It was a great one sitting read, I've been a dark romance kick recently and needed a good fluffy book to dive into, every so often, in the best way possible I just need to turn my brain off and enjoy some good old fashioned romance and kick my feet up.
I'd forgotten that it was the first in a new series, and while I was reading I was wishing for a bit more of the two other brother's stories, and now I know (hopefully) that we'll get them.
I personally wouldn't call it enemies to lovers, more like (apparently) mutual hate to lovers and it contains a lot of the usual tropes but done really well, the story flew well, it was cohesive, it had good pacing, story threads outside of the main story with both the mmc and fmc having story lines that didn't (directly) involve the other, but helped the main story progress.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC. All opinions are my own :)

Score to Settle by Bella North was such a delight from start to finish. I gave it 4.5 stars (rounded up to 5) because I enjoyed every single page. The plot was warm, engaging and the perfect mix of slow-burn, second chances, and undeniable chemistry.

Jake and Harper’s dynamic was everything. At first, she couldn’t stand him which made every snarky comment and lingering glance even more addictive. That slow shift from “I hate your guts” to tolerating, liking, and then full-on swooning had me melting into a puddle. Their chemistry wasn’t just believable. It was otherworldly.

As someone who knows absolutely nothing about football, I appreciated how the sport was woven into the story. Through Jake’s words and perspective, I actually learned something without ever feeling overwhelmed by jargon.

The Sullivan family was another highlight. Complex, layered, and deeply loyal, they added depth and warmth to the story. The kind of fictional family you wish you could pull up a chair with at Sunday dinner.

And the last fifty-ish pages? Had me in a chokehold. I literally couldn’t stop reading until I knew how it all ended. And when it eventually did, I found myself wishing there was more.

I just wish we got to see the article Harper wrote about Jake. Also, I wonder which brother we'll get to know better next. Can't wait for the announcement :)

The dedication was very catchy and pulls you in. It’s about readers who fall in love with their book boyfriends, have high standards for real life and always have a pile of TBR.

This book, Score to Settle by Bella North is a enemies to lovers’ football romance. The lead female is a sports journalist who struggles to get her father’s approval while the lead male is a bad boy womanizing football player who doesn’t want anyone’s approval.

Harper Cassidy is tasked with writing a feature about Jake Sullivan that will either make or break both of their careers. She knew him back in high school, but was to sky to say “hi,” but she did write a piece on him, but he didn’t like it. I can relate to the fact that Harper has changed since high school, but to her core still the same person. I like it when characters in books are realistic and relatable. Jake Sullivan is a womanizer who is totally misunderstood. He gets annoyed by Harper, but eventually warms up to her as does she towards him. Jake shows that he is more than just a football player, which is how he warms up to her. It’s also relatable. We are all more than just our careers.

The football games feel realistic, though I am a bit of a novice as it comes to knowledge of football though I come from a big football family. I think it helped make the book feel well rounded. The characters felt realistic as well since they had emotions and human. The characters were “human” in the sense that they make mistakes, but make the choices to be better. The story overall felt it went at a good pace and well written. The banter between the two main characters was really great. I will definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good sports romance or enemies to lovers. Be sure to grab it when it comes out in September!

cute fun and with characters i want to see more from please. i really love how this book is a great tale of what assumptions of people puts onto that person and what it can do both good but then not so good. and also how people either can change or are never the people they are tagged with in the first place. this was such a tender but fun book. light but deep at the same time and it held the balance of that perfectly.
and it definitely had two characters i fell for.
this book follows Harper. Harper with a score to settle, lol. but maybe its not the one she thinks going in. because shes a journalist and has been assigned to do the profile on NFL star Jake. hes been portrayed too much as a player and its not gone down well. so everyone thinks they are sending Harper in to do a big-up write up. his reputations needs a re-write. but this is the bloke who broke her heart all those years ago. and from what she can see hes not changed a bit. so for Harper she intends on writing and making sure everyone knows the real him. she aint pulling the punches.
but things take a jolt for her in both experience and heart. because hes not the guy she thought he was? and this brings on a whole lot of emotional baggage sorting to the fore front. as well as confusion as to who this man is now.
because as we can all see Jake is a green flag. hes charming yes but in a kind sweet way. there is way more to this man than hes been written up as.
i understood Harper completely. the years she was hurt are such burdening years. they can truly mark and scar you! especially if its first love or rejection involved. she was insecure yes. but she was also so much more and i love getting to see her own personality shine through when she felt safe enough to do so.
the romance between the pair was buzzing and zinging from the off. but then there was a delightful natural way to it too. it was gentle, soft and full of waiting and laying trust and safety groundwork.
this book was a delight. i loved this book so much!
now come on Bella. you've made me fall hard here. bring on the other brothers please. like now. and let me be lucky enough to enjoy them too.

