I'm learning a lot about my YA reading enjoyment and I think that when we're focused on sports or extracurricular activities, I lose interest.

Home Field Advantage is such an easy read at it should be a no brainer 5 stars. right? But it's not. I loved the premise of the book and wanted to root hard for it but... I absolutely HATED all of the characters. It’s an easy read that perfectly balances discussions of misogyny and homophobia with teen angst, friendship and passion for sport.

Jack is the first and only girl to ever get to play football in an all boys team after the tragic death of their QB1. But, if you thought being in a new city without any friends is difficult enough, the team isn’t excited to have Jack there either. No matter how amazing she is or how much the team is winning for the first time ever Jack is still not considered part of the team. Not even the cheerleaders, who should know better than to treat another female athlete this way, are happy to have her on the team.

Again I really liked the overall story—I just couldn't buy Amber and Jack’s love story. It was more or less insta love, and while I don’t mind insta love, their relationship felt too forced. I didn’t feel any chemistry, and there’s little to no pining, only cheesy remarks about how adorable the other one looks. Many of the conflicts seemed easily resolvable, and the romance didn’t have any of the razzle dazzle fireworks moments I was expecting. The ending of the book was ok, but that was just it: ok. Definitely a perfect read for young, sapphic girl, but it just lacked something I was looking for. Overall, it was probably a 2.7 star read for me, the fun writing style is reason its a 3.0 star rating.

I can’t believe I waited so long to read this one! Amber and Jack had all the angst and dreams that make me love YA characters and root for them. The subverting of the cheerleader/quarterback trope was also so well done. I only wish there was some better closure with some character relationships, but overall, this story was a win for my reading slump.

I have probably never read a sports romance before, so I really didn't know what to expect, but this was SO CUTE! The plot, characters, and writing all hit the right note, and for a YA romance I thought the length was just right. If you like YA romances, even if you haven't tried a sports romance yet, I think this is a cute read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was AMAZING! I loved every single thing about Amber and Jack and how they traversed their falling in love story. They had to be careful in their small town and they had to be respectful of each other's boundaries and not out each other, and I really loved how great they both were about it. I loved these two and how they slowly fell for each other, and I just loved the idea of the cheerleader and the quarterback with both of them being girls--that was just the absolute best! I also really adored Amber's bestie and died over the two of them pretending to date each other while they were both queer and how they always had each other's backs. I loved how they both finally got to come out and how they get to be happy with the people they truly want to be with. I also liked the exploration of how the former quarterback, who everyone put up on this pedestal after he died, wasn't actually a good person and how we can't just praise people after they've died and have to actually face the truth of who they were.

I really enjoyed this one as a sapphic romance lover, a football lover, and a YA book lover. It covered all three bases and thought it was super fun and easy to read! Definitely recommending.

i ADORED this book - it's my favorite Dahlia Adler read so far. It's gay, mischievous and turns rom-com tropes on their head.

This was good. I liked that although this is a sports romance, there isn’t a ton of on field sporting. I barely understand most sports. So long drawn out descriptions of the sport mean nothing to me. This book does, however, include a big helping of homophobia, misogyny, and bullying. So please be cautious of that while reading. The characters are all really flawed and so things to hurt each other, but that just makes them more believable as people. No one is perfect and does the “right thing” 100% of the time. I liked seeing the characters making mistakes and either owning up to them or continuing on the path of mistakes. It makes for a more realistic story. The romance was fine. It was a little quick for my tastes, but I’m sure other people will like it. Jack and Amber are a couple that seems like they are more willing to work things out and be there for each other. I think overall my favorite character was Miguel. I feel like he has the most on page growth of all the characters and he just seems like a fun dude.

Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books for my gifted advanced copy of this book! And thanks as well to Netgalley for the gifted e-copy. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on my blog at tacklingtbr.home.blog

TW: misogyny, homophobia, accidental death (car crash), miscarriage/abortion

What a perfect book to help me start making the transition from summer to autumn! This book is a play on the teen stereotype of the quarterback and the cheerleader, but for an LGBTQIA+ story, and it made my little heart so happy while I was reading it!

