• ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    The Unexpected Dream by Nicole Pyland | ARC Review

    5th September 2020
    Cover of The Unexpected Dream (Nicole Pyland)

    The Unexpected Dream (Sports #3) by Nicole Pyland

    Content warnings: divorce, biphobia

    The Unexpected Dream is a softball romance, which should totally be a trope.

    Mia Landis (30, bisexual) accidentally got pregnant and misses her chance of playing at Tokyo Olympics. Used to be a prodigy pitcher on the national team, her life now revolves around handling her divorce, caring for her two-year-old daughter Hazel, and coaching softball at her old high school. When a player mentions tryouts for a professional league, Mia decides to give it a try. Skylar Donahue (25, lesbian) also wanted to play at Tokyo but had injured her wrist weeks before the games. She ends up being the pitching coach when all she wants is to be a player. With her lingering injury, she cannot pitch but just might make the team in the new league as a catcher.

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  • Book Reviews,  Fiction

    A Shot at Gold by Nicole Pyland

    30th August 2020
    Cover of A Shot at Gold (Nicole Pyland)

    A Shot at Gold (Sports #2) by Nicole Pyland

    Content warnings: loss of father figure, loss of loved one, alcoholism, anxiety

    “You’re not a terrible coach. You were just not meant to be mine because you were meant to be so much more.”

    Madison

    A Shot at Gold was a very emotional read for me but I don’t know why. I have never lost anyone close, and yet I still felt every bit of the main characters’ lingering pain and understood all their insecurities stemming from their losses.

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Out on the Ice by Kelly Farmer | ARC Review

    23rd August 2020
    Cover of Out on the Ice (Kelly Farmer)

    Out on the Ice by Kelly Farmer

    Caro Cassidy has competed in three Olympics before a hip surgery pushed her into retirement. Now she runs Girls & Goals for girls who play hockey and is very private about her personal life. When pro player and social media celebrity Amy Schwarzbach comes to coach Caro’s summer camp, the pair eventually acted on their mutual attraction and begins to date. But Amy plays in Boston while Caro lives in Chicago, and that means long-distance as hockey season begins. Can the two very different athletes fight for their relationship even when everything is on ice?

    TW: homophobia, depression, brief discussions of suicide.

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    On the Square by Brenda Murphy | ARC Review

    17th August 2020
    Cover of On the Square

    On the Square (University Square #1) by Brenda Murphy

    General contractor Dale Miller’s (42, lesbian) ex-girlfriend took all her savings. Tight on money, Dale knows that she needs this business deal when celebrity chef Mai Li (~39, mixed race, lesbian) contacts her to renovate her old family house. Then Dale learns that Mai has nowhere to stay for the time being, so she offers her own basement as temporary lodging. With the both of them being burned in past relationships, Dale and Mai have to figure out if being together is something they both want.

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