I was pleasantly surprised by this. I do not often go into romances centering around things such as bowling, but the characters drew me in and it was actually a very sweet and cute read. I am looking forward to any future works by Karmen Lee

This is a lower angst romance with characters that are low-key obsessed with each other and very irritated about it and I love me a good Bothered Bae. If you want a Besties to What Are We? to Confused Rivals to Lovers, The 7-10 Split will absolutely work for you. Ava & Grace have history and it was interesting to get to the flashbacks of how they moved from Besties to Confused Rivals and the part that family (and maybe even the small town) played in that.

I felt like the ending was abrupt and I'm not sure if this is a Happy Ever After or a Happy For Now. However, this appears to be the first in a series and I'm sure we'll see Ava and Grace again. I also kinda need the antagonist to get more of a comeuppance because I like seeing folks like them VANQUISHED. So I'm curious to see where the rest of the series goes!

This was so cute. So fun. And truly an easy read. The cast of characters made me excited for not only whatever books come from this world, but whatever books this author writes next!

I appreciate NetGalley and Karmen Lee for providing me with the opportunity to read this book. We meet Ava, an English teacher, in the midst of a conversation lamenting the rejection of her proposal to start a bowling team by the principal. As her colleague mentions the arrival of a new AP teacher, Grace, next door. Ava is excited about the news.

Grace's introduction unravels a shared history with Ava; they were once college friends, but their friendship dissolved, leaving questions lingering.

As for my thoughts, I found the book enjoyable, although I anticipated a more substantial reason for their college friendship's demise. The reveal didn't quite meet my expectation of a grand mystery, but perhaps that's a reflection of being young. The slow burn of their eventual reunion tested my patience; I was rooting for them to just kiss already.

Overall, this was a good read, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to experience it. Thank you for allowing me to read this book!

Thanks to Net Galley and Harlequin for this advanced copy!

This was a fantastic debut. The setting and characters were all unique and full, and I could actually imagine I was in Peach Blossom with Ava and Grace. The only critique I have is that I want more! More of their backstory, the reasoning why they fell out as friends. It was all hinted around, but was left vague. I would have loved to see these memories on paper. Same thing for the conversations/talks alluded to throughout the book, like with Grace and her mom. Seeing these would have rounded out the book and taken this to the next level. Overall, I loved it! Who would have thought I’d say that about a bowling romance?!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book. I am currently obsessed with bowling so I was so excited to receive this ARC. This was a really cute and fun read. It was light and not stressful. Ava and Grace were so cute, I wanted more. I would be happy with about 50 more pages, but that's me. This was a slow burn and friends to enemies to friends to lovers. The concept was fresh and enjoyed their relationship and the Brad and Thomas. I will stay tuned for Rini's story!

Favorite quote: "The ball of feelings was released and rolling its way down the lane. All Grace could do was wait impatiently to see where it hit."

Favorite Scene In 1-3 Words: Breakfast at Brad's

In the small town of Peach Blossom, GA, high school best friends turned rivals Ava and Grace meet again as teachers for the first time in years after not speaking and are quickly thrown back to where their friendship ended: the bowling alley.

Self-assured and stubborn Ava has been working to bring back her beloved bowling team at her old high school for years, only to be rejected every time. Hometown hero Grace is anxious for fresh start as a science teacher at her former high school, as well as with her old best friend and teammate Ava. After a rocky start with Grace getting the bowling team revived and not telling Ava, the two are thrown together as coaches and are forced to work through why their friendship ended, new (and old) feelings for each other, and how to coach their team to victory under their principals strict deadline for success.
I thought this book was good! I enjoyed the relationship between Ava and Grace, as well as the relationships shown with their friends and family. I enjoyed the banter and the level of communication between the two leads, as well as the fact that the two was present as a queernormative place, with no one questioning Ava and Grace, as well as other queer couples being shown such as Brad and Thomas. I feel like Grace’s story arc and development particularly resonated with me, as someone who sometimes feels a bit lost and anxious about what they want to do with their life. As a sports romance fan, I also enjoyed the fact that we got information about a more unconventional sport! Overall, it was a fun, light-hearted time.

My main issue with the book is the pacing. The book is primarily a slow burn, with moments here and there beforehand and then they finally get together 80% of the way through. I love a good slow burn, but there were a lot of other plot lines built up throughout the beginning and middle that are suddenly all being rushed to a close in the last few pages of the book. The fight between Ava and Grace’s mom felt like it was out of nowhere and Grace and Ava never talked about it on page, despite the level of communication that had been shown throughout the book prior. It felt like there were three villains in Grace’s mom, the principal, and Grace’s former coach, and none of them had a real conclusion other than one sentence. Ava quitting also felt abrupt. I feel like there was no discussion around her wanting to leave the school or get her Ph.D other than her annoyances with the principal.

