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tinysierra's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Fun rivals to lovers sports romance.
Leticia is so funny. I loved her innuendos and flirty banter with Valentina.
Loved the audiobook narrator
Leticia is so funny. I loved her innuendos and flirty banter with Valentina.
Loved the audiobook narrator
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, and Grief
daryn's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Cancer
Minor: Xenophobia
readandfindout's review
emotional
medium-paced
4.25
Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Characters: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Characters: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Death of parent, Grief, and Racism
Minor: Transphobia, Xenophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
bookishmillennial's review
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-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
This is incredibly precious, covers important & relatable topics like identity & family, & perfectly scratched my YA sports romance itch 🥹🫶🏽
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying, Transphobia, Xenophobia, and Cancer
taylorsevalia's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Toxic friendship, and Death of parent
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Racism, Transphobia, and Sexism
booksdogsandcoffee's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
5.0
10/10 this queer enemies to lovers soccer camp romance was everything!
The tension between Valé and Leticia is some of the best I have read in a while. (Adult or young adult)
After a horrible loss in the school season where Valentina’s team lost to Leticia’s. These two rivals end up having to co captain a team that doesn’t seem to have a chance at winning the camp tournament. The two grow closer and closer over the summer. Learning about each other and how to become better leaders for their team.
I also absolutely loved seeing an aro/ace spec lesbian main character!
Marie masterfully crafts a story about love, loss, grief, ,friendships, bullying, family pressures, sportsmanship and finding yourself in this absolutely stunning novel.
Cw
Death
Grief
Bullying
Cancer
Toxic parent
Xenophobia
The tension between Valé and Leticia is some of the best I have read in a while. (Adult or young adult)
After a horrible loss in the school season where Valentina’s team lost to Leticia’s. These two rivals end up having to co captain a team that doesn’t seem to have a chance at winning the camp tournament. The two grow closer and closer over the summer. Learning about each other and how to become better leaders for their team.
I also absolutely loved seeing an aro/ace spec lesbian main character!
Marie masterfully crafts a story about love, loss, grief, ,friendships, bullying, family pressures, sportsmanship and finding yourself in this absolutely stunning novel.
Cw
Death
Grief
Bullying
Cancer
Toxic parent
Xenophobia
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, and Grief
Moderate: Cancer
booksdogsandcoffee's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
5.0
10/10 this queer enemies to lovers soccer camp romance was everything!
The tension between Valé and Leticia is some of the best I have read in a while. (Adult or young adult)
After a horrible loss in the school season where Valentina’s team lost to Leticia’s. These two rivals end up having to co captain a team that doesn’t seem to have a chance at winning the camp tournament. The two grow closer and closer over the summer. Learning about each other and how to become better leaders for their team.
I also absolutely loved seeing an aro/ace spec lesbian main character!
Marie masterfully crafts a story about love, loss, grief, ,friendships, bullying, family pressures, sportsmanship and finding yourself in this absolutely stunning novel.
The tension between Valé and Leticia is some of the best I have read in a while. (Adult or young adult)
After a horrible loss in the school season where Valentina’s team lost to Leticia’s. These two rivals end up having to co captain a team that doesn’t seem to have a chance at winning the camp tournament. The two grow closer and closer over the summer. Learning about each other and how to become better leaders for their team.
I also absolutely loved seeing an aro/ace spec lesbian main character!
Marie masterfully crafts a story about love, loss, grief, ,friendships, bullying, family pressures, sportsmanship and finding yourself in this absolutely stunning novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Xenophobia
imstephtacular's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Grief, Bullying, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Classism, Child abuse, Mental illness, Blood, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Medical content
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-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
4.0
For the most part, I really enjoyed this romance! It's definitely more focused on Vale's personal journey, working through her relationship with her dad and how it affects her relationship with soccer overall. She does have a good character arc, even if the ending felt like it might have been slightly rushed. I wanted a little more of the bonding between her and her team there at the end.
The romance was also sweet, evolving from rivals to friends to lovers. It worked well with Vale's own arc, and we get to learn more Leticia along the way. There are some great side characters as well, who felt almost as developed as Vale and Leticia.
Plus, the ace rep is good! There are some good discussions about that throughout the book as well.
The romance was also sweet, evolving from rivals to friends to lovers. It worked well with Vale's own arc, and we get to learn more Leticia along the way. There are some great side characters as well, who felt almost as developed as Vale and Leticia.
Plus, the ace rep is good! There are some good discussions about that throughout the book as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Bullying
Moderate: Death of parent, Cancer, and Grief
Minor: Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Xenophobia
kaynova's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-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
4.5
Did I spend the last 5 minutes bawling my eyes out because of Racquel Marie's acknowledgements once I finished the book? Yes. Does that have anything to do with this review? No, but I want the author to know I am giving her a huge hug virtually.
