Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for this e-ARC.

I liked this. This was a great sports romance, which I love. Fun and lighthearted, with some wonderful characters. I normally dislike the plot of forced misunderstanding and refusal to engage in honest communication, but it worked nicely in this story.

Part romcom, part thriller, this honestly made for a strange read. It didn't feel like it ever knew what it wanted to be. I'd agree with other people that the closest comparison is Miss Congeniality, with a threat that felt pretty silly. The sports side was also tenuous at best, even as a non-American a lot of it didn't really make sense. What this did well was balancing tension with spice, especially since these two had been together in the part. I'd read the same author with a different premise.

I enjoyed this I love a good sports romance and this was it
Light hearted fun with some amazing characters

It's an enjoyable, escapist, spicy romance between a successful American football star and a security expert hired as his close protection in response to a series of treats relating to him. The pair have a romantic history, a college romance that ended badly with misunderstandings. The break-up affected both their lives, and when they meet again, the chemistry is there, as is the emotional commitment, even though they both deny it. The story is a spicy romantic suspense with an emphasis on the romance. Despite the threat, it is a lighthearted read and ends well.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

The Big Game was a fun, corny romcom.
Definitely a perfect read for football fans.
The spice level is there as well as humorous moments.
The sexual tension between main characters Lily and Tate is intense.
The morale of this story? Communicate with each other is paramount!
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I found this book to be a funny lighthearted read. Lily gave me serious miss congeniality vibes. self sufficient, armed and lethal. Tate is a people pleaser, who has spent years placating his dad. I generally dislike the forced misunderstanding and refusal to have a honest conversation plot, but in this book it worked well.
I thank you for the chance to read it and I would recommend

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for this ARC.

I love a good sports romance and this one did not disappoint! I enjoyed the chemistry that Lily and Tate had and I really liked their characters. I loved the whole Miss Congeniality vibes! The spice was just enough. This book was a quick fun read that I would recommend to others.

A smutty sports romance, enemies to lovers, touch her, and you die.
This was a good quick read, perfect for all romance fans.

As always, thank you to Harper Collins UK and One More Chapter for giving me the opportunity to read The Big Game by Cassie Connor in exchange for an honest review.

In the big picture, I liked this book. After reading a couple of heavier books this is definitely one of those "palette cleanser" books that you can pick up and know that you will enjoy just by its fluffy romantic nature. I think that the authors note at the beginning of the book is really important because if I hadn't read that I think my review would be a bit harsher - however I am not a harsh person and went into this book fully understanding that I was reading a romance book and not a super accurate football book.

I think it is evident that there is a bit of a language barrier just in some of the phrases used, however I really do like the idea of this story and think it will appeal to certain audiences.

There was alot of potential here but it fell a little flat for me. There was tension and spice, something you can read without really turning your brain on

This was a very quick and distracting read but it is unfortunate full of issues. The author is British and knows nothing of American sports (which she calls out in the author’s note) but it is impossible to ignore and mixed with the numerous plot holes (mysterious injuries healing in no time amongst others) it really made it hard to engage.

I’d be interested in seeing what this author writes next but this one didn’t hit the mark for me.

I wanted a lot more from this book… as a Brit, it was painfully obvious it was a British author writing Americans. It needed an editor who could correct the Britishisms. There was so much potential but I don’t know, the plot holes were gaping.

It's apparent that the author is not from the states and has limited knowledge of football

But that being said I enjoyed the read with the badass female. Kinda like miss congeniality

I think the characters were more college level then pro ball but whatever

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

I really wanted to like this one but it seemed forced and all over the place. And it was presented to me as four chili pepper spicy but it was definitely not that spicy.

The Big Game was a light rom-com read with an easy to follow story line and a second chance / enemies to lovers type romance.

Tropes:
Enemies to Lovers
Forced Proximity
Second Chance
American Football

This book follows Lydia and Tate as they reconnect as adults after being high school flames. Tate is now a famous football player, and Lydia is recruited to be his close protection agent!
There is a bit of a "who done it" mystery with threats to Tate's life which keep things interesting. But this story is mostly about the second chance romance and characters personal development.
These two characters are both flawed, they have both experienced elements to their childhoods that have shaped the way they see love and how a relationship should work.
We see them push and pull each other during the trails of keeping Tate safe to play in the suprtbowl, we see them both learn and grow.
There are a few hazy details, not much detail on the football side of things (no mention of what position Tate plays?!) And a few "unbelievable" aspects. But all in all, I enjoyed this book, it was a light and easy read.
Thank you NetGalley and OneMoreChapter for allowing me to read this eARC

2/5 ⭐️
2.5/5 🌶️

Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collin’s UK, One More Chapter, and Cassie Conner for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Second chance romance
Sports romance
Forced proximity
Enemies to lovers
Fake dating

Tate and Lily dated in college, but broke up just when things were getting serious. Now Tate is in danger right before the biggest game of his career and needs protection since someone is out to kill him. Enter his new bodyguard/fake romance…but wait she’s familiar. Decent spice in here!

