I’m not sure why, but I’ve really been in a sports romance mood recently and have been picking them up more often than I usually do. I’m also still not out of the single parent romance situation, which may be why Sweet Thing by Kate Meader worked so fantastically well for me. I am so appreciative of Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy of the book because it did in fact cause me to read another Kate Meader, Instacrush, and I have a feeling many more are in my future. Then I picked up my extremely adored, The Game Plan by Kristen Callihan, which I loved just as much this time as I did the first time I read it. And then when I discovered that Callihan has a new book in the series coming out in January? I leapt upon the opportunity to read it early from Netgalley and already get to tell you about it! So exciting. Now let’s actually talk about each of them, shall we?
Sweet Thing by Kate Meader
Kate Meader has a pretty extensive backlist that I’ve dabbled in and enjoyed, but Sweet Thing really made me want to focus in and read everything she’s ever written in order. I really loved this surprise, you’re a dad! x nanny/best friend’s daughter romance so much. Essentially, Adeline had a crush on Lars, who plays on the same hockey team as her dad, for quite some time and he didn’t notice, until he did and then he shut her down. She then goes abroad for a bit and when she comes back, she finds herself with a front row seat to Lars being delivered a baby that he didn’t know about. That translates to Adeline helping Lars, while she’s still (in his mind) off limits, but they’re also deeply pulled to one another. All in all, this book made me giggle and squeal and I was truly so invested in this romance. I can’t wait to read more from Meader.
The Game Plan
by Kristen Callihan
Dex and Fiona both wind up on a vacation at Ivy and Grey’s house to help with their new baby and while they’re there, they accidentally trip and fall into a relationship. Mind you, Dex is a virgin and for some reason that’s very important to this story. Fiona is not, but she’s also not interested in a relationship. Fiona has some deep seated trust issues due to her parents. These two have this incredible chemistry, but they also live in very different places and that presents its own set of challenges.
I really love this one, even more on this reread than I did years ago when I read the independently published version. I think Callihan shines in the first three books in this series. She is so good at banter and she writes the chemistry between her characters so incredibly well. I will recommend this book and the first three books in this series forever.
Only on Gameday
by Kristen Callihan
As a person who has been reading ARCs for a while now, I know that books don’t dramatically change from ARC to final, most of the time. And typically, that’s a good thing. But I really hope there’s another round of edits for Only on Gameday because while there are some really great moments and signs of this being a Callihan novel, this also contains one of the most disjointed romances I’ve read in a while. The motivations are simply not there in this childhood friends to lovers romance to make this book make sense.
The book opens with August having an out of body type of experience where he is acting out in a way that is really not great at a celebration. He’s, I think, ashamed of himself and his actions and so when we meet him again, he’s at him childhood home. His reasons for acting out are… somewhat explored, but not in a way that was very satisfying in terms of character development. And so, August, on a cross-country flight, proposes to his childhood friend that she marry hm to help clean up his image. He’s careful though to tell her that he will never fall in love with her because football is his wife.
And at the beginning of this book, I’m fully invested. I love a childhood friends to lovers and it’s clear that Penelope has had feelings for August for a long time. The problem arises when the romance building blocks don’t line up. It’s like you’re stacking kid sized legos at the beginning and then you keep trying to jam an adult size microscopic piece on. It just didn’t follow for me. But again, I could see all of the pieces! It’s so close to being a great book! And instead, I gave it a three and I think that might be too generous.
Closing Thoughts
I love when I get on a tear of just reading the same sub-genre for many books in a row. Technically, these books were really spaced out, but I’ve read some others that weren’t for review. Anyway, feel free to share with me YOUR favorite sports romances for me to add to my TBR!
xx
firewhiskeyreader 