I was going to write a longer review, but all you need to know is she’s a “not like other girls” girl, and he’s a misunderstood~reformed bad boy. Things pick up, but the first 20% was painful. So many unoriginal ideas are thrown the readers way, and I found it somewhat overwhelming. The romance genre is built on recycle, reuse, repeat- I get it, but the limits were really tested here.

Things did get better! Overall this ended up being a cute college romance. The sex scenes were well written, and not cringy. I do think eating lo mein in bed is a criminal offense. Off to jail.

A very fun college romance! So refreshing getting to read about a sport that’s somewhere underrepresented in romance books. This rugby romance was lighthearted and fun, all while providing great character development arcs.

You could FEEL the tension as you’re reading the interactions between Rory and Cillian.. plus, their banter was hilarious and I LOVED the forbidden aspect of their relationship.

3.5/5

It was cute, but felt like it was missing something. Scenes that felt like they would be important and that we are building towards throughout the book would happen off page and I ended up feeling a bit disappointed in the story because of it.

The Red Card
By Maren Moore

Rory has always been one of the boys. With a rugby coach for a father and a childhood spent on the sidelines of Prescott University Rugby Club, she knows the game inside and out. But when it comes to flirting? She fumbles every time, and ends up talking about rucks and scrums instead of anything remotely romantic. Rory’s ready to rewrite that playbook.

Cillian has already lost everything once. After a spiral of drinking, drugs, and violence, his rugby career crashes and burns, earning him a red card and a one-way ticket to start over in America. Now, he’s trying to stay clean, protect his younger sister, and rebuild his reputation. But that second chance hits a wall when the Prescott team refuses to accept him.

That’s where Rory comes in.
In a deal that’s equal parts awkward and adorable, Cillian agrees to coach Rory in dating, while she pulls strings to get the rest of the team to realize just how great Cillian is. What starts as a strategic play slowly turns into something more, something neither of them saw coming.

I give The Red Card 4 out of 5 stars. It’s a fun, flirty, and heartwarming rugby romance with just the right amount of grit and banter. Fans of sports romance will enjoy the chemistry, the slow-burn tension, and the emotional depth behind the tackles.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the opportunity to read The Red Card early!

When Cillian is kicked off his rugby team in rugby and forced to move to the US to continue his career in the sport, he struggles to adjust to the new team and coach. When it comes time to prove his worth to the team he must also prove himself to the coach's daughter. And so the romance begins!

A man nicknamed Kill and a "teach me how to date" plot line? I am soooo in. This was my first rugby romance and it definitely will not be my last. Maren Moore's humor and charm shines bright in this book, which will please her already well established indie published audience and help her to find a new readership with this traditional publishing release.

British rugby star Cillian Cairney’s fiery temper lands him in trouble—and at a New Hampshire Ivy League team with no one willing to trust him. The only lifeline? Rory St. James, the coach’s determined daughter. She needs his help, and he needs her support. But as they team up, old grudges and new feelings collide. Will their fragile alliance hold, or will everything fall apart?

I love love love Cillian! Talk about a delicious man and a great redemption story! I dove head first into this new world of Prescott designed by Maren Moore. She writes the best sweet and spicy books, and Red Card was no different! A rugby player with a British accent… I know say no more you must read!

Rory was a fantastic FMC. She was true to herself at all times, which I absolutely loved! She didn’t waiver in her support for those in her network, and was a fierce rugby lover!

I cannot wait for more rugby from Maren!

Thank you netgalley for the arc!!

I love Maren’s books so much. They’re always so cute & easy reads. I always end up kicking my feet & giggling at the MMC.’s of her books. I started Maren’s books with her ‘Orlean’s University series’, those were also the first baseball books I’ve read. This wasn’t my first rugby book but I think I just love rugby. Cillian was great, a proper London boy raised right & who had just lost his mom & crashed out so he had to move to America since he got kicked off his London team. Since losing his mom he feels the need to watch over his sister like a dad & make sure she’s always okay. Rory was blind to her own beauty & in her head that she messed up talking to guys so when the new rugby player needs help bonding with his new team, who better than coaches daughter & teams bestfriend? & when Rory is tired of blabbing & only speaking rugby & getting friendzoned, who better than hottie Cillian to practice with about how to flirt? This was me 2nd “practice” situationship by Maren & she had ate both times. Rory was so funny with how she spoke to the team because they listen to her & Cillian was so hot (with his thighs ofc) but the ease of falling in love with Rory & just how much a simp he became after letting her walls down for her.

“Only I found a home in Rory St. James. I’ve realized that houses with walls, roofs, and memories, they’re not home. They’re simply somewhere you live. Where you go to bed each night and wake up every morning. But your real home? It’s the beating, breathing heart of the person you love.”

This was my first Maren Moore book—it was definitely a cute read and a solid palette cleanser from the heavier things I’ve been reading, but it always wasn’t anything super noteworthy. I think I liked the MMC more than the FMC; there were times where I felt she was super relatable but other times she leaned toward a pick me girl. I enjoyed a lot of the side characters and would be open to reading their stories as well.

Major thanks to NetGalley for the early copy!

Dedication:
For the girls who got lost on #rugbytok, just as I did, and never wanted to be found.
Cillian's thighs are for you.

She’s All That meets She’s the Man in this New Adult sports romance about a British bad boy rugby player who’s forced to start over in America and finds an unlikely ally in the coach’s daughter when she offers him a deal he can’t resist.
Leaving it all on the field is one thing. Giving his all to love? Terrifying.

Rory is the coach's daughter and good friends with all of the guys on the rugby team. In comes British bad boy Cillian "Kill" Cairney midway through the season. Majority of the team does not want him there and he doesn't want to be there. He just knows this is his only chance of possibly making the pros. When the assistant coach told him the only way the team would get behind him was with Rory on his side. He did understand at the moment what that meant until he was almost kicked off the team for not gelling with the team.

They decide to help each other out. Rory will help Cillian fit in with the team and Cillian will teach her how to flirt without word vomiting (Rory's words not mine). All is going to plan until they end up spending almost everyday together. Only one thing is going to happen....

This book was a quick and easy read. Very low angst and pretty good communication which you don't always find in college romances. I can say that I liked the second half of the book more than the first half. I think it was a little to slow paced for my usually liking. I finally got the team banter at almost the end of the book. Which I was hoping for throughout the whole book. I am hoping she makes this a series because I would love to have Cillian's sister with a team mate (Wren or Fitz). Nothing I love more than a tough guy taking care of his girl while she is sick.

Tropes:
- Rugby player x Coachs daughter
- Broken boy x Sunshine
- Slow burn
- Friends to lover
- Lessons
- British bad boy with tighs and tattoos

Content warning: Parental Loss (off page) and Grief

Thank you Maren Moore, NetGalley, and Forever Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first Maren Moore read and I absolutely LOVED IT.

First, a rugby romance? yes please. A man with great thighs? yes please. I really enjoyed these characters and the setting. It's such a great college romance. Maren made it so fun and lighthearted while still having the characters go through challenges and better themselves.

Cillian moved from London to play at Prescott after some trouble meant losing his place on his rugby team. Prescott's his last chance at playing professional rugby and he'll do anything to make it work. Especially when his little sister is counting on him. Rory is the coach's daughter and she's struggling to get out of her comfort zone. She can't help but ramble when she meets a cute guy, and all she wants is to find a person that sees her and loves her for who she is and not just as 'one of the guys.' When her and Cillian make a deal to help each other out, they're forced together and can't help but fall for each other. But when things take a turn, will their feelings be enough?

I mean, I love Cillian. He's hot. He has nice thighs. And he treats Rory like a girl instead of one of the homeboys. He sees her for who she is even though she's his coach's daughter. He has a great accent too. Rory is such a lovely human and she's such a great FMC. She really loves wholeheartedly and always gives her all to the people that matter most.

tropes:
- friends to lovers
- rugby romance
- forced proximity
- bad boy x good girl
- forbidden

This book was enjoyable and cute. I like the side characters and the bond between the teammates and the challenges they faced have to trust each other. I give it a 3.5. Would recommend the book. It fits the bill exactly for this type of book which made it feel predictable, which is not necessarily a bad thing when I am looking for a nice cute sports romance!

Rugby is a sport I knew nothing about until I started reading rugby romances. My brother played for several years but I was well and truly into my love of football by then and not paying any attention. But reading about it? That’s a game changer.

Expect 👉🏼 Rugby, College, Coach’s Daughter, Bad Boy/Inexperienced Girl, Lessons

Cillian is new to this team and to this country. This is his last chance at fixing the train wreck that is his life. But his new team is clear that he isn’t welcome. What’s also clear is that the coach’s daughter is his “in” with the team. The two of them team up with a mutually beneficial plan to get her comfortable dating and him accepted as apart of the time. But all that time together sparks feelings neither were prepared for.

Rory and Killian’s friendship was great. I loved how Killian got jealous when he wasn’t supposed to. I love how they supported one another. This book felt a little like a movie. The spice was SPICY. And there was trouble from all sides. This is a book about last chances and positive changes. About fighting for what’s right and finding your person in the last expected place.

