Playing the Field

by Ivy Bailey

A football inspired YA rom-com, perfect for fans of Ted Lasso and Icebreaker  

ALL IS FAIR IN LOVE AND FOOTBALL...

Durham University have the best women’s football team in the League and their star striker Sadie McGrath hopes that winning this year might lead her to being picked up by one of the National Teams. The male team is much less impressive – they’ve never won the league and are facing relegation unless they can improve by the end of the season.  

But now the unthinkable has been asked of Sadie; to train the cocky, new male striker who has just moved over from the US. Arlo Hudson is a know-it-all who refuses to follow direction, and argues with her every lesson. Sadie can’t stand him, even if all the other girls do think he’s dreamy. 

What will happen when the two spend so much time together alone… Will it improve their technique? Or will Sadie be out of his league? 

Genres: Romance, Sports Romance, Young Adult, Audiobook, Contemporary, Sports, Queer

320 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 23, 2024

Reviews

[annie 🌻 · Rating 4 out of 5]

All in all this is a quick, sweet and witty YA rom-com.

What I liked:
-the cover (it‘s just so pretty 🥰)
-the football scenes ⚽️ It was so fun to read and I loved that the girls team was better than the boys, because unfortunately that is still not often the case in books.
-I also liked that both teams supported each other 🫶🏼
-our main girl is the team captain. Like that‘s so cool??? And she‘s so cool on that field too??
-I love that it‘s the girl giving practise lessons to the boy and not the other way around (although obviously they both learned from the other). It felt refreshing to me :)
-the characters felt real, because they had flaws. Even though the way they acted sometimes was a little annoying to me it felt realistic and I probably would have acted similar in some situations so I can‘t blame them 😅
-Arlo is a cutie. I was afraid he would be the typical jock asshole but he really isn’t
-LGBTQ+ representation (our main character is bi) and there are mentions of queer relationships and there is no homophobia 🏳️‍🌈
-The storyline of her father‘s illness
-the writing and dialogue

What I didn‘t like:
-lots of drinking. I mean it‘s college students in England so it‘s probably to be expected but I would have thought people playing football attempting to go professional wouldn’t drink as much
-I felt like the lack of communication wasn’t completely solved. They did have a conversation about it but it felt rushed to me and I would have liked there to be more time for them to really talk through it

[Ipsita · Rating 4 out of 5]

This summer calls for a light and refreshing escape, and this enemies-to-lovers sports romance delivers just that! I devoured this book in one sitting – a testament to its pure fun and engaging story. It's been a while since I dove into a YA rom-com, and let me tell you, this one did not disappoint!

Forget cheesy clichés – this story offers a sparkling originality that will leave you kicking your feet and giggling. The banter between the main characters crackles with an electric energy, perfectly capturing the essence of enemies-to-lovers done right.

It tackles mental health representation with sensitivity, making it a relatable and heartwarming read. Plus, it's a breath of fresh air to see a well-developed queer storyline woven into the narrative.

And let's not forget the heart of the story – the families! The family dynamics of both main characters add a layer of depth and emotional connection that tugs at the heartstrings.

It's a feel-good escape packed with wit, heart, and a touch of competition that will leave you with a smile towards the end.

[pelikanovaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5⭐️

[Therese Sedin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jag gillade boken, det var en trevlig läsning även om den var lite förutsägbar,det kan vara trevligt att läsa förutsägbara berättelser ibland.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 ⭐️

This was cute but for 300 pages it was quite repetitive and I wasn’t a fan of either MCs.

I liked the representation of females sport and how the woman’s team were better than the men’s team. Plus it was very diverse which was nice to see!

[K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Content warnings: dementia, alcohol, death of a sibling (in the past), car accident (in the past)

I wanted to love this because the whole thing is kind of giving Bend It Like Beckham vibes if it were exclusively from Keira Knightley's perspective, and I love everything about Bend It Like Beckham. Unfortunately(?) there was a little too much ridiculous romantic drama and not quite enough actual focus on soccer. Yes, there were plenty of soccer scenes. But a lot of them felt like they were just the background setting for more romantic drama in which the characters talked around the issues rather than addressing them directly.

