I was really looking forward to reading this as I have read a few of the Lancester Prep series and enjoyed them. I fancied trying something a bit different and this was really quite good.

We find transfer student Everleigh moving in with a group of football players. Really nice guys but then there's Nico and the feelings between the two cannot be denied. But the two don't want to risk disharmony in the house whilst living together so can they hold back their feelings for each other?

I quite liked the two characters individually as well as the romance. The friendships were great, then tension between the two building was good. I'd like to continue with the series.

I was gifted an e-ARC in exchange of my honest review.

Alright, Mrs. Murphy I have no idea how you come up with these college boys, but please, please, please don't ever stop. In addition, where were these guys throughout my time in school? Yes, I said it: Canadian college lads aren't that spicy, so it must be a US thing. 😝

After travelling to a new city to attend college, our main character Everleigh's housing falls through, leaving her “homeless." By coincidence, she overhears some guys (more like severe eavesdropping) 👂🏼searching for a
potential new roommate, and she'll go to any length to get that room. Even if it means sharing a bathroom with Mr. Arrogance himself and his entourage of jocks.

Speaking of boys and arrogance, our top heartrob. Nico simultaneously made me adore and despise him. I could not get over how arrogant he seemed, especially considering that it was more of a subtle arrogance than anything else (if you know what I mean). I felt duped by it.😩


Naturally, of course, these two are not on the same page, and they engage in some epic waffling, will they or won't they? Their push and pull gets under both of their skins— and the tension only builds! 😰The energy is intense, and you just want them to come together and give in—but they aren't seeking the same things, or so they believe.

End Game is surely a slow-burning book! Considering how long it took Mr. Arrogance and Everleigh to discover they were great together, 🤍 I'm hoping Mrs. Murphy would let
them pop by and give us relationship updates on occasion.

P.S. Fingers crossed 🤞🏼the entourage each gets their own books, just saying no pressure.

✨ I received this book as an ARC for my honest review✨

Rate: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was my first read by Monica Murphy and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Overall, it was a fun ride with some ups and downs. The story centers around Everleigh, a transfer student who suddenly needs a new place to live. Everleigh overhears some guys at a café looking for a roommate and jumps in, not realizing she’s about to live with some football stars, including the super charming playboy, Nico.

There’s definitely a spark between them, but I felt like we didn’t get enough time to really see their chemistry. Their make-out sessions were cute, but the buildup felt a bit lacking. The roommate dynamic was great, adding that found family vibe, but the pacing was a bit off—some scenes dragged while others felt rushed.

Everleigh is a standout character; she’s strong and learns to stand up for herself, which I loved. Nico has potential, but he sometimes came off as immature.

Overall, "End Game" is a slow-burn romance with solid character growth, but I wish there had been more moments between Nico and Everleigh to really sell their connection. It’s a decent start to the series, and I’m curious to see what happens next!

Nico and Everleigh.

Monica Murphy is one of my favorite authors. I'm one of her OG readers. Been her reader eversince One Week Girlfriend.

When you ask for a sports romance recommendation, I immediately think about Monica Murphy. I love all her sports romances, and I think they are a great escape when you want to teleport yourself into highschool.

This book was swoony from start to finish. Although the setting isn't something I haven't resd before, I still enjoyed reading about Nico and Everleigh.

It's swoon-worthy, s€x¥, awkward, funny... it's something you imagine watching on tv sort of like a Friday Night Lights.

Stars: 4.5 Stars
Spice: 2.5

ARC Review <3
This book was an absolute touch down. Monica has me hooked on her books after just this read.

Lots of my friends know I’m a bit of a smut queen. However, guys I have to say, this one was one of the sweetest romances that I’ve read in a while. It was a sweet representation of young love. It made me giggle and smile all the way through. It was such an easy read and the banter between Nico & Everleigh was divine.
It is a bit of a slow burn and at times I seriously was like, Monica…come on don’t do us like that. What I really did love, was meeting all the characters that hopefully will have their own stories in the future.

Story Blurb:
End Game follows the story of Everleigh as she transfers to UC Santa Mira. But after her housing arrangement falls through at the last minute, she finds herself jumping at the opportunity when she overhears a group of guys who need another roommate.

