I liked the premise of this book a lot—the girl who grew up around men and is into sports and struggles with being seen as something other than "one of the guys" is hard to write without it falling into weird pick-me energy, and I do think that this book (mostly) did it well. I loved the relationship between Rory and the guys on the team, and I adored how much her father respected her opinion. There was so much to love here, and even though I ultimately gave this book two stars, I would love to read more from the author because I think some of my issues were specific to this book rather than to the writing style.
The "teach me" trope can also go either way, and overall I thought it worked well here, though there were definitely some moments I felt infantilized her a bit too much/showed her being outwardly desperate in a way that didn't feel like it fit with her character.
All that being said, I did like the story overall, and it would have been a solid 3 star read if not for the narration.
One of my biggest issues with this audiobook was the male narrator, Matt Sykes—his voice didn't quite fit Cillian, and I couldn't stand how he voiced Rory/women. I also cringed through the spice that was in his narration and almost DNFd because of it. The way he voiced the side characters was also a bit over the top—in a way that made me think he'd be PERFECT for voicing children's books and/or children's shows. He's clearly incredibly talented, his narration on this specific project just didn't work for me on any level—if I'd been reading an ebook this would have been a solid 3 star read, but the male narrator knocked it down a star.
I did like Stella Hunter's narration overall. I think she's every bit as talented as Matt Sykes (maybe even more so, which is saying a lot) with the addition that her voice fit Rory's character well.

Tldr; I liked the book and the female narrator, but the male narrator almost made me DNF. 2 stars overall, but would have been 3 if I'd read an ebook version.

I’m an audiobook girly through and through. I’ll pick up a physical book if I have to, but nothing beats the multitasking magic of a good listen. Going into Red Card by Maren Moore, I was a little hesitant. I’m not usually a fan of sports-centered romances, and I thought I was walking into the typical setup: cocky athlete + sweet heroine = predictable happily-ever-after.

But I was pleasantly surprised. On paper, the hero looks like your classic bad boy, but he actually had so much more depth emotionally, and that hooked me. The slow burn was chef’s kiss. I need that build-up of emotional connection before things heat up, and this book delivered. The secret romance element, keeping things hidden from her father and the other players, added a layer of tension that kept me invested.

And when we finally got to the spice… wow. The descriptiveness made me feel like I was right there, fully immersed in the moment.

A huge part of why this book worked for me was the narration. Matt Sykes and Stella Hunter were phenomenal. The English accent really sold it, and both narrators brought such life and personality to the characters. I honestly don’t think I would have connected with the story the same way if I had just read it on the page. Their performance elevated the whole experience and made it unforgettable.

If you love slow burns, crave emotional depth in your romances, and appreciate top-tier narration, this one’s worth the listen.

I really enjoyed this grumpy x sunshine rugby college romance. The narration was on point! I really felt the characters in their emotional states as well as the spicy ones 😅🔥

Thank you to Hachette for this ALC.

"Baby, I'm crazy about you. Let the whole world know that the Rory. St. James is my girlfriend. That if they even bloody look at you, I can fight."

This book was so cute! I loved the audiobook I thought the narrators fit the roles perfectly! Rory was so adorable. I loved her relationship with her dad and the entire rugby team. Also, I will take a misunderstood bad boy with an accent any day of the week! Cillian had so much growth during this story and was made for Rory. If you love rugby/sports romance you should definitely check out this book.

Tropes:
🏉Bad Boy x Good Girl
🏉Coaches Daughter
🏉Sports Romance
🏉Dating Lessons
🏉Friends To Lovers

This book was so much fun! I’ve had some duds recently with sports romance and this was definitely a winner. Rory and Cillian are such fun characters and the chemistry between them felt so natural. Their relationship progressed at the perfect pace and hearing Cillian describe his perfect girl was so swoon-worthy, all the traits that Rory has!!

I also enjoyed the dynamics that Cillian experiences with the team and his sister. It added depth to his character and it made the story that much better.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the ALC!

Title: Red Card
Author: Maren Moore
Rating: 4⭐️

I have been wanting to check out some of the books by Maren and was so excited to receive this ALC! I love a good sports romance, but NEVER read one about rugby before.

Red Card was an amazing blend of romance, sports, grief, spice, and drama. I knew from the start that I was going to love Cillian and he didn't disappoint. It was so nice to see a friendship grow between our two main characters before the romance truly started. I would love to get to know more about some of the side characters, and hope there will be a few more books in this series.

