men just don’t men like men in books

✩🐐✨TLG Appreciation:

In case you did not know, “The Long Game” was released this past week! I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced reader copy and I could not be more grateful to Atria and Elena because this book truly is something special and will always be a forever favorite of mine. If you couldn’t tell, I’ve had an absolute blast promoting it these past few weeks and I hope that if you’ve purchased it under my recommendation that you’ll love it as much as I do. If you need me, you’ll find me rereading TLG over and over while I patiently wait for “The Short List.”

Haven’t heard of “The Long Game”? Here’s what you can expect:

🐐grumpy x grumpy ⚽️slow burn & spice 💚dual pov (1st person) 🐐forced proximity ⚽️caretaking while sick 💚hate to love  🐐small town atmosphere ⚽️he falls first

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The Long Game by Elena Armas

The Long Game By: Elena Armas A disgraced soccer exec reluctantly enlists the help of a retired soccer star in coaching a children’s team in this small town 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…

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My fancast for Adalyn and Cameron

top 5 fictional men 😎😎😎😎😎😎

OUUUU

aaron blackford, cameron caldani, will griffin, nanami kento, iwaizumi hajime and many more

Rating: 1/5

Book Blurb: 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.

Review:

A disgraced soccer exec finds herself being exiled after her scandal to coach a girls soccer team with a retired soccer star who gets on her nerves in this small town romance with a touch of Ted Lasso and It Happened One Summer! Adalyn Reyes was determined to make her dad proud, she’s a former model and daughter of the owner of the Miami Flames soccer team...however after a video of her attacking the mascot goes viral and her father essentially fires her, she finds her entire life turned upside down as she is now exiled to the middle of nowhere North Carolina where her dad tasks her with turning around a local soccer team... the Green Warriors. Yet the moment she drives to her new space she hits a guy with her car and basically runs over his pet chicken all the while crashing and then refusing any help and not giving any apology... and said grumpy neighbor? The current coach of the Green Warriors and a famous retired soccer star, Cameron Caldani. Cameron and Adalyn immediately get off on the wrong foot, they both hate being wrong, refuse to acknowledge that they might be wrong, and get under each other’s skin, yet when they are forced to work together and spend time together, they begin to realize that all the animosity between them might lead to some very real sexual tension. Can they find a way to help their team win while trying to work out their feelings for each other? This one unfortunately fell off the mark for me, I found myself disliking Adalyn and Cameron so much, they were just so insufferable and I really was not rooting for their romance at all. They were giving me Rebekah and Roy from Ted Lasso vibes but without any of the charm of either of the characters. The romance was bland and honestly, I was happy I even finished reading this book. I really wanted to DNF it but just kept reading it until the end and honestly, I just did not have a good time. While this one didn’t work for me if you enjoy romances with two characters who get under each other’s skin and has a soccer team, give this one a go, maybe you’ll have a better time with it than i did!

*Thanks Netgalley and Atria Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an  honest review*

This Chick Read: The Long Game by Elena Armas

When an altercation between Adalyn and the Miami FC soccer mascot goes viral Adalyn is forced to take a leave of absence, sent by the owner of the team (her father) to troubleshoot a team in North Carolina, the Green Warriors. What she finds in North Carolina isn’t a minor league soccer team but a team of young girl misfits and their surprising coach ex- pro soccer goalie Cameron Caldani. From…

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A Review of The Long Game by Elena Armas

Rating: ★★★★★

Overview:

Adalyn Reyes has lived her whole life with two goals in mind, please her father and take over for him one day as owner of Miami soccer club Miami Flames FC. Her daily routine was interrupted when one day, after a series of events ending with the team mascot being beheaded on camera and Adalyn being sent to the middle of nowhere North Carolina, to be a manager to a team called the Green Oak Warriors Young Club, a soccer team of little girls (one of whom insists on wearing a tutu instead of a jersey).

After a disastrous start involving getting lost, a chicken and hitting her neighbor with her car (but only a little bit) she does not make the best first impression. Her neighbor and coach of the team, as well as her biggest pain in the backside, is the ex-British legendary goalkeeper, Cameron Caldani, former goalkeeper in the MLS who retired and disappeared. Through Trial and Error and a little bit of blackmail the two enter on a journey to teach the team how to play soccer in order to win the Little League games they were in for the first time.

Review:

I absolutely loved this book! The Enemies-to-lovers trope is one of my favorite. Armas does an amazing job keeping the story flowing and throwing in new details and twists to keep the reader ready for more. As someone who grew up playing soccer, dreaming of going pro and playing for a team like the Flames it was great to see her perspective of the game.

I love the grumpy attitudes Cameron has, leading to interesting character development with body language. Being able to hear their thoughts and perspectives of each other was also really funny. The duel POV was nicely done in this book. Watching Adalyn learn to let loose and live in the more rustic environment was very funny and made me want to take a vacation to a log cabin in the middle of nowhere. The character development was amazing for all the characters, even Brandy the socially anxious goat who stress poops. Watching the characters grow throughout the story was very well done.

There were a couple of things I did not like as much in the book. Some of the times they got a little too intimate in situations that made me feel second hand embarrassment, like having sex in the little shed right next to the 9 year old girls practicing soccer. I also wish there was a little more development about the fight at the end with her dad and ex. I wish we could have gotten maybe one extra chapter for a little more wrap up after the bombs dropped at the end with her dad.

Thanks to @atriabooks-blog and Elena Armas for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

✩⚽️🐐Review:

Armas’ slowest burning romance novel yet has the biggest pay off!

“The Long Game” follows disgraced soccer exec Adalyn Reyes and retired goalkeeper Cameron Caldani as they begrudgingly work together to lead a small town children’s team to victory. 

Adalyn faces many hardships as a woman working in a very male-dominated sports industry. Her talents are often taken advantage of  and not fully appreciated. As a result, the novel centers around female rage and mental health — specifically anxiety and panic attacks. I really appreciate seeing this kind of representation because shame is often attributed to both feminine rage and anxiety when it should not. It is empowering and validating to see a character like Adalyn embrace her anger and seek out help when she needs it. 

In my opinion, Cameron Caldani is Armas’ best male lead thus far. Aside from his rugged good looks, mouthwatering thigh tattoo, sexy British accent, affinity for yoga in skintight, long sleeve thermals, and his mother hen-like tendencies, Cameron is a complex character with his own inner struggles that he tries to conceal by putting up a grumpy front. The chapters written from his point-of-view are my favorite because I loved watching him go from wanting nothing to do with Adalyn to worshipping her. Despite his initial reservations, Cameron becomes Adalyn’s support system when she needs one the most and loves her exactly for who she is. In turn, Adalyn gives Cameron the space he needs to heal and becomes someone he can confide in. 

Another reason why I love this book so much is because of the atmosphere Armas creates. She paints a beautiful picture of her fictional town of Green Oak, North Carolina through the seasonal activities Cameron and Adalyn attend, the compelling side characters that make up the town’s close knit community, and sensory imagery capturing the environment. 

I cannot wait for everyone to get their hands on this book in September!

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