Thank you to Berkley for providing a complimentary eARC through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Love is on the line, and this goalie is playing for keeps, in this steamy soccer romance from Brittany Kelley, author of Relationship Goals.
Michelle Oxford lives and breathes soccer. After an injury that ended her dreams of going pro, she snagged the next best thing: a position as the director of operations for the LA Aces. And even if it’s not quite what she imagined it would be, it’s still better than cutting out soccer altogether.
The only problem? Carefree, wonder boy goalie, Tristan Gold.
Tristan has wanted more than just friendship with Michelle since the moment he laid eyes on her, but nothing would kill her career faster. When she loses a bet, the team gleefully insists she has to take lessons on “being chill” from Tristan himself.
They couldn’t be more different, but Tristan’s always met her perfectionist tendencies with good-natured goofiness, so she reluctantly agrees. The more time she spends with him, the more she likes what she sees . . . and Michelle starts to think that with him by her side, she could do just about anything—even saying goodbye to the future she thought she always wanted.
I was super excited to receive an email about Keeping Score! Anyone who knows me knows how much I love football. This was a quick, enjoyable read – though not my favorite, there were a number of things I liked about it. Here are five main reasons to read this book when it comes out:
- Michelle’s growth throughout the book is amazing. She is set up as being an ice cold, career focused woman and while that is not a bad thing, we see her grow out of her comfort zone and begin to do what she wants to do.
- It’s a dual POV romance which means we see Tristan pining after Michelle, further cementing the “he fell first and hard” dynamic.
- NO THIRD ACT BREAKUP (need I say more?)
- The book does a good job at teasing out the relationships of the other characters (I’m looking at you, Maddie/Logan and Lauren/West).
- There’s a nice friends to lovers dynamic because they’ve worked together for several years prior to them actually dating. Tristan is a cinnamon roll who bakes for Michelle and listens to her and encourages her to follow what she’s passionate about.
Overall: If you like workplace romance, a down bad athlete, and the “all I’ve ever wanted is you” dynamic, I think you might enjoy this.