I received an arc from net galley for a honest review. The first part of the book was a little slow for me, but I kept on and it got better at about 40% of the book. If you enjoy grumpy and the sunshine. If you enjoy sports romance. This is the book for you. The main characters are Jake and Cassidy. Jake is a football player and Cassidy is a journalist. They knew each other in high school and have past history that they have to overcome. This is an enjoyable read I would recommend it. It’s light and fulfilling.

Harper get's a surprise assignment to profile NFL superstar Jake Sullivan. There are only two problems. First, that she doesn't know a touchdown from a touchback. And second, that she holds a grudge against Jake for sharing the article she wrote about him in high school that she'd left anonymously in his locker with the entire student body so they could laugh at it. Harper thinks this is her chance to expose the real Jake Sullivan, but she's about to discover she was all wrong about him.

Read if you like:
-High School Crush turned Lover
-Sports Romance
-Off Limits/Secret Relationship
-Grudges
-Flawed Impressions
-She Crushed First Then, He Fell First Now

Score to Settle was such a fun book. I think most of us have something that happened in high school that we would want a chance to do over. I know I do. And Harper got that chance for all of us. She also got the chance to stand up to her ex and alter her relationship with her dad. Okay, so maybe things between Harper and her dad still have a ways to go, but he's starting to change. I loved watching both Jake and Harper letting their walls down as the book progressed. But perhaps the most satisfying part of the book was Jake and his brother finally talking about what happened last season.

This was such a cute, cozy sports romance!
A scorned reporter that has to write a piece on the man that broke her heart?! And he just so happens to bug a big, star football player?! I love the plot so much!
The forced proximity, hate-to-love, and one bed tropes were all right up my alley.
Harper was so relatable and Jake was very swoon worthy. I loved the little plot twists towards the end!
Overall, a very fun, quick read that I will be recommending to other readers!

I loved this book! I’d say it’s closer to a 4.5 star review (that was my score on fable). My only deduction is because it was a little slow and clunky to begin with but once we got a few chapters in I read the whole thing in a day.

I loved Jake and Harper, it was a great dynamic with them struggling with different elements of being perceived. I also did not see the twist at the end on how the whole thing came about. I loved the main characters and the side characters and I really hope we get Dylan and Chase books. Jake’s back story was heartbreaking with his dad and brother but equally I felt sorry for Harper being ridiculed at school.

I liked the fact the characters actually acted like normal people when faced with problems for example it wasn’t a constant communication battle. I will be recommending that all my friends read this one!

Thank you to Bella North, Bookouture, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What a debut sports romance! I loved getting to know the Sullivan family. You can tell that some quips and details are loosely based on the Kelce family. I loved Harper. I know how terrible it can feel when you see everyone around you achieving things and you feel like you are just treading water. I am a sucker for enemies to lovers / forced proximity tropes. I felt everything was written so well, and I loved the pace of Harper and Jake redeeming themselves and getting to know each other. I do wish we touched on more of Harper’s dad and saw more of a resolution there. Overall, the ending had me giddy and I can’t wait for the rest of the Oakwood Ranch Series.

This was a cute sports romance between an NFL player and a journalist whose job is to write a piece about him in hopes of changing the public's perception of him.

I liked the setup and thought both Harper and Jake grew throughout the book. However, I was not a fan of so much miscommunication between them in the end. I also felt that there was no closure between Harper and her father, which was a bummer. The story ended too abruptly, in my opinion.

I'm not an American football fan. It's the sport I have the least knowledge and interest in, but I really liked how it was such a central piece of the story. We get a lot of snippets of the games and I really liked that.

I hoped we'd get more time between the siblings and ranch life, but it wasn't in the cards. Mama Sullivan was the highlight for me. She was such a great maternal character, and I loved how kind she was to Harper.

I might be an outlier, but I was not a fan of the pop culture references, especially the one right at the beginning. It's personal preference, but it takes me out of the story.

Overall, it was a quick read with sweet and spicy moments.

"Last night might've meant nothing to Harper, but it meant something to me. More than something. It meant everything."

