Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

This wasn’t what I was expecting. There is way more football talk then I expected and I really, really did not like Jade. However, I loved Franny. I wasn’t a fan of how immature and petty Jade was all the time (like during the bingo night thing). It’s super unfortunate that Franny remained attracted to Jade after everything.

I’m just not sure if this was necessary.

b>3.75🏈 </b>
<i>Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review!</i>

<b><i>Black X Korean Sapphics SAVE USSS!!!</b></i>

May we thank <b>Jodie Slaughter</b> for providing us this ♡.

While this was labeled and marketed as a <i>’Rivals to Lovers’</i>. There wasn’t a ‘rivalry’ at all really, it was just one sided bull being that Franny never did or said anything ill in retribution to Jade’s actions.

We were told why Jade hated Franny but it’s still like.. why? She was way too petty for it to be something like that and in the beginning I can understand why Jade could be upset at not being granted a smart board. But if she was putting funds into the school, why couldn’t she buy one herself? That shouldn’t have been an ignition to her hate for Franny I don’t think.

The rivals to lovers trope would’ve made sense if it was reciprocated with real reason; the rivalry should’ve began in the field and not beforehand as Franny doesn’t really dislike Jade like Jade does her in such an over the top way and this being a story with a majority of football involved, it would’ve been better to see that rivalry and love twist and grow then just reading play by plays.

Franny is actually funny AF, like I love her. Every time she’s sad or her eyes water I be wanting to jump in this book and tear the mf who causes it, up! Like come on Jade this is your wife you hurting!

I couldn’t lie sometimes her and Jade relationship feelt like some type of Stockholm’s syndrome in the early stages😬. Like I get the harsh reality— as a black woman myself— what Jade faced and could face, but gosh she’s just constantly mean and childish for little reasons that it’s just annoying— especially how she made gambling night into something it shouldn’t have been when she supposedly loves those kids! And Franny was just drooling <i><b>REGARDLESS</i></b> like I know the body and face is tea but is it that so?!?!?

But Jade falling in her own hole made me feel a lot better since she was finally able to reflect a bit on her shit and we got more understandable depth to her along with her accountability. Made me start my road to loving her too.

Just wished when Jade spoke of such one time, Franny didn’t say “I liked playing along” because while she did find it hot sometimes, she legit teared up over it.

<i>Perhaps her terrible ex did a bigger number on her than we all thought?</i>

And I get it, Franny understood her reasons of fear and lashing out, and yes you can love someone and understand them, but you can still feel that hurt and allow that accountability be had from the person you love.

Now, there is some inconsistencies. For example, one minute Amelia is 10 then the next she’s 6. And then one minute Alonzo dad suffered a stroke and the next he’s been dead for some years and the recount of what happened at the club. <b>Hopefully</b> that’s all fixed by release!

Other than all that, the writing was really good and smooth and the little stories of all our characters added engaging width to this written world!

I don’t really know shit about football so I was just cheering every time something sounded good when it came to the tennis ball hitting the net or something like that😀. So If you’re a heavy football fan, you will definitely get a kick out of this!

I wish we could’ve seen more of the domestic things that Fran and Jade had done, would’ve added more to their newfound relationship and allowed us readers to see that vulnerability and intimacy and actually feel the weight of the first ‘I love you’.

Even the parent meet through FaceTime should’ve been written about I would’ve loved that added connection of their romantic lives.

Especially with what they said to each other afterwards being so damn cute!

<b>**Spoiler**</b>
They jinxed themselves by saying they’d win the first game, I promise you they did!
<b>**</b>

<u><b>Departing Thoughts</u></b>

-I so didn’t expect them to be so freaked out so that was an unexpected yet highly welcomed treat! Especially with Jade lying about being a little bottom when she be slutting Franny out!

-<b><i>“The sooner we go, the sooner we can come back and watch some gay shit on TV.” “Fine. But only because I love gay shit on TV so much.”</b></i>

<i>Literally so real and me asf!!</i>

-Would I be crazy if I said Jade lowkey highkey got a mommy kink👀??

-The kids relationship with Franny is too cuteee!

-Those kids are so lucky to be having married lesbian coaches that are also BIPOC, like what a dream!

dnf. unfortunately, the writing style just did not work for me and i personally cannot take high school football that seriously, so this was overall a big miss for me. i do give this points for being a sapphic sports romance though, the world needs more of those.

