chronicallybookish's reviews
1477 reviews

This is basically published Ted Lasso fan fiction and I am HERE FOR IT.
Gavin is Roy.
Oliver is Ted, except instead of the coach, he’s the upstart new player (think Jamie).
And it is so. Freaking. Good.
Oliver is a veritable ball of sunshine. I had almost a permanent smile reading his chapters, but he also has anxiety and panic attacks and is still dealing with the aftereffects of a toxic relationship. The similarities to Ted Lasso are blatant, but there’s also more to him than that. They both follow the same archetypes, but Oliver is his own, unique person.
Gavin is a grump with a heart of gold, who hates that he’s falling for Oliver. Their interactions are absolutely priceless. They drive each other crazy—in every possible way. And their chemistry is next level. 
I’m not the biggest fan of “let’s get it out of our systems”, and aspects of that still rang hollow for me, but over all I really enjoyed their dynamics together. 
Roy has chronic pain, and we get discussions of how that is effecting him. It dives into the grief that people experience when they have to come to terms with the fact that their life cannot be what it was, because of that pain. I really appreciated the care that was lent to the exploration of that theme, and how the pacing slowed down to accommodate it. Gavin’s character growth was masterfully done, as was Oliver’s. Both characters grow so much in these pages, both separately and as a couple. I adore them, and I adore this book, and I need more true sports romances from Chloe Liese that are heavy on the sports aspect. I am such a sucker for teammates-to-lovers sports romances.

I had no expectations for this book. I’d never heard of the author before; I didn’t know much about it—all I knew is that there was mental health/disability representation.
And it was so good?! I was completely absorbed in the book. From chapter one, the chemistry and banter between Jack and Raine had me hooked. I loved their characters, and I related so heavily to them both. Not to mention Sebastian? Best kitty ever. I love him. I would die for him.
On a serious note, the representation of both OCD and ADHD were wonderfully done. There was obvious knowledge and care in the handling of the subjects. I’m not sure whether either representation was #ownvoices, but regardless, I highly recommend it for that alone. I really appreciated the depth of discussion and exploration of intrusive thoughts. It’s so rare to see that aspect of OCD represented, and it was so meaningful, as someone with OCD, to read about a character with those experiences. This is a beautiful love story, and I could read about these characters falling in love and finding themselves a dozen times over. They were real, they were flawed, and they were so easy to love and root for.
Even the side characters felt truly alive. I loved them so much and wish I could read an entire additional book for each and every one of them. This is the third book in a series (though they are standalones), and I’m really looking forward to picking up Ollie and Nina’s book, but I desperately wish Roisin, Clara, and Aoife had their own books as well. I loved Sarah Grunder Ruiz’s writing, and I can’t wait to pick up her backlist.

I really wanted to love this book. I’ve picked it up and set it down at least a dozen times since July, but I simply think, at this point, that it is not for me.
The writing was not working for me. It was a but stilted, and it felt like it was sorely lacking in the editing department—I went and bought the finished ebook copy after release, hoping that might solve some of my problems, and while it was maybe a little better, it still didn’t get where I needed it to be for my preferences. 
I really enjoyed Eyre as a character, and I loved the discussions she had about her chronic illnesses. I teared up during the discussion of her endo and infertility. There was a lot of real, raw, heart to the portrayal, from the way Eyre explained it to Darcy, to her internal monologue, to the portrayal of her symptoms. That was by far my favorite aspect of the book.
I also really enjoyed the descriptions of the scenery. They were beautiful and visceral and it felt like I was there, in the Irish countryside. I did feel like some of the irishness came off a bit heavy handed, in a way that felt very much like being stuck in tourist central, which worked in the scenes where they were in tourist shops and such, but when it’s just Darby and Eyre by themselves or hanging out in the local joints, it still felt more like the kind of irishness catered to American tourists as opposed to genuine life-as-a-person-in-Ireland on occasion. 
There was a lot to the story that just felt a bit heavy-handed to me, from the themes to the dialogue. It was all so direct, more telling than showing. It made the narrative feel stilted.
I do think that this was one of the books that just didn’t work for me. I didn’t mesh well with the writing. However, I know others who absolutely love this book, so I think it’s worth giving a shot if it piques your interest.