📚 Book Review 📚
RED CARD | MAREN MOORE
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 | 🌶️🌶️🌶️️
Publication Date: 8/11/2025
Narrator: Matt Sykes and Stella Hunter
Genre: New Adult/ Sports Romance

Themes:
- College
- Bad Boy
- Shower Scene
- "Good Girl"
- Dirty Talk
- Rugby
- Friends with Benefits

Overall: 3.5/5
A cute college romance between the bad-boy rugby player and the coach's lovable daughter.

Plot: 3/5
Cute romance plot. They agree to help each other; he needs help getting the rest of his new teammates to like him, and she needs help learning how to flirt with boys.

Characters: 3.5/5
He's a grumpy bad boy with a tragic past, and she's the cookie-baking sweetie who is always friend-zoned.

Spice: 3/5
M/F open door. A slow burn with plenty of delicious tension.

Narration: 5/5
Great narration.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the arc!

I really really liked Red Card it was a fun sporty romance that was the perfect combination of entertaining and easy to read. Rory is such a fun character although some stuff she says may sound pick me with her not having girl friends only guy friends and not wearing makeup or dressing up, she did not feel like a pick me which I appreciated. Killian is the typical "bad boy", but I like seeing how the layers are slowly peeled off and you peer into who he really is and what he cares about.

This is a spicy rugby romance and I am so here for the thighs. But I was living for the bad boy athlete teaching the coach's daughter how to date and flirt all the while falling for her himself.
Cillian and Rory make a really good team helping each other achieving their goals.
I listened to the audiobook and would have liked it better if it was a Duett and not just a double narration. But I enjoyed getting Cillians POV. And the voice of Rory was very fitting for the story.

Thank you to the author Maren Moore and NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC

4⭐ 4🌶️

There is just something about the way Maren writes that has me sucked in from the very first line. The way she introduces the characters, builds the characters and maintains the characters is amazing. They never do or react to anything that you would not be expecting from these characters. This doesn't mean that they don't change or grow or that the characters are predictable. They just always make sense and I can relate to them, their actions and their emotions.
What almost also impressed me was Maren's ability to flex into a sport that is not so well known in the US but is a staple in my country. I never felt that Marin didn't understand the sport. Basically this made the book a cracker! I listened to this book and the narrators were fabulous.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Maren Moore for a copy of this book. This is my honest opinion.

Cillian heads to Prescott University to not only play rugby but to also carve out a new life for himself after tragedy. The only things standing in his way are his new teammates who aren't thrilled with his arrival. When the coach's daughter offers to help him make headway with the team in exchange for dating lessons, there's nothing Cillian can do but say yes.

This was a cute romcom! Here's what I liked:

Rory and Cillian: I loved these two. She's got such a good vibe: a little bit of a tomboy while striving to embrace her feminine side. Cillian has such a tough exterior but is such a softy, especially for Rory. Together, they are such a good combo.

The nostalgia: This one brings to mind so many 80's and 90's romcoms that I loved. They enter into an arrangement and end up falling for each other. It works so well.

The narration: Stella Hunter and Matt Sykes do a great job in this one! Each really jumped into the characters.

Overall, this was a great spicy NA romance!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy!

3.5 stars, rounded up.

This is a fun and spicy college rugby romance! When Cillian is kicked off his rugby team in England, he is forced to move to the United States and join a new team at a college in New Hampshire. None of his new teammates accept him, so he turns to the coach's daughter, Rory, for help getting his teammates to like him. In exchange, Cillian agrees to help Rory learn how to get guys to see her as more than just another bro.

I enjoyed the just-friends-to-more dynamic and Cillian's journey as a misunderstood bad boy. The moments of tension and jealousy as Cillian helps Rory learn to flirt with other guys were excellent.

The audiobook for this one is high quality and well-performed. The narrator for Cillian's POV has a British accent, which definitely helped keep me immersed in the story!

Huge thanks to Hachette Audio for free audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

This was my first Maren Moore book, but it will not be my last. I had such a great time with this college bad boy rugby play x coach’s daughter romance. It also has one of my favorite tropes which is “lessons”! Rory is tired of seeming like one of the guys and enlists Cillian's help with flirting.
I read this so fast, it was such an easy read to do in one setting. I loved Rory and Cillian's friendship and how it developed into more. They fall so easily, and they fit into each other's lives so perfectly. I appreciated that there was no issue with her father and him "letting her" date someone on the team. There were parts of it that did lean slightly cheesy but I had a good time!
The audiobook was so well done. I loved the narrator choices they were so easy and pleasant to listen to.

I loved this book so much, I absolutely had to request the audio version! I think the narrators were perfect for this role, it just made it so much better!