I also didn't buy the idea that an 18 year old girl who's been on the university squad for thirty whole seconds is the team captain. Like.........make it a new adult book and she's in third year and this is her last chance. Make her the star of the team but not the captain. Her being captain wasn't really relevant to the plot in any way.

Anyway. Despite all my complaints, I had a decent enough time reading this.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Putting stereotypes away to write a book about a woman being better at a male dominated sport and she even has to train him? Count me in.
I was a bit worried that this one would be clichè only with reversed genderroles but it turned out to be extremely well balanced. i loved how Arlo's character went from "SHE has to train me?" to "Well, my girl's football skills are better than mine and she is a real teamplayer" while at the same time Sadie went from "What could i possibly learn from HIM?" to "Well, he inspires me to take more risks and improve my play by not being in my head all the time". It was really sweet to read about them bringing out the best in each other and the short but intense parts in which it got a bit angsty made it a real quick read.

[Ells🧸 · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a cute and quick read

[ava · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 that was a fun lil soccer romance

[ley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5
«I'm going for the goal, Sadie. When it comes to you, I'm all in.» very cute yup

[Barby chapterbychapter_books · Rating 3 out of 5]

No es un libro muy profundo, ni de trama muy compleja. Me pareció que todo sucedía medio rápido y me hubiese gustado que cierre mejor las cosas familiares de cada uno, pero en general me resultó entretenido.

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muuten ihan ok mut se et 19v girly on pelannu vast kaks vuotta kilpajoukkueessa ja pääsee jo WSL-tähtihyökkääjäks???? Ööö ei.

[Noa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Echt heel leuk!
Heel snel uitgelezen en het leek gewoon heel kort. De romance een verhaallijn was ook erg leuk en cute.

[Hannah🧡 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es hat ein bisschen gedauert bis ich reingekommen bin aber die Story ist so leicht zu lesen, dass ich die letzten 100 Seiten verschlungen habe. Im Nachhinein doch das was ich mir erhofft hatte🙂‍↕️

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5

I read this unbelievably quick.

It was a cute easy story, very predictable but still enjoyable:)

[Katie Slater · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was SUCH a sweet read. everything about this was perfection for me.

[olive😓😶‍🌫️🤯 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book it was easy to read the chemistry between the characters was great. Since this book was an enemies to lovers i would have loved to scene a better development of them being enemies turning into lovers since they were not enemies for long.

[Lauren Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don’t judge me… I have a reading goal to catch up on :)

[Josefin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Allihopa är alkoholister och verkar inte veta hur relationer funkar

FEM STJÄRNORRR😻😻😻😻

[eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute cute cute cute! love me a silly little sports romance - felt kinda rushed at the end and very idealistic but i love me an idealistic romance!!

[Neve Regler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book. THIS BOOK. I want to thank it for getting me out of my 5 month reading slump. It was so good! It was very well paced and a short, fun read that I would recommend to anyone, football lover or not. Firstly, I loved that this book was a story about a successful female player in a male-dominated sport. So many times I have seen women's football slandered so this book was a well accepted breath of fresh air from the misoginy that often surrounds the sport. Bailey presented the very real power female players have in the sport which sometimes gets ignored.
Secondly, it was so fun and natural! Like, Sadie's reactions to situations were very relatable. For example, she never reacted in a way that was not justified which made the story so much more real. She is navigating so many things and Bailey writes in a way that really portrays that and you can understand and sympathise with her every move. And when she was waiting for a text- most people can relate to that so it felt very present.
Arlo Hudson. I like him. But I honestly have mixed feelings only because he started off so well as a character and the chemistry between him a Sadie was very prevelant but I personally feel as though it fell off as the book progressed. Like, do not get me wrong, his actions were valid too but they did not feel as sincere as Sadie's and perhaps that is because you did not get his perspective. Adding that point of view, I feel, would have added another layer to the book that I think was missing.
Overall, I thought it was a really good, fun read!

[Macaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una romcom muy cuqui como a mi me gusta.
Primero que todo apreciad la portada q es monísima.
Después de leer este libro me siento un poco más fifa (soy incapaz de ver un partido entero de fútbol)
Me da la sensación q aparte de jugar al fútbol solo bebían: gana cualquiera de los dos equipos, se ponen hasta el culo, pierde cualquiera de los dos equipos, también se ponen hasta el culo lol.
Me ha gustado mucho la trama de la demencia del padre osea está muy bien tratada y es muy interesante porq es la primera vez q leo un libro en el q un personaje tiene demencia.
El equipo me cae muy bien me parece q son muy amigas y q se apoyan mucho, incluso Haley q estaba ahí para tocar los cojones pero en verdad era muy maja.
La pareja brutal. Sadie es una chica fuerte e independiente q tiene claro lo q quiere y va a por ello cueste lo q le cueste. Arlo es el típico tío chill de cojones q juega al fútbol porque le gusta y se lo pasa bien, es fan de las pelis en blanco y negro y de la literatura. Me parece q se complementan muy bien el uno al otro: ella se presiona mucho y el otro la vacila para relajarla (y funciona).
Poco más que decir

[Corinna | Corinnas World of Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich liebe Sports-Romance, und da ist mir dieser Roman direkt ins Auge gesprungen. Es geht um Sadie, die ihre Fußballmannschaft zur dritten Meisterschaft der UNI LIGA führen und ihren an Demenz erkrankten Vater stolz machen will. Doch ausgerechnet sie bekommt Ablenkung in Form von Arlo, mit dem sie zum Einzeltraining verdonnert wird. Was hat das Schicksal vor mit ihr ?

Der Schreibstil ist angenehm flüssig und hat mich durch das Buch gezogen. Man kann so in die Gefühle und Gedanken eintauchen und so die Charaktere besser kennenlernen. Die Nebenfiguren sind ebenso authentisch und gestalten die Geschichte mit.

Für mich war es wieder ein besonderer Roman, der Enemies to Lovers ausstrahlt, was ab der ersten Begegnung spürbar ist. Doch beide müssen nun Zeit miteinander verbringen, was sich als nicht so leicht herausstellt. Sadie muss aber tun, was der Trainer verlangt, und da Arlo jetzt der Neue ist, schreibt das Schicksal seine eigenen Regeln.

Ich kann es nicht abwarten, das nächste Buch der Autorin lesen zu können.

[Kirsty (BookBlogger) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Playing the Field by Ivy Bailey

Blurb

ALL IS FAIR IN LOVE AND FOOTBALL...

Durham University have the best women’s football team in the League and their star striker Sadie McGrath hopes that winning this year might lead her to being picked up by one of the National Teams. The male team is much less impressive – they’ve never won the league and are facing relegation unless they can improve by the end of the season.

But now the unthinkable has been asked of Sadie; to train the cocky, new male striker who has just moved over from the US. Arlo Hudson is a know-it-all who refuses to follow direction, and argues with her every lesson. Sadie can’t stand him, even if all the other girls do think he’s dreamy.

What will happen when the two spend so much time together alone… Will it improve their technique? Or will Sadie be out of his league?

My Opinion

Playing the Field was a light-hearted sports romance. A fun and heart-warming read with some lovely characters. A quick read.

Rating 4/5

[Our_readingjourney · Rating 4 out of 5]

PLAYING THE FIELD - IVY BAILEY

4⭐

PLOT

Sadie McGrath hopes to win her university league championship as the captain and star striker in order to be picked up by one of the national teams. But when a newly joined Arlo Hudson moves from the US and joins the not so impressive make soccer team and is asked by the coach to train him Sadie is not too happy. But as they spend time together they get attracted to each other ...will this bonding improve their techniques or will it cost Sadie to lose out on her chances when things get a bit heavy!?!

