Exploring ‘The Long Game’ by Elena Armas: Book Review

The Long Game by Elena Armas, is a contemporary romance that explores trust, redemption, and self-discovery through an enemies-to-lovers narrative.

🔥🔥🔥🔥

From The Publisher:

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.

My Thoughts:

‘’The Long Game” by Elena Armas is a contemporary romance novel that employs a dual narrative, providing readers with insights into the minds of both main characters, Adalyn and Cameron. While the narrators’ performance in the audiobook version is commendable, I personally struggled to connect with the story and its characters, which is imperative to my enjoyment of a book.

Adalyn’s character, with her trust issues and determination to break free from her spoiled princess image, offers potential for a compelling character arc. However, the enemies-to-lovers romance with Cameron didn’t resonate with me. His persistent use of the term “darling” became grating, making it challenging to warm up to his character.

The book’s premise, centered around Adalyn’s mission to turn around a struggling kids’ soccer team, adds depth to the narrative and emphasizes the importance of organized team sports for children. However, I felt that the story was drawn out and longer than necessary, which impacted my overall enjoyment. It should also be noted that readers should be aware that ‘The Long Game’ by Elena Armas includes descriptive scenes of intimacy as part of its narrative, which may affect the book’s suitability for certain audiences.

In conclusion, “The Long Game” explores themes of trust, redemption, and self-discovery within the context of a contemporary romance. While the narrators’ performance is articulate and easy to understand, my personal inability to connect with the story and my perception of its length affected my overall reading experience. Readers who appreciate slow-burn and enemies-to-lovers romance and themes of personal growth may find this book appealing, but those who prioritize a strong emotional connection and tighter pacing may have a different reading experience.

Another Book I Have Reviewed Written by Elena Armas:

The American Roommate Experiment