A quirky, predictable romcom that really doesn't push the needle.
A friends-turned-lovers story through the lens of football, while cute overall, this book really didn't do it for me.

While there's a slow burn building throughout the book, it seems to fall flat toward the end. There are a few random scenes that seem out of place, some awkward (and confusing) context behind the reasoning for certain actions, and what felt like a rushed ending.

I did enjoy it, and will definitely check out more of Beck Erixson's work

Rating 2.59 / 5

#FeelingBallsy #NetGalley
Thanks to NetGalley, Beck Erixson and Xpresso Book Tours for the Advanced Reader Copy

Unfortunately, this one fell a little flat for me. As a former soccer player and a lover of sports rom-coms, I had high hopes. The slow start had me struggling to keep my attention, and the writing felt very awkward at times. I had to reread sentences multiple times to understand what was being said, and the dialogue was sometimes difficult to follow. I did enjoy the development of Elin and Hawk’s relationship, but it unfortunately didn’t make up for the difficulty I had digesting the writing.

This one just was not for me. I DNF'd at 19% after realizing I had been reading this book for about 5 days and only made it that far. I never even got into the "romantic" inkling. We were still waiting for her to break up with her OBVIOUSLY awful boyfriend. The (eventual) male lead did not act like any man I've ever known or read (and in my romance novels I don't even got for the alphas, give me a beta man any day. I was giving it one last push when his earrings were mentioned, that just doesn't do it for me.

Unfortunately, this book was a big disappointment to me. All in all, the book was confusing and the scenes jumped back and forth in an illogical way. The writing had room for improvement and it did not keep me in its grasp as happens with the other books that have been written better.

The build-up in the relationship between the main characters was not really written out in the book, instead their activities were described in far better detail than their thoughts. The single POV also did not work in this book because the MMC was not well enough described by the FMC.

The ending felt weird and extremely rushed. The MC’s just decided to have a break for a short period of time. All of a sudden, the break just kept going on, they saw each other and ended up returning together without further ado. The reader was left wondering what the f*ck happened because everything was over quickly and without much elaboration.

The characters were not relatable at all and I did not like the FMC. The book title was really misleading because the FMC was a p*ssy who did not know how to hold her ground and was super insecure about, well, everything.

I was close to DNF’ing this book and, looking back, that’s what I should have done.

<i>NetGalley ARC review</i>

– 3 stars 1🌶️

tropes:
➺ childhood best friends
➺ friends with benefits
➺ friends to lovers
➺ “sports” romance
➺ slow burn
➺ one pov (h)
➺ cheating (not between mc’s)

Hmmm… not quite sure how to summarize this book considering I am a little lost. It started off with potential and then went downhill all of a sudden after realizing they weren't getting together any time soon. The writing wasn't bad per se, it was simply how the characters were written, or rather their personalities😭 Ok seriously give it a shot it might appeal to you but personally it was not my cup of tea.

Plot

Elin (h) finds out her boyfriend Nate (of 5 years?) has been cheating on her so she finally breaks up with him. She had already fallen out of love so a feeling of disrespect and disappointment replaced the usual heartache. However, having been with him for 5 years she finds going on dates unproductive and makes a pact with her best friend Hawk (H). They decide that while they can date other people, they can only hookup with each other AND once romantic feelings develop, the pact is over… as if that would work.


“Wildflower, I only want to kiss you. I need to kiss you.”


✽ Am I a hater? This is such a genuine question because I often find myself disliking books where the mc’s are in their 30s AND goofy/quirky. Not exactly sure why it irks my soul but let me tell you, it does. Both Elin and Hawk are playful I guess you would say, but in a bizarre uncomfortable cringe-inducing kind of way.

✽ I loved Elin’s energy towards her bf for the most part after finding out he cheated. I think it sort of showed she had bad b energy and I was all here for it.

✽ Usually, I find the banter in this genre to be my favourite but really it was the plotline. I genuinely can see the vision the author had it just wasn't executed in my favourite way.

✽ The spice was practically none existent so if that's what you’re here for exit stage right and seek help (jk I get it🤭)

✽ I loved the majority of her girlfriends, I think they kept it real and were veryy entertaining.

✽ Hawk wasn't as fiery as I wanted him to be, I kinda wanted him and Thad to switch personalities.

