I love this author and a great college sports romance! It flowed perfectly and was fun! Thank you for the ARC! It's always appreciated.

I really enjoyed this book! First, I loved the competitive atmosphere with the cheerleading and football. It was fun to have something to root for. Second, I love the friendship and romance that developed with our main couple. It starts out with a one-night stand and then develops to friendship and even more. There were cute and funny moments throughout. There was some slight miscommunication but they definitely worked through it for their happy ending. Overall, I recommend if you are wanting a cute sports romance read!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy!

This is a pretty standard college sports romance, but has a few twists within that makes it truly stand out from others. Every single character introduced had me wanting to learn more about them *cough* Levi *cough*. Most importantly Hudson has a cat named Sourdough …. What more could you want from a book.

This is a pretty typical college sports romance book. I have no strong feelings either way about this one, good or bad. I do struggle with books that start off with a hookup and then end up going backwards. I prefer a buildup to the feelings/relationship rather than the insta-lust. I felt like Ella & Hudson were fine characters but neither one was noteworthy to me and I didn't really connect with them.

Overall this was a good palate cleanser type of book but I don't know that I will remember a thing about it in a few days time. Good for a quick beach read.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed Game On, although it was a little uneven for me. I love football romances, but this was my first romance that really dove into the world of competitive cheerleading, as opposed to sideline cheer. As the parent of a competitive cheerleader, that was something fun and different. This book sort of reminded me of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, one of my favorite 80’s rom-coms.
I liked Hudson as a character, he was not your traditional athlete, he had no desire to enter the draft, preferring to study Classics in grad school. His motivations and hangups over his father’s role in his life were a driving force for his ambitions. Ella was a little more confusing to me. I didn’t quite get her hesitation to be in a relationship with Hudson- she was a little all over the place, and I didn’t really connect with her.
There were some areas that I thought were covered too deeply, such as the nuances of competitive cheerleading, the practices, competitions etc. I glossed over much of those pages. But other areas that I thought were more critical to understanding the main characters were covered too lightly, IMO. The beginning advanced very quickly as well, I didn’t have a good sense for who they were.
Overall, it was enjoyable, but a little slow for me. This was my first book by the author, and I would be interested in reading more of her books. I would like to see a book with Levi and Claire- there seemed to be an interesting back story with them.
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for giving me an opportunity to review this ARC.
Tropes:
- College romance
- One night stand
- He’s a QB, she’s a cheerleader
- Friends to lovers

The characterization felt a little rushed for me but in the end this was a fun, spicy, light read. A different twist on the usual sports romance.

It was a fast and fun read! There are some points where I felt the pacing could be a little bit better and a resolution with the FMC's situation, but the romance was cute. I liked how the pair complimented each other and how the path to the HEA was worth it.

I read this book in one sitting — I just couldn’t put it down! From the very first chapter, I was completely hooked by Ella and Hudson’s dynamic. Their chemistry was electric, and the banter? So good.

Ella was such a fun lead — strong, sharp, and totally unapologetic. I loved seeing her navigate a new life in the U.S. while staying true to who she is. And Hudson? Ugh, my heart. He’s layered and complex in the best way, and the way the book handled his OCD felt really respectful and thoughtful. Watching them slowly let their guards down with each other was one of my favorite parts.

The romance was perfectly paced — a mix of flirty, vulnerable, and just enough slow burn to keep you turning the pages. I also really appreciated that while the story had its swoony moments, it didn’t shy away from deeper emotional themes too.

Overall, Game On felt like the perfect blend of fun and heartfelt. If you’re into sports romances with real character growth and crackling chemistry, this one’s a win.

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this early — I had such a great time with it!

This book is pure serotonin. Ella is everything you want in a rom-com heroine: bold, independent, and just messy enough to make you root for her. And Hudson is a classic broody quarterback with a soft center. Their chemistry snaps from page one, and the “just fun, no strings” pact added the emotional ticking time bomb I crave in my romance reads.

What makes this story stand out is how effortless it feels. The writing is sharp and modern without trying too hard, the spice hits when it needs to, and the stakes stay light but engaging. It’s the kind of book you finish in one sitting with a stupid grin on your face. Ki Stephens nails the balance between sexy and sweet, and if you’re craving a college romance with charm, heat, and two leads who absolutely shouldn’t fall for each other but 100% do, this one’s a must-read.

1.5⭐️ (half a star for Sourdough, because at least he made sense.)
1.5🌶️

So I picked this up thinking it’d be a fun, kinda spicy college sports romance. The premise sounded promising—new girl, football player, opposites attract, maybe some fun cheerleading drama? It could’ve been interesting! But yeah… it just wasn’t.