I mean, who doesn't want a guy to talk about them like that? Especially when that guy is a hot football player like Jake. After a scandal rocked his reputation last year, Jake needs a serious image makeover. Enter Harper—a sharp, no-nonsense sports reporter assigned to shadow him for five weeks. But there's a twist, Harper and Jake went to high school together, and she might still be nursing a grudge over something he did that hurt her back then.

This book has all my favorite tropes: football action, romance, second chances, and the tension of former classmates reconnecting, if Jake can even remember Harper. Add in some well-written spice, sexy dialogue (see quote above!), and two more swoon-worthy brothers, and you've got a story that’s hard to put down. Fingers crossed this turns into a series—I’m already dying to see what happens next!

3.5 Stars!! This was such a fun read! I am always excited for a good sports romance, then you add in a little enemies to lovers and I am one happy girl 😊 I loved that they each had a few secrets along the way that left me guessing as to what happened in their past.

Jake is a hot shot tight end with the womanizing reputation that goes along with that. Cassidy is a journalist, struggling to prove herself in the industry and she has a few secrets from her past. Like the fact that she knows nothing about football, and now she's been selected to write a feature article on the Jake Sullivan. Not only write an article about him but follow him around for 5 weeks leading up to it. Jake is hoping this article will change people views of him, show people who he really is. But Cassidy sees exactly why Jake has the reputation that he does, and she hates him for it.

When Jakes starts to let down his walls, and Cassidy starts to share bit of herself as well, sparks start to fly. But can they give in to the feelings when so much is at risk for both of them?

I was excited to see there will be more in this series, I can't wait to read about the other Sullivan brothers!

This was a fun and flirty sport romance, with a little dash of cowboy!

Harper was a very strong female lead. She was independent, spoke her mind and confident enough to stand up to the man who had knocked her self-esteem as a teen.

I felt Jake's character also had a lot of depth, and his personality grew and developed throughout the book. He turned out to be the perfect gentleman.

There were some strong side characters too, and I'm particularly hoping that we get to see more of Mama, Dylan and Chase in the next books. I wish we were able to see a bit more of the complex relationships Jake has with his two brothers, and I hope that this is explored more in further books to entwine the stories, especially considering Chase and Harper were best friends at school.

I liked the juxtaposition of the two settings, the ranch and the city. The ranch added a small-town romance vibe to the story, and made it feel warm and cosy - you could sense how it would feel like a home and an escape for Harper after all she had been through.

As someone who doesn't watch American Football, I very much appreciated Jake's lessons with Harper, and the descriptions of his movements and positions on the pitch during the games. It made this side of the plot easier to follow and understand, and added suspension during those last games when they were closer to reaching the playoffs.

I enjoyed the slow-burn, forced proximity trope, and the spicy scenes were well-written. Harper displayed a level of confidence during the intimate scenes that left me feeling empowered, and I loved that Jake kept making sure she was consenting.

Overall, this was a very fun and light read. It would be the perfect book for a holiday!

Score to Settle by Bella North

Fun banter ✅
He falls first ✅
Cozy fall/winter vibes ✅
A little spice ✅✅

A journalist is hired to shadow the star football player for five weeks and live in his house. Then she realizes they went to high school together and things get interesting. Is he really the womanizer the media paints him as, or is there more to the story?

I loved these two together. The banter felt fun and natural, the chemistry was believable, and I especially adored that he fell first and didn’t try to hide it. His POV was refreshingly honest — no “too cool to care” attitude here. The spice (🌶️🌶️/5) was so well done, with just the right amount of longing and tension before the payoff.

I also really enjoyed the main character’s friendship with Mia — their constant teasing and playful jabs at each other had me laughing out loud. It felt so real and reminded me of how I joke around with my own friends.

The snowy winter setting and cozy seasonal details made it an even better read for fall or winter nights. If you like sports romance with humor, heart, genuine friendships, and a touch of heat, this one’s a winner.

Release date: September 10, 2025

Thanks to Bella North, NetGalley, and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📚 Score to Settle by Bella North
This book had me hooked from page one - I devoured it in a single sitting! 🙌
If you love sports romance with sizzling chemistry, witty banter, and characters you can’t help but root for, this one’s for you. 💖

The tension between the leads was perfection slowish burn but with plenty of sparks ⚡ and emotional depth that kept me turning pages. By the end, I was grinning like an idiot and already craving book two in the series.

