the way i ate this up!!!! this romance was everything i needed. it kind of gave me ‘she’s the man’ vibes — fun, sporty, ‘let’s help each other out but wait you’re actually so cool and i’m kind of falling in love with you’ kind of way 🥰 i love them together!!

the audiobook was a fantastic experience. it’s dual pov and both voice actors did an amazing job with keeping me in the story. i could not stop listening. at one point, i realized i was at 85% and i was so sad the book was almost over.

Rugby romance is the hockey romance of grasslands, and I won’t be convinced otherwise. 😂

Rory St. James is the coach’s daughter and one of the guys in most situations. She is well liked, deeply respected, and friends with everyone. But as friends with everyone, she’s not the love of anyone’s life. Looking for a way to build herself a new identity, she reaches out to the new guy to help her learn how to move past the friend zone.

Cillian Cairney is the bad boy trying to move on from his past. Grief, loss, and bad choices score his past, but professional rugby is his hoped future. The only problem? His new team hates him for walking on part way through a season. Enter the coach’s daughter, Rory, to help him try to blaze a pathway into his new team.

This is a story of love, learning, self acceptance, and finding joy in new spaces. The Rory and “Kill” duo will have you laughing, blushing, smirking, and smiling over their friends to lovers journey. They are an absolute dream of a couple!

I was lucky enough to get this as an ALC copy and let me tell you, the narration was chefs kiss 👨‍🍳 💋 Rory’s narration gives the energy of the relatable girl you want to be friends with. Cillian has the British accent that young American girls are taught to love. Together? They make an absolutely delightful audiobook combination! This audiobook will have you giving a red card to your daily life (aka stop other stuff and finish this book immediately) and take an adventure into a land of love and rugby! Coming out this Friday, I recommend you add this to your TBR today!

4 stars

~

Red Card by Maren Moore is a rugby sports romance and the first installment in the Prescott University series. It is a new adult romance following British bad boy, Cillian Cairney, and his coach’s daughter, Rory St. James. After the incident that resulted in getting a red card from his team in London, Cillian moves to America for a fresh start and another chance at reaching his dreams. However, things on his new team are not great. With his teammates giving him the cold shoulder after his arrival, Cillian worries he might not succeed. So when Rory offers to help him with team bonding in exchange for lessons in flirting, he reluctantly accepts.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was fun and entertaining, but touched on serious topics like grief and the death of a parent. I enjoyed learning about Cillian and Rory’s relationship and really liked their dynamic. At the beginning of the book, Cillian was on the grumpier side so seeing him unfold and trust Rory as the book progressed was a treat. Something I appreciated was the fact that there was no unnecessary third act break up. Instead, the characters communicated and worked through the problem that arose in the story, which was more realistic. One thing I was a bit on the fence about was that Rory was the typical “not like other girls” and the “I only have guy friends” character. However, as the story goes on it makes more sense as to why that is, but I would have liked to have seen her make girl friends.

As for the audiobook, both narrators did a wonderful job. Their voices fit the characters perfectly and had a range of tones and attitudes that made the audiobook experience more immersive. Additionally, the narrators’ voices matched the age ranges of the characters, which is not always the case for other audiobooks. I truly enjoyed this experience and can’t wait to listen to more of their work.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the audiobook arc.

Thank you so much for the alc! I really liked the audio of this especially the voice actor for Cillian he had a really deep voice and I really liked him! This book was good and I love a good sports romance.

Cillian, the new-comer rugby player at Prescott University. He moved from London with his little sister after his mom passed away and he went through a rough patch and was kicked off his team in London.
Rory, the coach's daughter who grew up surrounded by rugby and has the respect of the rugby team due to her ability to see the plays, pitch, and command the team. She's an unofficial assistant coach.

This book is a great university romance book navigating loss, emotions, and feelings of inadequacy, and finding one-self. I could absolutely picture this being a 2000s rom-com movie much like Bring It On, 10 Things I Hate About You, or Princess Diaries. Not that those particular movies have the same story line as each other or as this book, but it would have fit in quite well in that time frame.

