There's just something about hs sports romances that I adore. I knew I would adore this the second I heard about it. Both Ivy and June have complicated yet similar pasts and deal with it in two very different but real ways. Having insight into how their past affects them helped to get a better understanding of where their heads were at and definitely led to a few moments of yelling at the book. Over all this is a wonderful hs romance that has great insight in how grief can effect people in different and valid ways.

I think this book had so much potential but I sadly had to DNF. I have read most of Jennifer Dugan's books but something about this one couldn't connect with me. I would still encourage you to pick it up if you like enemies to lovers.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!!

So I was very excited for this book because a sapphic sports romance sounds great. So we’ll start with what I liked. I appreciate that both Ivy and June are passionate and flawed characters. I also really enjoy Ivy’s love for officiating; it’s different and I think gives her a little bit of depth that is unique to her. I also appreciate that the word lesbian is used explicitly in the story.

However, the characters are very very similar, and I don’t quite see the reason for the dual POV. To me, it takes out any sort of tension around their attraction to each other because it was already mutual in the first couple chapters. And then just as quickly acted upon.

I liked June more than Ivy at first, and then the other way around later on, but much of the time they sounded exactly the same to me. I would have liked more character/home life focused introductions to them. To me, that came too late and after it was already explained to us, so it didn’t work for me.
I also didn’t really feel any chemistry between them up to their first kiss or afterwards. There was attraction and trauma bonding, but not genuine connection in my opinion. And that continued for me throughout the novel.

The plot also wasn’t interesting. It was very predictable, and I actually correctly guessed a great deal of it not even 20% into the book. I know it’s a romance novel, but I know predictable plots can be done well and this one did not hit. (No pun intended.)

I was so so close to DNFing this book at 25% and then at 50% that I skim read the 35% after that and felt like I missed absolutely nothing. And the ending didn’t make up for it for me.

I’m very disappointed that I didn’t enjoy this book. And I think it’ll be a while before I pick up another one of Dugan’s, if I ever do.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

I'm a big fan of Jennifer Dugan and her characters! This sapphic sports romance was no exception. The two main characters find themselves with big dreams and hope to make their name known in male-dominated fields. June plays baseball and Ivy wants to be a ref. They fall for each other quite quickly and fall into a pretty messy, complicated relationship. This enemies to lovers/forbidden love felt a bit more like insta-love and I would have liked for the enemies part to be drawn out a bit more. Jennifer Dugan's MCs are often strong willed and stubborn and June and Ivy were no different. Both are so wrapped up in their own struggles, grief, and dreams while also trying to balance this forbidden relationship. The grief of both June and Ivy often overshadowed their love story and they felt stuck in their grief. Neither felt like they were able to process or move through their grief in this book.

Overall, June and Ivy felt like real teens you'd meet - raw and unfiltered, a bit selfish and lacking awareness of others. The miscommunication was frustrating but felt realistic for a YA novel. The ending felt a bit rushed and I would have loved to see the last few chapters develop a bit more. It felt like the third act resolved itself quicker than they fell for each other initially! There were some gaps in the story line and the story felt a bit short, but overall, I enjoyed this one! A solid 3 stars.

content warnings: dead family members, cancer, grief

This was an interesting read. Lots of grief and struggles to communicate with each other. I am not a sports person and they did a good job of not using too much sports specific lingo.

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC.

Personally, two things I really love are forbidden romances and sports stories. Imagine my delight in finding BOTH in Playing For Keeps. Unlike Ivy, I love baseball, so I was thrilled when she was assigned to umpire baseball games. There she meets June, a star pitcher dead set on MLB breaking barriers for female players, something she has in common with Ivy, who’s also determined to go pro in a male-dominated field. The two also have loss in common. Both Ivy’s brother and June’s mom died of cancer somewhat recently.

That’s where their similarities end, though, other than the fact that both are attracted to women.

I love that author Jennifer Dugan takes the forbidden romance angle one further. Ivy and June aren’t just on rival teams. The ethics consequences of an umpire dating a player whose games she’ll be officiating makes for extra spicy conflict and complications. That, and many other themes—loss, parental expectations; being blindly determined to the detriment of one’s health—are explored in realistic and entertain fashion here. The result is a sexy, messy, sometimes heart wrenching but completely entertaining story.

Jennifer Dugan hits it out of the park again! I loved getting to know these characters, especially in their small victories!

