Playing for Keeps

by Jennifer Dugan

From the author of Some Girls Do comes another heartfelt YA sapphic romance—starring a baseball pitcher and a student umpire who are definitely not supposed to fall for one another.

June is the star pitcher of her elite club baseball team—with an ego to match—and she's a shoo-in to be recruited at the college level, like her parents have always envisioned. That is, if she can play through an overuse injury that has recently gone from bad to worse.

Ivy isn't just reffing to pay off her athletic fees or make some extra cash on the side. She wants to someday officiate at the professional level, even if her parents would rather she go to college instead.

The first time they cross paths, Ivy throws June out of a game for grandstanding. Still, they quickly grow from enemies to begrudging friends . . . and then something more. But the rules state that players and umpires are prohibited from dating.

As June's shoulder worsens, and a rival discovers the girls' secret and threatens to expose them, everything the two have worked so hard for is at risk. Now both must follow their dreams . . . or follow their hearts?

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

336 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2024

About the author

Jennifer Dugan is a writer, geek, and romantic who writes the kinds of stories she wishes she had growing up. In addition to being a young adult novelist, she is also the writer/creator of two indie comics. She lives in New York with her family, dogs, and an evil cat that is no doubt planning to take over the world.

Reviews

[alaska · Rating 1 out of 5]

i feel like i just read an underdeveloped first draft instead of a finished book

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Playing For Keeps by Jennifer Dugan is a young adult contemporary romance. It’s a rivals-to-lovers sports romance between a high school baseball pitcher (June) and student umpire (Ivy.)

This was a bad fit for me for several different reasons. Firstly, it’s marketed as rivals-to-lovers but that fell flat for me because they’re into each other by their third interaction. I would’ve like to see this drawn out a bit more. Especially given that their whole romance is a no-no with their sports rec.

This leads to my second point; their relationship moves so quickly that it bypasses the emotional connection for me. A lot of their development happened off page so it felt like I was being told about their relationship rather than seeing it happen. The reader gets the scenes where they’re dealing with their family drama and other things instead of the relationship.

This story is actually a lot heavier than the cover might imply but it wasn’t an issue for me because I’m a fan of angst. June and Ivy are both dealing with the loss of a close family member. One has recently lost her mother to cancer while the other has lost her brother, also to cancer. They have a ton of pressure on them about their futures that stems from the losses. A good majority of the story deals with this. I didn’t mind this storyline as it felt realistic but I also didn’t like how it to up so much of the story. It made the romance feel tacked on more than anything.

My last big issue was the miscommunication, or rather, lack of communication. I hate miscommunication when it’s used how it was done here. It made me wonder why they even wanted to date each other if they wouldn’t even communicate some basic information.

Sadly, this is not something I’d recommend. Hopefully I’ll have better luck with Dugan’s new release.

I received an ARC from Penguin Group via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[☁️˚ʚ oriana ɞ˚☁️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group for an advanced copy review of this book in exchange for my unbiased, honest review.

This book was so fun and lighthearted. I needed a fluffy read and this book was just what I needed! I've been into sports/romance type books lately and this book delivered:)

It was a bit slow at times for me personally, but I still enjoyed it and recommend it if you're into sapphic romances and need a light, fluffy read<3

[b ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"she told me not to plan for our breakup, but i wonder how she'd feel about me planning for our forever."

