Thank you so much to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! As a romance read aficionado, I was thrilled to see a new book by Elena Armas being published. I thoroughly enjoyed The Spanish Love Deception and The American Roommate Experiment as easy comfort reads. However, I was pretty disappointed by The Long Game.

The story revolves around Adalyn Reyes, a soccer exec at her father’s company, who after a public disgrace, is exiled to a small town in North Carolina. There, she meets soccer-star-in-hiding Cameron Caldani (surprise surprise: he’s the love interest). Adalyn is tasked with helping the local soccer league reach success and enlists Cameron’s help to do so. She is surprised to find that the soccer team she has been charged with is comprised of 8-year-old girls who have very little training and discipline. She faces challenges settling into her new responsibilities and environment, and an enemies-to-lovers arc develops between her and Cameron.

The premise of this novel was exciting for me. I love big-city-girl-in-small-town romances. However, right from the first page, I had moments of confusion, and it was difficult to fall into the story. I had a hard time understanding the intentions of the characters, and their dialogue with each other left a lot to be desired. I also felt that the author did not make use of easy opportunities for Adalyn’s character growth. Her relationships with the residents of the town were flat and two-dimensional.

All in all, I believe that Elena Armas’s literary sweet spot exists in stories about culture and family, not pseudo-sports-romances.

A cute, cliche rom com. The characters fell a bit flat for me and it drug out longer than it needed to.

I loved that the female MC was an independent boss lady, the dual POV’s and the side characters. It was filled with tension and there was a funny goat yoga scene. Unfortunately, it was way too slow for me. By the time the characters got together I already lost interest in the book. If you enjoy slow burns, sport romances and the small town setting you should give this one a try, it just wasn't for me.

The Long Game by Elena Armas left me with mixed feelings. While I had high expectations going in, the book turned out to be an average read for me. The story started off slow, and I struggled to connect with the characters. However, things began to pick up around the halfway point when Cam and Adalyn started interacting more, and that's when I found myself enjoying it.

One major reason for my disconnect with the book was the soccer/football setting. I'm not a fan of the sport and lacked basic knowledge of its rules, which made it hard for me to fully engage with the story. Additionally, the general plot structure felt abrupt, with chapters that didn't allow the story to breathe.

Despite these issues, Elena Armas is known for her ability to create chemistry and tension between characters, which still shone through in this book. However, the overall plot flow felt clunky, and the story lacked depth.

One bright spot in the novel was the intriguing characters of Matthew and Josie. They piqued my interest more than the main characters did. In fact, I'd be open to reading a spin-off book about them to learn more about their stories.

In conclusion, while "The Long Game" had its moments, it fell short of being Elena Armas's best work. The book's pacing, the unfamiliar soccer setting, and the abrupt plot structure left me with a lukewarm reading experience.

I enjoyed the dual POV and I think that the characters were well developed. As a former soccer player I appreciated the references to the game. Overall I felt like there was some backstory/plot that is missing. As the tension built between Adalyn and Cam - I felt like Cam could do no wrong, he was always going above and beyond. Each of the MCs had their version of grump and it actually made me laugh at times. This was a slow burn which kept my interest and I wanted to know the next parts. The girls on the soccer team - so funny, light hearted and innocent but honest.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC, this is a voluntary honest review.

I loved Elena Armas The Spanish Love Deception. I was really excited for this one. I had to DNF at 57%. It couldn’t keep my interest and I was so bored and really struggled reading it.

I wanted to love this book & I adore Ted Lasso, but ultimately this book is just too steamy for me. Too many sections to skip that I felt like I was missing a bit more than I would like & other parts that were alluding to steam kinda just yucked me out. However, I think a lot of people will love this book - sadly, it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc! Honestly this is
maybe one of my fave Elena armas books yet?? The banter was so good and transitioned super well from "enemies" to lovers without being unrealistic. Also potential sequel set up? Love! 10/10 would recommend.

I loved Elena Armas's first book but this one was not quite that. I did like it, though. Adalyn is sent away by her father, the owner of Miami's professional soccer team, after an incident caught on camera that caused a PR nightmare for the club. She is assigned to a different soccer team in the mountains of North Carolina. There, she finds out that the place she is staying is a dump, it's not a professional soccer team as she thought but a girls youth team, and the coach there is the gruff, ex-pro goalie, Cameron. Cameron and Adalyn do not hit it off and are at each other's throats from minute one.

I liked the Roy Kent vibes that Cam had. There is something that is hard to like about a hero that just wants to take care of the heroine. That rough, take charge persona he had was great. I felt like Adalyn was just too old for her to be at the whims of her father the way she was. I couldn't really get behind the whole premise of the story. It's a great enemies to lovers and the girls on the team were super cute. The small town aspect was something that really worked for me. I just felt like the whole basis for the story was hard to buy into.

That being said, I was entertained and never considered DNFing. The soccer aspect was fun and I appreciated that it was a girls team. I do enjoy Armas's books as a whole so am excited to see what she comes out with next.

