Thanks NetGalley and Avon books for the chance to review this book. I was hoping to go into this book and love it. The cover was a big plus and made me want to read it. But once I got started,for some reason, I couldn’t connect to the characters. I normally love the tropes within this book and sports books. Again thanks for letting me review

Whilst I read this book quickly, I feel like the characters didn't have the chemistry I wanted them to have. The miscommunication wasn't really justifiable in my eyes, like he left and they didn't try to communicate at all, that doesn't seem valid to them be so mad at each other!

I would read from this author again but with the hope the chemistry is better.

This was such a sweet and charming read! The story follows two lacrosse players whose chemistry both on and off the field made for an engaging and heartwarming read. The romance unfolded in a way that felt natural and sincere, and the ending was absolutely adorable—exactly what I was hoping for. If you’re looking for a feel-good story with sports, romance, and plenty of heart, this one is a win.

Delightful sports story following May Velasco is living her dream as a college lacrosse player, and CJ “Colt” Bradley who left New haven to become a professional player but when he is injured he returns to New haven to train her team. May is still hurt after he left her with no explanation and hates Colt but then a picture of them looking close is leaked to the press and her coach is delighted they agree to fake date.
Loved the main characters as truths are revealed plus a good insight into lacrosse and how the game is played.
This is a fun read and represents women's sport in a positive way.
Would recommend for a fun read.

DNF at 56%

I was really excited to read Cross My Heart because it features two tropes I love—fake dating and sports romance, especially with lacrosse, which is a personal favorite. Unfortunately, the execution just didn’t work for me. I found the male main character to be overly controlling, and I struggled to connect with the female lead, whose decisions often frustrated me. The setup involving the coach felt unrealistic and a bit forced, and the dynamic between the main characters didn’t feel natural or convincing. While the book had a lot of potential and I can see others enjoying it, I ultimately couldn’t move past my disconnect with the characters and decided to put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the opportunity to read this early copy.

This book was really cute. A nice fluffy romance with minimal spice.

It was kind of a mixture between friends to lovers + enemies to lovers, and also maybe second chance romance too.

The MMC and FMC were very well written. I loved them instantly.

Will definitely recommend

this was a cute romance! it wasn’t any thing groundbreaking but a good, cute, happy rom com type love story that is classic tropes

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a friends to almost lovers to sort of enemies back to friends and then lovers…

This was a SLOW BURN that I was not expecting but as always the fake dating trope did not disappoint.

These two missed their chance at a young age to be with each other, so many years later when Colt returns, he has a lot of making up to do for May to even talk to him again let alone trust him. You could almost class this as a second-chance romance.

Although the description for this book mentions it’s similar to authors such as Bal Khabra and Hannah Grace - this book is not spicy like these authors. There is a minimal spice scene quite far in, but other than that it is very pg.

Overall: 3/5 🌟
Spice: 0.5/5 🌶️

I would recommend for an easy read, sweet wholesome romance.

Tropes: slow burn, he falls first, second chance, childhood friends, friends to lovers, fake dating, enemies to lovers, small town, sports mmc, sports fmc

I enjoyed this.

This was my first lacrosse romance and I enjoyed how much it was prevalent to the story, but somewhere there along the way there was a disconnect for me. I’m not sure if it was the pacing, or just the storytelling. I really loved both Colt and May, I thought Colt’s groveling was top tier! I loved the whole right person wrong time, and they just needed to figure out what exactly they wanted for themselves first. I was a little thrown off by the whole country vibe this also threw in, I’m not sure if it was needed. All that being said, I did think this was a super sweet second chance.

Unfortunately I had a really hard time reading this book.

First of all, the edition of this book didn’t work well with my kindle, whenever I locked the device between moments of reading, my kindle would freeze and begin to restart. This happened every time I read this book! And between each restart the book would go back to the first page. This was a big issue with the file and not my kindle as I tried to read other arcs and didn’t have this issue once.

Secondly, I did read 60% of the book and lost the want to carry on reading. The story was rather bland and the writing wasn’t of good quality. It often seemed like chapters were unfinished and lacked development. This isn’t something i would expect from an almost finished book, some heavy editing is required!

Overall I’d give this book a 2 stars at a push as there is a possibly good story line here but it hasn’t been developed enough.

