The Long Game

I absolutely adored this book. Adalyn’s world is turned upside down when one day she is banished to a small town and tasked with turning around the struggling local soccer team. The only problem? The grumpy retired soccer star she must work with. I found myself laughing out loud multiple times and it gave me all the belly swirlies I could ever want. It had just the right amount of slow burn without killing me and the epilogue finished off the story perfectly. There is just something about grumpy men and kids in books that I can’t get enough of. I have loved every one of Elena’s books and I can’t wait for more!

Adalyn and Cameron meet when Adalyn is forced to go to a small town to manage a kids soccer team. This is where she meets Cameron with one unfortunate meet cute and it’s safe to say they did not get off on the right foot.

Cameron is so freaking hot and although he appears to despise Adalyn, he clearly cares for her. We get to see this more and more throughout the book. Adalyn definitely softens throughout the story and is able to become more of herself with Cameron. There were so many sexy, tension filled scenes in this story and these characters very quickly won my heart. This is very much an enemies to lovers, forced proximity romance that includes lots of quirky animals, steamy scenes and one sexy, soccer coach. The Long Game is Armas’ best work to date, and will definitely be one of my favourite books of the year.

No words can describe how absolutelyamazing this book was. It feels more mature than Elena’s previous works, and her writing style has only gotten better. I absolutely loved it, the chemistry was just explosive. They are so sweet and the banter was everything. The book manages make normal situations so romantic and funny, I loved the pottery chapter I couldn’t stop giggling. This is the best one yet. They are exactly what each other needs, and I really cannot highlight enough how mature their love is. I really really loved the emotional depth they had and the way they treated each other. One of the best slowburns out there, I honestly wished it was longer because I’m greedy and want to know more.

Adalyn is out to prove herself, to her father, her ex, herself. This experience is throwing her for a loop, completely out of her comfort zone and I loved watching her navigate the situation. Her thoughts about Cam made me laugh, and I loved how their relationship blossomed. She’s intelligent and a little high-strung, but she has a fighting spirit. Adalyn has always been independent and I really enjoyed watching her come to terms with the fact that you can’t do everything alone, you need other humans.

Cam is looking for a quiet life, a hideaway of sorta and it all comes crashing down when Adalyn comes around. I absolutely loved how she brought some chaos into his peaceful existence, in a really funny way. His life seemed boring before her, but after it just seems full of laughter. He’s fiercely protective and also knows how to push Adalyn just the right amount. He has his own fears, but I love how he navigates his issues and how he isn’t afraid to love. He isn’t insecure about himself and knows how to get what he wants. He’s the type of guyyou shouldn’t be scared to fall in love with.

If this isn’t on your most anticipated reads of 2023, that’s a huge mistake. You won’t want to be missing out on this book. It’s a slowburn smalltown romance with a hint of enemies to lovers and a whole lot of sweetness. You get an independent and stubborn girly clashing with a fierce and protective guy, what more do you want.

Grumpy former soccer player and banished club CEO daughter? What could go wrong?

In "The Long Game" by Elena Armas, we see the love story of Cameron and Adalyn. Being the daughter of the Miami Flames FC Owner and CEO is hard on Adalyn. Especially when her life falls apart, she is sent off to a North Carolina, USA town where she will help a soccer team with its PR and generally bring it into the spotlight. When Adalyn turns up at her rental, she crashes (literally) into Cameron, a famous goalkeeper for LA that has just retired suddenly. They butt heads. Cameron is trying to leave his famous days behind him after the unforgivable happened. Yet, when Adalyn blows into town and into his house, Cameron's life is changed forever. Cameron runs the local under-10s girls' soccer team, so when he learns that Adalyn will be improving the club. The tension is high.

Cameron is your normal grump, retired soccer player. Yet he has done so much work on himself it's beautiful. Adalyn on the other hand is our beautiful sunshine, that has been dealt a bad hand. She is constantly put into bad positions and always doing her absolute best, though it's never enough. Cameron and Adalyn are truly perfect together, with his understanding of her, and her understanding of his boundaries it's just perfect. While they do have their ups and downs they actively work through them together.

I have read both of Elena Armas's other books and LOVED The Spanish Love Deception. Though this was different from her other books, it fits perfectly. Both characters are written well and easy to understand their emotions and feelings about one another. Cameron had his flaws but understandable flaws, which he was actively working on improving. So the way he reacts to Adalyn in certain moments makes sense. Adalyn as a character was easy to understand her thought process and why she reacted the way she did in moments as well. The buildup felt natural, with them learning to understand each other. I think Cameron as a character is better than Aaron Blackford *Shockingly, I know* While this is only my opinion, Elena has really improved as a writer and it's really fun to watch her grow! I truly did love this book, and I think you will too.

Random facts that you should know before reading though!
- It is steamy and has lots of tension
- It is a romcom
- Goats are involved
- Trigger warnings: manipulation, gaslighting, car accident, crime, toxic relationship.

Besides those, It's a great read, Hope you enjoy it!

Thank you, NetGalley for this beautiful read!!!

I was beyond stoked to have an advanced copy and still am. One of my auto-buy authors, the closest thing to a celebrity in my head, and all my high expectations were met.

I understood Adalyn a lot, how she was driven and determined, so much so that often times she lost herself to her work. Seeing her take a step back and learn more about who she really is throughout the course of the book stood out to me, and Armas always does a commendable job.

Cameron similarly experienced a powerful character arc, and every interaction of his with Adalyn had me grinning like an idiot. Their hate to love was executed wonderfully, and both of them were transformed by the end of the book.

They did go back and forth between hate and love a few times in the middle section which could be a bit frustrating, but it didn't deter me in the slightest and was all worth it in the end.

I'd like to out a heads up that there is coarse language and blasphemy in this book, which didn't bother me personally but may affect other readers.

Overall, I'd strongly recommend this book to anyone looking for a small town romance with a variation of enemies to lovers and lots of funny moments. One of the great things about Armas' work is that you always know there will be a HEA, and I was sad when this book was over. I am so excited to hopefully see another book set in this world in the future.

Adalyn and Cameron. Yes yes yes, Elena's stories are getting more and more wonderful. This is gold! Cameron is an absolute honey - even a grumpy one and Adalyn a mess from the beginning but how these two gel together and learn to look after each other is so wonderful to read.

Cameron's voice is really distinctive, which is unusual for a male character in dual POV, but the words and phrases he uses give him such a believable - and lovable - voice. ... So bright', 'love' - both the dialogue with Adalyn and his inner dialogue are perfection.

There's plenty going on around these two - misunderstandings, kittens, sassy nine year olds, a toxic parent (and ex), a football competition, and of course, the Sparkles incident. There's lots of pining and a slow burn and steam. In short, this is just fabulous - go Elena!

And thank you NetGalley and Elena for the ARC. Opinions are my own and I'll be recommending this wonderful book!