It’s Women’s World Cup time so naturally this is the third new sapphic soccer romance I’ve read. This one was focused more on the romantic element than the soccer so this may appeal to readers who are not familiar with the sport.

Keeley McGee has never really gotten over her college girlfriend, Christine, dumping her and then disappearing from her life. When they are reunited at the World Cup they find themselves drawn to each other again. Will they be able to maintain their focus long enough to reach their dream of winning a World Cup or will they let the possibility of a second chance distract them.

There was a little too much setup early in the novel for me. The flashbacks felt a bit forced and I would have liked slightly more of the present timeline. The flashbacks were important to the story but I think they could have been more spread out. I found the sneaking around during the World Cup to be unbelievable because there are so many people involved in a tournament like this that I don’t think they would be able to get away from everyone that frequently.

Overall, this was a quick and fun read. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes sports romance or is looking for more World Cup content.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

Lighthearted, fun and action-packed, but not without drama. Whew, this one had a few nail-biting moments, like a good footy match does!

I was very intrigued by the premise of this book, especially during the World Cup and being a big USWNT fan. It was overall cool to see women’s sports getting representation on romance books.

This book features Keeley, a star of the Matilda’s as she rekindles her romance with USWNT star Christine as they both have their separate World Cup journeys.

I felt that the character development and overall writing quality of this book was lacking but enjoyed the general premise.

This was an absolutely adorable second-chance lovers sapphic romance played out with the backdrop of the 2023 World Cup. I enjoyed the characters and the dynamics between them, the friendships felt authentic.

The dual timelines worked out well and seeing how Keeley and Christine originally got together and broke up alongside the anxiety of counting down to the first game and then their present day interactions added more depth to their relationship.

I'm not the biggest football fan (although watching my wife play has increased my appreciation for it) but I actually wanted more football, some really important moments in Keeley's life were pretty much glossed over. Reading this while the World Cup is actually only made this even more enjoyable.

This book was as a football game fast, exciting and fun to read.

Both characters have a past together, where some misunderstandings happens. After years they meet again and the common emotions sufarce one again.

Keeley is rising star of the Australian team and Christine is the star of the Americans. Both want to win the games, but they keep wondering, if there is a future for they.

Ylva have published many of my favourite sapphic romance novels. So, when I saw Onside Play on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it. The love interest is a Black woman AND she’s depicted on the cover – which is still very much a rarity in sapphic romance. Plus, what could be better than a football themed romance during the Women’s World Cup?

Keeley McGee is living her dream as a professional footballer. With the Australian women’s team, she’s on her way to the World Cup. There’s just one problem. The Matildas are set to play Team USA. And Keeley has a history with their star Striker – cool, analytical Christine Delacourt. The two of them dated in college… until Christine broke Keeley’s heart by dropping out of Florida State and disappearing from her life.

Now they’re going to meet on the pitch as enemies. Worse, this reunion will take place before hundreds of people. And Christine still gets under Keeley’s skin. Even after all this time, Keeley knows how Christine thinks and how she plays. But Keeley’s antics have already put her on notice with her coach, who has instituted a strict No Distractions policy. And brilliant, infuriating Christine is most definitely a distraction.

Onside Play is an easy read – and by easy I don’t mean trivial. It takes incredible skill to write a book which feels effortless to follow from start to finish. Liz Rain is very talented. Her prose is smooth, fun, and consistently entertaining. I breezed through this story.

And the football matches had me on the edge of my seat. Did I understand all of the terminology? Nope. Did it matter? Not a bit! Rain fully conveyed the excitement of the game, the intensity of the competition. I was rooting hard for the Matildas, and loved their camaraderie. This book perfectly captures the magic of being part of a group, working towards a shared goal, and being part of something much bigger than yourself.

That being said, there are significant aspects of Onside Play which didn’t entirely work for me. The book has multiple flashback chapters, detailing Keeley previous relationship with Christine. But going back slowed down the story. I wanted to find out how they reconnect in the present day. And the plot set in the past is straightforward enough that Rain didn’t necessarily need flashbacks to convey Keeley’s history with Christine.

