What a phenomenal debut! And I don’t say that lightly. Oliver and Leo’s relationship builds organically.

I enjoyed this book, but it was a little hard to get into it in the beginning. It picks up and I did enjoy the story the love story was very good. The football aspects were a bit longer than I expected, but I am not a huge sports fan. Oliver was great but I feel like he needed a little more personal perspective I know that the author wanted to make it clear football was his only choice. This made it harder to relate to his situation. Leo was wonderful for the love interest. I wish there could have been a little more build up to their relationship but once it happened the story was much better. If you are a sports fan and need a cute little happy ending love story this would make a good choice.

[3.5⭐️] [ARC]
Thank you NetGalley & the publishers for providing this E-Arc in exchange for a honest review!

“Two left feet” By Kallie Emblidge is a Soccer/Football romance based in London. Oliver, A Premier League football star has to defend his spot when an amazingly talented midfielder joins his team, Camden Roses.

When a recruit is called up to fill in, Oliver is afraid he'll be replaced. If he can mentor this younger talent, then they might just have a chance at winning, together.
Leonardo Davis-Villanueva is finally living his dream of joining the Camden Roses. Oliver finds confident, eager Leo irritating. And have a bit of an Enemies to Lovers Trope.
Overtime he comes to admire Leo's skill and Talent.
As they hang out more and more Oliver starts to feel feelings he’s never felt before. Oliver cannot fall in love with his teammate. He's always his sexuality private. Being gay could ruin his career if it gets out. But feeling grow stronger and stronger. Can Oliver have both Leo and Football? At the end what truly has Oliver’s heart?


It took me a LONGGGGGGG time to get into this book, maybe it’s the lack of knowledge in the soccer world but I was confused a lot. But to keep the positive mood I really enjoyed the characters, the romance really drove the story for me. Anytime I got confused I knew if I stuck it out for a few more pages I would be rewarded. The back and forth of “we can’t do this” *they do it anyway* repeat was getting a big old by the 3rd time. There was also a scene I remember where an argument was resolved so quickly, and not in the communication way but in “let’s change the subject” way. Sadly this story was pretty forgettable for me, all I remember is liking the banter aspects of the relationship. It’s also very clearly an American Author trying to write a book based in London, there were so many times I had to sit and think “so British people really say that?” I know these are a lot of negatives but I promise I did truly enjoy the story. I was back and forth between DNFing because I was getting so confused and couldn’t connect with the writing at first, I would get lost and have to reread many paragraphs to end up not understanding it and just moving on. But I’m so glad I kept going because this was a cute, quick summer read. All in all I think this is a great Debut Novel and hope to see more!

I love sport romance books and this one did not disappoint. The romance between Oliver and Leo felt so sweet and natural. I will say the middle seemed a little longer than it should've been but I really did like this book.

This was a fun sports grumpy x sunshine age gap romance. I was hooked from page 1. I enjoyed Oliver and Leo and the dual pov and the slowburn romance.



Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC

The sparks between Oliver and Leo drew me in immediately. I enjoyed the buildup of tension between them as they figure out their relationship on and off the field, and deal with the consequences.

Oliver Harris is the star of his Premier League (and hometown) team, the Camden Roses. But for the first time, Oliver is feeling unsure of his place on the team. There is a new, inscrutable coach. And after he suffers a midseason injury, the team calls up a young midfielder — and Oliver fears he is about to be replaced.

So when his coach asks him to help mentor the new recruit, Leo, Oliver is reluctant. But he soon finds himself impressed by Leo’s skill and drawn in by his personality. Over time, Oliver, who has kept his sexuality hidden, starts to develop stronger feelings for Leo — but is committed to keeping those feelings to himself. As the season goes on, though, Oliver finds doing so increasingly difficult, even as the stakes for the team continue to rise.

This is a strong debut. The author create compelling characters in both Oliver and Leo, portraying the similar and different ways that ambition and their respective identities have shaped their lives and their choices. It is also an interesting exploration of what it means to never leave home.

Highly recommended.

I unfortunately had to DNF this one and my three star rating is a placeholder. I tried several times to get into this story but I really couldn’t. I’m not sure if the author is British, but regardless, the dialogue did not feel genuine, I felt like I was reading an archetype of British people. Certain phrases and words were jarring because no British person I know actually says those things. I just couldn’t engage with the characters, which is imperative for me when I’m reading a romance novel. The writing itself was good, and I’m sure others will love this story.

Omg, sooooo cute. Loved it. Liked the writing style and the the Characters. Thank you for picking me to read and review!

Thanks to Ballantine and NetGalley for this arc!

I really enjoyed this! This was my first soccer romance and I really enjoyed Leo and Oliver’s story! I loved watching it develop. I also really enjoyed that the author also included the sports as a huge part in the storyline. That’s often not the case in the sports romance books.

Slow burn/age gap/mentor/football AU.
I’ve read a million fics like this, so it wasn’t doing anything groundbreaking. It’s trope heavy in that familiar, comforting way which can be great for time brain-off reading

At times, it felt like the book leaned on the reader having some background knowledge of British football, which I don’t have.

One thing that kept bothering me was the lack of agency in the non-POV character. The story does acknowledge it here and there, but never really engages with it in a meaningful way. It left the dynamic feeling a little off-balance but maybe that’s expected in this trope. That character and the realism felt underdeveloped.

If you’re looking for a sports romance, this checks all the boxes and is a fun read.

This was a sweet romance! I’m not a football fan but I still enjoyed Oliver and Leo’s story. I thought Oliver was a great main character and I liked reading from his POV, and understanding his internal struggles. The story felt maybe a little too short, but it made for a nice summer read. I’m excited to see what Kallie Emblidge writes next! Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the eARC!

I really enjoyed this book! I haven't read many football/soccer romances, so I was excited to find this one, and I had a really good time with it! I liked both Oliver and Leo, and loved getting to watch their relationship develop throughout the book. I thought the romance was really well done, as well as the sports aspect of the book. The author actually had me invested in the sports plot line, which doesn't happen with all the sports romances that I read! The side characters were also good, and I particularly liked Willem and Maggie. Overall, I had a really great time with this book, and would completely recommend it! I'm excited to see what Kallie Emblidge writes next :)

Teammate romances are some of the best, but this one was missing some emotion for me. I felt the initial spark between Oliver and Leo, but as their relationship came to be, I felt the lack of deep conversations - it made their jump from teammates to relationship feel a bit meh.

This was incredibly lovely. The pacing was great, the characters felt fleshed out and dynamic. I loved the role that soccer played in the book, but it didn’t ever feel like too much. The stakes felt realistically high and Leo and Oliver are just so likable and endearing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine for a complimentary eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Didn't quite land for me (the narrative tension wasn't quite there in the way I like in romance, and the prose was closer to purple than I love), but an accomplishment from a debut author!! The writing style also reminded me of fanfiction, so if you enjoy that style, this is a book for you to check out!

I throughly enjoyed this book! It was a joy to watch the story of these two unfold. I also leaned sooo much about football(soccer to us Americans). I will be re-reading this after it published!

<i>‎‧₊˚✧final review✧˚₊‧</i>

‧₊˚🖇️✩₊housekeeping˚🎧⊹♡
༘₊·꒰➳ <i>possible minor spoilers</i>
༘₊·꒰➳ thank you to Kallie Embridge, Ballantine, and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review
༘₊·꒰➳ no quotes because I have to wait until the final version is released, ill come back with a playlist too


🫧𓇼𓏲rest of review✩‧₊˚🎐

༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ genre: adult mlm romance

༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ what to expect + content warnings + age rating
➳ 3rd person present tense
➳ single pov
➳ lgbt rep (gay + bi)
➳ mlm
➳ sports romance (<s>soccer</s> football)
➳ rivals-to-lovers
➳ mentorship
➳ secret relationship/”forbidden” romance

༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳★★★☆☆
༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ ᰔᰔ(2)/5 (spice rating)
༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳ ❀❀❀(3)/5 (fluff rating)

「 ✦Two Left Feet✦ 」
(noun) cute, but not about barca


☁️ . . . ⇢ ˗ˏˋ overall thoughts
So first things first i lowk thought it was gonna be dual pov?? That’s not an issue really i was just surprised because based on the synopsis I thought it would be. ANYWAYS now that i’ve exposed the fact that I don’t really pay attention to book synopsis, lets actually talk about the book!! This was really cute, and obviously the fact that it was rivals-to-lovers grumpy x sunshine football romance (yes im from america but literally what is soccer) made it 10x better because who doesn’t love a sports romance (esp where the hottest sport is concerned).


