AHHHHH!

This is now my favourite Elena Armas book. A small town romance between a corporate woman and an ex-football star, featuring the meddling minds of 9 year old girls and a goat named Brandy (and don't forget Cameron's two cats!).

Adalyn is banished by her father to to Green Oak, where she literally bumps into ex-football star Cameron. Unlucky for Adalyn, he is also the coach of the football team she has been sent to work on - a team filled with young girls, who enjoy tutus and blind cows named Brandy (and a chicken named Sebastian Stan). It was such a fun story, and I really enjoyed all of the side characters, the kids, and all of the animals featured in the story.

I don't know if I would call them enemies to lovers - they got off on the wrong foot (I mean, Adalyn did hit Cameron with her car), but I couldn't seriously call them enemies. It is a forced proximity, slow burn situation. But I loved the transition from strangers to getting along to lovers, and I love the protective nature that Cameron has (protection is something that Adalyn definitely lacked growing up).

This has been one of my favourite romances of the year!

All I’m gonna say is that Cameron is BRTISH!!!🫡
Alexa play London boy by Taylor swift
HELLO Elena this book was utterly amazing I fricken loved it, I was a bit nervous since I wasn’t a fan of the American roomate experiment HOWEVER this book was just so good.
I must say it is by far the best one you’ve written, yes yes I know Cameron caldani is better than Aaron BLACKFORd, I honestly never thought I’d be saying this.

This book was just scrumptious to read , the whole enemies to lover was done so well , everything just made total sense. The small town romance, the force proximity was just so good.

Not to mention Cameron was just a a sweetheart like come on, it was probably the most realistic enemies to lovers I’ve ever read. Their banter just made sense and when they realised they liked each other they didn’t really refuse it like everything felt so natural.

Adalyn wasn’t my favourite, she was basically Catalina 2.0 , I felt like her character needed a little more depth that wasn’t her father, apart from that I loved that she’s was a little crazy, I mean we all need-a let our rage out sometimes

The whole storyline with the girl team and small town was just so cute , I didn’t really like the dads story much it was kinda unnecessary at the end..

Everyone should definitely give this book a read if you like the Spanish love deception, Ted lasso, footbal (soccer 🙄), hot British men calling you LOVE you’ll definitely love this book.

Ps : Sebastian Stan is in this 👀

I wanna thank Elena Armas and Netgalley for sending me and ARC in return for my honest thoughts🫶🏼

For those that love a slow burn, contemporary sports romance this is the book for you. Every page was enjoyable and I couldn't put it down. The story was equally adorable and hot.

📚 ARC Review 📚

The Long Game by Elena Armas

🤷🏼‍♀️ What it's about:
After finding herself at the centre of a PR nightmare, soccer exec Adalyn is banished by the team’s CEO (who happens to be her father) while he does damage control. She is sent to Green Oak North Carolina where she (literally) bumps into Cameron, the grumpy coach of the local girls soccer team she is meant to be working with to redeem herself.

✨️ Why I recommend it:
I loved the entertaining slew of characters in this book. Adalyn is professional, inherently loyal, determined and ready to put everything on the line. Cameron is the best example of a burnt cinnamon roll: he’s grumpy and standoffish but underneath all of that is a swoonworthy cat dad that loves fiercely and wants nothing more than to champion his woman. The small town community was so heart warming - expect a meddling mayor, a girls soccer team full of sass and an anxiety ridden goat to name a few. The slow burn gave enough room for the MCs to really understand and trust each other while building the perfect amount of tension, and I loved that they were both given a chance to really be there for the other. I did find the main conflict a tad dramatic and predictable but enjoyed it nonetheless. There were quite a few things in this ARC that I imagine will be tidied up through final edits and I’m looking forward to seeing the final product.

🤩 Read if you like:
Small town, forced proximity, slow burn, enemies to lovers, sports romance, family pets (including goats).

📖 Ebook or physical book?
Either works fine for this one.

Thank you Simon & Schuster AU and Net Galley for this ARC. The Long Game by Elena Armas will be released 6 September 2023.

Slow burn grumpy x grumpy romance.
I really enjoyed this one! I liked it much better than the American Roommate Experiment but not as much as the Spanish love deception.
Adalyn is banished to manage a under 9s girls soccer team in the country after going viral for decapitating her team’s mascot’s head. Hiding out in the same town is Cameron a retired soccer goal keeper. The two butt heads and create some tension which simmers slowly over a low heat.
I read this book quite quickly and I loved it. I love a slow burn and I felt for the fmc who was an independent people pleaser.
I wouldn’t call this enemies to lovers but grumpy neighbours to lovers.
If you like this authors work you will love this book!

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Grumpy former soccer player and banished club CEO daughter? What could go wrong?

In "The Long Game" by Elena Armas, we see the love story of Cameron and Adalyn. Being the daughter of the Miami Flames FC Owner and CEO is hard on Adalyn. Especially when her life falls apart, she is sent off to a North Carolina, USA town where she will help a soccer team with its PR and generally bring it into the spotlight. When Adalyn turns up at her rental, she crashes (literally) into Cameron, a famous goalkeeper for LA that has just retired suddenly. They butt heads. Cameron is trying to leave his famous days behind him after the unforgivable happened. Yet, when Adalyn blows into town and into his house, Cameron's life is changed forever. Cameron runs the local under-10s girls' soccer team, so when he learns that Adalyn will be improving the club. The tension is high.

Cameron is your normal grump, retired soccer player. Yet he has done so much work on himself it's beautiful. Adalyn on the other hand is our beautiful sunshine, that has been dealt a bad hand. She is constantly put into bad positions and always doing her absolute best, though it's never enough. Cameron and Adalyn are truly perfect together, with his understanding of her, and her understanding of his boundaries it's just perfect. While they do have their ups and downs they actively work through them together.

I have read both of Elena Armas's other books and LOVED The Spanish Love Deception. Though this was different from her other books, it fits perfectly. Both characters are written well and easy to understand their emotions and feelings about one another. Cameron had his flaws but understandable flaws, which he was actively working on improving. So the way he reacts to Adalyn in certain moments makes sense. Adalyn as a character was easy to understand her thought process and why she reacted the way she did in moments as well. The buildup felt natural, with them learning to understand each other. I think Cameron as a character is better than Aaron Blackford *Shockingly, I know* While this is only my opinion, Elena has really improved as a writer and it's really fun to watch her grow! I truly did love this book, and I think you will too.

Random facts that you should know before reading though!
- It is steamy and has lots of tension
- It is a romcom
- Goats are involved
- Trigger warnings: manipulation, gaslighting, car accident, crime, toxic relationship.

Besides those, It's a great read, Hope you enjoy it!

Thank you, NetGalley for this beautiful read!!!

I was beyond stoked to have an advanced copy and still am. One of my auto-buy authors, the closest thing to a celebrity in my head, and all my high expectations were met.

I understood Adalyn a lot, how she was driven and determined, so much so that often times she lost herself to her work. Seeing her take a step back and learn more about who she really is throughout the course of the book stood out to me, and Armas always does a commendable job.

Cameron similarly experienced a powerful character arc, and every interaction of his with Adalyn had me grinning like an idiot. Their hate to love was executed wonderfully, and both of them were transformed by the end of the book.

They did go back and forth between hate and love a few times in the middle section which could be a bit frustrating, but it didn't deter me in the slightest and was all worth it in the end.

I'd like to out a heads up that there is coarse language and blasphemy in this book, which didn't bother me personally but may affect other readers.

Overall, I'd strongly recommend this book to anyone looking for a small town romance with a variation of enemies to lovers and lots of funny moments. One of the great things about Armas' work is that you always know there will be a HEA, and I was sad when this book was over. I am so excited to hopefully see another book set in this world in the future.

Another amazing book by Elena Armas. The long game is a small town soccer romance which I adore.

Elena writes characters that are loveable but also flawed and it is always great to watch that slowly unpack across the novel.

The side characters in this are perfect and add such charm to this book not to mention the twists and turns at the end.

Overall amazing book everyone should read this.

