I love Elena Armas. I've read all three of her published works now and they continue to enchant me. The way that she writes makes it extremely easy for my to fall in love with her characters and the world that she builds. The spice is always right with Armas. There were multiple times while reading this book that my jaw was on the floor and I was gasping for breath. Can't wait to read the next book by her!

Thank you for allowing me to read this title early. Unfortunately, this story was not for me.

I thought the beginning was strong with the enemies to lovers. The slow burn element was nice but there were not enough tense moments to warrant the slow burn. I thought the 3rd act breakup was a bit dramatic and more of a miscommunication, if that.

After not so good read by Elena Armas, This book is surprisingly good. Adalyn Reyes is strong spirited woman who wanted to show her father she is capable of handling the Miami Flames FC after him, but one unfortunate incident made her father move Ada to small town where she needs to handle football team.

Cameron Caldani, former goalkeeper and present coach for the team had to work along with Ada. Now we know grumpysunshine always hits but grumpygrumpy ??!! is a BLAST !!! CamAda banter and their Interactions are literally the best, Josie is one the surprising character which I loved after the MC's. Since beginning to end CamAda as hooked me up.

Can't wait for MatthewJosie book *Fingers Cross*

Hm...I mean, I had a decent time reading this, but I've never felt so detached from characters?? They fell totally flat for me and the whole grumpy thing didn't work at all because he was calling her darling on basically page 2.

Liked the soccer vibes, and was fully picturing Roy Kent from Ted Lasso, but this felt incredibly amateur.

Book Review
The Long Game by Elena Armas

This book in 3 words: Dreamy. Fun. Tense. 

A hottie hot hot slow burn with characters who can't stand each other, right from the start. It's tense, a bit bonkers, and delicious from start to finish. I love how it starts off with a social media scandal -- truly funny. 

Cameron Caldini might be one of my favorite MMCs of 2023. He is addicted to coffee, calls people "love", has a saucy mouth, and has an obsession with thermal shirts. I mean, HONESTLY.  Adalyn, our FMC, is a bright light, proud to a fault, and getting herself into all kinds of trouble. Her growth throughout the story is top-notch and I loved seeing her fight and claw for what she wanted.

Elena takes the readers through an unconventional twisty ending for a contemporary romance AND I LOVE IT. It hits the right spot and makes this book stand out from others. I definitely recommend this beauty.

I was thrilled to get an advanced copy of this title! And I ate it right up. I loved the slow burn, the forced proximity, the caretaking, the girls, the goats, he’s a cat daddy… I could go on and on. This was the best long weekend read

The amount of love I have for this book is not able to be expressed in words…

Adalyn and Cameron absolutely stole my heart, from the very first chapter I was hooked.

After Adylan goes through something very embarrassing…and is practically forced (and exiled) to this small town…she takes on the roll of general manager for a soccer team or smaller girls (it’s genuinely adorable you guys) the couch of that team just so happens to be her neighbor…and the man who annoys her to no end. They have a hate at first sight vibe with their first encounter (which I will not spoil because I LOVED finding it out myself and I’m sure you will too!)

They have a forced proximity with having to not only work together, but also live next door…I truly don’t want to say much about this book because finding it out all yourself is just so much fun…so I’ll be annoyingly talking about how I feel about this masterpiece.


The slow burn was ✨perfect✨ and when they finally kissed? The scream I let out and the way I ran around my room in excitement wasn’t even funny.

There friendship…Gosh I’m obsessed, the TENSION? So hot. The grumpiness he had just had me grinning every chapter, I could not believe how deeply I love this book.

It’s now one of my favorites this year…no joke. I adore it and need like 5 paperbacks of it now.

The forced proximity of when she moves to this small town for a bit, and ends up living next to a hot grump…was AMAZING!

It was so good, and I adored the way he tried so hard to act like he didn’t care, and her was always making sure she was okay, and calling her darling and love😏

The banter between the two was so fun, I adored Adalyn, she was so easy to love, and immediately take her side, the tiny plot twist in the end definitely had my jaw on the floor! Did not see that coming.

I’m not sure how Elena has done it…managed to write her another breathtaking romance, I was swooning and squealing, wanting to read it as slow as humanly possible to savor this…and her couldn’t rip my kindle out of my hands.