Big, climactic scenes in the present are summarised after the fact. And this book would have been stronger if – instead of flashbacks – Rain included the realisation of an external goal our protagonist has been working towards for not only the entire book, but her whole career.

Also, I didn’t feel any chemistry between Keeley and Christine for the first third of this story. In fact, were it not for Christine being on the cover, I’d have assumed Keeley was going to get together with popstar Amber Hatfield. The novel starts with them having a one-night stand which, from the electric banter and invitation for a repeat, very much felt like it could have blossomed into more.

Onside Play could just have easily been a One Night to Forever with Amber as the love interest. And this ambiguity is a problem in romance, a genre where it should be clear this couple belongs together.

Also, Christine’s behaviour makes it hard for me to ship her and Keeley as a couple. Early on in the novel we find out she dumped Keeley the week before Christmas. And – without wishing to give any major spoilers – she ruins what should be one of the very best days of Keeley’s entire life with similar shenanigans. And there’s very little time between this second incident and the book’s ending… too little time for her to undergo a meaningful growth arc. Her motivations in repairing the damage are too selfish to fully satisfy.

I have conflicted feelings about this side of Christine. She’s clearly coded as autistic (though it’s never made explicit), which is a rarity for in Black female characters. Christine has a highly analytical mind and excels at identifying patterns. She doesn’t always make eye contact, especially not when uncomfortable. She thrives on order and lives a carefully regimented life. And when it comes to her career these traits are absolutely recognised as a strength.

The coding doesn’t stop there. Christine goes non-verbal and shuts down after a major professional setback. It’s a standard autistic response to being overwhelmed. Keeley notices her staring off into space, expressionless, not engaging with anybody around her. And Keeley’s response is empathetic.

But Christine’s a standoffish woman who’s not that great at reading social cues. This side of her is framed as the source of all their relationship’s wrongs. During an argument, Keeley even tells Christine: “You don’t feel things properly like normal people.” Given this character has several traits closely associated with autism, author’s use of the word “normal” is… uncomfortable at best. It compounds the message that allistic people are normal and autistic people are flawed.

Many autistic people are fully capable of having meaningful, healthy romantic relationships. And with positive representation being so limited, I found this book’s treatment of a strongly autistic coded character to be problematic.

That being said, there are parts of this relationship which really got under my skin. Rain writes utterly exquisite sex scenes. The passion is raw, visceral. And there’s a sensuality to Rain’s descriptive language which takes these encounters to the next level. Onside Play is SPICY! If Rain hasn’t already written erotica, I hope she considers it in the future.

Since the Black representation is a big part of what drew me to this book, I’m going to reflect on that aspect of Onside Play in detail. Christine is a Black woman in the public eye. She’s got deals with internationally recognised brands. And she’s a professional footballer playing in matches broadcast around the world. That’s all well and good. But there’s not a single mention of her experiencing racism from football ‘fans’. Which makes Rain’s depiction of life as a hypervisible Black woman completely unbelievable.

Racism in football (and wider society) is a huge problem. Here in the UK, three England players who missed a penalty in the UEFA Euro 2020 final were the victims of horrific online racist abuse from supporters after the match. As of 2023, racism remains the most common form of discrimination in both professional and grassroots football, the reason for 49.3% of all reports. In practical terms, this means Black players are held to a different standard than their white teammates. And racially abused even by supporters of their own teams as punishment for perceived failures.

Former England Defender Rio Ferdinand was forced to explain to his young children why people sent him monkey and banana emojis – a classic form of anti-Blackness. That’s how deep this issue runs. But Christine’s life and career are seemingly untouched by prejudice. And I’d love to live in a world where there are no negative consequences attached to being a Black person in sports, or any other context. But we’re just not there yet. Not by a long shot.

