I was really interested in reading this because sports romances involving lacrosse are not ones you see too often! I liked the premise of the second chance romance, and thought the writing was good and well researched! I enjoyed the dual POV aspect of the book. However, there were some parts I had trouble buying in to. I had a hard time with the head coach supporting a fake relationship between a player and a visiting coach, and pushing for it to turn real. Even with May and Colt being the same age and knowing each other previously, there is still a power dynamic there that is created by Colt being her coach. Their miscommunication issues were also a little too much for me at times, and also contributed to parts where I felt they lacked chemistry. Overall, there were things I liked about this book and things that made it a bit of a miss for me.

This was an adequate sports romance but failed to grip me unfortunately. I really wish I was able to get more invested in the plot, but the characters just didn’t speak to me the way they needed to.

Thank you so much to Esha Patel and Avon Books UK | Avon for the eARC of this title. I love a good sports romance and this was no exception. I loved that the college sport it was centered around was not football or hockey or basketball. It hard to find those sometimes. Although it took me a few to get into to the book I really thought it was a great story.

This was such a cute romance!! I love Esha’s work and this one was no exception! Such a nice story line with relatable characters and an interesting plot. Definitely will be recommending to my friends.

Love, Love, Love. If you're into fake dating, enemies-to-lovers, and college sports romance, Cross My Heart is one you’ll want to pick up ASAP. It’s got all the best tropes—slow-burn chemistry, banter that crackles, and just enough tension to keep things interesting.

May Velasco is living her dream as a college lacrosse player, but keeping her scholarship means staying focused. Enter CJ “Colt” Bradley—her childhood nemesis turned pro lacrosse star—who suddenly shows up to help train her team. She can’t stand him, but when a picture of them looking way too close goes viral, she’s basically forced to fake date him for the sake of the team’s PR. Simple, right? Yeah… not so much.

May is fierce, determined, and easy to root for, while Colt is the kind of cocky, charming athlete you can’t help but fall for. Their dynamic is hilarious, their tension is chef’s kiss, and the slow-burn build makes every moment worth it. Plus, the sports setting actually feels real, which makes it even better.

Overall, this book is fun, flirty, and full of feels. If you love a good sports romance with plenty of sass and heart, Cross My Heart totally delivers!

I'm so sorry, but this book is not it. The characters have no chemistry, the plot is so boring, and I felt like I was drowning the whole entire time.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the arc!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy.

Cross My Heart was definitely an interesting read. It was a unique take on a college sports romance with lacrosse at the center. I also liked that this was a second chance romance with both characters caring for the other. However, beyond this the story was hard to enjoy. I found May to be rather unlikeable for most of the book and couldn't help but question her motives half the time. It made almost no sense that once they seemingly reconciled their initial falling out she immediately put walls between them again. I also had trouble suspending my disbelief over their fake relationship- in no world is a college coach helping creat a fake romance between a visiting coach and a player and then having them room together.

This was a 2.5 to 3 star read

Overall, Cross My Heart is a solid sports romance with an engaging premise, but it didn’t fully engage or impress me.

I really enjoyed seeing the characters progress in this story. The story was well paced and well written. I was hooked from the beginning and devoured it in just a few sittings. I wouldn’t call this a Enemies to Lovers book though, more of a second chance at love.


Thank you NetGalley and Esha Patel for the Arc 💜

the sweetest second chance romance i was instantly obsessed with. these two are perfect for each other and seemed so deeply in love, the emotion was so raw and passionate I was about to melt. The main stand out point of this book for me is the positive representation of female sports, the team scenes made me tear up. This showed a true family- not just a sports team. This was my first lax romance and gosh it didn’t disappoint. The sport is unlike anything in used too but still so exciting. The ending of this one and May’s victory was actually one of the most memorable scenes I’ll probably read. It was written with such support and dedication, and you can tell so clearly how deserved this triumph was. These two were each others support systems to get over their fears despite not confessing feelings was absolutely adorable to read and they made me scream and question why they weren’t together since the start!!! The only thing I found faulty with this book was that their backstory didn’t seem expanded upon enough. In a second chance romance I like seeing the sugary love scenes innocent youth brings but i felt that they were lacking. Ultimately, this is a very beautiful story with the best characters and such a supportive atmosphere

