Becca and Eli are fire. I enjoyed their story. I enjoyed the preacher's daughter's aspect of the book. The book, I think tackles some real big issues very well. Can't wait to get back to Sugarlake. I did listen to the book and the narration was great.

This one really had me feeling so many emotions. My heart ached so much for our FMC and then how that rolled over and impacted our MMC! I loved this one. Gosh, this one was really pulling at the hearts. It goes through many different themes, check trigger warning.
I really loved the voice actors! I highly recommend this one.

I loved the characters, Eli and Becca! I liked the enemies to lovers trope. I can’t wait to read the first book in the series now.

This was a good story about learning to take a stand for your own life and your own beliefs. The narrators did a great job bringing the characters to life!

3.5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

The story is cute, spicy and a little crazy 🤭. It covers YEARS of the on and off between Eli and Becca. I love a best friend’s brother trope so was excited for this one.

I listened to this as an audiobook, which made the setting of the American south a more immersive experience. I really enjoyed the female narrator and how she portrayed Becca. Every time she spoke I pictured Reese Witherspoon in Sweet Home Alabama 🥰

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the male narrator’s accents (it can be hit or miss) but more importantly I didn’t like ANY of feminine voices he did. Honestly, it added a sour note to his chapters.

The story is great for fans of small town southern romance

Thank you to NetGalley for this free audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own ❤️

Okay, hear me out—I started with Book 2 of the Sugarlake series (I know, I know!) because I was lucky enough to snag the audiobook from NetGalley. As a loyal series reader, this felt a little rebellious… but what a pleasant surprise it turned out to be! While there were some wink-wink moments referencing Book 1, nothing felt too spoilery or confusing.

Now, why the 4 stars? A few parts dragged for me unfortunately and I found myself wishing for a bit more oomph from the characters. Also, the male narrator’s attempt at a female voice—particularly that accent—made me cringe just a tad (bless his heart, he tried).

But what really stuck with me was the emotional depth. Lee and Eli’s relationship, Becca and Lee, Lee and Chase. Becca, a preacher’s daughter with a perfectly imperfect facade, grapples with broken faith, family pressure, and finding her footing in love. Her journey to therapy was a lovely and realistic touch. Her relationship with Eli? Far from flawless, but rooted in friendship, growth, and genuine love.

Their story was messy, heartfelt, and full of second chances—and I kind of loved that. It felt honest. Brave, even. Hats off to Emily for that! And yes, I’m now happily curled up with Beneath the Stars (Book 1), catching up the “right” way!
💖🏀

Lastly, a big thank you to NetGalley & Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity to read/listen to this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This is a cute, emotional love story with second chances leading the way. This whole series is enjoyable. This author always hit her target, warming your heart. I am always happy to read her books!

the audio was great! i think it was more so the story itself that i wasn’t the biggest fan of. it moved really fast and i couldn’t connect with the writing style all too much. i usually love emily mcintire’s writing but this one fell flat for me. 😕
definitely recommend if you like best friends brother and sports romance!

DNF at 26%

ARC REVIEW:

Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to try out this book.

Unfortunately, it just wasn't for me. The book isn't necessarily bad, but I don't think I am it's target audience, which is why I'm settling with 2 stars instead of 1 for a DNF.

I've read other college romances before, but this one was VERY *college* lol The characters just felt immature and annoying to me.

Our FMC Becca was very southern belle, daddy paid for her college but cut her off from his funds, likes to party, probably shops at Simply Southern 😂 not that that's a bad thing, I just could not relate less lol Because of that it was difficult to connect with her and care about the family drama she was dealing with. It gave off very privileged white girl.

MMC Eli was a little better? But not by much lol Now, I didn't get a ton of his POV this far in, but he just felt like such a frat boy - especially for not being in college anymore and actually being the college basketball team's coach - he just felt very immature and very "horny man" to me lol I get this is a romance, eventually most male main characters give that off but this just felt like that but more so. He also called the fmc "his bitch" very early on and that didn't sit right with me.

All in all, I could see someone who is younger and more in that time of their life enjoying this more, so no shade to the author or the readers who enjoy it. It just isn't for me.

I am still tempted to try Beneath The Hood as I was also approved for the audio ARC for that book in this series, but I'm nervous I'm just going to have similar feelings about it and wouldn't want to add another negative review to this author's page.... but maybe I'd like it more? Idk I'm conflicted lol

My favorite of the Sugarlake Series, Beneath the Stands, was even better in audio. I love listening to a book I love after reading it because the narrators always make the story so much more vivid and vulnerable in their storytelling. Liam DiCosimo and Brittany Pressley were incredible as Eli and Becca.

Eli was truly a simp for Becca and I loved him so much for it. Liam did a fantastic job with Eli's emotions and the turmoil he faced because of his feelings for Becca and his broken relationship with his family.

Brittany did a wonderful job with Becca's sassiness, and even more so when she really started to explore her emotions and what her life had become as a result of her parent's influence.

Eli and Becca's banter when they were still pretending to hate one another was top tier and their chemistry was absolutely insane. These two had a touch and go dynamic from the start and you could truly feel their love and desire for one another through the narrators storytelling.

Fantastic audiobook!

I enjoyed this! My jaw DROPPPED at how long it took for them to finally be together and I wasn’t ready for that! But I really enjoyed the story, I enjoyed the real denial on both sides. Him with his dad and his addiction and when he was going through admiring his dad had it. And her regarding her family’s shame of a marriage the entire time. How the mom was resentful. I loved how they got together! Easy listen !

I have never read anything by this author, but I will be looking out for other books they write in the future. I really enjoyed the story as well as the pacing of the story.

This one was a struggle for me, I enjoyed the first half of the book but it fell apart about halfway through and just kept getting messy which I didn’t enjoy. Becka leaving for no reason just because she fell in love and running away back home which she actually despised felt so unreal. She hates her father with a passion and then ends backup working with him at the church she also hates… and then Eli using the girl he works with “who he was just friends with” to get over Becka but then becomes engaged to her? Just a colossal mess. I wasn’t a fan of the male narrator trying to voice Becca and the ending of the book with the ALC felt very abrupt. Overall this one just was not for me.

Upon reflecting here, because I am so mixed on this one- I feel like there were so many tropes, so much happening that the author through everything and the kitchen sink at it and that causes you to leap over the parts of this book that were really well done. The plot needed to be cleaned up, but if it had been scrubbed a little bit for useless stuff it would have been incredible. Theres a good story buried under a lot of stuff. I think this book could have easily been 100+ pages less and it would have been so much better.

I loved Becca’s confident, take-no-sh!t- attitude, and I loved how confident she was. But after the third act breakup -which was the longest breakup in book history-she did a complete 180, shifting from fierce independence to very submissive, especially in regard to her parents. Eli, though, was a standout. His love for his family was raw and genuine, and despite his rocky start, he became an easy character to root for. Until the end of the book. Again, towards the second half of the book, the original character traits are flipped on their heads. Which okay, yes, did they both get their hearts broken, yes. But I feel like that's a huge leap to make.

Becca's parents were pure evil, and I really wanted them to get what they had coming to them in the end. Which didn't happen. Eli's Dad and sister, I liked them and what they brought to the story- as the necessary antagonists.

Where the story struggled was Eli and Becca’s relationship- not their physical one- but the connection and rapport. Their initial hatred fizzled out way too quickly, jumping straight into intense physical attraction-que the really well written spicy portions- For as long as this book is, it leaned heavily into spice, overshadowing the second-chance sports romance premise. There were a ton of unnecessary plot devices in this book that ended up contributing to its length that I feel like should have been cleaned up in editing. People read romance, for the romance and it got lost here. To further reiterate my point, the epilogue. What was that?

While this one missed the mark for me, I can't say I didn't finish it, and I can't say I didn't like it- it just felt never ending and simply addressing the pacing issues could have gone a long way for me. I’ll give book three a chance - I haven't read book 1 yet either- so we shall see.

I loved the toxic mess of the enemies to lovers that were Becca and Eli! This series has proven to be one of my all time favorites and I cannot Wait to read the rest of them!

Love! I’ve been a fan of Emily McIntire since I read her Never After series so it was fun to dive into this! Will definitely be picking up the rest of the series!

This is the second book in the series that I’ve listened to as an audiobook, and I absolutely loved it. The story, the writing style, and the characters all drew me in. Both the female and male main characters are incredibly likable—you really find yourself rooting for them as their journey unfolds.

The book beautifully captures college life, sports, church life, and the charm of a small-town romance. It’s a sweet and heartwarming contemporary romance filled with feel-good vibes, but what I appreciated most is that it doesn’t shy away from real-life issues. It explores topics like family struggles, alcohol dependence, and grief, which gives the story much more depth beyond just the romance.

I would definitely recommend this book to my friends. The only downside I noticed was related to the audiobook itself: while the overall audio quality was good and the female narration was excellent, there was a noticeable drop in sound quality when it switched to the male narrator.

I have a love-hate relationship with this book. There is something that happens about 30-40% in that will piss you off. Like hardcore. I almost DNF'ed but I am glad that I pushed through for the charcter ARC, but I'm still a little salty. I won't be sharing this on my socials as I don't like to share books in a negative way.

Beneath the Stand is second book in the ‘Sugarlake Series’ by Emily McIntire, and if you know me, you know I mood read and sometimes I’ll read series out of order. With that said, I found this to still packed an emotional punch.

Becca and Eli bring the heat—and then some. Eli is commanding, filthy (in the best way), and Becca matches his fire perfectly. Their chemistry is explosive, their banter addictive, and yeah… you might need a fire extinguisher for this one.

But it’s not just spice. Their story is raw, messy, emotional. It’s not a light, easy romance—it’s painfully real and totally worth the ride. One of the best love stories I’ve read in a long time.

If you like your romance with heartache, heat, and flawed, fiercely human characters—Definitely a must add to TBR!

🎧Audio Notes🎧
The audiobook narration by Brittany Pressley and Liam DiCosimo in dual narration POV. Both narrator brought so much passion to their character, it was a joy to listen too.

Available now on paperback and kindle unlimited.

Thank you @blackstonepublishing and @netgalley for the ALC opportunity in exchange for my honest review, it was a wonderful read 📚💖

I don’t even know where to start. This book was an emotional one.

Due to a serious injury, Eli had to give up his dream of playing professional basketball. He landed a coaching job at a college in Florida—the same college that his sister's best friend, Becca, attended. Becca hated Eli because she felt like he abandoned his family after his mom’s death.

Becca was fiery and snarky, never hesitating to lay it out on him. This drove him mad but it’s also one of the things he loved the most about her. The tension and build up was hot, I loved their chemistry.

That being said, I was disappointed with the five-year separation and redemption arc; it felt rushed to me.


Beyond their relationship, both characters carried their own burdens. I loved the individual character growths. It was rewarding to see them gain the courage to confront their issues head on instead of running away/completely ignoring them.

The narrators, Liam DiCosimo and Brooke Bloomingdale did a phenomenal job bringing these characters and their stories to life. I loved the southern accents 🤭

Tropes:
• Bestfriend’s Brother
• Enemies to Lovers
• Second chance
• Work Place Romance

Thank you to the author and Blackstone Publishing for the gifted audiobook. All opinions are my own.