Book: Goal Line by Julia Connors
Reviewed by Booksbystarlightandshadows
Rating: 4/5
I had been hooked waiting for Luke and Eva's story after the ending of Cross Checked and it didn't disappoint. Luke is the greenest flag I have come across in a while! I'm not a friends to lovers reader normally but I adored him and his golden retriever energy. I've been on a Sean Masters kick for a bit and he was part of the reason I picked this one up; I could listen to him read a menu. The flips between Luke's sweetness and his possessive "my wife" energy later were so natural and Masters is perfect for this kind of role. I did take a minute to connect with Eva largely because I couldn't understand how she kept missing the flashing "I am in love with you" sign above Luke's head but Savannah Peachwood brought a warmth to the character I feel I would have missed on page.
There is a miscommunication at the heart of the story and I did find it a little hard to believe that the inciting incident for the friend-zoning was never brought up again in ten years, especially when everyone around them thought there was something more going on. There were also quite a lot of characters and I felt my attention was being divided trying to remember who everyone was and how they fit with the various subplots. I never really trusted one character in particular after a throw away remark at the beginning but it never came to anything which surprised me. Similarly with a different character later on, they were dealt with pretty swiftly and I expected more. Having said that though, the book kept me guessing as my theories were totally wrong!
My interpretation of the star system;
3 stars - I enjoyed it; would read the author again
4 stars - I really liked it; I am invested and definitely want more from this author/series
5 stars - I loved it; I engaged with this book completely until I finished it and it is one I will re-read