All's Fair in Love and Field Hockey

by Kit Rosewater

A high school field hockey star must choose between her love of the game and her new, distractingly beautiful rival in this queer YA romance perfect for fans of She Drives Me Crazy and Cleat Cute!

"A masterclass in romantic tension."—Becky Albertalli, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Evelyn was raised to see field hockey as war.

Before she could write her own name, her family’s legacy on the field was already spelled out. Every step Evelyn takes toward glory is within a footprint her mother left behind. And no step matters more than this next one, with Evelyn about to lead her varsity team into their final battle season. Evelyn is beyond ready to score the Nationals title and win the critical scholarship to her mom’s alma mater that comes with it.

This year, she’s out for blood, and nothing can stand in her way...

...except for Rosa Alvarez, the highly talented new recruit on her biggest rival’s team.

After a humiliating homecoming game and follow-up prank leave the two enemies in a stalemate, they grudgingly strike a deal to help each other overcome their weaknesses on the field. But the more time Evelyn spends with Rosa, the more she finds herself casting her hardened armor aside, until she begins to wonder what life might be like if she left the battlefield behind and fought for love instead.

"This one’s definitely a keeper!”—Jennifer Dugan, bestselling author of Some Girls Do

Genres: Romance, Lesbian, Young Adult, Queer, Sports, Contemporary, LGBT

311 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 6, 2025

Reviews

[Jasmine from How Useful It Is · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you PRHAudio for the complimentary audiobook! Thank you Love Underlined for the opportunity to read and review!

This story was good. Evelyn aka Evie has a path she carved out for herself following her mom's field hockey legacy and the promise she made at her mom's deathbed. Her mom lost her life to cancer when Evie was 12. Evie also played field hockey and played very well as a goalie and a team captain. She's a senior in high school, living at home with her dad who refused to discuss with her about her mom at the stage where her mom's sick. So Evie mostly dealt with it alone. She has an older brother Seth, who kept himself at a distance when their mom was dying so he seemed to have move on with life easily while Evie held on because of hockey, a game they both shared.

In this book, Evie glided through life without talking about her feelings. Until she met Rosa, the rival hockey player from another top team. Evie had a boyfriend but she only stayed with him because it fit in her plans. Rosa doesn't fit in her plans but she couldn't stay away, especially after Rosa helped her fix some of her goalie moves. Their friendship escalated into happiness and then sadness. But a happy ending which I'm glad.

This story touched base on LGBT community and coming out and acceptance.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 out of 5 stars

Rep: Queer MC, queer Chicana love interest, trans male side character

Content warnings: On-page sex between minors, references to sex, past death of a parent due to cancer, grief, panic attacks, misogyny in women's sports, racism (challenged), bi erasure (challenged), transphobia (challenged), lesbophobia (unchallenged)

This has been one of my most-anticipated reads -- sapphic sports romcoms are one of my absolute favorite niches! So it pains me to say that "All's Fair" missed the mark on a few levels.

Starting with the good, I enjoy Kit Rosewater's writing style. It's engaging and heartfelt, and I absolutely flew through the book. There are some really fantastic discussions about fluidity, the disparities between men's and women's sports, parents placing too much pressure on their kids, and just how stressful it is to try to figure out what you want to do with your life. Plus, Eve's brother Seth was an absolute delight!

However (and I'm really hoping I don't come across as a prude or pro-censorship when I say this), there's an uncomfortable amount of descriptions of minors having sex for a book that seems more marketed to adults. To clarify: I'm sex-positive and a firm believer in the value of sex education. Lots of teens do have sex! Regardless of whether or not they're sexually active, teens deserve access to knowledge about their bodies AND the normalization of their experiences. I even think that there *is* a place for being more graphic instead of fade-to-black, such as to provide information about how bodies work or to spread awareness about sexual abuse. What's *not* normal is including that seemingly in order to turn on grown readers. I mean, come on, its official blurb compares it to the steamy adult romance "Cleat Cute."

In the interest of fairness to Rosewater, I obviously don't know for certain that that was her intention, and I've been around Bookstagram/Booktok long enough to realize that they actually hold most of the blame in this. One of the main things influencers talk about and readers ask for is "spice levels." It makes sense that a new author would try appealing to that, in both the book and in their social media advertising of it. And as a librarian, I'm also aware of the gray space in publishing between "young adult" and general "adult;" though "new adult" is starting to gain some prominence, it's not something widely used yet. Those factors combine to create an awkward gap for stories for and about 18ish-21ish year olds.

