Thank you to NetGalley and Xpresso book tours for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The blurb for this book was so appealing, which is why I requested this arc in the first place. Unfortunately, this was a big miss for me.

I'm not exactly sure what went wrong with this book for me, I just know I was super bored and confused a lot of the time.

The pacing of the book was very off, and even the writing was a bit confusing. I couldn't tell who was actually speaking a lot of the time, so I had to re-read a couple of paragraphs.

Now to the main characters. I was truly confused by their relationship. One second they're the bestest friends, and the next, they're kissing. Then they don't see each other and try to get over their "awkward moment", then they're going on dates, then they're kissing. It just felt like I was being tossed around for no real reason. There were just a bunch of filler scenes, I guess that just didn't contribute to the story in any way.

The ending. It was cute but like why? It was so fast. Like they were barely together throughout the entire book. they kept saying how they've known each other for so long, but as a reader, I didn't feel that.

Overall this book had a lot of potential as I love friends to lovers and sports romance, however, it fell flat for me.

The first few chapters were pointless in my opinion. Elin is very repetitive with her thoughts/feelings and there are way too many unimportant details throughout, it made it extremely hard to push through.

I needed WAYYY more from Elin & Hawk. There just wasn’t enough there to build their relationship. Their conversations are all over the place and not at all important. It was hard for me to connect with them and their relationship.

The ending was short and sweet, but again I just feel like there isn’t enough throughout the book to lead up to the ending. One second they’re friends, they kiss, and then they’re in love.

This book felt so repetitive to me. It was the same 'together again, apart again, what am I feeling' going on but without the pining or development of the story. I liked the friends-to-lovers trope but wow was it awkward. It was advertised as such but I didn't think it would as much as it was. I couldn't get on board with how they were never together and never dated and yet in the end he proposed to her? Like how did that happen? I felt lost and like everything was simultaneously rushed and also dragged on (please tell me someone else feels this way too?). I feel like I missed a lot of context and was rereading to try to figure out what was happening all the time. I liked Hawk, the Bees team/support and I love a good sports romance, but I wanted more spice, more connection, and less confusion.

DNF

Really, this book wasn't for me. I anticipated a sweet friend to lover romance after reading the premise, but all I got was boredom and confusion.

I had believed that the heroines' relationship—Elin and Nate—would only be the subject of the prologue, but alas, that was not the case. Also, we learn that Elin dated Nate for five years despite the lack of chemistry between them.  Additionally, it was really difficult to determine whose point of view was being used because it wasn't stated at the beginning of each chapter and I didn't realize it until they made reference to one another.

(I don’t usually rate my DNF’s, but I had to given it’s a guideline for NetGalley.)

*Thank you to Netgallley, and to the author, Beck Erixson, for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.*

DNFing after Chapter 3, 10% in

Beck Erixson’s writing style is not for me. Our main character Elin is in a five-year relationship that seems like it’s been stagnant for pretty much the entire time. In the first three chapters we see a some of her self-reflection on the lack of relationship she truly has with her boyfriend. I personally did not enjoy Elin. Her inner thoughts reveal how little she cares for her boyfriend but also her lack of wanting anything to truly change it seems. She has a long list of things she doesn’t like about the way her boyfriend treats her but she seems like she doesn’t want to rock the boat, change anything, or even ask for something to change

Whilst Elin Axelsson is a terrible goalie, she still tries her best to play for her women’s indoor soccer league every week. When she catches her all-star goalie boyfriend, Nate, cheating on her she dumps him, only to find that online dating is a challenge. So, she turns to her best friend, Hawk who she has known for fifteen years, for advice. Yet when they find themselves going from friends to lovers, they have to set some rules so that their friendship stays intact. However, neither of them planned for things to become so much more.
A sweet romance with two great characters in Elin and Hawk. Nate is definitely the horrible boyfriend, so I was so pleased when Elin dumped him, but had wished that that part had not taken so long. I think this would have given more time to develop the relationship between Elin and Hawk which did tend to progress very quickly.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Have you ever had a best friend that is always there for you, and well you realise you're actually in love with them?

"Feeling Ballsy" by Beck Erixson is the love story of Elin and Hawk. Best friends of years that have withstood the ups and downs of relationships, jobs, soccer teams and annoying situations together. The story begins with us learning about Nate, Elin's annoying and gross boyfriend of 5 years and how she doesn't know whether to end their relationship. We understand that Elin believes Nate may not like her the same anymore. Hawk doesn't really like Nate but really wants Elin to be happy.

Their love story is not at all perfect, it's sweet. Hawk is always being himself and encouraging Elin to be her, which she needs. Elin needs a lot of therapy like I wanted her to work on herself. She needs it, but glad she has a great support system that she has. I also wanted Hawk's POV so badly!!! But it's such a great read.

Thank you, NetGalley for this read

This book was super cute! We follow Elin, who has a totally bland relationship with sometimes-rude Nate, and her friendship with Nate. Horak has been Elin’s best friend for forever…. But would they ever want to be more?

There were a couple small things that I had hoped could have been fleshed out a bit more, but this was fun and sexy. A perfect beach read! Thanks @netgalley for the chance to review this book!

Feeling Ballsy by Beck Erixson

⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶

Friends to lovers
Slow burn

I was intrigued by the plot of the story and enjoyed the humor that it brought that Elin was not great at Soccer but still played. I also really enjoyed when she dropped that awful cheating boyfriend. Elin was very hard on herself and it was nice to watch her growth and opening up to dating again and her growing her confidence. Elin and Hawks relationship felt easy and they had great chemistry and banter. I however did feel like some scenes were not fully developed or jumped right over and left me feeling like I missed something. However it was a quick, cute friends to lovers with a sweet HEA.

Thank you NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

I am a sucker for best friends to lovers trope and also a good sports romance so when I read the description of course I had to give this book a shot.

Elin has been dating her tremendously crappy boyfriend, Nate, for five years (five years to long if you ask me) and from page one we learn that this guy is no good…. I mean their particularly co-existing with one another rather than being in a relationship (the fact that it took Elin forever to break up with Nate after him cheating on her was an issue for me like come on put on your big girl panties and rip off the bandage).

Thankful Elin has her best friend since high school by her side, Hawk, and he is their to fit the role of her best friend perfectly. Hawke is outgoing, friendly, supportive, he’s everything Nate isn’t but the biggest issue is that he’s a big player which is flaw for Elin.

I loved Elin and Hawke’s relationship, as the reader we could see how perfect they fit together but that they both equally valued their friendship more although they definitely acted as a couple even when they were just friends. I was screaming at them at some points to finally admit their feelings bc it was so obvious… can you imagine how happy I was once they finally got together.

I have to admit that although I loved Elin and Hawke’s relationship I’m not a big fan of slow burns and sometimes I found it hard to follow along… I would get lost in who was talking and would have to re-read the pages a few times to understand who was saying what… also the super rushed ending killed me.. give me more of Elin and Hawke together!!

Thank you Netgalley and author Beck Erixson for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This story was a bit of a mixed bag for me. Friends-to-more is one of my favorite tropes, so I was very much looking forward to reading this book. I enjoyed getting to know Elin and Hawk, and there were some truly sweet and / or funny moments between the two.

There were a couple of things that didn’t quite work for me, though. It took me some time to get into the story. And In some of the scenes, I had a bit of trouble figuring out what was going on, and I caught myself re-reading a number of paragraphs where it wasn’t clear to me what was happening or who was saying what.

I also wished Elin had broken up with Nate a lot earlier - no-one deserves to be stuck in such a “relationship.“ But I really liked the frienship and camaraderie between the Bees - and Hawk’s family was a hoot!

Great story! I loved Elin from the beginning! It was such a fun read that I read it in one day! Definitely adding this author to my TBR list!

I enjoyed this! It started off a bit slow, for me, but once it founds its footing, it was good! One thing I really loved about this was how much the Bees supported and cared about Elin. Her team wanted the best for her (and Hawk)

Another thing I loved was Hawk’s confidence. He isn’t afraid to be himself or be silly in public, and he encourages Elin to be the same. We could all use a Hawk in our lives!🩵

This was a cute soccer romance!! Had a little bit of spice in this friends to lovers romance. Hawk and Elin have been friends for a while and when Elin broke up with her cheating boyfriend, she started to see Hawk differently. At times, it was hard to know who was talking, but it was a slow burn, but easy read!

If you're looking for a soccer romance this is the one! It was extremely entertaining and I found that the romance was cute and had a little bit of spice. I loved seeing Hawk and Elin's friends to lovers journey and I also like that this progression was natural and didn't feel forced. This book was an easy read from me and I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes a cute sports romance you should definitely give it a shot!

⭐⭐⭐/5
🌶️🌶️/5

Friends-to-lovers
non-pro soccer league
Healing from toxic relationship
Slow burn
Women's empowerment
.
"Wildflower, I only want to kiss you. I need to kiss you."

"As inviting as that offer isn't, I want you, not your team. Always, you."

"You know, you kinda suck at soccer, but damn if you don't put your heart into everything you do. I love that about you, you put your whole self into people."

"I don't want a date. We've been in this incredible, slow, unconventional but worth every odd moment, type of courtship-to-relationship for the past fifteen years. I want more. No more dates-non-daes. The past few months, where it's been really you and me, I don't need more one-offs to tell me what I already know. What we both know. I want you."

"If this is another fake proposal." "I've never fake proposed to you. You never said yes. It's never ever been a joke."
.
I don’t see many soccer romances around so when I came across this one I had to give it a chance!
Elin and her (crappy) boyfriend Nate were together for years but sparks aren’t flying anymore. After discovering Nate was cheating on her, she finally broke up with him. After she started dating again she began to see her 15-year-long best friend Hawk differently. I actually enjoyed the story. I love how Elin’s teammates supported her during her healing period in addition to Elin’s self-improvement. The development of Elin’s and Hawk’s feelings is natural and didn’t feel forced. The beginning felt a little slow until the breakup. However, what makes it harder to read this is some scenes felt ‘telling not showing’ and a lot of missing context. Even though there are some cuts while reading and I had to read some parts twice to get the point I like this friend-to-lovers soccer romance.
Thank you, NetGalley for sending this arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

If you like slow burn and friends to lovers Feeling Ballsy is something you could enjoy.I wish she would have broken up with her earlier in the book.Hawk was sweet and so wonderful but I wish we got his POV. I loved when he bought her art and hung it up in his condo. Hawk calling her Wildflower. I thought I'd like this book more than I did ,but unfortunately it wasn't for me.I felt a bit lost when it came to the writing at times.I had to reread several paragraphs to understand who was talking.

I got to 34% of this arc and decided the writing was not for me. I was having a hard time tracking who was speaking at any given moment and it became very frustrating. I liked the premise of the book but I just couldn’t continue to try to decipher who was speaking.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was such a sweet story! Elin and Hawk have been the best of friends from high school to college and beyond. They've had failed relationships, flings, and everything in between, and they always have each other's back. When Elin learns her long-term relationship with a less than worthy Nate is over because he cheated, she leans on Hawk to get her through. The fact that for the first time, they are both single is not lost on them, and they find an arrangement that protects their friendship from their evolving feelings.

Has all the feels of a Hallmark movie & I loved how their relationship evolved. I believed in their story & was rooting for them the entire time!

This was a cute, quick, easy read! Elin and Hawk's friendship-turned-something-more progressed so sweetly, but the ending did seem a little rushed and not super realistic. I really enjoyed Elin's dynamic with her teammates. Their friendship is so wholesome and heartwarming, I love how they always supported Elin and had her back.
Thank you to NetGalley for the free e-arc in exchange for an honest review!