Ready to Score

🏈 Bookish ThoughtsThis was a rough one and I have a bit of a rant. I went in expecting a rivals to lovers romance, but it felt more like a bully dynamic, especially with how Jade treated Franny. Jade was mean and emotionally immature. She belittled and embarrassed Franny. Also, both FMCs felt like they were written as high schoolers rather than grown women.The pacing was inconsistent, the book felt too long, and the “romance” just did not work for me. Franny deserved so much better. I cannot give a high rating to a book that suggests this kind of treatment is acceptable in a relationship.I also did not enjoy the audiobook narration. The narrator was inconsistent with delivery on certain voices.😒 What to Expect:• Bully dynamic• Workplace tension• Sports setting• Small town• Poker night• Forced proximity📖 Final Score: 2 stars🎧 Audio Score: 3 stars🎙️ Narration Style: Solo📅 Pub Date: August 6, 2024Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy. All thoughts are my own.

WELL this one took me by surprise -I went into Ready to Score a little wary thanks to some mixed reviews, but by the time the final play was called (sportsball reference haha), I was grinning, sweating, and cheering for this fiery sapphic rivals-to-lovers romance. Jodie Slaughter doesn’t hold back on the heat, heart, or hurt, and Esme Ramos’ narration makes it all come alive like you're right there in that locker room—or poker night, or bedroom. 🫠At first glance, Jade Dunn isn’t easy to love. She's blunt, single-minded, and at times downright cruel in the way she walls herself off from everyone, especially Francesca. I’ll admit, there were moments early on where I audibly groaned at her behavior. But slowly—thanks to some good character development and Francesca’s radiant warmth—you start to get her. I do wish Slaughter had dug even deeper into Jade’s trauma earlier in the story to smooth the pacing, but what we did get added much-needed depth to her tough exterior.Francesca Lim is an absolute star. An art teacher with Texas football in her blood, she’s the kind of sapphic lead who radiates emotional intelligence and quiet strength. Her patience with Jade never comes off as passive — instead, it feels earned, layered with her own scars and hopes. Their dynamic is electric: flirty, snarky, loaded with tension, and oh yes — steamy as hell. We’re talking full-on strap scenes with feeling behind the fire. Slaughter brings the spice, but she never forgets the heart.Let’s also take a moment for Esme Ramos, because this narration? Chef’s kiss. She nails Jade’s edge and Francesca’s softness, and her voice work for side characters like Landry was honestly delightful. There’s a rhythm to her performance that keeps the energy up and the tension taut — I couldn’t stop listening.Also worth noting: no third-act breakup! I repeat — no soul-wrenching, miscommunication-fueled separation just when things get good. Slaughter makes us earn the HEA by drawing out the build-up, and it’s so much more satisfying for it.This is the sapphic sports romance for those who care about character arcs and chemistry over actual sports rules (same, babe). You’ll find found family, emotional redemption, and a gorgeous reminder that vulnerability isn’t weakness — it’s how we win.Quick, spicy, full of sass and heart — Ready to Score lives up to its name. Highly recommend the audiobook for a fun, fiery listen.

Jade Dunn is an established coach within the Greenbelt High School football team. As luck would have it, her mentor and head coach is planning to retire which leaves his job up for grabs and she has her sights locked on the position. She wants nothing more to not only be the head coach but to be the first queer female PoC head coach of Greenbelt High School and the surrounding area.Francesca Lim was born and raised in Texas, so football naturally runs through her veins. However, after leaving Texas for a girlfriend, she finds herself alone in South Carolina after the relationship doesn’t work out. Franny gets word that there might be an opening for a coaching position, and she weasels her way into a poker game that puts her in the running. This doesn’t sit well with Jade, who feels she has to up her game against the competition.I “read” this book as an audiobook and I really enjoyed this rivals-to-lovers story. It was refreshing to have a different setting for a rivals-to-lovers story in someplace other than an office setting. I love football and in the sapphic literary world, there is not a lot of sports books. I think more are starting to be written but this is the first I have come across for football, at least.I love the sarcastic and witty banter that takes place between Francesca and Jade. It ramps up their rivalry but it also ramps up the angst and the competition. This is no criticism to the story at all but Jade was such a frustrating character. There are instances through the story where you can tell she cares but her bravado causes more issues. You just wanna shake her and be like “wake up woman!!” Highly suggest this book.

Ready to Score was actually a really fun read. I loved the incorporation of football with the story line. It genuinely made it that I was invested in the team’s progression just as much as I was in Jade and Franny’s story. The development of the characters and even the side characters was smooth and wonderful to see. The touch of spice throughout the book was well placed and not too much. Definitely recommend this as a nice palate cleanser.

If you just want to read for the sex, it’s fine, it “hits that spot” essentially. Everything else lacks polish, in particular the football stuff lol…terminology that doesn’t make sense, no down & distance, no formations. Really takes you out of the story, but that’s temporary.