Book Review: Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend (Catching Feelings #1) by Kate Watson

February 10, 2026November 23, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 378 pages
Author: Kate Watson
Publisher: Little Biks Creative
Release Date: July 22nd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It’s not about the wedding, it’s about the marriage…license.

Sean

When my ex cheated and begged me to take her back, I made a rash, too-public vow: the next woman I kiss will be my wife. It seemed like a good idea at the time—anything to stop being everyone’s second choice. The ultimate fallback guy.

Then the Kayla Carville walks into my bar, all bold and stunning. When she hears my ex tearing me apart, she kisses me to shut her up. And when she learns about my stupid promise, she offers me a way to save face: we’ll claim we’re engaged.

The thing is, this isn’t about some stupid vow anymore. It’s about finding the courage to stop being the backup goalie and finally go for what I really want.

If I can.

Kayla

My ex is the worst, so my dad bought me a baseball team.

Classic billionaire-dad move.

Now I’m living in a small Southern town that hates me, trying to convince everyone I’m an absolute delight, not some generic “Boss Babe.”

They’re not buying it.

Except for Sean O’Shannan, the hot hometown hockey hero and bar owner who gave me the courage to break up with my fiancé months ago. He’s the kind of guy who remembers my smoothie order, saves a seat for me at the church potluck…and proposes when he discovers I don’t meet the team’s “ownership residency requirement.”

Saying yes is easy.

The hard part?

Not falling for my husband.

THIS WAS SWEET.

Y’all know I am a big fan of marriage of convenience. If I see that as a potential part of the book I AM SO THERE. I thought this was a really sweet way to bring Sean and Kayla together. It was a simple situation between them. I do think it led to lacking in some sort of push/pull. They were super smitten from the get-go and while they absolutely led to some great moments I think I needed more of a slow burn in that department.

I adored all of the hockey and baseball content. As a big sports girlie having both MC’s connected to sports in some way was awesome. And I loved how Kayla supported (and lovingly pushed) Sean to pursue his dreams and reminded him of how much he mattered.

I could always do with less ex related drama but it’s alright. If you’re needing a soft closed door romance, Kate Watson is slowly becoming an easy go-to author.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: none
Romance: closed door between a married couple
Violence: low

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Book Review: Finding Her Edge by Jennifer Iacopelli

February 8, 2026January 29, 2026 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Sports Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Jennifer Iacopelli
Publisher: GP Putnam’s
Release Date: December 2nd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

For fans of Emma Lord and Abbi Glines, Jennifer Iacopelli’s swoony, romantic new novel follows elite ice dancer Adriana Russo as she finds herself drawn to both her old dance partner and her new one.

Adriana Russo is figure skating royalty.

With gold-medalist parents, and her older sister headed to the Olympics, all she wants is to live up to the family name and stand atop the ice dance podium at the Junior World Championships. But fame doesn’t always mean fortune, and their legendary skating rink is struggling under the weight of her dad’s lavish lifestyle. The only thing keeping it afloat is a deal to host the rest of the Junior Worlds team before they leave for France.

That means training on the same ice as her first crush, Freddie, the partner she left when her growth spurt outpaced his. For the past two years, he’s barely acknowledged her existence, and she can’t even blame him for it.

When the family’s finances take another unexpected hit, losing the rink seems inevitable until her partner, Brayden, suggests they let the world believe what many have suspected: that their intense chemistry isn’t contained to the ice. Fans and sponsors alike take the bait, but keeping up the charade is harder than she ever imagined. And training alongside Freddie makes it worse, especially when pretending with Brayden starts to feel very real.

As the biggest competition of her life draws closer and her family’s legacy hangs in the balance, Adriana is caught between her past and present, between the golden future she’s worked so hard for, and the one she gave up long ago.

I WILL NOT BE WATCHING THE SHOW.

I picked this up on a pure whim because the Olympics have me in an ice skating mood and I heard there’s a Netflix show so I decided to test the waters with the book first.

AAAAAND I shall not be watching the show (I also did discuss with a few friends spoilers about the show and I would be mad soooo). Ultimately this is a love triangle and if you get angry when your side isn’t chosen. which I totally did, then you’ll be upset. Reader discretion advised.

