Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Long Game

I'm not a big fan of sports romance, but this story was amazing on so many levels! Honestly, the sports stuff was just window dressing.

I'm having trouble coming up with words because this man is the ultimate book boyfriend. He is grumpy, but soft. Athletic. Has an accent. Has tattoos and two cats. Has done emotional healing and work. Talks openly about his feelings. I know it's marked as contemporary, but it might should be fantasy.

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kathis_wonderland's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing 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

The Long Game by Elena Armas is the first book in the Long Game series. Adalyn lost her cool and a video of that goes viral. To save her reputation and her father's football club, she moves to a small town to manage a struggling soccer team. That the team is a group of nine-year-old girls and is coached by goalkeeping legend Cameron Caldani is a surprise for her. Adalyn and Cameron hated each other from the beginning, but there are other feelings as well.

I am turning out to be a big fan of Elena Armas' work! I love her writing style and the way she implements other language than English into the story. The Long Game was a really nice read. It was a little dark and challenging at times and my heart broke for Adalyn several times. Having to go through such things and having no real support system must be so hard. But she is fierce and strong. Cameron really worships Adalyn. I am sure he would do anything for her just to make her happy. There chemistry was so good! I couldn't wait for their first kiss! And that took ages! The book was not as steamy as I thought it would be. But it was sexy nonetheless.

I can highly recommend Elena Armas' books! The Long Game was a really nice read. Enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn, romantic and spicy! I can't wait for the next book in this series.

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meesha_mo's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I felt seen in Adalyn's anxiety and over ambition. This is a slow burn. It felt more realistic than other romances I read last year. Also, I enjoyed this more from begining to end than the Spanish Love Deception. The beginning of SLD was rough.

I thought Josie should've been more fleshed out since she ends up being way more important than the book would have you believe. Also, if the epilogue is implying that we'll get more Matty in a sequel, I think I'll pass. I thought it was gross that he sent a jersey to get signed.

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fkshg8465's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

After the cuteness and fun of Spanish Love Deception and The Roommate Experiment, this was a big let down - super cheesy, terrible storytelling, and everything I hate about the romance genre.

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carefulfearanddeaddevotion's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

It took me about a chapter to go from "God this woman is insufferable" to "won't someone please swaddle her, bury her under a mountain of pillows, and bring her whatever she wants?????". Cameron Caldani, you're so valid, because I, too, would protect Adalyn Reyes at all costs. What a sad little kicked puppy of a woman (affectionate) <3<3 Andrew Underwood, David whatever the fuck your last name is, sleep with one eye open.

Enemies to lovers trope? check. NO(!!!!) miscommunication trope? check check check. I cannot stress ENOUGH how happy I am with how that final fight went down. It was so so clear that Adalyn's reaction was coming from her past trauma, it wasn't out of nowhere, but at the same time, it wasn't really portrayed as being justified. The whole time she was thinking "damn why am I acting like this, stop pushing him away" (same queen) and Cameron, for his part, tried his hardest not to let her push him away. A tiny bit disappointed it didn't work, but happy it was resolved so quickly. Given both their pasts, it wasn't a conflict that made me go "this relationship won't last," but one that made me think it would.

Also Maria Vasquez? You will always be famous. What a fantastic little girl, loved her so so much. Perfect, no notes.

Also kinda glad we never found out why Cameron is so scared of goats? He just is, and that was funny and quirky and didn't really need explanation imo.

Not really sure I can explain why it's not a 5, but it was a very good R (X?) rated romcom. Not a frustrating read at all (looking at you, Sincerely Yours). Also didn't realize until the end that it was written by the same person who wrote The Spanish Love Deception which has been in my tbr for ages and I now own. This book def made me look forward to that one.

ETA: therapy mention? What a dub. More romcom characters should consider therapy

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samchase112's review against another edition

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lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I’m always blessed to have another Elena Armas romance in my hands! While I didn’t enjoy this one as much as her last, and certainly not as much as her first, the chemistry between the characters and the slow-burn buildup were still top-notch. There was a lot going on here, and sometimes I think we lost the plot for a bit, but nevertheless I really enjoyed my time spent in Green Oak :)

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