Maren Moore’s 'Red Card' is a delightful and steamy sports romance that delivers on all the things fans love about the genre. Moore crafts a classic 'grumpy bad boy meets sunshine good girl' dynamic with Cillian, a British rugby star with a chip on his shoulder, and Rory, the coach's quirky and endearing daughter. The 'fake dating turned real feelings' plotline is executed well, with plenty of witty banter and charming moments that make their relationship feel genuine and earned. The rugby setting is a fun and fresh backdrop, and the side characters add a great layer of camaraderie and humor to the story.

My one minor critique is that some of the plot points feel a bit predictable, and the final conflict is resolved a little too quickly. However, this is a minor flaw in an otherwise fantastic read. The chemistry between Cillian and Rory is off the charts, and Moore knows how to write a swoon-worthy hero with a soft heart beneath his gruff exterior. 'Red Card' is a solid start to the 'Prescott University' series and will have you cheering for a happily-ever-after.

This was definitely a cute, fluffy little sports romance that also explores some heavy topics. I absolutely adored Killian’s character development, and the final chapter and epilogue being from his POV is just perfection. I loved how real Rory and Killian’s relationship felt, and I am so so happy the author chose to forego a melodramatic third-act breakup in favor of showing a mature, respectful relationship with Rory and Killian communicating effectively when things got difficult.
I definitely enjoyed the audiobook for this, but the female’s narration for Killian wasn’t perfect. Her British accent is okay, but when trying to pitch her voice into Killian’s lower tone, a lot of volume was lost. So it was as if Killian was whispering in the chapters from Rory’s perspective, and it was at times hard to hear while I was driving using the car stereo. Otherwise, it was well performed and I enjoyed the audio format a lot.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Okay, I can’t believe it took me this long to pick up a Maren Moore book!! Red Card had everything—funny dialogue, swoony romance, and some seriously steamy moments.

Rory’s the awkward rugby coach’s daughter who’s clueless about dating, and Cillian’s the new guy who’s a little closed off. They make a deal: she helps him fit in with the team, and he teaches her how to date. What could go wrong? Spoiler: a lot of laughs and some major feels.

I loved their banter and how Cillian’s story added real heart. Totally hooked now and can’t wait to read more from Maren Moore!

Cillian Cairney has just one more shot to pursue his dreams of playing rugby, after getting a red card from his team in London, but offered a chance to play for an Ivy League school in New Hampshire. Seen as the British bad boy, his teammates hate him, and the coach’s daughter, Rory St. James, is less than impressed with him. But when Rory offers a proposition that would benefit them both, he cannot help but go all in.

Depicted as “She’s All That meets She’s the Man”, this book definitely brings the 2000s romcom vibes into the era of the sports romance. Right off the bat, I was completely smitten with our hero, the bad boy with a literal heart of gold, still grieving the loss of his mother and helping to care for his younger sister who struggles with type 1 diabetes. He was gruff, yet gentle, especially when it came to his friendship with Rory. I definitely got “The Deal” vibes as Cillian tries to help Rory navigate flirting/dating. As it turns out, I kind of love the coach’s daughter trope, and found it to be well executed in this story. A very charming story all around.

🎧 The audiobook format was absolutely perfect for this story, especially given that our hero is British. Narrators Matt Skyes and Stella Hunter were pitch perfect in their performances and added exponentially to an already fun and engaging story.

Read if you like:
▪️rugby romance
▪️collegiate setting
▪️coach’s daughter
▪️love “tutor”
▪️opposites attract
▪️chronic illness rep
▪️Elle Kennedy

Thank you Hachette Audio for the advanced copy.

Red Card by Maren Moore is such a fun and addictive audiobook that had me hooked right from the start. I loved the mix of sports romance, witty banter, and the fiery chemistry between Rory and Cillian—it gave me all the swoony, slow-burn vibes I look for in this trope. Their dynamic felt authentic, with just the right balance of sass, tension, and tenderness, and I found myself rooting for them the whole way through. The dual narration by Matt Sykes and Stella Hunter was fantastic, adding so much energy and personality to the story, and it really elevated the listening experience for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for providing a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you @NetGalley and @HachetteAudio for the ALC. Cillian made me want to start watching rugby. I loved this character and the banter between him and Rory was so much fun to read. This is the first book in the Prescott University series. Rory is the coaches daughter and all the guys friend but Cillian is the new bad boy from across the pond and he does not see Rory as a buddy. A must read.

Audiobook Review 🎧

After a messy exit from his English rugby team, Cillian gets a second chance in America on Prescott Universities rugby team. However, coming in as an outsider with a bad reputation gets him off to an immediate rough start with the team.

But It’s here that he meets Rory, the coach’s daughter.
She’s friends with all the guys, sports mad and also extremely awkward on the dating front.

After witnessing this disaster first hand, Cillian and Rory come up with a mutual plan. He will help her land a date and be her wingman and she will help him become friends with the team and break the animosity. When this plan delves into fake dating, the feelings start to become real as things heat up between the two!

The voice actor for Cillian was 🔥with his British accent, but unfortunately he was hard to listen to doing voice of Rory and the other American male characters.

The voice actor for Rory tended to nail all the voices and was easy to listen to.

Red Card was a sweet and spicy rugby romance, and Rory and Cillian were both really likeable characters. The audiobook itself was an enjoyable listen, with a storyline that was easy to follow.

♥️ Fake dating
♥️ Rugby romance
♥️ Bad Boy x Sunshine

Thank you Hachette Audio and Maren Moore for my gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who typically reads hockey romances, a rugby romance was a new one for me! One of my good friends played in college, so I knew a ~smidge~ about the sport, and I really enjoyed this one!

Cillian was so not the tough guy everyone thought he was. He actually folded on that plot pretty quickly, especially with Rory. He was just a kid who was dealt a bad hand. He is actively going through the stages of grief, and it was heartbreaking to see how, until this team, no one really had his back.

Rory was a fine character, but she didn’t wow me. I liked her relationship with the team and how much they respected her role within it. But her entire personality being rugby just made her seem a bit odd. Once she and Cillian started their dating lessons and she got more comfortable being herself and being around him, she became more likable.

I loved Cillian’s relationship with his sister and wish we got more interactions between them to dive into their grief further. I also wish we got more team interactions. A few of their conversations felt a bit cringe to me, but overall I did love the comradery.

I really enjoyed Rory and Cillian’s relationship - you could feel the comfort they found in each other and the chemistry that sizzled. They helped each other feel deserving of love in more ways than one.

Overall, I really enjoyed this audio - both narrators (Stella Hunter and Matt Sykes) brought these characters to life in such a fun way!

ALC Review: Red Card by Maren Moore
Pub Date: August 12, 2025
Narrators: Matt Sykes; Stella Hunter

Thank you to @hachetteaudio for the ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Cillian has been kicked off of his rugby team and ends up in America at a new school and on a new team purely because his new coach owed someone a favor. He knows he has a tough road ahead getting the guys on the team to accept him, but what he doesn't expect is the equipment manager and coach's daughter, Rory. Everybody loves Rory but only really sees her as "one of the guys" and a wingman. Rory is desperate for some experience and to learn how to flirt and asks Cillian to help. While he initially declines, he also realizes that she can help get him an "in" with the team. As they spend more and more time together, the line starts to blur between what's pretend and what's all too real.

I don't read a ton of college romance anymore (the characters just feel *so young* now that I'm in my 30's) but I did quite like this one! I didn't feel like the characters were too immature, probably because Cillian in particular has been through so much in his life. I really liked seeing how their relationship progressed and how much they each respected and supported each other. I thought the representation of Cillian's grief and his protectiveness for his sister was done with a lot of care.

I really enjoyed the narration from both narrators! I loved the dualing accents and was really invested and wanted to keep listening because of the narration. I thought they both did a great job with the accents and bringing the characters to life.

This was a quick read. I loved the tropes and couldn't put it down. I love a good college romance, and this was perfect. Rory is the daughter of the rugby coach, and she and Cillian, the new transfer rugby player, make a deal. She will help him befriend his teammates, and he will teach her how to flirt and get a date.

This book was so sweet and heartwarming!
I absolutely loved it. The character building was fantastic - each character felt real, layered, and easy to connect with. I got completely invested in their relationships and personal growth, and I honestly didn’t want to say goodbye to them when it ended.

The tension (especially the emotional and romantic kind) was perfectly done. It kept the story moving at a great pace and made it hard to stop reading. I was hooked the entire time!

I listened to the audiobook version, and the narration was fantastic. The narrator brought so much warmth and personality to the story, really enhancing the whole experience.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC! I’m so grateful for the chance to read this early and I’ll definitely be recommending!

Here’s my official petition to have more rugby romances in the world! This is a fun college based sports romance. I listened to this on audio and have heard j had a very different feel than friends who read with their eyeballs.

I LOVED the narrator for Cillian! But for some reason I kept thinking these characters were older than they were and I wonder if it was due to the audio? Not typically a problem as I’m a huge audiobook reader but I kept thinking this was an age gap romance as Kill seems so much older and more mature than coach’s daughter Rory? Or maybe she is just treated younger because we see so much of her and her Dad’s interactions and Kill was forced to grow up so fast and is taking care of his sister often throughout the book? Truly not a bad critique, just something I noticed!

Otherwise this book was fun with a lot of heart and I need to hear more from this team!! I loved Rory’s two best friends and hope they get their own books!