3 Passionfruit Cheesecake Stars ⭐
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️/5

Okay. This book is the epitome of sometimes you don't get what you are expecting. I am not going to lie and say based on the blurb I was hoping for a cute little awkward love story of a chef and pro tennis player put into a forced proximity situation. Nowhere did I expect such a focus to be on cheating and feeling tied to a relationship because of a personal debt to that relationship and how these characters navigate out of that situation.

So this book follows Elle who has recently become the personal chef to Nikki Salvo, a professional tennis player with a slight temper problem. He also has a weird condition where he has to wake up in the middle of the night and eat food. So Elle is hired to be his personal chef and make sure that he is fed at 2 a.m. and while she tries to keep it strictly professional, he just can't keep his hands off of her even though he has a fiance.

Now, Elle is sweet and timid and in a rut. She has just left her cheating boyfriend who never took his time to actually give her a proper orgasm, and is alone, as her only family (her sister) lives in Spain. She is incredibly hard on herself and doesn't value or see her worth because of what has happened. She is vulnerable and forms a bond with Nikki, and soon her little crush develops into feelings and she acts on them knowing that he is attached to somebody else even if his fiance (McKenzie) is the literal spawn of satan, an awful spoilt bitch who totally views Nikki as an accessory and label that gives her clout, over an actual man with feelings.

Overall I don't really care that this book contains the cheating trope (However if you don't like this trope you won't like this book so don't pick it up and then bash it because of it) Sometimes there are stories where it happens. You don't necessarily have to approve of it in real life to enjoy the book. But the thing was, it was not the cheating that made this fall flat for me, it was that I think Elle deserves more from a man and Nicky was too unlikable for most of the book to persuade me otherwise.

It is these types of books that I actually despise being a first-person because the portrayal of Nikki and his side of the story was severely lacking and because you aren't in his mind, seeing him process - he just seems like an awful character. While he does redeem himself in the end, most of the book he is a horny selfish boy who doesn't respect Elle's boundaries or feelings and he is too scared to lose what has been handed to him. It's only on the threat of this loss that he changes his actions. He was just childish and unlikable and I didn't like that he didn't know how to stand up for himself. Overall he was a coward towards standing up for himself with regards to his sport and standing up against McKenzie, and finally - a coward for not fighting for Elle sooner! Overall I just didn't like him.

I did however absolutely adore Elle. I really loved her growth and how she was able to set boundaries for herself, set boundaries for Nikki, and really intrinsically think of what she needed in life to make her happy and what was good for her.

One problem that I had with this was that the pacing felt off. There's a lot of time passing where I wish we could see a little bit more of the development of the two characters and how Nikki fell in love with her. I saw more of how side characters fell in love with each other than the progression of Nikki and Elle. This is because there are a lot scenes thrown in, passages that explain time passing and references to things that had happened, but we weren't shown those aspects happening overall. You are told and have to believe and not shown.

Trope Summary:
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Sports Romance
▶ Workplace Romance
▶ Secrets and Lies
▶ Secret Pining
▶ Chef X Tennis Star
▶ Cheating

In the end, I love that Elle had a chance to grow and find happiness, I appreciate that Nikki was able to get his head out of his ass and realize what a selfish child he was being and shape up for Elle and prove to her what she means to him.

It took me a few chapters to get over the main reason why she gets the contract to cook for him. I thought that it was somewhat unrealistic and repetitive but as I kept reading it stopped bothering me and got to focus more on the actual plot.
The book overall was fast paced and entertaining. The banter was also fun even though I would have enjoyed more conversation between the MCs so that I could feel a genuine connection.
In the beginning I really liked both characters but as the story progressed I couldn't ignore some of their actions and ended up loving every character except for the two main ones.
I think that there should be a warning in the chapter 5 due to SA.

ch. 7: I'm from Argentina and I found a couple of mistakes when Lonzo speaks spanish.
In spanish we have two ways of the verb "to be" which are "ser" and "estar" the correct way in this case would be "Estás muy linda hoy" instead of "Eres muy linda hoy". Also the verb "daré" is not really used with abstract nouns such as "phrase", we would use "enseñaré" (will teach) or "diré" (will say).
He also says "cariña" when it should be "cariño".

I couldn’t put this book down! I started it yesterday evening and I’ve just finished it! Such an easy fast read!

The book follows Elle who is a personal chef and lands a job cooking for a huge tennis star Nicky Salco. The terms of the job is that she has to wake up in the middle of the night to cook for him, this causes the two of them to get close and attraction develops - the only issue is Nicky already has a fiancée.

I loved seeing the development of their relationship play out and at some points I really didn’t know what the next step was going to be, so it really kept me on my toes. If you’re looking for a quick, cute, summer read that will 100% get you out of a slump, THIS IS THE BOOK! The book did have quite a few spice scenes, so just a warning incase you prefer closed door romances.

The Love Game was one of the most unbelievable, predictable books and not in a good way.

Take out every character cheating and add in some more tennis action and it would have been a fantastic read.

Overall, at minimum this book needs a warning that it’s a cheating trope because it’s not mentioned in the preview at all. But honestly it’s so unbelievable that this woman would go from being cheated on to IMMEDIATELY being the other woman and standing for that. It also adds absolutely nothing to the story. The whole first 20% could be cut out and it would be a 3-4 star read depending on if you go for the cheating trope or not. Keep the first 20% in and it’s a 1 star read… if you manage to get through it at all. Also, there’s minimal tennis action which is disappointing from a book that appears to be a sports romance. Then to make this book even worse the last words are “And Reader… he did.” Which might be the dumbest ending to a book that I’ve ever seen.

To sum it up… everyone in this book is cheating on their significant other, there’s minimal tennis action and a lot of food description.

Elle is a personal chef hired to feed Nicky the tennis pro while he is at different tournaments. He has a bad habit of getting up at night to eat a full meal. Elle and Nicky form a relationship during these late night meals. Nicky has a terrible run of form and crashes out of each tournament he plays in.

Eventually, Nicky’s fiancée, Mackenzie accused Elle of trying to steal Nicky from her and throws Elle in the pool. Elle runs off and Nicky breaks off the engagement. However, Elle is so offended that Mackenzie threw her in the pool she refuses to go back with Nicky and runs off to Spain… yes even though the entire book she wanted Nicky to break off the engagement she now says it’s not good enough.

More tennis failures, Elle gives Nicky an ultimatum and then they get the happily ever after.

This was not the book for me but I appreciate the arc provided by NetGalley and the publisher!

this book took me weeks to finish which is very unlike me. i usually finish books either in one sitting or in a matter of days. i just found myself having difficulty with liking the characters and the prosecution of the story. the writing was decent which makes me willing to try another book by this author in the future. it's just this one wasn't for me. :/

*thank you Netgalley and Emma Rae for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest review. <3*

The main storyline is that Elle Caraway (FMC) is hired as a personal chef for the handsome tennis pro Nicky Salco (MMC). The two start to bond over the late night dinners (second dinner) that she prepares for him and grow more and more fond of each other during these moments. Can this relationship bloom with the pressure of his tennis career, family and current loveless relationship?

Overall, I liked this book! I found this story to be different from what I have previously read. I have never read this type of dynamic (tennis pro/boss and personal live-in chef). I think the dynamics of the characters are well done and you can feel the angst jumping off the page. The author did an amazing job writing emotion in this book, you could feel the emotions (hurt, love, etc.) of the FMC throughout the story. The steam that came off the pages were !!!

The biggest piece that I struggled with in this book would be that this relationship is blooming between the MMC and FMC while the MMC is still engaged. Their relationship is not built from love but rather still intact due to financial ties. I am personally not the biggest fan of a cheating trope even with all the pining these two MCs had for each other.

I think what could have amplified this book would be a dual POV. That way, we could learn more about what is going on in the MMC’s head, his feelings towards the FMC and better understand his mindset during all the interference in his rollercoaster of a career.

Tropes:
Forced Proximity
Sports Romance
Boss/Employee
Cheating (with each other)

Thank you NetGalley and Canelo for the eARC of Love Game by Emma Rae in exchange for an honest review.

DNFed at 34%

I didn't just hate this because of the cheating trope, okay maybe yes. It was just icky. For a FMC that realices her partner was cheating on her in chapter one, she goes ahead and follows these feelings he has for a man that a girlfriend. At least to the point that she got, they try to justify that they can't seem to stay away from each other... then BREAK UP WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND. The FMC kind of tried to justify it because she doesn't like his girlfriend. I don't know, it just weirded me out.

It sucks because you can read the connection between them and if the book didn't have the whole cheating aspect, I might've finished it.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Summary: The story revolves around Elle, a cook who’s down on her luck on both her personal and professional front. She’s desperate for a job and to be away from her cheating boyfriend. Said luck turns around when she gets the chance to be a personal chef to a famous tennis player, Nicky Salco, who’s hot and unfortunately spoken for. But neither his fiancé nor her cheating boyfriend can keep the sparks from flying between them, especially when they’re spending so much time alone together for Nicky’s midnight meals.

Review: Let me just start by saying that I finished this book in one sitting. I simply couldn’t put it down. It was super entertaining and fun to read. The book was written well and the pacing was perfect, not one boring moment. The tension between the leads and drama was to die for. The only reason the book is not a full 5 stars is because of the cheating trope.

Recommentation: If you’re looking for a quick read, filled with tension, drama, and an appropriate amount of spice.

Huge thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

This book wasn't really for me but as it was an easy ready I finished it. I found the characters quite annoying and wasn't rooting for them to be together like I do in other romance books. Also the cheating plotline is not one I support which ruined the romance between the leads, especially as she was cheated on and thinks it is bad that she is the other woman and yet continues to help him cheat for months.

Tropes:
Forced proximity
Employee/employer
Sports romance
Cheating 😟

The only reason this didn’t get 5 stars was the fact it had cheating as a trope.
Another great tennis romance I’ve read lately. The FMC was really relatable (apart from her having an affair with an engaged man).
I liked the MMC and you could tell he struggled a bit mental health wise.
Third act breakup was written well and glad it had a HEA as it wouldn’t be a good romance book without one.

ARC Review ~ Love Game ~

*******************************************

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is such a quick and sweet read, I finished it in one evening! It does feature a couple tropes I’m not comfortable with but it was still sweet and the author handled those uncomfy tropes in such a great way that I was very happy with the ending!

Thank you NetGalley and Hera for this ARC!

I honestly tried to get into the book, but it was a complete DNF, however I couldn't connect with the female character and found myself shaking my head and throwing way too many eye rolls in it's direction.

Based on this I chose to not push on and finish it.

This was my first arc read and I was a bit disappointed. After reading the blurb I thought there would be a lot of tension and build up before they got together, and out of both of their relationships. Unfortunately, I’d set myself up for disappointment.

There was so much cheating and it just stopped me feeling any kind of connection to the characters. The MFC, Elle, was financially dependant on her boyfriend who she found was cheating on her, it went through the shame she felt staying and the freeing feeling of the job opportunity she was given to work as a personal chef to the MMC, Nicky. He’s a professional tennis player with a super high metabolism, meaning he gets up in the middle of the night to eat.

They use these hours in the nights to get to know each other and tension builds. He however has a fiancé, but initiates the affair anyway. It’s stated later in the book that he’d stopped sleeping with his fiancé before he even kissed Elle, but that felt like they were excusing the cheating. They carry this on for the majority of the book and it just doesn’t make sense to me for a woman who is cheated on, who throughout the book actively thinks about how wrong it is to be the other woman, would then be the other woman for MONTHS.

Honestly, if it wasn’t an arc I probably would’ve put it down quite early on.

However, I did give it 2 stars because the spice was spicing and I knew if it was a different situation between the characters I might’ve been kicking my feet giggling.

Overall the cheating trope is not for me and neither was this book unfortunately.

I loved this book. It was a very hot and steamy story following Elle and Nicky. Nicky a pro tennis player and Elle his personal chef.

Well the tension and steam were there in abundance. All the characters were great, I thought Syd was the best character, on the sidelines but a great part in the story. Josie was a great sister, trying to protect Elle. Then theres Mackenzie, what a character, the snobbery and jealousy were off the scale!

I read this in 2 sittings, I thoroughly recommend!!

This was such a cute book! I really enjoyed this book. The story was very well written and the characters were so cute together and the banter was amazing!

There were so many things I loved about this story!! The food 🤩🤤, Elle and Nicky's friendship, the found family, the tennis (both a sport I love to play and one we don't see often in romance books). The epilogue was perfect. Truly a 4 🌟 story that I read in one sitting. *Except*.....there was one part that I can't get past.

The cheating. The majority of the book is him cheating and her as the other woman. And considering the story starts with Elle figuring out her bf was cheating....I just can't with that. When he finally calls off his engagement there's a lot of I should haves but he didn't. I liked how they worked to come back together in the end, but there's a few tropes that are a very strong nope from me and cheating is one of them. Had this been in the summary, I may not have picked it up.




Thank you Netgalley and Hera for the ARC in exchange for my review!

‘I’ve never felt this need with anyone before now. I look at him and I feel lust, but it’s more than that. I want to feel loved by him too. I know the solution is to leave. But he’s captured me, and I’m grounded.’

Thankyou to the author and publisher, for granting me access to an ARC of this book.

A cute little sport romance, although I struggled with the idea of the cheating trope, it was a good read. The plot fell a bit short in some places, but the ending made up for it.

3.5/5🪷 i absolutely loved the concept of this book when i received the ARC! A British personal chef meets an American pro tennis player & through (many) ups & downs they find their perfect match (no pun intended LOL).
in a more serious review- i did love the romance in this book, I loved that the fmc finds her 'found family' and her standards for herself after leaving a bad relationship. i absolutely adored nicky’s obsession w her towards the end and how the motivation of a relationship with her increases his drive to win the championships!
to be completely honest, I didn’t love the cheating aspect. I didn’t think that it would go as far as it did before he left his relationship with Mac and ngl I kinda loved that she reacted the way she did (even if she was also cheating.. LOL talk about a toxic relationship).
But overall this was a CUTE rom com that’s PERFECT for summer and was very hard to put down once started!! i’m such a huge fan of emma rae now & will be looking out for her next book 🤩

Hello! Thank you for giving me the chance to read this interesting book. I've recently started playing tennis, so it was fun to understand and follow some of the lingo. This was a quick read with not a lot of depth, and perfect for book hangover.
Thanks!

This was a really sweet story but unfortunately it fell for me due to the cheating, I found it really hard to root for the two of them. I've never read a sports romance involving tennis before so I really enjoyed that aspect.