This was a cute, rugby romance. I would consider it a slow burn, but I think if I had more banter and tension it would have easily been a four star!

Geordie was such a good guy and I really like Jenna too.

I didn’t like that he dressed like a cowboy, I felt like that was random.

Overall, pretty good and I would recommend if you want a fun easy romance!

Good slow burn small-town romance. Jenna and Geordie had great chemistry and depth to their characters, as evidenced by their character development. Loved the secret relationship aspect of this book, definitely added some spice and tension to the plot. I’d recommend this book if you like character development and forbidden romance.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of Blindsided By You by Caroline Corvin.

E-ARC REVIEW

This was a solid 3 stars read for me. It could use some editing to make the story flow better, as parts did seem repetitive, and other parts came across as choppy.

I’ll start with the things I enjoyed. I really enjoyed the childhood friends reunited as adults trope, and the friends with benefits that came out of that relationship. I also loved Andy, Jenna’s stubborn little dog. I think this book did a great job discussing the effects of losing a parent, and how previous relationships can shape how we act in future relationships.

Now for the parts I didn’t love about this book. And take these criticisms lightly. I do not pretend to know anything about rugby aside from following the rugby 7s just for Ilona Maher. This book had a lot of rugby terms, which is to be expected. I would’ve appreciated a key or some parts of the book where rugby was explained in simpler terms. I also think the relationship, although well thought-out, moved in a weird slow and fast pace. I felt like the whole book was spent dealing with their back and forth feelings about their relationship’s future.

ETA: On May 8, 2025, the author of this book, Caroline, updated the ARCs to include a quick guide to rugby for readers! I cannot express how much it means that the author is taking feedback into consideration and working to make her work more accessible! I loved this addition! Worthy of an increase from 3 stars to 4 stars in my opinion!

Books have always been my “happy place.” The genre that I can never get enough of is romance. Although my preferred genre is romantic suspense books, romances centered around the sports world are growing on me as well. Because of this, I was extremely excited to read this book.

As this is an author that I have not read before, there was a slight worry that I would struggle with getting into the story. While it did take me a bit to get into it, I eventually did get hooked. One thing I will say is that I went through large portions of the group not liking the female main character AT ALL! Although I understood her reasoning on some things, one of her biggest concerns in the book turned out to be a huge “nothing burger.”

I was geared up to give this book a solid “4” rating, but I am a sucker for a good satisfying epilogue. This definitely delivers. All in all, I really enjoyed this book, and I am glad to see that it is going to be a series.

**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Blindsided By You by Caroline Corvin is the first book in the Heartlands Rugby Series. Jenna is back living at home with her dad, starting her own PR business while grieving the death of her mother. Geordie has moved back to his childhood town of Cluanie after working abroad on oil rigs for the past 8 years. This book is full of fun tropes - friends-to-lovers, reverse age gap, forbidden romance, secret romance, and small town love. This was my first rugby romance book and I did struggle through a lot of the technical aspects of the sport, as I am not well versed. I did enjoy the romance aspect of the book and how the author developed the relationship and I loved the chemistry between the characters. Overall, I enjoyed the book and found it had humor mixed with tender moments.

Thank you to NetGalley, Grenwyvern Publishing, and the author for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3/5

This one had all the tropes I usually eat up like secret relationship, off-limits romance, small-town gossip, and a golden-retriever hero I wanted to root for. And for the most part, it was a solid read! The chemistry between Jenna and Geordie is legit, and I really liked the setup of her being the coach’s daughter and him being her best friend’s younger brother. There’s a lot of tension there, and their sneaky late-night meetups definitely delivered some swoony moments.

That said, I had mixed feelings about Jenna. I get that she’s guarded and trying to protect her independence, but she kept pushing Geordie away so often it started to feel like the same conversation over and over. I was hoping she’d open up a little sooner or show more growth as things got serious. Geordie was sweet and steady, and I liked him a lot, but I wish we got a bit more depth from his side too.

I liked how the town almost felt like a character in the story. The gossip, the rugby team, it all added some nice tension to the romance.

Overall, I didn’t love it, but I didn’t dislike it either. It was cute, with a good mix of heat and heart, just not one that fully stuck with me after I finished.

This book has good bones, but it needs a lot more editing. Jenna is a 34 year old PR specialist who moved back to her hometown with her rugby coach father when her mother gets sick and passes away. Geordie is a 38 year old amateur rugby player who moves back home after working on drill rigs all over the world, and Jen is his sister's best friend. The book takes place over 6ish weeks I think, but the timeline isn't super clear throughout. It's pretty heavy on expository writing, so there are long paragraphs of internal monologue that aren't plot-focussed.

I think some of my issues with the characters may just be cultural differences, but a 34 year old living at home and letting her dad dictate her dating life is not something I find normal. I had a really hard time not rolling my eyes every time Jen mentioned hiding their relationship from her dad. For her age, she acted really immature throughout the book and it made her really unlikable. It felt like she kept stringing Geordie along and giving him little crumbs of hope when she had no intention on following through; I felt bad for Geordie the whole time because he deserved someone better.

The pacing of the story needed some work as it felt really clunky in some parts. In the middle of the chapter, there was a time jump with no explanation of how much time had passed and no change in font or spacing to let you know the scene had changed. I finally got to a part where it said 2 days had passed, and I had to go back and reread multiple pages because I needed that context. There were also some events that occurred (I'm avoiding spoilers) that were completely unnecessary. There was a traumatic event that doesn't actually move the plot forward at all because Jen had already had her phonecard with her old boss. Geordie's mom being sick is mentioned like twice, but doesn't do anything for the story because he doesn't seem that worried about her. Also, Jen has 2 migraines over the course of I think 2 weeks. Girl go to the doctor and get yourself some new meds because, as someone with migraines, that is unacceptable.

I think this story was fun and I definitely enjoyed it, I just wish the plot was a bit tighter.

Thank you NetGalley and Caroline Corvin for the free eARC!

Blindsided By You is a slow-burn, small-town romance with great chemistry and emotional depth. Jenna is tough and rule-bound, but Geordie, her best friend’s younger brother, makes her rethink everything. Their secret relationship adds tension and heart, with a charming Scottish setting and just the right mix of angst and sweetness. A great pick for fans of forbidden romance and strong character growth.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of Blindsided By You by Caroline Corvin