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!!

This is the first book in the Kings of Campus Series. Everleigh is a girl that was definitely dealt a crappy hand when she arrived to college. But slowly her luck starts changing. She ends up becoming roommates with football players and starts a good friendship with them. Nico is one of the roommates and things start to become a little more slowly. I loved the relationship between the guys and Everleigh. I liked how she became more of a big sister to them and helped them when they didn't know they needed it. Especially with the yoga. There were a lot of good parts to the story but there were a lot of slow parts that made me feel like the book dragged on for me. I still had a great time it just took me longer to get through the book then it normally would. I loved the characters and I thought the story was well written just needed a little more pep in some spots in my opinion. I am looking forward to the next book in this series. I would recommend this book.


Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

This is the first book in the Kings of Campus series, a college sports romance that follows Nico and Everleigh, who unexpectedly become roommates. There's instant chemistry between them, but both choose to keep their feelings hidden, leading to a slow-burn romance that builds over time. I loved watching their relationship unfold and seeing Everleigh form bonds with the other roommates. The group dynamic was fantastic, and I’m excited for the next book to dive deeper into each character. If you're a fan of sports romance, this is a must-read.

This is book one in the Kings of Campus series. Nico is a typical star college football player who is a total asshole. Everleigh transfers to US Santa Mira University with the hopes of having an amazing college experience when her housing falls through, she happens to come across the football team who needs another roommate.

The tension on page and slow burn between Everleigh and Nico is so good. I liked the back and forth and building of their relationship as they try to remain friends. There is lots of drama and lots of swoony moments. They have this drawn to each other that is an inevitable attraction that is hard for them to deny.

I also really enjoyed the relationships within the roommates and the main MMC's. It left me wanting to know what happens next in their stores.

🏆TROPES-
🏈College Football Romance
🩷Reformed Playboy
🏈Friends to Lovers
🩷Found family
🏈Forced proximity
🩷Banter
🏈Slow-burn

🩷Thank you @monicamurphyauthor @valentine_pr and @netgalley for this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

End Game by Monica Murphy is the first book in the Kings of Campus series, also my first book by this author (yeah, I know). The story follows Everleigh and Nico. He's the reformed playboy, and she's the transfer student.

Everleigh is in dire need of a place to live after her housing falls through last minute. She can't help but overhear these guys complaining about needing a new roommate, and she jumps at the opportunity not realizing these are elite football players and gods on campus.

Nico is at the top of his game and doesn't need any distractions, but with Everleigh living with them, that soon becomes a challenge. They get under each other's skin, fighting their attraction for the other at every turn... This only spells out trouble.

End Game was such a cute, slow burn romance with undeniable chemistry between the two main characters. They become friends who secretly crush on the other. Honestly, the anticipation for them to finally be together was everything! Monica was such a tease, lol.

I enjoyed this couple, but my heart really wants Sienna and Gavin's book!! I'm excited to see what this series brings. Bravo to Monica, the Queen of football romance 🏈.

Everleigh has just transferred schools and thought she was all set with housing until she receives a call that her room was given to someone else. Lucky for her, she overhears three guys talking about how one of their roommates bailed and they need another. She talks them into letting her rent the room through an agreement of a lower rent and cooking meals a few nights a week. She has no clue her new roommates are celebrities on campus playing for the football team. This story is a slow burn of the grumpy player, Nico and Everleigh who both want more than being roommates. Do you cross the line? What happens if things don't work out? I loved getting to know all the players and their friends. I love how these roommates and players all had each others backs and were there for each other through at all. I can't wait for more stories from this team!!