I really enjoyed the chapters with Cillian's little sister and wonder if we will get her story one day. Although this is a rugby book, and we see them at practice sometimes, we really don't get any rugby on page.

I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook for this story, and I think the narrators did an amazing job bringing the characters to life. Matt Sykes and Stella Hunter are generally narrators who I gravitate towards and who I know will do a story justice for the author, and they definitely brought their A games for this audiobook.

Story was SO fun and the narrators did an amazing job. The British accent on the male narrator was so enjoyable.

Loved the spicy lessons aspect of the story where they quickly Caught feelings. Maren doesn’t disappoint with her romance stories !

Binged this audio in less than 24 hours

- Coach’s daughter
- Fake dating
- Forbidden
- DM rep
- Sports/ Rugby
- Grief/loss
- “Bad boy”
- NA/ college romance
- Open door
- “Teach Me”
- I’ve seen people call it “enemies to lovers” and that’s simply an overuse of the term. They’re literally not enemies.
- Dual narrator
- NetGalley ARC
- On KU 8/12

Love a good Maren Moore contemporary romance- the right about of cute and spicy. This was a great pallet cleanser and I hope it’s the first in a series. I have a feeling the next book will be about Fitz and/or Ash?

If you like All The Wrong Plays by C.W. Farnsworth, Homerun Proposal by Maren Moore and The Deal by Elle Kennedy, you’ll love this book. My only complaint is not a single rugby game was played.

“Rory St. James is my end game.”

i tried so hard to get into this one. all of the marketed tropes are my type, but the overall execution just fell very shallow and one dimensional. rory’s “im not like other girls: pick me” character was nauseating- shes worse than the tiktoks imitating that type of girl. her sunshine & naive energy rubbed me wrong up one side & down the other. cillian is supposed to be this broody motorcycle tattooed bad boy- i mean yeah he drives a motorcycle & but he has the personality on a beige wall but hes british so thats a plus ig. his tattoos are mentioned in just about every single chapter. so why in the world is his skin as clear as a baby on the cover???
this was supposed to be a rugby sports romance where he is coming in halfway through the season. so explain to me why theres like a handful of practices and workouts mentioned- yet not a single game or scrimmage? i started this book not knowing anything abt rugby & am ending it with that same knowledge base other than rorys random fumbling info dumps about her growing up around the sport- but again no info about rugby as a sport. also the third act/final drama was so out of left field & overall anticlimactic.

the narration truly carried this book for me, matt sykes and stella hunter performed wonderfully with great accents & were my favorite parts to each of the characters and why the story got the rating of two stars, if i would have eyeballed this- it would have been a dnf.

thank you to hachette audio and netgally for the opportunity to receive and review an early copy of Red Card.

tropes: good girl x bad boy, rugby romance, coaches daughter, british mmc, grumpy sunshine, im not like other girls fmc, fake relationship
vibes: lighthearted medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content
Moderate: Grief, Car accident, Death of parent
Minor: Bullying, Drug abuse, Violence

When I started this book, I didn't really know what to expect because with Red Card, Maren Moore delved into a sport that was new to her writing until now (and to me, too), BUT as I started reading these characters I became completely obsessed with them immediately: Rory & Cillian exceeded all my expectations with their love story, their journey together, the complexity of the situations they face, and the assertive communication the author gave me with this couple. I also LOVED the secondary characters just as intensely: Aisling, Wren & Fitz stole my heart in a special way, and I can't wait to read them all in the upcoming Prescott University books.

Cillian was my favorite character! And he's in my top male characters by this author. His personal story is heartbreaking, he's the new player on the rugby team that doesn't hesitate to make it clear they don't want him, he had to move from London to the United States, leaving everything behind, including his past mistakes. I loved this character because it's clear from the start that Kill isn't the bad boy everyone thinks he is, he fights to maintain the changes he's made in therapy and to prove to his team that he's a good player, his sweet, tender, and kind side comes out whenever he's around Rory and whenever he worries about his sister Aisling, with whom he shares a relationship that melted my heart and made me love them both. I also really liked that Maren gave me important moments where this character allows himself to be vulnerable, where I can read him regretting his mistakes and doing everything in his power to not let Aisling and himself down again.

