I found the book to be super cute and I really appreciate how cheerleading was an important part of the story. I learned a lot and found the romance being intertwined with both football and cheerleading to be wonderful. However at the end of the day it read like a lot of romance book and wasn’t anything super special in my opinion however I would totally recommend as and easy read with a wonderful love story.

I’d never read a cheerleading romance before and I thoroughly enjoyed Game On! I loved that she was also an athlete and the book focused on her sport just as much if not more than his. This was my first book by Stephens as well.

3.75 stars rounded up!

oh this was so much fun!! the perfect read if you want a fast-paced college sports romance! perfect for fans of hannah grace and elle kennedy and gave SUCH bring it on x cheer vibes all around.

i thought the premise was so much fun and loved that it centered around cheer. the reverse grumpy sunshine lended itself to such witty banter and the found family was reminiscent of some of my favorite romances.

i read this in one sitting and completely flew through it, which as someone coming off of a reading slump is a) a huge win and b) exactly what i needed. did it change my life? no but it was the perfect pick me up and such a fun college sports romance.

i can't wait to read more by this author and lowkey need books for the friends.... (i might even suspect who will be ending up with who...)

a big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this arc :)

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

I was so excited when I got approved for this book because I am a sucker for sports romance books. I found the book to be light, funny, and cute which made it an easy read. I loved how she was from a different country because it separated the book from other sports romance books that I have read.

The one thing that that I didn't like was the attitude of the FMC as I found her a bit annoying at times. I didn't like her response when she found out that she wasn't the MMC's first one night stand and then how clingy she felt afterwards. I enjoy how characters feel "magnetic" in a way where they can't stay away from one another afterwards but at times I felt that this was more forced than anything.

All in all, I enjoyed the book but I can't say that I loved it or hated it. Would still recommend to a friend, but not a re-read for me.

2.5/5

There’s a slight chance I’m outgrowing these kinds of romances!
This was fairly sweet and quite fun to be sure, but for me it didn’t have very much substance. What are Ella’s goals outside of cheer? Her dissertation is mentioned but what exactly does she want out of school? Same with Hudson. “The classics.” Okay but…what about them?
We got Hudson’s backstory, but Ella’s felt almost like an afterthought and a bit too contrived. Or it felt like it didn’t impact her character besides when she said it did.
I get that their one night stand is how their relationship is supposed to start but we, like, LEAPED right into this sexy scene and it didn’t feel earned. I’m at the point in my life and my reading preferences where I’m more about the yearn and the tension and everything leading up to that big moment, and yes we totally got some yearning afterwards!! But I think for me it lowered the stakes that they’d already had sex and shared that *thing*.
And then the stakes in general I felt weren’t all there. There was never a moment when I thought things weren’t going to work out: the cheer competition, their relationship, etc. Jamie wasn’t even a threat because she got over him so fast that the 3 scenes he shows up in don’t add anything other than to show he kinda sucks.
So yeah I had fun reading! And I finished so quickly. But the substance wasn’t there to make me love it.

Thank you so much netgalley for allowing me to read Game On early!!

This is hands down Ki’s best book yet!! I am obsessed with the way that this book flowed. Ella getting dumped right before she was supposed to leave on a flight to America with him wasn’t on her bingo card but nonetheless it’s her reality. Once she arrives she quickly becomes friends with her new cheer squad and finds football start AKA campus playboy. Hudson Fox at a party who she quickly takes to bed. They plan to only hook up the one time but as feelings have it they end up entangled with each other. Ella and Hudson were so sweet. The way that their relationship morphed into friendship and than right back to a real relationship was done so well and I’m so happy that for the most part they had really good communication. Hudson always showing up for Ella even when she didn’t know she needed him and Hudson’s willingness to open up to her even when he doesn’t open up to anyone!!! Loved the ending so much and that they both got to accomplish so many of their dreams and even some things that they never thought possible. Such sweet read and I love that it was football player cheer leader, such a classic.