The SECRET YEARNING…you guys! I almost broke out into sobs at how perfect it was. I truly can’t even form words to make an acceptable review, because I’m so sad that I finished it and I already miss these two so much.

Get ready guys…because you’re going to be able to meet your new husband, Cameron soon, and you will not be disappointed with how perfect the man it😭 I quite literally was distraught multiple times at how perfect he was.

Tropes:

- enemies - to lovers

- small town

- she’s the boss😏🫨

- soccer (hate sports but eat it UP when it’s in a romance)

- dual pov

- secret pinning

—
HEA: yes yes yes!!!🥹

OWD/OMD: no 😛

Cheating: thank goodness not!

Dual pov?: yes!


Truly the biggest thank you to netgally and atria you guys made me absolute month with providing me an arc in exchange of an honest review!

THE LONG GAME is fabulous & Elena Armas can do no wrong. *full review to come*

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.*

Anything from Elena Armas is a must-read for me and “The Long Game” did not disappoint. Adalyn’s father sends her to small-town North Carolina after a blunder with Miami Flames’ soccer team mascot goes viral. To Adalyn’s surprise, she is tasked with transforming a struggling girl’s soccer team – with the help of soccer legend Cameron Caldani. Their meet-cute is more of a meet-diaster and the pair are forced to work together. Of course, they fall in love along the way.
Adalyn and Cam’s relationship is fantastic. Armas is a master at effortlessly building the tension and naturally developing the bond between our pairing in a way that never feels forced. My one complaint is the fourth-act conflict did feel a little extraneous.
“The Long Game” is reminiscent of Armas’ previous works, as well as small-town romances like “It Happened Our Summer,” This one is well worth the read!
Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such a fun book to read!

I loved how the author showed Adalyn as such a strong character in such a tough situation and allowing her to be vulnerable even when she didn't want to.

I loved that this book involved soccer but so much more. If you are looking for a cute rom-com book, with a bit of predictability, this is your next read.

Thank you Atria books for the ARC! I'm hoping for a book 2!

I am an Elena Armas stan! She is incapable of writing a bad book. I am obsessed with dual POV and she nailed it! Both characters had so much depth. I loved how we got to see why Adalyn made the choices she made. I absolutely loved how Cam took care of her in a way that didn’t take away her independence but just reminded her that she wasn’t fighting the metaphorical battles alone. Nobody compares to Aaron Blackford but Cameron Caldani is not far behind.

The premise of The Long Game is very charming and I can see how many romance readers will enjoy the story. I thought the plot was cute but found the characters lacking depth and realness and the dialogue to be a bit strange. The scene is not always clearly set in terms of what is happening and what characters are doing. There are also some abrupt time shifts.

After going viral in a video where Adalyn appears to attack a mascot, she is "banished" to a small town by her father where she is asked to manage a soccer team comprised of nine-year-old girls (honestly, I wasn't quite sure what Adalyn's new job entailed beyond ordering uniforms?).

Fortunately (and also inexplicably), a very handsome and successful former professional soccer player/goalie named Cameron is also in this small town and he happens to be reluctantly coaching the team of nine-year-olds. Adalyn and Cameron do not have a meet cute and antagonize one another until one day they don't. Since we get both Adalyn's and Cameron's points of view in this story, it would have been great to get a better sense of why Cameron begins to fall for Adalyn (besides that he thinks she looks hot in overalls). And same goes for Adalyn. Cameron is not very nice to her and insists on calling her "darling" every chance he gets despite Adalyn asking him not to numerous times.

I think this will likely appeal to fans of the author's previous novels and anyone looking for a light and silly rom-com. 2.5 stars.

I appreciate the opportunity to read a copy - thank you Atria and NetGalley.

After a PR disaster with the Miami Flames soccer team, Adalyn’s father sends her to middle of nowhere North Carolina where she is tasked with turning around a small, local team. What she didn’t expect was for soccer legend Cameron Caldani to be helping out as well, especially because no one knows he’s there. While the two start off with a true meet disaster and a bit of rivalry, the back and forth turns into something so much more.

