The Long Game by Elena Armas

A disgraced soccer exec reluctantly enlists the help of a retired soccer star in coaching a children’s team in this smalltown love story in the vein of Ted Lasso and It Happened One Summer —from the New York Times bestselling author of The Spanish Love Deception.

Adalyn Reyes has spent years perfecting her daily routine: wake up at dawn, drive to the Miami Flames FC offices, try her hardest to leave a mark, go home, and repeat.

But her routine is disrupted when a video of her in an altercation with the team’s mascot goes viral. Rather than fire her, the team’s owner—who happens to be her father—sends Adalyn to middle-of-nowhere North Carolina, where she’s tasked with turning around the struggling local soccer team, the Green Warriors, as a way to redeem herself. Her plans crumble upon discovering that the players wear tutus to practice (impractical), keep pet goats (messy), and are terrified of Adalyn (counterproductive), and are nine-year-old kids.

To make things worse, also in town is Cameron Caldani, goalkeeping prodigy whose presence is somewhat of a mystery. Cam is the perfect candidate to help Adalyn, but after one very unfortunate first encounter involving a rooster, Cam’s leg, and Adalyn’s bumper, he’s also set on running her out of town. But banishment is not an option for Adalyn. Not again. Helping this ragtag children’s team is her road to redemption, and she is playing the long game. With or without Cam’s help.

Published by Atria
on September 5, 2023

Review:

This book was described as being in the same vein as Ted Lasso, so I immediately added it to my TBR, and when I saw Aardvark had picked it up last fall, I added it to one of my monthly boxes. While I enjoyed it well enough, I can honestly say I didn’t see a whole lot of similarities between this book and Ted Lasso (aside from Cameron – the male love interest – bearing several similarities to Roy fucking Kent on the show). That said, I still enjoyed the book, though I really felt the most entertaining parts of the book were the scenes with the kids.

The book starts with a humorous incident in which Adalyn, the protagonist, gets into a scuffle with the mascot of the Miami Flames soccer team, which goes viral on the internet. The twist is that Adalyn’s father is the owner of the Miami Flames, and she works for the team. As a result, this incident turns into a PR nightmare. However, instead of firing her, her father sends her to a small town in North Carolina to help the struggling local soccer team, the Green Warriors. Adalyn assumes that she has rented a charming cottage, but upon arriving in town, she discovers that the cottage she thought she had rented is already occupied by a bearded British man. To her surprise, her assistant has mistakenly rented a converted tool shed next to the cottage for her stay.

To top things off, this isn’t just any grumpy British dude – he is Cameron Caldani – a recently retired soccer star from LA who is hiding out in North Carolina. The two get off on the wrong foot, and it only gets worse when, the following day, Adalynn goes to meet the soccer team she is supposed to help. Turns out the team is a bunch of 9-11-year-old girls, and Cameron is their coach. Determined to prove to her father that she is capable of handling this job, Adalynn digs in, working alongside (and eventually falling in love with) Cameron as they turn the team around.

One of the aspects that I particularly enjoyed about this book was the character development. Adalyn is a flawed yet relatable protagonist who undergoes significant growth throughout the story. Her interaction with the Green Warriors is both humorous and endearing. As someone who takes soccer seriously, Adalyn is determined to whip them into shape and lead them to victory. To do this, she has to change her way of thinking and embrace this ragtag group of kids.

As far as Cameron goes, yeah, he’s sexy, but this was likely because I pictured him as Brett Goldstein – the actor who plays Roy Kent on “Ted Lasso” – and let’s face it, that dude is hot. It’s only natural that we’re going to swoon over him getting sexy with Adalynn (while wishing we were her). Although they have a rocky start, their unlikely partnership brings out the best in both characters. Cam’s mysterious past and his initial reluctance to help Adalyn add layers of intrigue to the story. As their relationship develops, the banter and chemistry between Adalyn and Cam are undeniably charming, and the sex is pretty steamy.

The concept of the book is really cute, and I did enjoy it, but if I were to offer one criticism, it would be that I wish there had been more scenes with the kids’ soccer team. These were some of my favorite scenes. Sadly, these scenes were few and far between, with a lot of the story focusing on Adalynn’s issues with her father and the development of the romance between Cameron and Adalynn outside of the soccer team. This was a big letdown for me.

Overall, this is a charming and delightful read that will leave you with a smile on your face. While I wished I’d gotten to see Adalynn and Cameron’s relationship develop on the field instead of around town and at their shared property, I still enjoyed it. Rom-com lovers will likely adore this one.