The Long Game by Elena Armas
Goodreads blub: A disgraced soccer exec reluctantly enlists the help of a retired soccer star in coaching a children’s team in this smalltown love story in the vein of Ted Lasso and It Happened One Summer —from the New York Times bestselling author of The Spanish Love Deception. Adalyn Reyes has spent years perfecting her daily routine: wake up at dawn, drive to the Miami Flames FC offices, try her hardest to leave a mark, go home, and repeat. But her routine is disrupted when a video of her in an altercation with the team’s mascot goes viral. Rather than fire her, the team’s owner—who happens to be her father—sends Adalyn to middle-of-nowhere North Carolina, where she’s tasked with turning around the struggling local soccer team, the Green Warriors, as a way to redeem herself. Her plans crumble upon discovering that the players wear tutus to practice (impractical), keep pet goats (messy), and are terrified of Adalyn (counterproductive), and are nine-year-old kids. To make things worse, also in town is Cameron Caldani, goalkeeping prodigy whose presence is somewhat of a mystery. Cam is the perfect candidate to help Adalyn, but after one very unfortunate first encounter involving a rooster, Cam’s leg, and Adalyn’s bumper, he’s also set on running her out of town. But banishment is not an option for Adalyn. Not again. Helping this ragtag children’s team is her road to redemption, and she is playing the long game. With or without Cam’s help.
my take: 4 out of 5. I absolutely adored Elena Armas first two novels, especially her second, The American Roommate Experiment. This is not ARE level but I liked is as much as her first, The Spanish Love Deception. I really enjoyed the soccer and North Carolina setting, and it provided with some interesting moments (goat yoga was hilarious). Cameron is quite a swoon worthy book boyfriend and dare I say might be my favorite of her characters? i might need to reread American Roommate Experiment to confirm. One thing that really annoyed me about the book was the clothes situation. It’s stupid that she is running around in heels and bad clothing for half the book. I get it is her character thing and it made for great situations the first few chapters, but any woman with a credit card would have gone to amazon and order some supplies on day 2. I went to her book event at Books and Books here in Miami, and here are some pictures:
Highlights of what she shared that i can remember? Cameron’s tattoos were a big deal to her, she’s writing part 2 of this book, There is such a thing as monster romance that I need to research what it is, and she’s a swifty and can tell which era all her characters are.
Mother – Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon
Goodreads blurb: Nothing brings an estranged family together like a murder next door. A lighthearted whodunnit about a grandmother-mother-daughter trio of amateur sleuths. Think: Gilmore Girls, but with murder. “Mother-Daughter Murder Night is the perfect mix of family drama and murder mystery.” — Kellye Garrett, award-winning author of Like a Sister High-powered businesswoman Lana Rubicon has a lot to be proud of: her keen intelligence, impeccable taste, and the L.A. real estate empire she’s built. But when she finds herself trapped 300 miles north of the city, convalescing in a sleepy coastal town with her adult daughter Beth and teenage granddaughter Jack, Lana is stuck counting otters instead of square footage—and hoping that boredom won’t kill her before the cancer does. Then Jack—tiny in stature but fiercely independent—happens upon a dead body while kayaking. She quickly becomes a suspect in the homicide investigation, and the Rubicon women are thrown into chaos. Beth thinks Lana should focus on recovery, but Lana has a better idea. She’ll pull on her wig, find the true murderer, protect her family, and prove she still has power. With Jack and Beth’s help, Lana uncovers a web of lies, family vendettas, and land disputes lurking beneath the surface of a community populated by folksy conservationists and wealthy ranchers. But as their amateur snooping advances into ever-more dangerous territory, the headstrong Rubicon women must learn to do the one thing they’ve always resisted: depend on each other.
my take: 4.25 out of 5. I had DNF two of the latest Reese book Club picks so I was a bit concerned about this one but I jumped in with an open mind and heart. I was glad I did. This is both a cozy mystery and a gorgeous intergenerational family drama. Whilst you are dwelling in the mystery and who done it of it all, you are taken on a gorgeous adventure of relationship healing amongst this beautiful family. This booked ticked many of my boxes and I’m sure it will do the same to you.