Maren knows exactly how to write the most ethereal sports romance books ever! I swear, each book continues to get better and surpasses the other every time.

Rory is the forbidden fruit that shouldn’t be touched because she’s the coach’s daughter and has the entire rugby team wrapped around her finger. But with little to no experience with the opposite sex, there’s one British broody and tatted bad boy that she wants to learn from - Cillian Cairney.

Red Card was deliciously addictive - filled with tension, longing, close knit friendships, raw emotions and the perfect amount of spice. I can’t recommend this enough as your next read. You need this x10000! 🤌🏼

Thank you to Maren Moore and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review before its release on Aug. 12 🩵💖

This was a cute story! This is the first rugby romance I've read, so I was actually hoping for a little more on the team dynamic and matches, etc. but I did really enjoy the story! The romance is absolutely the main storyline here.

Cillian is given essentially a second, and final chance at playing rugby to prepare himself for the professional league. A series of bad choices, mainly driven by intense grief, cause Cillian and his sister Aisling to move to the states from England so he can take a favor called in for him. He needs to do everything he can to keep his spot on the team because it's basically a last chance situation for him.

Rory is the coaches daughter. She is extremely involved in the team dynamics and Cillian and Rory strike up a mutually beneficial deal to help Cillian mesh better with the team, and Rory to learn how to get herself out of the friend zone with guys. Of course, now that Cillian is practicing in these dating scenarios with her, he realizes that he and Rory fit together nicely. There seems to be this idea that this is a forbidden romance, but it never really feels high stakes within the story. The romance definitely takes over the main plot of the book, but eventually we do see some conflict with Cillian and one of the guys on his team. I think the conflict was done okay - I'm glad that it didn't lead to a dramatic breakup, but I do think that the reaction Rory had in the moment felt a little off based on how well she got to know Cillian.

Overall this was a cute story, and I have a theory if there is a 2nd book who it might be about, and if I'm right (I REALLY hope I am) I am really, really excited to see how that goes.

Thank you so much to Forever for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Thank you to Forever for the advanced reader copy of Red Card by Maren Moore!

Cillian is an excellent rugby player from London that is forced to start over on a team in America. Cillian has difficulty connecting with the members of his new team which is a problem when that team connection could make or break Cillian being able to remain there. Rory, also the coach's daughter, is a on-going presence on the rugby team. Rory, lacking confidence in her ability to improve her love life, offers a proposition to Cillian to help teach her and she’ll help him gain rapport with the rest of the team.

This is so far my favorite story that I’ve read by Maren Moore! Cillian and Rory were super adorable together. I thought the development of their dating lessons arrangement was done really well. In addition to the main pair, there are multiple side characters that were lovely additions to the story.

If you enjoy a coach’s daughter, dating lessons, sports romance, this is one to check out!

3.5 stars

I have to say, the first line of the synopsis alluded to the movie She’s the Man (which I watched quite often in my 20s), but it's really not. I expected/wanted just a bit more sports talk jargon wise about rugby. Also, this was the first book I’ve read by this author, I did not know what to expect. This is definitely of the grumpy/ sunshine trope - but the MMC has a bit of a soft side. The non-romance side of the book, I enjoyed. The spice is definitely a solid 3+ on the pepper scale.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this ARC read!

Cillian’s the English rugby player with a bad boy rep here for his second chance.
Rory’s the coach’s daughter who knows all there is to know about rugby, but nothing about how to date a guy… enter her asking Cillian for dating lessons. She’s painfully awkward and cringeworthy, but not with the boy from the team.
I loved the tension in the first half of the book and it sure does deliver. I mean, the fashion show scene I wanted him to rip that right off of her! 😆 (For anyone like myself that has been stuck in a dress before, Maren Moore delivers in this scene-from panic, to laughter, to smoking hot tension). Rory is relatable, 1000%.

**possible trigger** Cillian goes on to have two conflicts at the end of this book: one with his T1D sister, where he explains how his life imploded following the death of his mother back in London, which includes his talk of abusing alcohol and drugs. Which segues into his second conflict with possible removal from the team.

While I understand books need a conflict, and they handled it beautifully, that’s all it became was drama resolution at the end. I loved how it ended though and her dad’s reaction to him and then to their relationship was perfect.

While everyone else is in their hockey romance era, I’ll champion rugby romance any day!!!

Maren Moore just has the secret sauce when it comes to s to sports romance! I read home run proposal before this one and just loved it so much! She makes a non-sports girlie absolutely love baseball and cheer for all her characters! 10/10 recommend!

You had me at "SHE'S ALL THAT meets SHE'S THE MAN." Yes, please. This book was amazing! I'll definitely be recommending to everyone I know.