Elena Armas is the slow burn QUEEN.
Usually, I prefer reading books a little more fast-paced in the romance department, but I positively enjoyed reading The Long Game. I have fallen in love with everyone from the small town of Green Oak, and that’s all thanks to Miss Armas. 🥰

Adalyn Reyes is sent to the small town of Green Oak, North Carolina, where she is assigned to manage the Green Warriors. Little does she know beforehand, they are not like the typical professional soccer teams she’s used to. The Green Warriors are, in fact, not professional at all, as they consist solely of girls under the age of 10. Aside from the internal crisis Adalyn’s having being blindsided by this change of p(l)ace, there is also the grumpy Cameron Caldani. Let’s just say, their initial meeting was less meet-cute, and more enemies at first encounter. 😂

As I’ve said earlier, I’m usually not the biggest fan of the slow-burn trope. It’s not because I only prefer action/smut in the novels I read, but it’s more so the fact that I couldn’t see the chemistry between the two main characters in the slow-burn novels that I’ve already read.

For instance, I didn’t finish The Spanish Love Deception because I just didn’t see how the MMC was interested in the FMC at all. It seems like 3/4 of the way through that book, he was showing interest all of a sudden that wasn’t obvious at all before. I don’t know. I just didn’t connect with that book.

This book, however, I am a huge fan of. The way the characters get under each others’ skin. The hilariously written unfortunate events that take place. The way the side characters make you fall even deeper in love with Green Oak. All of these things make this novel stand out and its readers sucked in.

I can only guess who the next book is about (if there is a second book or if this is the first book in a duet is uncertain), but let me just say… I can’t wait for it 😏😉😆🥰

Grab Elena Armas’ The Long Game if you love:
- enemies to lovers
- slow-burn
- small-town romances
- therapy representation

3.5 Stars. I wanted to love this book so much. I'm a huge fan of Elena Armas, but this book missed the mark for me unfortunately.

Starting with the good stuff: Holy cow. I didn’t realize goat yoga could be so hot. Or clay throwing.
The innuendo-ed conversations/banter in this book were amazing. I'm still not quite sure they were ever talking about yoga or pottery.

I also loved Adalyn's growth and how aware Cam is of her and her needs (even when she isn't). I love how he takes care of her and by doing so, teaches her how to take care of herself. I love a good female empowerment story.

Unfortunately, now the not so great stuff: I felt like it dragged for the first 60%. I love a slow burn, and although events were occurring, it didn’t seem like anything was actually happening. Each scene had such tiny pieces of character/relationship/plot development that it felt like nothing was actually progressing forward. I feel like some of them could be condensed with more weight put on the interactions to help develop the scene and characters at the same time.

Some of the jumps in time from one chapter to the next didn’t seem cohesive. There didn’t seem to be any transition especially when a chapter ended suddenly. You either expected the scene to develop more or continue in the new chapter from the other MC's POV, but instead where transported to days in the future without any closure to what just occurred. 

And I’m still scratching my head about the epilogue. It doesn’t seem finished? It seems like it left off mid-thought. There are hints at another book, perhaps? Not very clear.

Elena Armas' "The Long Game" is one of my most anticipated novels of 2023. Having read Armas' previous books, I was so excited for this one! "The Long Game" is centered around Adalyn, a high-profile PR executive for a MLS team who is sent away to a small town in North Carolina after a PR disaster. Upon arriving, she meets Cameron, a former famous soccer player who has escaped the big city for some peace and quiet. After a disastrous "meet-cute" which ends in them hating each other, these two rivals discover that they must work together to help the town's youth soccer league make it to the championships. What started as hate between them quickly becomes something more serious, fueled by their chemistry.

This book was ALL about the "slow burn" and the unresolved sexual tension was off the charts! I enjoyed the progression of the relationship between Adalyn and Cameron. Also, Cameron is a proud cat owner so he gets bonus points from me! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was my first Elena Armas novel and I have heard such great things about the others that I had high expectations coming into this one. I’m not a huge soccer fan myself, so I wasn’t sure how well I’d like this book. I don’t feel like my lack of soccer knowledge affected my ability to enjoy the story though. Overall, I thought the beginning was a bit slow but things really started to pick up at about the 50% mark. I found Adalyn to be generally unlikable until that point in the book, although Cam gives majorly charming Roy Kent vibes. If you know, you know…and if you don’t, go watch Ted Lasso. This one was a slow burn; it took awhile to develop the characters, but once I got to know them, I really did love them and wanted to see how their story ended. The small town setting also gives Gilmore Girls vibes, which made it even more charming to read.

