You Don't Have A Shot
By Racquel Marie
Publication date: May 09, 2023
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F/F Enemies-to-lovers YA Soccer. I mean, football. The sport with the round ball and goals.Review
The number one sign I liked a book is when, after finishing, I immediately go to Amazon/the author's site to see what else they have published. Considering this book itself came from a mad dash to the web after finishing Ophelia After All, it's safe to say I'm a fan of the author.
This is undoubtedly one of the best sapphic romances I've read with a central conceit of sports, bar none. Everything felt eminently believable - the at times over-the-top teenage emotions, the descriptions of soccer (shockingly well-done for a book with other considerations on its mind), even the straight-from-the-80s-movies rich vs. poor side of town divide seems apt to boil over deliciously. Do you know how hard it is to read while trying to cover your eyes in secondhand embarrassment?!
I hate to dig into the sports metaphor bag, but this book feels earned, in every sense of the word.
The burn is slow, though the groundwork is laid out from the beginning with every step pounding out character and plot beats true to both. You might have trouble getting past the first bit – not because of but despite the stellar writing, as Vale starts in a hole and tries to dig her way out for a while before figuring out which way is up.
But if you can stick through it, the unfolding narrative and character growth will make this book more than worth the read.
Synopsis
A queer YA romance about rival soccer players from author Racquel Marie, perfect for fans of She Drives Me Crazy.
Valentina “Vale” Castillo-Green’s life revolves around soccer. Her friends, her future, and her father’s intense expectations are all wrapped up in the beautiful game. But after she incites a fight during playoffs with her long-time rival, Leticia Ortiz, everything she’s been working toward seems to disappear.
Embarrassed and desperate to be anywhere but home, Vale escapes to her beloved childhood soccer camp for a summer of relaxation and redemption...only to find out that she and the endlessly aggravating Leticia will be co-captaining a team that could play in front of college scouts. But the competition might be stiffer than expected, so unless they can get their rookie team’s act together, this second chance—and any hope of playing college soccer—will slip through Vale’s fingers. When the growing pressure, friendship friction, and her overbearing father push Vale to turn to Leticia for help, what starts off as a shaky alliance of necessity begins to blossom into something more through a shared love of soccer. . . and maybe each other.