— four stars.

first off, thank you to netgalley and penguin for approving me for this book! first arc of the year, baby!

this was really, really cute. aside from some technical errors (duh, it is an arc), i really got into this. jennifer dugan really has a knack for writing characters that have no business being together, but you really want to root for them anyway.

speaking of characters...

ivy was easily my favorite. there was something about ivy that i was really able to connect with (the overbearing parents, perhaps?) that made me truly love her. she was so selfless, and gave up so much for everyone else, and that is precisely why i sided with her for 90% of the book. she is a genuinely well written, well fleshed out character that i adore. if i needed a comparison... ruby, from some girls do reminds me of ivy here, in the sense that they're both like... completely reasonable characters, unlike their counterparts.

june was... infuriating, to say the least. if ivy is ruby, june is easily the morgan of this book. absolutely angering and unbearable. yet... i found myself loving her regardless. similar to ivy, she had been through a lot, but she didn't really deal with it in a healthy way (i don't say 'as healthily as ivy' here because let's be honest, being a chronic people pleaser isn't exactly a healthy coping mechanism either). i think, though, that's precisely why i like her. because while she's very annoying, and makes many wrong decisions... she's very real. i understand her, and i know that when this book releases, she'll have a lot of people who dislike her, and i get it, but let it be known that i will be on her side!

this book also showcases grief in its rawest form—as in, the way that it hits you so long after a person has passed. it also shows numerous ways of dealing with grief, from june's outbursts to her father's mood-swings to ivy's mother's pressure. and i think that this is important, because grief isn't linear. it doesn't just happen for a few days after someone dies and then goes away, and it doesn't look the same for everyone. everyone deals with it differently, and i think dugan did an amazing job at showcasing that through this book.

i really don't know much about sports, but i really enjoyed this. the sports lingo was quite minimal, but when it was necessary, it was always explained in a way that didn't feel info-dumpy, so that's always a plus. this is a really cute ya romance, and i think i would highly recommend it to anyone that wants a quick read with characters that make choices that are bound to piss you off (seriously, jennifer's books are so fun, but if these characters would just speak to each other, half these situations wouldn't happen!)

[Sabrina Grafenberger · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had so much potential. A sapphic rivals-to-lovers sports romance, that's normally exactly my kind of book. The plot idea is interesting, especially the part with Ivy wanting to become a professional umpire, but most of the rest of the book didn't work for me.

First of all it's not rivals-to-lovers. June and Ivy don't like each other when they first interact, but they get together by their third meeting.

Second there's too much telling and not enough showing. Ivy and June recap a few times what they've done together off-page, but because the reader doesn't experience those things it makes it hard to get invested in their relationship. It also would've helped to understand why they loved each other.

Third the miscommunication in this book is exhausting. At first I thought it's alright with teenagers being teenagers but it got worse the more the story progressed and sometimes I was wondering if June and Ivy were even a good fit as a couple. They lied to each other and didn't have any understanding or patience for the other person's problems. I honestly don't think their relationship works out in the long term.

And fourth I can't exactly pinpoint it, but something was bothering me about the dialogues between Ivy and June. I know Jennifer Dugan can write realistic and good dialogues, I've read almost all her other books, but something didn't feel real here. Other readers have mentioned that the book feels like reading a first draft and I sadly have to agree with that.

It didn't help that at the ending of the book everything is extremely rushed and all of Ivy and June's problems are solved way too easily.

To end this review on a positive note: What I like is that there wasn't a coming out storyline involved. Both Ivy and June are out and their parents and friends are supportive, that was a nice change. I also like Ivy and June as seperate characters, they are well developed outside of their relationship.

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this way more than I did.

And, this is 100% a me-mismatch, because these teenagers acted like TEENAGERS and it was annoying. A me-mismatch, because this is a YA book and I am definitely well out of youth.

But I'm team let teenagers be teenagers and be messy in books, even if it made me want to pull my hair out. Will these kids last as a couple? Oh hell no, but that's not the point.

I kinda wish this had been aged up a little, because I think it would have really, really shone as an adult romance, particularly with the sports aspect of things.

I also wanted more development of the secondary characters, particularly the other members of June's team.

