She’s All That meets She’s the Man in this New Adult sports romance about a British bad boy rugby player who’s forced to start over in America and finds an unlikely ally in the coach’s daughter when she offers him a deal he can’t resist.
Leaving it all on the field is one thing. Giving his all to love? Terrifying.
British bad boy Cillian “Kill” Cairney is ruthless on the rugby pitch. After getting a permanent red card from his team in London, the only team that will have him is an Ivy League school in New Hampshire. But the guys hate him, his coach doesn’t trust him, and worst of all? His starting position is in the hands of his coach’s fiery, rugby-obsessed, very off-limits daughter. Not only does he have to earn his coach’s respect, but Kill has to earn Rory’s—and nothing has ever seemed more difficult. That is, until she approaches him with a proposition that could benefit them both . . .
Rory St. James has spent all her life immersed in rugby. Which is . . . part of the problem. She’s tired of being friend-zoned. She wants to get the guy, and to do that, she needs the frustratingly charming Cillian to teach her. But the more time they spend together, the more lines begin to blur. In a game where trust and loyalty are tested, who will be the winner? Or will love be the final red card?
Leaving it all on the field is one thing. Giving his all to love? Terrifying.
British bad boy Cillian “Kill” Cairney is ruthless on the rugby pitch. After getting a permanent red card from his team in London, the only team that will have him is an Ivy League school in New Hampshire. But the guys hate him, his coach doesn’t trust him, and worst of all? His starting position is in the hands of his coach’s fiery, rugby-obsessed, very off-limits daughter. Not only does he have to earn his coach’s respect, but Kill has to earn Rory’s—and nothing has ever seemed more difficult. That is, until she approaches him with a proposition that could benefit them both . . .
Rory St. James has spent all her life immersed in rugby. Which is . . . part of the problem. She’s tired of being friend-zoned. She wants to get the guy, and to do that, she needs the frustratingly charming Cillian to teach her. But the more time they spend together, the more lines begin to blur. In a game where trust and loyalty are tested, who will be the winner? Or will love be the final red card?
Title: Red Card (Prescott University #1)
Author: Maren Moore
Publisher: Forever
Expected Publication Date: August 12, 2025
Review:
Thank you to Hachette Audio, Forever, and NetGalley for providing me with an audio review copy and kindle copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I love a good sports romance. I haven't read anything with rugby in it before so I was excited to be introduced to a new sport and watch the romance bloom. Unfortunately, it just wasn't for me.
Rory St. James's father is the coach of the Prescott University rugby team. She's close with all the players as she's been helping the team since she started at Prescott. She is accepted as one of the boys but wants to be able to be more than that. Cillian Carnie is the British bad boy who has joined the team mid-season after his bad boy image forced him to move across the pond in order to continue with his rugby career. The team has no intention of bringing him into the fold. But in order for the team to succeed, Cillian must make his teammates accept him and what better way to do that than to take pointers from Rory who is close with all the team members. In order to have this happen, Cillian and Rory come to an agreement to help each other.
I started this book off on audio. I love Stella Hunter (she narrates all of Amy Award's books in the Cocky Kingsmans series) and Matt Sykes is a new narrator for me. I enjoyed Stella's narration for the most part. Matt's not so much. I think the British accents don't do it for me. So, while others may love them, I just think it was not for me. I know it was necessary, since the character is British, but it was hard for me to listen to it.
The romance in this book seemed very forces. Like, you knew the two would be attracted to each other and something would happen but it just didn't seem like the attraction I was being told about was truly there. There was zero depth to their relationship.
On top of the lack of chemistry, there was a lack of plot. Even by 68% in I was forcing myself to read because I thought something had to happen to make the book worth it. The whole point of the book is for Cillian to be accepted by the team and help them win. But we barely see him with the team on the pitch. What is the point of a sports romance if you don't include the sport? Nothing happened outside of the relationship between Rory and Cillian. He didn't bond with his teammates or build any type of report with them.
On top of me feeling just stuck in the book with nothing to move me forward, the editing was pretty poor. Yes, I know it's an early copy of a book but it was more than that. Often times the characters were using the same word over and over again in subsequent sentences. It was really bothering me that an editor couldn't see that and possible replace the words with a synonym or in some cases even leave the word out because it was not needed.
After reading this book, I don't have any better grip on the sport of rugby or how it works. And I don't feel like Cillian and Rory really were a couple. I'm sure others will enjoy this book but it just did not live up to what the blurb gave me to go on.
Author:
My love for reading started in first grade when I picked up a Junie B. Jones book and has never stopped.
Somewhere along the way I fell in love with the art of crafting the story behind the words. I fell in love with all of the little pieces that weave together and make something beautiful.
I spent the majority of my childhood hidden away with books that were far beyond my reading level, escaping into fictional worlds that gave me inspiration, and imagination.
Somewhere along the way I fell in love with the art of crafting the story behind the words. I fell in love with all of the little pieces that weave together and make something beautiful.
I spent the majority of my childhood hidden away with books that were far beyond my reading level, escaping into fictional worlds that gave me inspiration, and imagination.
Unfortunate. I'm sure there are people out there who love it though. It's fascinating to me how differently books hit different people.
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