Book Review: Pros Don’t (Fall in Love #4) by Leah Dobrinska

June 29, 2026July 25, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 327 pages
Author: Leah Dobrinska
Publisher: Self Publishing
Release Date: April 8th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Who says reality TV romance isn’t real?

Holland Bradley is the golf world’s golden boy. Confident and charismatic, when his agent lands him the starring role on Most Eligible Mister, the nation’s longest running reality TV dating show, he doesn’t hesitate. A chance to find love by dating twenty beautiful women and bringing more attention to the sport he loves, while also curing him of the tiny crush he has on his coach? Sounds like a hole in one.

A woman in a male-dominated field, golf coach Mallory Walsh doesn’t have the luxury of sharing Holland’s cavalier attitude. But she’s a pro, so she can set her personal disdain for him aside and keep coaching Holland to tournament victories. The more he wins, the more she’s paid, and the more she can help her parents with their mounting medical bills. Holland’s role on Most Eligible Mister is a distraction he—and she—can’t afford…until one of the show’s producers offers Mallory good money to sign on as a contestant.

Holland and Mallory are whisked away to Cashmere Cove, where a scheming, hometown community is intent on “helping” them fall in love and fame-hungry contestants are determined to keep them apart. The player and coach pair make a pact to keep things professional, but soon the pressure cooker situation has them teaming up to survive. As Holland relies on Mallory for support in dealing with past trauma, and Mallory discovers a good listener and fierce advocate beneath Holland’s flashy façade, everything changes. Can the pair come out on top, or is any real relationship between them as unlikely as an albatross?

Because pros don’t fall in love…do they?

THIS WAS SWEET.

Y’all have heard it before. One of my favorite tropes/situations is a man down BAD. There’s something about Holland pining after Mallory that just hits every time. I loved all of the little sweet moments they got to be together without the crowds and how hard Holland worked to show Mallory he’s different from the first time they met.

The only thing I wasn’t totally into was the bachelor-esque plot line. I have never watched the show for a reason and fought the catty drama to be a bit eye rolling. I wish that Mallory and Holland had a different chance to come together rather than the show being at the fore front. It was a big suspension of reality that he would do that as a pro golfer.

But I will admit that I loved the grand gesture at the end. That’s the kind of sporty ending that makes me loooove sport romances. And this is my second golf romance that overall has been a hit. It’s sweet and heated and swoony. I have loved this series!

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Content warnings: bullying (recounted, for a stutter and weight as a child), a parent with a debilitating disease

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Book Review: First Down and Forever to Go by (River Foxes #1) by Leah Dobrinska

May 14, 2026March 13, 2026 GoodeyReads1 Comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Football Romance
Length: 285 pages
Author: Leah Dobrinska
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: January 20th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Can a pair of opposites come together to heal from past wounds, lay their secrets bare, and pave the way for a future full of laughter and love? Or is this Cinderella story destined for an unhappily ever after?

TJ Wilson, the outgoing star running back for the Green Bay River Foxes, swears he’ll never fall in love again…not after losing his college girlfriend. He’s content with a life of football and carefree dating. Nothing serious. No strings. No matter how much his teammates rib him for it. When a stunning, secretive woman all but begs him to show her a good time at his team’s charity ball, he’s the man for the job. If the shoe fits, after all.

One heart-to-heart and an almost-kiss later, TJ finds himself enamored with the bashful but brazen mystery Cinderella, and, against his better judgement, longing for more than the one night she’s offered him.

One night. Lucy Dupree, a secret author and media personality-turned-social pariah, promises her literary agent she’ll come out of hiding for one night. Just long enough to get inspired, overcome her writer’s block, and finish her manuscript by the deadline. With the help of her fairy-godmother landlord and a vintage wedding gown, Lucy attends the Green Bay River Foxes Gala where she meets TJ, a walking, talking prince charming.

The masquerade theme allows Lucy to conceal her identity, and TJ provides her with enough content to write ten romance novels. A win-win. She got what she came for, and that’s enough. It has to be. Because when the clock strikes midnight, the fairytale ends. Or is it just beginning?

First Down and Forever To Go is a soft and sweet closed door romance with kissing only and no implied intimacy, perfect for fans of the opposites attract and friends to more tropes. This is the first book in the River Foxes Football Romance series. All titles can be read as standalones.

SWEET START.

I’m a big fan of Leah Dobrinska’s sports romances. They hit the spot and she rights some of the best closed door kissing scenes around. Even the *almost* scenes had my kindle heating up. I looooove it.

And this was such a good story. I adored TJ’s cocky nature with a soft cinnamon roll interior. The amount of times he just *adored* upon Lucy were some of the sweetest and I couldn’t get enough. I really liked the dynamic between them and the chemistry they couldn’t deny.

I did like Lucy for the most part. I understood the struggle and the time it takes to step back out, but I did get a bit frustrated with how the third act was handled. Some of it was fine? But for the most part I had hoped her growth had hit its climax before that point.

But a genuinely great start to the series and I’m looking forward to seeing the romances for the other players on the team!!

