4/5

Only Alexandria Bellefleur could hand me a romance novel during these unprecedented times and leave me feeling hopeful despite it all. Bellefleur’s latest, Playing for Keeps, is a romance novel of epic pop culture references, twitter exchanges, meta curveballs, and of course an unconventional sapphic romance between two clashing publicists. As newbie publicist to an up and coming NFL star, Poppy Peterson attempts to have it all with celebrated publicist Rosaline Sinclair, while a powerful popstar and a football himbo engage in a poorly timed but nevertheless endearing romance. Playing for Keeps does not wait around to kick off this delightfully chaotic narrative, and in Bellefleur's signature style it's a witty and highly engaging romp through the trials of PR and modern fame. Bellefleur continues to play it close to home in the Pacific North West, a setting plentiful in queer romance and culture (complete with easter eggs to her former novels). The Alexandria Bellefleur Cinematic Universe—the ABCU as it were—is a dynasty entirely of its own and watching it flourish continues to be a joy for readers everywhere. Playing for Keeps marks a new shift for Bellefleur, unequivocally displaying her power in subverting the space between fiction and reality, with marvelous results.

I thought this book was so cute and definitely giving all the RomCom vibes! I loved the dual relationships in the story and how different they were. I had such a fun time with the fast read!

I loved this book and was so happy to have gotten the eARC of this! The characters, the story, the journey was so endearing. There were so many moments I felt really deeply where I cried my eyes out, laughed and chortled and agonized over. It's exactly the kind of romance I love with just the right amount of drama, corny moments, heartfelt moments, and few others! Poppy's journey was the one I empathized with the most with her struggles. her big heart and the confidence she builds was great! I'll keep this short and sweet and would for sure recommend this book when it comes out!
Release date: January 6, 2026!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager. NetGalley, and Alexandria Bellefleur for this ARC!

I know me and Alexandria Bellefleur have a 5 star in us, and I won't stop until I find it but, in the meantime, I'll keep having a great time with all of her other books as well. Playing for keeps was such a good romance, but I think the balance of the story was a bit off, hence the 4 star rating. The main star of the book was undoubtably Poppy, I loved her character. I felt she was very well written and, since it was single POV, it really allowed me to get to know her and empathize with her. Unfortunately, because of this, while I still really enjoyed Rosaline, I felt less connected to her, and I wish I could have gotten more from her side of the story and romance. I wanted to dive more into their family lives; it could have made the characters feel even more real and fleshed out. I'm a double POV girl at heart and, in my romances, I like to have all people involved in the relationship as main characters and single POV makes this a little trickier. Similarly, I think the premise is very fun and, while the inspiration is clearly identifiable, I found it very entertaining to read but it stole page time to establish the main couple. I think I would have wanted the book to be a little longer and include more scenes between Rosaline and Poppy outside of their relationship to Cash and Lyric. The third act conflict was interesting as well; I didn't love it for the couple, but it touches upon a topic that I'm quite interested in, and I think there should be more discussion around it overall, so, while not my favorite for relationship development, I enjoyed the discourse around it. (I don't want to say what the topic is to avoid spoilers.) While it wasn't a perfect read, it was a very enjoyable, fun, and hot one (the spicy scenes really did it for me in this one🌶️). I'm so glad I had the honor to read it so soon, and I'm positive it will be a hit for other people that have enjoyed her work before.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for a copy of the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

As an Avid Swiftie, I immediately wanted to read this and it did not disappoint!! I loved it! I loved the MC's stories, but I have to say that I totally wouldn't mind if she wrote another book all about Cash and Lyric. I adored them together. I do with with Cash and Poppy's friendship, that they had shown us rather than tell us that they were close friends because the friendship didn't really feel believable at many points, so i think that could have been expanded better.

2.5 stars
This was my first book by Alexandra Bellefleur. I love that we’re getting more sapphic romance books! I felt like the story itself was a bit overdone and the characters were under developed. The focus shifted a lot and detracted from the main characters. That said, the relationship dynamics between Rosaline and Poppy didn’t work for me.

Bellefleur continues to befuddle me. I can never tell if her books are gonna be a hit or a miss, & this was unfortunately a miss. (Her October 2025 release, however, is an all-time fav.)

Playing for Keeps just was missing so much of what I love in this genre. The pacing was EXTREMELY weird, & there was none of the character work or chemistry necessary to make that pacing issue overlook-able. Beyond that, we really only got to know our main characters -- with a premise like this, I'd imagine some of the draw is the publicists' clients, but they were flat flat flat. As a whole, it really just lacked substance; it felt like a premise was pitched, & then the minimum effort went in to writing & publishing it.

I will give Bellefleur credit for writing a book that keeps your interest -- even tho I had massive issues with it, I finished it over the course of 2 days. I don't recommend buying it; save this for a library loan.

I adored this book. I loved how rosaline, who was definitely the tougher of the two MC, falls first. The conflict was believable. I think swifties will love this book!!!

🌟🌟🌟/🌶️🌶️🌶️
Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for an early copy of Playing For Keeps by Alexandria Bellefleur! I really appreciate the opportunity. This was my first book by this author, and I was so excited to finally see what the hype was about.