MY THOUGHTS
This was a perfect sports read for me esp with the ongoing Olympics. A nice sweet YA romance with soccer at its core. I liked how the author has incorporated a soccer storyline..the game itself..in the story which doesn't happen often in books.
Fans of soccer and YA romance will enjoy this cute read.

[Catarina Ribeiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first got this book, I got it at my boyfriend's suggestion (about soccer obviously.....)
I didn't have high expectations because there weren't many reviews, but it surprised me!

Typical teenagers in college, a well-constructed and realistic narrative, well-developed characters. It’s a quick and light novel.

If you like football, read this novel! And even if you don't, I myself don’t really understand much about it and enjoyed the book anyway (just bear in mind that there are a lot of technical terms).

- Sadie & Arlo
- Football related
- There's a loss of a close relative
- LGBTQ+ 🏳️‍🌈
- YA




SPOILERS!!!! (Not very specific but you know)




Some things that I really enjoyed:

- all characters are really supportive of each other
- the woman’s team is wayyy better than the men’s team ALTHOUGH they are very supportive of each other

[Simran · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a perfect read for YA rom com readers that’ll have the readers giggle and laugh at certain scenes.
I really liked the friendship among the fmc and her group, the “not clichè” romance vibes and of course Arlo being the charming young lad giving major golden retriever vibes 😍😍
This is a quick fun read, I completed this book in one sitting because it actually felt like watching a rom com movie but I don’t know, maybe it was a YA book so the love confession felt a bit vanilla and rushed to me.
There could’ve been more moments of them together before the whole love confession but I still really liked the book.

Tropes :
Sports romance
YA rom com
Reverse grumpy x sunshine
Bisexual fmc
Insta love
Quick read

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my second time reading this book and I quite honestly found it very difficult to read. It felt as if they went from being enemies to lovers too fast, and the hate felt very forced. Parts of the book seemed as if the author just wanted everyone to know that she was an ally and supported the LGBT+ community, the soccer terms were overused (yes I get this is a soccer book but it was too much tbh), the characters are not realistic, like who in read like says, "Lets paint the town as red as your hair", honestly some lines gave me second hand embarrassment.

Putting that aside, parts of it were cute, I liked the ending and how she achieved her goals. Romance was written well, cute little sports romance.

[readingwithnour · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Playing the Field” by Ivy Bailey offers a light-hearted and charming sports romance, but it falls short of leaving a lasting impression. The story follows the familiar trope of an athlete navigating the challenges of love and career, with a few twists thrown in to keep things interesting.

Bailey’s writing style is easy to follow, making it a quick read. However, the characters feel somewhat underdeveloped, and the plot, while engaging at times, often drifts into predictability. The romance is sweet, but it lacks the depth and emotional intensity that would make it truly memorable.

One of the strengths of the book is its portrayal of the sports world, which feels authentic and well-researched. Fans of sports romances might appreciate this aspect, but others might find it lacking in originality. The chemistry between the main characters is there, but it doesn't quite sizzle, leaving the reader wanting more.

Overall, “Playing the Field” is an enjoyable, albeit average, read. It’s perfect for those looking for a light, uncomplicated romance, but it may not satisfy readers searching for a more compelling story or deeper character development.

[cyd⭐️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

awww this was soo cute ☹️ (50%)

she plays mainly for her dad?? :( WHO HAS DEMENTIA!??? (crying sounds) AUHHNSZHBAHHSH

ARLOO 😭😭😭 why would you treat my girl sadie like that??!? (52%) drunk ppl man 👿

i love the irish lingo 💟💟


“𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙨, 𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬. 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙞 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙨, 𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙛𝙛. 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮.. 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠” i’m so happy that it does means something ☹️

(my goodness do they go out and drink a lot 😵‍💫)

(3.8/5) ⭐️🍾⚽️