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Playing the Field
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?
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?
320 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 23, 2024
17 people are currently reading
543 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 140 reviews
March 9, 2026
2.5 bence. yani asla kötü diyemem ama bir şeyler eksikti işte neys3 okundu ve bitti 😁
August 14, 2024
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
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
June 30, 2024
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.
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.
September 30, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
Un libro que se lee en menos de 24 horas me gustó muchísimo fue súper entretenido y súper rápido de leer, lo recomiendo si estás en un bloqueo lector i si quieres una lectura muy ligera. No es muy común tener historias donde la protagonista juegue algún deporte como el futbol entonces me gustó que nos hablaran sobre eso. Arlo y Sadie son súper tiernos los quiero muchísimo. 💜💚
Un libro que se lee en menos de 24 horas me gustó muchísimo fue súper entretenido y súper rápido de leer, lo recomiendo si estás en un bloqueo lector i si quieres una lectura muy ligera. No es muy común tener historias donde la protagonista juegue algún deporte como el futbol entonces me gustó que nos hablaran sobre eso. Arlo y Sadie son súper tiernos los quiero muchísimo. 💜💚
September 11, 2025
Jag gillade boken, det var en trevlig läsning även om den var lite förutsägbar,det kan vara trevligt att läsa förutsägbara berättelser ibland.
February 2, 2025
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!
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!
July 9, 2025
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.
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.
January 1, 2025
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.
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.
August 2, 2024
such a cute and quick read
October 16, 2024
3.5/5 that was a fun lil soccer romance
June 13, 2025
3.5 rounded down
January 10, 2025
3,5
«I'm going for the goal, Sadie. When it comes to you, I'm all in.» very cute yup
«I'm going for the goal, Sadie. When it comes to you, I'm all in.» very cute yup
June 12, 2025
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.
July 8, 2025
Muuten ihan ok mut se et 19v girly on pelannu vast kaks vuotta kilpajoukkueessa ja pääsee jo WSL-tähtihyökkääjäks???? Ööö ei.
July 11, 2025
Echt heel leuk!
Heel snel uitgelezen en het leek gewoon heel kort. De romance een verhaallijn was ook erg leuk en cute.
Heel snel uitgelezen en het leek gewoon heel kort. De romance een verhaallijn was ook erg leuk en cute.
August 17, 2025
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🙂↕️
September 1, 2024
3/5
I read this unbelievably quick.
It was a cute easy story, very predictable but still enjoyable:)
I read this unbelievably quick.
It was a cute easy story, very predictable but still enjoyable:)
November 7, 2024
this was SUCH a sweet read. everything about this was perfection for me.
January 13, 2025
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.
July 20, 2024
Don’t judge me… I have a reading goal to catch up on :)
December 22, 2024
Allihopa är alkoholister och verkar inte veta hur relationer funkar
FEM STJÄRNORRR😻😻😻😻
FEM STJÄRNORRR😻😻😻😻
July 9, 2024
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!!
September 5, 2025
Sadie es la capitana de su equipo de futbol de universidad, su mayor sueño es volverse jugadora profesional para enorgullecer a su padre, tiene como objetivo que su equipo logre ganar por tercera ocasión un campeonato de futbol femenil y así poder estar en la mira de los reclutadores, no tiene tiempo para pensar en su exnovia y mucho menos el tener que entrenar a Arlo el nuevo integrante del equipo de futbol varonil quien tiene potencial pero le hace falta pulirlo y nadie mejor que ella para enseñarle. Es así como por petición de su director técnico deberá tener que entrenarlo, sin saber que lo que comienza con enojos y rencillas puede terminar como algo más.
Tenía muchas ganas de leer este libro desde que leí su sinopsis y es que al ver que era un sport romance donde la protagonista era parte de un equipo femenil de futbol hizo que me llamara mucho la atención porque seamos realistas ese deporte está muy dominado por los hombres entonces leer este libro con esta historia tan diferente fue algo refrescante en comparación a los últimos sport romance que había leído.
La historia es muy ligera con un poquito de drama familiar, amistad, un romance que nace lentamente, pero con tensión entre protagonistas, no tiene escenas spicy que es algo que me sorprendió y también contiene representación LGBTQ+.
Si estas buscando un sport romance diferente este es muy recomendable, así que ojalá puedan darle una oportunidad.
Tenía muchas ganas de leer este libro desde que leí su sinopsis y es que al ver que era un sport romance donde la protagonista era parte de un equipo femenil de futbol hizo que me llamara mucho la atención porque seamos realistas ese deporte está muy dominado por los hombres entonces leer este libro con esta historia tan diferente fue algo refrescante en comparación a los últimos sport romance que había leído.