Game On is a college romance that brings together the classic quarterback x cheerleader pairing with a heartfelt twist. From the moment Ella and Hudson cross paths, their lives begin to intertwine through a series of forced proximity moments and emotional highs and lows. This story has all the hallmarks of a solid "coming of age" romance overcoming first heartbreaks, found family, and learning to build a home within the people you grow to love. One of the standout aspects for me was the dynamic between the main characters. The banter, the push and pull, and especially how both Ella and Hudson are chronic overthinkers who somehow become each other's calm and anchor during the storm. That said, I did feel that the relationship development could have been more fleshed out. Much of their emotional growth as a couple didn't unfold until around the 70% mark. By that time, they'd already entered into a no strings attached physical relationship, while their inner monologues hinted at much deeper feelings. I would've loved to see more of that emotional build up shown rather than told especially moments like the scene when Hudson shows up to Ella's late at night and invites her to the Drive-In to get her out of her head for a bit this was set up beautifully but skipped over. Those quiet, bonding scenes can do so much to make a love story resonate more deeply.
Overall, Game On was a solid and enjoyable read with great character chemistry and themes of healing and self discovery.
I give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars and truly appreciate the opportunity to read an early copy.
Thank you to NetGalley, Ki Stephens, and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The cover for this one is so cute plus the synopsis really drew me in! Super sad that I ended up DNF'ing this one. Unfortunately the writing style just wasn't for me. The characters felt very surface level and there was entirely too much happening in the first few chapters for there to feel like any plot development was happening. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for allowing me to be an early reader. All thoughts are my own.

light with not a lot of the depth I was hoping for, but overall enjoyable enough to hold my attention!

This was everything I wanted and more!
Ella and Hudson's romance and banter were amazing throughout the book. The plot was fun to read, and everything felt well-rounded. There are so many aspects of this book that are wonderful: the sports, family, and passion all contribute to this lovely book.
It was such a joy to read, and it is definitely a new favorite!

Tropes:
❀ one-night stand turns friends with benefits
❀ sports romance
❀ college romance

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

2.75 ☆

Thank you St. Martins Press for an eARC in exchange for a honest review.

Ella and exchange student from Oxford move to Nashville for a year to Whitland to expand her skill set with their cheer program. The day of her departure, her boyfriend of five years suddenly breaks up with her and upon arrival to the states goes out with her new roommate to a bar and stumbles across Hudson, the quarterback of the Whitland football team. It’s immediate attraction that leads to a one night stand, and from there feelings, emotions, and personal priorities all start to get jumbled.

Right from the get go I was eating up Hudson and Ella’s dynamic. I thought their banter was entertaining. What lost me was the unnecessary back and forth these two had post their first meeting. That random abrupt mood swings and a bit of childish behavior was a bit odd for where the story was progressing.

I love a sports romance book, but unfortunately this one didn’t staple itself to stand out for me. The time jumps were all over the place, and because of that it just lacked the usual depth I love to find in a romance book. It seemed every chapter would be a two week or month time jump and by the time you would get invested into what was happening in that chapter, it would be over and then you’d jump to the following month. And I understand the point of needing to get the full timeline in for the plot of the book and not making it some 500+ page romance novel, but most of the plot was repetitive around cheer practice and walking through the motions of that. It seemed that there could have been more room to explore more personal matters to get to know these characters deeply.

Two things that I was a bit lost on was the continues random reappearances of Ella’s ex that really added nothing to the progression of the plot. He’d appear and within a page or two be gone. Another thing was Hudson’s trauma he endured. It was brought up so frequently but nothing ever was really divulged into aside from a brief rendering recount.

Unfortunately by the 75% mark the book lost me. I finished it but this one just didn’t land for me.

Game On was my first read by Ki Stephens, and overall I really enjoyed this. It was definitely different than I was expecting, but pretty cute.

3.5 stars

This was so cute. Honestly not sure how I felt about the QB-turned-cheerleader aspect of it but I warmed up to it. Nothing special but this was also just great for someone like me who loves sports romance!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley for the ARC!

I thought this book was so so cute. Ki Stephens is really talented when it comes to writing cute college romances. It felt like very different vibes then the Coastal Univeristy series, but I still liked it a good bit. Its very cliche and not super relatable- but if you’re just coming in for the vibes its a good story. I loved dear Ella and the whole chearleasing part of it. I like that its seen and treated as a legit sport (Because it 100% is). I think Hudson was a bit more tame in comparison. He’s typical bad boy turned good boy- rich kid type. I like the two characters apart, a lot. When they were together I had some issues but honestly, if you pick this up for college sports vibes you’ll be happy.

This new adult read is all about Hudson and Ella’s journey. They both are hyper-focused on their goals and unwilling to let a relationship compromise what they want for the future. Their chemistry has other plans and they find themselves always circling back to each other.

The characters make decisions like the college students they are. Sometimes they fumble, miscommunicate and change their minds. I know that some books feel like 40 years olds are masquerading as college students but that is not the case here. It is 100% a new adult book.

The beginning 20% only has two interactions with the main characters. While they start off with a ONS, it just felt like it took a bit of time for the meat of the romance to get going. There is a lot of internal dialogue which makes sense as both characters overthink. For me, it came at the expense of character interaction which led me to not be as invested in the story.

If you are looking for a great transition book to go from Young Adult to New Adult, this would be the perfect choice. Game On is a football college romance that is easy to read and has spice.

Our main character finds herself in an Elle Woods style breakup at the beginning of the book, and decides to go off on our own college adventure anyways. Enter Hudson our football star, a charming, good looking, cat loving guy. I really liked Hudson and his cat Sourdough.

My favorite books have a lot of banter and tension leading up to the spice scenes. In Game On our main characters hook up immediately after meeting, so there wasn't a lot of time to get to know them or root for them before they were together. The spice scenes were very short and more focused on fun than romance. Which is why I gave this book 3 stars and not 5.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin’s Press for an advance reader copy.

dnf @ 9% (3 chapters)

thanks so much to St. Martin's Press for the eARC via NetGalley.

these characters had no depth. this girl came from the UK to the US, said 4 sentences to a guy on the patio of a bar, and went home with him. the same day she broke up with her boyfriend of 5 years and the same day she flew to the U.S.

no. this story didn't have any development in the first 3 chapters and I was 0% invested. I felt no connection to anyone.

it was all very surface level, and I'm not into that kind of storytelling.

The premise of this book had so much potential, but ultimately it fell flat.

The “one-night” stand between Ella and Hudson wasn’t a strong foundation to build their friends with benefits from. There was no depth to their relationship, just lust and urges to have a relationship that neither of them were sure that they wanted. The “truce” that they established felt forced and added for the sake of the plot.
Speaking of plot, there wasn’t a direction of where it was going. I had to go back and read the synopsis to remind myself of the point of this book.

The pacing of this story was all over the place. From being dumped on the phone, meeting Hudson/her new friends, and effortlessly adjusting to living in a new time zone and country.
The book would sporadically jump a few weeks with little to no explanation of what happened since the chapter before it.

Sports romance can be a hit or miss, and this was a miss for me. This book can have an audience, unfortunately it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin, and Ki Stephens for this eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the advance reader copy of Game On by Ki Stephens.

As Ella is leaving Oxford for a year of college in Nashville, her long time boyfriend breaks up with her. Soon she meets Hudson and the two decide to spend the night together, only to find out the following day that Ella is a cheerleader and Hudson is the team quarterback. As the two go their separate ways, they and can’t help but continue to be drawn to each other.

This story kept me engaged throughout. Ella and Hudson had great chemistry from the beginning and you could feel the pull toward each other as their relationship continued to develop. I do enjoy a no strings attached story and there are many moments in this romance that encompass what I love about the trope.

If you enjoy a no strings arrangement, sports romance, this is one to check out.

4.5 ⭐️
🌶️

Holy crap, the amount of things I could say about this book 🥺
First and foremost, this isn't your average cheerleader x football player sports romance. We start off with our fmc Ella transferring from Oxford university to Whitland university outside of Nashville .. aka a far ways from home, to do a year abroad and to cheer for Whitland. Now, in the span of 24 hours, my girl here was dumped by her boyfriend of 6 years and moved to a different country AND STILL HAD THE ENERGY TO GO OUT????? I freaking wish man 🤣

Now here comes my beautiful, sensitive lil bean, Hudson mf Fox. Who doesn't love a good ONS occurring between our MMCs in the first few chapters am I right? 🙂‍↕️
On a serious note, I did not expect to relate so heavily to Hudson they way I did. Me and Hudson have similar traumas and compulsions so it truly felt bittersweet having that representation but also the fact he tries so hard for them to stop controlling him so much and learn that it's okay to not always be in control of everything.

One thing I did enjoy about this couple was the lack of miscommunication (for the most part) that happened but also the way we didn't have to deal with a third act break up, which is impressive seeing as the circumstances we saw at times.