I feel so bad but this was just not it for me. Usually I like a rivals/enemies to lovers but Jade was so mean. Like, cruel at times. And then they go on one date and move in together? And it all happened within like two months of summer vacation? That seems like a veeeery swift change. I don't know. I liked Bet On It and hadn't realized this was connected so I enjoyed that, but I was just kind of disappointed. And it seemed much longer than 320 pages because I was just waiting to see the connection and chemistry between Jade and Franny.

An enemies-to-lovers that honestly felt a little too 'enemies' to me, this novel was enjoyable but doesn't shine as much as I thought it would. This novel is heavy on the football info, so be ready for that!

Love love love. This sapphic sports romance gave me everything that I want from a rom-com. The banter between rivals was good. If you are a sports fan I think that it makes it even easier to love because you understand the passion of the characters and why the rivalry is so strong even though they are clearly a good match. I did enjoy how the book tried to deal with how women are forced to compete even more in male-dominated fields because there really is not space made for everyone, even when it's not fair.

The romance and spice built well throughout the book. Even when they were at odds, you really root for them.

Honestly, I only made it about 15% of the way through this one. I really just kept getting annoyed at how the two main characters hated each other like as adults and over football? And they barely cared about teaching which was honestly one of the most annoying parts of this book that started making it seem like it was going to be a quirky Abbott Elementary-esque book.

Two queer female teachers are vying for a football coaching job at a South Carolina high school, in this sapphic rivals-to-lovers sports romance.

I wanted to like this one more than I did. Jade just wasn't likeable. She saw Franny as competition through the first third of the book, even with Franny pointing out that two women in the male-dominated sport would have more power. Both characters felt a bit one-dimensional and their attraction felt superficial.

I received this ARC from @netgalley and publisher @stmartinspress. The opinions are my own.

Ready to Score will be released on June 3, 2025.

“Ready to Score” by Jodie Slaughter is a fantastic adult sapphic romance novel. The book features Jade and Franny, two high school teachers trying to coach football. Jade sees Franny as competition so the book starts out with enemies-to-lovers vibes. One-sided though, as Franny always attempted to get on Jade’s good side, even if she played along with the competition.

While I wasn’t initially thrilled about the book's premise, I really liked the cover and decided to read it anyway. But after starting, I couldn’t put it down! I love how strong of characters Jade and Franny are, as they’re breaking into a male-dominated field as two queer women of color. The chemistry between the two is intoxicating and sexy.

Even if you’re not a sports fan, I highly recommend this book for the romance and for the fierceness of the characters. If you are a sports fan, even better!

I really enjoyed Jodie Slaughter’s “Ready to Score” even though football isn’t usually my thing. Slaughter did a great job creating authentic coach characters who weren’t too cheesy or over the top. I like the enemies to lovers aspect of this book and thought the chemistry between Franny and Jade was great. I wish there had been more spicy bits earlier on though I know that’s the nature of an enemies to lovers story. Overall a very good read!

Jodie Slaughter’s *Ready to Score* is a delightful and sizzling romance set against the backdrop of a charming small southern town. The story follows Jade Dunn, an ambitious assistant coach who’s determined to break through the layers of old-fashioned small-town politics to secure a coveted head coach position. When she joins a monthly poker game to network, she never expects to find Francesca Lim, an infuriatingly attractive art teacher who seems to be eyeing her career spot. The sparks between the two women fly as they clash, both professionally and personally, but they can’t help the undeniable chemistry that brews beneath their rivalry.

What makes *Ready to Score* so enjoyable is the strength and depth of its main characters. Jade and Francesca are both fiercely driven yet vulnerable, making their interactions captivating and relatable. Their dynamic is a perfect mix of tension, banter, and romance, and readers will find themselves rooting for them to navigate their personal and professional challenges. Slaughter’s portrayal of the small-town setting adds a quaint, almost nostalgic charm to the story, making it feel like an escape into a community where everyone knows everyone else’s business. The blend of passionate romance with real-world ambition creates a story that’s both heartwarming and exciting, making *Ready to Score* a must-read for fans of contemporary romance.

I was excited to check this one out—I love a good enemies-to-lovers romance, especially when both main characters are compelling or there’s a satisfying redemption arc. Unfortunately, that didn’t quite happen here. I never really warmed up to Jade, and I struggled to understand what Franny saw in her beyond surface-level attraction.

That said, I did enjoy the small-town setting and the charming supporting cast.

Overall, this was a decent read, but it didn’t fully win me over.

#ReadytoScore #NetGalley

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

AGHHHHHH OMG!!!!
This book was so much better than I expected. The tension, the strong female leads, the banter, and on and onnn.

This was a cute and quick read to pick up in between longer/heavier reads. I really enjoyed Lim's character and how straightforward she was. Even when Jade was being beyond stubborn, the fact that Lim stayed so constant and open about her emotions really helped the plot move forward and not feel like your typical "miscommunication trope."
The one thing I will say, is that I felt like it was advertised as enemies to lovers, but it was clear from the start that they were both attracted to each other so it felt a little contrived how mean Jade was to Lim. Later, on we do get the reasoning behind this, but I still would've loved to see a LOT less of that.
ALSO, side note but the concussion/cooking scene was too sweet.

Overall, a solid 4 start read. I read the full book in one sitting and truly did enjoy it for the most part!