Rory is the daughter of Kill's new coach, a girl who loves rugby and is just as involved with the team as her dad, she's also best friends with the guys her dad coaches, a part of her storyline that I really enjoyed reading because Rory and these boys, especially Wren & Fitz, are adorable and so much fun together. However, Rory feels like her friendship with them is preventing her from talking about dating and other things she desperately needs help with. I also really enjoyed reading a bit about her relationship with her dad, how wonderful they are together, and the way Rory is starting to find and accept herself for who she is.

Cillian & Rory have a neutral start, she is friendly with him and is interested in the boys accepting him so they can win the championship, BUT Cillian arrives in the United States trying to prove that he is good and nothing more: he fights to stay away from the people around him and continually isolates himself. However, when Rory decides that Kill is the perfect teacher to help her get out of the friend-zone, everything starts to take an amazing and very funny turn between these two that made me really enjoy reading them becoming each other's best friend, Cillian confiding in Rory the most painful and dark moments of his life, his fears, insecurities and regrets. I also loved that Cillian ALWAYS lets Rory know how special, beautiful, and perfect she is, even when things between them are just beginning. Rory helping Kill fit in with the boys, allowing them to see the real Killian, was something that made me love this book ten times more. And the icing on the cake was that moment of conflict toward the end where Maren once again showed me how mature Kill is, how assertive Rory is, and how united these boys are after the start they had.

Like I said, I LOVED this book, but there were a few things that I didn't like and kept me from adding it to my favorites list, especially the whole Rory feeling like she can't talk with the guys about her love life "because they're guys and they don't understand" thing, especially considering Fitz is all about making her feel good and supporting her when she needs it, but I still loved that on her learning journey Rory found herself and realized that being a girl can include her love for sports and all the things she enjoys too.

🎧Audiobook Review🎧

❤️Narrators: Stella Hunter & Matt Sykes
🏉Narration: 5/5
🌶️: 2/5

Red Card was my first approach to these two narrators' work, and I really enjoyed it!

Matt Sykes was the perfect choice to bring Cillian to life. From the first chapter, he made me fall in love with this character, and I really loved that Matt gave me all the feelings and intensity that Cillian faces during the difficult moments of his story. It also melted my heart to hear him fall in love with Rory, be the cutest guy with Ais, and those moments of camaraderie with the guys on the team that made me so happy.

Stella Hunter was also the perfect Rory. I think her performance gave me everything that Maren wanted to capture in this character: her slightly clumsy personality, a girl with a big heart, who loves rugby and is always there for people in need, I particularly loved listening to Stella in those moments when Rory is in her lessons with Kill, or when her failed flirtations happen, it was funny and painful at the same time, but so good!

🏉Cillian: 5/5
🏉Rory: 5/5
🏉Plot: 5/5
🏉Love story: 5/5
🏉Secondary characters: 5/5
🏉Cover: 5/5
🌶️: 2/5


Cuando empecé este libro no sabía muy bien que esperar porque con Red Card, Maren Moore se adentró en un deporte nuevo para ella hasta ahora (y para mi también), PERO nada más empezar a leer a estos personajes y me obsesioné por completo con ellos: Rory & Cillian superaron todas mis expectativas con su historia de amor, su camino juntos, la complejidad de las situaciones que enfrentan y la comunicación tan asertiva que la autora me dio con esta pareja. Además, AMÉ con la misma intensidad a los personajes secundarios, Aisling, Wren & Fitz se robaron mi corazón de una manera especial y estoy deseando poder leerlos a todos en los próximos libros de Prescott University.