That said, I still find it irresponsible and gross that "All's Fair" talks about minors' bodies kind of like it's erotica. At the end of the day, these characters are in high school. Plenty of young adult books include sex without trying to channel E. L. James. When you read a lot of romances, it becomes easy to tell the difference between non-graphic sex meant to normalize the act and/or advance the plot, and more detailed sex meant to make readers horny. The recently-published "Twenty-Four Seconds from Now" is *about* a teen preparing to have sex -- but in this case, the writing clearly indicates that it's meant for teens to find it relatable, educational, funny, and sweet all at once, rather than for adults to find it hot. I think that's the difference between realistic teen sex positivity and the sexualization of high schoolers. The conversations around intimacy these children (because 17 IS still legally a child) have sound almost exactly like conversations adults in their 30s have in Ashley Herring Blake novels. If I'm able to offer any advice, I would either decrease the number of mentions and descriptions of sex, or age up the characters to be in college.

It's also just...really weird to act like attraction to men is a flaw. If I was Rosewater's husband and saw "you know how much I wanted to marry a woman, and still, I married you" as part of my acknowledgement, I'd be heartbroken. I really wish we could leave behind joking about internalized biphobia. Quite honestly, I think Rosewater needs to work on that, because it also shows up in an odd rant a third of the way through implying that all lesbians are biphobic. Why can’t we have discussions about fluidity and the unique challenges bi people face without shitting on other sexualities? While I’m glad that Rosewater makes a brief comment slightly addressing this toward the end of the book, the lesbophobia still wasn’t necessary to the plot or development. So many authors treat “lesbian” like a dirty word, either not saying it at all or, as is the case here, only explicitly labeling awful characters as lesbians. At this moment in time, LGBTQIA+ people need each other more than ever. “Unnecessary” isn’t a strong enough word for petty infighting and oppression olympics. And not only does all this have dire real-life consequences for ALL members of the queer community, but it’s lazy writing.

All of that, combined with including a H*rry P*tter reference in the year of our lord 2025, makes me wonder how in tune Rosewater is with the LGBTQIA+ community at large. A queer woman who wants to write queer stories should know better than to allude to a series written by a well-known tr*nsphobe, especially since a prominent side character is trans. A queer woman who wants to write queer stories should have studied our shared history enough to know that we gained rights by banding together, not by fixating on our different labels and taking jabs at each other.

I believe that everyone is capable of changing and learning, and I really hope that Rosewater does; she has an captivating writing style and is clearly talented. If these issues evolve, I'll gladly read more from her.

**HUGE thank you to Delacorte Romance for granting me an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!**

[♥Milica♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me cry only 11% in, and it wasn't the only time either.

I loved the story, but I do wish that we got a bit more relationship development between Rosa and Evelyn, because the latter is discovering that she's bi, so the first half of the book is spent on her being with her boyfriend, and only after do she and Rosa get more page time together (outside of helping each other practice).

And then it felt like it happened too fast, suddenly there was miscommunication and they stopped speaking only to reconcile at the end etc. I think the boyfriend section should've ended around 30% max, and the rest should've been the two of them bonding, if the miscommunication really had to happen.

But I thought the two of them were super cute, the storyline was very relatable and I will be looking out for more books by this author in the future.

One last thing, I was surprised to see so many reviews mentioning "explicit sexual content", which wasn't my impression at all.

I'm very sensitive to those things and I tend to mention in my reviews if a YA book feels like it would suit NA readers better (or MG, if it reads too young), but this one felt YA to me, although older readers would enjoy it too because of the topics covered.

There were mentions of teenagers having sex, which...some teenagers do, and the little that was actually in this book was very tame (in my opinion, someone else might have different standards and that's okay), the descriptions vague etc.

So if you want to read this I'd suggest you do and then form your own opinion, but if you think any of this will make you uncomfortable, then feel free to skip it and pick up a different book instead.

[John Gilbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately this enemies to whatever just did not come together into a coherent story for me. Evie is the star goaltender and captain on her nationally ranked field hockey team and in a relationship with the popular quarterback of the gridiron team, where she is trying to fill her mom's shoes, as she died when she was in middle school. Enter Rosa, a Chicano soccer player turned field hockey player on their main rivals, who embarrasses Evie when they first play by scoring on her. For some reason that is really not clear or believable some kind of relationship develops between the two. Did not work.

