A big thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest opinion. "Open Play" by JN Welsh is a lovely book, a light read and awesome for getting into the romance genre. Readers who are not exactly into sport romance but want to try it would love this book and I would also recommend it to romance lovers who don't like much spice in their books. Before I get a bit more into what I liked and what I didn't, I would like to mention that this book is a slow-burn, which some people would probably love, and some (like me) wouldn't. The characters were well-written and they evolved quite a lot. The plot was quite predictable and it's structure was rather unsurprising, it was pretty much like any other romance book. I really enjoyed Welsh's writing style and the way she illustrated the character's emotions. I really like that Ayanna, the main character, was a very strong intelligent woman, who was very open-minded and incredibly responsible, even when it comes to matters which are by no means connected with her work. She is very dedicated. I think that Ayanna knew from the very beginning that Shane was her guy and she also didn't really pay much attention to Eoghan (apart from his rehabilitation of course, she is great at what she does), so I wouldn't call this exactly a love triangle. Seeing a woman of colour being the main character was truly awesome as strong intelligent black women are underrepresented in... well, literature. The dialogue sounded pretty realistic. Truthfully, I wasn't really satisfied with how the book ended, I really like Shane and I think that Shane and Ayanna make such a great couple, I would have loved to see more of them. Overall, this book was a nice and light-hearted read, which will not become your most favourite book but you would still truly like it, and if this is what you are looking for, then I suggest giving it a chance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC of Open Play for an honest review. I was intrigued by the synopsis and it certainly delivered. I found the love triangle fun and frustrating. The Ayanna and Shane were well developed characters. I felt that Eoghan was not as well developed and it was harder to understand his motivations. That may have been the point as he came off as shallow. The dialogue was fun and realistic. I found some of the plot points to be redundant or inconsistent in their repeat/revisit. I would definitely recommend this book for an exciting, heartfelt read.

DNF the story line just did not hook me at all. I think the love triangle aspect was just not it for me.

I enjoyed the premise of this book but found the writing itself to be a little overly descriptive. I expected to rush through this in 1-2 settings and instead found myself putting it down after a few pages. I did, however, really love Ayanna's character. She is strong and intelligent and devoted to her work. Shane was cute and I enjoyed the chemistry between him and Ayanna.

Thank you to netgalley for this advanced copy!

I was so hesitant about reading this book when I got my arc and I'm glad I read it even if it took me months to convince myself. I am not really a fan of love triangle but i liked the book overall. I liked the characters from the book and it was such a different story to read since i had been reading rom com continuously for a while now. i would love to read more by the author in future.
Thank you for the arc @netgalley

I really enjoyed this opportunity to read another book by author JN Welsh. I appreciate Netgalley and JN Welsh for this copy of Open Play and this review is my honest opinion. This book is the third book I have read by this author and as always, I am impressed by the diversity of her stories and the uniqueness of each narrative. Ayanna planned a trip to Dublin with her best friend and when the friend was unable to accompany her, Ayanna went alone. She soon meets friends, Eoghan and Shane. Eoghan and Shane have a complicated history and have promised never to become involved with the same woman. Unfortunately, both men are attracted to Ayanna. For the rest of the story, Ayanna and Shane recognize their shared chemistry but due to obstacles and misunderstandings they almost sabotage their budding relationship. I did not see this book as a true triangle romance since Eoghan was so obviously not ready for anything permanent or real. Shane on the other hand was an absolutely lovely man and he voiced his feelings to Ayanna without reservations or expectations. On the other hand, Ayanna had so much family and emotional baggage; she simply needed to get out of her own way. Will she be able to take a leap and open herself to love?

NetGalley
Open Play – J N Welsh
Montlake Publishing
I received an ARC of this eBook for free, I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Ayanna, young, professional, top of her field as a world renown sports therapist and a WOC.
I loved the strong female vibe and the sisterhood between Ayanna (Yaya) and Charlotte.
So, love interests:
Eoghan
Shane
A brief holiday in Dublin and an even briefer conference in Liverpool Ayanna returns home to New York.
A professional opportunity arises, how will Ayanna cope with handling her professional and personal relationships?
I have to say I loved the character development and the characters themselves. I also loved how some of the speech is written in the vernacular of the character along with colloquialisms and slang terms – it made me smile.
Overall – I thoroughly enjoyed this story and would love to read more from this author.
5 stars

When Ayanna, a Black physical therapist, takes a trip to Dublin, she meets best friends Eoghan and Shane. She feels an immediate attraction to both men. When one of the men is injured, she ends up spending a lot more time with both of them, and she must decide who she wants to be with. I really enjoyed the characters in this book, especially how capable, smart, and together Ayanna was. The plot wasn't as predictable as some romance books are. It was a refreshing change from the norm. The flow of the writing was good and I read the whole thing in one sitting. I would read more by this author.

