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Spotlight
Jake “Emmy” Walker moved into a middle-of-nowhere school district three years ago not knowing if he’d get to stay long enough to entertain the idea of belonging. Now, he’s walking into his senior year with a record-worthy football career, enough good fortune to last him a lifetime, and the most loyal best friend anyone could ever ask fellow football player, sweets-craving, history nerd, general enigma, Julian Ridgemore.
Somewhere between late night whispers and secret pasts, Emmy’s feelings for Julian take a turn towards the unexpected. Perhaps it’s less a surprise than an inevitable outcome. Emmy’s heart is used to calling the shots, and it is rarely ever wrong.
Until, it lands him a prime spot on the school’s gossip page.
After an anonymous submission puts his sexuality at the forefront of school debates, he realizes his newly-discovered crush is the least of his worries. Fighting with the influx of attention, Julian’s uncharacteristic withdraw, and his already-polarized team conspiring against him, Emmy is forced to decide what it means to be "out" when he'd least been expecting it, how far he'll go to keep his best friend, and what his sports career looks like when his team isn't interested in playing nice.
Emmy had always loved the spotlight, but can he keep it from burning him now?
Somewhere between late night whispers and secret pasts, Emmy’s feelings for Julian take a turn towards the unexpected. Perhaps it’s less a surprise than an inevitable outcome. Emmy’s heart is used to calling the shots, and it is rarely ever wrong.
Until, it lands him a prime spot on the school’s gossip page.
After an anonymous submission puts his sexuality at the forefront of school debates, he realizes his newly-discovered crush is the least of his worries. Fighting with the influx of attention, Julian’s uncharacteristic withdraw, and his already-polarized team conspiring against him, Emmy is forced to decide what it means to be "out" when he'd least been expecting it, how far he'll go to keep his best friend, and what his sports career looks like when his team isn't interested in playing nice.
Emmy had always loved the spotlight, but can he keep it from burning him now?
431 pages, Paperback
Published October 28, 2023
58 people are currently reading
518 people want to read
About the author
Sara Marhan
2 books13 followersReader. Writer. Stargazer.
Author of Spotlight and Ace of Hearts.
Author of Spotlight and Ace of Hearts.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
July 29, 2024
I really thought I would like this more, but I almost dnfed at the beginning. The first like 10% is so overwritten, full of metaphors, I had to reread some parts, because I couldn’t understand, what the author was trying to tell me. After that the writing gets slightly better, but it’s definitely, what’s dragging this book down. This needed an editor.
The story is okay - friends to lovers, with a sparkle of sport. I felt like the book never got too deep into telling us more about the characters - like why Emmy’s brother doesn’t like him that much.
Until the 80% mark, there’s also not much conversation between Emmy and Julian. A lot of things happens of page.
I though about giving this 2.5*, but then there was a Harry Potter reference, so I’m taking a half star off. Can authors please stop doing that?
Rep: pansexual mc, bi mc, asexual side character, gay side character
The story is okay - friends to lovers, with a sparkle of sport. I felt like the book never got too deep into telling us more about the characters - like why Emmy’s brother doesn’t like him that much.
Until the 80% mark, there’s also not much conversation between Emmy and Julian. A lot of things happens of page.
I though about giving this 2.5*, but then there was a Harry Potter reference, so I’m taking a half star off. Can authors please stop doing that?
Rep: pansexual mc, bi mc, asexual side character, gay side character
October 23, 2023
this is book is just… wow, truly an amazing piece of work and i’m so glad to have been the one to read it first, FIRST REVIEWER LETS GO!!! this book gave me all the feels and i’m so excited for you all to see the amazing story of emmy and julian!! MY BABIES!!! cant wait to get my hands on a physical copy and read it all over again 🥰🫶🏼 LOVE YOU AND IM SO PROUD OF YOU l!!!
June 6, 2024
Very clunky writing style that I struggled to get into
June 12, 2024
4.5 stars!
This was written so well! I loved the banter and the dialogue. I thought it was easy to read but also deep at times!
I loved Emmy as a main character! He was wholesome, sassy, funny, caring, and energetic! He really made this book great! I also loved Julian, and I loved them together. Usually I’m not a big friends to lovers person, but this was done very well!!
Dodger and Colby were such great additions to the cast of characters as well! I loved them and could have used a lot more.
It had a very slow start to get into the plot, but I was never bored. This is definitely a more character driven book, no really plot in sight, just waiting until Emmy and Julian getting together. There were background plots like the discrimination Emmy got after coming out as well as Julian’s family life, which was very serious topics, but other than that it was about the characters.