What I loved:
-All the soccer talk! Total Ted Lasso vibes
-How both Adalyn and Cam had their own insecurities and past traumas that they worked through
-The wonderful Green Oak Warriors teammates. If the book has kids under 10 in it, I’m always a fan
-Cam! He was grumpy and guarded at first but ah did he totally win me over
-The surprises revealed at the end and an epic epilogue

What didn’t work:
-Adalyn’s clumsiness and over the top reactions bothered me at times
-While the story was a slow burn, I didn’t feel invested in the build up. A spark was missing between the two, and I found the steamy scenes to come out of nowhere

Thank you Atria for the ARC! This is out 9/6

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Y'all I was screaming when I got the notification that I got approved for an ARC. I have read Armas's first two novels and loved them. After reading 'The Long Game,' I can confidently say it blows TSLD and TARE out of the water.

The first thing I noticed was how much Armas's writing has improved. Her style is still consistent with TSLD, but it is more mature and uses more stylistic approaches. From the first page it is clear she has spent time on improving her work. I am amazed at the transformation.

The second thing I noticed was the cast of characters. TSLD and TARE have relatively small groups of characters and the few secondary characters are not given much page time. In TLG, there is a broader group of characters with more page time. TLG takes place in a small town with a kids soccer team, so it is no surprise that the number of characters has grown. I appreciate the additionally time with the secondary characters as it added so much to the plot. We see Adalyn adapt to small town life with people actually interested in her work and her as a person.

I can't review TLG without discussing the leads. We have Adalyn as our main female character. She is down on her luck and banished to the middle of nowhere to improve her image. Her character arc was phenomenal. At first, she is solely focused on work. She has one friend (her assistant) and even her ex-boyfriend was a colleague. Then she ends up in North Carolina and creates a network of people that she cares about and care about her. She learns to let her guard down and have a life outside of work.

Cam is easily my favorite of Armas's love interests. He blows Aaron Blackford out of the water. I am absolutely obsessed with him. He's a grumpy retired goalkeeper that spends his days coaching little girls for their soccer team. He's less than thrilled when Adalyn ends up living next door to him, but slowly comes around. He's actually a super softie with a fear of goats and talent for melting my heart. He is the blueprint.

Thank you again to the publisher. I recommend this to everyone that loves Armas, and even those that don't. I fully believe TLG is her best work yet.

Adalyn Reyes needs a hug, not that she'll ever admit it. Exiled to tiny Green Oak, North Carolina, after a very public breakdown embarrasses her father (and boss,) she's forced to examine if the life she's been living is really what she wants - and of course, fall in love along the way. It's a familiar structure and popular for a reason. Armas hits all the right notes and the emotional beats are so good. Thankfully, Armas does skip one common romance trope - you'll find no miscommunication here and there's no third act breakup either. The slow burn is long, but the pining is delicious.
Pick this one up if you like:
Small-town romance
Adorable kids playing soccer
Goat yoga
Love interests who actually talk to each other
Competent men
Female leads who can handle their stuff

oh man i LOVED this one. cam and adalyn had such a beautiful love story and i loved watching them not only let down their walls for each other but the other trying to worm their way in past the other's walls. cam's love language being caretaking was just SO good and the recurring theme of him playing the long game was so good. i LOVEDDD when he said he didn't quit at halftime. i want to kidnap him and keep him forever. there were so many amazing aspects of ths novel, but the pure chemistry and desire to learn to love was what stuck out to me the most. i can't wait to read so much more by elena armas!!

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third book I’ve read by this author so far but it’s not my favorite. There were many funny spots and some spicy sexy times but overall the story seemed to drag at times. Adalyn the heroine, always seemed to be running away from something and clumsier than a normal person could possibly be. The sheer number of times that Cam physically picked her up got repetitive.

Now Cameron…I loved. I’m watching Ted Lasso at the same time and was getting strong growly Roy Kent vibes which I’m here for.

This story would have benefited from more extensive editing to take out repetitive sections to move the plot along.

A slower read for me, but I liked the character growth and development though I wish more time would have been spent on the confrontation between Adalyn and her father after all the build-up.

Not a bad read, but a bit slow paced and repetitive but I did enjoy the world building.

First I want to say I’m VERY VERY thankful for the ARC.