The audiobook was great and both narrators did a phenomenal job!

Overall, Red Card was a fun, light, and quick read which I will definitely be recommending to all of my friends!

Read this book if you enjoy:
🏉 Sports romance
🏉 Friends to lovers
🏉 Coach's daughter
🏉 Caterpillars
🏉 British accents
🏉 She's one of the guys
🏉 "Teach me"
🏉 He falls quickly
🏉 Tattoos

A huge thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for the ALC!

Thank you to Net Galley and Hachette Audio for this audiobook arc for my honest review.
5 out of 5 stars/ Dual pov first person( Rory and Cillian)
The voices and the accents in this audiobook really brought me into the world. It was so easy to tell who was speaking and it keep pulling me more into the storyline. One of the best audiobooks I’ve listened to recently.
This is a college sports romance. Step onto the rugby pitch as you meet the coach’s daughter, Rory and the troubled new British player named Cillian.
Cillain gets kicked off his London team when and the only team that will pick him up is a team located in New Hampshire at an Ivy League school. His teammates hate him, the coach only took him as a favor and he is miserable.
Rory has spent her whole life around rugby. So much that she is only ever friend zoned by every guy on campus. Maybe Cillain can teach her how to flirt but when they start spending more time together. The lines start to blur. Will anyone come out the winner?

Red Card is a lighthearted, easy read about a rugby player who moves to America and starts a no-strings-attached relationship with the coach’s daughter.
Overall, it was enjoyable enough, but there are always parts of the “teach me” trope that make me cringe a little, and the epilogue in particular felt a bit forced.
The audiobook narration was solid, but the male narrator didn’t feel like the right fit for this character. His voice came across as too mature and serious to convincingly play a college rugby player with a reputation for having a wild side.
In the end, this was a fine read, but not one that stuck with me — I’ve honestly already forgotten the characters’ names.

Themes: The book hinted at deeper layers like grief and losing a parent, but they never went beyond surface level—which was a bit disappointing since they could’ve added so much weight.
Rory: Her “one of the guys” vibe often felt like a modern spin on the “not like other girls” trope 😬. Without much growth beyond that tomboy framing, her character wore thin for me.
Positives: The team dynamics, side characters, and the cozy, lived-in world kept it from falling flat.
Overall: Red Card was quick, light, and fine—perfect for a low-stakes, easy read, but not one that’ll stick with me.

I really love Rory & Cillian! This was a great bad boy x good girl romance. I love a “teach me” trope and this was honestly perfect! Watching Cillian struggle with being just her friend and teacher was delicious!

This is a slow burn and worth every second! The chemistry build up was very well done including the relationships with side characters!

The audio is dual narrated with the amazing Stella Hunter and (new to me) Matt Sykes. They both did a wonderful job and I would highly recommend the audio! Their voices fit the characters so well, great casting! The production and sound quality of the audio was also done really well. It’s always important to me that the narrators end up at the same volume so I’m not constantly adjusting. I did not have to adjust my listening volume between narrators at all!

Tropes I loved:
Bad boy x good girl
Rugby player x coach’s daughter
“Teach me”
Friends to lovers
NO 3RD ACT BREAKUP 👏🏻
Dual audio

4.5⭐

This was such a fun book to read, Cillian and Rory had such a sweet story. Cillian has been through so much and now has to come to America to play college rugby, definitely having a rough time bonding with his new team who don't want him there. Rory, is the coaches daughter and loved by the team but has always felt like one of the guys. These two come up with a deal that if Cillian helps Rory with dating lessons she will help him with his new teammates. This was seriously such a fun and different story, I absolutely adored these two together and once I started this book I couldn't put it down!

💜 𝑅𝓊𝑔𝒷𝓎 𝒫𝓁𝒶𝓎𝑒𝓇 𝓍 𝒞𝑜𝒶𝒸𝒽'𝓈 𝒟𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝑒𝓇
💜 𝒟𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝐿𝑒𝓈𝓈𝑜𝓃𝓈
💜 𝒢𝓇𝓊𝓂𝓅𝓎 𝓍 𝒮𝓊𝓃𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑒
💜 𝒮𝑒𝒸𝓇𝑒𝓉 𝒟𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔
💜 𝐹𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹 𝐹𝒶𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓎

Rory and Cillian had amazing chemistry and I loved how they truly understood each other, they just fit together so perfectly. This was such a sweet and fun sports romance, I highly recommend adding this one to your TBR!

