I absolutely loved this book! I am not a sports person and this title caught my attention. I'm so glad I picked it up. Meka James did a great job developing these characters including the side characters. The plot and dialogue had me kicking my feet and giggling. And the spice had me blushing. Definitely recommend and will be reading more from this author. Thank you to NetGalley and Afterglow Books by Harlequin for this arc.

give me more sports sapphic books! i really enjoyed the characters and i thought their romance was believable and not sprung out of thin air like some of the other romances i've read

this was such a good sapphic sports romance book! i love it and really recommend it to people who love this type of trope and also this was my first book by this author and i can’t wait to read more from her and i enjoyed her writing as well!

Love and Sportsball by Meka James is a charming and heartfelt novella that perfectly balances romance and humor. With witty dialogue, relatable characters, and just the right amount of heat, it’s a delightful exploration of love, friendship, and chasing your passions. A quick, feel-good read that will leave you smiling from start to finish!

I so enjoyed Shae and Khadijah!!! They had chemistry from the first interaction and they continued to guild on that throughout the story. However…..Dinah drove me nuts. Like girl I know you are a planner and want everything to go according to it but she was rigid at times I just wanted Shae to move on. Thankfully Shae stuck it out, I think deep down she knew she was exactly what Dijah needed and her patience really made her my favorite. Idk that lady always saw the bright side of things and that helped balance DIJAH out a bit. The amount of actual basketball was perfect, as well. Looking forward to reading about this cast of characters in the future!!

Plot: Dijah is the new athletic trainer for the Atlanta Cannons and she and Shae (a star player) have a one night stand to start off the book, before they know that they'll be in one another's lives for a while. They try to fight their attraction because Dijah is adamant that she can't date a player because it's unprofessional, but their connection is pretty undeniable.

What I Loved: Shae. I thought Shae was fantastic. I loved her as a character, though I really felt like she seemed fully like a secondary character despite being one of the two love interests who ostensibly had her own POV. But honestly, Shae comes into the book feeling fully formed and so there's less character growth that she needs to go through, which is probably why. Also the steam was very steamy and I enjoyed the way that was written!

What I Struggled With: Dijah. She was so frustrating. I understood her at the beginning, but then over time, her rigidity didn't feel grounded in anything and so she hurt Shae without a clear explanation or with any sense of actual recognition that how she responded was hurtful.

Would I Recommend: Yes, definitely. I think if you want a sapphic romance, this is a good one. Is it perfect? Not for me, but I think it's a solid sapphic romance and the steam was great. Also, book two in this series is going to be a marriage in trouble so I cannot wait for that!

I enjoyed this book overall. There was some boring parts and some parts I was just like ok can we move on. But it was still a cute story. I wish we would have gotten a little more of a relationship out of the two then just the little at the end. I was doubting if I thought they would be a good couple for half the book, but by the end I was convinced.

Since we were at the tail end of the WNBA playoffs this was a well timed read.

I really liked the vibes of this one and it fulfilled a want of mine. However, one of the characters suffered from a weird personality quirk, and it kinda overshadowed everything, and made the ending feel weird (to me). I appreciate that not all characters are perfect, and there is always room for growth, but I think the quirk of this particular character was off-putting enough to me, that it did lend a bit of a shadow on the whole. Now, I still had a great time, and besides the one thing that bothered me, it was a great read and I'm really poking at myself a little harder to continue with more from Meka James.

If you are looking for something to fill the hole that we all have now that WNBA finals are over, this is a perfect place to land.

Thank you to Harlequin and Netgalley for an e-copy.

Such a sweet and steamy sapphic romance. Love!! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

I loved this book! It was full of real, relatable characters, had plenty of gorgeous, consensual spice, and a pro-basketball setting that was so fun to read about. Can't wait to cheer for Meka James!

WNBA queer romances have taken off recently, and LOVE AND SPORTSBALL by Meka James is definitely a top-rank contender. This love story between Shae and Khadijah, a basketball star and her athletic trainer, had all the right moves, even as Khadijah analyzed and questioned every step in their relationship to the point I wanted to shake some sense into her.

When Khadijah is coerced by her sister to go to a nightclub, running into Shae allows her to step out of her well-curated comfort zone and indulge in a one-night stand with a tall, attractive woman who invited her to the VIP area. Little did she know the woman she was grinding on all night was the star player for the Atlanta Cannons - and the one person she would run into the next day at her new job.

This is where things get tricky, mostly because of Khadijah. She had these set of rules for everything. And I understand. Relationships at work can be difficult, awkward, delicate, precarious...you get the drift. And Khadijah did not make it easy on Shae. Just go with the flow, girl.

The side characters, Shae's besties Courtney and Tina, also made an impression on this story, so much so that I'm ready for book 2 today (my bet is the story features Tina). Khadijah's sister is also a piece of work, but she's the only one who can talk so sense into her.

While the ending was a bit abrupt, I enjoyed Love and Sportsball. I am happily anticipating the next book. Hope I don't have long to wait.