Thanks to Harlequin Books and Afterglow Books for a #gifted copy of the book and NetGalley access in exchange for my honest opinion.
The 7-10 Split centers around Ava, an AP English teacher, teaching at the small-town high school she attended in rural Georgia. Grace grew up attending the same school, although she moved away before her senior year and graduated from the rival private school - meaning Grace and Ava bowled against each other during their senior year. Grace’s new school won that match, and their friendship deteriorated. But now Grace has been hired to teach AP Chemistry at Ava’s school, and her classroom is even across the hall from Ava’s. To make matters worse, their principal, who has turned down Ava’s yearly proposal to reignite the bowling team, decides Grace should reignite the bowling team - with Ava as her assistant. How are these rivals going to work together to coach their team? And what can possibly go wrong?
I loved how competitive both Ava and Grace were - I am the same way, so I ate up this rivalry! The story and writing kept my attention and had me laughing out loud in parts.
The book will be a hit for romance fans who are teachers and/or sports fans - or anyone who likes reading about those topics. The blurb on the book suggests it for fans of Delilah Green Doesn’t Care (one of my favorites!) and D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding, which I’ve been meaning to read. Look for this one in May and add it to your TBR in the meantime!

Overall 3.5
Spice: 2

This was the first book I've read by this author and it was just okay. I did like seeing the FMC in positions in education that aren't the norm for women especially bipoc woman. I did enjoy the diversity of the teach staff, but it was very surface level and as if it was just checking a book. It wasn't your typical sports romance. I still don't understand why they hadn't talked in years, and it was like once they had talked they were automatically a couple. It felt rushed and nothing developed enough.

The 7-10 split is a cute and sweet sapphic romance between two teachers, who used to be best friends. Tropes include rivals to lovers, workplace romance, and second chance romance. Ava and Grace are so cute together and the chemistry they have is undeniable. Overall this book was cute, fast, and fun.

The 7-10 Split is an adult sapphic romance that is centered around Ava and Grace, childhood friends who had the common Sapphic experience of having an intense falling out in their friendship and never quite getting over it. Ten years later they meet back in their small hometown and end up working just across the hall from one another and co-coaching a bowling team.

I adored the premise for this book, and I enjoyed Ava and Grace as characters. Unfortunately, I thought that a lot of important and emotionally poignant conversations were somewhat glossed over in a time skip. Rather than seeing the conversation unfold, we are just told that it happened. There is also very little focus on bowling in this book, despite the focus on it in the synopsis and on the cover. That might please some who aren't super interested in the sports aspect, but it fell a little flat for me.

Overall this book was cute, and I enjoyed the character interactions when we did see them, but I was left wanting just a little more by it.

The 7-10 Split is an Adult Sports Romance novel that was a really cute read. Ava and Grace were childhood best friends turned rivals who haven’t spoken in ten years. Not until Grace gets a teaching job at Ava’s high school and they now work across the hall from one another.

The rivalry tends to be more one sided, but I loved the obvious competitiveness between them when bowling. They had such clear chemistry and I was rooting for them to knock it off and date each other already 😅

I also really enjoyed Ava’s banter with her sisters and I was so excited to see one of the sister’s is getting her own book. I can’t wait to read!

I'm not usually a fan of romance to be honest, I just requested this because my lesbian friend loves bowling and romance novels and I wanted to see if I should recommend it to her. I don't think I was the right audience for this but I thought it was very juvenile in its writing style and simplistic.

Well... this book brought all the cuteness that I thought it would! If sexual tension via bowling alley is your thing (or even if it's not), The 7-10 Split is a fun, quick, and easy romance that will leave you with "well, that was cute" warm fuzzies.

I don't typically read YA, but this story was giving strong New Adult vibes. While it didn't have the story elements that I might be more accustomed to the connection between Ava and Grace was a joy to ride along with. The supporting cast members were so wonderful and likable also.

Karmen Lee's writing drew me right into their Georgia small-town vibes and made me fall in love with the community, their history, and their love. Billed as enemies to lovers, the animosity was mostly one-sided, and I just adored Ava for her ability to stay so salty and hold a grudge. She was a very entertaining character, and I never quite knew what she was going to do... and I respect her for that.

Very minimal spice. Lots of bowling fun. And generally good time at the lanes!

I loved going into a story featuring 2 Black bowling nerds. That’s all I loved.

It’s made clear early on that Ava and Grace’s friendship turned sour, but it seemed to take forever to learn why. When the reason is finally revealed, it’s soooo petty. For Ava to have held a grudge for ten years, I think the reason should’ve been more serious. The story and characters behavior/internal thoughts read incredibly childish. At one point, I stopped reading to confirm whether the book was an adult romance because it read very YA.

