Alley Oops I Think I'm Falling in Love: An Enemies-to-Lovers Basketball Romance

by Mari Kane

She’s desperate for a first kiss.
He’s the reason she can't get one.

Aria DeLang is cursed with three Sasquatch height, crippling social anxiety, and an “Honorary Dick.” What’s that, you ask? Well, you’d have to ask Roscoe Tate. He’s been ruining her life since elementary school. He’s sickeningly handsome, infuriatingly nonchalant, and he has his own fan club. Barf.

Desperate to break her curse, Aria has tried everything—befriending the resident mean girl, drawing thirst traps of controversial professional athletes, and flirting experiments that are wildly out of her comfort zone.

Crickets.

So when a very hungover Roscoe Tate shows up on her doorstep, Aria does what any cursed, lonely, virgin-lipped girl would do—she makes a deal with the Dark Lord of Hoops. She’ll help him get back in his coach’s good graces if he helps her score a swoon-worthy first kiss.

Unfortunately, Roscoe’s version of help involves dragging her to sketchy parties, rigging spin-the-bottle games, and sabotaging her dates. He crashes her all-girls pool party, looks way too good without a shirt, and acts like he might actually want to kiss her himself.

Gross.
Well . . . maybe?
Ugh.

The crazy thing is—it’s working. All her guy friends are finally noticing her, Roscoe’s best friend tried to kiss her, and the only boy she can’t stop thinking about is the one she swore to hate.

The curse started with a kiss. Can it end with one?

482 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 26, 2025

Reviews

[cali]

Just saw an ig ad for this and it made me laugh: https://www.instagram.com/p/DSt8IUOgO...

[Kels · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such a fun surprise! If you love sports romance, this basketball story absolutely delivers—and it’s refreshing to read one in a genre where basketball romances are still way too rare. The MMC is lovable, funny, and completely swoon-worthy, and the banter throughout had me laughing more than once.

The love triangle was done *so* well. Two great guys competing for her heart, and honestly? I loved them both. I’m firmly Team Roscoe, but Taylor definitely made it hard to choose. The slow burn tension, emotional pull, and witty dialogue kept me hooked from start to finish.

This was a perfect mix of humor, romance, and sports, with characters that feel real and easy to root for. I flew through it and am already impatiently waiting for book two. Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys slow-burn romance, love triangles, and sports stories—especially if you’re craving more basketball romances! 🏀❤️

[Cherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had such a blast reading this book even if it was my second time. I was giggling and kicking feet the whole time.

I love the writing, I think it makes Aria so much relatable and I love how unserious she is in her mind.

My only wish would be for them to be older than senior year high school, but the tension is so fucking delicious and to be honest, I never thought playing Basketball would make me blush 💀 like for real, some of the honest scenes they were not even kissing and that was soooo delicious to read.

I kind of hope it gets even more hotter in college 👀🔥

Anyway, I give this a big 4.5/5 ⭐️

[SPOILER]









TAYLOR BACK THE FUCK OFF FROM ARIA

[Kylie Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author was funny and the banter was top tier. Can’t wait for the next one! #TeamRoscoe

[Matthew McKane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn’t know I’d like a basketball romance so much. Def worth the read.”

[M.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was true enemjes-to-lovers, their hatred for each other felt real and it didn’t magically evaporate as soon as they were forced together. The banter felt organic too. My favorite part though was the MMC. I felt like the author did a good job writing a masculine MMC that wasn’t soft, but wasn’t toxic either. They got the balance right. I wish I could have seen more interactions with Taylor though, hopefully in the next one