Monica Murphy can do absolutely no wrong in my eyes EVER! Dare I say this is my favorite book of hers ever!! I loved it from start to finish and I can’t wait to read about more of the characters from this story!!
If you love:
- football romance
- college setting
- friends to lovers
- they are roommates
- forced proximity
Then add this to your TBR!!

I was so excited for End Game, especially with all the great tropes—sports romance, forced proximity, roommates to lovers—but unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. Nico and Everleigh’s romance felt flat, with little chemistry or tension between them, despite the numerous descriptions of their attraction. The pacing was off, with some scenes dragging while others felt rushed. That said, the side characters were fun, especially the dynamic between the roommates. If you’re a fan of college sports romances and don’t mind surface-level character development, you might enjoy this one, but it wasn’t for me.

a cute, fun, flirty sports romance with lots of slow burn! I wouldn’t say this is a typical monica murphy-style book writing wise but I still enjoyed it. Both Nico and Everleigh were enjoyable characters and I loved the roommate dynamic (it’s giving new girl). I really thought I’d love the plot but it fell a bit flat for me unfortunately. It felt more YA than I’m used to but still overall a good book. I would still recommend it for all my sports romance girlies looking for their next fix of a grumpy x sunshine, forced proximity, college romance!

Thank you to Valentine PR, NetGalley, & Monica Murphy for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. as you’re reading this it’s already released so check it out 💜

ARC review for End Game by Monica Murphy

Thanks to Monica and Valentine PR for the ARC opportunity!

Featured tropes: sports romance, roommates to lovers, forced proximity, found family, opposites attract, slow burn, reformed playboy

Triggers: not really any, it's a pretty tame book. Obsessive ex maybe? Financial struggles?

Review: 3.5/5

I don't have much of an intro here so let's just dive in to what I liked and didn't like and find out why...

Things I liked:
- The character building was great. As the first book in the series, Monica did a good job of introducing a wide cast of characters that you want to know more about. Like, why is Gavin such a dumb dumb? And why is Cooper the stoic boy he is? And does Dollar find himself a partner?! (Dollar gives me Mike Hollis vibes from Elle Kennedy's Briar U series, FYI!). A lot of intrigue around the characters that I'm sure I'll continue reading the series to get to know them more.
- I loved Sienna. She was such a great side character and I can't wait for her book with what I can only assume will be with Gavin (seriously, why is he such a dumb dumb?).
- Despite his flaws, I did quite enjoy Nico. He's a dummy too but he's just endearing enough that I couldn't hold it against him too much. I think Everleight is good for him and you can see him grow throughout the book.

Things I disliked or missed the mark:
- For being on the tail-ends of their college careers, the characters all felt rather immature (not that college kids are necessarily mature either). Some of their antics throughout the book (particularly Nico's) seemed very high school.
- I wanted more. We get the impression that home sucks for Everleigh. But, beyond knowing about a lump of an ex-boyfriend, we don't know much about her past and what supposedly made it so miserable. Everleigh was, overall, a little boring and I think some of this background might have made her more intriguing. And then, we have Nico who's touted as this future NFL star...but is he? Don't know because the story just sort of ends without any closure in that sense. I understand epilogues aren't necessarily a given in any book but, gosh dangit, I like knowing where the characters have gone. Your girl just wants an epilogue to live in their HEA just a little longer!

Overall, I think I can say I liked this book. I'll likely check out the rest of the series as it releases and maybe someday have time to read some of Monica's other work.

No matter what Monica Murphy writes — you 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 believe that I'm going to read it! There's just something so nostalgic about the stories and the characters she writes that hook me right in and capture my heart completely!

𝐄𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 (𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐬 #𝟏) is the 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 start to this new fun and sexy college romance series! Everleigh and Nico shouldn't work as a couple, and yet I couldn't help but root for them from their first encounter. I just knew we were in for a 𝐒𝐋𝐎𝐖 𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍 with these two and the author did not disappoint. The 𝒑𝒖𝒔𝒉 and 𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒍 between them had me screaming out loud in frustration — and yet I couldn't get enough of it. It made their journey to happily ever after even more satisfying!