**Thank you to Netgalley & Simon & Schuster (Australia) for this ARC. All thoughts are my own.**

The Long Game follows Adalyn Reyes, who after having a somewhat public breakdown caught on camera and turned viral overnight, gets sent away to a small North Carolina town to save face for her father's Miami Flames Soccer team, and to bring the local girls soccer team to victory.
Mishaps ensue when Adalyn runs into Cameron Caldani, a recently retired soccer star, who wants peace and quiet in the small town of Green Oaks.

Adalyn's journey of self-discovery, growth, and worth is transformative for her throughout the story, as it is for Cameron too, but I feel that these revelations and the information given to the reader come far too late within the story.
The way their relationship unfolds seems too fast-paced, and insta love, even though they at first butt heads. Cameron is the typical alpha hole, must protect the woman at all costs type of leading man, with a somewhat cinnamon roll center (near the end).
I struggled with the instant intimate touches between them, that it wasn't built up to a natural progression, so it felt odd for them to be touching like they were.

I did enjoy the side characters within the small town, the young girl's soccer team, Josephine, and Cameron's two pet cats. The connections Adalyn made within the town were very wholesome and provided her the chance to develop herself away from the stigma of what she thought she had to be when she was in Miami.
I found a lot of the tropes within this story a bit repetitive, especially when it came to Adalyn taking out her moods on Cameron, or when Cameron 'had to save her, but appeared angry even though he was battling his emotions on the inside'. I felt there wasn't as much explanation as to why they did what they did.

If you like a grumpy x grumpy, both stubborn but actually soft when you get to know me, we must fight the attraction to one another type of storyline, with a bit of spice, then this is for you.

Great concept, but not the best execution.

I initially was really enjoying this book, but as it continued, I found I was getting increasingly frustrated with it.

Let's start with the good. The initial sexual tension was there. It was enticing. The little subtle comments here and there were hot. Yoga scene, anyone?

Loved the main side characters, and the cats, and the goats. Absolutely love when animals are included in good funny ways.

The plot was definitely there, and I enjoyed it for the most part. It wasn't super predictable, and it was gripping. It was occasionally a bit too slow, though. I know this is called The Long Game, but at times, I didn't remember where this book was headed or what the point of all of this was. On top of this, there was also one crucial plot point that just didn't feel like a big enough deal. It tied into the ending well, but at the time it honestly seemed like the response to it was a bit of an overreaction, and that made it obvious.

Now on to the not as good, starting with the enemies to lovers trope. I'm sorry, but this never seems to work well in a non-fantasy setting. Their reactions sometimes came out of nowhere and felt quite forced. It wasn't very believable, and honestly, it just kind of annoyed me.

When there was finally some gripping romantic conversation or a tense scene, the chapters just skipped ahead. Initially, it was fine, but once it had happened over three times, I was over it. At one point, it even skipped a whole week! Not every romantic scene has to be a big cliffhanger. I wanted their reactions, responses, etc. I wanted to know their thoughts. It really took me out of the story.

If this story was more fleshed out and not as jumpy, I could've enjoyed it more, but unfortunately, this fell a bit flat for me.

➛ 𝟐.𝟓 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘈𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘢 𝘈𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘴. 𝘔𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Australia for an e-ARC edition to review. All thoughts are my own.

The Long Game follows Adalyn Reyes, who after having a really bad personal moment get caught on film, is banished by her business mogul of a father to an obscure township in North Carolina to manage a young soccer team in disarray. From the start of this story, the whole reasoning behind Adalyn's misstep feels wildly dramatic and sets the tone of what to expect. Antics and hilarity are built to show this otherwise put-together "ice queen" completely falling into chaos and subsequently finding herself.

I liked the overall idea of helping Adalyn find herself in the small township where everyone knew each other's business, including her flying off the wall in the video. And some elements supported her growth here - Adalyn is very self-critical, and whilst there was initial backlash of her working with the young squad, the townsfolk don't admonish her. Here, she finds people who actually will be there to help her out when she asks for it, to listen to her needs when she finally speaks them, and to of course, busy-body themselves into her personal affairs, being the figurative shove in the behind to get her doing more.