[Brenna.readss · Rating 3 out of 5]

*NetGalley Arc Review*

I LOVE sapphic sports romance but this one didn’t hit for me AS much. I had a hard time getting into the story but I ended up enjoying it. It was a cute and fluffy baseball player x umpire romance!
”I kissed Ivy. And Ivy definitely kissed me back.” 😭🩷

[John Gilbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've enjoyed all Ms Dugan's books I have previously read, quirky and romantic with believable characters. The premise here just does not work. Ivy is an aspiring umpire presently moving into baseball at the high school level, but she wishes to become a top professional, against her parent's wishes. She also has lost a brother to cancer, so she feels the added pressure from her parents to be a success.

June is the star pitcher on the boys high school team, but is suffering badly from intense shoulder pain, which she is trying to hide from everyone, while living alone with her father after her mother has died. After a fiery first encounter, the two develop feelings for each other, but cannot let anyone know as Ivy umpires some of June's games.

The entire premise and presentation totally failed for me, not a bit of believable story for me. DNF at half way.

[ash (smokedshelves) · Rating 1 out of 5]

thank you to putnam’s sons for young readers and penguin teen for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

now, this might be an unpopular opinion for this book. i honestly haven’t heard much about it which makes me think it kind of isn’t but this book just wasn’t it for me. from the insta-love, playing as rivals (when, how would be if ones a player and ones the referee of the sports). to the, their biggest personality traits comes from the dead family member card (which like, please. understand, i get it. i truly do.) but it was tough to care about these teens when i heard more about these family members that we have no reason to feel connected to.

i’m sorry, i really don’t have words for this one other than, i was bored, and honestly irritated the whole way through. i saw another review say it felt like a 1st draft and i would completely agree. the pacing was far off. they were already dating 10% into the book, and broken up for 30% of it, wallowing after each other. the characters were flat beyond their two main traits: (1) being a women trying to break into men-dominated sports and (2) having the hots for each other. maybe its a fault for the book being short (although for a book that’s in the 300 page length, there should have been more development) but i needed more before i could believe them saying ‘i love yous’.

and as they mention, these characters had main character syndrome. and that is not a good thing. they both honestly made decisions like there was no one else around them and it made it feel like i was pulling my teeth reading their stories. honestly, i would’ve been WAY happier reading about the side characters! their best friends had far more character outside of their love lives, and we barely see them!

basically, you get the gist that this was not the sports romance story for me. and truly what a shame since i usually eat those up!

[Cristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of Playing for Keeps excited me as a baseball fan. Sapphic authors have only just started tapping into the potential of sports romance so I was pumped to see a big name author like Jennifer diving into the genre. Unfortunately, this ended up being a total train wreck.

I honestly think that with some restructuring this could have been a solid contemporary novel. I really liked June and Ivy as individual characters and their struggles with their families/ dreams were the most interesting parts of this book. However, not even once did I buy into the romance. They were a toxic incompatible mess, completely underdeveloped and simply lackluster in execution. It felt like we skimmed over the actually falling in love moments in favor of all the fights. We were never given the chance to become invested in their romance to help weather the rough patches. Instead, I was actively begging them to break up and go their separate ways.

It was really annoying how Ivy’s storyline took the back burner to June’s, especially since June’s issues dominating their relationship was one of the major conflicts of the book. I love flawed messy characters, and if this was a contemporary novel then I would have loved delving more into June’s characterization. But because this is a romance novel her issues simply overshadowed the romance and Ivy. Super bummed by this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the arc

[Leyla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a solid YA book that can definitely be very appealing to the right audience!

I love that sapphic stories are becoming increasingly more accessible to all ages and I think this book is a unique and engaging story that works well in the YA setting. The experience of parental pressure , the dealing with heavy emotions such as grief and showcasing how difficult (but also rewarding) a first love can be is relatable to a lot of younger people and I think that makes the book very appealing. I also really liked seeing a referee as a main character and liked how the book depicted Ivy’s dreams and with that encouraged the reader to perhaps also consider more unconventional futures for themselves.

I would like to see Dugan become better at including POC characters. I know the two best friends in this story are POC, but if the characters are flat the representation doesn’t really count for much.. There is room for improvement and I hope Dugan does, because I think overall she’s doing well in the YA sapphic romance genre.