I think this is a sweet romance that I really wanted to love, but ended up not being for me. I love Jodie Slaughter, especially Bet On It so I was so excited to see more of those characters. However the main points of this book were teaching and sports and both fell flat for me. I am not a sports person and it felt like the sports took over at points. Obviously that doesn't make this book bad because you should be able to infer that from the title and cover, but it made it hard for me to get into it. As a teacher the school stuff fell between too realistic that I felt like I was at work and having a bad time, or so unrealistic that I was frustrated and taken out of the story. Again, I love Slaughter and I think the writing style and character development are strong so I'm going to rate it objectively, but I don't have too many specifics because I was really struggling to pick this book up.

I enjoyed reading this book, it was a quick and fun read. However, one of my main gripes with the book is how their romantic relationship developed. They had obvious sexual attraction and chemistry but I did not see the romantic aspect develop in the same way, to the point where it was surprising to see Franny demand a relationship. It almost felt like they should just be getting together because they’re the two gay, football coaches, so obviously they’ll be together. I just wish I got to see more of the romanticism develop rather than Jade’s stubbornness and bad attitude drag on for so long.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! The plot was engaging and full of twists that kept me hooked until the very end. The characters were well-developed and relatable, and I found myself really connecting with their journeys. The pacing was just right, balancing action with moments of reflection. However, there were a few areas where I felt certain storylines could have been explored a bit more deeply. Despite that, the book offered a memorable experience, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a thought-provoking read!

I love Jodie Slaughter so much! This was so good. Jad was a difficult character but difficult characters make a great story.

This was a good sapphic sports romance (my first)! The perfect balance between football and romance with a delicious rivalry and several spicy scenes. I loved the discussion on race and queerness in the football community. That felt real and authentic. I also loved Franny’s character. I will say there were some consistency issues with the book and the ending dragged a bit, but I’ll chalk that up to this being an ARC. Overall, I’d recommend this. It’s perfect for fans of Meryl Wilsner.

This was well written, but i absolutely could not stand Jade. It felt like she was just plain mean at times for zero reason and I couldn't find any reason to root for her. I also feel like the main couple just didn't have chemistry.

My first book I read through NetGalley. This book is really sweet. Beautiful representation throughout, with a wonder story about a bisexual Black woman fighting for a spot as head coach in southern high school football. I just love both main characters so much. Both come from a very real, gritty perspective of the misogyny within football. They learn from each other and grow both as people and as coaches intertwined with a sweet and charming love story. Would definitely recommend.

Spice level is definitely up there. It’s not a focus of the story, necessarily, but they do have a healthy amount of sex for a couple, and it’s all explicitly written.

2.75 - rounding up for Franny

I have a ton of questions about the choices for this story. Primarily, I don't understand why Jade was such an unpleasant character. I don't entirely understand why this pushed an "enemies" to lovers plot so heavily, but I really don't understand why so much of what Franny did could be considered flirting while so much of what Jade did was downright hateful. In the end, this felt like a love story between Jade and football, not Jade and Franny.

There is WAY more football in this book than I expected there to be considered the 2 main characters aren't players themselves. There's pretty much 2 whole chapters that are just play by plays of a game - so if that's not your jam, be warned of that.

I loved Franny! While it's unfortunate she ended up chasing another woman who treated her poorly (I thought maybe this was intended for her to learn a lesson but... I think Slaughter thought Jade was someone the reader would root for... she wasn't in my case). I loved how much we saw of Franny's family. I loved her struggle with being lonely and seeing her brother's loving marriage. I loved her issues with her mother. I really loved that she had the bowling group with the older queer women. Franny was sweet, sexy, and 10x more mature than it seemed possible considering how awful Jade was to her.

Ultimately, I thought maybe there was a point we'd get Jade realizing she should've been fighting for both Jade and Franny to have a seat at the table. Jade had a one sided competition and it made her such a nasty character that, by the end of the book, I wasn't rooting for her at all. I personally don't understand why this was the take and the "turn" wasn't significant enough to make up for what Jade did, in my opinion.

But I'm super glad other people enjoyed this more than me. I thought the concept of 2 queer women of color fighting to coach a football team in the south was a really interesting idea.

3.75 ⭐️I really liked this book! It was refreshing to have an interracial sapphic couple. I also loved that they were both women who loved football. There were several instances where I laughed out loud at the witty dialogue.

I did notice that in the book, Franny’s niece, Amelia is said to be 10 in the beginning but then we are told she is 6 towards the middle of the book. Another in inconsistency I noticed was with Alonzo’s father. He said his pops had a heart attack the day before the scrimmage but later in the book, he tells Franny about the struggles his family went through when his dad died a few years ago. Maybe he was referring to his grandpa when he said pops? I could be wrong.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It was well written and funny. I did find myself having a hard time liking Jade until 70% of the book was complete. She was unnecessarily mean to Franny. I don’t mind them bickering or bantering back and forth, but it seemed at times that Jade was really trying to be hurtful.

Thank you NetGalley and the author for allowing me to read the ARC

Jodie Slaughter delivers a sizzling romance in Ready to Score, blending sports, passion, and emotional depth. The story of a fiercely ambitious athlete and a driven sports reporter navigating their undeniable chemistry is both heartwarming and steamy. Slaughter’s writing shines with witty banter, well-rounded characters, and a perfect balance of romance and personal growth. A delightful read for fans of slow-burn tension and unapologetic love stories.