Right off the bat, Chapter 1 throws literally everything at you: we’re at a cheer comp, then suddenly there’s a breakup, she’s moving across the world, then she meets a random guy at a bar and boom—hookup. There’s no time to process anything. It felt like the book was in a rush to get somewhere but didn’t know where that was.

And then we meet Hudson. Oh boy. Where do I even start?

This man is confusing on every possible level. His entire life goal is to become a classics teacher. Like… ancient philosophy and Greek tragedy type beat. And that’s apparently his whole identity. Ella should’ve sprinted away the moment he brought that up, because wow. Bro said, “I’d like to live in permanent debt and maybe recite Homer to disinterested freshmen for a living.”

But okay, that alone wouldn’t be weird. What makes it weirder is that he’s also the starting quarterback of a competitive “Southern Ivy” football team… while claiming to hate the spotlight?? He doesn’t even seem to like football! Like sir, you are literally the face of the most high-profile team on campus. If you want to be lowkey, go run track or something. And THEN we find out he used to be a competitive cheerleader for six years??? And only switched back to football junior year of high school—after his dad dipped?

And somehow that path magically landed him QB1 status at an elite school? With zero explanation of how that would actually work? Be serious. Competitive cheer is intense and valid, but you don’t just slide into being a top college quarterback after that kind of break. It felt like the author just slapped traits onto him like “cheer boy + football bro + philosopher king = Hudson!” without ever making them make sense together.

Also, the way he hypes up doing a roundoff like it’s a life achievement? Dude, that’s Cheer 101. If you can do a cartwheel, you can do a roundoff. Why was he acting like he deserved a medal?

It all felt so disconnected and unrealistic. Honestly, I was rooting for him to get benched by someone who actually wanted to be there. If your protagonist’s personality is “conflicted and broody,” at least make the logic of their life track.

Anyway. The romance? Flat. Like really flat. There’s supposed to be this instant lust thing between him and Ella, but there’s no chemistry. Their first conversation is so awkward I had to reread it just to confirm how weird it was. She’s like, “You liked that, did you?” two minutes into talking to him, and then asks for his driver’s license so she can take a pic of it. Girl. You don’t even know his name yet.

And somehow this interaction leads to them going home together?? Even the open-door scenes didn’t do it for me. They get interrupted by a cat at one point and just… go with it? It killed whatever weak vibe they had going. Like sure, “Sourdough” (the cat) was cute and honestly probably the best character in the book, but still.

Ella herself was also kind of hard to root for. She came off bratty and reactive a lot of the time. Like she’s 22 but acts 17 in half her decisions. Her ex Jamie keeps popping up and you think it’s going somewhere interesting—maybe some drama, maybe tension—but then… nothing happens with him either. So many setups just went nowhere.

Also: why is Ella even British? Besides the occasional “quite” or “bloody,” her voice reads like any other generic American character. It felt like the author just gave her an accent for ✨quirk✨ and then didn’t do anything with it.

And don’t get me started on the pacing. Time skips everywhere. We jump weeks at a time within the first six chapters, and everything important just kind of gets glossed over. Like her five-year relationship ending? Barely processed. She’s just... fine with it. All the emotional weight just isn’t there.

And the telling, not showing? Yikes. Chapter 15 has Hudson literally psychoanalyzing himself out loud to the reader. Like, why are you giving us your entire emotional thesis?? Just show us that through your behavior, your hesitation, something. Don’t spoon-feed it to us. It kills the vibe completely.

By the time I hit 35%, I was skimming. By 50%, I was heavy-skimming. I kept wondering when something was going to actually happen, but everything just stayed surface-level. And the banter? Felt like AI wrote it. No flow, no spark, just awkward lines that didn’t feel human.

Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out how this got traditionally published. It read like fanfiction with info dumps and inconsistent characters, and the sports stuff was just so poorly researched it made it hard to take any of it seriously. Like if you're gonna write sports romance, please at least Google what happens during kickoff.

This felt like a book trying to cash in on the sports romance trend without doing the homework. Characters were inconsistent, the pacing was chaotic, the romance fell flat, and the sports stuff was just plain inaccurate. The only character I liked was the cat—Sourdough, absolute icon.

this was a really well done romance novel, I was invested in the relationship of the characters and how everything was told in this storyline. The characters were so well written and worked in this sports concept. I enjoyed the way Ki Stephens wrote this and am excited for more.

This was super cute! I have loved past things from this author and this did not disappoint! I appreciate both FMC and MMC being able to both work through their own thoughts and working on being together. I do wish we had more resolution for the FMCs personal life back at home but I think it would have taken too much time at the same time. Thanks net galley!

A solid 3.5 stars that shifts into a delightful 4 star read soon quickly you don't even notice and that makes me ashame to have ever seen this as a 3.5!

I'm a huge fan of sports romances and I've always enjoyed a good football star + cheerleader love story dating back to my early hopeless romantic phase of middle school into early college.

Hudson and Ella are loveable, strong yet healing individuals who are intriguing characters separate and together. Their individual pasts are so different but have common threads that make their chemistry natural and believable.

The plot is somewhat predicable but isn't that what you want in a warm cuddly sports romance? Predictable but never boring and never annoying.

The backdrop of a Nashville university, differing family dynamics, trauma and the journey to recognizing feelings fits perfectly into the sports romance genre and the established rank of authors among that of Elle Kennedy, Ali Hazelwood and Liz Tomford.

Definitely enjoyed Ki Stephens has a knack for this and Game On should definitely be added to your TBR with the intention to read sooner rather than later!!!

“Sometimes,” I say roughly, “we have to break the rules if we want to win the game.”

4⭐️/🌶️.5

Something about Ki’s books just feel like home and this was no exception.
Ella Davies was the girl who had it all, an Oxford education, lifelong friends, and a childhood sweetheart she was going to travel abroad with. Then she had nothing. Her bf dumped her, she left her friends, and she had to find her footing in Nashville, alone.
Hudson Fox, the handsome quarterback that longs for normality after his NFL father walked out. A simple life without expectations and one that is his alone.
Hudson and Ella found everything they didn’t know they needed in each other. This was such a unique sports romance plot that reminded me of Icebreaker x Hannah Grace in all the best ways. I loved the independence each character found while also appreciating the other. I also LOVE when the FMC is headstrong and doesn’t beat around the bush, which is exactly what El did with Hudson and he loved every second of those mind battles. They learned and grew around each other without changing who they truly were and isn’t that what we all went out of a relationship?
My only qualms are that I’m 1) MESSY at heart and was hoping for a more dramatic encounter between Jamie (El’s ex) and Hudson; and 2) some of the chapters felt like they ended abruptly. We’d be in the moment and then next chapter were two weeks down the road. Or back in Nashville from Texas when we were just in Hudson’s childhood home. It didn’t hurt the story, but left me wanting a bit more. Otherwise, 10/10 no notes!
Hoping for a book 2 of Levi and Claire!!

This story was such a perfect blend of tension, fun, and slow-burning feelings that I couldn’t stop smiling the whole way through. There’s something so addictive about a no-strings-attached setup that you know is about to go up in flames, and watching Ella and Hudson try so hard to keep things casual while falling harder with every stolen glance had me absolutely hooked. The writing has an effortless rhythm, packed with wit and heart, and the whole story has that cozy, feel-good pulse I never want to leave. It was fun, heartfelt, and every bit as swoony as I hoped.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy!

Game On follows Ella, a college level cheerleader who is going from London to Nashville to study abroad. Her boyfriend, Jamie, breaks up with her right before they are set to leave. When she goes out with her new roommates, she meets football star Hudsom. Their relationship was very insta, and moved from one night stand, to friends, to kinda secret dating. Unfortunately, this fast pace relationship doesn’t really do it for me. The book was also more vibes than plot, and I found myself kinda bored and skimming throughout.

Game On is a college sports romance following Hudson, the star quarterback at Whitland, and Ella, the new cheerleader. The plot and the romance in this book all felt like they happened in a rush, and it was hard to really settle in and connect to anything. There is a lot of description about cheerleading and the stunts that probably could have been taken out so that this story could have more to it. After reading, I just wish there had been more. More drama with the ex or just more of a build-up between the two MCs. I really wanted to love this, but it only ended up being fine. Just not for me, unfortunately.
If you are looking for a quick and easy read with a sports romance (football x cheer), lots of side characters, and fast-paced, check this out!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!

If you love sports romance, this book is for you! This was such a light, fun and steamy read! I absolutely love how these two come together, and I loveeee the no strings attached because come on, there are ALWAYS strings! The chemistry and tension between the two main characters was absolutely delicious and I was LIVING for it! I will say it did feel a bit insta-loveish, so if you aren’t a fan, read at your own risk!

I really enjoyed this book. It was flirty, but also stayed true to the plot and problems addressed. I liked how even the side characters were fleshed out!

This book is titled "Game On" and it was written by Ki Stephens and it is scheduled to be released on September 9, 2025. This book has a female main character who is a cheerleader and a male main character who is a star football quarterback. This book was a quick, cute and spicy read.