It isn’t until she speaks to them that she realises she has met her match. Unfortunately, he’s out of bounds…. Or at least to start with. Nico is a bit of bad boy, he’s popular, cocky & he’s every woman’s fantasy. The push and pull between Nico & Everleigh is *insert French Kiss*.

I won’t give too much away, but if you are after a quick easy read that will have you giddy turning pages, then go grab yourself a copy.

I also need to take a moment for the acknowledgements. I loveeee that Monica shared her inspo for EG & The swiftie in me is cheering in the bleachers.

Thank you again, Valentine Pr, Book Funnel & Of course Monica. I was sooo blessed to be a part of this ARC.

End Game is the beginning of a new series by Monica Murphy, and is a relatively quick read. It didn't have a lot of plot, and I didn't LOVE the characters, but I still enjoyed the book.

It is a college sports romance with forced proximity and a reformed playboy - Honestly the tropes grabbed me right from the start. I think I would have enjoyed this a bit more if it were longer and a bit more time taken to extend the plot. I would've also liked some more chemistry and tension between our MCs.

With that being said, I finished this quite quickly and I'll definitely be picking up the second book because I need to know what happens with Gavin and Sienna!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️/5

Everleigh and Nico are adorable. Everleigh moves to Santa Mira for college her junior year but once she arrives, gets an email saying her apartment has been rented to someone else. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, she approaches three guys she overhears talking about a room to rent. They agree to let her stay if she also cooks three meals a week. One of them does not seem happy about it.

Slowly, Everleigh and Nico navigate through friendship, learning to live with each other, and fighting emotions in order to fall in love. The process is slow, heart-warming, and didn’t make me want to bang my head against a wall. Nico is alpha all the way and I am here for it.

They were sweet and intensely attracted to each other. I loved how they couldn’t get enough! So good!

This story follows Everleigh and Nico. Everleigh has just transferred to this new school and suddenly it all goes to sh!t. Her housing falls through, her car breaks down.. Poor girl was not having a good time😭 Then she over hears a group of jocks talking about how they need one more roommate and of course, she jumps at the opportunity🤭

The roommate trope is one of my absolute favourites and Miss Monica did not disappoint 👏 There was tension, there was will-they-wont-they moments. It had it all😫

Nico is a football god, and with that comes popularity and lots of ladies… Everleigh is a serious girlie. So despite this “crush” she has on Nico, she knows it can’t be more, because Nico doesn’t do serious. Or at least that’s kind of just what shes convinced herself of?? Even when she knows he feels the same way😫

Monica just knows how to write chemistry and tension and attraction and this book was no exception. Everleigh and Nico were very cutsie, very demure and I really hope we get the other guys books, especially Dollar🙏

Overall, this was a pretty lighthearted and easy read, lots of tension but obviously very lows stakes given this is a contemporary sports romance. I can’t wait for the rest of the series🥰

I had heard lots of good things about Monica Murphy's books so I really wanted to enjoy this and I am glad to say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but it was just missing a little something. I think it was missing that heart wrenching angst that I love so much. This is still a good book and if you like college sports romances, I am sure you will enjoy this book. The sport aspects were great and I loved how you had to wait for the spice - no spice in the first chapter here! The introduction of a number of characters has me hoping......for a series! I am totally here for it!!

Big thanks to NetGalley, Montlake and Monica Murphy for an early release copy of this book. This is my honest opinion.

Everleigh transfers to UC Santa Mira in her junior year wanting a fresh start. Unfortunately as soon as she arrives her rooming arrangements fall through and there is nothing available in her price range. When she overhears a group of guys talking about one of their roommates bailing, she follows them home and jumps on the opportunity to room with them - even though she has no idea they're popular football players. Nico is very untrusting towards new people because in the past people have just tried to get close because of his football status. He wary of Everleigh and doesn't want her to be a distraction during his senior year. Through living together Everleigh grows closer with all the guys including Nico, only their relationship is a little more than friendly as they're both very attracted to one another but know they can't be together... or can they?

I enjoyed this story! I really liked Everleigh and getting to follow her journey. It was nice to see her really come into her own and get comfortable at this new school and make new friends! Nico had a lot of growth during this book and I liked seeing him come around to his feelings and learn to be there for his friends. I loved their friend group and how they had a found family relationship! The yoga classes and family dinners were my favorite parts just so cute! I'm looking forward to more from this series following the other members from the friend group! Can't wait to see what else is to come!

