This was excellent and I had the best time! I loved it. The sports part of this sports romance was pretty minimal - I would have been okay with more, but the plot did great without it!

I usually CANNOT STAND the miscommunication trope, but it was done so well! My justification for hating miscommunication in romance is that usually the reasoning for it is really weak (or flat out silly in some cases), but the strength of the reason really made this trope hold up in this book! I also felt like the possessive trope was really well done. I've read a couple books where the possessive partner came across as really icky (even misogynistic and scary), but I felt possessiveness really worked in this story especially when it was paired with Lyla being stalked by another person.  Lockland's possessiveness was a comfort and freedom to her, while in contrast, her stalker's possessiveness was sick and twisted burden. 

I love books that surprise me and this book took two tropes that I normally don't like and turned it into a 5 star read for me!

Content warnings: rape on page, stalking, intimidation, and rape by a family friend (not the romantic partner), death of a mother, murder and cover-up of a close friend by stalker, explicit sex.