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booklore_forevemore's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
How You Get the Girl was my first book by Anita Kelly and I really loved it! It’s technically the third book in a series/collection, but I didn’t have any issues understanding it.
A quick summary: Julie coaches a girls high school basketball team and the foster parent of one of the players happens to be Elle Cochran - a (very lesbian) college basketball and WNBA player that Julie used to be obsessed with. Julie has always been unsure of her sexuality and thinks she’s somewhere on the asexual spectrum, but she is also pretty certain she has non-platonic feelings for Elle.
Firstly, I absolutely loved Julie and personally really connected with her queer-questioning journey. She’s also hilarious and owns a cat named Snoozles who likes listening to Rihanna.
Elle, who is single and lives alone, recently became the foster parent/guardian for a relative’s daughter and I loved how much she cared about trying to make everything perfect. She also suffers from chronic migraines, which frustrates her because she’s unable to be mentally and physically present 100% of the time.
Overall, this was such a sweet romance. It felt like this book was really written from the heart and the tropes weren’t overdone. It touched on some darker themes, but it never felt too heavy and still leaned towards rom-com territory. As someone who does not understand basketball, I definitely recommend!
A quick summary: Julie coaches a girls high school basketball team and the foster parent of one of the players happens to be Elle Cochran - a (very lesbian) college basketball and WNBA player that Julie used to be obsessed with. Julie has always been unsure of her sexuality and thinks she’s somewhere on the asexual spectrum, but she is also pretty certain she has non-platonic feelings for Elle.
Firstly, I absolutely loved Julie and personally really connected with her queer-questioning journey. She’s also hilarious and owns a cat named Snoozles who likes listening to Rihanna.
Elle, who is single and lives alone, recently became the foster parent/guardian for a relative’s daughter and I loved how much she cared about trying to make everything perfect. She also suffers from chronic migraines, which frustrates her because she’s unable to be mentally and physically present 100% of the time.
Overall, this was such a sweet romance. It felt like this book was really written from the heart and the tropes weren’t overdone. It touched on some darker themes, but it never felt too heavy and still leaned towards rom-com territory. As someone who does not understand basketball, I definitely recommend!
Content Warnings
Minor: Drug abuse
duckyreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Anita Kelly has a masterful way of creating complex characters and giving them a rewarding romance. How You Get The Girl is a queer workplace romance following Coach Julie Parker and her childhood idol, and ex-WNBA star, Elle Cochrane.
Anita carefully discusses depression, anxiety, being on the ace spectrum, and queerness. Although this can be read as a stand-alone, there are fun cameos from the main couples in the previous books. How You Get the Girl is a brilliant way to finish this series, and I am eagerly looking forward to everything that Anita writes.
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Anita carefully discusses depression, anxiety, being on the ace spectrum, and queerness. Although this can be read as a stand-alone, there are fun cameos from the main couples in the previous books. How You Get the Girl is a brilliant way to finish this series, and I am eagerly looking forward to everything that Anita writes.
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness and Addiction
Minor: Drug abuse
womanwill's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow is this a perfect romance? Seriously Anita Kelly knocks it out of the park a third time in this series, and it may be my favorite?!
This slow burn sapphic workplace romance has all the tension and yearning and even a dash of fake dating. Julie Parker feels like she's just spinning her wheels in life as everyone around her falls in love and she still lacks experience as an almost 30 year old. That is, until Julie's childhood crush, and college basketball star Elle Cochrane shows up at one of the girls' basketball practices she is coaching. Soon Elle is both assistant coach and practice dating Julie...but is it really practice?
Read if you're looking for
- "be gay, do sports" vibes
- slow burn
- "practice" dating
- 90s women's basketball vibes 😍
- label exploration
- ace, sapphic & lesbian rep
- depression rep & discussion of mental illness
- trans/nonbinary sibling side characters
- glimpses of Dahlia & London & Ben & Alexei from previous books
- spice
I adored both Julie and Elle as individuals and their chemistry was off the charts as a couple. Seriously the one-on-one game...IYKYK. I loved the inclusion of difficult family dynamics and Elle being a foster parent to Vanessa. I loved the presence of sassy teasing teens to keep their coaches in check. I loved that Elle and Julie are both tall. I loved seeing London and Dahlia get married and Ben move to Portland to be with Alexei. I loved that Julie explored her sexual orientation labels and being on the ace spectrum. I love that a romance author finally admitted that people on antidepressants have a hard time getting off (we have needed that rep for so long).
Honestly there was nothing I didn't love. I am forever an Anita Kelly stan. They consistently write emotionally vulnerable and complex queer romances with heat and the absolute most heart. It's an auto buy for me, and everyone should preorder this book. Out 2/13/24!