Put this one on your TBR, especially if you’re a Ted Lasso or Gilmore Girls girly like me. All I could picture was Brett Goldstein in the middle of the wilderness, coaching a girls’ soccer team, and man did that make the book even better.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this one early in exchange for my honest review. This was a great summer read!

This is my new favorite Elena Armas book! Soccer and enemies to lovers trope?! Full of wonderful characters and a lot of sizzle this story was enjoyable because Armas creates characters you want to root for and hope that will find a happy place for themselves. Fun and flirty, this is a great summer read!

I hadn't read this author before, but missing "Ted Lasso" caused me to request it, LOL! Sadly, it was a mixed bag for me - a bit too spicy for my personal taste & I felt the female MC was a bit of a mess in this "enemies to lovers" sports trope.. But I really loved the young girls on the team & especially the cute ANIMALS! Cats & Goats - awesome!! My sincere thanks to the publisher & Net Galley for the complimentary DRC, and I am leaving this review in appreciation...

While I mostly enjoyed the novel, I didn’t love it. I struggled to care about the female main character for the first half of the novel.

The male MC, Cam, was enjoyable, but initially I wondered why he would fall for the female MC, Adalyn. Around 60% of the way through the book, it started to come together for romance reasons and I enjoyed the later half more than the first half of the book. This is a very slow burn of a romance as the title implies.

I enjoyed the setting and the other characters. I am grateful for the publisher for giving me an ARC to read/review.

This was enemies to lovers done SO well. I want my own Cameron. It had me kicking up my feet. I also loved how well the topics of anxiety and panic attacks were handled. Super cute read.

“The Long Game” is a small town enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy about two people who are both at a bit of a low point in their lives and careers, ultimately finding love as well as themselves - post fall from grace. Cameron is a rough around the edges sweetheart who makes a great book boyfriend and an even more adorable soccer coach for kids (ahh so cute!).

I have read other books by Elena Armas and I have to say Adalyn was not my favorite FMC. I know she has a bit of character development throughout the story but I found her personality to be a little tough to warm up to.

I do love a heartwarming small town romance. This one didn’t stand out as much for me, however there are cute elements that I enjoyed! The two main characters being soccer coaches for a young girls’ team is endearing and the girls themselves are hilarious at time. Overall, it’s a decent quick rom-com read.

4.25!
I loved this!!!!!!! for ted lesso fans: like if roy kent and keeley had to coach a kids team together and live on the same property in the woods. SO CUTE!!! AND SLOW BURN !!!!!! i would highly recommend this. its a healthy book for sure, no toxicity which was lowkey boring .... but cam is so hot i need him like water

I will read anything Elena Armas writes. This was a slow burn but then it was 😩🥵 It was a 5-star read that I wish didn’t end. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.

If there is one thing Elena can do, it's write great tension between characters. But other than that, I was bored. It was a good plot, heart warming, and cute. But overall, didn't have the star power I loved from Spanish Love Deception.

Thanks to netgalley for the arc!

I went into this with high expectations, and unfortunately it fell short for me. I found the characters to be rather annoying (Cam's constant pet names weirded me out), and the plot put me to sleep from the start. Overall it was very cheesy and I was bored, just wanting it to end from the very first chapter.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Bookstagram review will be posted to my account (@acaffeinated_bookworm) closer to the September release date.

A grumpy hero and an ice queen bad ass of a heroine, bring together a fiery of a chemistry romance that will have you wanting for more...

THIS BOOK! THIS BOOOOOOOOOOOK! Elena, my dear Elena... my lovely friend from far away, your stroking fingers and brilliant mind know what they are doing. YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING! I knew from the moment that you texted me about Cameron, that he was going to be my ultimate daddy that I have been craving for a while now. The daddy of all daddy's. Not that this is a daddy trope... **cough cough** but my daddy issues make me feel like a little girl, twirling her hair when reading more about Cameron. He is just so suave and rough simultaneously and it makes me melt. And Adelyn? Being a bad ass of a super star is an understatement. Her character as a whole makes me love her and admire.

