Tag: sports romance

Book Review: Caught Stealing (Southern Sports Sweethearts #1) by M.J. Padgett

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Rating: ★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 270 pages
Author: M.J. Padgett
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: August 24th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Charlotte Clarke’s life revolves around numbers and facts. But when life throws her a curveball, will she rely on her brain or her heart to guide her?

Love is the last thing on Charlotte’s mind. She’s too busy teaching uninterested high school students mathematics to make time for dating, despite her best friends’ protests that she needs a man. They seem to forget that the breakup with her long-time boyfriend shattered her heart.

When Charlotte’s friends discover a new dating app, they sign her up, surprising her with a list of men interested in stealing her heart. Not wanting to disappoint them, Charlotte chooses the first name on the list, preparing herself for utter humiliation and rejection. What she doesn’t know is the app is a cover for athletes looking for serious love. And one thing Charlotte doesn’t need is another athlete breaking her heart.

Andrew Rossi is sitting out with his second injury of the season. At his age, he’s beginning to worry his career with the Savannah Sharks might be coming to a close. What’s worse is he has no one to share the rest of his life with. Sick of superficial dating and flimsy relationships, Andrew decides to sign up on an elite, super secret athlete dating app. The second his eyes land on a gorgeous, brainy redhead with a deep love for dogs, his heart leaps in with cautious optimism.

The only problem? His sunshiny, sweet date despises athletes.

Keeping his athletic stardom a secret gives Andrew the chance to get to know Charlotte. As the two grow closer, he knows it’s only a matter of time before he has to come clean. But how do you tell a woman you’re falling for that you’re the one thing she hates?

Caught Stealing is a sweet, secret identity baseball romance with light faith elements, a side of comedy, and two show-stealing pups!

This is the first book in the Southern Sports Sweethearts series and the first in the Savannah Sharks baseball mini-series! The books in this series can be read in any order, mixed and matched, and moved around!

THIS DID NOT WORK FOR ME.

I was initially enjoying this one. I’ve been looking for some more baseball romances and was excited to try a new author out. Buuuut, this ended up not clicking on many fronts.

One of my main issues was that the whole plot felt centered around Lottie’s ex. Why the broke up, why she has a hard time trusting, why she STILL has a hard time trusting, him trying to win her back, him trying to win her back AGAIN, and so on and so forth.

And while there were some sweet scenes with Andrew in there and some of the dates were cute, it felt very ordinary. It was missing swoon and heat (even though I admit Andrew had some quotable lines).

I thought the writing was fine and I know this will work for others. I don’t know that I would try another book by this author.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Content warnings: cheating (previous relationship)

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Book Review: Drop Shot (The Off Court #1) by Vai Denton

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Rating: ★★★.5
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 302 pages
Author: Vai Denton
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 9th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Delilah Anderson is no stranger to sacrifice where her siblings are concerned. Who needs to go to college when you have three hungry mouths to feed and pro tennis money in your sights? Except it’s not that simple. No matter how hard she works, the bills are piling up ad infinitum. When her doubles partner decides to start focusing on singles, she knows the margins are going to be razor thin.

So when Matteo Corsi, three-time Grand Slam winner and a friend of a friend, offers to play mixed doubles with her, it should be a no-brainer. She doesn’t believe he’s as hateful as the media claims, and with her new endorsement deal, teaming up with him could give her the financial breathing room she needs. But after years of carrying her family on her back, accepting help isn’t Delilah’s strong suit.

When circumstances force her hand, Delilah reluctantly agrees. As the days blur together with drills, practice matches, and lighthearted teasing, she realizes there’s more to Matteo than she ever could have imagined—not to mention what getting him to reluctantly smile or seeing him shirtless does to her.

Matteo is a distraction she can’t afford, but one she’ll have to navigate to keep her (im)perfectly constructed life from falling apart.

I HAVE THOUGHTS.

There are very few people who could convince me to drop what I’m reading and pick a book up, my sister is one of those people. This was not on my radar until she told me I might like it, and I did like it! 3.5 stars might seem otherwise, but I’m still on board to read the second book in the series so I consider that a positive.

This might be my first tennis romance?? And I may be a sports girlie but tennis is not at the forefront of that knowledge base. I liked learning about the tournaments and how playing singles/doubles worked and that there’s big facilities for all of training.

I liked the grump x sunshine trope between Matteo and Delilah. I thought they were a sweet couple and the spice wasn’t superfluous. I do think there was a quality to the relationship that seemed, superficial? While some deeper topics were explored I think the shortness of the story left something to be desired. There were MANY paragraphs dedicated to listing out random things that did not build the setting or story in anyway (to show my work: one long paragraph detailed every piece of art on Del’s bedroom walls and I just don’t think that was necessary). A little more show vs. tell would go a long way.

And I am grumpy over the third act. While short (hallelujah), I’m tired of FMC’s being angry over the love interest being helpful? Especially when it’s not vindictive, came from a place of love, and wasn’t a genuine over step. The resulting “fight” was silly.

