build up and tension throughout the first part of the book, but I’m not mad about it. Cam’s character is so lovable and I love his mean streak 😉 I thought the author did a great job with the atmosphere and woodsy location (loved the vibes). Maria’s character is precious and I just adored her, she’s sweet and sassy and added so much to the book! I really enjoyed the quirky touches to the book that made for some good chuckles. I appreciated that this book didn’t have the classic big third act breakup, what was there made sense to the story and the characters and quickly resolved. And looooved the surprise twist at the end - was so fun!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this one!

The beginning was a bit slow, but once I got into it I couldn't stop reading.

Read if you like: small town, soccer, banter, a grumpy mmc, enemies to lovers

This was a sweet romance with a little spice at the end. The characters’ problems both felt a little disconnected from reality and there were some time jumps that felt incongruous but that didn’t keep me from quickly turning the pages on this fun read.

This has so many qualities I thought would make me love it but I just didn’t. Something about the writing felt off and I never really believed the main characters. Ugh.

This was such a cute book. I liked it almost as much as her others! It was great. I really liked the main character of this book. and I thought their relationship was so adorable.

My favorite of her books so far! A small town love story and soccer talk?! Count me in every time! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for a review!

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

There's a lot of discourse right now about just jumping on the sports romance train whether or not you actually feel passionate about writing within this subgenre, and just following where the trend is. I think this one is just for the trend, just because I could barely remember what was happening while I was reading nor did I really care much about what was happening during this book.

What do you get when you mix a not so cute-meet, a surly teenager, two stubborn adults and a cow? Apparently a lot of chaos, a lot of love and a lot of laughs!
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When I was sent this arc I instantly knew I’d be in for a good time. If there’s one thing you can count on from Pippa Grant, it’s a book packed with the perfect blend of fast flowing writing, tongue in cheek humor, swoony sweet moments and a splash of spice. She’s the perfect palate cleanser, the kind of author who knows how to balance light, flirty and fun with the heavy and emotional in a way that always feels fresh and is always a joy to read!
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The two main characters were complete opposites who started on the wrong foot in an incident involving a bear, a cow and a horse... It sounds like the start of a bad joke, but instead it was the start to their love story. They definitely struggled to stop assuming things about each other and having an angsty teen on top just added another level! But of course, that line between hate and love is so thin, and really, they never stood a chance.


If You’re a fan of:
Small Town Romance
Single Parent Trope
Opposites Attract
Hot math teachers
Laugh out loud comedy
Sweet steam
Found Family Trope
And honestly so much more, this one's for you!

This arc was kindly given to me by Netgalley and the publisher for review. All opinions are my own.

Elena Armas has joined the ranks as one of my favorite authors. I freaking loved this book. It probably doesn't help that I am a huge Ted Lasso fan and the MMC had serious Roy vibes (add squealing, lol). I devoured this book so fast

The Long Game is the perfect small town romance if you love Roy Kent from the Apple TV show Ted Lasso and a slow-burn rom-com. Adalyn has been exiled after an altercation with the team’s mascot goes viral. Rather than fire her, she’s sent to middle-of-nowhere North Carolina, where she’s tasked with turning around the struggling local soccer team as a way to redeem herself. Her plans crumble upon discovering that the players wear tutus to practice, and are terrified of her... and are nine-year-old kids. Add their famous, but in hiding, ex-pro soccer player coach and let the games begin! I loved the quirky rural NC town, the characters, of course the romance and come on, there’s goat yoga too!

my favorite elena armas so far! like if roy kent and rebecca were coaching the bad news bears (but soccer) and it took place in schitt's creek, plus that sexy pottery scene from ghost. will definitely read the next one!

My absolute favorite pre-grand gesture pep talk is in The Long Game by Elena Armas.

It’s also given by a little girl & compares the MMC’s love for the FMC to the little girl’s love for her goat. And it’s absolute perfection. The GOAT if you will. 🐐💜

If you haven’t read this book yet, what’s stopping you? Especially with The Fiancé Dilemma coming out later this year.

Special thanks to Atria Books for the ARC.

Elena Armas does the BESTTTTT slow burn romance I LOVE THEMMM and this was no exception!!!!!! so steamy and romantic and funny

I wanted to give this book a try, as I’ve read good reviews. I didn’t like the author’s previous book but thought I’d give this one a chance.
Despite the use of tropes I usually like I could not find myself engaging with the characters or story line. I didn’t particularly like the MCs and even the tropes felt flat for me. I think perhaps this author’s style isn’t for me.

While I enjoyed this book in the beginning, the characters, specifically the MMC seemed to take a detour from his original grumpy demeanor. Normally I would love this, but it seemed so out of character, that it kind of knocked it back for me a bit. It was a decent read, but not her best.