Cillian fue mi personaje favorito! y está en mi top de personajes masculinos de esta autora. Su historia personal es desgarradora, es el nuevo jugador en un equipo de rugby que no duda en dejar claro que no lo quiere, tuvo que mudarse desde Londres a los Estados Unidos dejando todo atrás, incluyendo sus errores del pasado, algo que me encantó de su personaje porque desde el principio queda claro que Kill no es el chico malo que todos creen: lucha por mantener los cambios que logró en terapia y por demostrarle a su equipo que es un buen jugador, además de que su lado dulce, tierno y amable sale siempre que está cerca de Rory y cada vez que se preocupa por su hermana Aisling, con quien comparte una relación que me derritió el corazón y me hizo amar mucho a ambos. También me gustó mucho que Maren me diera momentos importantes donde este personaje se permite ser vulnerable, donde lo puedo leer arrepintiéndose de sus errores y haciendo lo que está en su poder para no fallarle a Ais y a si mismo otra vez.

Rory es la hija del nuevo coach de Kill, una chica que ama con locura el rugby y está tan involucrada en el equipo como su papá, además de ser la mejor amiga de los chicos a los que su papá entrena, una parte de su trama que disfruté mucho leyendo porque Rory y estos chicos, especialmente Wren & Fitz, son adorables y muy divertidos juntos, sin embargo Rory siente que su amistad con ellos le impide poder hablar de temas de citas y otras cosas con las que necesita ayuda urgente. También me gustó mucho leer un poco de su relación con su papá, lo hermosos que son juntos y la manera en la que Rory empieza a encontrarse y aceptarse tal cual es.

Cillian & Rory tienen un inicio neutral, ella es amigable con el y le interesa que los chicos lo acepten para que puedan ganar el campeonato, PERO Cillian llega a Estados Unidos intentando demostrar que es bueno y nada más: lucha por mantenerse alejado de las personas a su alrededor y se aísla continuamente. Sin embargo, cuando Rory decide que Kill es el maestro perfecto para ayudarla a salir de la friend-zone, todo empieza a dar un giro encantador y muy divertido entre estos dos que me hizo disfrutar mucho leerlos volviéndose el mejor amigo del otro, a Cillian confiándole a Rory los momentos más dolorosos y oscuros de su vida, sus miedos, inseguridades y arrepentimientos. También me encantó que Cillian SIEMPRE le haga saber a Rory lo especial, hermosa y perfecta que es, aún cuando las cosas entre ellos apenas están empezando, y que Rory ayude a Kill a encajar con los chicos y gracias a eso ellos puedan ver al verdadero Killian fue algo que me hizo amar diez veces más este libro. Y la cereza del pastel fue ese momento de conflicto hacia el final en que una vez más Maren me mostró lo maduro que es Kill y lo asertiva que es Rory, además de lo unidos que estos chicos están después del inicio que tuvieron.

Como ya dije, AMÉ con locura este libro, pero hubo ciertas situaciones que no me gustaron del todo y me impidieron ponerlo en mi lista de favoritos, especialmente todo el asunto de Rory sintiendo que no puede hablar con los chicos sobre su vida amorosa "porque son hombres y no lo entienden", sobre todo teniendo en cuenta que Fitz se interesa en hacerla sentir bien y apoyarla cuando ella lo necesita, aún así me encantó que en su camino de aprendizaje Rory se encontrara a si misma y se diera cuenta de que ser una chica puede incluir su amor por el deporte y todas las cosas que ella disfruta.

🎧Reseña del audiolibro🎧

❤️Narradores: Stella Hunter & Matt Sykes
🏉Narración: 5/5
🌶️: 2/5

Red Card fue mi primer acercamiento al trabajo de estos dos narradores y los disfruté mucho!

Matt Sykes fue la elección perfecta para darle vida a Cillian, desde el primer capitulo me hizo enamorarme de su personaje y me gustó mucho que Matt me diera todos los sentimientos e intensidad que Cillian enfrenta en los momentos complicados de su historia, también me derritió el corazón escucharlo enamorarse de Rory, ser el más lindo con Ais y esos momentos de camaradería con los chicos del equipo que me hicieron muy feliz.

