Listen, not only do I love a small town romance, but add in cute little animals with their own personalities and I’m sold! I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book!

This book is great if you are looking for a fun, small town romance with a little spice.
Points for the British cat dad.

Slow burns aren’t usually my thing, but this one was much more tolerable than others I’ve read! Cameron is loving & supportive when it comes to Adalyn. The banter was so good and I loooove banter in books (when done right). The only issue I had was I felt like the wrap-up was a little too quick.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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.

📍 Read if you like:
• Small Town Romance
• Enemies To Lovers
• Ted Lasso
• Found Family
• Forced Proximity
• Soccer

Gah, I’m a huge Elena Armas fan after absolutely loving The Spanish Love Deception. I was even more eager to get my hands on this book, as I’m a huge soccer fan.

I’ve honestly seen so many readers not enjoying this book, but I’m quite surprised by how much I actually enjoyed it. Yes it did drag towards the middle and some scenes were a bit over the top, but the story as a whole was so good!!

Adalyn and Cameron were both such interesting characters. It took me a while to get used to them having a connection as it was so off-putting at first, but once the steamy scenes came, I fell in love with these characters.

I loved all the tropes in this book, it was a very slow burn and had a Dual POV. I also absolutely loved the setting in North Carolina. The soccer aspect of the book was so fun, I loved watching both of them come together to help this youth team and it was so swoony!

Cameron was such a fun character, he’s the main reason I connected with the story more. I honestly can’t get enough of this author’s writing and the characters she writes. First, it was Aaron and now it’s Cameron, I can’t wait to see if I have the same feelings with Lucas.

In conclusion, I’m a huge fan of Elena Armas and I just click so instantly with her writing and storytelling. I can’t wait to go back to read The American Roommate Experiment and look forward to The Short List. This book was extremely interesting, heartwarming, touching, swoony, and overall enjoyable! While this may not be for everyone, I would still recommend giving this one a try!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Atria Books for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Sexual Content, Panic Attacks/Disorders, Cursing, Emotional Abuse, Stalking, Gaslighting

In "The Long Game" by Elena Armas, readers are treated to a heartwarming and humorous tale of redemption, love, and soccer in a charming small town in North Carolina. Adalyn Reyes, a disgraced soccer executive, finds herself sent to this quaint locale by her father, the owner of a Miami football club, to turn around a struggling children's soccer team. Little does she know, her manager endeavors will be met with a delightful blend of eccentric practices, tutus, pet goats from her nine-year-old players, and encounters with the team's coach, Cameron Caldani, a retired soccer star with a mysterious past. Despite their initial clashes, Adalyn's determination to redeem herself and transform the team, coupled with the chemistry between her and Cam, propels the narrative forward, creating a captivating story that skillfully balances humor and heart.

Armas crafts a compelling narrative that captures the essence of small-town life, where community bonds and the pursuit of redemption intersect on the soccer field. The novel's strength lies in its ability to blend the amusing dynamics of coaching a quirky team with a romantic subplot that evolves from a love-hate relationship between Adalyn and Cam. "The Long Game" is a delightful read that showcases Armas's storytelling prowess, offering readers a perfect blend of laughter, heartwarming moments, and the universal theme of second chances.

Absolutely loved everything about this book! The back and forth banter between Adalyn and Cameron is hilarious and sexy. This was a laugh out loud rom com and I loved every minute of it!

I found this book readable & even enjoyable but I didn't like it quite as much as I liked Elena Armas' previous book The Spanish Love Deception. Maybe it was the characters or the setting - it wasn't the writing - it just didn't hit the same way her first book did. Still worth a read though!

I really enjoyed this author’s other books, but I don’t know if sports romance is her best. The characters felt flatter than the characters in her other books and I just wasn’t as intrigued. Not great, but not bad either.

I loved this slow burn, enemies to lovers, sports romance! Adalyn and Cam have so much chemistry and this was such fun story to enjoy. Thanks Atria and Netgalley for my copy.

This started off with a laugh-out-loud scene including the aftermath of a viral… attack… on a professional soccer team’s mascot from the team’s owner’s daughter. Adalyn is forced to deal with the consequences of her actions against Sparkles by getting demoted to helping out with a youth girls’ soccer team in a rural North Carolina town.

She immediately and disastrously meets the team’s coach, a former pro soccer hotshot who’s laying low in town. Cameron is moody and broody and barely tolerates Adalyn’s high maintenance-ness, but slowly starts to try to take care of her in big and small ways.

The team girlies were a fun addition and broke up a lot of the angsty tension between the love interests. You could definitely feel the Ted Lasso-ish vibes (which I’m obsessed with) so this complemented that show well. It’s a slow, slow burn with a ton of small-town character. Lots of the supporting cast helped shape this into something special.

There were some interesting twists at the end that left the door open for finding out more about a character I really, really loved in TLG. Thanks NetGalley and Atria for an earc.

Overall, I thought The Long Game was a funny, engaging romantic comedy read. I enjoyed the small-town vibes, soccer-centric plot, and the enemies to lovers trope. I did think the book was a bit too long, but it still held my interest and I finished it over a weekend.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the gifted copy.

A great third book by Elena Armas. Met expectations and anticipation! The banter was perfect. A little more of a slow burn than others, but still a great story. Can’t wait for more from Armas.

This was a fun read! I enjoyed the writing and the characters. I found it easy to read and quick to finish.

Elena Armas a really good at the build up of sexual tension between her characters. This was a heartwarming story at the core, mixed in with some spice!

I am a big fan of Elena Armas' work. However, I had a very hard time getting through "The Long Game." In this story both main characters, Adalyn Reyes and Cameron Caldani are looking for redemption; Adalyn after she is kicked out of the Miami Flames soccer organization for an altercation with its mascot, and Cameron, a goal-tending prodigy looking for a second chance.

Unfortunately, from their "meet cute," which did not feel very cute but instead harsh and cruel, I just was not able to understand how they grow together and find comfort in eachother. In fact, I did not connect with many of the characters including Adalyn's father, the owner of the Miami Flames, nor her best friend, Matthew. Overall this story felt to unbelieveable and contrived to really enjoy it.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria books for the ARC.

This book has Armas' trademark witty banter, fantastic characters, and moments that make your heart warm as you watch the arc of romance towards HEA. However -- it's still a sports romance. So, if you're like me and you dislike sports romance (the latest trend), then you might want to stay away. If you LOVE sports romance, though, then this is ALL YOU. Go for it, enjoy, fall in love.

Overall, this book fell short of my expectations. After being obsessed with the Spanish Love Deception - this fell short between the main characters. I felt they did not have the chemistry I was hoping for.

The story did not satisfy like I hoped it would. Elena is a gifted writer; I just feel this book wasn't for me. I will try again on her other ones!

I love all of Elena Armas' books and this one made me so happy!
Thank you for sharing this book with me.
I cannot wait to see what she writes about NEXT
and when are the MOVIES coming out?!!?

When I read it was like Ted Lass, I was excited. This was not like Ted Lasso. I was expecting soccer and a funny, lovable main character. The only similarities to the show were soccer and a Roy Kent main character. This book was like its title, long. Some days it was hard to keep going and many times I found myself zoning out. I lost count of how many times she used the word “deadpanned”. While the book did start to get better once the romance started, it was still just okay.

Interesting Rom Com with Latino main characters. I love that story included soccer star who was running from world of fame. While girl is princess of soccer empire is running toward that worls but missing simple life. Storry about support of family.