As suggested by the title this book is about on Olympic relay swim team. I loved the team dynamics and Dane and Alex had a fantastic second chance love story. I found Dane's parents a little over the top and was frustrated that they were still controlling him even though he's an adult! However, the second half of the book really picked up and I could not put it down

Love a great sports romance and this one fit the bill for me.

This was a great second chance, Frienemies to Lovers, a Sports Romance full of angst and drama.

I love Layla Reyne's writing and this book did not disappoint.

This was certainly a melodramatic book! The intrigue of reading about Olympic bound swimmers was what caught my eye, and the story was definitely fun. The drama was a bit much, but the enemies to lovers story had me hooked! Overall, definitely looking forward to the rest of the books in this series.

Layla Reyne has been a favorite author of mine for a while and this book is a great example of her talent as an outstanding author. The characters in her stories are realistic, flawed, vulnerable, loyal, and above all the love deeply. The worlds that Layla creates are meticulously realistic and very well laid out, it makes the reader feel fully submerged into the lives of her characters. This story was a pleasure to read and as always I highly recommend any of Layla Reyne’s books!!

Sports romance centered around an Olympic swimmer? Sign. Me. Up! I have long been a fan of sports romances and Relay by Layla Reyna was no exception. As a straight woman, I couldn’t exactly relate to the story. But I still absolutely loved it! I’ve recommended this one to several friends and am excited for them to read it so we can discuss it. So glad to have been approved to read this charming, fast paced romance!

An enemies-to-lovers second-chance sports romance about preparing for the Olympics and dealing with unrealistic expectation put on the characters by themselves and others, what more could you want?

I struggled a little bit with how quickly Dane turned things around with regards to his parents. I was so happy he did, but after so many years I would've expected a longer process. And it did feel like the author decided to outbalance the homophobia Dane faces by throwing every other shitty thing in life at Alex. But in the end, this was a quick, surprisingly sweet romance. With just enough teasers to make me interested in the sequel.

I loved this one! Olympic hopefuls, former teenage lovers, now back to being teammates, Alex and Dane's attraction could not be sidelined. Lots of angst and some unfortunate familial issues brought Relay to life.

I love sports fiction, especially about swimmers and upon reading the synopsis for Relay was excited to dive in ;). The books starts off with Olympic hopeful Dane running into his old training camp friend turned enemy, his ex secret crush and hook up, Alex. They’re quickly thrust onto the same swim team preparing for the Olympics which means the boys need to work together and resolve their issues. Though it’s a rocky start, things turn around after the boys are forced to talk and reconnect.

This is a quick read story of second chance romance. It was cute but too angsty and read a bit young for me. Overall though the story was good. I think if there was a little less drama and fleshed out a bit more it would have worked better for me. I believe it’s a series so I will check out the next one though to see where the author takes the characters.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a digital copy for review.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

Loved it. Great story. Go for it.

With the Summer Olympics is full swing, what better way to further immerse myself in the games than this? This is a really fast paced, enemies to lovers, second chance sports romance between two swimmers with bags of history and animosity. This is pretty angsty and there's a potential doping scandal to deal with, but what I liked about this was the pacing, the side characters, and the banter between Alex and Dane. Big fun and very timely listen. I volunteered to listen and review a complimentary copy of this. All opinions are my own.

This book had surprisingly deep main characters and a genuinely enjoyable story along with all the expected romance trappings. Will definitely look out for book 2.

Dane is afraid to be himself. It's costing him everything he wants, and, its killing him slowly. Can he reach out and grab the stars? Alex is the one that got away. What would happen if he held on tight?

Alex will do what it takes for his team to grab the gold. The pain is second nature at this point. Then he has to work with Dane again, and the sparks between them ignite. The plan is to stay away. But his heart is whispering to move closer......

This story caught me by surprise. There is so much actual story for both characters. I was sucked in so fast. Then I could not put it down until it was over. Each page was so good, and I could not help myself.


***This copy was provided for a review with honest feedback.

Relay is an entertaining novel about gay love. The problem, for me, is that it is entirely predictable. That didn't stop me from enjoying it though.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

3 stars

The story was good. I liked Dan because I understood what he was going through with controlling parents and their toxic dynamics so I got why his struggles were so frustrating for Alex.
Now Alex, I didn't like him. He made me want to put this book down because his immaturity was too much. I skimmed some of his parts because of that.
Overall the story was okay, the ending was a but meh but I still wanna read the next book because I'm curious about the next couple.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review

This one was a total miss for me. I didnt like the fact the main characters were so immature. The whole time I found myself not liking any of them. It is hard to get into a book when you dislike the characters so much.

