Red-Haired Ash Reads

Julie Parker is coach of East Nashville High’s basketball team and knows how to deal with teens, even the new smart-mouthed junior who joined late. But what she isn’t ready to deal with is for the teen’s foster parent to be former WNBA player Elle Cochrane, and the star of many of her fantasies. After Julie convinces her to step in as her assistant coach, she finds herself also agreeing to practice dating Elle to figure out her sexuality. 

This was a very enjoyable slow building romance between Julie and Elle. Julie is a great coach who really knows how to connect with the teens. She is confident on the court as coach and as a basketball player, but she isn’t confident in her sexuality and how she should label herself. While labels are helpful for many, Julie struggles with it and feels like she needs to practice being in a relationship to find out what she actually likes and wants. I really enjoyed Julie’s story of exploring her asexuality and determining if she actually wants a relationship. 

Elle is a former WNBA star who got injured and then disappeared. She is a sweet woman who doesn’t hesitate to foster her cousin’s daughter while her mother is in rehab. I really loved Elle and her willingness to go at Julie’s pace during their practice dating.  Elle’s struggle with depression and migraines was wonderfully written. I loved how open she was to Julie about her struggles and how Julie always jumped right in to help. 

Julie and Elle’s relationship was a slow building one with a lot of emotional, soul searching scenes. Elle falls hard and fast but Julie takes a while to realize her feelings because she has never been attracted to anyone before or experienced love. Their relationship was very emotional, especially at the end where they finally admit their feelings. I love a relationship that is emotional and has lots of build up, and this one really embodies that. 

Like Anita Kelly’s previous books, this one had me hooked from the very beginning and I really enjoyed the relationship a lot. Also I love that we got to see all the previous couples in this one and see how their relationships are going. 

TW: side character with addiction and in rehab; on page sick animal leading to surgery; depression and depressive episode; migraines; past toxic relationship mentioned;

---

Goodreads | The StoryGraph | Amazon

---

Previous books and reviews for the series:

1. Love & Other Disasters
2. Something Wild & Wonderful