4/5 stars: This is the third stand-alone entry in Slaughter's interconnected Bet On It series which is a BIPOC FF Steamy Romance set in South Carolina that follows an assistant high school football coach who finds her dreams of becoming head coach blocked by the infuriatingly art teacher who's determined to reignite her own coaching career despite their red hot attraction. As the two clash over poker, game play and just about everything else they'll realize they won't be losing out on their dreams if they can just work together to get the life – and love – they deserve. Written in dual POV with plenty of heart and down-home southern humor, Slaughter's writing and character work are excellent; the characters are well-rounded, complex and yet remain very likable. Jade and Franny (Francesca) are great and I love seeing the two of them come back together and earn their HEA. Additionally, I loved catching up with the character's from Bet on It and Play to Win. This rivals-to-lovers sports romance is top notch with plenty of swoony banter with OPS scenes that are incredibly steamy. While this is a stand-alone, you'll for sure want to read Jade's friend's HEAs by picking up this series from the beginning with Bet On It.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

This is a 3.75

The book was cute but Jade was so unlikable for the first half of the book which made it hard to get through. My goal in life is to always be on the side of the black woman but this book tested me and I failed. She was so mean! Thirty-two is too old to be mean because of your past. I will also say the relationship had a few too many sapphic cliches in it like the toxic immediate codependency where they can't leave each other's side. That being said, there were quite a few positives. Franny was my dream woman and I love reading about women that are my type. Also reading an interracial relationship that did not involve a white person was a treat for me. The second half of the book was much easier to read than the first.

“Ready to Score” is a cute, quick enemies to lovers novel. If you’re looking for a spicy, sapphic romance—this is it!

Jade is a hard-working, no-nonsense teacher with her sights set on the head football coach position. After years of defensive coaching she’s ready to lead—until a gorgeous, free-spirited, art teacher joins the coaching staff for the summer.

Francesca Lim, raised in a Texas-football town, worked hard to become a coach, and is ready to step on the field at Greenbelt. Sparks fly and tensions rise between her and Jade. Will the coaching team accept two women? Can they navigate the competition—and chemistry— budding between them?

Slaughter addresses the inequalities and discriminations faced by women and queer folx head-on. She even goes so far as to touch on the pressures Jade faces as a successful Black woman. Many women will identify with the challenges Jade and Francesca are up against.

I did find the main characters hard to like in the beginning, but they did grow on me. The plot and side characters were compelling—and the spice? Whew! Certainly worth the wait.

This is a cute, quick weekend read. Don’t let the football backdrop deter you. This one’s a perfect palate cleanser to pull you out of a reading slump. I am excited to check out some of Jodie’s other novels.

This story was not at all what I hoped it would be. It follows Jade and Franny, two ambitious women who but heads as they vie to be coaches on Greenbelt High's football team.

Jade and Franny's relationship, at times, felt forced, and the transition from enemies to lovers lacked a deeper emotional connection that I was expecting.

That said, I did enjoy the themes of ambition and the power struggles that thrive in old-boy networks and conservative towns, especially for POC. The pacing was a bit slow at times and too fast at others, and I felt that some parts of the story were disjointed and left a lot of things unexplored.

Overall, it was a quick, easy read that I would give 3.5 stars. Thank you, NetGalley, for this ARC.

3⭐
1🌶️

Some parts of this were really well done, and then a part would be disjointed and throw it off.

I do think Jade's animosity needed toned down or she needed a better come to jesus moment because she just changed her mind about Franny so suddenly.

Loved the small town football team vibes. That was enjoyable.

I’m not really a fan of sport romance but this was set in high school so I wanted to try. And I’m glad I did. This story is so wholesome. I love this book so much. I love Francesca a normal amount, I promise!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

3.5 stars

Ughhh I’m so disappointed in this book. I was so excited for this premise and the fact that I really enjoyed the first two books - so that fact that I really didn’t like this one is such a bummer.

I’m always a fan of a good rivals to lovers, especially wlw rivals to lovers but the execution of this trope in this book was off. The banter came off mean and made me slightly uncomfortable. In addition, the transition between rivals and lover was way too fast for my liking. I honestly felt like there was no character development for either of them and the book felt disconnected from the first two of the series.

I’m bummed that the series ended on such a low note for me but if you love vibes and don’t really care about plot, I would definitely recommend this.

