Ready To Score by Jodie Slaughter
★ ★ ★ ★ 3.75/5
ALC AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

Thank you so much NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC!!

In Ready to Score, Jodie Slaughter delivers a sizzling, emotionally charged sapphic romance set in the world of high school football. Jade Dunn is determined to become her school’s first female head coach—until Franny Lim, a charming and qualified newcomer, enters the scene and threatens everything Jade’s worked for.

Their rivalry is sharp, their chemistry even sharper. As they navigate the pressures of coaching, small-town expectations, and personal insecurities, Slaughter builds a slow-burn romance full of heat, heart, and tension. The book shines in its portrayal of queer women of color chasing success in a male-dominated world.

While Jade’s defensiveness can be a bit much at times, her vulnerability adds depth, and Franny’s grounded presence balances things out. With authentic sports scenes, steamy moments, and rich emotional arcs, Ready to Score is a standout rivals-to-lovers story that’s both sexy and empowering.

I enjoyed this read and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a queer sports romance with edge, heat, and heart, Ready to Score absolutely earns its title. Just be prepared for some hard hits before the happily ever after.

To start - the audiobook narrator did an amazing job! The book itself was not for me. I ultimately did not finish the read because I found the story to be very boring. I also was not impressed by one of the FMCs. She seemed extremely toxic.

The dynamic between the two main characters was super hard for me in this book. I had a really hard time with believing their love story because they spent so much time at each other's throats. Overall, it was a nice story, but I had a really hard time getting into it.

ALC Review
Ready to Score by Jodie Slaughter
Narrated by: Esme Ramos

Ready to Score follows the story of Franny, a newer teacher to town, and Jade who is the assistant coach for the football team. There is a perceived rivalry because Franny wants to be part of the football coaching staff - this makes Jade a bit worried for her potential job prospect as the new head coach.
There was a lot of tension between the two women - although the perceived rivalry definitely was brought a bit too far. There was a good amount of spice.

Pick this one up if you enjoy:
* Sapphic romance
* Rivals to lovers
* Sports romance (high school (football)
* Math teacher x art teacher
* Small town

Ready to Score by Jodie Slaughter
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5 stars

I specifically requested this advanced listeners copy because you see so few cute lesbian rom coms, and a sapphic contemporary sports romance with a rivals to lovers plot line sounded like the perfect thing right now. And I especially loved that both our main characters were persons of colour.

Unfortunately I just didn’t connect with the characters. I didn’t feel the chemistry I was being told was there and I found one of our leading ladies borderline insufferable with her rude demeanour. The story itself was really cute, I enjoyed the little rivalry and discussion of how much harder it is to prove yourself as a woman in a male dominated arena, let alone a queer non-white individual.

The audiobook was well narrated, and I think increased my enjoyment of the story!

As usual, 3 stars is not a bad rating in my system. It means I liked it enough to finish it and had a fun time overall. But I do hate to give a low ranking in pride month.

While I'm not a sports person I found this enjoyable. You don't need to understand football in order to get the book as its mostly about the characters and their development than the logistics of the game itself.

In the beginning Jade was a bit insufferable, but I also think that was the point. Fran clearly tried to get to know her but Jade was just not having it. Finally, Jade figured out what was best for her and changed her tune. It was about time because they do balance each other out a bit. I'm glad Fran didn't end up giving up because Fran was right, they make a good team.

🌈Small town
🌈Sapphic
🌈Spoooooorts
🌈One sided rivalry

Maybe I need to be more selective with the romance I request, or maybe I needed to give this book more of a chance, but i DNFed at 15% (and I'm not a DNFer, typically).

I've noticed there's a trend in romance where either the MC (if first person) or narrator (if third person) essentially monologues about the character and their feelings, past, and motivations. It's ALL tell, no show, and drives me kinda crazy, to the point I have to put the book down. And it's not just this one--I've encountered it in other ARC reads as well. If I like the characters enough, sometimes I can push through, but nothing in this book grabbed me.

So, this one is a no from me. I did listen to the audio arc and the narrator was... fine. Not my fave, but that may also have been due to the source material.

Seriously, though, we need more queer romances and it kills me to not finish/enjoy one!

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars

“Ready to Score” is a sports romance about power women Francesca and Jade. I had no idea about American football beforehand and I have to admit that the book didn't really spark my interest. I had problems getting into the story, especially at the beginning. The plot was clear from the start: Two women who want the same job. Coupled with feelings.

Jade in particular was very determined and sometimes forgot what humanity means because of her ambition. For half the book, she behaved in a really impossible way, was cold and very hurtful. Francesca, on the other hand, was warm-hearted and tried to see the best in her despite all the walls Jade put up around her. I liked how she managed to break down those walls with a lot of patience and courage. And after quite a while, I also felt sympathy for Jade. The love story between the two was a rollercoaster of emotions. First a lot of dislike, then a lot of spice, only to be thrown in at the deep end again. A back and forth that somehow managed to capture me. I'm very grateful that the football games weren't so present, but rather the development of the love story and the competition for the job.

A big plus for the story is the narrator! She did a great job. Even though I sometimes had problems understanding certain American dialects, it was still a lot of fun to listen to her. The emotions of Jade and Francesca in particular were incredibly tangible. She also did a great job of conveying the differences between the two women. And she even made a football game interesting at times.

A sweet story that takes a bit to get into. I enjoyed the book, especially because of the narrator, who made the story so lively, and I can really recommend it as an audiobook.

Jade and Franny's story is the tale of antagonists lovers. Ready to score is told in dual points of view allowing the reader insight into both Jade and Franny's thoughts on coaching, teaching, the lives their building in their southern town, the weekly poker games, queer bowling, and more. Both characters are wickedly smart and wildly stubborn. Their people I would hang out with.
They both also know how to get in their own way, especially Jade. The novel is not overcome by homophobia and sexism, but as a novel set in the present day about women of color coaching high school football, both do exist. It means every bad judgement is a chance for bigots or the uninformed to say that man wouldn't have made that mistake. Or the current head coach (a straight white man) wouldn't have done that. But, what I adore is how much support the women have from the other school coaches. These interactions take place primarily on the football field or at the poker table; its clear that these men respect the women and their roles. I wish we had seen other female coaches. Just because they aren't coaching the boys, doesn't mean there aren't other women coaching sports in the school. Its likely that the traditionally girls sports would have women coaches on their staff. I wish we had seen their support too.
We do get to see support from family and friends. We get to see "old" lesbians who've been married for years, queer women who've been friends for years, queer women supporting one another. Family supporting our main characters in their goals and their relationships. And we get to see Jade and Franny with the kids on their team, how they look out for them and make space for their feelings as well as their playing.

Ready to Score explores what its like to queer women of color in the southern United States and what fighting twice as hard looks like. It often means not being able to full trust newcomers, even when they seem like under other circumstances they would be the perfect person to trust. Maybe love means asking for her thoughts on a football game.


Tropes
antagonists to lovers
workplace romance
women in male dominated space
queer women in trucks

It was an ok book, I had a hard time distinguishing both MC, specially because they were called different names/nicknamed all the time. Then the motivations for the antagonism were very flimsy in my opinion, they felt a little childish, so I wasn’t very invested.

2.5 stars ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

super quick read. it’s definitely for someone into football sports romances. most of the sports talk went over my head but it was still really enjoyable.

i thought the rivalry in the book was a bit much for a high school coaching job. like i understand they both really want the job but i feel like it was a bit extreme.

for a romance book this definitely didn’t feel like one. our main characters weren’t really likeable. i didn’t find myself rooting for either of them in the job aspect nor did i find myself rooting for their relationship which felt honestly a bit too rushed. they went from hating each other to simultaneously liking each other so much they’re always together.

Esme Ramos however did a great job of telling the story and bringing the characters to life.

Thank you NetGalley for this ALC in exchange for an honest review. I LOVED Play To Win, I ate that book up but this one did not hit the same. In my opinion, the MCs were immature and they "rivalry-to-lovers" was a stretch. This is had so much potential, it just didn't do it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ALC of this story.

This sapphic romance is told in dual POV and while it had some redeeming qualities, I was very frustrated by the MCs and their relationship to each other. Their interactions and high jinx were more the actions of kids who attend high school rather than teach and coach high school kids.

Each character was called by their first name, nick name, and last name interchangeably. Franny was called Fran, Franny, Lim, Francesca, etc. At times I got a little lost with who was being spoken to / about.

There were sweet moments throughout the story and secondary characters were fun to see.

The narration was good and I appreciated the accents and and cadence of the story.

I really wanted to like this book and if I read it instead of listened, it may have been a different experience.

This was not for me.
The MCs are supposed to be adults, but read more like young teenagers with the level of immaturity they exuded.
By the time the characters started acting (about) their age I was 3/4 of the way in and no longer cared.
The narrator did an incredible job and was a large part of why finishing this one wasn't mind melting.
Thank you NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for my ALC.

This had a lot of potential, and there were definitely parts I enjoyed. The setup was fun, the banter had its moments, and the chemistry between the characters was solid. I liked the second chance angle and the backdrop of professional sports—it gave the story a fresh vibe.

That said, the pacing felt a bit uneven, and I struggled to fully connect with the characters on a deeper level. Some of the emotional moments didn’t land as strongly as I wanted, and certain conflicts felt rushed or glossed over.

Overall, it was a decent read—fun, flirty, and with plenty of steam—but it didn’t fully deliver the emotional depth I was hoping for. Enjoyable, but not a standout for me.

This is not listed as a sequel so I will call it a stand alone novel that is in the same world as Play to Win (July 2023) and Bet on It (July 2022). I have read those contemporary romances and enjoyed the representation and diversity in race, sexuality and body shape and size. The books all take place in the small town of Greenbelt, South Carolina and this is the first one to feature a f/f romance.

Jade Dunn and Francesca Lim are both teachers at the local high school. Jade has been there for years and has worked very hard to be part of the assistant coaches for the football team. When the current head coach announces this will be his last year, Jade is all in to prove that she is worthy of being made head coach. Francesca helped coach junior teams in Texas before she moved to Greenbelt two years and asked to join the coaching staff.

I never bought into Franny being a contender for the head coach spot so the perceived rivalry by Jade didn’t make a lot of sense. Jade’s antics only made her come off as juvenile and petty. I honestly didn’t understand why Franny was interested in Jade. But of course they are attracted to each other. I enjoyed the cameos from the previous books. Jade’s bowling group friends are there to add some extra humor but I find crass to be cringe. There is a good portion of the book that focuses on football (American). I am a college level football fan and understand the rules and positions discussed. But others could find those parts of the story less interesting.

I did enjoy the narration by Esme Ramos. Thank you to NetGalley and fDreamscape Media for the audio book and I am leaving an honest review.

I’m not really a fan of sport romance but this was set in high school so I wanted to try. And I’m glad I did. This story is so wholesome. I love this book so much. I love Francesca a normal amount, I promise!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

As a white, queer woman, I’m not in a position to comment on the deeper cultural or identity based struggles the characters face, so I’ll leave that to reviewers with the lived experience to speak to it.

That said, I really enjoyed this audiobook overall. The narrator did a fantastic job. There was emotion, variation, and energy throughout, which kept me engaged the entire time. No monotone droning here!

Story wise , this was a solid 4-star read for me. I do think I would’ve gotten more out of it if I’d read the first two books in the series beforehand. Jumping into this one as a standalone worked, but I could tell I was missing some context and character history that likely would've deepened the emotional payoff.

To my surprise, the author even managed to make me care about football and that’s coming from someone who exclusively watches F1, mostly for the lore.

Initially, I found the main characters frustrating—especially Jade. I was ready to rate the book lower because of how hard it was to connect with her at first. But the more I sat with it, the more I realized just how *relatable* she actually is. Haven’t we all, at some point, been so hyperfocused on a goal that we started projecting, self-sabotaging, or assuming the worst of others?

Jade’s flaws felt real, and while I still wanted to shake some sense into her a few times, her journey felt grounded in emotional truth. That said, I do wish certain things were explored more deeply. For example, it didn’t quite make sense that Jade was funding so much for the school but not for her own room. And I couldn’t quite figure out what Franny’s actual qualifications were or why she forgave Jade’s behavior so quickly and easily without more conversation or pushback.

Overall, this was an engaging listen with a lot of heart, even if some parts left me with lingering questions. I’d definitely recommend it.

I liked lots of things about this book, how both main characters stood for certain issues, I thought they had good physical chemistry however I didn't personally see much of a deep emotional connection. The audiobook narration was good however I wished it was dual narration as at times it was confusing to decifer the pov

This was so cute! I'm not the biggest enemies to lovers in the workplace fan but this worked for me. I felt the connection between Jade and Franny from the beginning and even when they weren't getting along I could feel the tension building.

I felt like they did a good job of showing up for one another and taking accountability for things they did in the past. I liked that in the end it came down to them just being each others biggest fans and loving each other so much. It was real cute (and real hot).

The only thing I struggled with was that it was a little too unnecessarily long and a lot of that had to do with how much they talked about football. I know they're coaches!!!

But I still enjoyed it and the narrator was fantastic! I loved her voice so much.

This is my second time reading Jodie Slaughter and I can't wait to read more from her.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ALC.