I think I’ll give it a 3.5, definitely something I’d recommended for late teen readers who want to read sapphic romances and liked the sound of this or any YA lovers out there :)

[X · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute. Started wildly strong - Ivy’s internal monologuing about being a referee was adorable, and I was invested in her and her weird dream immediately. This is in general contemporary YA romance with all the fluffiness that implies, but there was enough emotional depth and also enough real-life-type detail that the story always felt just grounded enough. (I laughed out loud at “I’m so bored I’m about to download a solitaire app, when I remember Insta exists.”)

That all said, I don’t think Dugan quiiiiite nails the landing. (I don’t know baseball well enough for a truly appropriate metaphor haha.) June’s arc takes over - the external conflict, the relationship conflict, June’s journey, and even Ivy’s emotional storyline ends up being focused on her relationship with June - and Ivy’s individual storyline never really recovers. From those fantastic first pages I was really invested in Ivy’s ref quest, and I wish it hadn’t gotten short shrift in favor of June’s well-written but unoriginal perfectionist-teen-sports-star-under-pressure arc.

That said I did appreciate the very natural way Ivy’s reffing and June’s baseball pitching were incorporated into the story - this never felt like a Very Special Message about women in sports, it felt like a story about two regular teenage girls with regular interests/hobbies/skills (and friends, and family, and college looming overhead…).

Kind of conflicted over the rating, but going with four stars - the beginning was just that strong!

[gracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sapphic authors have only recently started branching out into sports romances more so I'm happy when I find a new one, and disappointed when I do not like it very much.

As individual characters, I loved June and Ivy. I loved how the author wrote about their grief and how it affected both them and their family—June,her mother and Ivy, her older brother. Their emotions and their actions revolving around this felt palpable and real especially considering that they're teenagers.

Another thing I liked was the author using their shared grief as the leeway to start off their relationship. It was a very easily believable way to transition from rivals to lovers. Unfortunately it went downhill from there for me. Majority of the relationship and getting to know each other progresses off page, the 3rd act break up had me rolling my eyes and the resolution, for as much as it was cute, didn't win me over enough.

I did pick this up as a cute read to distract me for a bit though and it delivered on that front hence the 3 stars!

[Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

This was such a change to what I've been reading recently, that it was refreshing yet frustrating. I personally am someone who enjoys reading YA. I love when authors are able to really capture the trials and tribulations of growing up while creating a sense of joy and nostalgia.

I have to say that this was way heavier than I was anticipating. While there were moments of queer joy in this sapphic story, I felt overwhelmingly sad and frustrated for these MCs the entire time. The plot did feel incredibly realistic as someone who grew up playing competitive sports; however, it felt overshadowed by the toxicity of the MCs parents and their respective grief.

When looking at reviews for this book, there were a lot of people saying that this is fun and lighthearted when that couldn't be further from the truth. A good amount of the story leans on June pushing through an extremely dangerous injury while also combating the unrealistic expectations that her father has on her professional career. Not to mention, both are dealing with the loss of a loved one from cancer. On the other hand, you have Ivy who is struggling with getting her mother to understand her true passion in her life while feeling like the secondary character. Their family is also grieving the loss of Ivy's brother from cancer as well, which causes her mother to become overbearing.

Grief isn't linear and we all grieve in different ways; however, it truly overshadowed the main plot and the relationship between Ivy and June.

I really think if Jennifer focused on Ivy and June's growing relationship rather than the grief, miscommunication, and unhealthy expectations from their respective parents, this would have been so much better.

Thank you Jennifer Dugan, Putnam and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[MJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Jennifer Dugan books and love her Sapphic YA books. So it was no shock to me I’d love this one!
These two teens bond over loss and sports. It had great plot and lots of teen angst. Amazing, fluffy and cute. Wish I had these books when I was a teen/young adult!
This books written in first person with 2x POV’s. I tandem read with audio and I really enjoyed the narration. Daisy Guevara & Bailey Carr. The FMC’s are aged 17 & 18.