“The point is, not everything is as easily defined as sports positions,” I say. “I hate this idea that if I like someone one day, I’m straight, and if I like someone else the next day, I’m gay, or even worse, fake gay, and I don’t even like the idea of being bi anyway because that feels like you’re supposed to like guys and girls the same way, and my brain is messed up, like, really messed up, and it doesn’t fit any of that.” (p. 119).

“You don’t need to be straight or gay or bi, or even pan. I just say I’m queer, because I see it as a catchall term. But you don’t have to say anything. You don’t have to be anything, because you already are. If the labels are failing you, that’s on them.” (p. 120).

Rosa looks at me like I just slapped a kitten. “Excuse me, green chile is life,” she says seriously. “Every good New Mexican knows the answer to ‘red or green’ is always green. (p. 137).

[Gabrielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, All's Fair in Love and Field Hockey had wonderful potential and set up, but it fell woefully flat for me. Having been a queer and confused fifteen-year-old ice hockey player at one point in my life, a sapphic romance between a forward and a goalie on rival teams couldn't have been more up my alley. The story was engaging and I finished it in one sitting. Evelyn's backstory was touching, the conflicts were interesting, and the character's voice felt spot-on for a teenager. I just had too many issues with the book to rate it highly.

Firstly, I am exhausted of bisexuality being portrayed as merely a stepping stone to becoming "real gay." Evelyn struggles with this terror that she might be gay, "or even worse, fake gay, and I don't even like the idea of being bi anyway" (Ch 12). I hoped that the sentiment would eventually get addressed through the course of the story's development (we all have to start somewhere), but it doesn't. Not adequately, anyway. Instead, the novel is full of off comments like Evelyn asking Rosa, "'You put a queer icon on your thigh that only partially shows under a field hockey uniform. Isn't that, like, the definition of queer baiting?' 'Ah, no.' Rosa wags a finger. 'It's only queer baiting if I don't follow through. But I always reel in my catches, viejito" (Ch 18). Like… excuse me? I hate to break it to everyone, but queer-baiting is not a thing that real people can do, in real life. It's a misleading marketing strategy whose purpose is to sell fiction. This idea that bisexuals aren't "really gay" or are "baiting" people if they don't prove themselves via specific sexual acts or by suffering in a particular way is ludicrous. All of this was explained away with one line at the end: "It was homophobic… and it's harmful to dismiss bisexuality" (Ch 28). No way, really? This resolution served as more of a tell than a show, since there was no scene or inciting incident that led Evelyn to this conclusion. It just came out of nowhere, like an afterthought meant to tie everything up neatly, except it was not compelling or convincing.

This undealt-with internalized homophobia is not a good example for young queer teens. As an aside, the emphasis on an aversion to labels, which does have its merits in certain contexts, begs the question why the term lesbian is treated like a dirty word that is only suited to the unsavory, one-dimensional characters in the book.

Secondly, this was uncharacteristically sexually explicit for a YA novel. My usual opinion on this neverending contentious debate is that teens deserve education. That could look like many different things, whether it's demonstrating what consent looks like or helping to identify and navigate unfamiliar feelings. But sex whose only purpose is the readers' titillation belongs in the adult aisle. It's hard to understate how uncomfortable it was to read about how minors are grinding on each other, or moaning into each others' mouths, or biting each other's bare hips. I feel that a lot of those scenes or descriptions were mostly unnecessary, and therefore inappropriate. There are many ways to reflect teens' experiences with sexuality and provide them with insight without treating it like erotica.

I think that this story would've done significantly better if it were aged up to New Adult, as a college sports romance. The tone and many of the events, like the incessant swearing, the graphic dorm-room sex scenes, the tattoos, and the complete autonomy the characters enjoy already read like this was intended for an older age demographic. All that would have needed to be replaced was the "which college will Evelyn get into?" issue with a "will Evelyn make it pro or not?" issue. Rosa could have still attended a rival school and kept her ambivalent attitude about the sport if she needed to play field hockey for scholarship money, which would've retained the conflict she and Evelyn have about their differing investment in the game.

Anyway, I have more to say, but that's probably enough from me for now. If you're looking for a story about queer teens dealing with heavy issues in a healthy way, you're better off with Alice Oseman's Heartstopper. If you're looking for a book that digs into what it means to be a woman and Latina in professional sports, Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid is wonderful. And if you're looking for a YA coming-of-age sapphic rom-com about a bisexual girl trying to figure out what it means to fit into the queer community as a questioning or closeted person, Imogen Obviously by Becky Albertalli is a fantastic choice and a personal favorite of mine.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the eARC in exchange for my honest voluntary review. Quotations were checked against the final printed copy.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first started the book, I thought it was going to be a case of "disaster bi cheats on her boyfriend with only slightly less disaster queer girl and that they'd get caught," etc. Instead what I got was one girl - Evelyn - struggling with the loss of her mom and coping with a completely different type of grief over an absent father while her sometimes harsh but usually right older brother hangs reminds her to just be her own person.

The other main girl, Rosa, has just moved from New Mexico (funny story, both me and the author are from there!) to a new school, a new state, and a new sport in her junior year of high school, angry at being pushed into field hockey instead of getting to be on the soccer team.

As Evelyn realizes her feelings for Rosa, she decides to breakup with her boyfriend. In my opinion, the best part was that she wasn't trying to find other excuses. Even at the beginning, like first chapter, before even meeting Rosa, she acknowledges that they don't do much together anymore other than basically hooking up.

They seem to genuinely have mutual respect for one another even after the relationship ends. He could have outed her but didn't. The realness of the falling apart to what is effectively just a hot stranger making her question her sexuality vs the closed off feeling and front Evelyn feels the need to show to everyone else around her. There's always that particularly safe friend. That tends to become more than a friend.

Rosa basically points this out to her, and it is the push she needs to recognize it herself, to leave her boyfriend, and slowly become her own person.

(talk about identity crisis!)

[Denise Ruttan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for a cozy sapphic YA sports romance and I feel like a few content warnings are called for in this book.

There's biphobia, slut shaming and lesbophobia, at least called out eventually, but kids aren't perfect and say problematic things, so I didn't have an issue with the way that was handled, though the way it was called out sounded like a college gender studies textbook. There's a main character processing grief after losing her mother to cancer. It's also spicy for a YA book but I thought the open-door sex scenes and makeout sessions were fairly tame. Teens do have sex. She's got a trans brother who was a side character and I liked how her mom was shown to be imperfect by not accepting him coming out to her.

This book is marketed as to age 12 and up but because of the spiciness and heavy themes it's better suited for older teens.

I was just disappointed because this book had heavier themes than I wanted from it and for over half the book Evelyn was with a boyfriend and I wanted the focus to be on the queer romance. The boyfriend wasn't a shitty guy, just a boring football quarterback and she wasn't interested in him. That's the main reason I'm rating this book low. I'm tired of queer girls being with boring boyfriends for most of the romance to show that they're bi/pan.

That and I didn't really see the chemistry between Rosa and Evelyn; they went straight from rivals (and Evelyn was so self-absorbed and unlikable, I had a hard time rooting for her), to messy and stupid misunderstandings, to soulmates, it was all kind of abrupt. I felt like Evelyn should have stood up for her more and her friends weren't a very good support group for her. They fought over petty, shallow things.

I liked the way her queer awakening was handled though I was cringing the whole way through. But again, teenagers are problematic and I think it's important to show that in YA. I also liked how she struggled to find a label that fit and wasn't sure if queer, pan or bi worked for her; it's good to show on page questioning. A lot of queer people feel like that and feel boxed in by fixed categorization. I think it's good for teen readers to see that inclusivity.

I also liked the elements of field hockey and women's sports. I know nothing about field hockey and I was intrigued by the culture around a sport that doesn't get much attention or prestige. And I liked how Evelyn's grief was handled and her single-minded focus on getting into Duke as a way of being close to her mom. Teens do need to read about tough topics. But they also need coziness just like us adults.

This book has made me wonder if I'm not as ready for contemporary romance as I thought I was. When you're bored by the romance, annoyed by the stupid misunderstandings and forced drama, and think the main love interests work better as friends... meh. I do love contemporary romance when it makes me swoon right with the characters and this wasn't that for me. This was just cringe most of the way through. It would have been a stronger book as YA without the romance.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

All’s Fair in Love and Field Hockey is fine, honestly. It’s just watered down so much that nothing is fully developed: not the field hockey, not Eve’s mommy issues, not Rosa’s transfer and switch from soccer to field hockey, not Eve’s queer awakening, not Eve’s friendship with Katie or her teammates, not Eve’s relationship with Rosa. It’s all there but we’re given nothing substantial to really hold onto—to keep us emotionally invested in what’s going on.

I would have preferred if this story was from Rosa’s POV or even just a story about Seth (Eve’s older brother) and his relationship with their mom after he came out as trans. Not that there’s anything wrong with Eve’s POV, but she was much less interesting to me.

And while this novel is 100% sapphic, if you’re looking for lesbian rep, you’re not really going to find it here. There is one super minor side character who IDs as a lesbian but that’s it. And that’s fine, honestly. Bi and queer rep deserves some love and attention too. But it feels like all I’ve been reading lately is books where at least one of the characters is bi and where men (or boys in this case) take up way too much real estate in the story. And I don’t want to read about them. This is a me thing and definitely not the fault of the book. I just want sapphic content without the inclusion of romantic or sexual moments where men are involved. And the books I’ve chosen lately include those things.

A couple other notes:
- Rosa is a Latina. And you know that because she slots into so many stereotypes. No thank you.
- There is underage sex here. Be warned.

2.5, I guess.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this with every part of my heart & soul

Bi-conic little read

[Cherie • bookshelvesandtealeaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks so much to Random House Children’s and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book. All thoughts are my own.

I really enjoyed this rivals to lovers romance. The tension was palpable right from the start. I liked that this didn’t really have the enemies vibe these kinds of books often have. They were rivals AND lovers, and they also had so much else going on outside of their secret relationship.

Evelyn‘s journey over the course of this book was so emotional. Dealing with her grief, the pressure she put on herself and that has been put on her, the way she didn’t even really know who she was outside of field hockey and living her mum’s dream. All of it was so heavy and palpable.

I loved her and Rosa together. I loved that Rosa challenged her to view things differently, to really think about what she wanted.

I also really loved her brother, Seth, and the relationship they had.

This book felt really hopeful by the end and I really hope it helps some scared, uncertain kids who pick it up.

[olga]

Αυτό για σένα Φαίη!

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

No. Why are we, in the year 2025, still acting like there’s gay & there’s straight & if you’re bi you just haven’t chosen yet. Bisexuality is not fake and I’m tired of having to say this.

This is just one of the things I did not like about this book. I didn’t find that there was any chemistry between Rosa & Evelyn. Why did the author feel the need to include open door sex scenes in a YA book? Why did these characters sound like they’re in college instead of sound like high school?

Ultimately this book was not my thing and I’m really sad it wasn’t because I was looking forward to it.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

[Ashton Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tropes:
~YA romance
~sports romance
~single POV
~rivals to lovers

As soon as I saw this was a romance revolving around field hockey and also set in Pennsylsvania, I knew I had to read it. Especially as a former high school field hockey player in PA myself. And while this book didn't blow me away, it was a cute and quick read that I found enjoyable. Now can other authors join in so we can get MORE field hockey romances instead of only ice hockey ones, please and thank you.

Also, mini rant because I saw other reviews critiquing that there's on-page spice in this. And sure, it's not totally fade to black, but this is far from what I'd call explicit. If you don't want ANY sexual content in your YA books then this wouldn't fit the bill, but I definitely don't agree with this being called "erotic" (yes, I saw at least one review call it that, which I find honestly ridiculous). There was one sex scene between the MCs, and it was pretty vague on the details and didn't last for more than a couple pages. If that's too erotic for you, then maybe stick to middle grade books.

The idea that seniors in high school wouldn't have any sort of physical relationship or that it shouldn't be mentioned feels like a strange form of conservatism that I thought we'd be past in 2025, but I guess not. And if an older adult reader feels uncomfortable reading teenage girls in a sexual situation, just maybe it's because you're not the target audience and this book is for readers of a similar age to the characters. End mini rant.


If this book was Taylor Swift lyrics:

No more keepin' score now
I just keep you warm
No more tug of war now
I just know there's more"

[han · Rating 4 out of 5]

thank you to random house for sending me a physical arc of this book!! #GetUnderlinedPartner @GetUnderlined

i absolutely devoured this book, which was so nice after a reading slump! this book is so much fun, such a nice coming of age sapphic story. this book is a beautiful lesson in self discovery and grief wrapped in a cute little rom com bow. i haven't played field hockey since i was a child (i switched to lacrosse because i wasn't very good at field hockey), but like eveyln, my mom is a field hockey enthusiast, once a player and now a coach, so i immediately felt a personal connection to this book. i love love LOVE seeing the sports romance genre expand to women's sports, and sports outside of the typical football and ice hockey romances, keep em coming! the characters in this book were all so unique, i really liked seeing the journeys they all took. i really appreciated the queer representation outside of the sapphic romance, it made the story even that much more entertaining for me. i knocked a star off because the pacing was a little off, there were a few occasions where i felt things were glossed over or rushed for the sake of keeping the book short, and i would've loved to see more expansion on those.

overall, if you're looking for a quick, nice read, you like sapphic romance, you're interested in women's sports, or interested in getting more into women's sports like me, i would recommend this book! it's a solid YA read, and i know i would've loved it even more if i read it when i was a teen.

[CJ Opal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read a lot of romance, let alone YA romance, so I wasn't sure this was going to be up my alley, but I am so glad I gave it a shot. Evelyn is a messy baby gay with mama trauma and an undue amount of responsibility on her shoulders. She's facing a gay awakening, battling compulsive heterosexuality, confronting the potential difficulties of living as an openly queer person, grieving the idea of what her family "should" be, discovering intersectional feminism (!), and learning that there's more to being a person than living up to the expectations of others. I can't help but see part of myself in her, and I'm proud of both of us for the journey we've been on. And then there's Rosa, your dream girl's dream girl. She's smart, confident, dedicated, and she knows her worth. I wish we'd gotten more of her story, there's so much more to say about the role racism plays in women's sports, and I want to see Rosa tear those walls down. Maybe there's a sequel there?
I do want to address something I noticed in some of the other reviews. There are two moments of sexual intimacy in this book. Neither gives physical anatomical descriptions, and no sex acts are described. They both focus more on how the intimacy affects Evelyn emotionally. They both are completely grounded in consent, setting an excellent example of how to give and withdraw consent, and how to ask your partner for theirs. I don't think either scene was explicit or graphic, and though they may not have been detrimentally necessary to the plot, I think they added depth to Evelyn's story and character development.
Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC, I will be looking out for Rosewater's next book!

[Sarah Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this queer, YA, field hockey rivals-to-lovers romance! It was a great way to finish my reading year on December 31st as my 460th book. The interpersonal and intrapersonal dynamics felt realistic to a teen figuring out their identity (in more ways than one). Expectations (from others and oneself), grief, death of a parent from cancer, sexuality, intimacy, friendships, relationships (romantic, familial, and otherwise), finishing high school, starting college, sports (especially girls’ and women’s sports), gender, choices, succeeding at goals, failing at goals, changing one’s goals, and more are covered in this novel and it never felt forced or like too much was going on. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

[Anya · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5) I enjoyed this! It’s a quick and easy sapphic romance read, perfect for the summer and for outdoor reading adventures. I do wish we got more of a fleshed out makeup between Rosa and Evelyn; the time skip sort of felt like a lazy way to skip writing about their reconciliation in favor of their romantic relationship. I really appreciated Heathclef losing the nationals to Van Darian, because it helped drive home that Evelyn wasn’t and never would be her mom, as well as made her realize that field hockey was maybe not her dream. All in all, an enjoyable read!

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute, super gay

[Sierra Hess · Rating 3 out of 5]

.... where was the field hockey

[Fred · Rating 2 out of 5]

only 2 stars cuz even tho i love sapphic romance, it made me want to bang my head against a wall.
the plot is basically miscommunication, yearning, and mommy issues. did i mention miscommunication?
like okay pop off Othello remix

[Sofia]

Also cute, didn't make me think too much :) just a sweet YA romance.

[Evelyn Gaskill · Rating 3 out of 5]

definitely had a lot of plot twists

[shatterinseconds · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 stars

I don't have much to say about this book. It was pretty mediocre. The romance felt rushed, going from the characters hanging out for the first time to the main character essentially being head over heels the next day. It gave me whiplash. I didn't feel connected to either character, though I think I liked Rosa more than Evelyn and wish we got her pov as well to flesh her out more.

[Gabby Beske-Somers · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 😬😬 there were sex scenes in this?? a book abt high schoolers it was whack. not great besides that either lol

[Kylie · Rating 2 out of 5]

thank you netgalley for the arc! this is perfectly fine, a queer YA but the miscommunication is stupid and it might have been better as a college novel? the love interest is barely an evolved character and the friendships are not great

[Kaz · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book was incredibly disappointing. i went into it excited to read a sapphic sports romance because ive been very into the concept of sports romances recently, but unfortunately this novel fell incredibly flat, especially in regards to the romance.
i personally found the protagonist self-absorbed but in a typical teenage way that i related to. when i was her age i was equally self absorbed not because i was selfish, but because everything was so massive and all consuming and as a result everything i did--every mistake, every misstep i made that impacted those around me richoeted right back into me. i think she would be the strongest part of this novel if she wasnt surrounded by characters i so vehemently disliked. i didnt care about rosa enough to want them to end up together at the end and truthfully was anticipating their break up, as i felt ir wouldve been more profound and impactful if they had just had a tumultuous, dramatic, heartbreaking romance that i know some people do have at 16 or 17. i also hate her friends. none of them, in my opinion, experienced enough tangible, noticeable growth for me to believe they deserve to stay in evelyn's life at the conclusion of the novel. her best friend (whose name escapes me) is so horrifically unsupportive and undermines evelyn at every turn i was rageful when evelyn somehow found it in herself to want to even attempt a friendship at the end of the novel? there was nothing to salvage within that character and felt evelyn choosing to keep these people in her life ultimately said more about her character than everything else in the novel, in a supremely negative way.
like other reviewers have mentioned, this novel discusses sexuality in a very strange way, especially for whats supposed to be ya. throughout my read i was taken off guard everytime i was reminded these are high schoolers and not college students, considering the nature of the sex scenes and where and how they occur. i truly believe this story could have made a greater, positive impact on me if it had been an adult novel, and would have been less frustrating to remove all of the exhausting teenage-isms of it. this isnt to even say i dislike ya--i dislike the way rosewater has attempted to write teenagers in this novel, ultimately.
i also disliked the way bisexuality and lesbianism were discussed in the novel. it is anger inducing how even in the few pieces of true sapphic/wlw media ive consumed, how only one or two have used the term "lesbian" in a positive light. i dont understand why rosewater refused to have any of her characters meaningfully consider if they were lesbians, even though i do believe bisexuality is valid and identitying just as queer is also valid, i don't feel like any of her sapphic characters ever considered that lesbianism is ALSO a valid way of identifying even if--and hear me out--these characters have dated or been attracted to men before! i dont know if i am being too harsh in being so angry about this aspect of the novel, but i also dont...really care, now, if its unfair.
this could have been such a gorgeous novel if it centered more on evelyn and her relationship to her mother rather than her specific relationship to rosa. seeing her deconstruct her relationship to field hockey, having the realization that her playing the game was just a way of feeling close to her mother even though she enjoyed it, but *also* being angry because she realized all her mother wanted evelyn to do was live out her own fantasies of being a pro player, was so so so fascinating to me!!! there is so much to their relationship, and especially seths relationship to his mother, that could've been highlighted and emphasized more to be devastating. losing her mother so young and having to reconcile with the fact her mother only viewed evelyn as a way of living out her unfulfilled dreams could have been just--so much more than what it was, if it had been taken further.
this isnt the worst novel ive ever read and i would possibly consider reading the author again if she wrote adult literature and not ya, but this was a deeply disappointing debut novel that could've been so much more.

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a sucker for YA sporty sapphic romances and I loved this one too! Evelyn is competing with her field hockey team for a spot at National’s and a place at Duke, her dream college since she was a child due to her promise to her mum and nothing is going to stop her from getting there. I liked that the sport was field hockey which is a pretty rare choice for these YA sport romances and even though I don’t know anything about the sport, the action felt exciting and I could feel Evelyn’s passion for it. I really liked Evelyn’s character from the start as it seemed like she has everything figured out until her team plays their rivals Van Darian and their new star striker, Rosa, wipes the floor with her.