Stella Hunter también fue la Rory perfecta. Creo que su interpretación me dio todo lo que Maren quiso plasmar en este personaje: su personalidad un poco torpe, una chica con gran corazón, que ama el rugby y que siempre esta para las personas que la necesitan, amé particularmente escuchar a Stella en esos momentos en los que Rory está en sus lecciones con Kill, o cuando sus coqueteos fallidos ocurren, fue divertido y doloroso al mismo tiempo.

🏉Cillian: 5/5
🏉Rory: 5/5
🏉Trama: 5/5
🏉Historia de amor: 5/5
🏉Personajes secundarios: 5/5
🏉Portada: 5/5
🌶️: 2/5

I read this one so fast and it did not disappoint. I absolutely loved that Rory was a literal baddie that had the rugby team on a leash especially with the cookies lol. I giggle and love the chemistry between the two MCs. This was one of my first rugby romances and I'm easy to please it hit really well. This story had both character development, plot and romance. Defiantly pick this one up if your like sports romances.

This Audiobook was narrated by Matt Sykes and Stella Hunter. This did a very good job bringing each character to life and bringing the story to fruition.

Thank you NetGalley for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This one was cute

Tropes:
🏉 Rugby Romance
🩷 Coach's Daughter
💋 Dating Lessons
🇬🇧 British MMC
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Found Family
🫶 Friends to Lovers

🏉 𝙰𝚁𝙲 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠🏉

𝙍𝙚𝙙 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙈𝙤𝙤𝙧𝙚

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🗓️August 12th

“𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗥𝗼𝗿𝘆. 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗯𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂.”

𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕥:
♥️Good Girl x Bad Boy
🏉Coach’s Daughter
♥️Rugby Romance
🏉Fake Dating with Lessons

“𝗥𝘂𝗴𝗯𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗥𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝘁. 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲.”

Cillian Cairney is a British, tatted bad boy who has been red carded from his home team. Now in the states, Cillian receives a less than warm welcome from his new teammates. The last person he expected to form a friendship with is the coach’s daughter, Rory St. James.

𝓜𝔂 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼:
Maren in her Rugby era, yes please! Cillian is a dreamy, tatted bad boy with a heartbreaking past. Rory is “one of the guys” and struggles with dating. The good girl/bad boy plus fake dating trope gets me every time. I loved these two together. Their friendship is so heartwarming, I loved the way they communicated. Cillian was able to heal and grow so much having Rory by his side. Lessons in flirting, a practice kiss, and the feeling of jealousy… Cillian and Rory finally realizing they were no longer pretending was everything. The spice in Red Card is top tier! Cillian, you sir, are the ultimate book boyfriend! There’s a steamy shower scene.. 🥵😮‍💨🔥

She was the first person to show him love and he loved the hell out of her in return.

𝙍𝙚𝙙 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙙 is my new favorite Rugby Romance! It is packed with adorable banter, impeccable spice, team drama, friendship and love.

This audiobook brought these characters and this story to life and I could not press pause!

Thank you Maren Moore, Forever Publishing, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for allowing me to read early!

Rating: 4 stars for story / 5 stars for narration
Format: Audiobook - Narrated by Stella Hunter and Matt Sykes
Series / Standalone: Standalone (Prescott University #1)
Tropes: College Rugby, Coach's Daughter, Tattooed British Bad Boy, Grumpy/Sunshine

Thanks to Hatchette Audio, NetGalley and the author for this ALC - all opinions are my own

Killian and Rory

Rory has a great relationship with her dad's Rugby players but has cemented her position on campus as "just one of the guys". Killian has moved to America after burning his bridges with the Rugby teams in Britain and isn't meshing well with his new teammates. They decide to help each other, Rory with the team and Killian with teaching her how to flirt.