[Mia · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Sure, this had cute moments, but there was tension or build-up to a relationship for me to get totally engaged.

[Kalena ୨୧ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars

RTC!

[TW: death of a family member mentioned, cancer mentioned, underage drinking, shoulder injury, blackmail, panic attacks, sexism, depictions of grief]

[Kayleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a ride-or-die Jennifer Dugan fan for literal life so I was so excited to read her next book early. As always, I really enjoyed it and it was serving sapphic excellence. Both of the main characters were really well developed outside of their romance, but I do wish there was more pining and slow-burn vibe because they got into a relationship really quickly. Other than that, I had fun and really enjoyed it!!

[Eden · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the start of this story and the romance idea between a pitcher and a ref. However, I found their ages unrealistic. I think if they were aged up, this would have been a hit. There was just too much angst for my taste and the FMCs were really unlikable to me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

character development was awful, character personalities were awful, enemies to lovers was awful, plot could’ve been resolved with a conversation. jesus christ

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Playing for Keeps was such a sweet, messy, and very layered story and I thought the romance between Ivy and June was adorable. I’m not a huge sports person, so I appreciated Dugan didn’t go heavy on the technical side of baseball, but I was very much invested in June and Ivy’s games. Now from the cover and synopsis, this book appears to be a cute, fluffy romcom, but it is also a deep exploration of grief, and it is raw and incredibly emotional.

The discussion of mental health and safety in sports and humanization of athletes was so important. Too often spectators get so caught up in the game that they lose sight of the players and officials as actual people and spew vitriol when plays, calls, and outcomes aren’t in favor of their team. With Ivy’s character being an official, she talks about how she, a teenager, is yelled at and stalked by angry parents. It is imperative for fans and parents on the sidelines to remember it’s just a game and these athletes are real people.

Dugan discusses grief and how the pain of loss ebbs and flows, and how our future dreams or plans are shaped or impacted by the memories of lost loved ones. My heart ached for June, Ivy, and their parents as they were all trying to navigate life after loss while seeking connection and a sense of direction. While the conversations were heartbreaking and it took a character reaching their breaking point, I was grateful June and her father and Ivy and her parents finally stopped long enough to be transparent, bare their hurt, and cling to and cry together.

Dugan knocked it out of the park with this tender, emotional, heartwarming sapphic sports romance, and it is sure to be a hit with YA readers.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, a book with queer main characters in which the story line has absolutely nothing to do with them being queer. I feel I have been waiting for a book where I can identify with the main characters but also just enjoy a fun heartwarming story without having to trudge through a painful coming out story or general discourse around the fact the characters are gay. Not that those stories aren’t important, but this was a breath of fresh air. I was able to just sit back and enjoy the story!

This is a super cute sports romance between Ivy, who is determined to become one of very few women in professional sports reffing, and June, who is determined to stand out as a woman in baseball (NOT softball). I thoroughly enjoyed the different dynamic of the referee and player. It introduced a different moral storyline that I haven’t read before. While sports are heavily discussed throughout the book, I never felt like I didn’t understand even though I am not baseball or soccer savvy. The author does a great job of incorporating minimal sports lingo and explaining anything that may be confusing.

The main issue throughout the story is the fact that Ivy and June are not great at communicating. They both are dealing with grief, years after their respective losses, and are managing a lot of feelings and pressure at a young age. I was impressed with how well the author addressed how important honesty and communication is as the book wrapped up. I think this is a great lesson, especially for young readers.