I already cannot wait for the next book in this series because I need more stories from this group of friends/roommates!

The first book in a series is always hard to want to jump into, but knowing Monica Murphy's books and characters, there was no way I wasn't jumping in with both feet. Nico and Everleigh become roommates when her housing falls through and Nico & friends find themselves with an extra room when someone backs out. Needless to say, Everleigh is just happy to have housing and the guys are happy someone agreed to cook for them 3 days a week for a discount on rent. All the guys except Nico. Everleigh finds herself becoming friends with the guys as well as some of the girls who are around on the regular. This in itself is huge for Everleigh as she sees herself as more of a plain jane. Nico & Everleigh's love story is definitely a slow burn. They evolve from friends, to dating with lots of making out, but don't get to the good stuff till the very end. I am so excited to for the other books in the series. Each of the guys are so different, while all being the cocky football stars of the college. Their stories are going to be so good and I hope we see more of Nico & Everleigh in their stories.

End Game
Author- Monica Murphy
Series- Kings of Campus Book #1
Rating- 4 Stars out of 5
Genres- New Adult Romance, Contemporary Romance
Tropes- College, Roommates, Sports, Football,
Main Characters- Everleigh and Nico
Spice Level- 1.5/5
HEA (For Now)

I haven't read a new adult romance in what feels like forever and I have to say this book had all the angst you'd expect from two college students falling in love with one another while they're roommates. Someone is always fighting their feelings, no one is telling the truth about what they feel, and of course there is another roommate that is also in love with the girl.
I thought this book was very good, it was fast paced, interesting to read and I enjoyed the dynamics between all of the characters. In particular I had a soft spot for Dollar, I thought he was just so sweet and I really can't wait to read his story because he deserves love too.

Everleigh Olmstead has transferred to UC Santa Mira wanting the ultimate college experience and has everything set up and then finds out her housing deal fell through. She's desperate to find a place and when she overhears a group of guys talking about needing another roommate she follows them and tells them she wants to rent the room. She has no idea they are football players.
"I mean, do you think she's aware of...who we are exactly?"

Nico Valente is a senior and it's his final year with the Santa Mira Dolphins. He's a player and one all the girls want to be with but he's not looking for a relationship. He isn't really on board with Everleigh moving in fearing things would change and they have.

Everleigh starts to crush on Nico, is this going to change the dynamics in the house? And does he feel the same about her?

4 stars

I am a fan of Monica Murphy and I was super excited for her new series!

Everleigh transfers to UC Santa Mira to get the “ full college experience” and doesn’t have much in the way of a support system so she is essentially on her own. She thinks she has everything figured out but when something happens to the room she was suppose to rent, she is left homeless. What is a girl to do?? Why become roommates with some crazy good looking football players that’s what, it doesn’t hurt she has no idea who they are and just treats them like normal people.

Nico is your typical playboy who made the mistake of “ trying to date” a cleat chaser, Portia, who is just a vile human being. He likes Everleigh but he tries to stay away from her cause his reputation and since their roommates he doesn’t wanna go there and mess things up.

When these two stop fighting their feelings they are electric. Ever doesn’t care that Nico’s a football she calls him out on his shit which is refreshing and they are good together. I will say when Nico is trying to be a dick, he succeeds.

The book definitely lays the ground work for the next books to come in the series and with that being said I need Gavin and Sienna’s book like right now. Can’t wait for the rest of the series!

New series! This was a fun quick cute read. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters. Although I will say Everleigh kind of annoyed me with her back and forth.
Eventually she figured it out but she was almost exhausting. And I also feel like this reads more like a really YA book? It just felt very young to me. Which, granted they're in their 20s and college so I get it. Very little spice but the story flowed really nicely. Will probably continue on with this series because I'm curious how some of the storylines are going to play out.

Light Fun Slow Burn Sports Romance.

I absolutely love Monica Murphy's Sports Romance so I was so excited to read this one. It's definitely a slow burn that will feel like you are being edged thoroughly here lol.

Everleigh transferred to a new school finding herself homeless and a whole slew of other issues plaguing her to finding her new beginning. Enter the football team to the rescue here with an extra bed to spare with the conditions of cooking and playing rent for said room. She finds herself befriending the players but feelings develop for one certain player named Nico. They definitely have the will they won't they vibes playing out with a slow burn to insta love feel also.

Nico is the quintessential big man on campus and he's a definite player on and off the field. He is looking to make this his big last year and isn't looking for any relationships or distractions. The only problem is he seems to have a full blown attraction to Everleigh and can't seem to communicate said attraction. This is where the forced proximity crushing on your roommate hits and the slow edging of them crossing the line or not plays out hard. These two will have you rooting for them to find a HEA.

These two were a fun light read with all the vibes of a sports romance you want. The secondary characters were also a lot of fun and I'm hoping since this was book 1 in this new series we get their stories also. So if you love slow burn, adult college sports romance, forced proximity, and the build-up of finally crossing the line will make this one a fun quick read! Highly recommend it to anyone readers looking for a football romance. Can't wait to see where the series goes next.

Overall: 4/☆☆☆☆☆
Spice: 🌶🌶

OMG, yes!

I'm such a big fan of this author's style of writing. She's got this college sport romance trope down to an art.

End Game is a slow burn romance. It doesn't matter that I was hit with this fiery chemistry between Nico and Ever from the very start and that it was palpable on every page. It is why the wait was so good!

What made it work the most for me was the close proximity of having Ever living at a place Nico shares with his two teammates. The push and pull was so good, so entertaining!

And these boys are the best, plus there's more of them! One of the guys has a sister and she ends up being Ever's bestie. I truly had a blast while reading this!

I'm looking forward for the next book (love interest) in the series.

I really enjoyed Everleigh and Nico's story. In many ways they couldn't be more different. Nico is a football star in his last year of school hoping to be drafted. Everleigh has just hit town ready to be away from her small town and off on her own for the first time, but her housing has fallen through and all her stuff has been stolen. Somehow she stumbles into Nico and his roommates who have one room available, and Everleigh moves in with them. It's clear from the start that Everleigh and Nico both have an attraction to each other and have a hard time resisting the other, but both are very different. Everleigh is not one to date casually, while Nico has no intentions of getting serious with anyone.

I really enjoyed the cast of characters we meet in this story and can't wait to read more set in this world. Hoping that we get Sienna and Gavin next. The only disappointment was that for a book set in college we get no classroom scenes or scenes of Everleigh at her work. I love college as a setting because the environment lends itself to some rich dynamics where you really get to see the characters interact with others, but here we only see Everleigh interact with her roommates and those connected to them. I'm hoping maybe we get some of those scenes in the next installment.

This was a fun ride. There’s just something about a playboy that doesn’t do commitment falling for the good girl. I enjoyed the turmoil that was going on in Nico‘s head and the mutual pining between these two were great. The roommate aspect, the sharing of a bathroom and just living together in general made the tension between Nico and Everly palpable. There was also something about the friend group and the side characters that made me so excited for the upcoming books in the series. I love Monica’s writing. She gets me every time. I have not read a book by her that I did not love and I will continue reading her books.

Thank you to @monicamurphyauthor and @valentine_pr_ for my eArc of this book.

Monica Murphy has not only delivered another amazing book boyfriend in Nico but she has also delivered another amazing book that I absolutely loved! 10/10 loved this book!
Everleigh is in a new town to attend college, and she finds herself in a tough situation, so she doesn't necessarily seek the help she needs she kind of just finds it. Nico, Cooper, and Frank are just the ones to lend her that helping hand.
Everleigh or ever as some call her is definitely unsure how popular her roommates actually are in there college. Nico is definitely not the relationship type of man, but when he finds himself gazing at his new roommate a little too much he starts to wonder if this is a good or bad thing.
This story was defiantly a slow burn that my dark heart needed! This story was fun to read!
End Game is the first book of the Kings of Campus series, and I am here for all these characters!

ACL REVIEW: Stephanie Rose and J.D. Harris really brought Everleigh and Nico to life, once I started listening to this I couldn't stop. Nico is a character I personally loved, J.D Harris did a really good job as Nico and I really enjoyed him so much. This audio is definitely one that I will find myself listening too multiple times.