✽ This slow burn gave fantasy romance it was absolutely bonkers. I thought we were on track to them getting together and then SIKE I thought wrong. But hey, we move!

Conclusion
This took me weeks to finish which says a lot for me. Characters were definitely something but the creativity in the plot and idea was there. I feel like I should be clear that this isn't a professional sports romance but rather recreational. Anyways, not too bad, wouldn't read it again but nothing against it. Could be cute if you're into all of this!

*ARC provided by the author Beck Erixson via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This was such a cute romance. I liked how both love interests played soccer and it wasn’t just one sided. I really liked seeing the main character grow stronger and stronger as a female. She had such great character development. I also liked the conflicts in this. It wasn’t the typical big event and then a breakup type of conflict. It was a realistic and it was a conflict that makes sense. I loved the side characters, especially the rest of the girls soccer players. I thought they were hilarious.

Thank you to @beckerixsonauthor and Xpresso Book Tours for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I truly loved this story line. I fell in love with Elin and Hawk. The only reason I am giving this 4 stars is for Nate and how long his intro to the story was. I could have used less of that whiney baby! The relationships between Elin and her team as well as between Elin and Hawk felt real. Truly felt like I was watching a sitcom instead of reading the book. The beginning was a little slow thanks to no good Nate but after we got rid of him I couldn’t put the book down. I especially loved the sports aspect of this book! I can’t wait to read the next books in the series!

This was such a fun read! I can't wait for more by this author. I would absolutely recommend! If you are looking for a book to get you back into reading. This is it!

I always love a good friends to lovers book and this one did the storyline perfectly 👌🏼Elin and Hawk are so cute together and the sexual tension was thereeee between them from the very start. Hawk is always there for Elin when her boyfriend is a dweeb (I wish she broke up with Nate sooner because seriously he is the worst), and he’s always the person who helps her build up her confidence when the people around her try to tear her down. there’s a classic “takes care of him when he’s sick” scene and it gave me butterflies! the only thing I didn’t like is the way that Hawk didn’t see her for how beautiful she is & want to date her sooner!!! the ‘You Belong With Me’ vibes were real… 🫶🏼

I played competitive soccer growing up, so this story really was for me. This is an adorable bff-to-lovers romance in a soccer setting but the pace of the story really interrupted things for me.

Meet Elin. Will she be able to standup for herself and breakaway from her less-than-stellar boyfriend Nate? Can she find herself with the help of her bff Hawk? It’s awkward that the two guys play on the same soccer team.

I enjoyed this sweet story and believed the natural progression of their relationship and it felt very genuine. There are spicy scenes that had me blushing and I really enjoyed there not being any unnecessary drama. The beginning felt a bit slow and the ending also felt rushed with an abrupt ending.

Overall, I would recommend this as a quick light-hearted romance if you need a palette cleanser, a low-key escapist romance, or just really love the bff-to-lovers trope.

Thank you to NetGalley, Xpresso Book Tours, and Beck Erixson for a temporary e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately this one was a DNF for me. I just found I wasn’t drawn into the story at all. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and I struggled to see them in my head. It was kind of difficult to follow the thoughts of the FMC. There were times when I went back a page because I thought I had missed something. I struggled to feel the connection between the two main characters and I just was not invested in them and their story.

This was a really nice and easy read! A really good example of the best friends to lover trope. You could really feel throughout the entire book how important their friendship was to each other and how much they truly cared for each other. The worry of losing that already solid foundation felt so real and raw between them. I also loved the soccer aspect to all of this! You don't see it often so it was a fun little twist!

I received this book as an ARC from Xpresso Book Tours through NetGalley and this review is based on my own opinion.

Feeling Ballsy is a cute best friends to lovers sports romance based on soccer.

Elin, her best friend Hawk and her stupid boyfriend of 5 years, Nate, all play in a non professional soccer league.
Elin plays just for fun but her boyfriend Nate lives for soccer, so Elin finds herself on the field every week.

Until she catches Nate cheating. She finally dumps him and gets herself into the online dating world.

Meanwhile she starts seeing Hawk in another light but that can't happen. They can't lose eachother or their friendship when things between them wouldn't work out so they set some rules.

But rules are there to be broken.

At first I thought the writer was gonna make us suffer and let us read a lot of Elin and Nate but luckily she broke them up pretty soon in the book.
Instead we got more of Elin and Hawk and I liked the perspective of them going on other dates and slowly exploring their romantic relationship.

She really made the slow burn work because towards the end I was beginning to doubt if they even would get together, but luckily the book has a very happy ending.

I normally read more sports romance about formula 1 and icehockey and this was my first one based on soccer but I still liked it a lot.

The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because I've read some books who really deserved that 5th star a bit more but other than that I really have no negative comments about this book.

This book just wasn't for me. I found it to be a little bit all over the place. I actually think if it was longer it would have been better as some scenes would've been more fleshed out and made more sense overall. However, I still enjoyed aspects of the friends to lovers romance.

3⭐️

took me forever to get through but i made it! this was cute and awkward. literally the fmc is me awkward to the t. but a story like this i think it could of been written as a novella and it would’ve been just as good.
thank you for this opportunity to read this!

Beautiful cover😍
Plot>>>>>>
Chemistry>>>>>>>
This book😍🤩💕💞✨❤️



Thank you soooooo much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read and review this book. I am new to Beck Erixson so this was my first book of theirs. We have a friends with benefits that transforms into friends to lovers type situation. I enjoyed this book for the most part, though parts seemed to fall flat for me. I really can't pinpoint what, but I guess I couldn't relate to the characters enough.

3 ⭐️

This is a friends to lovers soccer romance that had all the perfect ingredients, but it just didn't fully come together for me.

Elin is in a long-term relationship of 5 years with her boyfriend, Nate. Nate is a total twat. He's completely selfish and soccer obsessed and not in a good way. Elin knows thwir relationship has been over for a long time but hasnt known how to end things. When she finds out Nate has been cheating on her, that gives her the out she needs. She then turns to her best friend of 15 years, Hawk. He gives her a place to live, and they decide to have a little friends qirh benefits thing to help Elin get back into the dating world.

Elin is absolutely blind. How she can go three years, yes THREE YEARS withiut sex with her biyfriwnd baffles me. And Hawk is clearly in love with her, she just refuses to see what everyone else sees. So, that was frustrating.

The pacing felt super off to me. The beginning and leadup to the break up was slow, and she didnt even get togwther with Hawk until halfway through the nook. I wanted more Hawk and developing feelings and benefits, and a lot less of bitch boy Nate. Seriously, thr guy is an absolute goober.

The spice was sorta there... but not quite. We get a few good scenes but its mostly fade to black. We never get the final act either, which is highly disappointing.

I did like the reason behind Elin's hesitations. Obviously its scary to take the next step with such a good friend for fear of losing them.

I also really enjoyed the friends Elin has. They're all unique and diverse, and they truly are women supporting women, which is always a joy to read.

And with this being labeled a sports romance, we actually get a lot of sports scenes! Sometimes books tend to leave out the actual sport, but this one had a good balance.

Overall this was a cute story. If you enjoy a slow burn romance and awkward main character with a bit of angst thrown in, you’ll enjoy it!

Tags: friends to lovers, friends with benefits, soccer romance, sports romance, slow burn
Spice: 1.5 🌶
First person/Single POV

Hawk and Elin have been friends since high school. They have watched their friend group get married and they are the only two left. They belong to a city soccer league and a lot of the action takes place within this league and with people associated with this league. When Elin breaks up with her boyfriend of five years, she and Hawk (who is known to be a serial dater) begin to spend more time together while she tries to enter the dating world with less than spectacular results. The friendship rules start getting more and more blurred the more time they spend together. Should they completely erase the friendship line and risk what could happen? Does Hawk really want Elin to keep going on dates with losers? Can he only be interested in her?

Normally I love friends to lovers. I didn't really like this one as much though. I don't know all that much about soccer, so maybe that was part of it, but I just had a hard time getting into it. I really wasn't all that fond of Elin's soccer friend group. I couldn't picture hanging out with them. The ending was cute and a little surprising. Overall, for me it was just ok.

3 ⭐️
First for the good stuff. I loved Hawk, he was an adorable little golden retriever MMC, I want to see more love interests like him.
However, I don’t think he and Elin had any romantic chemistry and should’ve just stayed friends.
The pacing of the story was a little odd and I sometimes felt confused how the author was intending for me to feel, and unfortunately, I just don’t really think it hit for me