First, a huge thank you to NetGalley and Penguin YA Readers for this eARC!

As a lover of sports romances, this was right up my alley. I was super excited to read it, and it didn’t disappoint!

The romance was adorable, the conflicts were relevant, and the conclusion was perfect for the characters.

The only downside I could see was the rivals-to-lovers aspect could have been utilized more. It just felt a little too soon and too easy for the main characters to get together.

Overall, it’s a pretty solid book that I thoroughly enjoyed!

Playing For Keeps by Jennifer Dugan is a young adult contemporary romance. It’s a rivals-to-lovers sports romance between a high school baseball pitcher (June) and student umpire (Ivy.)
This was a bad fit for me for several different reasons. Firstly, it’s marketed as rivals-to-lovers but that fell flat for me because they’re into each other by their third interaction. I would’ve like to see this drawn out a bit more. Especially given that their whole romance is a no-no with their sports rec.
This leads to my second point; their relationship moves so quickly that it bypasses the emotional connection for me. A lot of their development happened off page so it felt like I was being told about their relationship rather than seeing it happen. The reader gets the scenes where they’re dealing with their family drama and other things instead of the relationship.
This story is actually a lot heavier than the cover might imply but it wasn’t an issue for me because I’m a fan of angst. June and Ivy are both dealing with the loss of a close family member. One has recently lost her mother to cancer while the other has lost her brother, also to cancer. They have a ton of pressure on them about their futures that stems from the losses. A good majority of the story deals with this. I didn’t mind this storyline as it felt realistic but I also didn’t like how it to up so much of the story. It made the romance feel tacked on more than anything.
My last big issue was the miscommunication, or rather, lack of communication. I hate miscommunication when it’s used how it was done here. It made me wonder why they even wanted to date each other if they wouldn’t even communicate some basic information.
Sadly, this is not something I’d recommend. Hopefully I’ll have better luck with Dugan’s new release.
I received an ARC from Penguin Group via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Playing for Keeps by Jennifer Dugan is a young adult (high school age) novel about a couple of athletes trying to excel on their respective paths when they clash on the field. Both grieving the loss of a loved one and both were under immense pressure to perform during their junior to senior years in high school leading to expected angst revolving around sports, college applications, and the desire to prove they can handle it all on their own. The two first dislike but respect one another then become reluctant friends quickly evolving into something more. Ivy is an official and June is a baseball player so there is an element of secrecy due to the ethical issue. The two mains are strong-willed and caring individuals dealing with their baggage. They struggle a bit to figure out how to navigate all of the complications the relationship brings but ultimately, they find love leads them to understanding and they are willing to do the work. I quite enjoyed this story with its strong, goal-oriented teenagers learning they can accomplish their goals and still be there for one another as well. There are some misunderstandings, selfish words, and heartfelt honest dialogue. Both mains also have an enviable best friend staunchly in their corner. I liked the inner monologues and how sweet the two could be with each other. It was a quick and easy read. It wasn't perfect but I am a fan of Jennifer Dugan's work and will certainly read more.
#HEA #enemiestolovers #sports #highschoolangst #foundfamily #dysfunctionalfamily #loss #grief

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin YA Readers for this eARC!

This was a very cute sapphic sports romance! Our two main characters are both dreaming of careers in sports but in different ways. Ivy wants to be a professional ref one day and June wants to be a professional baseball player. Their paths cross when Ivy is the umpire at one of June's games. They're both trying to make their way in a male-dominated field. They start out as somewhat enemies and then bond over the grief of losing a family member.

I enjoyed this book and how it addressed the grief process of losing someone. I definitely recommend if you enjoy sports romance books with a slight enemies to lover trope thrown in there.

3.25 stars, rounded down
——————

This book was a lot deeper than I expected it to be. The synopsis portrays it as a cute romance, but it features death and trauma pretty heavily. I was unprepared.

This book has a fun plot, something that plays into the current trend of sports romances while adding the unique concept of ump and player. I enjoyed the idea of the story, but again, it was more heavily focused on trauma than I expected it to be. It adds to the plot in ways, but it also took away from it. I found myself not being able to focus on the relationship between Ivy and June because the grief they faced took such a center role. I enjoyed how the book handled grief and trauma, the different ways it affected people, but again, it was unexpected and heavy. There was too much trying to happen at once, with the sports elements, the romance, and the grief. The writing felt sort of simple.