And the colourblindness of this story – that Blackness had no bearing on Christine’s life beyond physical appearance – doesn’t sit at all well with me. It’s pure fantasy. Why, in 2023, are white authors still wallpapering over racism?

As author Ana K. Wrenn wrote in her excellent guest post on the Ylva blog:

“We’re talking about racial colorblindness because it can hurt people we never meant to hurt by erasing vibrant parts of their story they deem important, necessary.”

– Ana K. Wrenn
Rain is by no means the only author responsible for this inaccurate Black representation. But it is especially disappointing that this distortion comes from a progressive, proudly sapphic publisher that was founded to counteract prejudice in the publishing industry. Of the 18 books and box sets Ylva published last year, by my count only one was written by a woman of colour. And commissioning more white authors to tell stories about Black people than #OwnVoices books ultimately warps how we as a community are perceived by readers.

This isn’t intended to start beef. And I’m sorry to be leaving a review with such extensive criticisms. Writing this brings me absolutely no joy. But I’m naming this problem in the hope that real, meaningful change is possible.

I still have a world of respect for Rain and Ylva. And fully intend to keep on supporting both. I bought Perks of Office last year and look forward to reading it. I’m just really tired of picking up sapphic books where Black women are either non-existent or have those experiences we don’t have the luxury of escaping in real life sanitised for the comfort of white readers.

The timing of this book was just right. With the Women’s World Cup going on right now, this novel hit all the sweet spots for me.

This novel is about Keeley, who plays soccer for an Australian team and Christine, who plays for an American team and their journey from there university days to representing their respective countries in the World Cup.

The MCs journey is very well written. The chapters jump between flashbacks from the MCs university days and the present day. It is seamlessly done such that it gives us the entire picture of their journey.

As you go through the pages, you can feel the chemistry between the MCs. The hurdles throughout their lives that kept them apart were frustrating but didn’t detract from the plot. The supporting characters were like a breath of fresh air. The MCs owe them big time.

Overall, this novel was an excellent read. Getting a glimpse into what it entails to be a soccer star was an eye opener

I really wanted to like this book, especially with it being during the World Cup right now and so many players being out in the tournament. However, there was a lot that just didn't work for me.

The changes in timeline felt confusing and disjointed. I felt like the main characters had no chemistry and that their whole "enemies" storyline wasn't based on any real reason beyond the author needing a conflict. It was super unclear why they even liked each other to be honest, and their second chance felt weird because there was no basis of their relationship besides "they hated each other a lot then they liked each other a lot and then they broke up suddenly". This book desperately needed more on screen time between the MCs to make the romance more believable and intriguing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ylva Publishing for the ARC.

Soccer romance set at the Women‘s World Cup
As a longtime fan of Women‘s soccer I really looked forward to reading this story right at the start of the Women‘s World Cup in Australia / NZ.
I really loved how Liz Rain (a solid and well-established writer) tells the story of Keeley and the Matildas with unabashed Australian pride and a good pinch of Aussie-ness. But here comes the big BUT I really disliked both main characters: Keeley came for me across as the dumpster-dumb jock (inside joke) and Christine - well I didn‘t get Christine at all: a remote, carreer-oriented ice-queen who had dumped Keeley before and broken her heart. There old and newly kindled relationship felt both flat for me.
I loved the soccer vibe and would have liked a bit more of it esp. at the end which felt rather rushed.

Thanks to netgalley and Ylva for the ARC. The review is left voluntarily.

3.25 stars

Australian Matildas soccer star Keeley McGee is playing in the 2023 World Cup in front of her home crowd and couldn't be more excited or proud. To win, her team will have to go up against some fierce opponents - none fiercer than the U.S team, including the devastatingly talented, beautiful Christine Delacourt, the woman who abruptly dumped Keeley back in college and broke her heart.

Now that they have to go up against each other on the world's biggest stage, will they be able to keep their heads in the game? Both women are determined to do so - because no matter how they feel about one another or their history, their ultimate goal is to win it all. And hopefully not at the risk of their hearts.

