Summary
Adalyn has spent her career working her way up her father's MSL organization, the Miami Flames. Her dream is to take over when her father retires. When an incident involving her goes viral, a disgraced Adalyn is sent away to oversee a local girls soccer team and to help turn things around. Good publicity for the club's philanthropic efforts will be good publicity for her, and allow her the opportunity to return to Miami. Besides being banished to the middle of nowhere, Adalyn also has to deal with former soccer goalkeeper Cameron Caldani, who is laying low in this same small town and coaching the soccer team. A rough introduction leads them to not being thrilled to have to work together, but Adalyn is not going to give up, her career and goals are on the line.

Review
Cameron Caldani... and I thought that Aaron Blackford in his grumpy hotness couldn't be beat... Cam Caldani takes the cake. He gives me Roy Kent vibes, but with better hair. The chemistry between Adalyn and Cam was top notch, as was the slow burn. And the story of the ragtag group of 7-9 year old soccer players was adorable. I loved Maria and all the nicknames she had for Cameron. I loved city girl in a small town vibes. A little bit of a shock with some revelations at the end with Adalyn's family, but I loved every minute of this book!

It’s a rare thing to say, but I genuinely think Elena Armas’ books get better with each new release. I liked The Spanish Love Deception, I loved The American Roommate Experiment, and The Long Game was basically everything I want in a novel. Hilarious small-town antics, charming kid characters who are actually written well, and sizzling chemistry between leads who really don’t want to be attracted to each other at first. It was so, so much fun and hit all the right notes for me.

Cameron will fill the hole in your heart left by Roy Kent when Ted Lasso ended. He’s got the prickly exterior, heart of gold thing down to a science, and he likes that Adalyn is snarky and challenges him. I loved that we got his POV in this book, because I would have been so disappointed if I hadn’t gotten inside his head. He’s a fully fleshed out character, a swoony MMC with a story of his own, and the way he takes care of Adalyn is *chef’s kiss*

And Adalyn. She’s a fantastic lead, fierce and determined, and her arc from city girl out of her element to learning she can be a little softer and still be seen as powerful was wonderful. Her being the fish out of water brings humor to the book, but her relationship with her father also provides the moments that will break your heart. I hated every scene that man was in, which is a testament to how well Armas wrote him to be unlikable and how she captured how complicated and awful family dynamics can be sometimes.

Pick this one up if you want a heartful, funny, sexy, swoony read! I’m already mad I have to wait a year for the next book.

I really enjoyed this book. It started a little slow, but once it got going and Cameron Caldani started making me swoon, it was over. So glad Elena Adams decided to step into the sports romance world.

2.5⭐️ This book took me so long to read and in the end it was …meh? The first 60% of the book bored me… both of the characters (especially Adalyn) were just acting a fool for literally no reason. The big bad conflict she was banished for didn’t really feel fleshed out. The pacing was just so… off. Everything felt kind of half-baked.

And I felt like Cameron called Adalyn “darling” one million times, it felt excessive, but when I did a word search on my kindle, I guess he only said it 56 times, so do with that what you will (I usually like nicknames! I just don’t feel this was executed well).

Things I enjoyed: the small town setting, the blind goat, the cats Willow & Pierogi, the smut (was actually very well-written), and the third-act drama was resolved rather quickly.

I haven’t read any of her other books but I hear people love the Spanish Love Deception, so I will probably give her another chance.

Cute read, great road trip read. I kept trying to picture Cam as Roy Kent which made his character evolution seem a whole lot less real but that's me. A few twists I didn't expect and a few I was disappointed (for the character) that I was right.

#arc
#netgalley
#thelonggame

This. Book. Elena Armas has done it once again. This book had the perfect amount of romance, banter, comedy, found family, and goats. The Long Game had me so emotional from beginning to end. Armas has such a way with words, she writes her characters with such love and devotion and you can see it on the page. Adalyn and Cameron had such good chemistry from page one, and I LOVE that we got dual point of views in this book. You really get to see the love that Cameron and Adalyn have for each other and the beautiful family they find in Green Oak. Maria was one of my favorite side characters, she was so lively and brought out the best in both Cameron and Adalyn. This book was a 11/10 and I will continue to recommend any and all of Elena Armas' books to everyone.

When I saw the cover of this book I immediately knew it was something I needed to read, even without reading the synopsis. Give me goats on the cover and in the book and I am SOLD! Thanks again to NetGalley and Atria Books for a chance to reading an ARC.

There are so many things that I LOVED about this book, including the banter. They dynamic between Cameron and Adalyn had so much chemistry and spice. I felt like they balanced each other well. The twists and turns were well thought out and I felt like the ending left us with anticipation for a possible continuation, which I am HERE FOR IT!!! The only drawback for me was the lack of communication; however, with that being said I understand why it was done after more of their backstory was revealed. Overall, I see why Elena Armas is an author that so may rave about and I cannot wait to read more from this author.

The Long Game is a fun story about Cameron and Adalyn going from enemies to friends to lovers. This story is a very slow burn but the chemistry between Cam and Ada is great.

Thank you to Atria Books for sending me an ARC of The Long Game by Elena Armas to read for review.