Just really fucking cute. These MCs were green flags and it was sooo refreshing 😌 Very little miscommunication, cute “teach me how to be dateable” concept, and secret relationship— all very my jam. This ended up being just a really easy, fun read. I really want to pick up more from Maren Moore— her writing was comfortable to read and really engaging.

The female narrator did a great variety of voices (I mean WOW, talent 😌), and the male narrator was very swoony (he also did a great job of differentiating between characters)— both gave emotive performances that added to the reading experience. Will be looking up both of these voice actors to find more work that they’ve done.

Red Card by Maren Moore completely stole my heart! From the very first chapter, I was hooked by the chemistry, the banter, and the perfect mix of romance and emotion. Maren has such a way of creating characters you can’t help but root for, and this story had me laughing, swooning, and even tearing up at times. It’s not just a sports romance—it’s a story about love, passion, and finding the courage to go after what you want, both on and off the field. Cillian was EVERYTHING i wanted and needed. Rory is so funny & such an amazing FMC. I loved everything about them.

Thank you to Netgalley for my ALC copy!

Book: Red Card
Author: Maren Moore
Rating: 5 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Another amazing book by Maren Moore!

I loved this one so so so much. I was hooked right from the start with our grumpy MMC. I also really enjoyed the FMC and her relationship that she had with the rest of the rugby team.

Nothing better than an FMC who feels like she can't communicate with guys shes trying to date, when all along it was because she was waiting for the right one.

You get:
• Contemporary Romance
• Spicy
• Rugby Player MMC
• Forbidden Love
• Forced Proximity
• Grumpy X Sunshine
• Found Family

Such a good read! Available on KU, ebook, paperback, and audiobook.

Red Card by Maren Moore is a fast paced whirlwind of a sports romance. As honorary assistant coach of Prescott University's rugby team, Rory makes it her personal mission to make sure the new British bad boy gets accepted by the team. However, Rory isn't going to do it for free. She wants Cillian to give her flirting lessons. But can they avoid falling for each other in the process?

🗓️ Aug 12
🎧Matt Sykes & Stella Hunter

Expect 👉🏼 Rugby, College, Coach’s Daughter, Bad Boy/Inexperienced Girl, Lessons

Cillian is new to this team and to this country. This is his last chance at fixing the train wreck that is his life. But his new team is clear that he isn’t welcome. What’s also clear is that the coach’s daughter is his “in” with the team. The two of them team up with a mutually beneficial plan to get her comfortable dating and him accepted as apart of the time. But all that time together sparks feelings neither were prepared for.

Rory and Killian’s friendship was great. I loved how Killian got jealous when he wasn’t supposed to. I love how they supported one another. This book felt a little like a movie. The spice was SPICY. And there was trouble from all sides although it was less dramatic than I was expecting. This book is full of finding and supporting your people and I really enjoyed Maren Moore’s first trad release.

🎧I think both narrators did a good job of capturing the youth and attitude of the characters and I will never complain about a British accent.

Thank you Hachette Audio for the gifted alc.

𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁:

This is a cute college rugby romance with a layer of depth. I love seeing more rugby rep in the romance world. The MMC Cillian doesn’t disappoint as a British bad boy coming to America to start over. He is the perfect balance to our sweet rugby loving FMC Rory. It’s a cute budding romance born out of an alliance that turns into a lot more than either one could imagine.

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬:

Cillian’s life fell apart when he lost his mom. To cope he turned to drugs and alcohol and he got kicked off his school’s rugby team. Now he’s moved across the pond to New England for a second chance to play rugby at Prescott University. The only problem is the guys on the team haven’t exactly welcomed him with open arms, so it will be an uphill battle to prove he deserves to be here.

Rory lives & breathes all things Rugby, that’s because her dad is the coach and she grew up on the pitch. All the guys on the team are her friends and respect her because she helps out. The problem is they forget she isn’t one of them sometimes. So when the new guy from England disrupts the team’s mojo she knows she needs to step in and help.

Rory & Cillian strike a deal. She will help him bond and fit in with the guys in exchange for flirting lessons. As Rory has always been friend zoned by guys and she wants to find romance. Cillian is the bad boy and he can easily help her with that, so they enter into an alliance. But the more time they spend together the more opens begin to blur, they quickly become friends. There is a spark there but can they cross the line she’s the coach’s daughter and he needs to prove himself.

𝙁𝙖𝙫 𝙌𝙪𝙤𝙩𝙚:

“I’m crazy about you. I can’t stop thinking about you; I hate being away from you. It just...everything feels better when I’m with you. I feel like there’s not a huge hole in my chest.”