I kind of hate the trope making the girlfriend super mean or bitchy just to break them up, but Tara was super bitchy and very unlikeable lol I am glad she wasn’t in it very much.
I wish we could have seen more of Julian and Emmy together once they did finally admit their feelings, but what we got made me so giddy and happy! They are just so cute.
This is a very easy read! I recommended highly, especially if you like sports romances. I thought it was a great blend of games and practice, while also not being too sports heavy if you’re not super into that.
This was written so well! I loved the banter and the dialogue. I thought it was easy to read but also deep at times!
I loved Emmy as a main character! He was wholesome, sassy, funny, caring, and energetic! He really made this book great! I also loved Julian, and I loved them together. Usually I’m not a big friends to lovers person, but this was done very well!!
Dodger and Colby were such great additions to the cast of characters as well! I loved them and could have used a lot more.
It had a very slow start to get into the plot, but I was never bored. This is definitely a more character driven book, no really plot in sight, just waiting until Emmy and Julian getting together. There were background plots like the discrimination Emmy got after coming out as well as Julian’s family life, which was very serious topics, but other than that it was about the characters.
I kind of hate the trope making the girlfriend super mean or bitchy just to break them up, but Tara was super bitchy and very unlikeable lol I am glad she wasn’t in it very much.
I wish we could have seen more of Julian and Emmy together once they did finally admit their feelings, but what we got made me so giddy and happy! They are just so cute.
This is a very easy read! I recommended highly, especially if you like sports romances. I thought it was a great blend of games and practice, while also not being too sports heavy if you’re not super into that.
January 27, 2024
4/5
This self-pub has a lot going for it, in particular protag Emmy's best friend Julian and his younger brother Colby. There's a rich backstory here: not so much for Emmy, sadly. The boys live in a town uneasy with anything but the Kinsey extremes, and Emmy's growing realisation of his feelings towards Julian battle against the realities of his world.
Over-written in places, and in need of a light copy edit to unravel occasional confusion. Enjoyable though.
This self-pub has a lot going for it, in particular protag Emmy's best friend Julian and his younger brother Colby. There's a rich backstory here: not so much for Emmy, sadly. The boys live in a town uneasy with anything but the Kinsey extremes, and Emmy's growing realisation of his feelings towards Julian battle against the realities of his world.
Over-written in places, and in need of a light copy edit to unravel occasional confusion. Enjoyable though.
February 23, 2024
Spotlight
This is a great story with good characters.
The only pity is that it was written down, since the writing gets in the way of the narrative.
The number of misunderstood words would have made Mrs Malaprop proud: "His eyes were settled in front of him determinately", "The clouds lingered for the rest of the day, but to Emmy's demise, it never rained."
The usual confusion caused by unattributed pronouns is found throughout: "Catching his father fix his posture out of the corner of his eye, he knew he had been."
More subtle problems are found where the pace of the action is held up by unnecessary speculative thoughts, or the flow of the dialogue is interrupted by descriptions of internal responses that are never verbalised. Metaphors can get out of control and spread confusion, as shown in the following four paragraph quotation:
Julian let his guard down and got caught. He wasn't scared of facing the consequences himself, he was terrified letting his control slip had resulted in someone else paying them on his behalf.All of these niggling literary details could have been fixed by an attentive editor. After that, a novel of real stature could have been revealed.
The same worries bounced around in Emmy's mind trying to knock glasses off the wall.
Julian put bubble wrap up and urged him to open the door.
Honesty was waiting for him on the other side.
April 21, 2024
this book was cute but the rich bsf saving the friend who lives a terrible life is not my type of trope
not to mention some of the descriptions and dialogue feel super rambly. like i had to read it multiple times to comprehend what the characters were saying/explaining
not to mention some of the descriptions and dialogue feel super rambly. like i had to read it multiple times to comprehend what the characters were saying/explaining
October 16, 2024
I loved this! Emmy and Julian were simply adorable, with a great relationship that mixed banter with a total understanding of each other.
Honestly, this was just the best slowburn romance between two boys who seemed to meet and instantly know they were each other’s person, even if it took them a little while to work out just how much. There were some deep moments, when we explored Julian’s background, his brother or Emmy’s difficulty in being outed, but loads of humour and fun throughout too!
I liked how a lot of the other characters got real depth, even if we didn’t see much of them. I loved Emmy’s mum and dad, Buns and Dodger, Connor and Jake’s happily ever after, and Colby. They all added so much to the story, and I really hope the author gives us new books with all of their stories too!
