Thank you to Ballantine for this eARC! This was a delightful romance between two professional adults who act like actual adults about each-other! It was so refreshing and the basketball aspect of it added a fun momentum to the story that kept me hooked. I flew through this read in the very best way!

This felt like a unique take on a sapphic sports romance. I enjoyed how it was between a coach and a reporter, it felt like a nice departure from athlete focused stories. Jordan and Beck both had interesting personal journeys throughout the course of the book. Jordan is dealing with all of the pressure of becoming the first woman to coach a D1 men’s basketball team while Beck is trying to get her big break to become more important to her network. Of course it would be extremely complicated for a reporter and her source to get involved with one another…

Samantha Saldivar spends a lot of time fleshing out Jordan and Beck as individuals and giving you their backstories. It definitely makes them feel very real and you understand why they’re so dedicated to their careers. There is some good tension when they realize they have feelings for one another and when they’re deciding if they can try to make a secret relationship work.

However, I wasn’t fully convinced of their relationship or when they were telling each other “I love you” for the first time. I think that all of the focus on their individual stories took away from the development of the romance. Sometimes it just felt rushed or like it wasn’t being given the same amount of page time as descriptions of games or other struggles in their professional lives.

I still enjoyed my time reading the book. But I feel like it works more as a contemporary fiction story rather than a ROMANCE. If it sounds interesting to you I’d recommend giving it a shot. It does provide a different version of a sports romance story than what is typically available.

I read some other reviews of this book that described it as light and fluffy but I couldn't disagree more. "Play You For It" is a sweet, sapphic sports romance that also covers some deeper themes, like homophobia, sexism, unaccepting families, and toxic workplaces for women trying to succeed in professions dominated by men.

I devoured this one in one or two sittings. I don't see enough forbidden love romances between reporters and their sources and I'd love to see more of them. When her coach moves on to a new job, assistant head coach Jordan D'Amato is promoted to head coach at David Douglas, and becomes the first women's head coach of a Division 1 college basketball team. But she faces hostility at every turn, from management determined to fire her for every mistake to a team she's trying too hard to prove herself to.

But then she's pursued by a scrappy reporter for a regional news channel, determined to get a one-on-one. But sparks fly and Jordan, who's openly gay, and Caroline Beck, who's realizing she's bi, soon can't deny their attraction, despite their forbidden relationship needing to stay in the shadows.

I loved the idea of a coach and a reporter as love interests, and I liked how this didn't focus on the women's game. A lot of sports romances aren't really about sports and that is just a setting for the romance, but this book put sports front and center. So if you don't like sports you will likely find this tedious. As someone who loves basketball though, I appreciated the accurate references to the game. The love of the game really shone through these pages as the catalyst for a sizzling romance.

It was a little instalust, but the forbidden nature of their relationship still kept the tension high as they can only see each other through heated looks and secret dates.

I also appreciated how I could tell the author was a broadcast journalist, because her knowledge of the profession really shone through and added color to the story. I hope she never worked at a TV station like Beck's but as a former print journalist the toxicity is sadly common to the industry.

Beck deals with sexism and harassment on the daily, including an annoying man who keeps asking her out. I was rooting for her to get her big break.

I also loved the idea of them as a sports power couple and their safe space for each other. I found it inspiring how Jordan got the team on her side and was rooting for them to go all the way.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

🏀🏀 This was so fun! Especially if you love basketball. I like it fine, but baseball is my fave. The first female coach for a D1 college team, Jordan, ends up falling for the local sports reporter, Caroline Beck. I liked the journey these two went on, with each other, their professions, and their families. It was lovely and fun. Pick it up in October if you love sports romances, especially sapphic ones!! 🏀🏀

i wanna start this by saying -this book was not my cup of tea somehow? all the details seemed to point directly to a book id love -but this one DRAGGEDDDDDD for me. I definitely can see appeal for certain readers so no doubt to me does this book have its “readers” it just happened to not be me. the writing and characters are great so i will give it a 3/5 stars for that alone but for me this book did fall flat and take me QUITE a while to finish

I am always cautiously optimistic of sports romances, hoping the author knows sports well enough to do them justic. This book exceeded all my hopes. Jordan and Beck have a fantastic, believable, hot romance that will draw you in from the start.

This was my first book by this author, and my first time reading a sapphic basketball romance, and if I have my way, it won’t be the last time for either of those things! I can’t recommend this book enough!!

I did not like this book. It felt very flat and full of just lust. And the plot felt very empty and I did not like the main characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for the advanced reader copy.

2.5 stars

Jordan D'Amato is thrust into the spotlight when the head coach of the Division I men's basketball team (that she was an assistant coach for) leaves to helm a professional team and Jordan is named the interim head coach, making her the first female head coach of a mens college team. While everyone in the media is looking to score an interview with this history making coach, Jordan is hoping to keep her head down, earn the buy-in from her players (many of whom are skeptical about being led by a woman), and lead her team to a conference championship. In other words, she isn't interested in being on camera--except for when Caroline Beck asks. Beck is the only female sports reporter at the local Portland-based news station, and has been trying to claw her way forward in her career. She's been on the beat for Jordan's team, so when she asks Jordan for an interview, she's the only journalist Jordan trusts, which helps Beck get the career chance of a lifetime. As they spend more time together Jordan and Beck find that they can't deny their attraction to one another, but can they find a way forward without risking either of their careers?

I really wanted to like this book. Seeing more female-centered sports romances is a good thing and the premise of the first female men's basketball coach sets up big stakes. I'm sure this book will work for others, but I found both FMCs to be fine; there wasn't anything compelling about either of them outside of their external conflicts (Jordan trying to prove that she can lead a men's team and Beck trying to prove that she can co-anchor a sports show). I found myself skimming to hit the major plot moments, instead of also enjoying the more character-driven scenes. This one was an unfortunate disappointment for me.

Let me start by saying if this was a straight couple, I can guarantee this rating would be lower lmao. I liked Beck and Jordan individually, but not necessarily for each other. It genuinely was really weird how Beck got angry at Jordan for not letting her break confidential negative press! They were sweet, driven characters that I liked reading about, but their chemistry was a lot of, "I saw you across the room and liked your vibe," and they had to spell out why they were attracted to one another too much. The basketball plot was great, but I found myself liking Jordan a lot more and thinking that while I appreciated what Beck was doing for her career, I didn't like her much as a person.

Y'all. Y'ALL. This book is EVERYTHING. I am completely obsessed. Clear your schedules because you are going to want to drop what you're doing and read it in one sitting. JORDAN AND BECK 4EVER!

thank you netgally, author saldivar, her team, and ballantine for this opportunity to read play you for it.

I really liked this book, I enjoyed Jordan's character arc and I enjoyed Beck's character arc. I liked how both of the characters were their ages (in their mid 30's) and acted like they were in their 30's, this didnt feel like a character aged down type of book. I liked how the author stayed true to the characters, basketball and reporting on sports is their calling and nothing will be between that. which is good to see for women, allowing women to have interest outside of love and family planning matters.

since I liked this book so much, the critiques I am about to say matters, sometimes, it felt like we were told that beck and jordan loved each other rather than shown it. there were times, when the conversation between Jordan and Beck happened outside of the reader, which is fine, but it happened a little too much -- which made the story a little choppy, especially towards the end.

but other than that, I am so glad to have read this book and to have got the opportunity to support author saldivar! I am excited for their future work.

This book is a refreshing read with a fast pace and lovable characters. Beck and Jordan were surprisingly filled out characters for a romance novel. They both underwent personal growth that made seeing them come together even more enjoyable. I am not a huge fan of watching sports, but I enjoyed reading about the teams efforts to secure a conference title and Jordan‘s efforts to maintain her job as head coach. Unlike other sports novels, this book would not exclude readers who are not as knowledgeable of basketball. This book moves quickly, and I was able to read it in a couple days. This book does have a third act break up situation, but I was pleasantly surprised that the characters were willing to fight for each other and make amends quickly and with little miscommunication. I would recommend this book because it was a very enjoyable lighthearted read!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC opportunity!