The only thing that I would say was that I was a little bit surprised by how heavy some of the storylines and plot points were. Reading the description before this book came out, talking about losing the former QB in an accident and fighting against tradition and all that, I was definitely expecting there to be a few sad moments throughout. But I was pleasantly surprised by how many moments of genuine feeling there were all throughout. The characters in this book deal with discrimination, loss, and making choices that I sure wouldn't have wanted to make when I was 16. But I thought that all of these points were handled with care and sensitivity, and I just thought it was beautifully done.

Do keep in mind that this fits very squarely in the YA column. For my fellow romance readers, yes, that means no steam. It's okay, we'll get through this together.
But it also means that there is a heavy dose of teen angst in all of the characters. This didn't bug me because I knew it was YA coming into it, and also I read a good amount of YA these days, so it wasn't a surprise to me. But if that is something that isn't your favorite, this may be a bit of a tougher one to get through.

Overall I really loved this book! I definitely see myself keeping this around to reread in the future, especially in this summer-autumn transition period! The days are still warm, but the nights are getting colder, the kids are going back to school and throwing end of summer parties, the works. This book perfectly put me in that mindset.

I would recommend this book to friends, readers, and younger people! I think that since it is YA, and with the way Adler handles the discussions of misogyny and homophobia, this would be a great book to maybe ease teens into more reading! Especially romance. Come to the dark side.

And as much as Jack and Amber would hate me for saying this, I think the perfect way to read this would be on the couch in front of a football game that you don't care about actually watching. You know how that goes, right? When you're sharing space with someone who is watching the game, but you don't really want to watch the game, so you just sit together while they watch and you read? Maybe that's just me.

A predictable but sweet YA story. Great for LGBTQ coming of age audiences. Some deep topics throughout and could be considered heavy for some

Home Field Advantage satisfied a craving I’ve had for a tried and true trope so many of us know and love— football player x cheerleader. But what makes this book so delightfully unique is the fact that the relationship is a sapphic one, with a beautiful story of self acceptance and queer empowerment at the heart.
Home Field Advantage managed to juggle topics of homophobia, sexism, and bullying alongside a secretive whirlwind romance between cheerleader Amber and newcomer Jack, the team’s new— female— quarterback, while still maintaining a relatively lighthearted tone that made room for a sweet romance and authentic moments between the cast of relatable characters.
That being said, I do wish we’d seen more humanizing moments with some of the side characters— allies and antagonists alike. Over the course of the story I found a lot of the side and minor characters lacked the depth that Jack and Amber had. Their stories weren’t necessarily the most unique, but they were fleshed out, whereas many of the side characters felt like nothing more than pawns to the plot. Motivations and backstory may have helped to make them feel less like obstacles and more like people with their own lives and stories to tell.
Some plot lines were also left feeling a little unresolved by the end and while the ending itself was not unsatisfying, I’d have liked a little additional time dedicated to tying up those loose threads.
Showcasing the perspectives of both girls over the course of the story made it much easier to connect with both characters whose distinct personalities definitely set them apart from each other. Being inside both their heads made it easier to understand the decisions they made, even if I didn’t always agree with them.
Between the classic rom com dynamic, double dates, grand gestures, and prom dates, Home Field Advantage has all the makings of a heartwarming coming of age story with a refreshing and empowering sapphic twist. Overall, despite some minor issues I had with pacing, characterization, and some blanks in the conclusion, this story was a quick and satisfying read that empowers queer audiences and subverts a classic trope with a sweet romance. It didn’t wow me, but it didn’t disappoint, and I’d certainly still recommend it and am interested in the authors other works.

I really wanted to like this one, but it ended up not being for me. I definitely think that others will like this, especially anyone that likes queer YA books and anyone that likes YA books with high school sports.