This book has potential, but it needs to be edited. Not only are there normal word choice errors, but it needs dialect editing very badly. Turns of phrase that are not used in America are constantly being used by the American characters. More than anything, I realize that often times we’re meant to have some level of suspension of belief when reading fiction…but this was just…the things that happened in this book would never happen that way. Like, some of the things just are plot holes and others are plot craters because if you take a second to think about them logically or use an ounce of critical thinking to how real people would assess the situation it’s just unreasonable to even think these events are plausible.

3 stars. An entertaining, quick-read romance.

Lily and Tate, college sweethearts, meet after years apart. Their breakup left both of them bitter. Life has moved on since then, Tate has become a professional football player and Lily a bodyguard.

I usually like bodyguard romances in the traditional way (he's a bodyguard, she's a damsel in distress). Here, no one was a damsel in distress, but Lily was a badass bodyguard!

The ending felt unfinished - a good epilogue would have improved the situation considerably. There was a suspenseful subplot which I actually liked, but it was not very well resolved in the end

WHAT I LIKED: The tension between Lily and Tate.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: So much miscommunication, the initial plot of the book was based on miscommunication. Too much unanswered questions in the end.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

Pov: dual, 1st person
Heat & spice: open doors
Pacing: slowburnish instalust...

Communication: miscommunication
Third act: break up / external crisis
Ending: HFN

Main characters:
* Alpha Hero
* Bodyguard
* Enemies to lovers
* Opposites attract
* Physically very different

What?
* Dirty talk
* Fake dating
* Forced proximity
* Second chance
* Sports romance: football

Where?
* Workplace romance

Drama?
* Difficult past
* Family drama

Other vibes:
* The one that got away

Thank you Harpers Collin and Netgalley for the e-ARC of this book.

Overall, I enjoyed this fun and different take on a sports read! Lily and Tate appear to be the perfect college couple, cheerleader and football star and absolutely in love. However, Lilly overheard a conversation that puts all of this in doubt, ending their relationship. They are brought together 8 years later and forced to work closely and have their continued feelings for each other.

The story was fun, but far fetched 😁. Additionally, I felt like I didn't really get to know the characters, I wanted to understand more about them and dive deeper into their personalities.

I went into this with expectations of a spicy sports romance, and what I got was a bit more than that indeed!

After having her heart broken years earlier, Lily runs back into the man responsible. Unfortunately, she's his bodyguard. A bodyguard he does not want. With both blaming the other for their past and old feelings stirring, Lily must keep Tate safe from an unknown threat, as well as keeping her own heart safe.

This took me a little by surprise, and I couldn't quite judge the vibe of the book with it jumping slightly between genres and tone. However, it was enjoyable and is well worth a read!

The rating I have to give this book pains me. A lot. These characters are great. The chemistry is off the charts. The story is engaging.

But this book is filled with errors, so many loose ends, and a ridiculously improbable ending. What could be a 5-star read is self-sabotaged for a few reasons.

Reason 1: a Brit writing Americans fail
I did not know the author was British when I started this book, but it became obvious immediately. The male lead is an American and this book is set in America, but there are dozens, yes DOZENS, of errors in his speech and vocabulary that are distinctly British. I will never understand why British authors insist on writing American characters in American settings. In this book it is a disastrous attempt

Reason 2: major plot holes throughout
Oh, there were so, so, SO MANY plot holes in this book. Injuries miraculously heal within the same scene, a house break in (via a shattered window) that just never gets addressed, scenes that make no sense within the plot, etc.

Reason 3: the ending
// SPOILERS // the hero finds the heroine badly injured. She has a head injury and wrist injuries that are bleeding profusely. There is a massive bomb in a sports stadium 30 minutes prior to the Superbowl. The hero defuses the bomb (now a mere 15 minutes to Superbowl start time) and somehow the Superbowl goes on as planned, on time. The injured heroine watches the game, apparently covered in her own blood. She watches with the owner's ex-wife, who also was injured by the "bad guy". Like... WUT? That the author didn't choose to have a game postponement and resume this story 1 week later at the rescheduled Superbowl in INSANE.

I wish this book had a seasoned editor, American proof readers checking for inaccuracies, and a plausible ending. It could have been such a great read.