If We Play Fair by Nathalie Theodore - Review

About the book

Information taken from GoodReads

Details:

Expected publication February 25, 2026

Genre: Sports Romance

Blurb:

Christy Andersen and Holden McBride bring out the worst in each other. Too bad the fates of their careers lie in each other’s hands.

Disillusioned with dating, Christy’s a powerhouse literary agent at the top of her game. But when a scandal threatens to shatter her hard-won reputation, she pins her hopes on signing pop icon Lola Piper, rumored to be writing the juiciest tell-all of the decade. There’s just one problem: Lola’s gone off the grid.

Holden, a starting pitcher for the Chicago Starlings, is a notorious player on and off the field. After a devastating loss sends him streaking across Soldier Field, his fans are outraged. All but Christy—until he manages to get on her bad side. When she tells him off, the clip goes viral, getting Holden the best press he’s had in weeks. Fans adore the feisty redhead, and his agent insists she’s exactly what he needs to clean up his image.

Christy and Holden pitch each other a deal: she’ll pretend to be his girlfriend, and he’ll introduce her to his best friend’s sister, the elusive Lola Piper. The plan is simple—fake the romance, fix their reputations, and they both walk away winners.

But as their staged relationship heats up, so does the chemistry they can’t ignore. With their hearts and careers on the line, Christy and Holden must decide whether they should keep playing fair...or change the game.

ARC REVIEW

This book was given to me as an ARC by the Author.

I read this gigantic book in one week.

It was perfect. I couldn't stop reading.

I have the terrible habit of taking a long time to get back to a book when it reaches the conflict part - NO third act breakup - but this one I just got over myself and kept going.

This book had banter, had serious moments, had awkward and emotional moments, the whole package. For me, this mix is so important in a romance book because you want to believe that this could happen in real life. And when you add 'complicated' into a love mix but it still has a happy ending you give your readers hope. The characters had flaws but this made them human and honestly, it even made me like them even more. Additionally, the mental health representation is so important because no one is ok all the time, everyone has issues and it's beautiful seeing a romance author raising awareness. No one should feel like they're not capable of love and being loved just because they have problems.

I loved both characters and their relationship developed quickly but it didn't feel forced, possibly because of the circumstances and the fact that chemistry was there. The way they cared for each other was wholesome. My favourite parts of their relationship were the banter and the emotional conversations they had.

Also, I loved the little detail with grandma. IYKYK.

This book is perfection wrapped in ink, or in my case, it was perfection in a small screen.

Thank you so much for reading! Check out the book below.

Read: 6 January 2026 - 14 January 2026