Now this book took SOOO long to get through. I loved the small town, dual POVs, grumpy meets grumpy type. But I just didn’t get hooked. I also will be fine if I never hear the word Darling again. This book fell short and it makes me sad.

May I have your attention, please? Because guess what? My dreams have finally come true! Elena Armas has just released another breathtaking romance novel, and hold on tight because it's absolutely incredible! The characters she has created will make you swoon, burst into fits of laughter, hyperventilate, and send your temperature soaring! She combines my favorite trope, enemies-to-lovers, with the exhilarating world of soccer, giving off major "Bend it Like Beckham" and "Ted Lasso" vibes. And let me tell you, she has truly outdone herself with a grumpy hero as charming as a younger Beckham (with Roy Kent vibes) and a boss lady heroine who dons the facade of an ice queen while secretly yearning for kindness within, all while gracefully strutting around in intimidating stilettos.

Let me also mention that this is, by far, my favorite book by the author. Not only for the reasons I mentioned above, but because Cameron and Adalyn's fiery love story set in a small town feels incredibly genuine, engaging, swoon-worthy, and heartwarming.

Adalyn, after facing a major embarrassment that goes viral, finds herself exiled to a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, North Carolina, following a nerve-wracking breakdown. Leaving behind her demanding job at the Miami Flames FC, she takes on the role of manager for the Green Oak Warriors Young Club, a soccer team of little girls (one of whom insists on wearing a tutu instead of a jersey). Her neighbor and coach of the team, as well as her biggest pain in the backside, is the ex-British legendary goalkeeper, Cameron Caldani (correction: he's also half Italian, as evident from his last name and the correlation of his charm and extra hotness!).

Their initial disastrous encounter quickly turns into hate at first sight, fueling their fiery banter. Both Adalyn and Cameron carry their own demons, insecurities, and past traumas. Adalyn pushes herself to the limit to turn her team's management into a success story, hoping to redeem herself in the eyes of the media and earn her place back at her father's club. She even goes as far as convincing her biggest nemesis to work with her, hoping to win the approval of the parents of her young players. However, what she doesn't anticipate is the undeniable attraction she starts to feel for the man who despises her to the core and is just waiting for her to pack her bags and leave. Little does she know that Cameron Caldani is a warrior who would slay dragons just to be with her, hidden beneath his grumpy exterior! Will they be able to break down their barriers and open up to each other, risking the shattering of their own hearts?

Words cannot express how much I adored this book and how badly I want to adopt the incredible supporting characters, including Brandy, the blind and socially anxious goat, and San Sebastián, the rooster with nine lives. And let's not forget the two possessive cats, Willow and Pierogi. However, my absolute favorite supporting character award goes to little Maria, with her brilliant mind and the hilarious nicknames she comes up with for Cameron. She's an absolute cutie and so incredibly likable.

Overall, dear readers, do not miss out on this perfect reading experience! Elena Armas has crafted a story that will sweep you off your feet, make you laugh, and leave you yearning for more. With memorable characters, a captivating small-town setting, and a love story that will tug at your heartstrings, this book is an absolute gem.

And to the author, Elena Armas, thank you for sharing your incredible talent with the world. Your words have the power to transport us to enchanting places and touch our hearts in the most profound ways. I eagerly await your future works and can't wait to see what captivating stories you'll weave next.

Note: I have a strong feeling that there's a spin-off book in the works for Matthew and Josie! I already adore both of these characters and cannot wait to read their sequel in the near future!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with a digital reviewer copy of this AMAZING BOOK in exchange for my honest opinions. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to dive into this literary masterpiece.

I have been a fan of Elena Armas from the outset, and this book did not disappoint at all.

The title of the book can be applied to to so many different aspects of this novel: the relationship between Adalyn and Cameron, the relationship between Adalyn and her father, the literal game of soccer that the Green Warriors are pushing through, and more. What stood out as different in this novel versus the two previous ones (no series relation) was the strength of character development that I felt in this one. Because the two MCs were doing a will they/won't they dance for so long, the reader got to pick up on a few more nuances that if they had simply succumbed to their sexual tension early on.

This book perfectly set the stage for (I hope) Matthew and Josie to continue the adventures of Green Oak!