Thank you Monica Murphy and Valentine PR for an
ARC! I was so happy to get to read this one early

If you’re looking for a cute sports romance, this is it! This was definitely a slow burn, which isn’t usually MMs type but I enjoyed it! I’ll be honest, the plot fell flat for me but overall all the characters were super likeable, and this enemies to lovers was a fun read!

End Game by Monica Murphy, is the first book in the Kings of Campus Series, Everleigh has just transferred to Santa Mira, but just upon arriving the people she had contracted with for a room tell her that said bed is no longer available, this leaves Everleigh in a desperate situation because in less than a week she has to start and she knows that it will be almost impossible to get a room so close to the start of classes. It's at that moment that she overhears some guys in the cafeteria discussing how they will get the roommate that at the last minute failed them. This may be the opportunity she was waiting for, to check the place she follows them and decides to try to convince them to rent the room to her. Nico is in his last year at Santa Mira University and plays for the University's football team. When he see this girl at the door of their house asking them to let her stay, he can't help but feel that this could go wrong. He doubts that this girl doesn't recognize them, his teammates play with him on the soccer team and attract the girls' attention, so he thinks she could be a fan trying to get into his house. His friends are more open to the possibility of Ever moving in with them, even more so with the incentive that she can prepare meals for them if they lower her rent a little. Nico ends up accepting the only thing he doesn't want is complications. But that will be very difficult for him when he realizes how sweet, attentive and special Ever is, beyond how beautiful. Everleigh since she arrived can't help but notice Nico, not only because of his size and how attractive he is, but he is always making small gestures with her that make her feel special little by little despite her many doubts at the beginning and not before overcoming a few things, they find in each other what they never imagined they needed.
I loved this story, it's sweet, funny, fresh, with a few touches of tension, but you really enjoy it from the moment you start reading it, once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. I love these characters and the secondary characters are perfect complements to Ever and Nico's story, I want more of all of them, I will be waiting patiently for their stories. A wonderful sports romance story, with very real characters and little drama, the perfect combination for a story that will capture your attention and heart. Totally, Absolutely and Completely Highly Recommended!

*End Game* is everything you want in a swoon-worthy college romance! Everleigh and Nico’s chemistry leaps off the page from the moment they meet, and the tension between them is electric. I loved Everleigh’s determination to make her college experience memorable, even when it meant moving in with a bunch of football players. The dynamic between her and Nico is pure perfection—she’s smart and independent, while he’s the classic bad-boy-with-a-heart. Nico’s protective yet irresistible nature makes him a fantastic love interest, and watching their relationship slowly evolve was thrilling.

The “we shouldn’t but we can’t help it” vibe keeps you hooked, with every stolen glance and playful banter pulling you deeper into their world. Monica Murphy masterfully weaves a balance of sizzling romance with deeper emotional beats, making you care about the characters and root for their happily ever after. I especially loved the tension and the will-they-won’t-they moments that were so perfectly paced. This book is a perfect blend of fun, flirtation, and heart, and I couldn’t put it down! Fans of college romance will absolutely devour this!

The tropes in this book checked all the boxes, but it fell a little short for me. Everleigh has had a string of bad luck. Her housing fell through just a few days before school started, her car was broken into, and she's out of options. While trying to figure out her next steps, she overheard a group of three guys needing a roommate. Everleigh was such a sweet, hardworking FMC. She worked so hard to be independent - not relying on anyone else while she was in school. Nico was regarded as a football god at school. He tried to resist his feelings for Everleigh so hard, trying to respect her boundaries as a roommate. I thought the build-up between Nico and Everleigh was good, but it went on for a bit too long. Because of this, the ending felt rushed. I liked how Everleigh didn't cave into Nico immediately, given his status on campus. Too often, we see that the FMC gives into the MMC too fast. I also wished that we saw more depth into the characters, especially Everleigh. I was hoping to get more background on Everleigh and know how she landed her position. I did like the found family aspect of the book - the side characters were great, and I hope there's a book on Gavin/Sienna as well as Coop. Overall it was a cute read, but I found myself wanting a little bit more.

This was a super cute sports romance perfect for those fall days when you just need a football romance and fun friends to lovers vibes.

Everleigh is having a rough patch in life, and when she ends up being a roommate with three of the coolest guys and football hot shots on campus, you know it’s going to be fun!

