I loved this book so much! It had me hooked from the beginning, I couldn't put it down. Rory and Cillian have some amazing chemistry and banter. They are super cute together, I just adore them! Their story had me laughing and kicking my feet. If you like sports romance, this book is for you. I definitely recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for allowing me to read this book ahead of release in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever, and Grand Central Publishing for this advanced copy! You can pick up Red Card on August 12, 2025.

As soon as I saw this was a rugby romance, I was IMMEDIATELY on board. I loved seeing a new sports dynamic romance play out, especially between the new bad boy player from England and the coach's daughter. He teaches her some "flirting tips," and she helps ingratiate him with the team. Win-win for everybody, right?

I can't deny that this book is deliciously steamy and that our MMC, Cillian, is hot AND complex (the best combo). I loved watching his character arc throughout the story. Rory, on the other hand... I had high hopes that she would escape the "not like other girls" allegations, but I fear she lost me when she "struggled" or didn't even try to make any female friends. I'm sorry!! The rest of her character was pretty great (and gelled well with Cillian), but I COULD NOT look past the ways she wasn't like other girls with her no-makeup routine and no interest in feminine clothing (like, nothing wrong with that, but it cannot become your personality).

If you can look past those things, then you will absolutely eat this book up (and you still might because the romance is fun). This book also deals with more serious topics like grief and the death of a parent, recovering from substance abuse, and male toxicity in sports, so you get a balance of both rom-com and emotional damage.

This book really does read exactly like a rom com! ESPECIALLY She's the Man and She's All That. I think it's a pretty fun read, perfect NA and 100% delivers the vibes you'd expect. I really, really loved Rory! I loved her bond with the team and her dad 🥹. And then there's Cillain with his backstory and his relationship with his sister too, that was SUCH a pleasant surprise ( I honestly could have used even more, I loved it so much). I LOVE the bad boy x good girl trope, it literally never gets old and this one really delivered. Their romance and chemistry was so fun to read and i'd definitely recommend this to anyone who needs more rudby romances in their lives!

Thank you so much to Forever Publishing for my ARC

A cute, fun, spicy and heartwarming read with likeable side characters. I loved how Cillian and Rory were constantly showing up for eachother emotionally and I like how committed to eachother they were once they were all in. They really understood eachother and just seamlessly fit well together.

The side characters were also really fun! I loved Cillian’s relationship with his sister. How caring, protective and nurturing he was towards her. I also loved how close Rory was with her dad and with the team and I liked that Rory didn’t end up completely losing her tomboy identity as she tried to make her way out of being the girl stuck in the friend zone. Her being a tomboy made sense for her character so I appreciated that she still held on to that part of herself throughout the book while still venturing out of her comfort zone style wise!

This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to forever (grand central publishing) and Netgalley!

I've loved all of Maren's baseball books and was so excited to hear about her branching out into Rugby at one of her book signings. All the anticipation was worth it, I devoured this book. Who doesn't love the "bad boy turned good" and all of the emotional angst that turns into such a cute love story. Highly recommend this book.

Such an excellent book! It had me feeling all the feels and kicking my feet at this yummy college sports romance goodness. I love Maren most for her hockey books, but she’s made me fall in love with every sport she writes. Her ability to suck me into new worlds is unmatched.

The biggest thank you to Forever for providing this ARC. Especially Dana for championing this incredible title, and for taking care of Maren’s team.

Cillian is a British bad boy who has left his old college rugby team on a sour note. His new coach owed a favor, and is now saddled with the grouchy player. Cillian’s only mission is the get through the new few years of school, and make his way back to a premier team across the pond. The only issue? His new team could not be unhappier with the new addition.

Although he expected some pushback, Cillian wasnt ready to be met with open hostility. He’d be content to just coexist, but the only one who seems to tolerate him is the coach’s daughter, Rory.

I loved everything about the dynamic between Cillian and Rory. Especially the way that Rory was more connected to the team than he was. As the tension between Cillian and the team grows, Rory is experiencing troubles of her own. She desperately needs some dating advice. She may be cool as a cucumber around the team, but the minute she tries to flirt with anyone, she becomes a bumbling mess. I was living for the moment these two realize they might be able to help each other out… Rory can change the way the team treats Cillian, but only if he’ll help teach her how to flirt.

Now imagine how quickly the lines start to blur between this dating coach and his “student”. I was delighted watching them come to terms with their feelings! This book was so much fun and so very sweet. There were tender moments that had me in literal tears! It was the perfect standalone. There not much mention of actual classes or school, but I still immediately connected with all the characters and it left me salivating for what’s next in this world. I truly love this rugby crew, and hope we’ll see more of them in the future. ( I desperately NEEEED Cillian’s sister to have her own book!!!!!!!)