I didn’t love our main characters. I wish they had more time to be developed, especially developed as enemies, before they got together. Their relationship was sort of forced and took a backseat to their individual struggles and grief cycles. I wasn’t rooting for them like I expected. There was a lot of unnecessary miscommunication to force angst and it just didn’t work for me.

Overall, I didn't love or hate the book. I can see it's appeal to readers who enjoy a good sports romance, but it was just a little too heavy and unfocused for me personally.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Young Readers Group, and the author for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked that Ivy and June were together for a lot of the book so there were a lot of scenes of them spending time together.

The jump from not liking each other to dating was so fast. It also felt like they didn't like each other? Like they did not want the best for and sort of resented one another.

I don't think June's father's behavior was forgivable, but it was a very brief apology and then everyone moved on??

Not for me, but I do think there were some good parts.

I really liked the start of this story and the romance idea between a pitcher and a ref. However, I found their ages unrealistic. I think if they were aged up, this would have been a hit. There was just too much angst for my taste and the FMCs were really unlikable to me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

One of the strongest aspects of this book was the individual struggles both Ivy and June were going through (grief, family, injury, future prospects, etc). It is refreshing to read queer YA books where the central conflict of the story has absolutely nothing to do with homophobia! It’s just teens being teens.

Unfortunately, I didn’t feel the most connected to the two’s relationship. I’ll excuse some of the messiness of their relationship and the miscommunication (or lack thereof) because they are teenagers. However, they very quickly went from being “enemies” to lovers and I really struggle with insta-love.

I’ve seen books by Jennifer Dugan floating around in the queer YA space for years but this is the first I’ve picked up. Though this wasn’t my favorite YA romance, I would try more by the author especially if I’m on the lookout for a sapphic story.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the arc!

Would you ever risk giving up your dreams just to date a hot girl? (I would btw, just for the record) Ivy and June both take risks to be together in Playing for Keeps by Jennifer Dugan. The only female umpire and the only female baseball player meet for the first time and sparks fly despite their relationship being against all the rules.
A frequent complaint I have in books is that there are too many plot point. This is not the case here. I could have done with more, literally everywhere. Plot, setting, characters. They all fall very flat for me. I was not rooting for June and Ivy, I was so excited for any cracks to form between them. That’s not what you want in a romance.
That being said, y’all know I love queer books and books that are unapologetically queer with literally no homophobia. I liked the depictions of grief and how losing different people affects everyone differently. Jennifer Dugan is a must read author, even if this one missed the mark for me.
Playing for Keeps got 2.75 ⭐️ from me! It published April 30!
Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

"Playing for Keeps" by Jennifer Dugan is a thrilling sports romance that had me hooked from the start. June and Ivy's journey from rivals to lovers is captivating, and their struggle to balance their ambitions with their forbidden attraction kept me eagerly turning pages. Dugan's storytelling prowess shines through, making this a must-read for fans of sports-themed romance novels.

I’ve truly enjoyed this story. I struggle with separating June and ivys voices. It’s so important to have queer YA stories that put women in sports. This is a 4 star YA read for me

I loved reading an LGBTQ+ sports romance without adult themes. We need more sports romances where the sports component is actually relevant to the story. That said, the sports elements took away from the story in my opinion. The romance felt more like a subplot these girls were going through instead of the cornerstone of the story. I kept waiting for a sparkle with this story that never came. The part of the story I struggled with most was the harping on the triggering parts of the story. There were a few times I debated DNFing it for my own well-being. I loved the representation and how it gave something different to the genre, that is the best part. Overall it wasn't my favorite story but I would totally recommend it to middle-grade or early young adult readers.

I knew going into this one that Jennifer Dugan is amazing and she did not disappoint in her newest novel! This sports sapphic romance is simply perfect.
Clay is a super devoted baseball player (not softball!) who's starting to crack under the pressure of her parents' expectations and the little problem of a huge shoulder injury. Ivy is a young umpire looking to break into the professional referee circle and be among some of the few females to do so. This story is so empowering because both of these girls want to do outstanding things in the world with their talents. It's fun to see their competitive sides when they're together but they also both have deeply rich backstories that add so many levels to this story. Their two best friends are amazing and I hope they get their own book so they can shine too! This was a little slow at times and some miscommunication threw me off (my least favorite trope) but other than that I really enjoyed this one! It's a super sweet sapphic YA romance l'd absolutely recommend!