The Faking Game by Portia Macintosh
Goodreads blurb: After years of being everyone’s favourite couple, always up for a party and having fun wherever they go, things have fizzled out. But when they realise they have a whole calendar of events and celebrations with friends and family coming up, Cara and Millsy can’t face letting them down. So they decide to make a pact: just convince everyone they’re as madly in love as ever and get through the festivities without causing suspicion, and then deal with the break up in the new year. How hard can it be…? Swept up in the festive spirit, will Cara and Millsy fake it til they make it? Or will they realise they are meant to be after all…? Join top 10 bestseller Portia MacIntosh for the ultimate fake relationship romantic comedy. If you loved The Plus One Pact, you can’t miss this!
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
my take: 3 out of 5. This is not my favorite trope, as this mixes the worse of miscommunication and Fake dating. But its also not the best execution, which leads to a cute but somewhat forgettable romance. Because the fake dating part is a crazy yet kind of sweet premise, but their lack of communication is what killed this. It did not seem like they had been in a long term relationship. I did want a bit more of their past relationship to be rooting for them in this time period of limbo.
You, Again by Kate Goldback
Goodreads blurb: A commitment-phobe and a hopeless romantic clash over and over again–until heartbreak and unexpected chemistry bring them together in this clever enemies-to-friends-to-lovers debut romance. When Ari and Josh first meet, the wrong kind of sparks fly. They hate each other. Instantly. A free-spirited, struggling comedian who likes to keep things casual, Ari sublets, takes gigs, and she never sleeps over after hooking up. Born-and-bred Manhattanite Josh has ambitious plans: Take the culinary world by storm, find The One, and make her breakfast in his spotless kitchen. They have absolutely nothing in common . . . except that they happen to be sleeping with the same woman. Ari and Josh never expect their paths to cross again. But years later, as they’re both reeling from ego-bruising breakups, a chance encounter leads to a surprising connection: friendship. Turns out, spending time with your former nemesis is fun when you’re too sad to hate each other–and too sad for hate sex. As friends-without-benefits, they find comfort in late-night Netflix binges, swiping through each other’s online dating profiles, and bickering across boroughs. It’s better than romance. Until one night, the unspoken boundaries of their platonic relationship begin to blur. . . . With sharp observations and sizzling chemistry, You, Again explores the dynamics of co-ed friendship in this sparkling romantic comedy of modern love in all its forms.
my take: 3.25 out of 5. When you compare something to When Harry met Sally, my expectations will be ginormous. It is the standard for a romantic comedy so be prepared to not measure up. Sadly it did not. I could not relate to Ari. I actually found her very annoying and that just ruined half the experience for me. Josh was great and for half the book i really did not want to see him with Ari which defeats the purpose of the book. Also i feel lie they were trying to make When Harry met sally relevant young and hip and it just made me feel old and disengaged. It is an ok contemporary romance, the comparison just killed it for me.
Someone Just like You by Meredith Schorr
Goodreads blurb: Two childhood rivals are forced to work together to plan their parents’ anniversary party in “this pitch-perfect enemies-to-lovers rom-com.” ( BookPage) New Yorker Molly Blum knows everything about her lifelong nemesis, Jude Stark. With their families so close, they should have been best friends. Instead, she thinks he’s a too-charming slacker, and he thinks she’s allergic to fun. After years of one-upping each other’s pranks (chocolate-dipped cat treats are not as delicious as they appear), one high school joke went too far, and they stopped speaking completely. But now that they’re supposed to help plan a massive party for their parents—together—there’s no better time to resume their war. And it is on . Only somewhere between all the sniping and harmless hijinks, a reluctant friendship develops, along with an unexpected spark of sexual tension. It might have to do with the fact that she’s been dating Jude-lookalikes and he’s been dating Molly doppelgangers. Or the fact that neither of them is nearly as horrible as they thought. All Molly and Jude know is that they’ve mastered the art of hating each other. Falling in love, on the other hand, is a whole new battlefield.
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
My take: 2.75 out of 5. I might need to add a new category to my romance reviews, because although it would have originally fallen in the Predictable but Nice category, there might need to be a new one: Nice but forgettable. A cute Enemies to Lovers that one week after reading I realize left little to no impact and I couldn’t remember much about it other than it was sweet an nice, therefore falling right smack in the middle of the pack category. Also although originally the fact that they date clones of each other without realizing it seemed cute, it really is a bit creepy.
Side note: Since when is Hillstone trendy? I got very lost at that part.
Big props to referencing Kat Strafford, and having the poem reference that amazing scene in 10 things I hate about you, one of my favorite movies of all time.
Tati's Tidbits 