Brittany Kelley has crafted something genuinely special with Relationship Goals, a sports romance that manages to be both achingly familiar and refreshingly unique. This fake-dating romance set against the backdrop of professional soccer delivers on every promise its premise makes, while surprising readers with its emotional depth and genuine character development.
The Setup: More Than Just Another Fake Romance
Abigail Hunt is a Hollywood actress whose career took a nosedive after an infamous red carpet interview about her supernatural drama “Blood Sirens.” When she lands a role in a prestige film about corruption in soccer, she needs to do research with the LA Aces professional team. Enter Luke Wolfe, the team’s notorious grump and star player, who’s being blackmailed by the team owners into fake-dating Abigail to boost ticket sales. What neither expects is how real their feelings become—or how spectacularly everything will implode when the truth comes out.
The foundation of this romance is solid because both characters have compelling reasons for their actions beyond simple plot convenience. Luke isn’t just reluctantly agreeing to fake-date for money or fame; he desperately wants to be traded closer to home to care for his sick mother. Abigail isn’t just researching a role; she’s fighting to rebuild her career after being essentially blacklisted for speaking her mind about problematic content in her previous show.
Character Development: Authentically Flawed and Loveable
Abigail Hunt: The ADHD Heroine We Deserve
Kelley has created something remarkable in Abigail Hunt—a heroine whose neurodivergence isn’t treated as a quirky trait to be “fixed” but as an integral part of who she is. Her ADHD manifests in realistic ways: scattered thoughts about underwater topography during important meetings, hyperfocus on random details, and a tendency to overshare when nervous. More importantly, her condition directly impacts the plot in meaningful ways, from her impulsive red carpet comments that derailed her career to her ability to hyper-focus on learning soccer when she’s genuinely interested.
Abigail’s journey from someone ashamed of her “too-muchness” to someone who embraces her authentic self feels earned rather than rushed. Her relationship with fame and public scrutiny is particularly well-rendered—the anxiety of constantly being photographed, the pressure to be “on” all the time, and the way social media can distort reality.
Luke Wolfe: The Grump with a Heart of Gold
Luke could have easily fallen into the tired “alpha male with anger issues” trope, but Kelley gives him genuine depth. His grumpiness stems from legitimate frustrations: corrupt team owners, a sick mother he can’t care for properly, and the pressure of being in the public eye. His vulnerability around his mother’s illness and his desperate desire to be close to family during her treatment adds emotional weight to his actions.
The author particularly excels at showing rather than telling when it comes to Luke’s character growth. His protective instincts toward Abigail, his genuine delight in her quirks, and his struggle with the deception feel authentic rather than performative.
The Soccer Setting: Surprisingly Engaging
For readers who might worry about being overwhelmed by sports details, Kelley strikes the perfect balance. She provides enough soccer knowledge to make the setting feel authentic without bogging down the narrative with excessive technical details. The corruption subplot involving the IFF (International Football Federation) adds real stakes beyond the romance, and Michelle Oxford’s role as both friend and eventual whistleblower gives the story contemporary relevance.
The team dynamics feel realistic, from the playful banter between teammates to the complex politics of professional sports management. The owners, John and Charles, are appropriately despicable without being cartoonishly evil.
Where the Book Truly Shines
The Dialogue and Banter
Kelley has a gift for dialogue that crackles with personality. Abigail’s tendency to blurt out random thoughts (“Is it called topography if it’s underwater?”) and Luke’s gruff responses create a natural rhythm that feels genuine rather than forced. Their text message exchanges are particularly well-crafted, showing their growing intimacy through small moments and inside jokes.
The Secondary Characters
Michelle Oxford emerges as a standout secondary character—a brilliant, ambitious woman navigating a male-dominated industry while harboring her own romantic complications with team goalkeeper Tristan Gold. Her friendship with Abigail develops organically, and her ultimate takedown of the corrupt owners is both satisfying and believable.
The Emotional Beats
The book doesn’t shy away from the genuine hurt caused by deception. When Abigail discovers the truth about their fake relationship, her devastation feels real and proportional. Her decision to enact “Operation Wolfe Shock”—a revenge scheme to make Luke’s life hell until he breaks up with her—provides both humor and emotional catharsis.
The Challenges: Where It Occasionally Stumbles
Pacing Issues in the Middle
The middle section of the book occasionally drags, particularly during some of the soccer research scenes. While Kelley does well integrating the sport into the romance, there are moments where the balance tips too far toward exposition about team dynamics and league politics.
