Fake dating the new team captain? Seriously. What could possibly go wrong?Hannah’s ex has some nerve. First he breaks up with her in a text, and now he thinks he can take soccer away from her? Think again. As the captain of their intramural team, her ex might be able to kick her off his team, but he can’t stop her from playing for their rivals.The enemy of my enemy is my…fake boyfriend?The fact … rivals.
The enemy of my enemy is my…fake boyfriend?
The fact that her new team captain is her ex’s arch nemesis? Even better. Playing for River’s team on the other side of town is the perfect payback. When her ex sees them together and gets the wrong idea… Well, what’s the harm in playing along? Hannah’s already learned her lesson about falling for a teammate and it’s not a mistake she’ll ever make again. Besides, her relationship with River is just for show—a way for them both to get vengeance on her ex. His kisses might muddle her mind, but he’ll never steal her heart…right?
A sweet stand-alone high school sports romance.
Check out all the books in The Trouble with Tomboy series for the full reading experience.
Playing the Enemy – by Maggie Dallen
Playing to Win – by Stephanie Street
Playing the Field – by Christina Benjamin
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Hannah is a tomboy through and through. When her world get flipped upside down, she fought for what she wanted. Her and River were adorable. Their relationship is sweet and they brought out the best in each other. Loved the story and fantastic writing!
This Tomboy Series is so fun and refreshing. As always another addicting book by Maggie Dallen. I loved all the books in this series. Playing to Win (The Trouble with Tomboys Book2) Playing The Field (The Trouble with Tomboys Book 3) Playing the Enemy (The Trouble with Tomboys Book 1)
Delightful, G-rated, YA, sports romance
Hannah Crowley has lived in a small town in Upstate New York her whole life. For all of her school years, she has attended Lakeview Prep, a ritzy, private, K-12 school, with her next-door neighbor, and boyfriend of the past five years, Caleb Everette. She’d assumed that she and Caleb would be together forever, though their relationship was anything but romantically passionate. But that was just the way Hannah liked it. They were good friends who kissed occasionally and could count on each other as a reliable date for school dances. Then, out of the blue, the summer before their junior year, Caleb falls for another girl and callously dumps Hannah via text. And to add insult on top of injury, as captain of the Lakeview Prep intramural soccer team that they’ve both been part of since grade school, Caleb makes it humiliatingly clear to Hannah that because her presence on the team with him would upset his new girlfriend, he wants Hannah off the team.
Hannah feels almost as wounded by Caleb’s second betrayal as his first one. Her passion is basketball, and she is outstanding at it. But she is also very good at soccer, and even though she plays it mainly as a way of staying in shape and competitive during the basketball off-season, it is an exhilarating pastime for her. She is devastated to think she won’t be able to play soccer, until her best friend, Rose, reminds her that there is another possibility in town for her to play the game.
River Owens is a star soccer player who attends Fairmont, the local public high school, and is captain both of the school’s soccer team and Fairmont’s off-season, intramural soccer team. He and Caleb Everette are the same age and have been bitter rivals since elementary school, during both the regular soccer season and the off-season intramural league. River believes that if there is anyone standing in the way of his winning a full-ride, soccer scholarship to college, it’s Caleb. So it’s a big shock when Caleb’s lovely, long-time girlfriend, Hannah Crowley, asks to play on the Fairmont intramural soccer team. When they were little kids, and Caleb and River were still friends, Hannah had been River’s friend as well. But once she became Caleb’s girlfriend, around the same time that Caleb and River became enemies, Hannah has never talked to River since then. Until today.
It is obvious to Hannah when she shows up at the bedraggled Fairmont soccer field that River Owens is deeply suspicious of her. So she assures him, when he grills her as to her intentions, that she is not a spy for the Lakeview team, and she is no longer the girlfriend of his biggest enemy.
River’s team is desperate for a solid, female soccer player. Hannah is one of the best in town, and her offering to play for them is like the answer to a prayer. But more than that, she is the girl River has had a crush on for the past six years. And she is finally single.
I am a big fan of YA sports romances where the heroine is a talented athlete, and it is even more fun when the romantic hero is outstanding in the same sport as the heroine. Hannah and River are both highly sympathetic protagonists, and they are terrific together. Another big plus for me is that this book is written in the classic romance format: dual point of view of the hero and heroine, no cheating or romantic triangles, and a guaranteed, and believable, HEA.
The soccer scenes are very well done in this book. They are detailed enough to add excitement, but concise enough to avoid boring non-soccer fans. In addition, there are many fun and colorfully drawn subcharacters. In particular, Hannah’s nine-year-old brother, Bentley, is adorable and contributes a lot to the story. As do her friend Rose and her two long-distance girlfriends, who are fellow, skilled athletes, and who are the protagonists of the other two books in this trilogy.
Like all Ms. Dallen’s books, this one is G-rated. There is no cussing, drinking, smoking, drugs or sex. But even though there is no more than kissing between Hannah and River, these two vibrant, attractive protagonists have plenty of chemistry, and it was a great pleasure for me to experience their courtship.
I rate this book as follows:
Heroine: 5 stars
Hero: 5 stars
Subcharacters: 5 stars
Romance Plot: 5 stars
Soccer Plot: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Overall: 5 stars
Playing For Keeps. This is another YA sporty romance from Maggie Dallen, and is her usual excellent and fun work. If you’re familiar with her work, you’re going to enjoy this book. If you’re not, it is a good introduction to her style. Shortish at under 200 pages, this is a fairly light and easy read, perfect as a palate cleanser from something heavier or darker. Very much recommended.
After her long term boyfriend dumps her and kicks her off their intramural soccer team, Hannah joins another team…one being coached by her ex’s rival, River! River always had a secret crush on Hannah, but she was dating his rival Caleb. When she suddenly wants to join his soccer team, he’s not sure of her intentions – is she serious or is she spying for Caleb? When River realizes Hannah’s intentions are genuine and that she was dumped by Caleb, he lets her join the team and comes up with the idea that they should pretend to be dating to make things easier for her. Unfortunately, that makes things worse, especially when Hannah falls for River! A great read for young adults…teaches them that honesty and communication are very important in life and that things are not always as they seem! I would have loved to have had a series like this when I was younger! Definitely recommend this book for teens and YA!
-“Revenge.”-
Dumped by her long term boyfriend via text and kicked off the soccer team, Hannah doesn’t know which one hurts more. What better plan than to pretend to be in a relationship with his biggest rival?
At first, I found the beginning of the story to be very confusing and the prologue, as well as the camp friends, had me confused. There’s a bit of a disconnect there. But I think the intention was to introduce us to the characters who will eventually have their individual stories told throughout the series.
This is a cute, clean, teen romance with no swearing and no sex. 3.5 stars
A(nother) swoon-worthy YA sports rom-com by Maggie Dallen!
First of all, I love that tagline… – and the rest of the book too!
Hannah is a heroine I can easily root for – she ist capable, she knows what she wants, and she isn’t afraid to go for it. Exhibit A (among many):
“You sure you know what you’re doing with that guy?”
I shook my head. “No,” I said in all honesty. “But I don’t think I could live with myself if I didn’t try.”
River is a great addition to the long list of Maggie Dallen’s swoon-worthy YA heroes, mitigating his cockiness with showing distinct (and quite entertaining) symptoms of having this long-time crush on Hannah.
Adding to the fun are both Hannah’s friends and family (including the other two “tomboys” Alex and Jordan, who are getting their own stories in the series), but especially River’s best friend Tristan – even more so when he teams up with River’s older brother in one of my favorite non-romance scenes.
Looking forward to the other two stories in this multi-author series!