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒅:

* Allies to Friends to Lovers
* Coach’s Daughter
* British Bad Boy Rugby Player
* Grumpy x Sunshine
* Flirting Lessons
* Working Through Grief
* Prescott University, NE
* Dual POV w/ Spice

♥️🏉💙🇬🇧♥️🏉🇬🇧 💙🇬🇧♥️🏉🇬🇧♥️

Thank you to Hachette Audio for the free copy via NetGalley!

🎙️ Dual POV recording
Stella Hunter and Matthew Sykes nailed their performances as Rory and Cillian! I really liked how clear and rich the production was; tone and inflection was spot on, and when emotions ran high, I believed it. Playful, flirty banter sounded realistically conversational and when the plot heated, I could feel their chemistry as Maren intended.

Stella Hunter is already a favourite and after this, Matthew Sykes’ name will definitely turn my head 👏

Audio reread: 14-15 August
Ebook: 23-25 June

⬇️ My original review ⬇️

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

✦POV: Dual, first-person
Rory and Cillian were so much fun to read and their POVs were super entertaining. Their voices were believable, and the language didn’t have the annoying collegiate ‘dumbing-down’ that I find in a lot of YA/NA novels. It was easy and fun to read.

✦Spice: Open door, explicit
This is my first Maren Moore read so I went in blind. There was a minute I thought it might be closed door and then she blew it off the hinges. Cillian’s dirty talk and ‘teaching’ style was right up my alley and excuse me while I dive into her other books because I didn’t know what I was missing. 😮‍💨🫠 Don’t let the cute cover fool you!

❝Rory St. James deserves to be worshipped, and I’m tempted to drop to my knees just to prove I’m worthy of her.❞

» I love dating lessons as a trope and bring in the hot, tattooed, rugby player with his coach’s daughter and I was sold! Rory teaches Cillian a few things about trust and found family in return to make him putty in her hands.

» It was refreshing to see Rory’s relationships with the players on her dad’s team; aside from being friends, they respect her as a valued part of the team, and it was a level of female empowerment to see her own these men that I adored.
❝She’s every bit the spitfire that I thought her to be, but it’s kind of f*cking hot.❞

✩ Rory’s game nights deserve an honourable mention; I was howling!

♡ I loved Red Card and was hooked from the moment Rory stepped on the field and showed those men who’s boss and wrapped Cillian around her little finger. HEA guaranteed!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

♥️ New adult/college
🏉 Rugby player x Coach's daughter
♥️ Banter!
🏉 Inexperienced/friend-zoned heroine
♥️ Flirting lessons/dating "coaching"
🏉 Reformed bad boy
♥️ Secret dating
🏉 Dislike to friends to lovers
♥️ Slow burn to high spice
🏉 She's the Man Vibes

✨ Thanks to Forever, Netgalley, and Maren Moore for the free review copy!

3.75 ⭐️

.75⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Hachatte Audio for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute yet emotional sports romance that turned spicy. The narrators were great. I loved the small references to things (like Rory watching parks and rec, loving chicken nuggets lol) that really helped me connect to characters I feel like I don’t have much in common with. Definitely worth the listen!

• Rugby Sports Romance
• Bad Boy x Coaches Daughter
• “Teach”/“practice” Trope

Thank you Netgalley and Maren Moore for an audiobook ARC of Red Card. I also have a physical copy of this book and loved following along while reading. The voice actors for Cillian and Rory were perfect! Loved hearing what Cillian sounded like and hearing him talk during some of those dirty scenes. Oh my GOSH!!!! Had me giggling and kicking my feet.

If you're a fan of:
×grumpy X sunshine
×friends to lovers
×rugby romance
×coach's daughter
×secret dating
×slutty thigh tattoos 🔥
×no 3rd act breakup

Review:
My first rugby romance and it was so cute 🏉❣️
I'm always a sucker for the trope where the MMC helps the FMC practice how to flirt because you KNOW it'll always lead to more fun..... practice flirting, practice kissing, practice..... 👀 "I can teach you whatever you want to learn, St. James"!!! So to say the chemistry between the two of them was palpable is an understatement.
Romance aside, I also loved seeing their emotional connection grow deeper throughout the story. I feel like Cillian and Rory really balanced one another out and helped the other open up and grow.
All in all, I loved this story and can't wait to see who's love story we get next! 😊