As a new reader to genre of romance, I've been picking my way through the different sub-genres to see what might pique my interest the most. The fun rom-com types with the cartoony covers tend to be my jam (yes, I still say that. I'm a Millennial. Sue me.). The Long Game by Elena Armas was no exception. I was hooked from the blurb--who wouldn't enjoy a story that involves goats and roosters? There were a lot of things I found really lovely about this story. Mainly the characters. From the main cast to the secondaries to the background ones, they all had a unique personality that I found quite charming. I appreciated Adalyn's vulnerability throughout the story; the portrayal of how she operates in a "man's world" and how it has affected her. I loved Cam's no-nonsense attitude (what can I say? I'm a sucker for a grumpy character), his rough edges, but how they get sanded down to something smoother as the story progresses. Josie with her unwavering positivity and Maria with her hugs and advice and love of her panic-stricken goat. I felt like I knew these characters and had no trouble getting absorbed in the story.

I felt there were some issues with pacing, there were some moments where I felt the moments dragged on unnecessarily only for it to feel rushed where I wish it had been fleshed out more. The whole secret behind the viral video took too long to be exposed and was a bit anticlimactic, although there was a surprising twist at the end that I did not see coming.

Like most contemporary, cartooned cover rom-com tales, the story is predictable, but not in a way where I was rolling my eyes and forcing my way through to the finish line. Rather, I wanted to get to the end to experience the sweetness for myself and to see all the details fall into place. I laughed (a lot), I teared up, I got so absorbed in the story I stayed up way too late reading.

Overall, it was a solid storyline that left me wanting more. I hope that there is a sequel so that we might find out what else is in store for Green Oak, Adalyn, Cam, Josephine, the Green Warriors, and, of course, Brandy the anxiety riddled goat.

THANK You to the publisher and Netgalley! I am such an Elena Armas fan, I will read anything she writes. I loved the premise of this book with grumpy x grumpy set in the soccer world! Unfortunately, I found it hard to connect to the characters and I couldn’t immerse myself in the world as I would have liked but it was still a fun read!

Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, and this one did NOT disappoint. Add in family drama, precocious girls, and a quirky small town and you just can’t go wrong!

I’m so excited to see a sequel coming out next October because I’m dying to find out what Matthew’s favor is!!

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing the ARC.

Okay, okay, okay.

I seriously loved this book.

I loved Adalyn. I loved Cameron. I loved their little small town, little league soccer club running, cat owning romance. I loved how they hate-flirted with each other, and then had some of the steamiest pottery/yoga sessions that involved absolutely no spice I've ever read. I loved that the conflict wasn't really a conflict, but rather a realization from someone who only operated one way at all times and needed to find a way to break out of that shell.

I loved this more than TSLD and TARE. I really think Armas shined with this book, writing the tension and realistic feelings of someone who has been forced into a box their entire life. I loved watching Adalyn fight her way out with Cameron assisting her in the best way possible.

Loved loved loved this book.

Elena Armas did it again. The slow burn, the tension, and Cameron FRICKEN Caldani. I'm officially obsessed and this might be Elena's best yet!

My favorite Elena Armas book yet! Such a fun read while falling in love with the characters! I will definitely be recommending this book to my friends when it comes out next week!

a cute novel, i really enjoyed it!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and netgalley for this review copy.

The beginning of this started off so strong and there continued to be dialogue interspersed that would make me swoon but other than that for about 100 pages (or more honestly) there was zero plot. Honestly I feel like nothing happened and it was a snooze fest with zero chemistry. It had SO much potential because Cam has such Roy Kent vibes and who doesn’t love Roy, you know? Instead we are just told how conflicted his face always looks and how much he does yoga. Like honestly I feel like that’s all that happened for at least 1/3 of the book. I don’t mind a slow burn but this also fizzled out it was so slow. The ending redeemed it for me but otherwise this was headed for a two-star review. If you’re an auto buy reader for this author than I’d still give it a go because there were parts that were funny or charming but otherwise I would skip because there are many other new romances out there that are much better in my opinion.

4.5/5 ⭐️!!!!

British ex soccer player who is also Italian and calls Adalyn ‘love’ and ‘darling’!?!?!? Yep, its official: Cameron Caldoni is 12/10 delicious. He does yoga? And MEDITATES? Say LESS. I really liked Adalyn and related to her “I’m too cold hearted to love” “I’m boring so there’s no way you could love me” because duh that’s how I feel all the time 😗 the slow burn was slow burning but woooo when the tension finally BREAKS? It is HOT 🥵

THANK YOU to Atria Books and Elena Armas for the early arc! Highly recommend 🌟

The tension and banter between Cameron and Adalyn is off the charts good. The small town shenanigans had me cackling (the blind and anxious goat pushed me over the edge).

If you are a slow burn (and when I say slow burn, I mean they barely even touch until the last half of the book) lover, you need this book. I love all of Elena Armas’ books, but this one is my absolute favorite.

I literally am so sorry and so sad that this one was a miss for me…. I just couldn’t connect to either of the MCs and was bored the entire time. I literally ended up skimming almost half of this book and that is driving me into a depression because I thought I would be leaving this story with another book husband I love as much as Aaron Blackford… I cry tonight

Loved this follow up for Elena Armas. Perfect for anyone who loved Ted Lasso, especially Roy Kent. I like the Spanish nods she brings to each of her stories, which makes me nostalgic for being back in Spain. The football themes weee sometimes a bit much for me, but even as someone who is not a huge sports romance fan normally, I got totally swept up in this and thought it was really accessible. Love the banter, the swoons, and just the general cultural references. Sure to make you smile into your pillow! Would give it a 5/5 if not for so much casual ableist language which felt unnecessary.