Thank you to JN Welsh and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

Let me be completely honest - I did not vibe with the writing throughout most of this book. I struggled with wanting to DNF for roughly 15%. The writing is very wordy; I like descriptions but I don’t need to know absolutely everything. I think that I would have connected more with Ayanna if the story was told through first person POV and I could have been more in her head. Thankfully, the story did pick up when we finally met the love interests, Eoghan and Shane.

This book is said to be a love triangle but overall, I think one character is more developed and an obvious choice but perhaps that’s just me. I also wish that this story actually took place entirely in Ireland and not in the US - it would have been fun to learn more about Ireland.

What I absolutely loved about this book was that it was a slow burn and the angst was on point. I was desperate for these characters to interact - their chemistry felt real and I was hooked. I also loved that Ayanna was such a passionate and ambitious woman; she really cared about her job and helping others.

Overall, if you enjoy a sports romance with somewhat of a love triangle and a strong female lead then you should pick up this book. I will definitely be trying another book by JN Welsh!

Through a series of happenstance, Ayanna, a physical therapist finds herself in the middle of a love triangle with Shane and Eoghan, and feelings and emotions become muddled, actions misconstrued and tempers flare. Ayanna's work life is going swimmingly, she is a trendsetter in her field but her personal life is a mess due to her cultivated fear of commitment and stubborn resistance to face facts. The male main characters are unalike in personalities and it becomes clear early in the book who the ideal candidate is. The story was slow to launch but started getting interesting around the time Ayanna's sister comes to visit. The ending was semi-conclusive but satisfying. Netgalley provided this ARC for an unbiased review.

A love triangle that isn’t a love triangle and yet is! A fabulous strong professional lead in Ayana who has a holiday fling that keeps on repeating on her, set between Ireland and the States, Ayana is a health professional who is amazing at working with injured athletes. She is requisitioned to work with sporting Irish hero Eoghan, only Eoghan comes with his best friend Shane. The love triangle itself.
A great book, interesting characters that pop in and out to colour the plot - although I could have done without Ayana’s mum and sister.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure if I would like this book but it’s always good to try new things and I did enjoy it! Well done.

This book starts with Ayanna, a physical therapist who on a trip to the UK has a stopover in Ireland, where she meets two footballers Eoghan and Shane.

After returning to the US assuming never to see them again, she gets asked to rehabilitate an injured footballer which happens to be Eoghan.

A love triangle ensues, although you can see the true romance from the start, and I loved reading Shane's parts.

An enjoyable romance, thank you for the advanced read.

Thank you to Netgalley and JN Welsh for this copy of Open Play. I downloaded the read this book all in the one day.

Ayanna Crawford is a physical therapist, who is giving a speech at a conference in the UK. She plans a girls trip with a friend prior to the conference, and when her friend can't go, she travels by herself. Whilst in Ireland she meets man-child Eoghan O’Farrell on a night out at the pub and organises to meet him the following day. Unbeknownst to Ayanna he's a member of the Irish National Soccer (Football) team, and she's to meet him at in international game. Her 'contact' at the game is Eoghan's mate Shane MacCallum, who feels an instant affiliation for Ayanna but he and Eoghan have a friend pact not to date the same woman. Following the game Ayanna continues on her date with Eoghan, then leaves for her conference, thinking she will never see the pair again.

At the conference she's astounded to encounter Shane in his professional role with the Dublin Football Team, and following the conference Aayanna is hired as the private physical therapist for an injured soccer star - Eoghan in New York. Eoghan has suffered a potential career ending injury and needs every bit of Ayanna's expertise, as well as the support from his friend Shane, in order to ensure he's back on the park. What follows is a love triangle of sorts between the three, with loyalties between the men tested, and Ayanna's heart strings taking a battering.