All of this to say, I liked the side characters. I do think Delilah showed high levels of resilience of hope even when she’s had to hold things together for so long. I loved seeing the soft side of Matteo and I will forever love a man down bad.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports romance
  • Langauge: mild
  • Romance: 2 open door scenes
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: driving after drinking (side character, no one is injured), alcoholism/addiction, absent parent, loss of a parent (recounted)

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ARC/ALC Book Review: First and Forever by Lynn Painter

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Lynn Painter
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: May 12th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A football star and a diehard fan entangled in a PR stunt—that only one side knows is fake—might be the right play in this new romantic comedy by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lynn Painter.

Duffy Distefano loves three things: her dad, the family cat, and Minneapolis Coyotes football. So when she gets booed out of a game and becomes the internet’s villain, she is distraught—and disgruntled. All she did was shove Coyote Carl away when he made a move on her, but everyone else just saw a woman attacking their team’s beloved mascot. Eager to clear the air, Duffy agrees to an interview on a hit morning show. She doesn’t expect a co-guest to join her—especially not the Coyotes’ star tight end.

When MVP Connor Cunningham gets tasked with damage control to help his team out of their PR nightmare, he thought that meant saying a few words on the team’s behalf. Instead, he finds himself in a highly amusing verbal sparring match with a recently wronged fan on live TV. Duffy pelts him with fiery jabs but is also clearly diehard about the Coyotes—color him intrigued…and attracted.

The interview instantly goes viral, and the public is obsessed with them. A strong push from the Coyotes’ PR team to ride the wave results in Connor asking Duffy out. Despite his distaste for PR stunts, he’s surprised to discover being with Duffy is much easier than he thought, and somehow it doesn’t feel fake to him. Harboring this secret can only blow up, but all he knows is that if he messes things up with Duffy, it’ll be the greatest fumble of his life.

Thank you to PRH Audio for the audiobook and Berkley for the eARC (gifted).

WORKED FOR ME!

I devoured this book in a few hours the other evening because I needed a pick me up and Lynn Painter always delivers on that front. I love her romances and the brighter feeling they always leave me.

This was one of her softer, low angst/tension romances. Connor and Duffy just work. They have an awkward meet cute that leads to them falling in love. These little moments throughout added up to such a sweet story. I loved the way Connor showed up for Duffy in the most meaningful ways. And how Duffy returned those sentiments too.

There was enough football content for me to say that it counts as a sports romance (my fav) and I think it would be so fun to see more books with Duffy’s brothers?? One can hope. I even found myself a little teary eyed during a few scenes too. This hit all the notes I was hoping for when I picked it up. Is it perfect? No, but I love the joy of the right book finding you at the right time.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: fade to black
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: loss of a parent(s), grief depiction, a grandfather with dementia

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Book Review: In Her Own League by Liz Tomforde

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Liz Tomforde
Publisher: Golden Boy Publishing
Release Date: March 3rd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

As the first female team owner in Major League Baseball, Reese Remington has spent her entire life preparing for this role. With a sharp mind and years of experience working behind the scenes, she’s more than qualified. But the public only sees a woman in a man’s world — not the person who’s earned their place on the field. Under constant scrutiny and pressure to prove herself, Reese can’t afford distractions.

Especially one that comes in the form of the team’s tempting field manager who questions her every decision.

Emmett Montgomery is a former All-Star turned coach who treats his players like family and the field like home. After years of running the team his way, the last thing he wants is a new boss, let alone one who seems ice-cold and laser-focused on business. But forced to spend long hours – and too many away games – side by side, he begins to see the fire beneath Reese’s control, the heart behind her ambition, and the unwavering determination to prove herself.

When heated banter turns into sizzling chemistry, professional boundaries blur and the spark between them becomes impossible to resist. But Reese is constantly reminded of how many people are waiting for her to fail, and the safest move is to keep Emmett at arm’s length – for the sake of the team, the season, and her career.

But keeping their distance is one game neither of them can seem to win.

ONE OF THE BEST EVERRRRR.

I will be thinking about this book for probably the rest of my life. IT WAS IMMACULATE Y’ALL. I was obsessed and down bad from chapter one. I LOOOOVE the fiery chemistry between Emmett and Reese. The delightful banter and sass was *chef’s kiss*. I loved having both POV’s and watching both of them FALL SO HARD.

Reese is a boss babe who took no crap and I loved the way she handled many situations. Of course it wasn’t always perfect but you could see the resilience and motivation she had to succeed. Adding Emmett into her corner was everythingggg. An elite support system.

And getting to see many of my favorite Windy City characters was exactly what my soul needed. I love the way they all love and take care of each other. The way everyone fiercely believes that family doesn’t have to be blood related. AND I AM HERE FOR IT.

I could ramble on all day about just about every dang dang scene in here. The quiet moments, the hot moments, the angry moments, it was the perfect emotionally balanced story that had me teary eye the last few chapters. What an incredible romance and I’m so happy Emmett got a story y’all!!!

AND THE FACT THAT they kept saying don’t tell me what to do, when that is an often used phrase between my husband and I??? Stop it right now.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports romance
  • Language: high
  • Romance: 4-5ish open door
  • Violence: mild
  • Content warnings:

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