This book 😍😍
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

I’m a sucker for spicy books but this book has the PERFECT story with very little spice.
The tension between Nico and Everleigh was driving me crazy. I loved it and needed to keep reading because I needed more.

This book is about Everleigh. She ends up needing a place to stay and hears some guys talking about needing a new roommate. So she follows them and talks to them about it.
She then finds out they are big time football players.
Whom she should remain FRIENDS with. But Nico has this amazing charm and reels her in.

Every character in this book needs their own story !! I’m truly hoping there is more ❤️
I love Sienna and hope she is next 😍😍

🩷 sports romance
🩷 forced proximity
🩷 roommates to lovers

Everleigh + Nico

This was such a good and fun read & a great first introduction into the Kings of Campus.
I really enjoyed the development between Everleigh & Nico. He became obsessed with her the second he saw her… which for me? SWWOON.

The group dynamic also had more fun to the book too. But let’s get back to Everleigh & Nico. The SPICE? MA’AM. I was blushing. It was so hot

I cannot wait to read the rest of the series!!!

"End Game was a phenomenal read! I read this book in one sitting."

Everleigh transferred to UC Santa Mira, but when her housing fell through at the last minute, she felt defeated and alone. However, she overheard a group of college guys discussing their need for a roommate. She knew this was her chance to find a place to stay. After convincing them to say yes, it was the best decision she made. The guys didn't know what they were missing until they met Everleigh, especially Nico, who every girl wanted, and Everleigh was different from those girls.

"End Game is an absolute page-turner! I couldn't get enough. The characters were all fantastic, especially Dollar, aka Muffin Man, who tries a bit too hard but still grows on you. Dollar reminded me of Johnny "Drama" from the show Entourage. The guys, Cooper, Nico, and Dollar were supportive of Everleigh from the beginning, showing genuine kindness even though they were reluctant at first. She had no idea who they were or how important they were on campus. Everleigh was determined to make it alone, but things weren't going her way initially. Then, unexpectedly, the guys stepped in to help, and everything fell into place. I loved the dynamic between Nico and Everleigh— their chemistry and banter were off the charts! Oh, did I mention they share a bathroom? If you love college romance, this book will keep you up late because you won't want to stop reading!

Thank you to Valentine PR and Monica Murphy for the E-ARC copy for an honest review.

This is book 1 in the Kings of Campus series. Everleigh has just transferred and is looking forward to escaping small town living and making her dreams come true. Only when she gets to town, she learns that the room she had rented was mistakenly promised to her, so “homeless” and not sure what to do she overhears some guys talking and they mention that their 4th roommate has backed out and they are in need of new roommate. Ever approaches them and after some negotiation they agree to let Ever move in with them.

What Everleigh doesn’t know is that she is living with 3 members of the championship football team. And one of the guys in particular, Nico, really captures her attention. Nico is a playboy who doesn’t believe in relationships, but he can’t deny that Ever gets under his skin. Ever is a relationship girl, but beyond that, she thinks if she crosses the line with Nico, it could put her living situation in jeopardy.

I really liked the slow burn of this book. I liked that Ever made Nico work for it and she didn’t just become another one of his hook-ups. I liked the relationships she developed with the other roommates, Cooper and Dollar. I also liked the friendship Ever develops with Sienna, Coopers sister. They really became a family, I loved how the guys respected and cared for Ever and how she started to “take care” of them by making sure they ate well and leading them in yoga.

Even though this is a slow burn, I felt like I was missing something from the relationship between Nico and Ever. I liked the attraction they felt towards each other and how they kept walking up to the line without going over it. But I wanted it to go a bit deeper than that. I wanted to see them get to know each other better, and maybe see a deeper connection than just attraction.

I am very excited to see where this series goes, I really loved the other characters.

If you like slow burn, football romances than this is the book for you!

Another hit from Monica Murphy!! This was such an amazing start to a series, and I can’t wait to keep reading. I was hooked from page 1 and fell in love with the characters and the storyline. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves football and wants a swoony romance. 5 star for End Game!!