If you love college romance, queer characters, futbol, messy bi vibes, the Mexican National Team, spice, philosophy (maybe even if you don’t), spiiiice, lots of laughs, cute friend groups, did I say SPICE?? Then you have to read Futbolista.😌

This book was so funny, full of emotion, an absolute CHAOTIC BI MESS & I loved every single second of it!!

All you need to know is that I loved this book. I’ve read it twice within the span of a month. Jonny Garza Villa is one of my favorite authors. They write books that make me feel seen. The representation of Mexican, American people and culture is so perfect. I love that they don’t shy away from truly writing books meant for us. I love to Gabi and Vale. I loved the soccer aspect of it. I love that we got to follow Gabi on this journey of self discovery, and that he had some great people on his corner, supporting him the friendships in this book or everything a relationship with between him and his parents made my heart so happy. I love everything about this book. Go read it.!!

An absolutely perfect gem of a book. As always! Jonny is an incredible writer and captures the nuance of relationships so well. I will always read anything he writes! I couldn't love this book more.

my first JGV read and certainly not my last. he writes the complexities of discovering queerness, processing what that means, existing in a world that you’ve seen all the ugliness of and how you want to walk through it SO SO well. this story was equally spicy and emotional and funny and raw. I was so drawn to all the main characters and loved to watch Gabi grow into his self throughout the story. Vale is a wonderful beautiful soul and i truly appreciated him and his understanding of Gabi's journey so much - it was really beautiful to watch this story unfold without Vale getting upset or frustrated by Gabi not really knowing what to do with everything he was discovering about himself. That is a refreshing twist i feel like we dont see often!

I definitely would recommend it to everyone!! Thank you Levine Querido and Netgalley for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

JGV does it again!! 5/5 no questions asked. The characters? Amazing. The side characters?? Also amazing! I need Perez’s book like yesterday. A villain we absolutely HATE!!! Supportive family members and teammates.

I cried, as I’ve done in every JGV book.
I’ve laughed, as I’ve done in EVERY JGV book.

I have so many thoughts swirling in my brain and it just keeps coming back to the fact that I absolutely adore Gabi and his growth throughout the book and his love for Vale and I love Vale’s optimism and how much he supports Gabi and !!! I will be screaming about this book for the next 3-5 business days thank you.

I absolutely ADORE anything that Jonny writes, and this book is no exception! They're writing is so vibrant and full of life, and it always feels completely immersive, I don't know how anyone could read this and not feel it in their heart. I will say, there was a lot of inner monologuing, but I almost didn't mind because of how much I loved the story and the rest of the characters. Their writing just keeps getting better and better, and I can't wait to see what comes out next!

I liked this one. It wasn't my favorite Jonny Garza Villa book but I liked it quite a lot. I liked the team spirit (some of it really) and the side characters and I just had a good time seeing Gabriel growing and getting to know himself better. I really enjoyed the setting and even the sports aspects to this. I really got into the game and I was so invested in all of it. I really liked the writing too and I cannot wait for Jonny Garza Villa's next book.

Thank you so much to Levine Querido and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

Did I listen to the last 45 minutes of this audiobook while lying in the dark crying? yeah. yeah I did 🥲

This was my first book by this author and it most definitely won't be my last. I've heard nothing but praise for their previous books, but this was their first [new] adult novel. And I really, really hope they continue to write in this age range! Because this gave me everything I was looking for in a queer, college romance.

As an older reader (not old but I'm definitely not college age anymore 😅), I loved how the author handled the relationships outside the romance. I not only fell in love with the 2 MCs (obviously) but this had really beautiful depictions of family and friendship as well. Particularly Gabi's father! There were so many beautiful moments between them and there will never be enough representation of men openly showing affection.

This was a very slice of life, realistic (imo) depiction of what it's like heading to college for the first time. Gabi was so sure he knew it all (because no one has it more "figured out" than an 18 year old heading to college 😅). Until life threw him some curve balls.

Between changing relationships, messy friendships, self discovery, and finding your place and purpose, this book hit on all the big moments of this age. And it did it exceptionally.

Queer smut at its finest. No notes.
This book told the story of a young adult entering college and finding himself in a way I never did myself. This one tugged at me in a special way for that reason. NB representation as always from Jonny Garza Villa. Thanks for the opportunity to read!

I love everything written by Johnny Garza Villa. Their characters feel so alive. The emotions are so accessible that sometimes I have to take a break because I am experiencing the emotions so intensely with the characters. I love falling in love alongside their characters because it feels like I am a part of the story and not just an observer with no stake in the outcome.

Oh my goodness, what a fantastic book! FUTBOLISTA is easily my new favorite JGV.

Futbolista has all the exhilarating emotional build-up and catharsis I expect from a sports romance and also rings so true to the kind of big self-discoveries that are so common in the first year of college, living independently for the first time and being forced to consider new perspectives and information. Gabi—romantic, earnest Gabi—is such a great protagonist, and I love love loved the wholesome masculinity of his character in this setting. Gabi cries; he's comfortable and confident expressing his emotions; and his comfort with physical closeness and affection with Vale, even before he realizes he's crushing hard, is satisfying. The single POV works really well here, with the strong coming-into-self focus of the story.

I was also really pleased with how JGV wrote the almost-romantic arc with Leana. Gabi is still pursuing Leana a full 30% into the story, and I was admittedly skeptical of this, worried that the development of Gabi's relationship with Vale would suffer for it. But I am happy to have been so wrong! JGV writes a convincing, satisfying arc for Gabi and Vale, without ever dismissing or devaluing Gabi's earlier feelings for Leana. This last point, that the queer-presenting relationship is not written as more worthy than the straight-presenting one (that never came to fruition), is so important for a bi-awakening book, and I commend JGV for that.

I love when queer sports romances tackle the near-compulsory heterosexuality and performative masculinity ("give your team jacket to a girl to wear") of sports, especially male sports, and that JGV gives us this exploration in combination with that of homophobia in Mexican fútbol fans and at the college, rather than professional, level is both unique and satisfying. JGV has this special affinity and talent for writing super specific Tejane Mexican-American communities, and, as a native Texan myself, I love getting this kind of insight into my home state. Truly, where else are you going to read about the Texas A&M-Corpus Christie fútbol team?

For those who are interested: this book is horny and open door, but not particularly explicit in its descriptions of what you can see through that door.

Major, MAJOR thanks to Levine Querido and Netgalley for the advance copy of this title!

✨ Review ✨ Futbolista by Jonny Garza Villa

Thanks to Levine Querido and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

In Jonny Garza Villa's new adult debut, this steamy sports romance features first-year college student Gabi Piña, the star goalkeeper for his college football team. He meets Vale at a party, when Vale asks to kiss him to complete a task in the game he's playing.

There's lots of coming-of-age queer angst as Gabi comes to terms with his attraction to Vale and the homophobia of his team captain, his community, and the sport in general.

As always, Garza Villa's writing is unapologetically Mexican American and queer 💜 🇲🇽 and shows a great pride for Mexican American Texas. (And, I will find a cheeto filled burrito before my days are through).

This book made me laugh and it made me cry (a rare occurance), as I fell in love with these characters and the journey that they were on. I will read anything JGV writes!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: m/m new adult sports romance
Setting: Corpus Christi
Reminds me of: Garza Villa's other books, Rachel Reed's hockey books
Pub Date: Apr 15 2025

Read this if you like:
⭕️ sports romances
⭕️ grappling with homophobia in sports
⭕️ Mexican American pride
⭕️ supportive friend / family groups

I found this book to be an enjoyable read. The story kept me engaged from start to finish and had some moments that really stood out. Overall, it offered an entertaining reading experience.

DNF at 35%

I genuinely wanted to embrace this book. As a Mexican-American, there’s something profoundly uplifting about seeing my culture represented in literature. However, despite this heartfelt connection, I found the pacing sluggish, the dialogue lacking in authenticity, and the integration of Spanish into the conversations felt forced rather than natural. On a brighter note, I had the pleasure of meeting the author at a local event; he exudes warmth and kindness. I truly wish him all the best with his future literary endeavors.

I will read anything this author writes! 🥹🫶🏼
-🇲🇽Mexican Romance
-Achilean (bi x gay)
-New Adult (18yr college students)
🗣️DO THE AUDIOBOOK!!!
🥹🥲I love the queer Mexican representation SO FREAKING MUCH! I was cheesing and giddy for this couple the whole time! A little messy as Gaby was figuring out his sexuality and coming to terms with it. Vale was such an amazing character! I loved his personality and he was so patient 😭 the cutest!! I loved their banter & flirty-ness with each other! As well as with the new friend group 🥺😩 I loved Gaby’s HS friends but these felt just as amazing! I loved the transition from the old to the new group! They’re jokes were hilarious and it really just feels so homey reading all the Spanish y la carrilla throughout the book!

Somehow every JGV book I read takes over the top spot as my favorite! I love a good sports gay book and this one sure did not disappoint. I loved watching these characters find themselves and fall in love and live their sweet little lives. I could not put this down and I’m already begging JGV to write another book that will ruin my life.

Futbolista is a fast-paced, inspiring read that celebrates the power of passion, teamwork, and self-belief. Whether you're a football fan or not, this story draws you in with its heart, energy, and relatable characters. It’s a great reminder that chasing your dreams—on or off the pitch—is always worth it. A fun and empowering book for young readers!

This is somewhere between four and five stars for me. I suspect if I read it with my ears, I would be rounding up but in reading with my eyes, there were a few things that didn't work great for me that I noticed enough to have me rounding down to four. But let's see where I land when I re-read in audio later! Let me be clear, I will read whatever Jonny Garza Villa writes and I am confident I will find myself enjoying it most of the time. Their voice always hits for me. And in Futbolista in particular, I loved spending time with Gabi and his crew and I very much enjoyed this transition to new adult. The things that didn't work great for me were a bit logistical (which took me out of the story) and I am a bit sensitive to the depictions of villains (it's really hard to get the nuance right). But overall I had a very good time reading and will be re-reading for sure and won't miss whatever the author puts out next.

I'm convinced no one writes queer YA the way Jonny Garza Villa does. They seem to be in a mission to dismantle homophobia and transphobia in all the intersections of being Latinx and queer, one stunning coming of age story at a time. Four books in, I now know why his use of single POV does not bother me as much as other romances -- his stories are not just love stories, they are coming of age stories which are essentially about learning to love yourself. I was a little worried I wouldn't relate to an athlete POV, but somehow Gabi may be one of my favorite protagonists of author's so far. Perhaps because I also grew up in a football (the real one) culture, and his journey to his bisexuality is not so different than my own. He is also a math student dabbling in philosophy, much like my own study of engineering and philosophy. I related a lot to his internal conflict of knowing he isn't homophobic but taking so long to connect the dots of his own queerness. Not to mention the fear of losing people and cultural identities that so deeply define him. But once he does accept it, he spends no time in any kind of shame and lets himself love and hold on to Vale as hard as he could. There was something so refreshing about a character, coming out of denial of his own queerness and immediately honoring and embracing the beauty of the love and the lover, without spending any time in internalized shame. In any other queer YA romance, I would be upset at not having Vale's POV, but somehow in this I was able to love Vale completely even without it because Gabi's POV was one of clarity and self-actualization, triggered by his love for someone's entire being exceeding his fear of rejection. I loved how he loves and I loved how he opened himself up to grow in love. I ADORED his group of futbolista roommates and nonbinary friend, and even a character who could easily have been a source of ex drama. I was a little surprised by how much sex there was in this, but I guess college freshmen be horny like that, and this IS a book about the journey of sexuality and machismo. They never felt gratuitous in description, and there was so much joy in this. Both about falling and being in love not just with someone unexpected, but also a lifelong dream and most importantly, the undiscovered parts of yourself.

Oh my god, y’all this book is incredible 😭 like the kind of book that makes me question other books I’ve rated 5 stars recently because none of them come close to how good this one is 😅 Jonny is one of those authors that I don’t think it’s possible for me to love a new book as much as I loved their last but they prove me wrong every time! I honestly don’t even have the words to explain how much I loved this right now but wow, wow, wow! Incredible, highly recommend!!!