Story for the Week
My late husband Dennis loved the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Loved, loved, loved…did I say loved? He told me once why he followed them. (I do not remember the details.) I think there was one particular player on the team that he liked, and he never strayed from being a fan. Even with the time difference between Chicago and the U.K., if there was a game on in the middle of the night, he would set an alarm to watch.
He never had the chance to see them at White Hart Lane in the U.K. He always wanted to. But he did get the chance to see them in person in 2014 when they came to the States and played a friendly game against our local Chicago Fire at the stadium a couple miles from our home. As soon as the tickets went on sale, we bought them. We knew it might be his only chance to see them live.
It was a great two days. 😊
Ticket holders for the game were invited to watch the practice sessions the day before. We had great seats. Dennis brought his gigantic Nikon camera with a telephoto lens, and he was the definition of a kid in a candy story. The day of the game, of course the Spurs won, and he didn’t feel bad rooting against the local team. Not even a little bit.
Recently, Corinne’s university of choice invited her to apply for their honors program. She did…of course. What we didn’t know when she applied is that one of the benefits of the program is spring semester in Liverpool. Her tuition will be paid exactly as it will be when she starts in the fall, and the only additional cost is room and board for the time she’s in Liverpool…and it’s way less expensive than I expected. Even if it wasn’t, we have the chance for her to study musical theater abroad for a semester. I will move Heaven and Earth to make that happen for her.
One of the things she told me is that she wants to see a Tottenham game while she’s there. She only watched games with her dad, and she enjoyed seeing them with us when they were here, but I think the main reason she wants to go is her dad.
After we had a Zoom meeting with the sponsors for the program, I decided to look up how far Tottenham is from Liverpool (200+ miles, a three-and-a-half-hour drive or a four-hour train ride). Little did I know. 🤣 I told her that we’ll have to watch their away schedule to see when they’re playing one of the teams near the university. Luckily, she should still have a bunch of options.
We haven’t been to a soccer game in quite a few years, and I’m so glad she’s determined to do this. I know her dad will be watching with her…and smiling…and cheering for the Spurs. (COYS!)
Book Review
⭐⭐⭐½
3.5 Stars for You Belong With Me by Kathryn Biel
261 pages
Publisher: Resilient Books
Publication Date: September 5, 2023
Purchased on Amazon.
Publisher’s Description
In college, they were friends. For one night, they were lovers. Now she needs a favor, if only she can forgive him for ruining her life.
Twelve years ago, would-be sportscaster Hannah LaRosa’s life was forever changed when she spent one night with her friend, Callaghan Entay. Now she’s finally ready to launch her career, covering all the sports news that’s fit to report. And as much as she’d like to forget about her past with Callaghan Entay, he’s making news that she has to cover.
Callaghan Entay has made soccer his whole life, sacrificing everything to be one of the country’s best goalkeepers. He has one milestone left…and then what?
Like a moth to a flame, Callaghan can’t stay away from his former friend. But he doesn’t want to, even though he’s pretty sure she’s using him for his career, like everyone else in his life.
Hannah’s not sure she can ever trust Callaghan to stay, no matter how attentive he seems. But what if, this time, he really is a keeper?
************
Main Characters:
- Hannah LaRosa – works as a server in a banquet hall, played soccer in college, planned to become a sportscaster until her life was derailed by a life-threatening medical emergency
- Callaghan Entay – professional goalkeeper for the Boston Buzzards, vying for a spot on the national team, went to college with Hannah where they had been friends until one night of drunken romance, never looked back after he graduated
- Ophelia Henry – recently married to professional soccer star Xavier Henry
I discovered Kathryn Biel a while back on TikTok, and both of the books in her Boston Buzzards series include characters who post regularly on an app called ClikClak (clearly a nod to TikTok). They’re a little shorter than I typically read, but the first book in the series sounded interesting enough that I thought I would take a chance. (Come On, You Spurs or Bear Down, Chicago Bears?) When I saw she had released the second book in the series, I immediately picked it up. Biel is great for a quick, light romance, and this is a perfect summer read for anyone looking for something not too heavy.
Hannah and Callaghan knew one another in college. They were friends and challenged each other during workouts for their respective soccer teams. Both had what they thought were unrequited crushes on the other, and they inevitably hooked up one night after a party. When Hannah left school due to a medical emergency (which is mentioned altogether too often and wasn’t Callaghan’s fault even though Hannah still blames him 12 years later) and Callaghan graduated and started to play professionally, neither of them ever expected to see each other again.
Fast forward, and Callaghan is at a press event in a banquet hall where Hannah is a server. While she hides out in a bathroom to avoid seeing Callaghan, she meets Ophelia, recently married to Xavier Henry. They immediately connect, and they stay in touch.
Callaghan is doing everything he can to stay in shape and show well in games for a chance at the national team. After an exceptionally tough loss in penalty kicks, he flies off the handle to the press and decides to stop by his alma mater to see his former coach and instead gives a demotivating speech to the soccer team. Whoever said all press is good press clearly wasn’t talking about Callaghan Entay.
Meanwhile, spurred on by her roommate Carlos, Hannah starts publishing ClikClaks to show off her reporting chops in an effort to get noticed. If she can generate a following, maybe (just maybe) she can create a portfolio of videos showing off her sideline sportscasting ability. It’s a long shot, but it’s a start. And Callaghan’s tantrum is exactly the kind of piece that could make her go viral. After all, she really doesn’t owe him anything.
Over the course of the book, Hannah and Callaghan keep running into each other. The book flips between their points of view, so readers know when one of them is misinterpreting the other’s actions. We eventually get to the happily ever after. It’s a classic romance in that respect, so I’m not spoiling anything by telling you that.
The challenge here is that You Belong With Me starts about midway through the storyline for XOXO, the first book in the series that tells Ophelia and Xavier’s story. Hannah and Callaghan play relatively small parts in XOXO, but I did feel like you need the back story from XOXO to really get You Belong With Me. I found myself working pretty hard to remember all of the players in the first book, and I typically avoid series unless they’re complete for exactly this reason.
Key example: There is a reference to the scandal with Xavier back in Britain, but I could not for the life of me remember what the scandal was. I read XOXO a year and a half ago, so I had to look back to refresh my memory. The finale of XOXO takes place about 40% of the way through You Belong With Me, so it’s more than just a little bit of crossover.
I don’t know if Biel is planning more Boston Buzzards books. I’ve enjoyed them, so I will certainly buy them if she does, but it might be a while before I actually sit down to read one. 🤷♀️
If you enjoyed this post, please comment below. Subscribe for regular updates, and share it with your friends. If you’re interested in starting a conversation, send an email to booksundertheblanket@gmail.com.
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using the links on my site.