Their first meeting is humiliating to Evelyn but as team rivalries are forgotten and they gradually get closer, I really loved their developing friendship and feelings for each other. They were really cute together when it was just them but as they are on two rival teams, Evelyn feels the need to keep them a secret from their teammates and this is when the problems start to show. The angst in this book is so good as they have arguments not just about their relationship but their respective college futures too and they both get hit with some harsh home truths.

All’s Fair in Love and Field Hockey is a lot more than just a teen romance too as the main character Evelyn has a lot going on inside and I like how tough topics including grief of losing her mum is mentioned and how it makes her act the way it does. There is a lot of pressure on Evelyn’s shoulders due to a promise she made to her mum on her death bed which she took too literally at twelve years old and it has made field hockey the centre of her world and her future with no backup plan. She hasn’t really dealt with the grief of losing her mum and hasn’t had the support system to do it with the help of her family. Field hockey is the only thing she thinks she is good at and when it’s the only thing she knows, what’s the point in looking for anything else to do in life?

Evelyn makes a lot of bad decisions about Rosa, her friends, the team and more and there was quite a lot of instances where I wanted to shout at her and stop her from hurting everything in her path especially when it came to Rosa but the author writes these disputes so well that you can’t help but still love her and want to protect her from big mistakes. I usually hate the 3rd act break up trope but this book does it a little bit different and it felt like the drama was needed to wake Evelyn up and make her realise what she is doing and that she needs to get it together.

This book is told solely from Evelyn’s POV and even though this works well and keeps the reader in the dark about Rosa’s side of the story, I would have loved one or two chapters from Rosa to see how she really feels about everything going on. The big apology speech towards the end was one of the best I've read in a YA romance and I liked how their argument wasn’t fixed immediately but they both had some time apart to deal with things. I also loved how by the end Evelyn had found something new she was passionate about which fit her perfectly and the novel was wrapped up nicely with a cute epilogue.

[Mo Holub · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hate crying on airplanes but I will do it for the YA sports book about the goalkeeper who thinks she holds the team on her shoulders (it's possible I relate--my goalie jersey when I first started literally said "protect this house"). Evelyn has had her life mapped out since she was twelve: win a high school national championship, get recruited to Duke (*insert obligatory GO TAR HEELS here*), go pro, marry her high school sweetheart aka the quarterback. And when it's going well, that dream life she promised her mom seems just within reach. But when that perfect checklist crashes and burns around her, Evelyn has to figure out how to pick up the pieces-- and what pieces she even wants to keep.

This book tries to tackle a lot of things, from queer theory to gender equality in sports to academic explorations and a little bit of high school romance on the side, but what really shines in Rosewater's writing is Evelyn's internal struggle to recognize the roadblocks that her astronomical expectations have placed in her way of finding joy again, in her life, family, friends, and in field hockey. The panicky, gut-wrenching pain she struggles through in silence, thinking she has to bear it alone (maybe it is a goalie thing??), and learning how to come out the other side of that--and that yes you can come out the other side--is an important experience to share.

[Jasmine Shouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

I really like queer sports books, and this was pretty fun to read, given I know nothing about field hockey. I enjoyed the writing style and the rivals to lovers progression. I really liked Evelyn's character growth regarding her grief journey about her mom. I think I'd have enjoyed this a little more if the characters had been aged up a little, though it would have needed some reworking since a lot of the story revolves around college prospects.

I did not enjoy the LUG/BUG conversation. I get that teenagers will say some out of pocket things (and be loudly wrong), but it felt really out of place and mean-spirited. I wish there had been a little more depth to Rosa and Evelyn's relationship beyond both being athletes. This is a solid read for 16+ due to the slightly graphic sex scene between teenagers.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

[Ellie G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most good queer romances, this is a book about self-discovery that blossoms out into an exploration of the many, many different ways a person can discover themselves and those they love. What a delight to read. <3

I especially loved the final act; Rosewater brings all-deserved nuance to gender, to sexuality, to sports in a young adult context. One of the hurdles in my enjoyment of this book was my indifference to sports in general, but by the time Evie gets to the library in the final pages of the book, I was ready to explore what being a queer person in athletics means with her; I was immersed enough that her personal journey brought tears to my eyes. Rosewater's writing is uniquely approachable, particularly endearing, and altogether warm, thoughtful, and inviting. The ways in which she approached topics of loss, desire, expectations, and owning one's mistakes were very poignant to me.