Overall audience notes:

Sports romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Violence: low
Content warnings: loss of a partner (recounted)

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Book Review: Enemies Don’t (Fall in Love #2) by Leah Dobrinska

June 9, 2025April 26, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 293 pages
Author: Leah Dobrinska
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: February 9th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A heartfelt romantic comedy, loosely inspired by The Proposal.

Lost and guarded after getting out of a toxic relationship, Noli Kasper follows her older sisters to idyllic Cashmere Cove to get her life back on track. But when she’s pulled over on the way into town by a police officer who turns out to be her insufferable new boss, her dreams of an uncomplicated fresh start feel dead on arrival.

Collin Rattler has spent his whole life trying to live up to his cop dad’s expectations and reputation. Now, Collin has his sights set on earning the title of county sheriff—something even his father never accomplished. When early polls show Collin’s playboy habits are hurting his chances, his team makes a settle down with a nice, respectable woman for the year leading up to the election to prove he can commit. The problem? Collin doesn’t do relationships.

Yet when he lets slip his team’s preposterous plan to Noli, a woman he finds as self-righteous and enigmatic as she is beautiful, he’s not sure what’s more shocking—that she offers to help him or that he finds himself falling for her in the process.

Noli has her own reasons for saying yes to Collin’s fake-dating proposal. And when her past won’t leave her alone, she finds herself relying on Collin, a man she thought she despised, to see her through. But it’s all just a temporary, mutually beneficial arrangement, right?

Because enemies don’t fall in love…do they?

(Enemies Don’t is the second book in the Fall In Love series, which follows three sisters as they find love after moving across the country to the small town of Cashmere Cove, Wisconsin. This is a closed door romcom with plenty of sizzling chemistry and romantic tension, but no spice. Enemies Don’t is a standalone book, but it’s best enjoyed after reading Friends Don’t.)

SWOONY.

I liked this one a lot. After getting off on the wrong foot seeing Noli and Collin come together in a fake dating scheme brought out some fantastic banter and the forced proximity moments I crave.

I struggled with the time spread throughout the book. This book covers a whole year and chapters would jump to the next month or two with only a small nod towards what happened prior. I wish the time had been condensed a little more. There was still plenty of showing vs. telling, but I kept feeling like I was missing something.

Collin has lots of swoony moments though and I loved watching him fall in love. It’s tender and he didn’t even realize how much he cared. I loved when he and Noli had good communication lines and took the time to get to know eachother.

I also didn’t understand why Noli kept her secret for so long. If she had brought it up soon after realizing she could trust Collin I feel like it could have played off better. There’s a little dash of suspense to bring things all together and wrap things up well.

Looking forward to the next book!

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Violence: low
Content Warnings: An ex who is stalking and harassing Noli

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Book Review: Exes Don’t (Fall in Love #3) by Leah Dobrinska

March 4, 2025December 26, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Christmas Sports Romance
Length: 292 pages
Author: Leah Dobrinska
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 8th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A fast-paced and fun sports and spy romantic comedy…let the games begin!

Rose Kasper has a secret. A big one. She’s a spy. Okay…not exactly. She works as an undercover security specialist. For a decade, she’s used dry humor, deflection, and self-deprecation to keep herself distanced from her sisters and friends in order to hide her double life. But when a man she dated for the job years ago—the same man she foolishly let herself get close to—is in danger, she must place herself in his playing field yet again. Whether he likes it or not.

Anton Bates has a full life juggling his roles as star quarterback of the Green Bay River Foxes and Prince of Penwick, a small island nation off the coast of Norway. He’s slow to trust, having been used for his position—both of them—on more than one occasion. So when Rose Kasper, a woman whom he loved and lost, sweeps back into his life, he wants nothing to do with her. Or does he?

Anton audibles and decides to use his unexpected reunion with Rose as an opportunity to prove to her that the two of them together are a touchdown. Rose knows she doesn’t deserve Anton—not with all the lies and deceit. But his gameplan is working, and she starts to believe that if she’s honest with him, maybe things between them can be different this time. But when the truth comes out and Anton’s life is at risk, their second chance looks like it’ll end in a loss.

Because exes don’t fall in love…do they?

MY KRYPTONITE.

I don’t know what it says about me that one of my favorite tropes is a man obsessed. But it is what it is and it’s really easy to win me over at that point. I loved this book, it’s my current favorite of the series and I had such a blast with it (especially after just finishing Wind and Truth, IYKYK).

The quarterback/prince dynamic took a little more suspension of my reality than I prefer, but the author made this work. It’s quirky and you don’t have ALL the information, yet the romance really shines and I loved that this had just the right amount of flashback chapters to add to the history between Rose and Anton.

Also, praise dual POV. I loved seeing both of their mindsets and personalities behind all of the hard decisions that were being thrown at them. I loved all of Anton’s teammates and Rose’s sisters. Strong support systems make a book really sing for me.

The confession of love about melted me through the FLOOR. Oh gosh it was perfect. I loved all of the heated kisses and mounting tension that broke away for a second chance and a true relationship. The drama played well into the finale and it’s a quick, lighter read that even has a little bit of holiday cheer.

Overall audience notes: