This wasn’t my favorite! I absolutely ADORED the first 50%. Hudson and Ella are two peas in a pod, whether they realize it or not. All their time was spent participating in different activities together and it was SO fun watching their relationship develop. But then we get to the main event and they are so underwhelming. They no longer take precedence in the storyline. The last 50% was what made this book not the greatest… but alas. Also, the ending was SO quickly written out that it was almost not believable as a reader. Overall, I liked the tone and author’s writing style and would read another, but hoping the storyline becomes more fleshed out in future writings. Thanks for the opportunity to read!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC and allowing me to read it early!

Unfortunately, this book was just not it for me. Specifically I’d give it a 2.75 rating. I was super excited about the idea of a football player and cheerleader romance, but the writing just fell a little short for me. I felt this book was way too long for what it needed to be and I just didn’t connect with the character well. There were a lot of minor details that could’ve been skipped through (for example-all the cheer and football lingo)

I really enjoyed the beginning of the book. Their meet cute was awesome and hooked me quick, but as the book went on I felt myself not really interested in what was going to happen, and I think that had to do with the characters not connecting.

Overall, a decent book and I would recommend if you need a quick pallet cleanser or if you’re just wanting a light hearted read.

It was a really good story. I love the characters. I love the conflict resolution between them. However, I believe the story was rushed and skipped a bunch of things that were necessary and went over things that weren’t.

Thank you for the ARC!

The writing in the book is very simplistic and easy to follow. However, my only quirk with it is that the story progressives incredibly fast. I'm not a huge fan of this, but someone else definitely will be. While it wasn't necessarily my thing, the book itself isn't bad. I struggled a bit with the description of the characters initially, there was a lack of establishment. If you're a fan of a quick, flirty, and football romance, this is definitely for you!

Such a fun, cozy, lighthearted read!! I think this is such a good palette cleanser book in between some more long, serious books. I overall had a great time reading it💕

Game On by Ki Stephens is a standalone college sports romance available September 9, 2025.

I really love Ki Stephens previous works but this story just wasn’t for me. It held my attention but just barely. I found a lot of the story unrealistic and the relationship rushed. The couple have a one night stand early in the book and then have a friends with benefits situation for most of the book. This was a miss for me but I will continue to read Ki Stephens in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for a copy for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this book. I just wasn’t connecting with the writing style. It was a little too “insta attraction” for me personally. I also felt like some scenes just ended too quickly and it didn’t give us enough to truly feel like the characters actually liked each other for any other reason than physically. I also just didnt connect with the characters at all and I think some of that had to do with the writing not feeling very natural for me.

I love a good sports romance and this one did not disappoint! This is actually my first football and cheerleader romance I’ve read as well and I very much enjoyed it. I loved Hudson and Ella’s dynamic and the book had the perfect amount of banter and spice. Hudson is definitely a swoon worthy MMC with the things he does for Ella!

4 stars!

I absolutely loved the banter and the representation of men in cheerleading. I’ve been waiting for a romance like this forever!

I think my students will enjoy this novel that brings a cheerleader from England to Nashville. It felt a bit stilted to me at times, but I'm also not the intended audience. The relationship was heartfelt and satisfying. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Firstly, I absolutely adore Ki and her books. Unfortunately, this particular book did not really work out for me :( I don't feel like nitpicking all the details as to why, so I'm going to keep this review very simple.

Thank you SMP for the opportunity to read this early.

Ki has never let me down and I love her so much for that. Hudson and Ella are everything!!!!!! Couples that are basically a couple but refuse to call themselves that are my favorite. He was literally about to finally get free time and he gave it up to help her win a cheer competition. They were actually so in love way before they could ever admit it and I'm obsessed.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Game on is the perfect college dual sports romance. It has romance, drama, and the perfect ending .

Ella is a cheerleader from Oxford England doing a college exchange program in Nashville, Tennessee. She is coming out of a 5 year relationship looking to find herself and have fun.

Hudson is a senior looking to finish college on top ,in football, and in classes.He is determined to do it all with a clear head and get into grad school.

Hudson and Ella share what they think will be just one night together....

I absolutely loved this book. College sports romance are some of my favorite, and when it's a duel sport, that is even better. This book gave me everything I was looking for and also kept me wanting more .

Thank you, St Martins Press and NetGally, for the ARC

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

Unfortunately, this one was a bust for me. I was excited by the premise of a footballer and a cheerleader, and it was fun reading about the cheer competition from my days in high school pep squad. BUT the writing felt immature - it was doing a whole lot of "telling" rather than "showing". I did not care for our characters very much so this was a whole lot of skimming. I was kinda hoping Ella would end up with her original cheer partner Ash instead lol - now that would be a fun romance!

This one was really fun! I enjoyed the dialogue between the main characters and the storyline was set at a good pace. It was a good sports romance.

Loved it. Was nice slow burn with a good building of friendship in the beginning. I loved how both characters talked about what they wanted and were able to communicate properly. Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!

2.5⭐️
This fell flat for me. I was hopeful because I love a college sports romance but the characters didn't work for me at all.

We have Ella Davies, who transfers to college in Nashville from Oxford to be on the school's cheer squad. Her boyfriend dumps her and she had a one-night stand on her first night in Nashville with our MMC, Hudson. Everything is fine and dandy until the next morning, when she finds out he has a bit of a playboy reputation on campus. And she gets mad at him for this?! Like immediately is like 'this was a mistake' and insults him. She then leaves in a judgemental huff

THEN like three weeks later Ella tries talking to him by starting off saying "I'm over my jet lag now, and feel a bit more like myself". That doesn't sound like an apology to me? She's annoyed with him because he's been awkwardly avoiding her. Again she told him to his face that she used him as a rebound and then got mad when she realized he had had one night stands before. She never really stopped being insufferable after this

Hudson for his part also sort of sucked? He's the teams QB even though his focus is school, but he sort of seems to hate football? And also all of his friends. Every time his roommate/best friend tries to hang out with him he gets annoyed and acted like he was doing him a favour.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had me…. I don’t know. I really enjoyed it, however, it wasn’t my style. I love books where both main characters are independent m, but my guilty pleasure is when one is just a golden retriever that’s too shy for the world.
I do have so many friends who would love this book. I loved the jealousy trope to keep Ella from Jamie !!

I absolutely loved reading this book! The chemistry between Ella and Hudson was palpable on every page, and they were just one of the cutest, hottest couple ever! I loved their banter and the way that their friendship/relationship developed throughout the novel just charmed me. Yes, that's the perfect word for it- I am completely charmed by Game on by Ki Stephens and I would suggest every reader to pick it up now if you're into a sweet, spicy, giddy sports romance!

This is everything that a well-written sports romance should be! Full of banter, spice, emotions, determination and plot.

My first Ki Stephens book, but will absolutely not be my last. I thoroughly enjoyed Ella and Hudson’s story. Ella is a transfer student from Oxford, recently single with a douche-y ex, and Hudson is the QB of the college football team with past trauma of his own (not relationship trauma, which I appreciated! And no one tried to fix him. He’s not broken). Plus, they’re both competitive cheerleaders.

LOVED Ella’s spunk and temper and Hudson is an amazing cat daddy. His compulsions and trauma are handled and accepted so sensitively by Ella and that might be the most heartwarming part of the story.

Looking forward to more stories with these characters. We need to know what happened with Levi and Claire and who Ash’s secret football hookup was!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!