This book was probably a 3.5, but I rounded up because I really enjoyed the narrators on the audiobook. I don’t really love the self-deprecating body shamey aspect of the story. I’m glad the main character seems to (mostly) get over it, but it’s just not my favorite trope. The book was fairly predictable, but there were a couple moments/directions where things I didn’t expect happened so I liked that. A fairly good sports themed romance with lots of funny moments.

Kinda funny and made me laugh at some parts.

I've seen enough excerpts of this one on Booktok to know I was going to like the characters and I was not disappointed. My one concern is that my internal Scottish and British accents are legit trash so occasionally I had to re-read sections to make it make sense in my head. Freya/Cookie is so cute, we love a nickname, and I love that she had a fun job as a seamstress/designer, she was relatable and fun, and had that self-depricating inner voice that so many of us plus sized ladies have. It felt honest to me, she would make pragmatic comments that felt like things I've said about myself and we're all on a journey here. Mac was adorable, very cinnamon-roll-esque with Freya, not just a jock douche which feels like such a stereotype in some books, definitely pictured him as a ginger Gerard Butler which helps. I appreciated their banter and the spice was great. I have not read the other books in the series, read this as a standalone, could have used some info from book one, but it wasn't so much as to pull me from the story, would have just added to the side characters.

If I could give this book more stars, I absolutely would. I didn’t think I could enjoy an Amy Dawes book more than “Challenge” and I was wrong. This was one of the best friends to more romances I’ve ever read (and I’ve read a bunch- it’s my favorite trope!). A Scottish footballer hero who is emotional (he cries, y’all, often!), a funny plus size Cornish heroine who has insecurities that are so relatable. Their relationship can be described as swoony and Gah! I laughed out loud, I got weepy, I smiled A LOT! This was a HEA to remember!

“You’re going to have to stop being mean to me, Freya, or I’m going to fall in love with you.”

Well, it happened. Amy Daws made me fall in love with even more of her characters. Apparently my affection for fictional people, much like my affection for cats and sarcasm, knows no limits.

Freya is one of my favorite new heroines. She’s hilarious and relatable. We’ve seen little glimpses of her before, but it’s great to finally read her story. The relationship between Freya and Mac (and their progression from Netflix-watching-friends to Netflix-and-chill-friends to so much more than friends) kept me entertained from cover to cover.

As I’ve come to expect from Daws’s books, Blindsided made me laugh a lot and cry just a little - enough to make me truly appreciate another beautiful happily ever after.

**update** After rereading, I’m back to say this one holds up. The audiobook is also excellent.

I really really enjoyed it up until the end. Just wasn’t a fan of the final reunion scene, it was cringey and weird. Everything else about the book I enjoyed. The MCs were a bit obnoxiously oblivious to what’s going on around them but that’s not too out of the norm for romances anymore. The last ~10% brought it down to 3 stars but the rest was 4-5 star worthy.