It was trying hard to be cool and edgy with the characters ages and some of the scenes but the overall vibe and dialogue reads as a young teen. The clash made it difficult to read and I was grateful that it’s a short book. It was one of those books with potential but too many eye rolls.

Also, if the FMC mentioned ONE MORE FREAKING TIME that she had outgrown her previous partner (literally) and that’s why she had to drop him I was going to light my phone on fire.

Overall audience notes:

YA Sports Romance
Language: low
Romance: kisses
Violence: low
Content warnings: strained parent relationships

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ALC Book Review: Lights Out by Jenni Fletcher

February 3, 2026January 17, 2026 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: NA Sports Romance
Length: 346 pages
Author: Jenni Fletcher
Publisher: Simon Audio
Release Date: February 3rd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A sizzling Formula One romance perfect for fans of BookTok faves Hannah Grace, Lauren Asher, and Kat Ransom.

He’s a future F1 champion, but she’s making it hard to stay on track…

F1’s resident bad boy Giovanni Bauer isn’t used to losing, but when his non-stop partying leaves his position on the team at risk, he needs to turn his reputation around – fast.

Maisie Evans is a dedicated psychology student, desperate to break into Gio’s competitive world and reignite her dreams of a glittering sports career, but with no clue how to do it.

When Gio and Maisie’s worlds collide, the answer to their problems seems a fake relationship. She gets to travel the world and brush shoulders with sports royalty, and he gets to fix his image by settling down.

But as sparks fly on and off the track, will their ‘relationship’ see them cross the line together, or crash and burn?

Thank you Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook.

I’M NOT FEELING IT.

I’m 0/2 on F1 romances right now and that sucks. I did like the F1 content in this book. It felt present but not overwhelming and the behind the scenes stuff and such worked well for the plot. I also did enjoy the audiobook narrator and had no issues listening.

Both of the main characters caused me to be annoyed one too many times. It was as if this book was marketed/labeled as young adult, but actually had adult content with characters who acted 15. It was not a good look and the drama wasn’t drama-ing well.

Some of the romance was sweet/swoony and other times it went right back to the trying to hard to be dramatic issue. I did like both of their families and the kindness and love in those scenes.

I’m not really vibing with idea of picking up another book by this author, we’ll see.

Overall audience notes:

NA Sports Romance
Language: moderate
Romance: 2 open door
Violence: mild
Content warnings: car crashes and resulting injuries, mentions of loss of a parent

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Book Review: Let You Love Me (Boys of Riverside #5) by Gracie Graham

January 14, 2026January 7, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 601 pages
Author: Gracie Graham
Publisher: Self Publishing
Release Date: June 30th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The first time I met Lane Turner was a stroke of fate.
The second time was a slap in the face. Turns out, she’s my coach’s daughter, completely off-limits. But that doesn’t stop me from wanting her.

Falling for Lane will be easy. Crashing through her walls, not as simple. When I find out she has a daughter? Complicated. But I’m anything if not determined, intent on dismantling the carefully constructed armor around her heart. Proving to her I’m more than just a college athlete is my number one mission in life. Showing her she’s worth it is a close second.

But everyone has their limits, the scars that bind them. Broaching the topic of her daughter’s father is a hard no. Lying is mine. So when her past comes knocking on my door in the form of retribution, I start asking questions. I’m ready to fight for us, but is she?

I FINISHED THE SERIES!

And this was a great book to end everything too. I adore Teagan and loved getting his story. I loved the college setting and all of the football content too. This book had me cheering on a love at first sight play that I wasn’t mad about one bit.

There’s the usual level of drama and chaos I’ve come to expect from this series and I loved the tangled web it wove. I was glued to my kindle waiting for that last shoe to drop and see everything hit the fan before being smoothed over. I will say that Lane frustrated me over one aspect where I thought her secrets were being held on to a little too long.

I enjoyed the swoon and heat from the romance and all of the really sweet moments with Sophie. I loved so many scenes and how they impacted the story and characters. It was fun getting to hear from the previous characters too and I will definitely be reading whatever Gracie Graham writes next.

Overall audience notes: