⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Feeling Ballsy gives sports romance, best friends to lovers, slow burn.

Do you know that friend who is always there for you, through ups and down? Enter sexy Hawk, Elin’s best friend of 15 years.

Elin, Hawk & Elin’s boyfriend Nate all play in a soccer league. When Elin finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her, Hawk and Elin enter into a friends with benefit situation until they eventually realize they were meant to be together. It’s definitely a slow burn which are not necessarily my favorite, but I loved so many of the characters it kept me engaged.

Thank you Beck Erixson & NetGalley for the ARC!

This book didn’t work on so many levels. The formatting/writing style had me guessing who was saying each piece of dialogue so many times that it became a major annoyance. The writing itself was basic and not great. The characters lacked so much depth and I did not care about them by the end (or even the middle)! I wanted to DNF by 20% in, but kept hoping it would get better. It didn’t. The author kept throwing every theme and buzzy topic at this book (found family, male best friend, ladies man best friend, boudoir photoshoot for female empowerment, shy FMC, FMC who has to be told she’s sexy) and they don’t all make a good book. The timeline is so confusing to follow and the author did not do enough research! Calling Hawk a scientist or Elin and analyst but not every really mentioning any aspect of their job was weird and left the characters so flat. Also, a day trip to Philly and all that was described there was so wrong! I’ve lived in Philly for years and there aren’t people randomly dancing to cello players in the daytime! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cello player on the street plying especially in winter! Also, there isn’t water ice (not water ice, not Italian ice!) available in the winter! The romance didn’t feel real and was so forced. Just not a good read. 1⭐️, 2🌶

I enjoyed the actual story but the writing felt a little bit off. It had random time jumps that I didn't love. But, the two of them were really cute and I liked the natural progression to it. I do wish it had Hawk's pov though, it would have added some depth to his character.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I liked this book - I thought the story was cute and the characters had enough depth that you could connect with them. It's a best friend to lovers' story, which I am a huge sucker for.

Elin is the goalie for her women's soccer team - she's not the best player but she loves it because of the friendships, beer, and camaraderie. She was dating her crappy boyfriend Nate, who is completely obsessed with soccer and hardly pays her any attention. From the very first page you learn that he's a terrible guy and that she shouldn't be with him, yet she stays. She's known for about 3 years that he's not right for her, but she feels stuck and isn't sure how or when to end things. Luckily (& unluckily) Elin finds out that Nate has been cheating on her, and now she has to figure out how to start dating again and move on with her life.

Her best friend, Hawk, has been there since college and a shoulder to cry on countless occasions. He is a player on the men's soccer team, and he's also been known to have slept with half of the women's team. He knows he has feelings for Elin, but the timing has never been right until now, when they are both single. Their friendship is the most important thing to them, so they need to figure out if they can take the next step out of the friendzone. I loved their friendship, and as a reader, we could see how well they fit together and how much they needed to admit their feelings. It was so obvious! I loved their banter and thought they were really funny!

Some things I didn't love about this book were that the ending felt really rushed and came out of nowhere. Don't get me wrong, I love happy endings, it just felt like I had missed the lead up. I know they were best friends for so long, so it sort of makes sense at the same time. Also compared to the beginning of the story, which was SO slow, it was like night and day. I'm not a fan of slow burns in general, and this one was just WAY too slow for me. I also wish there was less implied story. I kept flipping back pages to make sure I didn't miss anything which was taking me out of the story more than I would have liked. The writing style was also a little hard for me to follow - it wasn't always clear who was talking, and I kept feeling lost and having to reread parts.

Thank you to Netgalley, Beck Erixson, and the publisher for my eARC.

"Feeling Ballsy" by Beck Erixson is an empowering and relatable journey of self-discovery. The story revolves around the close friendship between Elin and Hawk, who face failed relationships and newfound feelings for each other.

When Elin's relationship ends, she leans on Hawk, and their single status sparks an arrangement to preserve their friendship. The book evokes a Hallmark movie's warmth and charm, with a genuine evolution of their relationship. Elin and Hawk's story feels authentic, and readers will root for their love to blossom. The novel's handling of sensitive topics and diverse supporting characters add depth to the narrative.

"Feeling Ballsy" is a heartfelt and inspiring tale that celebrates the strength of human connections and the beauty of embracing one's true self.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Elin Axelsson sucks at soccer, but every week she puts on her cleats and joins her indoor soccer league and gives it her all. Her boyfriend Nate is an all-star goalie, and even though her skills are subpar on the field, she really loves the friendship and camaraderie of the women on her team.

But the fizzle with Nate has gone out after five years together, and Elin is more and more unhappy in her home life. The only bright spot in her life, besides Wednesday nights with the women on her team, is her best friend of the past 15 years, Hawk. When Elin finds out that Nate is cheating and is suddenly single, she and Hawk slowly start to develop a romantic relationship.

I adored the friendship side of Hawk and Elin's relationship. I loved the friendships she had with the women on her soccer team, too. However, the romance part was WAY too slow, and the way things developed was just too weird for me. It just didn't really work for me.

If you enjoy slow burn soccer friends-to-lovers romances, you might enjoy this, especially if you enjoy reading about strong friendships.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Feeling Ballsy is a fun, engaging romcom with plenty of team banter, slow burn friends-to-lovers chemistry, and rediscovering one's self and passions.

In a five-year relationship that is going nowhere, Elin can't seem to guard the soccer goal or her heart. She's loyal to a fault and keeps trying to make a failing relationship work. But her loyal nature has also won her a steadfast set of teammates and a best friend who always has her back.

While her best friend, Hawk, is a ladies' man, he and Elin are totally immersed in each other's lives through their fun traditions, adventures, and daily rituals. When they're both single for the first time in fifteen years, the chemistry that's been brewing for over a decade finally ignites.

I really enjoyed how Beck Erixson explores the complicated nature of friends having feelings for each other. There seems to be a tendency in the friends-to-lovers trope to fully embrace the romance and play down the friendship. In Feeling Ballsy, we get a true sense of Elin and Hawk's friendship and how they support and deeply understand each other. Trying to maintain their friendship in their growing intimacy, they are simultaneously afraid of losing each other and embracing a new future together.

Feeling Ballsy is one of the few books where I really enjoyed the awkward transition from friends-to-lovers. I adored Hawk and how his true loyalty to Elin emerges throughout the book. This was a satisfying read with a great cast of characters. I loved all the team camaraderie and the banter!

Feeling Ballsy is an easy to read, friends to lovers romance that had me laughing and enjoying the book. Hawk and Elin are amazing friends and watching them fight their feelings was so fun, and is what made their relationship that much better. Hawk is perfect for Elin and helped her regain her confidence and shine after her ex!

2.5 stars

I adored friends to lovers, it's one of my favorite tropes and lately I've been reading a lot of sport romances so I was excited to start this one, unfortunately and although i liked a lot of things in this story like Elin's friends and her relationship with Hawke, Elin herself, I didn't like her as a character. I love strong fmcs and she wasn't one. I hate how she settled in her relationship with her ex and it was so frustrating.
Also the way this was written was often confusing and I found myself rereading certain chapters because I didn't know who was talking.
This had so much potential and it sucks it didn't work for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Elin and Hawk have been best friends for about 15 years. When Elin finds out her boyfriend of five years has been cheating on her, Hawk is there to help her get back on the dating horse, even if that means starting up a little bit of FWB fun.

With the Women’s Football World Cup starting tonight, I really wanted to like this book! Unfortunately , it didn’t really hit the mark for me. There was far too much time that she was still with her POS boyfriend and I have no idea how she stayed with him for that long to start with. I personally just felt it dragged a bit and there wasn’t enough of that angsty tension that I enjoy in a friends to lovers. There was just too many scenes that didn’t really move the story on and just talked about how awkward everything was, without it actually being all that awkward.

I did enjoy the whole football/soccer beer league part of the story. It showed all the fun and camaraderie that you get from a social sports team as an adult and I wish there was more in the book about their friendships. Oh, also the whole gallery exhibit with the sperm was hilarious and I wish I could see it in real life.

Thanks to #NetGallery and the publisher. I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Genre: Romance
Format: Digital
POV: Single
Spice: 🌶️.5/5
Age suggestion: 18+

First thought: A cute best friends to lovers slow burn romance that makes you believe in soulmates.

Elin is the goalie in her women’s soccer league and she not great at the job but she’s there for the beer and the camaraderie. She has been with her boyfriend Nate for 5 years and for the past 3 she feels herself just going through the motions but having no connection. Nate seems to love playing soccer more than spending time with her, and she just found out he’s cheating on her. Lucky for Elin she has her wonderful teammates and her best friend of 15yrs Hawk to fall back on. Now it’s time to start a new chapter and re-enter the dating world again.

Hawk has been best friends with Elin since college, she has been his wing women more times than he can count. He also plays in the men’s soccer league for fun and he may or may not have slept with most of her team. He has feelings for Elin but timing has never been right and their friendship is the most important thing to him. He has been there at her side through everything and they are each others ride or die buddy. Now that she’s newly single for the first time in 5 years will he take his chance to go from friend zone to more.

I liked this book the story was cute, the characters had depth that you were able to connect with and the plot had purpose and a happy conclusion. The only reason this didn’t hit home for me was the writing style just didn’t mesh for me. There was a lot of implied storyline and I find myself having to go back a page to see if I missed something but in reality I didn’t. This didn’t affect the story at all but for me as a visual person I like scenes really described and not having to add in the missing pieces.

A funny story about two best friends . When Elin finally breaks up with her boyfriend of 5 years she starts having feelings for her best friend Hawk . They propose a deal to hook up but if either one of them develop feelings they must stop immediately . What will happen whe Elin is 100% in love with him ?
I received this book from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own .

Feeling Ballsy by Beck Erixson is a lighthearted, friends to lovers romance about two non-pro soccer players who fall for each other even though they agreed not to. The concept of this book had a lot of potential, as it follows Elins journey, falling out of love with her boyfriend Nate and falling in love with her longtime friend Hawk. The story is sweet and shows the connections between characters quite well, however I was caught off guard by the story's pace. Important scenes that developed the storyline seemed rushed, while scenes that did nothing for the novel's trajectory seemed never ending.
Speaking of endings, this one was certainly shocking, as after finally working though their issues, they get together and engaged withing a page. This felt incredibly rushed and made me, as a reader, feel as though I had missed quite a few pages.

In summary, I believe Beck had a great story concept in Feeling Ballsy, however I wish she explored these ideas deeper. Although it was a quick and reasonably enjoyable read, I personally wouldn't recommend this book to my friends.
2.5/5 stars

This book is a best friend to lovers soccer romance. As someone who recently got into sports romances, I thought soccer would be a refreshing change of pace to the crazy amount of hockey romances lately. I was right! The relationship between the two love interests is so adorable and the amount of puns made with the word balls was actually hilarious and impressive. I recommend this to anyone who loves a good sports romance or best friends to lovers!

This was so good. Best friends to lovers is one of my favorites. I loved Elin and Hawk. They were great and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a great book to curl up with and get lost in and so glad it was soccer and not hockey! I highly enjoyed this and will definitely be reading more from Beck Erixson!
I just reviewed Feeling Ballsy by Beck Erixson. #FeelingBallsy #NetGalley
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✨ 3.5 STARS ✨

friends to lovers + sports romance + slow burn

this was a cute story of a soccer player named elin falling out of love with her boyfriend and then growing in love with her best friend.

it started out a little slow for me but by the middle i was INVESTED in them getting together. i loved how it highlighted the parts of relationships that are so weird like having to just let go of years of your life with someone to start fresh, letting go of what doesn’t serve you anymore, getting your items back from your ex, and being afraid of ruining something good in the name of love.

i also loved the side characters and really enjoyed how elin had a cute team of supportive girlies to back her up on her little healing journey.

the ending felt a little bit rushed and out of nowhere but i think because of who elin and hawk are as besties for so long, it makes so much sense at the same time so i’m not mad at it.

and as a girly who has done the whole falling for your bestie immediately after a breakup type of thing, i ate this up!

I was not a fan of the writing style of the author. I found it made me not want to complete the book at all. I trudged through it but did not enjoy the book at all.

OMG!
The series is titled ‘Love is awkward’ for a reason. The author beautifully achieved to depict all the ramifications that comes with relationships. The angst, complications that come with wanting to protect oneself from heartbreak, the what ifs of losing a friend over a hookup. Hawk and Elin are perfect for each other from page one and everything makes sense as their story unfolds.
This book is a cheers to love, friendship, and everything in between. And I recommend it to everyone who wants a cute not-too-slow-burn romance filled with laughs, uniqueness, and your new favourite book boyfriend.

The first couple chapters were a bit rough/messy, but the characters grew on me quickly and I (a completely uncoordinated non-athlete) actually started to enjoy even the sports parts of this love story. This was so sweet.

I really love this book. At the beginning I felt like it was a non-starter and I couldn't see where the story was going apart from Hawk becoming Elin's rebound and we never want that for our protagonist. The author delivered in warming tingly romance, moments which made me chuckle and some mild spice.
Though I loved the ending i felt like there was spice that was left out from the ending. We all know what should happen by the end of a somewhat spicy novel and don't get me wrong. there is some good spice, as good as Chloe Liese- a must recommend Sporty spicy romance author., but it was lacking in some way.
But apart from that the friendship between Elin and Hawk was brilliant and realistic and complex. Erixson really understood the complexity of life without going to realistic for fiction.
I definitely want other sporty romance novels from Erixson, maybe more spice?