Red Card by Maren Moore — Review
Red Card - Review Snapshot:
What mood is this right for: To summarise the dedication – for the girls who have gotten themselves on rugbytok
Length: 352 Pages
Genre: Romance
Source: ARC provided by Net Galley & Forever Grand Publishing
Where to Buy: Amazon (Kindle Unlimited) | Bookshop.org | Libro.FM | Kobo
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Vibes Rating: ⭐⭐⭐(3.5)
CAWPILE rating: ⭐⭐⭐(2.5)
1 Sentence Summary: (Ted Lasso - Soccer + Rugby) Meets Ali Hazelwood
Synopsis:
Cillian finds himself in the good ole USA mid rugby season on a team that doesn’t want him after tragedy and mayhem got him kicked out of his school in London. Dragged through the mess with him is his younger sister Ainsley. While Cillian just wants to keep his heads down, play the game, and survive the next two years. The team and coach need more than that for him to stay on the team. In comes Rory St. James. Not just the team equipment manager but also best friend of nearly everyone on the team and, most importantly, the coaches daughter.
Tired of being friend-zoned by guy after guy, Rory is looking to have fun her junior year, she strikes a deal with Cillian – he can help her learn to date and flirt, she will help him with the guys on the team. In a heartfelt Ted Lasso like story, the romance unfolds like it’s the next Ali Hazelwood. Spicy, fun, and heartwarming this book has a little of everything. Found family, romance, spice, and of course…Rugby players.
My Thoughts:
This was a very fast and fun read. I finished it in an evening and had a greaT time with it. It was fun to see a new sports romance that’s not just hockey. While we all love a good hockey romance, it’s been fun to see the sports romance genre evolve. Although it feels like Cillian was dreamed up in someone's head who hasn’t ever met a male British rugby player, I could help but love him as a character. The brooding on the outside but soft on the inside is just too cute.
My few gripes – the tension died way too quickly. The resolve to any issue happened within 1-2 pages. I think if these moments were a bit longer, we got to see more of the full scene, we would have related to the characters in a deeper way. As an example – when Cillian is out by the water after a difficult moment late in the book, we don’t get to experience that with him, we just see the resolution with Rory. Adding a few beats to this section would have just driven up the tension a bit more.
I’m on the fence about Rory’s pick me energy. On the one hand it was a bit annoying to read, like we get it your friends with all the rugby players and not like other girls. On the other hand, isn’t that what college was like for some of us? As a recovering cool girl myself, I liked seeing her evolution from being the “bro” to romance novels and clothes shopping with Ainsley.
The CAWPILE of Red Card
Characters - 6
Atmosphere/Setting - 6
Writing Style -7
Plot - 4
Intrigue - 4
Logic/Relationships - 5
Enjoyment - 8
Overall score = 40/7 = 5.17 = 3 stars
Final Thoughts
Overall this was a quick & fun sports romance but some of the pacing issues took away from the overall book.
Red Card by Maren Moore FAQ:
Why do you have two different star ratings?
The vibes rating is always my immediate ‘this was probably X star,” the CAWPILE is after I have reflected, thought about it more in-depth. Sometimes the vibes are lower than the CAWPILE, sometimes it’s the other way around.
Is this book a part of a series?
Yes this is book 1 in the “Prescott University” series
What’s the spice level of Red Card by Maren Moore?
2/5 - there are a handful of spice scenes but not too much.
Trigger Warning for Red Card by Maren Moore
Source: StoryGraph
Graphic
Sexual content, Cursing, Death of parent
Moderate
Grief, Drug use, Bullying
Minor
Drug abuse, Alcohol, Violence