This is her best book so far. I might be a little obsessed. Cole and May are adorable. He left her a long time ago and it really hurt her, understandably. Cole just doesn't entirely know what he's doing but he's always loved May. The fact that he had her picture taped in his locker even when they hadn't spoken in years, crazy. The two of them were fighting the tension between them so hard. I get it, they are going different places in life but they had to make it work. They are so in love and everyone around them knows it. I also did in fact cry when he made a lacrosse field for her.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I absolutely ate this book up I loved every minute of this anything Esha writes in adding straight to my tbr pile,

This is blends fake dating, college sports, and childhood rivals into a lively sports romance that spotlights women’s lacrosse and the media’s uneven treatment of female athletes. The story follows May, a driven college player, who reluctantly teams up with her childhood rival, pro star Colt Bradley, for a PR stunt.

The premise is compelling and socially relevant, especially in its attention to POC representation and the disparities in athletic recognition. However, the emotional development falls a bit short. May’s defensiveness and Colt’s charm don’t fully evolve beyond surface-level traits, and while their banter is fun, the romantic tension never quite hits the mark.

Still, fans of fake dating tropes and sports-centric stories will find Cross My Heart enjoyable, even if it doesn’t break new ground.

A very cute story with the cutest cover, but for some reason I didn't like it. I liked the sports aspect of this book and always love a good fake dating trope in general, but this one felt so unbelievable at times. The characters were uninteresting and came across as juvenile, and I found myself skimming a lot. Thanks Netgalley for the e-ARC!

Cross My Heart by Esha Patel is a fresh, empowering take on the sports romance genre that stands out in all the best ways. Instead of the usual hockey or football storyline, this one centers on women’s college lacrosse, and it’s about time! May Velasco is a driven, passionate athlete who’s worked hard for her scholarship, so when her childhood rival Colt Bradley shows up as the new trainer, things get tense fast. Add in a fake dating scheme to protect the team’s image, and the drama, and chemistry, really starts to build.
Cross My Heart is a feel-good, empowering romance with heart, humor, and just the right amount of drama. Perfect for fans of fake dating, sports stories, and characters who support each other on and off the field.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of Cross My Heart by Esha Patel

thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for the copy 💕

sadly for me, even though this book seemed really up my street I just could never really get into the story nor really like the characters. it's my first lacrosse based book and I don't know a lot about the sport other than what's on teen wolf so that could have a play into how I feel

This is the second book that I’ve read by this author, and I feel like I walk away with the same feelings from her stories every time. They are slow to begin and dragged for the first start of the book and the last 2/3 of the book are pretty good. I really enjoyed the two main characters in this book as people, but their love story made me want to shake someone at many moments and not in a good way. I don’t know that I will continue reading books from this offer or in any of her series that I’ve started previously.

I really enjoyed Cross My Heart! It took me a little while to get into the story, but once I was in, I wanted to know how it would all play out.

Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes and I especially loved the focus on women in a typically male-dominated sports. It was interesting to feature what could be in the future.

May was a little harder to connect with and I don’t really love miscommunication in books so that took away from it for me. I also wish it was clearer in the description that this was a second chance romance.

I’ve never read a sports romance centered on lacrosse before, and it was fun to learn more about the sport along the way.


Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

Another hit book from Esha Patel. May and Colt have got it all. Tension, banter, and ongoing support and love. They are both learning and moving through life, trying to figure out what they want from it. Also, the fact that it’s a lax book is so different from most sports romance books on the market. Esha did so much research and brought in her own experiences to make sure it’s as accurate as possible, which I greatly enjoy.

I loved the fake dating element of this book because it gave them time to reconcile and for Colt to grovel. My gosh, THE GROVELING IS EVERYTHING. This is not simply a book where a FMC is burned in the past and accepts an apology easily, May makes him work for it. And It is everything.

This book has got it all. Please please do yourself a favor and read it.

Thank you Avon for this ARC!!

I really wanted to love this book as fate dating is one of my favourite tropes, I have previously enjoyed Esha’s writing and I was excited to read my first Lacrosse sports romance but it kinda missed the mark for me.

There were parts I enjoyed don’t get me wrong but certain aspects just didn’t seem believable to me even if I was to suspend reality. The miscommunication could have been cleared up with a few conversations and I was expecting a little bit more romantic tension between the main characters even if it is a YA novel.

2.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for the arc - opinions my own.