However, I found it somewhat tacky and eye-roll-inducing for the majority of the time. The storyline is wholly dramatic and rather unrealistic at times, and Adalyn's constant self-hatred or taking her moods out on the MMC Cameron grew repetitive. Rather than logical steps to solving things, it seemed like the most dramatic approach to everything was utilised by the author. And perhaps that is to symbolise Adalyn feeling safe enough to speak out when she's normally so composed back home, but it wasn't as enjoyable as it was made to feel, especially when the plot tactics every time Adalyn had a win were to drag her back down through the incident and her self-loathing that followed.

Her father is the biggest antagonist in this novel, and things weren't resolved between her and him. Whilst I did appreciate her going and telling her father and the man who wronged her what she truly thought of them, it was so far at the end that nothing could really be done to satisfy the reader. This storyline is more for a very lighthearted read, though this is in contrast with some really heavy and emotionally driven scars both characters possess. And because the reader finds out quite far into the story the reasons driving both Cameron and Adalyn to think the way they do, the warring between light-hearted fun versus these very deep and meaningful experiences is quite obvious.

Cameron is just as dramatic and matches Adalyn through their antics, which works for the romance plotline, but I found him very quick from 0 to 100 over what he'd do for her. I think if you love Tessa Bailey men (especially Brendan from It Happened One Summer, Myles from My Killer Vacation and August in Unfortunately Yours), then this will be up your alley as Cameron resonated with their alphahole/caveman, gotta look after the petite little FMC characters I've read from that particular author. The romance does take some time to build, even if the feelings are intensely instalove-based, so I did get to enjoy some of their connection with the pacing. Still, I don't think by the end of the book I was all that invested in them getting together because I was tired from the dramatics that got them to that point.

I do, for full transparency, prefer more emotional than light-hearted storylines, so my rating is in reflection of this being just a fun, easy enough to read novel, that's nothing new in the overly saturated romance market. But for readers who enjoy mindless fun and don't overanalyse their romances (a bad habit of mine), you will have fun with one.

Adalyn and Cameron. Yes yes yes, Elena's stories are getting more and more wonderful. This is gold! Cameron is an absolute honey - even a grumpy one and Adalyn a mess from the beginning but how these two gel together and learn to look after each other is so wonderful to read.

Cameron's voice is really distinctive, which is unusual for a male character in dual POV, but the words and phrases he uses give him such a believable - and lovable - voice. ... So bright', 'love' - both the dialogue with Adalyn and his inner dialogue are perfection.

There's plenty going on around these two - misunderstandings, kittens, sassy nine year olds, a toxic parent (and ex), a football competition, and of course, the Sparkles incident. There's lots of pining and a slow burn and steam. In short, this is just fabulous - go Elena!

And thank you NetGalley and Elena for the ARC. Opinions are my own and I'll be recommending this wonderful book!

I have loved Elena’s previous books so I was extremely excited to get into this one.

Adalyn has been banished to a small town by her father to make up for her embarrassing moment at work. Her father owns a professional soccer team and simply throws her to the side. Frustrated at having to leave Adalyn needs to start fresh and work alongside a new soccer team, although she was never made aware they would be children.

But in this Small town Cameron, a retired professional soccer player has taken up residence to hind from the world and just so happens to coach this little league team, They meet with a crash, literally and start to form an awkward friendship built on annoying each other, but secretly falling at the same time.

Safe to say this one is a very slow burn. 76% until a kiss was even reached!! I did love the relationship that was build between the two but I was kind of frustrated with how close they kept coming, but then nothing would happen and they would get on with every day life.

I really enjoyed Cameron’s charm and wit and I really liked the added storyline of Maria and her goat Brandy, There are also a couple of other little twists in the book with some side characters that I didn’t see coming. I really feel that these helped keep my interest throughout,

Overall it was a really cute read. Maybe too slow of a burn for my liking, I just wanted a bit more grit from the two main characters. 3.5 stars from me

Thank you to the publisher and Netgally for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book, I really did. I LOVE Elena Armas and think she is a fabulous author. I will read anything she publishes with gusto! This book though felt particularly rushed. The premise of this small town, forced proximity grumpy meets grumpy romcom is so very cute with very appealing characters, however the premise just does not feel as fleshed out as her two previous books. Does it actually make sense that a youth soccer team needs a team manager? Does the team actually need that much help if the whole town already supports it with gusto?

The book was very nearly a DNF for me as there are some spicy scenes that occur while the protagonist is meant to be overseeing the soccer team. It just felt like that wasn’t the most appropriate space for a workplace fling.

However the characters are very loveable and make it worth sticking around for. Hooray for blind goats and kids telling it like it is!

3/5 as I feel like this still needs some work, but the characters made it an enjoyable read.

Dnf @ 59%.
This is likely another case of ‘it’s not the book, it’s me’, but I couldn’t push through.
This was a cute neighbours, forced-proximity, grumpy x grumpy, small-town romance.
The soccer team and the MCs involvement with the team was probably my highlight of this book.
It quite simply was a fun ride at the beginning, but I found it started to slow in the middle. And besides both MCs being stubborn and cranky at one another, i also struggled with believing their chemistry? Their tension at the beginning is good, but I felt like it kind of turned to instalove part way. It’s hard to explain my feelings with this book.

I think if I had pushed through, this still could’ve been a 3⭐️. But I don’t want to push my way through and end up in a slump, sorry Elena Armas.

If you have enjoyed writing by Armas in the past, i recommend this. It’s an easy romance with a good base. I think I just put it down for too long and now simply have found myself not caring too much for the MCs.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the complimentary e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this review are my own.

No words can describe how absolutelyamazing this book was. It feels more mature than Elena’s previous works, and her writing style has only gotten better. I absolutely loved it, the chemistry was just explosive. They are so sweet and the banter was everything. The book manages make normal situations so romantic and funny, I loved the pottery chapter I couldn’t stop giggling. This is the best one yet. They are exactly what each other needs, and I really cannot highlight enough how mature their love is. I really really loved the emotional depth they had and the way they treated each other. One of the best slowburns out there, I honestly wished it was longer because I’m greedy and want to know more.

Adalyn is out to prove herself, to her father, her ex, herself. This experience is throwing her for a loop, completely out of her comfort zone and I loved watching her navigate the situation. Her thoughts about Cam made me laugh, and I loved how their relationship blossomed. She’s intelligent and a little high-strung, but she has a fighting spirit. Adalyn has always been independent and I really enjoyed watching her come to terms with the fact that you can’t do everything alone, you need other humans.

Cam is looking for a quiet life, a hideaway of sorta and it all comes crashing down when Adalyn comes around. I absolutely loved how she brought some chaos into his peaceful existence, in a really funny way. His life seemed boring before her, but after it just seems full of laughter. He’s fiercely protective and also knows how to push Adalyn just the right amount. He has his own fears, but I love how he navigates his issues and how he isn’t afraid to love. He isn’t insecure about himself and knows how to get what he wants. He’s the type of guyyou shouldn’t be scared to fall in love with.

If this isn’t on your most anticipated reads of 2023, that’s a huge mistake. You won’t want to be missing out on this book. It’s a slowburn smalltown romance with a hint of enemies to lovers and a whole lot of sweetness. You get an independent and stubborn girly clashing with a fierce and protective guy, what more do you want.

Adalyn and Cameron meet when Adalyn is forced to go to a small town to manage a kids soccer team. This is where she meets Cameron with one unfortunate meet cute and it’s safe to say they did not get off on the right foot.

Cameron is so freaking hot and although he appears to despise Adalyn, he clearly cares for her. We get to see this more and more throughout the book. Adalyn definitely softens throughout the story and is able to become more of herself with Cameron. There were so many sexy, tension filled scenes in this story and these characters very quickly won my heart. This is very much an enemies to lovers, forced proximity romance that includes lots of quirky animals, steamy scenes and one sexy, soccer coach. The Long Game is Armas’ best work to date, and will definitely be one of my favourite books of the year.

I absolutely adored this book. Adalyn’s world is turned upside down when one day she is banished to a small town and tasked with turning around the struggling local soccer team. The only problem? The grumpy retired soccer star she must work with. I found myself laughing out loud multiple times and it gave me all the belly swirlies I could ever want. It had just the right amount of slow burn without killing me and the epilogue finished off the story perfectly. There is just something about grumpy men and kids in books that I can’t get enough of. I have loved every one of Elena’s books and I can’t wait for more!