This is a fairly sweet and tame romance between two members of a swim team. There are some inherent risks for both of our main characters being competitive athletes and gay. Yet, the stakes never feel very intense or driving the plot forward. Reyne has a clear plan for what the story should include, yet it did feel like we were going through the motions at times.

What a fun sweet read! This book was nowhere in my radar but was addictive and fun. When I received an Advanced Readers Copy provided by NetGalley I was not sure how I’d react-so often books like these are low stakes and tedious-but “Relay” really delivered.
Olympic swimmer and posterboy Dane Ellis has spent the last ten years of his life training, competing…and longing for the love he found as a teenager in fellow competitive swimmer Alex Cantu. Then the pair end up on Team USA for the the olympics, and Alex is the captain, Dane is forced to confront his past and weigh wether choosing love is worth losing his parents, sponsorships, and status in the media as swimmers golden boy. Meanwhile, Alex has to deal with an intended to broken heart, and the possibility of giving that heart back to the man who broke it a decade ago.
Again, what fun this book was. I found myself so investing in the dynamic and relationship between Alex and Dane in a way I haven’t been in a romance in a long time. The pair are phenomenally flawed, with just the right amount of angst given their situation. I didn’t find myself rolling my eyes at all when angst parts came up. They earned their angst. Danes parents are evil incarnate. Like easily one of the most hatful pageants I’ve had the displeasure to read about, but it’s very important it have in a story like this.!Not everyone’s parents are accepting of their sexuality, and often books like this gloss over that.
This book is also propelled by the outstanding cast of supporting characters. Bas, a fellow team mate and Alex’s best friend, is a stand out, along with his budding flirtation with the rookie Jacob (research has told me that the follow up to this book follows them and I NEED IT IMMEDIATELY). Low levels of smut in this as well, which was also a welcome change considering the cover of this. Overall, I’m very happy I got the chance to read this story and can’t wait to read its follow up

Alex wants nothing more than to win the Olympic gold medal for swimming. He is the captain of their USA swim team and everything is fitting into place. Everything except for that one piece that is out of place. That piece is Dane. He is the golden boy; the son of a renowned minister and a former beauty queen. While Alex may be the captain of the team, Dane is the face of the team. He is a privileged and insufferable and is the thorn in Alex's side... ever since the summer they shared as teens. They were roommates at swim conditioning camp years ago. While they were just friends to the outside world, they were much, much more inside the four walls of their room. But Dane left him behind, donning the mask of being straight for his evangelical family.

Now, being on the same team doesn't mean they have to get along. In fact, it is quite the opposite. The two can hardly stand to be in the same room and when the team starts to suffer, they both realize that something has to give. Because even though they both despise one another, they still harbor the same deep, dark desire for each other. And that tension is electric!!

This is how an enemies to lovers should be done. You feel the animosity Alex and Dane feel for each other bleeding off the page. And you want so badly for them both to come to their senses and see the bigger picture. I felt for Dane so much. He was supposed to follow a script. He was supposed to live a certain kind of life... one his powerful parents approved of. And they will stop at nothing to ensure that he follows their plan. Even if that means he has to ignore who he is.

Alex was also full of torment. Being Hispanic and openly gay are things he is proud of. But that doesn't mean that everything in his life is perfect. Trouble and poor health in his family weigh on him constantly, which is another thing that fuels his hatred for Dane's privileged life.

I really loved this book. I loved the team dynamic between all of the guys. I love how passionate they are about winning the gold. And I absolutely loved the romance between Alex and Dane.

I decided to request this book as it seemed like a fun read leading up to the summer Olympics, and I was right! While the book had more angst than I expected, it has an excellent enemies to lovers plot mixed with the sports romance elements. Both Dane and Alex have struggles to overcome to achieve their dreams and find love. And there is an interesting external conflict as well. This is definitely not a light-hearted romance, but Alex and Dane earn their happy ending.

The only thing that really disappointed me here is that the book ends before they get to the Olympics. It looks like I need to read the next book in the series to see if they earn their medals.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in return for a fair review.

*3.5 stars

I quite enjoyed this read and found the time flying past fast. It's about two elite swimmers who are now on the same Olympic team after not seeing each other for a decade. In other words, it has a lot of that bitterness, regretting and longing only a second chance romance has.

I might not have loved it, but I still liked it. The main issue I had with the story was the fact that Dane is 26 and still let's his assholes for parents control everything in his life. Including the decision to turn his back on Alex a decade ago. I mean, I can understand a part of it but it went to such lengths it's more pathetic than anything else and I just wanted Dane to show some backbone.

There is a standalone sequel, which we can see the start of in the end of "Relay", and it's also about two teammates on the Olympic team, sooo I will definitely add it to my TBR to see what Layla Reyne has planned next.