I so badly wanted to like this book because it was about a driven career woman who wasn’t going to let anyone get in the way of her goals. I relate. But then the author had to throw in a baby. Can we have ONE book with a childfree character? I beg.

3.75 stars!

Do not let this rating deter you from picking up this book. It’s honestly a good book, but just not the book for me I think. I think there is absolutely a market for someone to enjoy this book!

The book is really immersive into the world of basketball and sports commentary, so if that if your jam than this would be something you really enjoy!

I enjoyed the idea of Ruth breaking glass ceilings, and forging her own path in a primarily male dominated field. There was honestly too much sports talk for my liking which decreased my rating. The audiobook was very enjoyable though!

If you are into sports and enjoy strong female leads I would definitely recommend this book to you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

this was so easy to get into and just an overall very fun read. as someone who has been playing competitive sport all my life, i related to a lot of the struggles that ruth dealt with and can see myself recommending this to my team mates. i was impressed by how the social media aspects were handled. it is really refreshing to see an author actually represent how social media works (from the twitter debates to instagram influencers) in an accurate and modern way.

as someone who is not interested and little knowledge of basketball, this still remained quite accessible and even without understanding the intricacies the idea was there. additionally, the descriptions of the games were always so lively and immersive. the main topic is focused on was motherhood and family dynamics. it posed a lot of questions, forcing me to reflect on my beliefs.
when looking at the audiobook, i think the narrator did a great job and committed to the voices of other characters really well which helped differentiate characters during dialogue.

what is preventing this from being a 5 star for me was just that the ending was a little confusing. i went back and re-listened a couple of time but from what i could understand it was still left on a bit of a loose note.

overall, would for sure recommend to friends and family. especially for those who are not avid readers since this book is so digestible and easy to get into.

This book examines the choice between motherhood and career. The characters felt complex, multidimensional, and very real. The relationships were messy, even when filled with love.
Without spoiling anything, I will say trigger warning for discussion of abortion. Overall, a good quick read that also tackles being a woman in a male dominated field. I do wish the ending was less rushed and the basketball players more fleshed out- Emory and Darius have such an interesting relationship that would’ve been cool to analyze. I also would love a deeper look into the past of when Ruth played.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks for this awesome audio version!

The Second Season was amazing to listen to.
I think a lot of readers will relate to Ruth.
Who loves her job with a passion.
She is a mother to an inspiring upcoming teenage daughter. She has missed most her daughters life, watching her grow into the young lady she's becoming!
She is divorced, her and ex husband are still friends and co-workers.
She is in a relationship with a younger man.
And she is a sports reporter who used to be a basketball player herself!

The story I just really enjoyed it. It was something different and nice!
It was powerful....
A woman working in a male domainated profession and having to figure out what she wants in life!
Just a fun book!

The Second Season was a very fun and fast-paced book that had me engaged from the start. I am not generally interested in stories with sports themes but this was so much fun, with feminist themes throughout. Great narration!

4/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks for providing me with an audio-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When I started The Second Season, I expected an easy read and that is exactly what I got. Ruth, who used to play basketball until she was injured, is now a sideline reporter for NBA games. She finds out she is pregnant at the same time as she is up for an amazing promotion to be the announcer from the announcer’s booth. She has to make a decision on what she wants most. The story was cute, but was just sort of there. I just never connected with or felt for Ruth which made the story fall short for me.

I'm not much of a sports fan. And I know next to nothing about basketball. But this audiobook captured my attention from the first chapter and didn't let go until the very end. I consumed it within just a handful of hours (at 2x speed).

The Second Season is super fast-paced and very well-written. It's also a very interesting take a subject we hardly ever hear about: a powerful woman in sports broadcasting. Ruth Devon wants to have it all. AND, she's a mom, partner and daughter. Often, her work conflicts with personal life...and she chooses work. GASP!

Kudos for Emily Adrian for writing a terrific, relatable story. And for Nicol Zanzarella for doing a masterful job on the narration. I can't wait to listen to more of her storytelling.

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing for an advanced listener copy of the book via the NetGalley app. This is my honest review.

The Second Season is a very interesting story about a woman in a male dominated field, working with her ex-husband and finding the balance between her career and motherhood. Adrian does a great job drawing the reader in and connecting them to Ruth. Since I work in a male dominated industry, I understood some of Ruth's troubles. Every time something good happened to Ruth it seemed like something bad happened. Ruth has to decide what is most important to her. I am not a big sports fan but still enjoyed The Second Season. This is a character focused story. I recommend The Second Season to sports fans and fans of novels about family and working mothers.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Nicol Zanzarella and thought she did a great job bringing Ruth's character to life.

Thank you Blackstone Publishing, Blackstone Audio and NetGalley for The Second Season.

[opinions are my own] "The Second Season" piqued my interest because it seemed to be about a Doris Burke/Holly Rowe-type character. And I was surprised at how much of the story was focused on Ruth's internal struggle between motherhood and work. I enjoyed the narrator but the overall read just wasn't for me this time.

This is a story of 42 year old Ruth Devon, former basketball star turned first female sideline reporter for the NBA. She is a mother, who gets to spend very little time with her daughter. She works with her ex-husband who is an on-air analyst for the NBA and she is dating a man who wants this relationship to progress, but is younger than Ruth and might just want different things.

Ultimately this a book about choices that Ruth has to make from her first on-air job, to the possibility to become the first female caller for the NBA when her ex announces his retirement. Ruth seems to be left always making these tough calls that she feels men never have to ultimately do. When she realizes a life altering discovery one night, her world is thrown into a tailspin.

I enjoyed this book. Not everyone is going to agree with Ruth’s choices, but know that she went into each one with much consideration. She is a woman who absolutely wants it all, but at times very much feels like a failure. There was a lot of laughs, very heartwarming and it will make you think a lot. the cover makes it feel a little bit more lighthearted than maybe it really is. Definitely give this one a try, I think you will end up loving Ruth.

Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 20%. I wanted to like this book but couldn't get into it. The pacing is slow and I didn't connect with the protagonist. The writing seems decent, but the audiobook narration could have used more emotion. I wasn't engaged while listening and never felt compelled to return to the book after a break.

This audiobook will not play on my Netgalley shelf app. I've been trying everything I can think of for days to get it to play, but it will not play. This isn't happening with any of my other audiobooks. Sorry I can't properly review this!

Happy belated pub day to The Second Season! Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for providing my NetGalley ALC!

In one sentence: Ruth Devon pivoted from a life on the basketball court to a role off the court after a knee injury; twenty years later, she's poised to be the first woman to call NBA games on national TV until life throws her for another loop.

This is my first book by Emily Adrian, and it won't be my last! If you like stories about strong women and their choices and journeys through life, I'd recommend this one. I enjoyed getting to know Ruth and seeing her work hard to gain respect in a male-dominated arena. I definitely related to her struggles to be "twice as good". And I ended up enjoying the sports side of the story more than I thought I would - it takes place during the NBA finals, so the stakes are high and there's plenty of drama.

Narrator Nicol Zanzarella did a great job bringing Ruth to life - since Ruth is a sports commentator, it felt really appropriate to listen to this one on audio. You don't have to like sports to like this book, but I think sports fans will especially enjoy it!

Review posted to Goodreads and Instagram 8/5/21.

The audio was good but I couldn't get into this one. I got 35% and felt like nothing was happening. I love sports, played a Division 1 sport in college but I did not enjoy this. I'd give it a try for yourself though.

🎖After getting a knee-injury, Ruth married her college basketball coach and ended up becoming a successful basketball commentators and sideline reporter for the NBA. I love playing basketball but watching it was never really for me. I definitely want to now though!

🏆 I definitely was confused at times because it talked a whole bunch about basketball and I’m not too familiar with everything in regards to that sport. I did find some parts super interesting but some definitely left me confused (in a good way).

🎖 This book has such a great female main character and great representation on motherhood. I really enjoyed how it talked about Ruth in a male dominated field, basically telling you to do what you like to do.

🏆 A majority of this book takes place during the NBA finals, which was super entertaining. I was so intrigued and committed to the story. I could picture every moment too! I just loved the commitment Ruth gave to her family and her career.

🎖Overall this was such a quick and easy read. I had fun with it, even if it talked majorly about basketball!! Fast-paced with relatable characters, The Second Season was a great read! I can’t wait to read more from her. Thankfully the publisher also sent me her other novel!

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Ruth Devon is a sideline reporter for the NBA. Her ex-husband is retiring from his job as a game analyst, which is Ruth's dream job. She puts her name in for consideration, but faces conflict as she considers her identity as a mother and her qualifications compared to other applicants, like the coach of one of the teams in the NBA finals. Despite her concerns, she is beloved by the players she interviews. She invests herself emotionally in the well-being of two players, who are best friends turned rivals. This book is not just for basketball fans. Emily Adrian handles complicated topics flawlessly. Any woman will be see a little bit of herself in Ruth's character and the decisions she's forced to make between her career and home life. Adrian's style of writing is addicting and clever. My only complaint is that it was sometimes unclear when a flashback was beginning or ending, so I often had to reread to understand what was happening at what time.

2.5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book but this was definitely not the book for me. This book is about a woman named Ruth. She was a college basketball player and now she is a sideline reporter for the NBA (I guess-- although there were a lot of references to college basketball too). She has an ex husband who announces games and is also involved in the basketball world. She has a teenage daughter who models and is more understanding of her mom prioritizing basketball over her than I think would ever be realistic. She also has a young boyfriend that wants to marry her. Life is good for Ruth, but when her ex husband decides to retire, she wants the job and has to fight for it and know she likely won't get it because she's not a man. Of course this is a very male dominated field so she's at a disadvantage and we follow her as she tries to get the job. My complaints about this book are many, but lets start with the structure of the book. There are so many huge jumps that are left without explanation that I found myself rereading at times to see if I missed something. They aren't time jumps but just massive plot holes (like the back and forth between college basketball and NBA terms) that leave the reader confused as to what's going on. Her relationship with her daughter felt very unrealistic, but perhaps it was just under explained. There are huge elements of Ruth's life that are made to seem like nothing. The relationship with her boyfriend was also so under developed that at times I was like "wait, who's that?" despite the fact that major plot points involve him. There's also a lot of focus on 2 players that felt really unnecessary. While this book set out to challenge gender roles and inequality in the workplace, I think it also made some harmful comments about women who do enjoy sports. It almost set up a class system where if you weren't able to recite every fact about sports history than you were one of "those" women. Finally, I think the message about fertility is really offensive in this book and thats a surefire way to get me to dislike a book. I wouldn't recommend this.

SPOILERS AHEAD: 40 something Ruth gets pregnant despite all odds and then can't decide if she wants to keep the baby. In the end we don't really know what she did as its all just implications. She does get the job but I never cared.

What a fun and unique story! Set over the course of an NBA finals series (with some flashbacks), we follow Ruth as she navigates her complicated life juggling her job as a sideline analyst, her role as a mother, her younger boyfriend, and the desire to take her ex-husband's spot in the announcer booth after he retires next season.

There was a lot more introspection on Ruth's end than I was expecting. She talks through the clash of her professional and personal aspirations and it was surprisingly refreshing to hear. I also really enjoyed how detailed the descriptions of the game were. I could see how some readers would find it tedious, but I feel like it gave a great look at how Ruth's brain works cataloging every detail of the players. Being able to listen to the game descriptions was even better and almost made me feel like I was listening to a game on the radio.

Overall, enjoyable read!!

There's so much to love in this fictional tale of Ruth Devon, a sideline reporter hoping (gunning?) to become the first woman to call NBA games on national television.

I read The Second Season practically in one sitting, switching between the text and the audio (which was well-narrated by Nicol Zanzarella). I could have put it down around the halfway point but honestly, I just didn't want to. As a woman who's long felt a love of sports and journalism in my bones, this is very much the sort of book I'd find easy to love... or throw across the room in frustration. (I'm delighted that my feelings while reading were generally the former.)

The book mostly takes place over the course of the NBA Finals (between the Cincinnati Wildcats and the Seattle Supersonics). I so enjoyed following Ruth on the job -- where her ex-husband also works -- as well as in her personal life. She has a daughter about to graduate high school and a boyfriend who wants to get married. Much of the writing was visceral: I could feel the action as if I were watching a real game, feel Ruth's experiences as if I were having them myself.

There is one odd scene in which it's implied that boyfriends are watching the last game of the finals, while their girlfriends ask who they're seeing on screen and need to infer what it means to call the games. In a book that otherwise seemed to bat down misogyny around women in sports, it seemed out of place and more than a little off. (Ideally, it'll have already been rewritten and won't appear in the published text.)

That and a few clunky spots aside, I loved my reading experience so much I'm rounding up from 4.5 to 5 stars. And because author Emily Adrian really stuck the landing.