Huge thanks to NetGalley & Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. 💌

I absolutely loved this book from start to finish! It was the perfect beach read and I finished it in less than a day. I was obsessed with Jake and Harper’s story. I was wondering why Harper left insight and knew there was more to the story. When it was revealed I was shocked. I loved the two main characters, they had depth and I enjoyed watching them grow throughout the pages. This book had me rooting for them from start to finish and I loved the ending. I can’t wait to add this to my shelf and share it with friends. I will definitely be recommending this book to everyone! I give it 5 out of 5 stars. Thank you netgalley and publisher for the advanced read. I can’t wait to read more by this author soon.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Score to Settle is a fun, flirty, and heartfelt read that blends sports romance with small-town cowboy charm in the best way. The setup had me instantly hooked—NFL golden boy Jake Sullivan needs to fix his image, and Harper Cassidy, the journalist sent to write a glowing profile, just happens to be the girl whose heart he broke in high school. Oh, and he doesn’t even remember her. Cue the tension.

The forced proximity at his family ranch was such a great backdrop for their enemies-to-lovers banter, stolen moments, and gradual unraveling of old wounds. The chemistry between Jake and Harper is undeniable, with the perfect mix of snark, slow-burn heat, and surprisingly tender moments. Jake’s “playboy with hidden depth” persona plays beautifully against Harper’s determination and guarded heart.

The found family elements with Jake’s ranch life were a sweet bonus, and I enjoyed how the story balanced humor with emotional beats. My only reason for docking a star is that I wanted just a little more depth in certain conflicts—some resolutions came a bit too quickly—but overall, this was an addictive, easy-to-binge romance that left me smiling.

If you love sports stars, small-town settings, slow-burn tension, and a touch of cowboy grit, this one’s worth adding to your TBR.

Im not a writer like Harper and for the life of me i cant get some of my notes into a nice paragraph so here are my bullet points!

- Major point of difference that got me was Jakes mum was the driving force behind the football careers. Not the dad. You got a loving caring but no BS fierce mum, love it.

- Youve got a wallflower and a bit of a loner fmc and the predictable jock with the playboy exterior.

- They're both at a crossroads in their life and careers. Both definitely hiding behind a facades. Soul searching.

A lot of detail went into detailing the characters thoughts and feelings onto the page. Really set a different tone and feel to the book that I wasn't expecting. Was a nice surprise. It set it apart from the insane amount of other romance books that have flooded out.

The misunderstanding "trope" is always a bit of an ick for me, but it was a minor piece rather than a supporting chunk of story which was great.

I expected the story to go a certain way, with the "big secret" blow up, as most romance stories do. It did take a slightly different run on things which was also a nice change.

For me the absolute winner of the whole story for me was the ending. As I mentioned before, once you read a lot of these stories, they can blur and the storyline are all much the same with different decorations. But how the final chapter played out, played out beautifully. It wasn't where I expected it to end at all, and thats what made it so refreshingly perfect. Stunner of a final chapter.

Thankyou so much Netgalley, Bella North and Bookouture for this arc!!

Harper, a sports magazine writer is set a task like no other. To fix Jake, a NFL star, public image which is bordering the line of beyond repair.

I had so much fun reading this, it’s super fast paced, there’s so much banter and tension and all the characters are so loveable (not talking about you scott or gordon.) One thing i really enjoyed about this book was the level of attention and detail. The setting was so well described and the NFL games you could envision as a movie in your head.

My only quip was it was a little too fast paced for me. I wished we had more time to fully explore the characters and their family dynamics. Andddd i would’ve loved more closure in the ending how did the playoffs go!? how are harper and jake!? what’s dylan up to!?!…i mean we might still see more in the next book 👀

*4.5* I must say, it was a good read. I loved the tension later on in the book between Jake and Harper I mean you could’ve cut it with a knife. But the best part was the slow burn to the almost kiss to them finally getting together. I was on the edge of my seat. Tim, Mia, and Mama Sullivan were my favorite characters obviously besides the main couple. Harper’s dad could use some work just saying. Scott can go take a dirt nap(once you read, you’ll understand) and for book two I need more interactions between Chase and Harper I feel like it would be a great team. I wanna say I understand the whole premise was that Harper did this story of him for the reason for revenge but I was like girl no! It was ten years ago let it go already. I mean I get it,there are some people from HS I would love to see kick rocks but it’s not worth it at all! Oh and Buck was a cutie pie and may he live forever. If you like sports romances then read this book, it was great. I would love to ARC more reads form Bella North, amazing writer.