The Revenge Plot
While “Operation Wolfe Shock” provides some genuinely funny moments (Abigail’s Gollum impression during intimate moments is particularly memorable), the execution sometimes feels more juvenile than clever. Some readers might find Abigail’s revenge tactics more off-putting than entertaining, especially given Luke’s legitimate reasons for his deception.
Supporting Character Development
While Michelle is well-developed, some of the soccer team members blend together, serving more as plot devices than fully realized characters. Tristan Gold, despite being Michelle’s love interest, remains somewhat one-dimensional throughout most of the story.
The Emotional Journey: Genuine Stakes and Satisfying Resolution
What elevates Relationship Goals by Brittany Kelley above standard fake-dating fare is how seriously it takes the emotional consequences of deception. Both Abigail and Luke are genuinely hurt by the situation they’ve found themselves in—she because she believed their connection was real, and he because he never wanted to lie to someone he cares about in the first place.
The resolution doesn’t come through grand gestures alone but through honest communication and genuine apology. Luke’s eventual confession about his mother’s illness and his desperation to be traded doesn’t excuse his deception, but it provides context that allows for forgiveness without minimizing Abigail’s hurt.
Writing Style: Fresh Voice with Familiar Comfort
Kelley writes with a contemporary voice that feels authentic to her characters’ ages and backgrounds. Her descriptions of Los Angeles, from studio lots to trendy restaurants, ring true without feeling like a tourism brochure. The intimate scenes are well-crafted—steamy without being gratuitous, emotional without being overwrought.
The author particularly excels at internal monologue, especially Abigail’s scattered thoughts and anxieties. The way she captures the experience of being neurodivergent in a neurotypical world feels authentic and respectful.
Themes: More Than Just Romance
Beyond the central love story, Relationship Goals by Brittany Kelley tackles several relevant themes:
- Authenticity in Public Life: Both main characters struggle with being their authentic selves in the public eye—Abigail with her tendency to speak without filtering, Luke with his need to maintain a “bad boy” image that doesn’t reflect his true personality.
- Power Dynamics in Professional Settings: The book doesn’t shy away from showing how those in power can exploit others, whether it’s team owners blackmailing players or Hollywood executives controlling actresses’ careers.
- Mental Health and Neurodivergence: Abigail’s ADHD is treated as a natural part of who she is rather than a problem to be solved, which is refreshing in a genre that often pathologizes differences.
Comparisons and Context
Readers who enjoyed The Hating Game by Sally Thorne or Beach Read by Emily Henry will find much to love here. Like those authors, Kelley balances humor with genuine emotion and creates characters whose banter feels natural rather than forced. The sports setting will appeal to fans of Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy, though Kelley’s approach is more romance-focused and less angsty.
For readers new to Brittany Kelley’s work, this appears to be her debut in traditional publishing, though she may have previously self-published works. Relationship Goals suggests an author with a strong understanding of both the romance genre’s expectations and how to subvert them in meaningful ways.
Similar Reads Worth Exploring
If you enjoyed Relationship Goals by Brittany Kelley, consider these similar titles:
- The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas – Another fake-dating romance with academic setting
- Beach Read by Emily Henry – Contemporary romance with dual career conflicts
- The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary – Unique format with genuine emotional depth
- The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang – Romance featuring neurodivergent heroine
- Him by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy – Sports romance with emotional complexity
Final Thoughts: A Touchdown in Romance
Relationship Goals by Brittany Kelley succeeds because it takes its characters and their emotions seriously while never losing sight of the fun that draws readers to romantic comedy in the first place. Brittany Kelley has written a book that feels both contemporary and timeless, dealing with modern issues like social media scrutiny and workplace power dynamics while delivering the satisfying emotional journey romance readers crave.
The book isn’t perfect—it occasionally gets bogged down in exposition and some secondary characters could use more development—but its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses. Kelley has created characters worth rooting for and a love story that feels both inevitable and earned.
For romance readers looking for something that balances humor with heart, features a genuinely neurodivergent heroine, and provides satisfying emotional stakes, Relationship Goals by Brittany Kelley delivers exactly what its title promises: a relationship worth investing in, both for the characters and the readers who follow their journey.
This is contemporary romance done right—smart, funny, emotionally honest, and thoroughly entertaining. Brittany Kelley has announced herself as a writer to watch in the romance genre, and readers will undoubtedly be eager to see what she delivers next.
- Recommended for readers who enjoy: Fake dating tropes, sports romance, neurodivergent representation, Hollywood settings, and emotionally intelligent romantic comedy.