Where do I start? It's rare to find published BIPOC LGBTQIAP+ stories, let alone with the intent of rivals to lovers, so when I heard about Racquel writing one after finishing Ophelia After All the beginning of this year, I said I need this book now. I was on hold with my library for 6 weeks before I finally received the notification I could borrow and read it. It took a week before I finally had real down time to read, but I am grateful to have a day to just bask in the brilliance that is Racquel Marie.
This book made me cry, laugh, get angry, become more empathic, and relearn what it means to have grace. Our main protagonist, Vale, is a complex character and if you find characters who self destruct and criticizes everyone annoying, you may want to sit this book out. She is the embodiment of 'you are a product of your environment' with a leering father who has terrible ways of showing paternal love and guidance that trickles into your own relationships with others and yourself. She makes questionable choices, she will infuriate you, and she is going to cause fire on herself because all she knows how to do is burn. But as you read and watch her grow, you become happy to see her take out her own fires.
Accountability and self-awareness is something that lacks in a lot of books when it comes to character development, and with Vale, she does it so well that she even stops excusing her shitty behavior when she's apologizing. She also acknowledges that no one needs to forgive her because she hasn't forgiven her father (that man deserves no rights). She grows into a beautiful flower and by the end of the summer camp, she blossoms. And the people around her does it too.
I love how Racquel writes other characters into stories without making them feel like a sideline character or a character to help progress the mc's story arc or the ml's love story. She makes every character in her books an actual person with their own lives, goals, fears, and dreams. She builds friendships or in some cases, rivalry based on their personalities and that's amazing, that's talent.
Which goes into how much I loved Leticia and Valentina's relationship. The banter, the tension, the rivalry between them was so believable that every time Dina, Vale's friend, would joke about how there's homoeroticism undertones, I agreed. Their rivalry turned friendship turned lovers was a great sub-plot that really helped Vale recognize more things about herself than she wouldn't have realized due to her previous friendships (won't spoil much but Vale does a bad job at times maintaining healthy friendships based on her own unhealthy habits). I truly love that Marie avoided a third act breakup, with Leticia, who once you read realizes is so pure and kind-hearted, seeing through Vale and wanting her to know that she still cares about her and sees her, something that Vale struggles with a lot in the book.
Though I wished it was dual POV because I would love to know the thoughts that ran through Leticia's head, this story was meant to be told only by Vale. Because romance was the sub-plot of Vale's coming of age story, learning what it means to be happy or discovering what it once was, and who you can be outside of your family expectations.
Where do I start? It's rare to find published BIPOC LGBTQIAP+ stories, let alone with the intent of rivals to lovers, so when I heard about Racquel writing one after finishing Ophelia After All the beginning of this year, I said I need this book now. I was on hold with my library for 6 weeks before I finally received the notification I could borrow and read it. It took a week before I finally had real down time to read, but I am grateful to have a day to just bask in the brilliance that is Racquel Marie.
This book made me cry, laugh, get angry, become more empathic, and relearn what it means to have grace. Our main protagonist, Vale, is a complex character and if you find characters who self destruct and criticizes everyone annoying, you may want to sit this book out. She is the embodiment of 'you are a product of your environment' with a leering father who has terrible ways of showing paternal love and guidance that trickles into your own relationships with others and yourself. She makes questionable choices, she will infuriate you, and she is going to cause fire on herself because all she knows how to do is burn. But as you read and watch her grow, you become happy to see her take out her own fires.
Accountability and self-awareness is something that lacks in a lot of books when it comes to character development, and with Vale, she does it so well that she even stops excusing her shitty behavior when she's apologizing. She also acknowledges that no one needs to forgive her because she hasn't forgiven her father (that man deserves no rights). She grows into a beautiful flower and by the end of the summer camp, she blossoms. And the people around her does it too.
I love how Racquel writes other characters into stories without making them feel like a sideline character or a character to help progress the mc's story arc or the ml's love story. She makes every character in her books an actual person with their own lives, goals, fears, and dreams. She builds friendships or in some cases, rivalry based on their personalities and that's amazing, that's talent.
Which goes into how much I loved Leticia and Valentina's relationship. The banter, the tension, the rivalry between them was so believable that every time Dina, Vale's friend, would joke about how there's homoeroticism undertones, I agreed. Their rivalry turned friendship turned lovers was a great sub-plot that really helped Vale recognize more things about herself than she wouldn't have realized due to her previous friendships (won't spoil much but Vale does a bad job at times maintaining healthy friendships based on her own unhealthy habits). I truly love that Marie avoided a third act breakup, with Leticia, who once you read realizes is so pure and kind-hearted, seeing through Vale and wanting her to know that she still cares about her and sees her, something that Vale struggles with a lot in the book.
Though I wished it was dual POV because I would love to know the thoughts that ran through Leticia's head, this story was meant to be told only by Vale. Because romance was the sub-plot of Vale's coming of age story, learning what it means to be happy or discovering what it once was, and who you can be outside of your family expectations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Xenophobia and Racism