Oh my golly gee!! This book was the absolute cutest! It was like a good, spicy, slow-burn, hallmark movie. I'm obsessed. I love the character development and how the relationship dynamic changed between the main characters. I thoroughly enjoyed how many animals were featured, it made the book so much cuter.

I enjoyed Adalyn and Cameron's chemistry. Adalyn just can't seem to catch a break. She's definitely my type of girl, the weirdest series of events can and will happen😂. Cam is hiding out and he is giving Roy Kent vibes but with flannel.
Love when there is a team of sassy girls and these are soccer players.
The twist at the end with what really happened with what she had to put up with was jarring in a way. And Cam who had grown very attached was definitely her champion. I did love the Roy Kent vibe but he was a little softer and more cinnamon roll. And Adalyn was so used to being used and dumped that she was swept off her feet and trying to duck out before she got dropped. But that reunion at the end was perfect.
Loved the end and the twist that she didn’t see coming and I didn’t even notice.

Thank you atriabooks

Everything by Elena Armas is *chefs kiss*. She's quickly moving into my auto-purchase category. This book follows a woman who has been banished from her hometown of Miami and from her fathers business to a small mountain town to help manage a little league soccer team. There is an abundance of character growth and the leading male character is drool worthy. Enough spice to keep it interesting and also really fun side characters!

My only worry is this book will be hard for a feminist or someone with strong boundaries to read because you will want to throat punch a character so hard! I wished that the LM would have toughened up a bit quicker.

I had really big Ted Lasso vibes reading this book. To be more specific every time I read about Cam I thought of Roy Kent.

I loved the little girls from the soccer team and would have loved more scenes with them all.

adalyn & cameron
for those who love: enemies to lovers, sport romance, slow burn, grumpy x grumpy, small town
"i'll always give you more than what you ask, love, even when you don't know what you want"
the beginning of the book went by really slow to me. around 60% in it started picking up and i fell in love with cameron. he is the sweetest and he ticks off all of the love languages. i love the dynamic of adalyn and cameron. they have distinct personalities but they work well together. i love how cameron created adalyn to open up and showed her the worth she is deserving off!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -NetGalley ARC

Description:
A disgraced soccer exec reluctantly enlists the help of a retired soccer star in coaching a children’s team in this small-town 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.”

I love sports, but I absolutely loathe soccer ⚽️ so I was hoping and praying the author didn’t get to technical with details of the game and thanks be, she didn’t. Right from the first chapter this book had me laughing. Adalyn is quirky and awkward, which makes her a very entertaining character. The star of the book though is Maria; a young girl on the team who’s wise beyond her years and very spunky. I absolutely loved the names she’d use for Coach Cam: Coach Cornfield. Coach Carwash. Etc.
Bonus points that Cam was a cat daddy. Who doesn’t love a big burly tattooed dude getting bossed around by a cat? The book ended with Adalyn’s best friend Matthew asking if their cabin is empty, so I’m guessing there will be another book and it’ll be about Matthew and Josie.
Trope: Frenemies to Lovers
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book. All thoughts are my own.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own opinions.

I tried to like The Long Game as it hits all the marks on my guilty pleasure checklist. Sadly, I couldn't for the life of me, get past chapter 4. I gave it one last shot tonight as I just finished a book about murders and needed a pick me up. Nope, I just can't, I'm sorry.

After reading, The Spanish Love Deception, Elena Armas is on my must read list, and The Long Game does not disappoint. This book contains all the tropes that I love: a grumpy hero, enemies to lovers, and a small town romance. I loved how she described “middle of nowhere” North Carolina so much that I wouldn’t mind visiting. Hopefully there is a sequel, because I can’t wait to read more about these character. Thanks NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

To be honest, tell me it's a Ted Lasso inspired romance and that's really all I need to know.

Adalyn works as an exec for the Miami Flames, a pro soccer team. When a video of her goes viral, her father (and boss) ships her off to a small town in the middle of nowhere North Carolina to help manage a small town soccer team. Only it turns out the team is a bunch of 10 year old girls - with one heck of a grumpy coach. Coach Cam has his own baggage as he is a former professional footballer from the UK and he's trying not to be noticed. The pair get off on the wrong foot and immediately butt heads.

This is a sloooowww burn romance, but I was honestly ok with that. The thing I loved most about The Long Game wasn't the romance, but the side stories with the secondary characters and the small town vibes. The girls on the team were hilarious and we had funny moments complete with tutus and goat yoga. I can't wait for the next book in this universe.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for a review copy.

The Long Game was an incredibly cute contemporary story with a great cast of characters all around. I loved the main and side cast of characters (including the four legged ones) and felt that the author really spent time fleshing them all out to the best of their ability. The romance was swoon worthy and I greatly enjoyed the read.

I was disappointed in this story. I could not get into it or force myself to like the characters. I had to put it down so many times, but kept forcing myself to pick it back up in hopes that the story would pick up. I really loved The Spanish Loved Deception, but The American Roommate Experience wasn't quite as good. I hoped it was the sophomore slump, but this book makes me think that maybe this author just isn't for me.