The Greatest Game by Tara Sexton | A Spicy Sports Romance Covering A Lot of Diverse Topics
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Please note this title was provided to me ahead of release by NetGalley
Synopsis
The Greatest Game follows Marcee Ackerman, the head football coach at Pemberton Prep, whose dream job is starting to look a lot less secure. Her boss has given her a brutal ultimatum: win the state championship or lose her job.
Things get worse when Pemberton’s rival school hires Remington Lockley, an ex professional football player with his own “interesting” public past, as their new coach. Marcee is already fighting to be taken seriously and Remy being on the opposite side makes everything more complicated.
With her career, reputation, team and feelings all pulling her in different directions, Marcee has to work out what she is willing to risk, both on and off the pitch.
Main Character and Key Side Character Info
Marcee Ackerman
Head Coach at Pemberton Prep.
Competitive, guarded and deeply protective of her team.
Constantly trying to prove herself in a male dominated environment.
She carries guilt, pressure and mental health struggles that affect how she reacts to people.
Remington “Remy” Lockley
Remy is an ex-professional footballer and the new coach at Pemberton’s rival school.
He has a public past and parts of his life he would rather keep away from the spotlight.
Review
I’ll be completely honest. The cover of this book is what initially drew me in! I know, shakes head in embarrassment. I am happy to say however, that this isn’t just a story with a pretty cover dressing up a mediocre plot. This is a really good sports romance from a debut author which also covers quite a few diverse topics along the way.
There is tension, competition and pressure to deliver however, I would not describe this book as an enemies to lovers which is how it is marketed. Marcee and Remy do not hate each other. They are rivals more than anything and it was fun to watch this slow burn in motion.
Marcee is a little rough around the edges and stand-offish at times but you learn and begin to understand why pretty quickly. She is under so much pressure to prove herself and the sexism she deals with in sport felt believable without being dialled up simply for the sake of book drama.
The relationship she has with her team is I would say, the dream scenario for any coach. This to me was the most genuine and strongest relationship in the whole book. Her relationship with them showed a softer side to her but this didn’t feel like a complete personality switch.
The romance itself is a proper slow burn. Marcee and Remy have chemistry from the start, but the book does not rush them into anything too quickly. Their dynamic works because there are real reasons for them to keep their distance. They are rival coaches, Marcee’s job is already at risk and inviting Remy in could obviously poke the bear so to speak!
Because this is single POV, Remy I don’t think got as much attention as I think he should have. He has the somewhat shady past as well as other factors that would have made hearing his POV quite insightful and let’s be honest, juicy! There were times I would have loved to know more about what he was thinking rather than trying to read him through Marcee’s eyes.
As this is set in the sports world, you get a whole lot of sports world dynamic which was great. The training, matches, both team and coaching rivalries, all felt part of the story and not just fluff in the background. Sexton either did her research or already knows a lot about the sport and that was clear!
The heavier topics that are covered in the book were handled well too. You see Marcee in therapy where we see a real personal side to her and learn why she is the way she is. Again, this didn’t seem like it was added for grit and for plot drama. It genuinely served a purpose and was written into the story very well.
Overall this is a very very strong debut novel! The only downside for me was the ending, as it came and went in what felt like a blink of an eye. Considering that the pacing in the book was steady throughout and the slow burn was slooooooow, to then have a blink and you’ll miss it ending didn’t seem to fit the style we had seen.
Who I’d Recommend This Book To
I’d recommend this to readers who like:
Sports romance
Rivals to Lovers
Slow burn
Forbidden Romance
Flawed female leads
Mental health themes
Debut novel
Verdict
The Greatest Game is a thoroughly entertaining sports romance. Coming in at under 370 pages, you can enjoy this without it spending to must time on your “currently reading” list.
You can tell the author knows her stuff and put a lot of care in every aspect of this tale. Yes, the ending came and went a little quickly, but it is certainly an unexpected ending!
Remember the name Tara Sexton. I think we’ll be seeing a lot more from this author in the future!
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The Greatest Game releases on the 7th May 2026 in the UK and 19th May in the US.
You can buy this book on Amazon (Affiliate Links):
Paperback: https://amzn.to/4evOLMM
Kindle: https://amzn.to/4f4teuK
Audiobook: https://amzn.to/4cTLuFV