La historia es muy ligera con un poquito de drama familiar, amistad, un romance que nace lentamente, pero con tensión entre protagonistas, no tiene escenas spicy que es algo que me sorprendió y también contiene representación LGBTQ+.
Si estas buscando un sport romance diferente este es muy recomendable, así que ojalá puedan darle una oportunidad.
September 17, 2025
El libro es corto y rápido de leer, es un romance ligero y entretenido. Es una de esas lecturas simples para un finde o para desconectarse de las lecturas densas. Aunque sí sentí que todo iba muy rápido, me hubiera encantado más páginas.
Me gustó que sí se menciona y se trata el fútbol, y es importante para la trama, no como otros libros donde el deporte sólo es una excusa para llamarlo “sport romance” 😐
Sin embargo, había situaciones en el libro que me molestaron un montón porque parecía que la culpa siempre era de Saddie. Si los hombres del otro equipo hacían algo o se burlaban de ella y su equipo, estaba bien. Pero si Saddie se las regresaba, ahí sí ella era cruel y era la mala.
Pero lo más importante fue que no me gustó tanto el romance ni los protagonistas 😖😖 en varias ocasiones, Arlo se comportaba mal con la protagonista o desmeritaba lo que sucedía entre ellos (sin ella presente) para luego hacer que no pasó nada e ilusionar más a Saddie.
El final me gustó mucho porque es lo que esperaba, Arlo al fin pudo ser directo con lo que siente y ya no hacerse el tonto. Además verlos juntos y con sus sueños cumplidos fue lo mejor.
Me gustó que sí se menciona y se trata el fútbol, y es importante para la trama, no como otros libros donde el deporte sólo es una excusa para llamarlo “sport romance” 😐
Sin embargo, había situaciones en el libro que me molestaron un montón porque parecía que la culpa siempre era de Saddie. Si los hombres del otro equipo hacían algo o se burlaban de ella y su equipo, estaba bien. Pero si Saddie se las regresaba, ahí sí ella era cruel y era la mala.
Pero lo más importante fue que no me gustó tanto el romance ni los protagonistas 😖😖 en varias ocasiones, Arlo se comportaba mal con la protagonista o desmeritaba lo que sucedía entre ellos (sin ella presente) para luego hacer que no pasó nada e ilusionar más a Saddie.
El final me gustó mucho porque es lo que esperaba, Arlo al fin pudo ser directo con lo que siente y ya no hacerse el tonto. Además verlos juntos y con sus sueños cumplidos fue lo mejor.
August 13, 2024
This was too heavy on the sexual content for me to enjoy it. I know the token sex scene faded out but it still gave me the ick.
I don’t care for books about straight teens falling in love with each other and it seems I care even less when the two main characters have the chemistry of a rock and a pencil. I NEED writers to get better at writing compelling enemies to lovers books because this was just thinly disguised instalove. The British terms also gave me second-hand embarrassment. 🤮
I don’t care for books about straight teens falling in love with each other and it seems I care even less when the two main characters have the chemistry of a rock and a pencil. I NEED writers to get better at writing compelling enemies to lovers books because this was just thinly disguised instalove. The British terms also gave me second-hand embarrassment. 🤮
September 23, 2025
Omg, ya tenía que no leí un libro con esa velocidad!
Es demasiado ligero pero está muy bien escrito, te mantiene atenta a lo que pasará.
Los personaje me gustaron demasiado, a pesar de ser un libro corto, tiene profundidad cada personaje y eso me gusto bastante! Los personajes secundarios me daban risa, eran demasiado carismáticos ✨
En fin es un buen libro para leer en un ratito, se los recomiendo 💚
Es demasiado ligero pero está muy bien escrito, te mantiene atenta a lo que pasará.
Los personaje me gustaron demasiado, a pesar de ser un libro corto, tiene profundidad cada personaje y eso me gusto bastante! Los personajes secundarios me daban risa, eran demasiado carismáticos ✨
En fin es un buen libro para leer en un ratito, se los recomiendo 💚
September 24, 2025
What did I just read? I swear I got emotional whiplash and I hated all the characters. Arlo didn't deserve shit from Sadie in my opinion, and he made student choices and comments. Sadie also wa super annoying. The fact that he had to tell her he loved her at the end for her to play soccer well was silly.
December 19, 2024
Predictable to the point where it is laughable.
March 6, 2025
1 ⭐️ Stupid book 😛✌️
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