˚˖ᡣ𐭩🌷͙֒✧˚.🎀༘⋆ writing style
I love reading books set it other countries that are written by authors from that country. Its a whole new insight into how people there actually talk and sound instead of the americanized versions. I did think this book was a little tell instead of show, but that’s okay in my opinion. I would recommend maybe going a little deeper into the characters. I also personally tend to revert any present tense to past tense subconsciously when a book is 3rd person, but that might just be a me thing because i cannot stand the flow of 3rd person present tense writing unless the narrator is like…idek how to describe it because I don’t have anything to compare it to.


♡₊˚ 🦢・₊ ♪ ✧ plot
So this was a really cute plot lowk? I liked the pacing of the matchdays and how they weren’t called chapters, I thought that was a really interesting way to do it. It seemed that all the major events were focused in on with a lack of obstruction from subplots, and even tho there was just one plotline, it felt like there was enough going on to keep my attention. It was kind of refreshing to not have a billion mini-plots all over the place, because I could just focus on the one thing and not have to remember how something else tied in to the rest of it.


✧˖*°࿐ world building
I just want to say i learned so freaking much about football and how the leagues work and how national teams work 😭 yall dont know it but i NEED this info for a certain someone hehe


˖◛⁺⑅♡main romance♡⑅⁺◛˖
Pls these two were too cute 😭 I was a little worried about the age-gap at first with how the author said leo was just coming out of the U23s, and that mixed with Oliver’s advancement in football and the grumpy x sunshine trope, it had me scared that they were about to say like 8 years which very much is against my rules since leo isn’t 25 yet. But i think its only 3-4 years. And honestly they were adorable (once they finally got together). When everything at the end happened they had me worried that by the end there wasnt gonna be an HEA but not to worry it all turned out dandy! And how well they work together on the pitch was so fun to hear about i was obsessed!


➶-͙˚ ༘✶ characters

Main Characters 「 ✦Oliver Harris✦ 」
He was interesting! His grumpiness kind of annoyed me, but it was valid because i would be grumpy too if i had to suppress my sexuality for fear of the loss of a career I’d worked so hard towards. He deserves to be happy.
༘₊·꒰➳relatability?
[■■□□□□□□□□] 20%
༘₊·꒰➳how much i liked them
8/10

Side Character「 ✦Leonardo Davies-Villanueva (Davito)✦ 」
<s>did i spell that right?</s> he’s so golden-retriever silly boy i love him 😭 like sir who gave you the right to be adorable? He kind of gave off overeager teenager vibes but like he was so cute and so funny and i would read a whole book just about him (kallie, please??)

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ favorites
ˋ°•*⁀➷ favorite characters
༘₊·꒰➳ leo
ˋ°•*⁀➷favorite scene
༘₊·꒰➳ omg the scene on the pitch that led us into the final spiral (WORTH IT!)


✩₊˚☾⋆⁺₊✧ final thoughts
Cute! Next time, make it about barca, and itll be 5 stars trust

⋆.ೃ࿔*: please comment or pm me if I missed anything, especially tropes!


ʚɞ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ with love, audrey
ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

"This is all Oliver’s got, for the next seven minutes, for the rest of forever, this is what he has to offer: his left foot and his heart."

Oliver is one of the prominent player in football and when he got injured and assigned to train the newbie to the team, Leonardo. However, they cannot stop their attraction to one another and much are at stakes.

The transition between scenes was a bit confusing for me because we are here in this location then the next thing, we are in a different one. There's also a lot of in-between scenes so that held me back because I need to get a sense of where we are before fully delving into the story.

The story was sweet, wholesome and realistic especially in terms of coming out to people and even more so if you are in a position where the public have an opinions on you.

Oliver's a complex and layered character and since we are following him, I admire him in knowing his priorities and how he handled things. The relationship between him and Leo was very complicated with a lot of hot-and-cold moments, push-and-pull and the will-they-won't-they dynamic but I love that the story was resolve in its momentum.

I love getting views of the whole football aspect through this story too.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

This is such a stunning debut. I have a soft spot for the EPL, and Kallie Emblidge’s Two Left Feet did not disappoint the high hopes I had for it. It was so fun meeting Oliver and Leo and following them through the highs and lows of their relationship and what it meant in terms of their footballing careers. 10/10.