Thanks to Forever Pub for the ARC.
This slow burn sapphic workplace romance has all the tension and yearning and even a dash of fake dating. Julie Parker feels like she's just spinning her wheels in life as everyone around her falls in love and she still lacks experience as an almost 30 year old. That is, until Julie's childhood crush, and college basketball star Elle Cochrane shows up at one of the girls' basketball practices she is coaching. Soon Elle is both assistant coach and practice dating Julie...but is it really practice?
Read if you're looking for
- "be gay, do sports" vibes
- slow burn
- "practice" dating
- 90s women's basketball vibes 😍
- label exploration
- ace, sapphic & lesbian rep
- depression rep & discussion of mental illness
- trans/nonbinary sibling side characters
- glimpses of Dahlia & London & Ben & Alexei from previous books
- spice
I adored both Julie and Elle as individuals and their chemistry was off the charts as a couple. Seriously the one-on-one game...IYKYK. I loved the inclusion of difficult family dynamics and Elle being a foster parent to Vanessa. I loved the presence of sassy teasing teens to keep their coaches in check. I loved that Elle and Julie are both tall. I loved seeing London and Dahlia get married and Ben move to Portland to be with Alexei. I loved that Julie explored her sexual orientation labels and being on the ace spectrum. I love that a romance author finally admitted that people on antidepressants have a hard time getting off (we have needed that rep for so long).
Honestly there was nothing I didn't love. I am forever an Anita Kelly stan. They consistently write emotionally vulnerable and complex queer romances with heat and the absolute most heart. It's an auto buy for me, and everyone should preorder this book. Out 2/13/24!
Thanks to Forever Pub for the ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Mental illness
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Drug abuse and Addiction
sarrie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
TL;DR: Slow but satisfying romance of two women helping each other (but not fixing each other), and falling in love.
How You Get the Girl is the third and final (?) book in the series by Anita Kelly that began with Love and Other Disasters. This one follows Julie, London’s twin sister, as she meets and then begins to work with her teen idol. Elle is a former pro basketball player who has distanced herself from the sport but finds herself caught up helping Julie with a high school team.
This was a very slow read, Anita’s books always are for me, but the slow burn and payoff of the end is well worth it. Julie and Elle both have struggles they work through in this one in what felt like genuine ways. Julie doesn’t know who she is in a way, she has never had a relationship and is looking to find herself. Elle has reoccurring deep bouts of depression and migraines and is still learning to deal with that and the trauma that came with her time as a pro on the court.
Both women’s developments were believable and in the end it was a deeply satisfying story. Even more so for me, as someone who lives in Tennessee and wishes I saw good queer rep (any good rep really) of natives. I truly enjoyed this one, and if you enjoy Anita’s books I definitely recommend this one (though I think perhaps Something Wild and Wonderful, which comes before this one, is still my favorite).
4 out of 5 Nutritional Grains
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness and Child abuse
Minor: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Drug abuse
caseythereader's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Thanks to Forever Publishing for the free copy of this book.
- Anita Kelly continues to be the best with HOW YOU GET THE GIRL. Kelly brings their signature wit and heart to this sapphic sports romance. I swooned, I cried, I cheered.
- Where this book punched me in the heart, though, is Julie’s character. Julie is me and I am Julie. I think I’m ace, but maybe not, because this person has knocked me off my feet? Am I pathetic for being “behind” everyone in terms of experience? Do I need a label? What if I never sort it out? NO, YOU’RE CRYING! (this is me saying thank you for bringing this character into existence, truly.)
- Characters from Kelly’s previous two books feature pretty heavily in this one (I squealed every time), so I would recommend reading those first to get the full background and experience. And you should read them anyway because they’re great!
- Anita Kelly continues to be the best with HOW YOU GET THE GIRL. Kelly brings their signature wit and heart to this sapphic sports romance. I swooned, I cried, I cheered.
- Where this book punched me in the heart, though, is Julie’s character. Julie is me and I am Julie. I think I’m ace, but maybe not, because this person has knocked me off my feet? Am I pathetic for being “behind” everyone in terms of experience? Do I need a label? What if I never sort it out? NO, YOU’RE CRYING! (this is me saying thank you for bringing this character into existence, truly.)
- Characters from Kelly’s previous two books feature pretty heavily in this one (I squealed every time), so I would recommend reading those first to get the full background and experience. And you should read them anyway because they’re great!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Chronic illness, Sexual content, and Cursing
Moderate: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Addiction, and Drug abuse
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