This was such a pleasure to read and I was rooting for these boys sooooo much. I definitely wasn’t disappointed.
🏈🎧🎒
Honestly, this was just the best slowburn romance between two boys who seemed to meet and instantly know they were each other’s person, even if it took them a little while to work out just how much. There were some deep moments, when we explored Julian’s background, his brother or Emmy’s difficulty in being outed, but loads of humour and fun throughout too!
I liked how a lot of the other characters got real depth, even if we didn’t see much of them. I loved Emmy’s mum and dad, Buns and Dodger, Connor and Jake’s happily ever after, and Colby. They all added so much to the story, and I really hope the author gives us new books with all of their stories too!
This was such a pleasure to read and I was rooting for these boys sooooo much. I definitely wasn’t disappointed.
🏈🎧🎒
May 4, 2025
Overall, I found this book to be a beautiful read. The author has a way of bringing you into the world of the novel, and has a great writing style that evokes some rather powerful emotions at times.
While this is a more or less typical "I got outed" type of LGBT Book, Marhan does a great job at bringing out the feelings to those who may not be aware of it. And overall, I think this is a great break of the Mold, with two football players, one with a mysterious past, one who can be rather oblivious to those around him, and a cast of characters that is not quite as diverse as one may say in terms of color, you find a variety of characters in the book in terms of sexuality and disability. You'll find yourself disliking characters, loathing others at times, but at the end, the sixteen chapters of this book bring about a relatively medium to fast paced book that has a slow start, but when it happens, the book speeds by in a whirlwind of emotion and revelation.
While this is a more or less typical "I got outed" type of LGBT Book, Marhan does a great job at bringing out the feelings to those who may not be aware of it. And overall, I think this is a great break of the Mold, with two football players, one with a mysterious past, one who can be rather oblivious to those around him, and a cast of characters that is not quite as diverse as one may say in terms of color, you find a variety of characters in the book in terms of sexuality and disability. You'll find yourself disliking characters, loathing others at times, but at the end, the sixteen chapters of this book bring about a relatively medium to fast paced book that has a slow start, but when it happens, the book speeds by in a whirlwind of emotion and revelation.
November 12, 2025
Cute…takes a while
So I will admit it took me a few tries to fully invest myself into the story. While I did enjoy the slow burn as other reviews mention most of the narrative is told through metaphor and albeit it is a poetic type writing style it was also overly used. For the most part I did enjoy it there were some aspects that didn’t make sense. For example Colby (Julian’s younger brother) was written as if he was child not someone who’s only a year younger than Julian, it was almost weird and you don’t find out why until almost the very end of the book. And when you find out why it still doesn’t make a lot sense. Overall it was a cute story if a little too long and some aspects or plot points/holes with no resolution.
So I will admit it took me a few tries to fully invest myself into the story. While I did enjoy the slow burn as other reviews mention most of the narrative is told through metaphor and albeit it is a poetic type writing style it was also overly used. For the most part I did enjoy it there were some aspects that didn’t make sense. For example Colby (Julian’s younger brother) was written as if he was child not someone who’s only a year younger than Julian, it was almost weird and you don’t find out why until almost the very end of the book. And when you find out why it still doesn’t make a lot sense. Overall it was a cute story if a little too long and some aspects or plot points/holes with no resolution.
March 9, 2024
This book has a great story with well put together characters, I really enjoyed it.
It is a very introspective journey to read from POV of Emmy, the main character. It is very focused on the emotions and thoughts of him in a way that works out well.
My main concern is that it leaves out large parts of what is the life of a teenage guy, maybe because the female writer is oblivious to the being, female? These parts being mainly how you deal with frustration and being constantly (almost at least) horny. The answer to both in many cases is what you do in bed or the bathroom, very often.
I have found this not to be lacking only in this book but many of them written by women, who naturally haven't been teenage boys.
It is a very introspective journey to read from POV of Emmy, the main character. It is very focused on the emotions and thoughts of him in a way that works out well.
My main concern is that it leaves out large parts of what is the life of a teenage guy, maybe because the female writer is oblivious to the being, female? These parts being mainly how you deal with frustration and being constantly (almost at least) horny. The answer to both in many cases is what you do in bed or the bathroom, very often.
I have found this not to be lacking only in this book but many of them written by women, who naturally haven't been teenage boys.
April 8, 2024
This is the kind of book that makes me immediately want to seek out the author's other work. I'm a little baffled that this is Marhan's first published novel.