Kudos to Liz Rain for planning ahead for a sports romance to coincide with the World Cup event in Australia! While this romance is on the lighter side, there is some angst around what they would need to overcome to be together. Whether you're a soccer enthusiast or not, this is a nice read. Especially if you're a Matildas fan!

I'm obsessed with women's soccer so a book all about the WWC was going to be an instant win for me. A second chance romance between two rival players within this setting was just an added bonus. There was a lot to enjoy about this book - particularly with the way the WWC plays out in this fictional world. 😊

I liked Keeley as a character and particularly liked the use of first person from her point of view. She has two amazing friends, Viv and Fletch, and is super sweet but isn't the best at making decisions when it comes to women.

Onside Play uses a lot of flashbacks to paint the picture of their earlier romance in College. To be honest, the flashbacks were an odd one for me. I think it would've been better if we read the 2019 romance first and then went into the 2023 setting after. The back and forth just made it feel disjointed and didn't particularly provide an insight into the romance between Keeley and Christine.

Christine was an intriguing character and I couldn't completely gauge her and her intentions. She was definitely one of those characters that is hot and cold, and at one point near the end of the novel I thought Keeley truly deserved better. Possibly not the way you want to feel near the end of a romance!

Regardless, I enjoyed my time reading this novel - particularly for the soccer/WWC storyline. I really like Liz Rain's easy to read writing style. Although the romance wasn't particularly swoonworthy, I still really enjoyed this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Ylva Publishing for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

Hot and cold!

A sweet, at times frustrating, sports romance with some really hot scenes.
I loved the chemistry between Keeley and Christine. Although I could have slapped Christine more than once. Sorry, but I just had to get rid of that :)
When they are together, everything is fine, at least from the time they finally surrendered to each other's attraction.
The story initially oscillates between flashbacks and the presence.
This is beautifully integrated into the story and sheds light on the tension that prevails, when the two meet for matches in the World Cup.
Of course that's one of the reasons I enjoyed reading it at the moment.
It wasn't too much football jargon or too little, either.
I wished there had been more time with Keeley and Christine together, but maybe it's just me.
Because when they are together everything is fine and it is a beautiful love story.

Liz Rain’s “Onside Play” is a fun and easy romantic comedy read. Though the start of the main characters’ courtship is a little cheesey, the progression of the story and relationship ultimately is enjoyable and satisfying (and there really isn’t anything wrong with a little cheese). Consider this a quick beach read! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I was so excited for this book to be on NetGalley! Thank you for the opportunity to read it. It came at the perfect time with the World Cup just getting underway,

This book gave me all the feels. Angst, sadness, frustration (with the characters), and my favorite, laughs. The dialogue was wonderfully written and being American, I enjoyed he Australian phrases!

5/5

I was disappointed with this book. As someone who loves soccer and a good romance, I had such high hopes. I did not find the characters very likeable. And usually I love when characters are real and aren't perfect, but I found Keeley and Christine bad for each other. I didn't see any chemistry between them and felt like their relationship, or lack thereof, was very lacking in love and just respect for each other. I loved the soccer aspect and I loved the competitive energy each character had. But I felt that the characters didn't have any depth to them and found there was a lot of unnecessary information thrown in there when we could have used that time to get to know the characters better. It almost felt like this was only the second half of a book and I should have already known these characters inside and out by the time I got to chapter 2.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story has coincided, when I have read it, with the world women's soccer competition itself on which it is based. So that has given it a little extra grace. It has had a negative point for me, since the reference to any of the European women's soccer teams that appear in the story has included some teams that are not relevant in the matter and has excluded others that are doing a lot both for the promotion of this sport and for the girls' base formation. I am a tifosi, hooligan, fan, whatever you want to call me, of this sport and I find it very easy to do a little research on it by any author who wants to address this topic. It is not necessary to look very far and in that aspect this story has some errors.