AHHH I DNFED!!!! I wanted to love this so much guys I really did!! I managed to push to 56%.
So they’ve already started ‘fake dating’ but I don’t see it anywhere. This really bored me and I was just not into it.
Colt and may have NO CHEMISTRY whatsoever. I’m dying.
Guys please the cover was so cute and don’t even get me started on the blurb but ahh i cannot. I should have listened to the reviews, they warned me

Thankyou netgalley for this ARC

I have to say, it completely caught me off guard. I don’t usually pick up romance novels, but this one had me hooked from the first chapter. The chemistry between the two main characters was electric—it wasn’t just about the physical attraction, but the way they challenged and supported each other. I found myself rooting for them, even when they were making mistakes or letting their insecurities get in the way.

What really stood out to me was how real the story felt. The dialogue was sharp and natural, and the emotional moments hit hard without feeling overly dramatic. I could see pieces of myself in the male lead, especially in how he struggled to open up and be vulnerable. It made me think about my own relationships in a way I didn’t expect.

The pacing was perfect, with just enough tension to keep me turning the pages. And while there were moments that felt predictable, the journey was so enjoyable that I didn’t mind. By the end, I was smiling like an idiot—it was that satisfying.

This book was like a little ray of sunshine?! I've never read a lacrosse sports romance before, and it was so refreshing. The balance of sports to romance was excellent, with a fake dating, 'second chance' kind of theme going. It was sweet, a little spicy, and the kind of book that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy.

- sports romance (lacrosse)
forced proximity
-fake dating
-second chance

This was an enjoyable read. I found the characters May and Colt likable and relatable, although I felt their relationship lacked chemistry. Additional backstory would have enhanced the narrative. I appreciated the departure from typical sports romance tropes, particularly the focus on a less common sport and the inclusion of both characters as athletes. While the miscommunication trope, present in this book, is not a personal preference, readers who enjoy this trope will likely find it satisfying.

Overall, this was a pleasant and engaging read.

As a romance fan, I appreciated that Cross My Heart delivered on the happily ever after, even though it took me a little while to get into the story. The beginning was a bit slow, but once the love interests reunited, the pace picked up, and I found myself flying through the rest of the book.

Colt was definitely my favorite character—his tenderness and determination to prove himself made him so easy to root for. The story’s theme of chasing your dreams without regrets added depth to the romance, making the payoff even more satisfying. The writing style was light with plenty of inner dialogue, which gave insight into the characters’ emotions but also contributed to the slower start.

Overall, Cross My Heart is a great pick for readers who love quick, feel-good romances with a predictable but comforting storyline. If you enjoy stories about second chances and personal growth, this one is worth picking up!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of this book.

Cross My heart

‘All that matter is that I am unconditionally and unabashedly in love with her.’ m

May Velasco knows a few things in life, the most important one being lacrosse, after working towards it for years, May knows this is her last chance with her scholarship if she wants to declare at the end of the season, and after the rough season she had last year, she’s ready to give it her all. Enter Colt ‘CJ’ Bradley. May has tried very hard not to think about him since he left to play lacrosse at New Haven 5 years ago. But when e returns after an injury puts his career at risk to help coach her team, May finds letting go of the past more difficult than she can imagine, and when her and Colt look like they’re sharing an intimate moment in a bar, the post goes viral. May wants to shut the whole thing down, but the press it’s bringing to women's lacrosse is something May can’t deny. They can put the past behind them and pretend a little longer, right?