Here’s the thing, I was genuinely eager to dive into this one. I even skipped my usual TBR because I wanted something fun, light, and easy. And at first, that’s exactly what it delivered. It reminded me why I love contemporary romance: the writing was strong, the characters felt relatable and funny, and the premise was unique.

But somewhere around the halfway point, my attention started to drift…

Essentially, this book is “what if Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got together?” except the main love story is actually between their publicists, who also fall for each other. I thought that was such a cool spin and was totally on board. But the more I read, the more I found myself wishing I could focus on their story (Cash and Lyric), instead of the MCs.

The side characters became the ones I was invested in, to the point where the main romance almost felt overshadowed. Their storyline was so intertwined that it started to feel like the book was about Cash and Lyric.

For me, this could have been a solid 4-star read if it were a novella about the MCs, paired with a full-length book dedicated to Cash and Lyric’s romance. Since that wasn’t the case, it unfortunately ended up falling flat.

That said, if you’re into f/f romances or you’re intrigued by the Travis/Taylor romance, I still think this could be a fun one for you!

Thank you again to Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

arc provided by Netgalley

I'm so sorry but the secondary blatant Taylor Swift/Travis Kelcee romance was irritating and really detracted form the main romance - also the way the 3rd act went pissed me off (one of the worst third act reasons I have read for real). I also really dislike "fanfiction" of real life people it is gross/inappropriate to me.

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.

This book is very spicy and feels a bit ripped from the headlines, but Alexandria Bellefleur manages a fresh take on love blooming between Rosaline and Poppy. I loved their chemistry and the way their relationship develops amidst all the chaos.
That said, I would have liked for Poppy and Rosaline to get more attention, with their clients/best friends more in the background. The romance between the two women is the real heart of the story, and I would have enjoyed even more scenes just focused on them navigating their feelings and growing closer.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for this ARC!

This book fell a little flat for me. I enjoyed the protagonists’ dynamic but Cash and Lyric’s storyline overshadowed the main storyline for me. Also, I didn’t entirely believe Poppy and Cash being close friends. There was some telling versus showing in that part of the story.

Rating: 3.5

This was very fun! I do wish we got to know Rosaline a bit better, as I don't know I ever really Got why Poppy was in love with her, but I had enough fun that I didn't really care. This is definitely my favorite Alexandria Bellefleur book. I also had some issues with how the third act breakup went down, given when this book is supposed to take place, but it didn't really take away from my overall enjoyment of the book.

I liked this book overall. It’s a fun sapphic romance with good chemistry between the leads, Poppy and Rosaline. The publicist-client setup was interesting, and the celebrity angle added some drama without feeling too over-the-top. The writing is solid, and the pacing kept me engaged.

That said, the secondary couple (Lyric and Cash) took up a lot of space, and at times it felt like their story was more central than the main romance. I also wish we’d gotten Rosaline’s point of view—it would’ve helped round out the relationship more. The third-act breakup made sense for the characters, but it’s not my favorite trope.

If you’re into contemporary queer romance with a bit of spice and some pop culture references, this is worth checking out. Not perfect, but definitely enjoyable.

RATING: 4/5 STARS

This book gives all the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce vibes. It's a fun, lighthearted sapphic rom-com that hits the right notes. I enjoyed the romance and friendship drama.

Alexandria Bellefleur does a fantastic job in writing this book, it had that elmeent that I was looking for and enjoyed in a romance book. The overall feel worked in this universe and had that overall feel that I wanted from the genre. I enjoyed the use of publicist and their client and how it was used in this universe. I'm glad I was able to read this and can't wait to read more from Alexandria Bellefleur.

This was a fun sapphic romance! I had a feeling the miscommunication at the end would relate to the singer/football player being affected first. I'm a little peeved that no one online pointed out it could be AI, so that felt a little unrealistic, but overall this was cleverly and relevantly done.

I went into Playing for Keeps with high hopes, since I absolutely loved the Written in the Stars series. Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite live up to those expectations. The setup—a rivalry between two publicists forced together while their clients date—sounded like the perfect mix of tension and fun. But I never really connected with Poppy or Rosaline, and their romance, while steamy in places, lacked the emotional spark that made Bellefleur’s earlier characters so unforgettable. The writing is polished and witty, but the heart just wasn’t there for me.

4.75 stars

The only reason this book didn’t get 5 stars is because I’m not the biggest fan on a third act break up even though this one did fit the characters personalities.

I have been an Alexandria Bellefleur fan for a while now after reading the Written in the Stars series but I was a little worried about this book being too much of a Taylor and Travis fanfic. While you can see the influence from Taylor Swift and Travis’s relationship, this story is very separate from them. There are still plenty of Taylor related references as there often are in Alexandria’s books since she is a swiftie, but it never felt like fanfic to me.

This book was like 2 romances in one and I loved it all. You follow Poppy Peterson as she is navigating her best friend dating a pop star as his publicist. You are able to see enough of Lyric and Cash’s romance that it feels like you are getting 2 books in one. Poppy’s love interest is of course Lyric’s publicist, Rosaline Sinclair. Their spicy scenes were 🥵. I only wish it was dual POV so we could get more of these scenes like in some of Alexandria’s books. I wanted more scenes but I understand we needed some plot too 😂.

Overall, this books was so fun and I loved it all. 10/10 would recommend.

Thank you NetGalley, Alexandria Bellefleur, Avon Books, and Harper Voyager for letting me read this ARC.