If there is one thing I love in a romance, it's when he falls first, and boy does Killian fall hard. These characters are everything! Killian has an especially deep backstory and the way he cares for his sister had me all up in my feels. The individual character progression was extremely satisfying. The relationship between these two was a lot of fun and was extremely well-timed. We also get to spend a lot of on-page time with the rest of the team and there were subtle hints at stories to come that I am really excited about.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book on audio. Stella Hunter is a long time favorite of mine and can do no wrong in my book. She puts so much personality into her characters and brings them to life so well. Matt Sykes was amazing! He is new to me and I am highly impressed. The skillful way he deviates between voices (tones and accents) blew my mind. Audio is the way to go for this one!

This was such a fun, spicy sports romance! I loved watching Cillian and Rory's relationship develop, especially with the 'I'll teach you' dating lessons trope. The found family dynamic between Cillian and his teammates was a real highlight, and I loved that Rory was the glue holding them all together. The team bonding scenes were so fun to read.

I listened to the audiobook, and it was fantastic. Matt Sykes and Stella Hunter did an amazing job with the dual narration. I'd never heard Matt Sykes before, but he was perfect as the British reformed bad boy. I'd definitely listen to more books narrated by him!

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for an ALC of this book. I voluntarily listened and gave an honest review.

I always enjoy a good college sports romance. Cillian js a new transfer from England on the rugby team and has a bad reputation. Rory, the equipment manager and the coach's daughter feels bad for him and helps him out with connecting with the team. They form an agreement with him helping her learn how to flirt.

I really enjoy seeing their friendship blossom and how Rory helped Cillian integrate with the team. There are some deeper topics in the story like grief which felt more like back story then adding depth to it.

The team dynamics added complexity to the story and setup for the series.

I enjoyed the narration of Matt Sykes and Stella Hunter, who are both new to me, did a great job with the narration.

Thank you @readforeverpub @hachetteaudio for a copy of the audiobook.

Red Card is one of those books that is easy to breeze through, does not demand much of you, and delivers the usual mix of romance, sports, and spice. While it did exactly what it set out to do, which was entertain me for a few hours, it also confirmed that I probably need to step away from contemporary romances for a while because too many of them are starting to feel the same in a way that is not comforting anymore but just repetitive.

The setup was pretty fun with strong She’s the Man and She’s All That vibes. Cillian, a British rugby player with a bad attitude, gets a second chance at a US college team, while Rory, the coach’s daughter who knows the sport inside and out but somehow always ends up in the friend zone, asks him to teach her how to get the guy she wants. Their banter worked, the tension was there, the dynamic felt promising, and for the first half I thought I would be in for a good slow-burn payoff.

But once they kissed, the pacing just fell apart. The relationship moved so quickly that the emotional development never caught up. The chemistry was strong but had no time to build into anything layered, and it felt like we skipped the part where they actually connected on a deeper level, going straight to the physical in a way that made the rest of the romance feel rushed and a bit hollow.

There were moments where the book seemed to gesture toward deeper themes like grief and losing a parent, but they stayed in the background instead of becoming a meaningful part of the characters’ journeys. This was frustrating because they had the potential to add weight and nuance but instead felt like background props. Rory’s “one of the guys” persona, which is central to the plot, often read like a newer version of the old “I’m not like other girls” trope, which I have never loved, and her character did not develop much beyond that tomboy framing which wore thin the longer I read.

My favourite part by far was the friendship between Rory and Cillian before they got together. It had charm, banter, and that will-they-won’t-they tension I love. But once the romance kicked in, the balance shifted so heavily toward spice that it lost the emotional pull that made the first half work for me. I like spice in romance but I need it to be built on something more substantial, and with Maren Moore’s books I have noticed she tends to favour spice over substance, which works for a lot of readers but just does not scratch the itch I have for emotional stakes and genuine character growth.

That said, there were still fun touches. The team dynamics, the side characters, and the easy lived-in world of the book all kept it from feeling flat. But overall Red Card was quick, light, and fine, the kind of read I might reach for when I want something low-stakes and undemanding but not one I will think about once I have put it down.

