The Long Game

Elena Armas and I aren't not destined to be bookish besties. And that's okay.

I was not a fan of Armas' debut The Spanish Love Deception, but I wanted to give her another try and I was intrigued by this soccer-themed romance that is touted as 'in the vein of Ted Lasso'. Those are big soccer cleats to fill.

This book has all the makings for a cute, steamy and sporty RomCom with its endearing small-town setting, Ted Lasso vibe and the promise of some saucy scenes and good banter. But for me, it fell flatter than an soccer ball with a hole in it.

When I reread my review of The Spanish Love Deception, I notice that I had similar issues with this book. This is another 'sloth-like slow burn RomCom' that had an enticing blurb, but suffered from an underused secondary cast, cringy sex talk and ended up being a frustrating read. Readers are once again repeatedly reminded that the male lead character looks like a real-life celeb (Henry Cavill in TSLD and Brett Goldstein - aka Roy Kent - in this book). The hints to picture Cameron as Roy Kent are not subtle - his curmudgeonly demeanour, English accent, snarly growls and hairy chest. Roy is a great character, but Cameron paled in comparison with his annoying hero complex and the overuse of the word 'love' - which I assume was to show his Britishness.

I just wasn't a fan of the main characters. Adalyn and Cameron were hard characters to like - they were whiny, entitled and unreasonably irritated with each other from the get-go and for the absolute silliest of reasons. Despite having their POVs, their relationship felt disjointed, leaving me to wonder why they suddenly luuurve each other after chapters of them being snitty about every little thing! 

The book is filled with one-dimensional characters (including an overly loquacious and philosophical 9-year-old soccer player), an unexplained emotional pivot that leads to an awkward romance and a story that relies too much on a popular TV series to tug readers along with a story that didn't flow well and left me with too many unanswered questions. Why was Adalyn's original living arrangement so dilapidated? Why are we expected to believe that a silly viral video would change Adalyn's life so drastically? And most importantly, what happened to the chicken?

Needless to say, I struggled with this book that took me two weeks to read (when I normally read a book in 3 days). This is just not my cuppa tea, love. If you enjoyed Armas' earlier work, then this book may be a better fit for you so take my curmudgeonly Roy Kentishness with a grain of salt.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Atria Books for the advanced digital copy which was provided in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 2.5 stars

Author: Elena Armas

Genre: RomCom

Type and Source: eBook from publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Atria Books (Simon and Schuster Canada)

First Published: Sept 5, 2023

Book Description from GoodReads: 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.