He’s A 10 – Jessica Yale

Jessica Yale was a British transplant to the U.S., and started writing a sports romance novel based in an English football club to give herself a taste of home. Sadly, she passed away before she could see the book on shelves, but He’s A 10 is her legacy. The wonderful team at Penguin Books Australia were kind enough to send me a copy for review.

Genie is the head of Player Care at a rapidly expanding football club. It’s her job to make sure the players have everything they need, from housing to a manageable calendar of events. She’s off to a stumble start with the expensive new ‘Number 10’ Tony Garratt. He’s coming in under storm clouds of off-field controversy, and he’s hours late to his first press conference. He’s going to drive her crazy – in more ways than one.

Not being too familiar with English football leagues and the behind-the-scenes admin of a club, it took me a minute to warm up to He’s A 10. Once I fell into the groove, though, it was a delight to read. In addition to the intensely-felt romance, there’s a fun mystery running throughout that really had me hooked: who’s screwing with Genie’s work to make her look bad? Will Tony be able to help her figure it out before she gets fired?

There are only one or two slightly steamy scenes, so this romance is more seasoned than spicy. The ending is also a little rushed and cliched, with a lot of expositional dialogue to bring everything together. Still, He’s A 10 is a lovely read, perfect for fans of Amy Lea with a long commute.