I really enjoyed this book. In general I am a big fan of sport romances, and my sport tends to be F1. The most I really knew of lacrosse was watching Teen Wolf, but having this sport be a forefront meant that it was a really refreshing read. I enjoyed learning more about a sport that I know nothing about, and it gave me a greater appreciation for it. One of the things I think I underestimated was how adrenaline racing playing it can be, and the writing during the games was so good at making you feel like you were in the middle of the action, and I was desperate to keep going to find out if they were going to win or not.

I love May’s character. May and Colt together have that grumpy/sunshine vibe which is an absolute weakness of mine. Having May be this strong character and be so protective of her loved ones, that you can see that she is ready to give up on her biggest dream to stay and make sure that they are okay is one of her best traits. I love seeing strong female characters in the books I read and May is one of the best. You can see how caring she is for everyone around her. Her stubbornness definitely got in the way in some cases but it made the moments between her and Colt so much sweeter.

Colt is a whole other matter. I loved him so much! The way he was so down bad for May just melted my heart. Going down injured and her being your first thought? Just absolutely perfect, that he fully set the bar. One of the sweetest things about him is that it’s rarely ever just May to him, in his inner monologue, he calls her May Velasco so often, it’s as though he doesn’t want to deprive himself of her name. Sometimes I feel like it can come across as cringey but with Colt you can tell that its very genuine and it just had me rooting for them even more.

I really enjoyed the way that it being women in a male dominated field (quite literally) was written. There was no shade thrown at men lacrosse, and it wasn’t trying to be like we’re better than men because we’re women. It was written with such care that you could tell that they didn’t really think about the fact that there’s a difference, and more that it was empowering for these women to be playing a sport that they loved, and you could tell that they were playing for the love of the sport. You can also see the difference that although many people showed up because of Colt initially, many people stayed because of the sport because of the team , and it just left me with such a feeling of hope that it was so enjoyable.

There are a lot of my favourite tropes in this, grumpyxshunshine, second chance romance, not quite enemies to lovers, he falls harder, and they are written so well. I’m a sucker for these tropes and when they are written well, like they are here, they are just some of my favourite tropes to read, and I was tearing through it.

All in all, this was such an enjoyable read, and it’s another book by Esha Patel that just knocks it out of the park.

So I guess I’m into lacrosse now. It was bound to happen eventually, but like this book made it seem like so much fun and now I will actually look into the sport. Good times good times.

Cross My Heart is a solid sports romance with an engaging premise, but it didn’t fully engage or impress me.

*2-2.5 stars*
So I think this book is wrongly marketed as almost enemies to lovers, fake-dating. It's actually more second chance, and if I knew this I probably wouldn't have read it, although people who like that trope might enjoy it. Also the miscommunication in this book is BIG (and also sooo repetitive).

My main problems, except for the mismarketing, was just how out of proportion and dramatic the main 'problem' was. It seems everyone in Colt's hometown is mad at him for...leaving to go to college elsewhere?! I kinda understood May's frustration but not enough for it to constantly be bought up every chapter and for being the main obstacle to their relationship. This repetitiveness also made the book feel longer than it needed to be.

To be fair, I did like the south-asian representation and women in sports rep too. But sadly just not enough for me to enjoy the overall book.

Personal side note: Since Colt broke his ACL, I would have a liked a book centred around women in sports to at least bring up the big ACL problem in women's sports. (unless I missed it)

Thanks NetGalley for the eARC!

This was cute!

At first, I was very confused as to the ages of the main characters. And this carried on for a few chapters, I believe. But eventually, that was cleared up. I'm still not sure about those first few chapters, but eventually they switched to not being confusing. (I am aware that explanation was confusing, I have no idea how else to explain what I am trying to explain. Sorry.)

And this was a forced proximity, fake dating situation (and I always love that premise), so that was fun! But their chemistry wasn't always there, so it was a bit stilted at times.

We do get both of the main POVs in this, which is also great. I know a lot of people love when romances have that. Although, sometimes the POVs were weird because they would describe things in a way that I do not think someone their age would. (I don't know how else to explain that.)

Overall, this was cute, but sometimes it fell quite a bit flat.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.