It sits on the edge of YA and romance. The latter, being so trope-heavy, lives or dies on execution, and in this one, that execution is so, so good. Our lead characters are charming without being saccharine. The narrative is pleasantly messy, and nothing ends so perfectly that it breaks my suspension of disbelief.
I'm very glad I took a chance on this one, and I'm looking forward to whatever Marhan writes next.
It sits on the edge of YA and romance. The latter, being so trope-heavy, lives or dies on execution, and in this one, that execution is so, so good. Our lead characters are charming without being saccharine. The narrative is pleasantly messy, and nothing ends so perfectly that it breaks my suspension of disbelief.
I'm very glad I took a chance on this one, and I'm looking forward to whatever Marhan writes next.
January 5, 2025
Storyline: 4✨️
Writing: 3✨️
This book is an exceptionally slow start with overly metaphoric, flowery writing style and an obnoxious main character.
However, as the book gets going, it is a beautiful story of friendship, love, identity, pain, and mental health.
This author has amazing stories to tell, they just need a little help on the editing side of things.
I will gladly read another Sara Marhan book.
Writing: 3✨️
This book is an exceptionally slow start with overly metaphoric, flowery writing style and an obnoxious main character.
However, as the book gets going, it is a beautiful story of friendship, love, identity, pain, and mental health.
This author has amazing stories to tell, they just need a little help on the editing side of things.
I will gladly read another Sara Marhan book.
April 24, 2025
i am fond of julian and sorta emmy but i nearly had to dnf this. it needed to be severely edited down. everything was either being overly spelled out through internal dialogue or unnecessarily riddled with metaphors, to the point where my eyes started glazing over a lot of sections because they really just did not add much to the story. im also not sure that all of the dialogue and actions were 'believable' coming from each of the characters
July 11, 2025
3.5
The writing was not my favorite. A lot of phrases were just repeated three times for no apparent reason. It also took some time to take off story wise.
And a lot of the subtle homophobia went unchecked. Like Emmy was just fine with it or just a little bit mad but at the end it was not probably discussed how not ok a lot of the behavior was. And yeah it’s his character but as a queer person it’s hard to read.
The writing was not my favorite. A lot of phrases were just repeated three times for no apparent reason. It also took some time to take off story wise.
And a lot of the subtle homophobia went unchecked. Like Emmy was just fine with it or just a little bit mad but at the end it was not probably discussed how not ok a lot of the behavior was. And yeah it’s his character but as a queer person it’s hard to read.
May 14, 2025
The Characters were relatable. The writing was a bit clunky. The story was cute. Just a typical high school, drama love story between two football players, going through life, love and acceptance in a really religious town. Dealing with racism, bigotry and homophobes through out. One incident did surprise me involving a brother, but you’ll have to read it to find out.
Read
May 18, 2024Dnf. The writing is just... not good. It's really confusing and hard to follow the story. I never know who is saying what and to whom. I can't get a grasp on the characters at all and the plot doesn't really make sense.
July 19, 2024
Beautiful!
Emmy and Julian are best friends! But Emmy is in the closet sort of and is falling in love with his best friend Julian. It’s a bit complicated but in the end love wins out. Bravo!
Emmy and Julian are best friends! But Emmy is in the closet sort of and is falling in love with his best friend Julian. It’s a bit complicated but in the end love wins out. Bravo!
January 10, 2024
wow. i could NOT put this book down and i honestly don’t know what to say… IF YOU’RE WONDERING IF YOU SHOULD READ THIS THEN MY ANSWER IS YESSSYESSSYESSYESSS.
January 22, 2024
I loved this book to bits, Emmy was an amazing main character and hit very close to home for me.
February 16, 2024
does anyone know where I can read this?
March 11, 2024
Solid Read
Mostly told from Emmy’s perspective, it’s a most realistic portrayal of two kids finding their better halves in each other. Would recommend reading!
Mostly told from Emmy’s perspective, it’s a most realistic portrayal of two kids finding their better halves in each other. Would recommend reading!
October 29, 2024
Wow. What an amazing read. I loved Emmy and Julian so very much. There was a lot of heart imbued into the story. I loved it.
December 4, 2024
A história é muito bem escrita e com bons personagens, mas, de alguma forma, não me cativou. Tive que forçar para ler até o final. Acho que é só meu gosto mesmo nessa caso.
June 24, 2025
DNF
I gave up at 3%. Difficult writing style. Not an easy read.
I gave up at 3%. Difficult writing style. Not an easy read.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews