Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an eARC of this book :)

Ugh this book tore on my heart strings I loved it so much. I really enjoyed the writing style and felt it was paced very well. The chapters were short (my personal favorite), but were still filled with emotion and made it easy to connect with the characters. The book starts off with a cliff hanger and then goes into flashbacks in the the different point of views of Liz (their mom) and Mia and Cricket as they grow up alongside each other and take on certain roles that later continue to define them.

I loved the relationship between the two sisters and how we got to know them on an individual basis. Both before and after the death of their Mom. Mia - the care taker who has to help provide for her family and in doing so, had to give up on her own hopes and dreams, and Cricket - the soccer player who has trained her whole life to join the National Team.

I wish the book was longer so that their was more from the present day timeline. It felt like what they were going through was a big deal and kind of felt rushed towards the end since a majority of the book is the flashbacks of them growing up. I loved the flashbacks, but wish there was more from the present since it starts off that way and that was what had me so intrigued.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC opportunity!

This was a well written, heartbreaking and emotional story. It follows two sisters and their dynamic after the loss of their mother. I enjoyed the dynamic between Mia and Cricket (love that name) and i really enjoyed watching their relationship play out. I did feel that the indiivudal growth fell a little short at times though.

With that being said, i enjoyed the writing style, but there was some pacing issues that made certain parts feel so much longer than needed. The ending felt very rushed to me, and almost like it was wrapped with a bow, which didnt feel accurate to how i thought the story would flow.

I enjoyed the unique plot of this story. However, I felt that there could have been more character development. The relationship between Cricket and Mia lacked emotional depth, which prevented me from fully connecting with them as characters. While the plot kept me engaged, I believe that incorporating more literary elements would have allowed me to care more about the two sisters as people, not just a storyline.

A family saga embracing the world of women’s soccer - a great concept for a book that was very enjoyably if a little predictable.
Mia and Cricket are raised by a single mother who herself had aspirations for a soccer career that was derailed by teenage pregnancy. cricket becomes the soccer star her mother dreamed to be. The relationships between the 3 of them were certainly complex. The themes of what we do for family and how we deal with tragic losses are dealt with sensitively and effectively.
The author did a great telling of their story. Though the reader knows from the beginning what the “ punchline” of their relationship is the evolution was a great read that held my interest totally. While I didn’t particularly bond or connect with any of the characters it was reassuring to know an author can help me enjoy a book where I don’t really “like” the characters.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC. Expected publication date is July 1. I will be interested to see how the women’s soccer world responds to this book!

I really loved the relationship between the sisters, and how the story progressed with them. I did feel that it wrapped up a little TOO perfectly, and felt a little rushed almost to create the perfect ending. I loved the writing though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an advanced copy of this book!

A good sports story is never REALLY about sports, but rather about the dedication, sacrifice, and choices made in the pursuit of athletic glory, as well as what that pursuit reveals about society as a whole. Such is the case with SPECTACULAR THINGS, which examines motherhood, sisterhood, love, and friendship through the lens of women’s professional soccer.

Liz Lowe is a high school soccer phenom, destined for greatness when she unexpectedly gets pregnant and gives it all up to raise her daughter Mia as a single mom. She instills her passion for soccer in Mia, but it’s her second child, Cricket, who has inherited her mother’s talent. From the moment Cricket is singled out, the lives of
both Liz and Mia are both sacrificed in service to Cricket’s dream of making the national team. The Lowe women are a family united with a single goal… until their world gets torn apart. Just as Cricket starts to achieve the success she has dreamed of, she is the one asked to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Beck Dorey-Stein has crafted a novel that doesn’t require any real interest in or knowledge of soccer, but one that also puts you right in the middle of the action as Cricket pursues her dream. It’s a well paced, thoughtful novel about the triumphs, difficulties, jealousies and often wrenching questions faced by women athletes and their loved ones.

*Spectacular Things* explores the complex bond between two sisters, Mia and Cricket, as they navigate love, ambition, and sacrifice in their small Maine town. Mia, the responsible caregiver, and Cricket, the soccer prodigy, must each confront the legacy of their family and the difficult choices they face to pursue their dreams. With wit and heart, this novel delves into the delicate balance of loyalty, self-worth, and the cost of greatness.

I liked this novel. The complex relationship between Cricket and Mia kept me glued to my Kindle. I felt the most attached to Mia's character. Being the steady figure for her mother and sister, I felt deeply for all the sacrifices she had to make. I wanted nothing but the best for her. Cricket's journey leaned on her soccer career and the connection she found with her mother. I loved seeing both characters heal and move forward through the story.

However, I wish the novel kept the pace of the first chapters. The middle section felt a little long. While I was interested in the sister's stories, I wanted to get back to the looming decision introduced in the first chapters. By the time we got back to the present, the decision and emotions felt forced and rushed.   

I would highly recommend this novel to anyone seeking a story about the complex relationship between sisters.

Thanks NetGalley for an arc. This was a new author and I was given the opportunity to get a sneak peak of the book. Normally I am not a soccer fan but the underlying story is so much more than that. Sisters, family, competition amongst friends, and the devastating loss that both sisters endured. Cricket and Mia endure tragedy but figure out a way to overcome it. Mia gives everything up so. Cricket can have a future. Overall a great story about perseverance and how the power of love will get you through everything.

** spoiler alert ** There's a lot to like about this book; the relationships of the characters are well done. However, the author got too detailed with the day to day living within a life consumed by soccer.
Also, the relationship between Sloane and Cricket felt very forced. It didn't evolve as a love story at all for me - it just felt like an easy way to put a bow on the ending for everyone to be happy.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Beck Dorey-Stein has written an entertaining and thoughtful book about two sisters, Mia and Cricket, who learn to survive after their single mother's death when Mia is barely an adult and Cricket is a teenager. The story is focused on professional women's soccer and Cricket's talent as a soccer player. We learn that Mia and Cricket's mother was also a star soccer player making her way towards professional soccer when she got pregnant and abruptly changed her life to raising her first child, Mia. Several years later, Cricket was born, again from an affair with the married father of Mia.
Their life was full of love and soccer, and as a child, Mia was trained by her mother in soccer and was successfully moving towards greatness. When Cricket's talents and potential overcame Mia's, a family decision was made to put all their energies in getting Cricket to her professional soccer goal.
Mia, as the older sister, was required not only to quit her soccer dreams but also had to step in to raise Cricket so her mother could work several jobs to cover Cricket's soccer expenses.

As much a story about the grit it takes to become a professional soccer player as a story about two sisters, "Spectacular Things" is a fast-paced story about what one sister gives up for the other to achieve a very singular and challenging goal.

Thank you NetGalley for an Advance Reader Copy.

Heart breaking and heart warming. Dorey-Stein does a fantastic job of creating a story with characters that you feel immediately connected to. There is a vulnerability and fierceness to each of the women the book follows. She captures the loss of a loved one and the bond between sisters in a fantastic way. The book is an emotional roller coaster that leaves your heart in a good places.

Spectacular Things by Beck Dorey-Stein is the story of how far you might go in keeping a legacy alive. Mia and Cricket are sisters who are raised by a single mother who has huge goals for them. She wants Mia to be a soccer star, but when Cricket shows more ability than Mia, Mia is asked to set aside her goals in deference to her sister's greater skills. As a result, Mia puts all of her dreams aside until she leaves for college, until a tragedy brings her home and she once again sets her life aside. But if Cricket were asked to do the same for Mia, would she? Could she? An interesting and devastating novel.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This is a touching story about two sisters and their relationship. This story is witty and you will find yourself thinking about these characters long after you finish it. This was the first book for me to read by this author but definitely won't be my last. Highly recommend!

This was the first book I have read by this author, I really liked her style of writing. The book was a little slow at times, and some of the topics I was not interested in, but overall ii was a fast paced book.. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Thanks so much for the review copy. I adore Cricket, Mia, and Liz. Such great examples of strong women. I like the cover. I played soccer in high school and this made me feel nostalgic.

For someone who couldn't care less about soccer, I got pretty into this novel. Its a heart warming story about the strength of sisterhood, hard choices life forces us to make, and soccer!
Liz, Mia, and Cricket, all start out as over achieving soccer players but life happens...
3.5....I would give a 4 but everything turned out too perfectly for everyone at the end. And as much as I want to-as Liz would say-Be positive!, it's just not realistic.
Thank you, Netgalley, publisher, and author for the ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5, rounded up.

I really loved this book.

I don’t know if it’s the soccer fan in me, or the girl mom in me, or what, but this book was a genuinely wonderful, cozy read for me.

I liked the way this book played out — starting with the big plot point right out of the gate, and then working from beginning to end to flush out the story of how the Lowe sisters got to that point. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the story and relationships build. I loved learning about the characters and the way their choices were displayed, the sacrifices made all leading up to the ultimate choice toward the end.

Ultimately, what I enjoyed the most was the theme of sacrifice amongst family and loved ones — how far are we willing to go for the ones we love, especially those who have done so much for us?

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an advanced copy of this wonderful book!

An entertaining read about sisters and life choices. Will be well-received by many. The plot was prescribed by the initial chapter and that took away a lot of the joy of discovery for me.

Thanks to NetGalley & Random House Publishing for the arc!

**4.5 stars** Right from the start, this book had me feeling so alert. It grabbed my attention and held it right until the end. I am so glad I was able to read an advanced copy.

The story is mainly told through two different pov’s: Mia Lowe and her younger sister, Cricket. The two sisters were raised by their single mother, Elizabeth who worked tirelessly to make ends meet. Like their mother, both sisters grow to love soccer but after a tragic accident, Mia sacrifices her passion for the sport to become Cricket’s caretaker while Cricket works to accomplish her dream of becoming a professional soccer player. We follow the two grow and adjust to their normal until secrets from their mother’s past resurfaces and begin to haunt them

The narrative is structured in two timelines. One follows present-day Mia and her husband welcoming their baby daughter and Cricket playing soccer for the national team. The second timeline shifts to their mother’s pov of becoming a young mother to Mia. It’s a story about familial sacrifice, loyalty, and sisterly love and it was an incredible, heartfelt read.

I was not expecting to cry so early on in this book. There is so much emotional depth to these characters. The author did a phenomenal job of making you sympathize with one sister while also understanding the choices of the other–you can’t help but feel for both.

And of course, the writing is exceptional. The only reason why this isn’t a perfect five-star rating is because I wish that present timeline was longer. I needed more of that heartbreaking decision-making. But don’t let that deter you. This was an amazing story. If you’re looking for a literary fiction novel centered on a deeply moving sisterly bond, look no further.