Soccer star Adeline Fahey has never taken an interest in the world outside of the pitch. The daughter of wealthy Irish immigrants, and a straight-A student, she sees nothing but the goal—finish her last two years of school and join a professional soccer team—no ifs, ands, or buts.

Then Gabriella Soto, a cello prodigy in her own right and the teaching assistant in Adeline’s dreaded Beginning Spanish class, walks onto her playing field.

After a drunken night in a T-rex costume boots their hearts onto a collision course, Adeline and Gabriella must tackle a field of school scandal, homophobic parents, and their own passionate career goals to have a shot at something more. In the face of so many obstacles, Adeline and Gabriella fear that their love may not be strong enough to score them the championship relationship they never knew they wanted.

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Review

This is mostly a gentle, tender romance. It’s relatively high on heat and low on angst. There’s some tense situations, but most are resolved with fairly little difficulty.

The novel hits some of my sweet spots: women in love, sports, and music. Those elements delivered as promised. I really enjoyed the descriptions of the soccer games and the concerts, and the dynamic between Adeline and Gabriella is sexy, fun, and romantic. Those aspects are where this book really shines and what made it worth the read.

The storyline itself isn’t a whole lot to write home about. It’s got some standard arcs, and if that’s what a reader is looking for, then this is perfect. There’s the homophobic parents, the slightly taboo relationship, the lovers’ misunderstanding, and the almost losing each other. While there’s nothing really fresh here, the characters are likable enough to pull it off and make their happily ever after worth the work to get there.

There were a few things that made me cringe a bit (use of the slur “gypsy,” for example). Some of the plots were resolved without any explanation, particularly what becomes of the situation with Adeline’s family. That was glossed over and never had closure. This is the first book in a series, and if these characters are back, then perhaps there’s some better conclusion. The only reason it’s even important is that Adeline does some things that I couldn’t quite wrap my head around, given it’s never quite explained how she managed them under the circumstances.

Overall, I liked this one enough to see where the series goes. Whether that’s with new characters or a revisit to Adeline and Gabriella, I’ll be looking out for more.

For hot sensuality, gentle humor, and a lot of heart, this gets 8/10 fountain pens.

About the Author

Brianna Kienitz (pronounced Kee-nits) started out as an avid reader of lesbian fiction. When reading no longer sated her appetite, she turned to writing the stories she craved. Brianna believes a good story should make you feel every moment deeply, whether it be laughing until it hurts, crying yourself dry, or screaming with unbridled rage. Her Wattpad works have been widely read and have received multiple awards from the Wattpad community. Her current project, Off Pitch, was named Wattpad LGBT Book of the Month in March 2017.

Brianna lives in Missoula, Montana, where she works as a slayer of transit demons, and a dance instructor. She spends most of her down time hiding in her Hobbit Hole with her wife and cat, curating T-rex costume GIF’s and pretending not to be socially awkward on the internet.

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