This was surprisingly good. Im very back and forth on sports related romance books, they can be very hit or miss for me, but this one was a hit and im so glad i gave it a chance! It had points that were so refreshingly different than usual sports romance, and i appreciated that.

Having the MC be a coach and not a player was so refreshing. Most books are always about the players, and i liked seeing it from the other viewpoint and how that relationship with the players moves and changes.

My biggest issue was the 3rd person POV. I always struggle with that, because its so hard to connect with anyone in the story because your view is the outside looking in essentially. It did give me a few problems with the pacing and got confusing at times. I would have preferred single or dual POV.

4 stars ⭐️ I love a sports romance and loved that the MC was the coach! This is written in third person which is not my favorite but I still enjoyed the story!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for the ARC. All opinions are my own 🫶🏼

This is the perfect March Madness read! I think this book has a lot of potential for those who love sports romances. It's fast paced and actually has a well thought out plot. It's a short yet compelling read. I loved how the romance between Jordan and Beck is sweet but not cheesy like a lot of romance novels. However, I did find the writing style a little hard to follow at few points in the book. I also think it has some slight pacing issues. With that being said, this is a good book and I really enjoyed reading it!

this was a fast paced sapphic romance that I quite literally couldn’t put down ! I read this in one sitting , it was really good ! The plot was gripping and didn’t have any lose ends . My only flaw is that’s it’s in third person which I personally feel like it’s harder to connect to the story.

This is a sports romance that focuses on the coach rather than the players, which I loved . the connection between Jordan and Beck was so sweet and passionate. They were two super ambitious and hardworking women who had to make some big decisions to be together 🫶🏽

Play You For It has a lot going for it. It's a fast paced, engaging read with a compelling plot centered around a sapphic romance between a sports journalist and a trailblazing college basketball coach. I especially appreciated the strong LGBTQ+ representation and the empowering message about women holding their own and excelling in male dominated spaces. It’s refreshing and important to see stories like this getting told.

The romance between Beck and Jordan is both sweet and full of tension, with plenty of chemistry and moments I really loved seeing. I loved reading about two ambitious, passionate women navigate the pressures of their careers while slowly letting down their walls for one another.

That said, I did find the writing style a bit difficult to follow at times. The third person perspective, while consistent, occasionally made the emotional depth and internal thoughts of each character feel distant. Since each chapter tended to focus on either Beck or Jordan, a first person dual POV might have helped the story flow more smoothly and made the characters’ inner worlds more vivid. With that being said, I still had a great time reading this and appreciate any sapphic romance I can get my hands on.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story and its themes of perseverance, love, and professional ambition. With a bit more structural polish, it would have been a five star read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Samantha Saldivar, and Dell for the eARC of this book.

Thanks to the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Play You For It has a lot going for it. It’s a quick, easy read with a great plot. I really liked the LGBTQ+ relationship and how it showed that women can do the job just as well as men — love seeing that.

My main issue was with the writing style. The whole story is told in third person, and it sometimes made things confusing. It felt like each chapter was mostly about either Beck or Jordan, so having split POV chapters and using first-person narrative would have made it flow a lot better. I think it would’ve helped bring the characters to life more, too.

Overall, I liked the story and the message — just wish the structure had been a little tighter.

I loved the LGBTQ+ representation that there was in this novel and how the book was able to portray the reality of the situation for LGBTQ+ athletes and those in a high-pressure workspace. I love the sweet romance between Jordan and Beck, and how both women strived past their problems to be together. I really admired how Jordan was such a strong, brave woman despite the pressure of her job and how Beck was the same, standing up for herself in the end and being the spitfire she is.