I've loved Armas's pervious titles, but this one was not for me. I'm glad I read it so I can get it into the right hands, but it wasn't my cup of tea. That being said, I still plan to pick up future titles from Armas.

Thank you Atria publishers and Netgalley for an E-ARC of this novel in exchange for a honest review.

I should've enjoyed this novel. Nearly every trope it has is a favorite of mine. I enjoyed the premise but then I got bored and the romance that should've been brewing and turning from enemies to lovers really was lackluster until it became a little instalovey with its choppy pacing. Also, I usually find kid characters cute and fun to have in books but the way they were written in certain scenes didn't seem to match their ages??

Overall, between this book and the Spanish Love Deception, I just don't think Elena Armas is an author I'm going to continue reading from.

This story was beautiful. I read it in one sitting. I loved the banter, the enemies-to-lovers, the small-town romance.

I just know that Armas is going to do another story in this town and I am here for it.

Ok, Adalyn is most of the most infuriating characters ever. She’s so hard headed and angry, and for what?!

And Cameron is just meh.

Kind of hard to root for a romance when both of the characters are lack luster🫠

I liked the soccer elements and all the little kids, but overall, it didn’t totally work for me.

I was told by friends I wouldn't like this author due to the slow burn and... they were right. This was slow and boring for 70% spice for 20% and random drama for 10% at the end that made 0 sense.

Not for me.

Unfortunately I think this’ll be my last time trying an Elena Armas book:( Her writing style just doesn’t really work for me. I’ve never been able to relate to any of her characters, and the scenes last way too long. It feels like not much is happening. I’m sorry:(

I am mad I've been sleeping on Elena Armas for so long. This was great! I describe this as Ted Lasso's Roy Kent, meets a badass female with baby goats and a children's soccer team.

Cameron is a former pro soccer star who resides in the woods of North Carolina. Adalyn is a disgraced PR associate and daughter of a major MLS team. After a social media post gone viral, Adalyn's father sends her to North Carolina to rehabilitate a U10 girls soccer team putting her in Cam's grumpy path. Cam is Roy Kent but a huge cinnamon roll in the end and I loved both their relationship and the banter. I'm not usually one for children in my romance novels, but the soccer team really added to the two's dynamic and created some hilarious moments of self reckoning between the two.

I will now be inhaling any other book by Armas in the future.

What a sweet book. Adalyn and Cameron are so funny together. The two can’t help but get under each others skin. Cameron is soooo grumpy I just wanted to hug him (I’m sure he would have a few choice words about that). Then there is Adalyn, who my heart completely broke for. She is so lost and her self worth completely shattered. This book really plays the long game with a slow burn filled with tension buts it’s completely worth it. I can’t wait down the followup book Short Lost

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Atria Books for the gifted e-book ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read if you like: Dual POV, sports, grumpy grumpy, slow burn

Grumpy grumpy is a new one for me. I liked it. 🤣 This book is so complex. It's more than a love story. The slow burn was well done. It was funny, sexy, and would make a great movie. Her books often feel too long for me. This was a bit too long, making it drag at times. I still enjoyed it.

Roy Kent, is that you? Cameron Caldani is a grumpy former footballer hiding away in the middle of nowhere North Carolina, pretending to be nobody. Adalyn Reyes is the newest internet meme after beheading her soccer club's mascot in a fit of misunderstood rage. She's sent to nowhere North Carolina to think about what she's done and of course romance ensues. Elena Armas has a way with words to lure you in and hit you right in the feels. She's found her niche with strong independent woman doesn't need a man but grumpy hunk endears himself and they can't live without each other. The set up for the next book was so obvious there was no way you couldn't fall over it. Will I read the next week? You betcha.

I’m sad to say but I just don’t think this author is for me. I enjoyed The Spanish Love Deception even though I had some minor issues with it, but each book since just hasn’t been able to hook me in. Plus the fact that they are all pretty long for romances. I’ve seen good reviews from others, so I’m sure there are plenty who will love this one but I am not one of them.

I'm a huge fan of Elena Armas' books. The Long Game is more than just a love story. It's a gripping tale of ambition, betrayal, and redemption that spans continents and generations. Armas deftly explores themes of power, privilege, and the sacrifices we make in pursuit of our dreams, weaving together multiple narrative threads into a seamless tapestry of interconnected lives.

Overall, I enjoyed the book! I think the slow burn was well done and made sense for this particular pairing, and I loved the grumpy aspects. Thank you to the publisher, and I would recommend this bok for anyone!

It took me a bit to get into this one. I didn't like Adalyn or Cam much in the beginning, and though I didn't buy the love story between them, I did end up enjoying this more than I thought at the beginning. It was entertaining and I loved the ending!

I am such a fan of Elena Armas, and this book is no different. It was romantic, sexy, and an overall fun read! The pacing felt weird at some points, but I still really liked the story!

The Long Game was long... It took me a while to read this because I wasn't feeling the urge to pick this book up. It's pretty slow. It's not necessarily bad by any means, I just don't think it's this authors best work. I loved TSLD and I was so pumped to pick this new Ted Lasso inspired book up by her. As a lover of Ted Lasso, I was really hoping for more of a Ted like character versus a Roy like character. Both characters are grumpy and it makes for pretty rough dialogue and overall pretty boring.
Unfortunately, this book was not memorable to me and I couldn't even tell you the characters names.
I have loved Elena's other works, but this one just wasn't for me! Hoping for a better outcome for me with her next book.

A wonderful romantic read with wonderful character. Looking forward to reading more from this author!

I love Elena Armas, but this book of hers fell flat for me. It was a bit too long for me without much happening to move the story along to warrant the length.

I tried to read this one multiple times and just couldn’t ever get into it so I decided to call it and just dnf because it just wasn’t clicking with me:

A predictable but still inherently lovely contemporary romance.

The spoiled rich girl ends up being sent away to hide out from a problem she created only to find herself in the orbit of the also hiding out famous athlete with a touch of the grumps. You can easily see where this story is going to go, but it was a fun ride. I did enjoy more than anything the side relationships as they gave me more of a heartwarming tale to want to read than the romance between the main characters.