When Kadijah hooks up with a hot woman after meeting at a club, she didn't realize that that woman was Shae, a star player on the Atlanta Cannons, the team Kadijah just started a job with as the athletic trainer, Her personal rules insists that she cannot date at work, it might literally be against policy. But Shae is irresistible and doesn't take rejection lightly. Some of this book was great (side characters, consent) but I struggled with some parts. I wish we'd had more backstory on why Kadijah is the way she is, and I wanted a bit more plot other than the will they-won't they back and forth. I'm interested to read more from Meka James!

3.5⭐️ - I really enjoyed the world and the side characters so would read more in the series. The constant miscommunication between Shae and Dejah was a little frustrating, though I liked their eventual compromise on their approach to relationships.

Everytime I read a basketball book I remember my fondness for sports and love. The sport romance genre just got itself another winner. Meka James' Love and Sportball (I adore this title) is such a refreshing entry into trope fests of opposite attracts, one night to forever, and workplace romance. Entertaining and realistic portrayal of the professional athlete and staff members life. Overwhelmingly enjoyed.

Thank you to Harlequin - Romance | Afterglow Books by Harlequin and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

This is my first read of something by Meka James. I will read more from this author. This was a fun read. I liked the chemistry of the characters. I liked the dual POVs so we can get both sides of how the main characters are feeling. I haven't read very many sports stories but if they can be as fun., and sizzling as this one then I am in for more of them.

I enjoyed Love & Sportsball so much. It is a refreshingly adult workplace romance between a newly hired athletic trainer and the star player on a women’s pro basketball team in Atlanta. The two have a one night stand and then are surprised to meet a couple of days later at work. Shae is delighted and ready to start a romance. Dijah is horrified and wants to keep it professional. Here’s the wonderful thing about this book: Shae is disappointed but she doesn’t try to change Khadijah’s mind. She tries to include her and get to know her better, but she doesn’t try to seduce her. Dijah, on the other hand, struggles with her own boundaries because she is very attracted to Shae. I love that Meka James gives us spice, pining, and the building of a friendship all at the same time.

One of my favorite things about the conflict in Love & Sportsball is that neither Dijah or Shae are wrong. They are two fully formed people with different approaches to life. As much as they like each other and as compatible as they are, their expectations about how relationships happen are not in synch. It takes them several misses and conscious adjustment of the way they communicate before they get to a point where they can have a romantic relationship. It would be easy to paint one of them as the bad guy, but Meka James has made them complex and charming characters. Dijah’s need for stages and checkpoints in a relationship are given as much weight and value as Shae’s laid back “we’re good together so let’s go.” To Dijah it feels like Shae is being reckless. To Shae it feels like Dijah is blowing hot and cold. The conflict is so relatable.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Afterglow Books and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

The hottest sport out right now is the WNBA so it's only right that the sports romance authors get in on the action as well.
Let me tell you, Meka James definitely puts some points on the board with this one. She certainly scored points with the character growth and the sizzling chemistry!

I resonated with deeply with Khadijah's need for clear boundaries and her need for control. I found myself getting defensive when her sister and best friend overstepped their boundaries when it came to Shae. However I understood it came from a place of love and sometimes selfishness. Unlike them I understood that establishing rules allowed her to feel comfortable play the game....unbeknownst to her, she'd be playing with a professional. Shae was smooth as a silk sheet and put the full court press on her! You can't tell me that the illustrator wasn't channeling Seimone Augustus (arm tattoo and all).

I know many people came in with the expectation that Love and Sportsball would give you the vibes of Love and Basketball. I want to clear you of that notion, the only thing that is relatable is the "I'll play you for it" line. Please go into this book with no expectations other than the forced proximity, workplace sapphic story that's been long overdue.

This is the first book I've read of Meka James and I really did enjoy her writing style. Her description of the characters and the story plot makes you feel as if you were living in the book. Khadijah, the new AT for the Atlanta WNBA meets Shae, player for said Atlanta WNBA, at a bar one night when she was forced to go out with her sister. unbeknownst to her, Shae was an actual basketball player and they meet again on the court of their first day of basketball training, after a hot one night stand. Khadijah sets boundaries between work and personal and Shae tries to blur said boundaries with her constant flirtation with Khadijah. Will this ruin them both professionally and personally or will Khadijah be able to let her guard down and not be so uptight about her feelings for Shae?

I gave this book a three star because I wasn't as invested in the characters as I usually would be only because I'm not a huge basketball fan and I couldn't relate to any of the characters. I did enjoy the writing style and how the author made the protagonist look and feel throughout the story but, I feel like a lot of Khadijah's feelings were very much repetitive and that was just a turn off for me.

Such a great sapphic sports romance!

I think this was just so perfectly paced. The awesome combo of fun quirky banter, hot and steamy scenes, and fresh writing that truly grabbed my attention the whole reading experience.

Dijah doesn't usually let loose, but when her sister takes her out to a lesbian bar, she meets a gorgeous woman and doesn't try to fight the undeniable chemistry. So she gives in... only to then find out that Shae is one of the players on the team Dijah has just been hired to work for.
Love and Sportsball sucked me in right from the beginning. The chemistry between Dijah and Shae is phenomenal and I just kept wanting more. I had high hopes for this book and I have to say it exceeded my (already high) expectations. I'm very much looking forward to reading more from Meka James!