We’ll always have peaches 😉

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review

This was NOT for me which was a disappointment after enjoying the first 2 books in this interconnected series. The “enemies” were just downright cruel to each other and I had no desire to see them as “lovers.” The pacing was all over the place and the characters were constantly going from hate to lust and were really wishy washy.

i will say, when i get an arc, i analyze more than i would if i was reading a non-arc; part of me is like, would i have felt the same way if i really sat down to think about it like this? normally i review and rate romance based off of vibes instead of plot and character development.

a big part of me was like JADE COME ON get out of scarcity mindset, you can get the job without cutting down another queer woman of color who only wants to be on your side!!!!!! thank goodness she eventually gets out of her own way and stops trying to bully francesca.

i knew they were both coaches going into this book, but i picked it up mostly due to how much i liked BET ON IT, one of Jodie's other romance novels, rather than this specific plot (though i'm all for more QTBIPOC romances!!). that being said, there was more work/coaching plot than romance, and i found the pacing a bit wonky. the romance developed pretty slowly at the beginning, before zooming up real fast (i don't love that they u-hauled, i would have liked more of a build up) towards the end where i was looking at the book progress and wondering when they were finally going to get together.

note that i got an arc of this book for free through netgalley.

Before getting into my review, I’m a huge football fan, so when I saw the premise being two women wanting to be football coaches, I was in. We’re following Jade Dunn, who is a teacher and the assistant coach of Greenbelt’s football team. She seems like a shoo-in to replace the soon-to-retire head coach until Francesca comes into the picture. From that point on, the real fun begins.

From the start, it’s clear Jade doesn’t want to talk to, let alone like, Francesca Lim. Thankfully, Lim doesn’t let that deter her and instead decides to double down. It even goes as far as Dunn and Lim attending the weekly poker night at the head coach’s house. It seems like the two can’t stop running into each other, yet the attraction is unmistakable there. Coupled with the competition to find a place on the coaching staff, things aren’t nearly as picturesque in this small-town romance.

While I adored seeing how Dunn and Lim warmed up to each other, it was hard to read about how Jade was downright rude and dismissive to Francesca. I know that part of that was her trying to deny her attraction, but it was frustrating. Lim was trying her best to find a place in the town, along with possibly finding a new friend in Jade. While things worked out in the end, Jade’s behavior was annoying.

Regardless, the attraction and romance between Francesca and Jade were scorching once it finally got underway. These two were like moths to a flame, and once they touched, it was like they couldn’t stop. One thing I always adore about Jodie Slaughter’s books is the intimacy she injects into them. Seeing the two connect both physically and emotionally made for a great reading experience.

I do like the third-act-conflict Jodie Slaughter added, as it felt like something different. It truly made the book feel so much more real. Jade made some bad choices, and they came with some unsavory consequences. I can’t say that I didn’t chuckle at just picturing how the entire thing played out. No matter, I enjoyed this book, and if you’re looking for some sporty sapphic romances, make sure to add Ready to Score to your list.

If you want a cute one sided rivals to lovers story this is it! I loved Franny and her energy with Jade a must read I was truly so into this read. And the spice made sense I love that!!!!

DNF"d at 4%

I just was not feeling this one. I'm not sure if football in the summertime was why but it was not pulling me in at all. I will probably circle back in the fall to try it via audio.

Overall the dislike of the two characters in the work place was not my favorite set up for a rivals to lovers.

Rival to lovers of two teacher vying for coaching position of their High school football team. Jade Dunn has spend years as assistant coach and she isn’t going to let Francesca Lim swoop in and take the top coach position just it’s finally opening up. The Rivalry is really one sided as Lim wants a coaching position with the team but she knows she’s not ready for head coach so doesn’t understand Jade’s animosity. Lim wants to work with Jade on and off the field.

The characters are determined and likeable. There is some things that pulled me out of the story becoming they seemed unrealistic (how long were they in that bar bathroom uninterrupted?!?). However I overall enjoyed this romance. There is lots of yearning with a spicy payoff.

I really could not get into this romance. Franny and Jade never felt right together, they never had chemistry and the “enemies” part of their relationship was just Jade being cruel. There are so few women in football I hated to read of one woman tearing down another for any amount of time. It also dragged on and on. After 3 tries of Jodie Slaughter, I think I need to give up and accept that her books are not for me.

I desperately wanted to like this book but knew from the first page I wasn’t going to because of the writing. The “enemies” portion felt very catty/childish and I wasn’t a fan of that, it pulled me away from the actual romance part.

I really enjoyed this book! It was the perfect mix of sports romance and enemies-to-lovers tension. The banter and back-and-forth between the two FMCs was sharp, fun, and full of chemistry—the slow burn and angst leading up to their first encounter was everything I hoped for.

Beyond the romance, this book did an amazing job shedding light on the challenges women face in male-dominated spaces. The fact that both leads are women of color added an extra layer of complexity and depth that made their journeys even more compelling.

This book was great. I really loved how they talked about Texas football and how it is really a huge part of the community. I also thought it was very important. How they went over racial and queer aspects of living in certain places. Overall, it was very Hallmark adjacent, which I loved.