Dahlia Adler never misses. Like ever, I loved Cool for the Summer and I love Adler's short stories and I was so pumped for Home Field Advantage. I was not disappointed! Love female sports starts, love sapphic romances in YA, love Jewish authors getting the platforms they deserve. Yes. Read this book!

I thought this was an extremely enjoyable read. The characters felt well-developed and the plot moved along at a steady pace. Nothing felt too rushed or like it was dragging on.

This book honestly felt like a teen romance movie and I would gladly love to see it become adapted one day.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

When I first saw this book as a possibility on NetGalley I was so excited. Lesbian romance and football-two of my favorite things. I was not disappointed. I was not really sure how much I liked or disliked Amber in the beginning. Then again in books like these one of the protagonist needs to learn some life lessons so that you end up rooting and liking them by the end of the novel. Jack, of course, was my favorite probably because she was so authentic and good heart-ed, all she wanted was to play football. And she played the quarterback position with such skill and kick-assedness ... yes I know that's not a real word but I like it. She out played the former quarterback and the 2nd string quarterback and the other players felt threatened by her abilities because they believe only boys should play official team football. So the novel has two issues it brings out during the book, misogyny and homophobia. It doesn't solve these problems of course but it brings light on the subjects. I definitely recommend and give it a 4 star rating.

While an entertaining read, I found it a bit predictable at times. The chapters alternate between the points of view of the two main characters. I’m not a fan of those types of books, but that’s more my personal preference than anything against the book or author.

Thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and Dahila Adler for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was such a queer hoot! There’s a level of fun and camp at the core of the book that was so enjoyable to read, taking the nonfictional news article of a queer quarterback and head cheerleader dating and exploring that concept tenfold in this romcom.

The book reminded me of 2000s teenage romcoms you could watch with friends bought in a VHS, but make it queer.

I liked how the side characters like Miguel and Cara were fleshed out as more than just a gay best friend or the over zealous/religious figure. The depth was refreshing from a YA story. Lastly, I loved how grief is explored internally and externally in different ways across the board from all characters for a variety of reasons.

My only con of this book is pacing can come to a standstill or slow at times, with some chapters being quite chunky. However, I could see the value of having this text on a classroom or library shelf someday!

This was so cute!! After hearing that Dahlia Adler based Home Field Advantage around the iconic queer cheerleader/football player photo that we know and love, I knew I had to pick this one up. Jack and Amber are really lovely, tender, and real characters that emulate all those insecurities about queerness and fitting it and being a part of a larger community that my high school self can relate to. This was a quick read that left me fulfilled, and while I was very nervous that this story was going to do the whole thing where it replaces lesbian with gay, I was pleasantly surprised with how identity was described. Definitely check this one out if you're looking for more cute romance after Kelly Quindlen's She Drives Me Crazy!

Such a fun sapphic YA romcom! I loved everything about this, from the love story to the side characters.

Amber’s dream is to become a cheer captain. But if she really wants the spot, she has to help her friends take Jack, the new female quarterback, down. The problem is that she and Jack are falling for each other, meaning she has to choose, stand up for the person she cares for or go after her dream.

Home Field Advantage was so hyped and definitely lived up to it. Adler managed to tell a story that handled complex topics like teen pregnancy and homophobia well while being lighthearted and funny.

Amber and Jack had great chemistry, and their witty banter was one of the book’s best parts. The cast was diverse, and the side characters, especially Miguel and Malcolm, were so well developed.

I loved the way football and cheerleading were woven through the story. Often with sports romances, the sport is either hardly mentioned or far too technical, but Home Field Advantage finds the sweet spot. As a person who struggles to have a base understanding of football, no matter how many times it’s explained to me, the football scenes were easy to digest and enjoyable to read. I also loved the representation of a female quarterback.

Home Field Advantage was a fun, fast-paced, coming-of-age romance that didn’t shy away from the messiness of being a teen.

Thank you, NetGalley and Wednesday Books, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.