3.5 stars

Two Left Feet is a sweet and easygoing read that had some really nice moments. The main character is super relatable—awkward, unsure, but trying their best—and it was nice to watch them grow and figure things out. Allie Emblidge writes in a way that feels natural and down-to-earth, which made the story easy to get into.
That said, the plot didn’t really surprise me. It follows a pretty familiar path, and a few parts felt a little slow or expected. But there’s a charm to it, and I did find myself rooting for the characters.
Overall, it’s a cute story. It didn’t blow me away, but I’m glad I picked it up.

Thank you Dell for the advance copy to review!

I had a good time reading this one. Set against a football season in England, Ollie is tasked with mentoring a player who he feels is his replacement, Leo. He’s not happy about - but he’s also attracted to the man. Sparks definitely fly between these two and before you know it, they are fighting their feelings.

Full disclosure, I took a month break from this one because it was a little slower paced than I typically like for my romance books. This was more about teamwork and figuring out your life than romance, but I liked it all the same.

The romance between Leo and Ollie definitely built up over time, and I felt like it took forever for them to kiss! It was a little hem and haw for a bit.

I thought the ending was really lovely, but them not really realizing every one saw Ollie kiss Leo on TV was kind of funny to me. Lol. The team having their backs was really fantastic and once again I really wish pro sports were more accepting of queer people in general. I really genuinely believe we’ll get there someday, but I wish it was now.

Overall, I’d recommend it. It was a genuinely sweet book with a truly lovely ending.

Mein Leseerlebnis

Das Buch enthält eine ruhig erzählte Liebesgeschichte, die mich teils, aber nicht komplett überzeugen konnte.

Der unaufgeregte Schreibstil wirkte auf mich angenehm und einladend. Er hat es mir leicht gemacht, in dem Liebesroman anzukommen.

Ich habe die beiden Hauptcharaktere gerne näher kennengelernt und sie auch ins Herz schließen können. Gleichzeitig konnte ich sie mir nicht in jeder Szene als echte Personen vorstellen. Ich denke, dass man aus ihnen noch mehr rausholen können. Ein paar Kapitel aus Leos Perspektive hätten dabei hilfreich sein können.

Nicht perfekt war für mich der Verlauf der Liebesgeschichte. Die beiden Helden haben nur wenig Zeit als Paar miteinander zu leben, bis eine große Entwicklung ihr Leben auf den Kopf stellt.

Das letzte Drittel des Romans fühlte sich dadurch teils etwas gehetzt an. Ich hätte mehr Zeit mit Leo und Oliver als Paar gebraucht, um die Liebe zwischen ihnen wirklich spüren zu können.

Insgesamt hatte ich mit "Two left feet" trotzdem eine schöne Zeit und ich kann mir gut vorstellen, dass der Roman vielen Leser:innen gefallen wird.

🖤🖤🖤 1/2 (mit Tendenz nach oben)

Für wen?

Wer ruhig erzählte Liebesromane mag, in denen man tief in die Seelenwelt eines der beiden Helden eintauchen kann, für den könnte das Buch eine schöne Sache sein.

The book review will be published on the 12th of January on the book blog Liebesromane lesen: https://www.liebesromanelesen.de

The writing style is a bit impersonal, clinical, and distant. You’re constantly given the feeling of being on the outside looking in. It’s jarring and takes a significant time to get used to. But the premise is strong and I give the author credit for this aspect but the execution needs some work. Oliver and Leo’s story in the context of professional sports is an interesting one but more work is needed to strengthen the writing on this book. But I encourage readers to check out this book.

My thanks to Ballantine | Dell for the digital arc.

*thank you to ballantine and netgalley for this digital arc!!*

oh my god!!! i’m obsessed with novelllllll!!! i absolutely love a queer sports book, even more when it’s rivals to lovers, and then make its soccer (sorry, i’m american)?!?! sign me tf up. this story was so beautifully told.

from seeing oliver freshly injured, angry at the world and skeptical of williem and leo to the end (him willing to SACRIFICE HIS SPOT, HIS TEAM, FOR LEO) was just so incredible to read. the characters felt so real in their actions and emotions, like the ‘will they be friends, won’t they be friends’ and the reactions to games and events happening. i just really enjoyed the writing! even during the sports matches, i felt the writing was just technical enough to follow whether you know sports or not.

and while my hearts always breaks for outed characters, i loved how this novel dealt with that. from the freak outs between oliver and leo, the reassurance and love. to williem and oliver, the support father figure, to even ollie’s mom, just wanting to make sure he was okay. god, all of it was handled so well.

the book was great for romance lovers, funny as fuck, and just an overall amazing read, can’t wait to get a physical copy when it releases!

I love sports romance! Enjoyed watching the dynamic develop and the characters were interesting and kept me engaged

I hate to say this, really hate to, but this is a very hard book to get into for me. I don't know why, but this is just so mind numbingly hard to get into. First off, why are the chapters so incredibly long? They feel like they drag on forever and could benefit from cuts on filler information. At first, my attention was caught, but by the end of chapter one I was already struggling to finish it. I found myself skipping entire paragraphs while reading. I loved the plot idea, but I guess I just wasn't a fan of the execution. Still, thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

I was really really really excited for Two Left Feet by Kallie Emblidge. Queer sports romances are my favorite genre, and I was excited to see a novel featuring Premier League football players as the love interests. The main issue I had with the book was that is was boring - very boring. When football star, Oliver, gets injured he has to help train his possible replacement, Leo. I really did not believe in their chemistry or relationship. On the positive side, I found the parts about football to be really engaging.

I found this book to be an enjoyable read. The story kept me engaged from start to finish and had some moments that really stood out. Overall, it offered an entertaining reading experience.

Amazing book loved the characters and plot. I couldn't stop reading I stayed up all night. I loved the book so much thank you for the arc.

Final Rating: 3.75/5

There was a lot to like in this book and, considering it is the author's debut novel, I think it was a really solid read. The characters were likable, the plot moved at a steady pace, and the ending worked well with the rest of the story.

One thing I really loved within this book is the formatting. Framing each chapter as a game within the soccer season felt so organic for this kind of story and helped keep me (someone whose only soccer knowledge comes from Ted Lasso) straight on the timeline.

That being said, there were some things in this book that I didn't love. First, I'm usually not a huge fan of romances with the mentor/student dynamic. The author is upfront about this being included in the book but I figured I'd give it a try anyways and.... it still isn't for me. Second, the romance elements felt a little forced. The "no we can't", "yeah let's do it" back and forth felt pretty worn out by the third time.

Overall, a well written book! I'm excited to see what the author does next.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231544998-two-left-feet

Honestly this breaks my heart to do this. But I had to DNF at around 70%… it’s not that it wasn’t written well, because it was. The story just wasn’t for me, it wasn’t really a romance it was more a book about soccer. And the relationships in a soccer team and a man who is so closeted he is lost. The back and forth between the two men had me dying and I just couldn’t continue. I’m so sorry to even write the review😭
It was just so slow moving and I did not connect with any of the characters…

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.