I also really dislike romances that hyper focus on the love interests together. The vast majority of scenes feature Ava and Grace. Then, when they’re not together, the conversations and thoughts they have are all about each other. So much of the story is Ava and Grace at the expense of individual character development. I wish there was more about their separate lives to give them more depth and the scenes more variety instead of most of the book being Ava and Grace, Ava and Grace, Ava and Grace. What about just Ava and just Grace as individuals whose lives don’t revolve around each other?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced eARC.

<i>This review is based on an eARC recieved through Netgalley.</i>

<b>REVIEW</b>
I’m not much of a romance reader (in fact, this book is one of the titles I read in my attempt to find out if I like it or not), so take this review with a grain of salt. People who do like contemporary romance will likely have different feelings about this book than I do.


Overall, the only thing I can really say about this book is that it was… fine. And that’s about it.


The two main characters, Ava and Grace, both seemed to be perfectly nice. As people, they’d probably be favorite coworkers or folks I’d like to be friends with. As characters, they’re likeable, but not terribly interesting. It’s split POV, but I would often lose track of whose turn with the narrative it was because their voices were indistinguishable.


The prose, too, was fine, but nothing to write home about. There were some interesting turns of phrase here and there. My main complaint is that there were only a few bowling puns (I think about... three?)


The plot’s pacing is a mess. It takes like 30% of the book for bowling to even start happening and the two main characters only actually bowl once, at like 70%. The bowling also isn't really front and center.


The one interesting plot thread, revealed at the VERY end <spoiler>that there was possibly some kind of coverup involved with the death of Grace’s father, as well as the fight that happens between Grace, Ava, and Grace’s mother when that information is revealed</spoiler> isn’t really. Resolved? Or even discussed on page, beyond a throwaway line where Grace’s mother attends a bowling match.


The “main” plot (quotations because it really doesn’t matter at all) is that <spoiler>the shitty principal will dissolve the bowling team if Ava and Grace don’t get a win.</spoiler> However, this plot barely matters, there’s no real tension or stakes built up about it, and the girls on the team were barely characterized beyond being nosy about their coach’s love lives, so I just wasn’t invested at all.


There were other plot threads that got dropped too, such as <spoiler>Grace’s old coach. He shows up twice to talk to Grace and, from Ava’s point of view, comes off as creepy, and after the second or third time he shows up, Grace’s car breaks. I thought this was going to lead to some kind of reveal that he’s a creep or was trying to sabotage the team or something, but nothing’s done with him.</spoiler> I really don’t know what the point of that character was, besides to maybe give Ava a chance to get a little jealous?


The one thing I did really appreciate about this book was that while miscommunications did happen and the characters would get upset with one another, they did actually have conversations about these problems. It was nice to see characters actually talk about things that bothered them instead of just angsting over it for no real reason.


<b>FINAL THOUGHTS</b>
There wasn’t anything about this book that is extremely objectionable, but if this wasn’t a Netgalley read, I probably would have DNF’d around 70% because I just realized how bored I was. I forced myself to bulldoze through the rest of it today so I could read something else. (How’s that for a 7/10 split?)


As for whether I’d recommend it: shrug? I’ll probably forget everything about it in a few months so take that for what you will.


Thank you to the publisher, Afterglow Books by Harlequin, for providing an ARC via Netgalley. If you’re interested in <i>The 7/10 Split</i>, the book releases 21 May 2024.

I enjoyed this so much! Sweet, sapphic, and romantic, with a focus on bowling, how could I not like it?? There were a couple tiny repetitive bits and I with some of the conflict was addressed more directly on the page, but overall I had such a fun time! And I'm now eagerly awaiting the next book about Vini!

this was so fun!!!!!!! ughhhh i loved the characters it was absolutely amazing and i just loved it!!!!

Overall: 3.75/5
Spice level: 1.5/5
Tropes: second chance, rivals to lovers, sports, slow burn

Representation: Black sapphic romance

This was a new to me author. The book was decent but there were moments where I wanted Ava to open her eyes and see what was right in front of her. She was a little awful to Grace in the beginning, based purely on a misunderstanding and miscommunication from when they were teens and previously best friends. 

Bowling itself isn't very exciting but the author did manage to show the characters' skill and enthusiasm for the sport, especially in their coaching roles with the students. 

I definitely appreciated how Ava stood up to Grace's classist mother. It showed strength, courage, and character development. 

The chemistry between Grace and Ava was an up and down thing, but they were ultimately a good match. 

I would definitely be interested in continuing the series.

3.75/5
This was a very fun read and I enjoyed the author’s work a lot. I loved reading about Ava and Grace’s relationship and seeing them finally come together. I also loved that it was based around bowling, which isn’t something you read about often.

I do think this book moved very slowly, and there wasn’t much of a climax. It was not a bad read whatsoever, I just don’t think it was for me and that’s okay! I still enjoyed it and enjoyed myself a lot!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC!