About: This story follows Elle who has been jobless and living with her boyfriend who she knows has been cheating on her. When she gets an opportunity to be a live in private chef for famous Tennis star Nicky Salco- she take it- even if she has to accommodate Nicky's late night food schedule. Elle faces a tough choice between her professional commitment as Nicky's private Chef and the growing connection during her and Nicky's late night chats. While the attraction is undeniable between the two, pursuing the relationship would jeopardize not only their careers but their personal lives and not to mention that Nicky also is engaged.

What I did like about the book: I was impressed by the growth of both characters near the end of the book. That was what me as a reader wanted to see. I loved that Elle supported Nicky and knew he was more than what the media said about him. I loved Nicky's drive and I loved the fact that it was not an instant- he wins and he gets the girl and that he had his ups and downs throughout his tournaments.

What I struggled with about the book: The main character Elle is truly at her lowest point in her life at the beginning of the book. I was not a fan of the fact that Elle felt she had to stay with her cheating boyfriend because he was paying rent since she has been out a job for some time. I also did not see the chemistry between Elle and Nicky- yes, they had a mutual attraction to one another but late night conversations alone did not signal (to me) this undeniable attraction to one another. The fact that Nicky was surrounded and always had eyes on him made it harder to see how their relationship progressed. Also even as their relationship progressed behind closed doors- it was really hard for me to root for the main characters knowing that Nicky was cheating on his fiancé (even though she is not portrayed as a good person and even if she was "also cheating" on Nicky)- I felt that the book tried to justify that it was okay for Elle and Nicky to be in this relationship.

It is so hard to rate this book- I would give it 3.5. Even though it seems that I more cons- the pros really did outweigh it.

Thank you @netgalley and @hera_books for the eARC of Love Game by @emmarae.author in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

I was really excited for this book being a huge tennis fan and a fan of a good sports romance, but this story just wasn't for me. The cheating trope is just not an enjoyable read for me and I just felt uncomfortable with the charcters justifications of their actions.

I enjoyed the writing style and got through the book quickly, the trope and story itself just wasn't for me.

Loved the theme of tennis in the book. I love sports romance as a genre and had hence wanted to pick this up.

It is a slow burn with close proximity. Overall a fun read on a summer break.

Thank you NetGalley and Hera for this e-arc in exchange of my unbiased review.

I loved this book so much! I haven’t read much tennis romance, but I throughly enjoyed this story. The chemistry between Elle and Nicky was off the charts and it was so much fun getting the read all the ups and down of them falling in love with each other throughout the course of the story. Would highly recommend if you enjoy forbidden romance, sports romance, found family and forced proximity tropes.

Elle Carroway needs a job after the bistro she cooked for folded but getting a temporary job as a personal chef for tennis star Nicky Salco while he played at Wimbledon but cooking for Nicky leads to a full time job. Elle knew that Nicky was engaged to MacKenzie Scheffler because MacKenzie didn’t like Elle.

Nicky Salco had a reputation of a hothead on the tour and he needed Elle because he was always hungry in the middle of the night leading to trouble for both of them.

I had a hard time with Elle because I thought she was being a doormat on but I really hated Nicky for the longest time because he needed to break up with MacKenzie first before getting together with Elle.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the author and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoy sports romances and this was enjoyable in some aspects. However, there were some aspects that were a turn-off for me. The FMC stays with her boyfriend and has unsatisfying sex with him just because she needs to stay in his apartment since she lost her job. Ugh. And the MMC has a fiance, but he comes on to Elle, the heroine, when she’s working for him and staying in his house with him and his fiance. They acknowledge several times those barriers to a relationship, but they carry on anyway. To compensate, the author makes the fiance as obnoxious as possible. So, I guess it’s okay that the main characters are cheating on her. It made me dislike Nicky, the MMC. for how he was treating both Elle and his fiance.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

First off, thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

To be frank, I didn’t enjoy this at all. Why were there like 3 cheating tropes…It just felt so wrong…I was so stressed out for them and just questioning everything…I liked the idea of the story at the start but I got so thrown off by the cheating. Definitely did not sit right with me.

I was really hoping I would like this book but I just couldn’t…Disappointed.

Note: This review has temporarily been posted on Goodreads without a rating, as I am aware that certain publishers/authors do not want any ratings under 4 stars to be posted before the book is released.

2.5 stars rounded to 3 for the sake of this rating system.

I received this book from NetGalley to review and I have to admit, I was drawn in based solely on the cover. The premise is an American tennis player is in Wimbledon to compete and hires a British chef. He is a notorious hot head and she is down on her luck. It had potential!

Unfortunately the writing wasn't for me at all. The format for speech was wrong and the writing was disjointed. The FMC used the MMC's last name every time she referenced him and the dialogue was severely lacking. I also think the (British) author's knowledge of American speech was limited because there were some word choices that had me scratching my head.

The characters were a bit underdeveloped IMO. The MMC flip flopped between kind and rude while the FMC couldn't decide if she was shy or brazen. We learn more about them as the story goes on, but there's not much character development to follow.

The story itself was a good premise but not developed in a way that I found interesting. The time jump was jarring and overall the story moved along in spurts. It was like two steps forward, one step back, and I found it to be a struggle to finish this one. I don't think this author is for me although I can see the potential in her writing.

i feel so bad for having to dnf this but the writing was just not good. it honestly felt really immature and it rambled so much. i wanted to give this a proper chance but it was def lacking. it felt all over the place and just not cohesive. thank you to netgalley and publisher for the e-arc.

I really enjoyed this book & couldn’t put it down.

✨Contemporary Sports Romance
✨Forced Proximity
✨Work place romance : He is her Boss
✨First person POV
✨Slow burn
✨Lots of yearning and angst
✨Secret relationship & hookups / cheating
✨Spicy with a plot

It’s not often I read books with a FMC like Elle where I felt the depths of the emotions she is going through and Emma Rae style of writing really captured that for me . I felt the pain , the love , all the yearning , the self doubts everything she goes through 🥹. its understandable that she is just coming off a relationship with a selfish partner and being in close proximity with someone who sparks her flame and gives her the attention and the luv she deserves and have never had . Several times I had to stop and think and ask myself what would I do in this situation. This was a romance book but I think it was also a lot about personal growth & self discovery for Elle

There are instances where Nicky seems to be taking advantage of her cause she is accessible to him, he could have taken charge earlier of his own life and relationship. and made the decision to leave but he seemed to be over shadowed by that guilty of forever gratefulness to Mack's dad , that often allows people to suffer in pain and not go for what they truly want. Yes he had his flaws as he had been sheltered most of his life as this entity and investment in his tennis career and was over indulged in so many things. I like that he also grew up as part of the story & matured as well & had the opportunity to be with someone who saw him truly.

I was rooting for their love through out controversial I know , but true love always wins. I ❤ the attention & focus he gives to her. 😮‍💨.The spice was 🫠,

I wish it was dual POV thou as with so many emotions and moving parts would have been great to have Nicky’s pov to see things from his perspective and how he navigated the relationship building, what was going through his mind regarding Elle.

I ❤Josie she was the voice of reason the story needed and that support factor for Elle. She was hilarious with her direct approach. She needs her own book. How the other people in the house couldn't tell what was going on the chemistry between Elle and Nicky it should have set alarm bells ringing.

This book is now part of my guilty pleasure list and will be grouped with Scandal (tv series) Something borrowed (Book & Movie)which are my absolute faves ❤

What I enjoy about reading is the ability an author's writing has to be able to grab my attention with the right opener or paragraph as I don't read book blurbs , I picked this book based on the title and the cover. I'm looking fwd to reading more books by this author in the future.

Thank you Net galley and Hera books

Not every book is what you think it might be.

This is one of those.

I thought the cover and the blurb sounded/looked great, and so I wanted to give this one a read, however it wasn't the awkward cute love story you would think. Or the forced proximity that makes a relationship happen.

It was a lot about cheating and that tied up feeling on a past relationship due to financial circumstances.

I was definitely hoping for the cute romance read, but this was not it.

Thank you NetGalley and Hera Publishing for my E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Night-time heart to hearts and midnight meals lead to an unexpected entanglement between a star tennis player and the chef hired to cater to skewwhiff metabolism. Unfortunately for Elle's heart, Nicky is not only focused on his sport, but also comes with one rather unpleasant fiancée.

This was a sweet, swoony and gripping read. Right and wrong get mixed, and passions become blurred, and Elle fights to do what she should, instead of what she really wants.

Written beautifully, this is well worth a read - especially coming into Wimbledon season!

In the wake of Challengers, I was so excited for this book. Tennis is cool and sexy again and I couldn’t wait to read a romcom book on tennis. But, I was so disappointed by this book mainly because I couldn’t root for Nikki and Elle because they were cheaters! Regardless of how hatable Mac was, it didn’t redeem Nikki and Elle. I spent most of the book just wanting to yell at them both to pull it together. The book was well written and I would read this writer again, but I do hope she’ll drop the romanticizing cheating storyline for future books.

I absolutely loved this! Super cute, easy read but the chemistry made me swoon and the banter had me laughing out loud!

"Love Game" by Emma Rae is a charming rom-com filled with witty dialogue and heartfelt moments. With relatable characters and unexpected plot twists, Rae crafts a delightful story that will leave readers smiling. It's a joyous read for anyone seeking a dose of love and laughter.

I really enjoyed this book. I felt that Elle was a really likeable character and was glad for the first person POV.

I did find that it took some time for Elle to realise her self-worth, being cheated on by her ex and then becoming the other woman made her seem a little insecure. But I’m glad that by the end she had made strides in changing this about herself.

I don’t know why, but I found the whole eating at all hours quite funny. Wifey material to be whipping up those meals in the early hours!

I found Nicky a little immature, in the way his attitude came across to Elle at the start, and in a sense having his cake and eating it by keeping his fiancée but falling for Elle too. I didn’t quite understand why as soon a she left his finances Elle left him, as to me that was the whole point. But I’m glad they eventually ended up together and Nicky and Elle both grew as people.

I enjoyed this forced-proximity, forbidden love book and am grateful to have been given the opportunity to have it as an ARC.

Elle, is a Brit, which both sets Love Game apart from its peers and is good for heightening the sense of her being a 'fish out of water', somewhat isolated amongst the Americans who dominate the cast. I'd say that the main theme is a more positive one: that of self-determination. Both Elle and Nicky must find the strength to stand up for themselves in their individuals lives before they're able to achieve their HEA, so it feels earned when they get there. In all, the emotional and moral themes are mature both in nature and in how they're written, which makes for a refreshingly nuanced story. I also enjoyed the secondary characters, and the story was well-written; I'll definitely be looking out for further titles from Emma Rae, and would recommend the book to fans of New Adult and romance titles as well as those of sports romance more specifically.

Thank you Netgalley for this eARC!

I honestly didn't love this book and thought it missed the mark for me a few times. I am not a huge fan of romance novels that incorporate cheating into the plot, however I went into this book knowing that would be a part of it. I didn't love this component, but it is what it is and I was able to move past it. What I didn't love was the main male character, which made it even harder to get past the cheating components. He was really just unlikeable in my opinion and Elle deserved better.

I enjoy forced proximity romances. The cheating is forgivable because Nicky and Elle's connection was so compelling that it was evident he was with the wrong woman from the start. The narrative offered a blend of sweet, spicy, and humorous elements. Incorporating a dual POV to share Nicky's perspective would have enhanced the story. I would be thrilled to see a sequel or a standalone series featuring Tag and Syd!

My gratitude to Netgalley and Emma Rae's publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly had a very hard time trying to write this review. The book's premise centers around cheating and tries to loosely base itself around Jane Eyre. Elle is the main character and like Jane she too is an orphan. Elle depends on her lackluster boyfriend, Jamie, (who is also knowingly cheating on her with multiple women!) for housing and living conditions because she is unemployed. Unlike Jane she does not carry a sense of self worth, dignity, or integrity. She lands a job as a personal chef for a very famous and handsome tennis player, Nicky Salco. The job provides a hefty stipend, housing and travel accommodations but comes with a catch. She must feed Nicky at unusual times during the late hours of the night. We’re talking 1:30am to 3am because like the name suggest Nicky is self entitled little man who has to be fed on demand because he’s starving and a metabolism of a 15 year old growing boy 😑. Nicky is rude to Elle, mocks her, and plainly just uses her for her culinary skills. The book tries to paint Nicky as a moody Mr. Rochester and handsome Paul Bettany (Wimbledon circa 04) but it falls flat. Nicky is engaged and openly planning his wedding to his equally bratty fiancé McKenzie who is also cheating on him!!! Don’t even get me started on homegirl because she is just the worst.
Y’all I hate a cheating trope and this book is glitter soaked and caked in it. Throughout the story Elle and Nicky fall in lusty love, because what they have ain’t love it’s just pure physical attraction. Yet, despite Elle being cheated on by Jamie she decides to bypass her Jane Eyre integrity and just go after Nicky. I feel for Elle because she has no moral compass, parents to lean on or a nurturing relationship with her sister Josie who is just plain rude. I wish the author would explore these avenues for Elle and talk about how she can grow as a character or put her with a therapist!
I honestly thought the book had good bones as a Jane Eyre inspired novel but the constant cheating from SO many characters was a huge no factor for me.
Thank you NetGalley, Emma Rae, and Hera Books for the ARC Copy of Love Game. All thoughts and opinions are my own.