Thank you Hachette Audio for the ALC.

I LOVED this! It was a fun, quick paced, not overly dramatic, college rugby romance and I enjoyed the whole thing. Rory and Cillian are coach's daughter and a player, respectively, who start out as reluctant allies with mutual gain; learning to flirt and fitting into the team. Rory being he coach's daughter knows too much about rugby, but also the team with how much time she spends around them as an unofficial assistant coach and athletic training student. Cillian desperately needs her help with this because he's a closed off "bad boy" just here to play and get signed in the future. He's wickedly talented at the game, but also doesn't want to depend on or open up to the other guys after he got expelled from his previous school for fighting after the death of his mother. He'd had no true support there from his teammates and he crumbled under his grief. Rory is tired of just being "one of the guys" but also freezes up when talking to strangers she finds attractive and is just a mess.

The 2 bond over a shared love of rugby, just spending time with each other, and giving each other shit the whole time. It never felt forced or overly sexual which was a nice change of pace. Sometimes the college romances can get too horny, which this did eventually but had some proper tension build up first. They were there for each other when they needed it and got the support they desperately needed. The ending didn't feel like it came out of nowhere and fit well. We got some insta-love however but it came at the end of the book so I didn't hate it as much as I normally do. Overall I highly recommend this and need to pick up her baseball series ASAP.

The narrators did a great job! Definitely enhanced my listening experience!

I absolutely loved this book!! The narrators did such a good job of bringing these characters to life!! The tension was so good!

3.5 stars for this! I thoroughly enjoyed this sports romance between a English bad boy Rugby player and his coaches daughter! The book was fast paced and I thought the characters had good chemistry and a solid connection. As for the audiobook I really liked the MMC narrator more than the FMC but would definitely recommend this book for a good time

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this ALC.

I can see why other readers enjoyed this book but this was just not for me. Wanted to turn my brain off and simply enjoy a bingeable and spicy sports romance but this missed the mark.

What I liked:
- Female narrator was great with emoting, cadence, tone and speed; even when she did the male voices, I wasn't that put off by it (which I normally am with dual audiobooks)
- Actually enjoyed some of the cliche and cringey Wattpad-esque scenarios that randomly crop up for the vibes lol
- Decent spice, though it made little impact since I didn't exactly care for the MCs

What I didn't love as much:
- Male narrator's speed was a bit slow which meant great enunciation I guess??? Also I felt that all the British-isms were so over the top e.g. words like "bloody", "lad" and "bloke" were so overused and frankly interrupts the flow and makes it awkward and clunky + voice does seem a bit more mature for the character who is college-age
- MMC had a somewhat developed backstory and character arc but this all happens off-page and just told but not shown; he was purported to be a rugby badboy superstar but we saw none of that
- Didn't even know much about the FMC besides her being the coach's daughter and involved with the team as an equipment manager (we don't actually see any of this and I still don't understand how she holds power over the team besides her baking them cookies [also off-page])... other than that, there's not much to her character; we didn't even find out what she studies in college until about halfway through the book which was just mentioned in passing; nothing about her classes or what she does on a day-to-day basis besides thinking about and being with the MMC
- Not much sports in this sports romance - just mentions of rugby practices in passing and that was it
- The FMC basically a pick me and was complaining how she doesn't have any girl friends yet makes no effort to do address this
- Most of the relationship development between the MCs and the antagonist interactions happens off-page which makes it hard for me to root for the couple and invest in the general storyline
- Lol at how near the end, the FMC quickly and easily doubted the MMC whilst also trying to turn his bad situation to herself and how it affected her
- "Creamy" was used more than once and not in relation to food
- Multiple times, the chapter just randomly ends in the middle of a significant scene and not continued in the next chapter
- Coach's daughter/forbidden relationship trope was pretty weak

Would not read/listen to again. However, I would definitely be reading more of Maren Moore's books because I do generally enjoy her books.

Overall rating: 2/5