Enemies to lovers is yet another understatement of what an incredible trope this story is. Cameron and Adelyn's initial interaction makes you instantly fall in love with their power chemistry. Two individuals from different worlds, collide and meet to help out a team of little girls and their little league soccer team. With time, and more unintentional interactions in this small town, Cam and Adelyn cannot deny that their undeniable chemistry is there. And though Adelyn has some internal battles of her own that keep her at arms length, she knows that denying her attraction towards Cameron is not something she can live with for a long time;
"You were looking at me the way you are now. Just like that. I didn't want it to end." His words were soft, barely a whisper.
"Like what?"
"Like I'm something precious. Worth look at." His face fell.
"Why would you think otherwise?"
"Because no one ever looks at me that way."

Their road towards getting to know one another leads them to really open up in ways they would never thought they ever would with a partner. And once Cameron sees her. Truly, honorably sees Adelyn and her touch exterior breaks down, he knows that she is someone that he wants. Someone he craves and will be addicted to from that moment on;
"She's not a prize to be won." I took the elastic from her."She's... not a game. She's more than something you win. She's more than a loss. She's everything that's worth playing for. She's everything in between."

Not only do we get this magical of a story featuring Cameron and Adelyn, but Elena has introduced side characters that will make you fall for them all. Especially Maria, and her anxious filled and blind goat, Brandy. These two are goofballs in the making and made my stomach hurt with how much I kept laughing at their interactions with Cam and Adelyn. And of course, we cannot forget San Sebastián, because Elena's love for Sebastian Stan a.k.a. Bucky, comes in a form of hilarious rooster in this story. Oh, and Willow and Pierogi, oh gosh. These two feline friends make me crack up. Their possessive streak is on a run and I love everything about it.

This story is beyond anything that Elena has written thus far. And as her friend, it is truly a beauty and honor getting to see her go through this journey. I am beyond proud of her. And after all is said and done, readers will want more of Cameron just as much as I do!

Dear God. 😵‍💫🥵🔥🔥🔥

This is the slowest of slow burns but it hit every damned button I didn't know I had. Literally texted a book friend a play by play of my reaction which is both mortifying but absolutely worth it.

A bit of a Roy Kent fan fic, which I unexpectedly LOVED SO MUCH. Cam has replaced all the men from ACOTAR as my new book boyfriend. Hot damn.

I'd give this 10/5 stars if I could. 🤦‍♀️

This book was a lot of fun! I loved the goats and the romance was really well developed. Honestly, it was a classic Elena Armas book, and if you liked her other books, you’ll like this one too.

I read this book in less than a day because I was unable to put it down. I’ve read all of Elena Armas’ other books, but this is hands down my favorite. The slow burn and all it led up to were just exquisite. I highly recommend this!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

The Long Game was just....fine. It was fine. And I am truly crushed by this. The Spanish Love Deception is one of my favorite books ever, and Ted Lasso is my favorite show - so I was SO excited for this. But it just didn't do it for me, and that pains me so much to admit.

My biggest issue with this book was the pacing. It felt like the first half of this book was standalone scenes that did not weigh on each other in any way. A chapter would end with a character making some huge move, only for the next chapter to come in days later with no mention of what happened. A character would address feelings and then the next chapter it's like nothing happened. And I would just be confused - what happened? What was the response? Did the conversation just end with no further thought on it? I guess so.

I also just don't really buy that these characters hate each other. They FLY into their first interaction hating each other and it's just so confusing to me. Cameron makes a bit more sense once you get more of his story, but Adalyn? I don't get it. It felt so forced.

On some bright notes - the third act of this book is very good. The conflict was understandable, I could see the issue and both sides of it. I understood the resolution. That was when the book FULLY grabbed me, but it took 90% of the book to get this point. Do I wish some characters saw more consequences? Yes. Did I enjoy it though? Yeah, I did. Also, I adore María. Best character. I really wish we got to know her dad a bit more.

I genuinely hope I am the unpopular opinion here, I hope everyone loves this book and I'm wrong. Cause not loving this book and screaming about it from the mountain tops is crushing.

I am obsessed with this author. This book brings the best of soccer and romance together. My only complaint was that the slow burn was too slow and then too fast at the end. Otherwise this was a wonderful feel good story with a HEA.

Elena Armas did it again! I loved this book. Adalyn and Cameron are amazing together! This is not necessarily an enemies to lover is more like they are a big inconvenience to each other! I love how their relation grew organically and as the emisor y more time together.
I really like that even though Cameron is a bit grumpy he is always paying attention the the small details and that creates the base for their relationship.
Adalyn drove me crazy at times because she is this strong woman but due to the relationship with her dad he has some issues that affect her self-esteem.

If I’m guessing right I cannot wait for book two. Hoping it’s Matthew and Josie’s story!!!