The story itself is quite basic, two women who have to play on the same soccer team, one is Australian and the other American, at first they can't stand each other but by dint of having to form a team they end up having a personal relationship. But then, the World Cup is about to start and each of them must focus on their respective national team, with little communication between them when it comes to breaking up, which causes broken hearts and misunderstandings. Pretty typical.

If you are not a fan of women's soccer or soccer in general, this story may bore you a bit, since it has jargon and situations that if you do not have some knowledge you may not understand. As a romance it's pretty basic. A sports romance.

With the Women's World cup kicking off and me making it my entire personality until it's over, finding this book on NetGalley (thank you for the copy) felt like a great stroke of luck. Having just finished Fourth Wing and feeling that awful book hangover I knew I needed something a little lighter before I moved through my TBR and so to stumble across this book was absolutely fantastic timing.

I must admit I approached this with a little trepidation, I am LGBT and have made a really concerted effort over the last year to read more LGBT books. I don't know if I've just been picking the wrong ones but I have found most of them to kind of.. suck? So although I wanted to have high hopes for Onside Play, I did prepare myself for the worst. I am happy to say I was pleasantly surprised.

Neither of the two main characters were overly annoying which was refreshing as I've found a lot of them to be that way (I'm looking at you, Delilah Green). I also found myself really liking the side characters, especially the theatre obsessed Rachel Berry-esque roommate. I'm also a theatre kid so to get football, theatre references and lesbians in one story was a big winner for me.

This book does have a few spicy scenes which were pretty well written, I'm not a prude but also not a huge smut person but did not mind it at all in this book.

This is a really really easy read, is it full of deep back story and poetic prose? No. But it is a nice little sapphic love story and I would genuinely recommend it.

4 stars.

It’s nice. There’s no real issues with it. It’s not a bad book by any means. It’s just not the kind of book that you can’t wait to tell everyone about. A little weekend read. I wish there was more of Christine outside of their interactions with Keeley to get a more rounded picture. Because the way she was presented, I didn’t even root for them to end up together.

I’m usually a bit more careful in picking books, and it’s the first book in about two years where I was actually against the mains getting together. So, yeah, it’s going to be a memorable book to me for all the wrong reasons.

It’s well written, the author knows their craft. I guess it was the wrong book for me.

It is 2023 and the Women’s World Soccer tournament is playing out in Australia. USA’s star player Christine Delacourt is in attendance as is Australian Keeley McGee. Both are playing for their respective national teams but for a brief time in college,  Keeley and Christine played on the same team. It was at this time that they turned from not liking each other to becoming lovers. The rest of this story consists of exciting soccer scenes and the romance. 

To me Keeley is an odd yet likeable character. The kind that speak before they think but never say anything hurtful. Christine, on the other hand, has her amazing talent for the game but this comes at a huge cost. She is driven beyond regular people’s comprehension with her sole focus on her sport and her career. Christine insulates her life to allow only soccer into her sphere. In many ways this creates an immature response to normal people’s concerns and average issues. She is inexperienced in every thing else but soccer. A character like this is almost impossible to like yet Keeley understands what makes her tick being an elite athlete herself. 

Rain has established herself as a strong writer in her debut novel Perks of Office. In this her second novel, Onside Play, she offers the reader an entertaining soccer story with a hard to swallow romance. In theory I understand both characters yet I could not see them together nor understand Keeley’s desire to repeatedly be devastated by Christine.

The soccer portions of the story are very well written. They give you the feel of being at the World Cup. I definitely recommend this novel for the soccer enthusiasts or those that gravitate towards the sporty genre. It satisfies the itch.

I received an advance review copy from Ylva Publishing through NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

After reading other reviews, I totally expected the characters to be unlikeable and the story to be flat. In reality, this was a cute, soccer-based romance with interesting side characters (I loved Viv and Fletch). Sure, Christine had issues, but I didn't see her as a villain. Instead, she's just determined to do what it takes to succeed. Of all the characters, I liked Keely the least - her emotions were all over the place and she made questionable decisions.

I enjoyed the book, mainly because of the soccer component, and would definitely read other books by the author.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.