[catreadsabunch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love sports romance and enemies to lovers so I was super hyped for this book! It was definitely by the book even though each play by play felt a little too instant love and a little too immature, even for high schoolers. I felt that some key elements were missing like school which felt like a huge plotline gap and some of their hangouts were just explained away instead of actually showing the audience. However, even with just these minor issues I still found myself rooting for June & Ivy. Their relationship displayed resilience through miscommunication and pure stubborn will and an acceptance of flaws within and beyond their control. They became each other's safe haven and that is a message I will back every single time. 3 stars ⭐⭐⭐ (content warnings: dead family members, cancer, etc)

Thank you Netgalley and @penguinteen for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

[Kristi Hovington · Rating 5 out of 5]

A student gave this to me to read for Pride month, and it is just precious. This is a high school romance with plenty of teen drama with peers and parents and pitched perfectly at that audience. I particularly love this story as both young women are out and accepted by their families - no ghastly coming outs (though I love those books too). it’s refreshing to read about families like this, families like I hang out with irl, who accept their children no matter what. I know not every family is like that - my own family wasn’t and I know many young folks who sadly do not have accepting families - but it’s a nice reflection that for some lucky kids in this generation, things are indeed better.

[paige (ptsungirl) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It turns out there are a lot of things you can become passionate about if you're willing to look."

Not as much baseball as I hoped for, so much teen drama I almost forgot baseball was the plot, and the best friend Mia who made it so I didn't lose my mind. Thank you, Mia, you're the MVP.

[ahana ⊹ [ ia ] · Rating 1 out of 5]

BOOOO 👎🏻🍅

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

not good. the characters were so annoying and the whole book just consisted of them hating and misunderstanding each other yet they are somehow in love and end game. Also there was like a 5 minute ramble on one of the characters going on instagram and tiktok like immediately no. and the covid mentions immediately no.

but like it wasnt dreadful to read so I guess two stars.

[Kenzie]

Unfortunately if ur writing a romance you do have to develop a compelling relationship between the two characters not just a fun concept/plot idea. They each had individual character arcs but nothing about them together made sense or felt integral to the story which is a problem for a romance. Gimme some chemistry! I should be begging for them to get together!!! I felt for them as individuals but could not give less of a fuck if they were together or not. IN A ROMANCE?! I will not complain about any of the YA aspects tho because if I’m not the audience that’s on me

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Playing for Keeps by Jennifer Dugan is a young adult (high school age) novel about a couple of athletes trying to excel on their respective paths when they clash on the field. Both grieving the loss of a loved one and both were under immense pressure to perform during their junior to senior years in high school leading to expected angst revolving around sports, college applications, and the desire to prove they can handle it all on their own. The two first dislike but respect one another then become reluctant friends quickly evolving into something more. Ivy is an official and June is a baseball player so there is an element of secrecy due to the ethical issue. The two mains are strong-willed and caring individuals dealing with their baggage. They struggle a bit to figure out how to navigate all of the complications the relationship brings but ultimately, they find love leads them to understanding and they are willing to do the work. I quite enjoyed this story with its strong, goal-oriented teenagers learning they can accomplish their goals and still be there for one another as well. There are some misunderstandings, selfish words, and heartfelt honest dialogue. Both mains also have an enviable best friend staunchly in their corner. I liked the inner monologues and how sweet the two could be with each other. It was a quick and easy read. It wasn't perfect but I am a fan of Jennifer Dugan's work and will certainly read more.
#HEA #enemies-to-lovers #sports #highschoolangst #foundfamily #dysfunctionalfamily #loss #grief
I received an ARC from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

[Gretal · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars rounded up for Goodreads because there was no Rob Lowe.


Regret to say I did not enjoy this at all, and I'm probably going to be done with Jennifer Dugan's books now as it's become clear to me that Verona Comics rather than Hot Dog Girl was the odd one out.

Brief bullet points of issues with this book:

- mcs were annoying
- absolutely no idea why they liked each other let alone loved each other
- I was actively rooting against them and I don't think their relationship survives much longer past the end of this book
- weird little mentions of COVID that both recognize it's still a thing but also act like it's over and the only mention of masks in this book were the umpire ones.