This book is a great portrayal of a strong female main character. Ayanna is an intelligent, focused woman of colour. The book looks at mateship, responsibility, family ties and relationships. It's about equality in relationships. It's a little slow to get started at the beginning, building up Ayanna as a professional and her achievements, but you feel the initial physical connection with Eoghan and then moreso with Shane, at a deeper level. I loved the depiction of spoiled Eoghan and Ayanna's sister, as well as the cameos by Eoghan and Shane's parents, and Ayanna's friend who has some fantastic dialogue especially relating to Shane as a "ginger".

I struggled with believing Ayanna as a physical therapist knew little about soccer, and felt given her expertise she would likely have at least some background in many sports (give she's a world renowned expert in the field).

3.5 stars for me, and I look forward to reading more of JN Welsh's work

3.5 stars – Open Play by JN Welsh is a story about a love triangle with a strong female professional protagonist, Ayanna, and 2 great male friends, Shane and Eoghan. I was really looking forward to reading this book, but it was tough to get through. The premise worked well but the writing was a bit over descriptive in the beginning (but did get less wordy as the book progressed) and I wasn’t feeling enough romantic interest from Eoghan. His behavior seemed very forced and as a matter of convenience. Shane and Ayanna had a great deal of chemistry and that was fun to read! Also, the author did a wonderful job creating a story with a strong female woman of color with professional distinction in her field of physical therapy.

A big thank you to Net Galley and Montlake Publishing for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a classic love triangle story. It's a little slow but I liked the underlying theme of learning how to take a chance. I liked the strong female main character instead of a more typical "damsel in distress" storyline. The main male characters where just "meh" for me but I enjoyed the story. It's a fun read, light and entertaining!

This could have been a really great book. It started off well and grabbed my attention from the first chapter. I liked the location, I liked the characters. But somewhere along the way it all lost its charm. The best part of this book was Shane. And for his character I kept turning the pages.




This review contains my own feelings and thoughts. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC. I went into this book with high expectations and unfortunately, I was a little let down. It was really hard for me to finish this book; it was too wordy, and I just didn’t vibe with it. At times it was funny, and I did enjoy some of the scenes but overall, I would only give it 3 stars out of 5. Please keep in mind this is my personal opinion. My favorite thing about this book was that the lead was a woman of color in the sports industry, like what a BA!! Again, thanks to the author and NG for the ARC :)

Thank you to net galley for the ARC. This book was very frustrating to me. I wanted to like it, but the love triangle did not interest me. In fact, I just wasn’t feeling it at all. I did like that the heroine was very strong but that in other ways she was not. She came across professionally very well but personally a hot mess And I thought that that undermined her character. Shane was a good hero overall. I really think that this book could do with a major editing overhaul and then it would be better. All opinions are my own.

What first attracted me to this book was the cover - I am a sucker for a ginger. Then, I read the blurb and I knew I needed to read this. One, as a sports fan in general, and two, working in the sports medicine field, this book called to me. I downloaded it and read it in the span of a day. I was most definitely sucked in.
Ayanna is an amazing heroine - I love her drive, passion, and dedication to her career. She gets stuff done and is a boss accomplishing it all. Being a woman in the sports industry is hard. Being a woman of color in the sports industry, I imagine, is even harder. Ayanna pulled no punches and I cheered her on.
Shane is adorable as the love interest. His choices are believable - a former professional soccer player sustaining a career-ending injury and then watching his two best mates continue on without him. I loved that he wasn’t like Eoghan but he was softer, more thoughtful, he’s the perfect personality to complement Ayanna.
Together, I adore them. Parts of the story had me as frustrated as both Ayanna and Shane, other moments I was cheering them on like Pippin and Charlotte, and sometimes I was a bit misty-eyed. This book has it all!
I really love Welsh’s writing style. I personally prefer reading things written from a third-person POV and I think this was done so well. I also found many of Welsh’s sayings - whether similies, metaphors, or whatever phrases she doled out to be insightful, funny, and original. Some lines that stood out to me: “Here in Ireland and under her fairy slut-mother, Charlotte…”, “Before the door closed behind them, both Eoghan and Shane glanced back at her, one looking like he’d just found his baby rattle, and the other like he’d lost his,” “Now, which one of you two tasty snacks are going to show me to my room? How about you, Ginger Snap?” and “The uncertainty crept in like a drop of ink, tainting the purity of the moment.” There were a number of others but they cover the breadth of Welsh’s repertoire - sweet, funny, and/or poignant.
I am thankful I was able to read and review this before its release because I think Welsh has a hit on her hands!