I enjoyed Nico and Ever’s relationship even if at times I was just wanting them to finally get together. 😂

This one was cute and perfect for days you just need a football romance!

An entertaining read with tons of angst and drama, but with a good amount of good storytelling as Everleigh develops friendships with her roommates and Sienna (Cooper’s sister). Everleigh and Nico are attracted to each other from the beginning and fight against it. Nico’s past womanizing ways bring over the top drama from a past hook-up he attempted to have a brief relationship with that quickly went toxic. The majority of the book is the development and progression of friendships Everleigh develops within the house and tie football team and the changes that take place. A far as the romantic relationship between Everleigh and Nico, it’s a drama-fest and a slow burn. When they finally get it worked out, the book ends and we don’t get to see them happy for more than a couple chapters. I was entertained reading this book, but would have enjoyed it with a little less drama and more of their actual relationship after they worked out all their drama & angst. I received a free ARC from the author and Valentine PR; and I am voluntarily leaving an unbiased review.

A big thank you to @monicamurphyauthor & @valentine_pr_ for my arc I'm so grateful 🫶🏻 I'm a big MM fan so was super excited about this release and it didn't disappoint! I absolutely adored Everleigh 🥰 Nico - what a man! Loved how protective he was of Ever regardless fighting his feelings! Loved the whole storyline, forced proximity becoming roommates was the best! Always a fave! Loved seeing the gang/side characters and their relationships grow, cannot wait to see who's book is next 🤭 This was a slowburn but loved the angst/tension and the chemistry was just undeniable 😍 the spice was fab as always too 🔥 would defo recommend reading this beaut it won't disappoint 🙌🏻💖

3.5 ⭐️ 2 🌶️

I liked this, but I didn’t LOVE it. I wish there was more to the story. I was obsessed with it at the beginning when Everleigh started rooming with three famous football players at her new college. But the further it went it felt like there was a plot missing. Unless it was Nico turning from playboy to committed? But honestly the events that happened at the end would’ve been so much better towards the middle to really drive the story. Regardless I’m still interested to see how Gavin&Sienna, Dollar, and Coop end up within the series.

Tropes:
•sports/football
•close proximity/roommate
•band of brothers
•playboy/ good girl.

Monica Murphy is definitely the queen of young adult romance! This book is such a perfect example, young kids about to finish college, with the hopes and ambitions for their future, but also with the insecurities that come from not being all that experienced yet. Such is the case of Nico and Everleigh.

Nico is a football star in UC Santa Mira, California, adored by many, pursued by the groupies, he sort of lives in an elite group where they don’t mix so much with the regular students. Everleigh arrived in town for junior year, leaving her crappy home, and looking forward to a better life. Her first day in town was truly awful, she lost her rental room, her car was broken into and her stuff taken, but she lucked in that she got a room with this group of guys who just had a cancellation on their extra room. She begged, she won, and now she’s rooming with the Kings of Campus and doesn’t know it!

I loved all the aspects of the book, from the college life as depicted, the hassle of football, studying, working to make rent, the friends, the groupies, the boozy parties, the jealousy and above all, the feeling of wanting someone but feeling it’s forbidden. All that back and forth was delicious for me, angsty for them, and just plain adorable. Seeing Nico not as cocky as usual was sweet, and Ever was mature, kind, helpful. She helped the guys feeding them nutritious meals and gave them yoga lessons to help the loosen up. I had visuals of big hunky men all twisted on the floor! Yum!

In this first installment, I can already tell I’m going to love all the guys. Frank the guy who tries too hard, Gav the oblivious one, and Cooper my favorite, a little closed off, always kind, always observant, quiet and a great friend. I loved the closed proximity together with the slow burn, what some may call reticence but I think was more a tad insecurity. Anyway, I saw love, I saw interest, and I saw they needed to sort their issues. And I enjoyed every step of the way!

Everleigh aka Ever is wanting to have a true collage experience as a transfer student. To start things off on the wrong foot, her housing got cancelled with her car broken into. Ever meets a group of football players that happen to have a room available, and she agreed to cook for them in exchange for living there. One of the player’s named Nico has a crush with sparks when they first meet but he doesn’t do relationships or feelings. Having Ever living with him just might be able to change his mind. Nico and Ever a slow burn romance with engaging chemistry that keep you clued to your kindle. I adored Dollar I hope there next in the series.