Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - The Long Game

The first third of this book I found everything frustrating. The characters were annoying shits to each other and there wasn't enough backstory or internal feelings to balance it out. I did learn to appreciate Cameron, but the why Adalyn was the way she was and her internal growth was not as developed as it needed to be. They also started to communicate with each other, which is my favorite part of a romance, but it was very glossed over without really showing they learned or listened. The best part of the book were the kids, both green warriors and goats, and the lighthearted moments.

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bee_wuud's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

F’ING HOT. 🥵 goat yoga, retired grumpy soccer star, stargazing, “Ghost”-like moment, and hard feelings….gimme more. Cameron Caldani 💚💚💚 good set up for the next book (I hope!)

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hjb_128's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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

4.25

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readwithde's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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

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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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tyras_bookshelf's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

3.5

I’m a little conflicted by this book. I really liked the premise, a sorta spoiled Heiress type gets knocked on her ass by a mistake and has to deal with the consequences in a rural, remote area reluctantly aided by the hot, grumpy, town recluse. There’s banter, enemies to lovers, a logical third act breakup and a HEA. I laughed out loud on many occasion.
That said, on a petty level, the word choice through the book in crucial areas was off to me and distracting as a reader and the overuse of certain phrases took me from the story. Maybe it’s a personal brand of the author but some areas felt like they needed to be reviewed/edited again.

**spoilers ahead**

I appreciated Adalyn’s sense of responsibility and no nonsense attitude. It felt contradictory at first for people to see her as a “princess” knowing the truth of her character but the fact that Cameron operated off a stereotype only gave him a higher pedestal from which to fall deeply in love with her. Similarly, it was very fun to watch Cameron’s touch exterior get chipped away from the first encounter with Adalyn. I ate it up.

Adalyn’s arch was great (even if there were too many mentions of metaphors about dragons) and I’m so glad she healed that inner a child a bit to stand up to her terrible dad and ex.

I needed a bit more from Cameron’s arch but him getting the courage to be a full participant in life again and choosing to love someone when he never had before was nice to see. I think him giving up his big shiny footballer career as a response to his fear became easier to accept for him as he made a place for himself in Green Oak and eventually trusted himself enough to love someone.

I also loved that the third act conflict didn’t have a big toxic fight that characters wouldn’t recover from.

The book gave heavy Ted Lasso vibes, in a good way and maybe that’s just because it was about soccer but of well.

Definitely excited to read more from Armas!

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jeireads's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring 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

4.0

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ninebookishlives's review

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funny lighthearted

4.25

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