Relationship Goals

De: Brittany Kelley

Narrado por: Justis Bolding, Sean Patrick Hopkins

Ted Lasso meets How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days in this steamy sports romance about an infamous star soccer player who is forced to fake date a Hollywood starlet, only to develop real feelings for her—just as she learns he was pretending and vows to get even.

Abigail Hunt’s Hollywood dreams could best be described as slow burn…but she’s about to graduate from TV sidekick to dramatic actor. When the esteemed director of her breakout role suggests a deep dive for her part by shadowing the head of a struggling pro soccer team, she jumps at the chance to prove she’s ready.

Getting asked out by notorious grump and gorgeous star player Luke Wolfe wasn't in the plan, but suddenly her research is getting a lot more...hands-on. Their relationship quickly sets social media on fire, and Luke seems determined to prove he’s more than his villainous reputation. But just when Abigail is happier than ever—her name in lights and her heart in good hands—the other cleat drops: Luke’s been coerced into faking their relationship to improve the team’s ticket sales.

Furious, Abigail refuses to give Luke the satisfaction of dumping him—she decides to get even. Over-the-top dates, treating his games like fashion shows, and befriending the fan club he hates? Count her in. It’s only a matter of time until she pushes the right buttons.

She just didn’t expect him to keep putting up with it—or to say I love you.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"A pitch-perfect romcom from start to finish, Relationship Goals is funny, unique, and utterly charming. Balancing heat, heart, and humor effortlessly in this score of a soccer romance, it's a fantastic edition to the sports romance lineup. Kelley is a breath of fresh air in the best possible way."
—Grace Reilly, USA Today bestselling author

"A delightfully unhinged and refreshing romance for fans of Ted Lasso and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Relationship Goals had me laughing and swooning from start to finish! Sparkling, hilarious, and fun."
—Stephanie Archer, author of Behind the Net

Cute and quirky!

I really loved the FMC! She is super cute and her internal dialogue is so funny. The story and romance were really good. The narrators did a great job—easily understandable and gave great voices to each character.

The last half felt a little rushed.

Funny RomCom

Featured tropes: sports romance, grumpy/sunshine, fake dating (for one of them), revenge plot, romcom, a touch of mental health rep

Trigger warning: on page anxiety attacks, workplace manipulation, paparazzi, on page fainting/hospital visit, sick parent

Review: 3.5/5

Wow, what a RIDE! Let's just dive right in.

Things I liked:
- It was fun seeing fake dating where only one of them knows it's fake and the other is clueless to that fact. It's not something I've read before and it was a fun twist to the usual fake dating trope.
- I was really crushing on Luke and Abigail together before she found out about the elephant in their relationship. They started out as a fun couple and, while Luke started with ulterior motives, I liked how unafraid they were of their quick attraction to one another.
- The revenge plot was, admittedly, a little outlandish. Did I still laugh at every mishap Abigail cooked up to try and get Luke to break up with her? Sure did. They were crazy and over-the-top but totally worth it!
- Darren was really living his best life during the restaurant scene, haha. He was really such a fun BFF character for Abigail. I'm glad she had him both in life and on set towards the end of the book.

Things I disliked or missed the mark:
- A unique instance where something good was also something bad. Abigail was so over-the-top with her quest that you were left going, "Really? Seriously? THIS was your greatest idea?" Like, yes, they were funny, but also, damn, it was just absolutely wild behavior.
- I didn't quite get why Luke wasn't up front with Abigail about the whole thing after their first dinner. He quickly realized he really like Abigail a lot and that he truly wanted to spend more time with her. There was literally nothing stopping him from saying, "Hey, so my owners are holding this over my head but I'd really like to get to know you." Whether it was Abigail choosing to play along with the scheme or not, there was nothing stopping Luke from being up front with her and choosing to pull the wool over the owner's eyes.

Overall, while there wasn't a ton I disliked, there wasn't a ton I loved either. This was pretty middle-of-the-road for me but I did appreciate the comedy aspect of the story. That part, while a little much, was fun.

Also, I started this ARC with my eyes but it also released on audio so I finished with an Audible credit and listened. The narrators both did a good job. Both were new to me but I would listen to both again.