Maren Moore has done it again with this book because it was all feels to it..

Cillian struggled after his mom's death and went into the spiral of fights and drugs but now he has got the opportunity to make his place in America because of his coach's favor. Cillian has bad reputation and his new teammates are not that happy to have him but when the Coach's daughter- Rory St. James aka equipment manager and the key to unlock the doors of friendship with his teammates offers him that she will help him with the team in exchange of dating lessons from him? he reluctantly agrees.

What starts are easy lessons turns into so much more as there is understanding and the feeling of being seen on both the ends.

I loved how Rory gave safe space to Cillian and I enjoyed the friendship Rory had with the guys.

The relationship between Cillian and Ais was so so good.

I absolutely loved this book.

I was hoping this book had more Ilona Maher vibes. But it’s a cute coaches daughter dates the bad boy with a good heart romance.

Maren Moore always crushes college sports romance and Red Card is no different. If you like spicy and low stakes books you’ll probably like this. Cillian and Rory come together to help each other out. Cillian will help Rory learn how to be comfortable putting herself out there with dating, and Rory will in turn help Cillian integrate with his rugby team. They quickly realize that they just like each other and that deal quickly falls to the wayside while ultimately they just end up spending a lot of time together falling in love. I thought Rory and Cillian had amazing chemistry and I love a man who is a little rough around the edges, but is super soft for her. This book was just so cute. I was smiling and blushing my way thought it. Definitely recommend for a quick, fluffy read and I’m interested to see if we get to know more of the rugby team in the future.

SUDDENLY NEED TO WATCH SOME RUGBY ASAP.

I loved this sweet college romance! Reformed bad boy Cillian has everything to lose, and meeting his new coach's daughter has the potential to destroy all of his future plans. Rory can't seem to get herself out of the friend zone, but sees an opportunity to learn some moves from the newest player on her father's rugby team.

Seeing how these characters evolve, learn to trust themselves and each other, and connect with other people was heartwarming. The tropes we know and love are represented well, and I was genuinely SHOCKED by the twist at the end!

The only thing that I didn't love was that some of the scenes/chapters ended really abuptly - I found myself a little startled to be scene hopping (and wishing for more scene resolution) more than once.

Overall I really loved reading this one, and will definitely keep an eye out for more titles from Maren Moore!

“𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘙𝘰𝘳𝘺. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”

I wasn't paying attention when I requested this ARC that this was a college romance. I personally feel too old to be able to relate much to college romances anymore, but this one was still cute!

I would definitely recommend it for those interested in:
🏉college romance
🏉rugby player x coach's daughter
🏉British bad boy x American good girl
🏉found family

I’m always down for a sport romance these days, so when I saw one being described as She’s all that meets She’s the man, I was down. And I’m glad I picked it up, because it was a fun read. I’ve been on a romance kick, and this hits the spot. You get the college setting, with a hot ‘reformed’ British rugby player who is basically on his last chance to really make it, you get the coach daughter who is basically one of the guys with the team and doesn’t know how to be anything but one of the guys.
Honestly, it was cute, to see Cillian and Rory get to know each other and fall for each other. There is tension from the get-go, and it was cute to see them go pretending to only be helping each other to full on being in love with each other. Rory and Cillian just were fun to see those two interacts and learn to let each other in (especially Cillian).
Overall, I really enjoyed it, and I now definitely need to check her other books. I read it in one afternoon, chilling at home on a rainy day, and it was definitely the best way to spend my afternoon.

i loved this book! maren moore is slowly becoming an auto buy author for me! the chemistry between these characters was amazing, impeccable and flowed super well!

First and foremost, thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Described as She’s All That meets She’s the Man, Red Card is a new-adult sports romance about a British rugby player that, due to unforeseen circumstances, is forced to start over in the US, and the spitfire coach’s daughter, with whom he’ll form an unlikely alliance, leading to a deal they can’t both resist.

Cillian Carney is our Brit rugby boy, and, let me tell you, WHAT A MAN! He is our typical tormented hero, coming off as a bad boy, but deep down he’s so much more! Cillian fights tooth and nail to protect his sister after the emotional turmoil they both suffered back in London. When they cross the pond to start fresh in America, Cillian is determined to change, leaving behind the persona he was for the past two years due to an insufferable amount of trauma. But the rugby team at Preston is not so happy to have him…

Enter our amazing Rory St. James, the coach’s daughter, who has the whole team wrapped around her pinkie. Having always been seen as one of the guys, Rory has a hard time dating. Upon meeting Cillian, Rory decides to cut him a deal: she’ll help him better integrate, and he helps her with dating advice. Pretty simple, right? OH, I WISH!

I had the best time reading this book. Maren’s writing is fluid and I absolutely adored the fact that we get dual POVs, to better understand Rory and Cillian’s dynamic. Cillian giving Rory dating advice was AMAZING, and the romance developed brilliantly, seeing as they start a friendship and they grow to like and love each other. I absolutely adored the book, the chemistry between Kill and Rory was off the charts, and honestly, I hope we get Aisling’s book!

This was such a sweet, easy read! Red Card is a dual POV sports romance about collegiate rugby player Cillian and team equipment manager/coach’s daughter Rory. Cillian has just transferred to their team after running into trouble on his last team while dealing with grief, and Rory can’t figure out how to flirt with guys. They make a deal to help each other out; and things fly from there.

This book was so well-paced and hard to put down! Rory and Cillian grow so much throughout the plot, and I was so proud of both of them. I appreciated how well they communicated with each other, and how they got around to opening up to each other. There wasn’t a third act break up (I’m a fan of third act break ups personally, but it worked very well for this story), but there was plenty of tension in the third act within the plot.

My only critique is that I wish we’d seen more of the team dynamic/ university on page. But even with that, this was easily a 4.5 star read for me.

Recommended for fans of She’s All That, sports romance, rugby thighs, and men down BAD.

This is my new favorite book by Maren Moore. There was banter, chemistry, spice and such a wonderful plot. I ate up every single word.

Cillian and Rory are something extremely special. Their tension was so dang good. I was rooting for them from the beginning.

Cillian was a broken boy who deserved everything good the world had to offer. His dirty mouth had me blushing and dreaming of thick rugby thighs.

Rory was everything. I related to her so much and I fear I may have a girl crush on her.

British MMC, steamy chemistry, he gives her LESSONS?! I’m obsessed with this one, and ate it right up! I love a sports romance and rugby is definitely new to me, it was so cool to read about in a romance novel! Cillian and Rory were such a fun pairing and the banter was always captivating, these two definitely could spar! This was such a binge able book and I’m so glad I tried it out!

Broody British men, rugby, and accents I can’t get away from? Count me in. I’m there. Every. Single. Time.

Cillian (pronounced Kill-yun) is a bad boy from another country that moved to town for a fresh start. Or another chance at rugby. Except when he meets the team, it doesn’t go as expected. So he makes a sweet deal with the coaches daughter that will leave both of them in need.

Cillian and Rory are a force to be reckoned with. I absolutely DEVOURED this book—mostly in one sitting! I even stayed up until 2am finishing it when I had something important to do early the next morning. I have to be honest that I devour anything my girl Maren writes, but this one was just top tier and one of those books where I kept saying “one more chapter” until it was accidentally finished. What can I say? I needed more—soooo much more.

Red Card is an addicting spicy rugby romance that will leave you wanting more immediately. And for the record, this is one of those one-handed reads that everyone talks about. You’ve been warned. 😉

Maren, if you see this… I love you so much. Never stop being awesome! This was the cherry on top for my May reads. 🫶🏼🍒

The excitement I had over a rugby romance is high. I love a good obscure (not really at all but most sports romance are the big 3…hockey football baseball) and this was great. Maren transports you to that young adult, college life so perfectly. Staring with Orleans U and now Prescott.

Cillian and Rory were the cutest. He’s the big broody guy but hidden softy and she’s our spit fire coaches daughter. An agreement made to help him on his new team if he helps her not be one of the bros. One of my favorite tropes. Of course…it doesn’t just stay with flirting lessons 👀 I also loved the relationship with Cillian and his sister…like is Aisling getting a book Maren? I love her.

A sweet and spicy sports romance for those that love a broody reformed bad boy and a coaches daughter.

Thank you to Read Forever and the author for the ARC.

My only criticism was that our plot twists fell a teeny bit flat, I think it’s me though. I wanted a bit more drama.

5 stars!

This might just be one of my favorite books of Maren’s to date—it felt like watching a romcom unfold in my head, and I loved every minute of it. Rory was such a likeable FMC; she cared deeply for the people around her and it really showed, especially in the way her dad and the team adored her.

Cillian came to America a little broken, and his connection with Rory glued all those pieces back together. Their journey was an amazing one to read. He helped build up her confidence, and in turn, she healed something inside of him.

The found family vibe and the rugby backdrop added something I didn’t even know I needed to the story. And wow—Maren knows how to write the spice. I lived for it!

Definitely one of my favorite books of hers—and maybe even one of my top reads of the year so far.