Julian Winters

When his estranged childhood best friend Emir Shah joins his team, star goalie Sebastian Hughes must reconnect with the one guy who hates him. But to Sebastian's surprise, sweaty days on the pitch, wandering the town, and bonding on the weekends sparks more than just friendship between them.

Running with Lions

kelsey

you are not defined by who you love.

i feel like i've been waiting for this book forever and hyping it up in my head anwd it didn't disappoint. i know nothing about soccer but i just love all the characters?? and coach patrick made his team so everyone can be accepted. it's just such a fun happy story. yes, there is a bit of angst and some trigger warnings (stated at the beginning of the book) but I genuinely loved it. this soccer family is in my heart now.

Sarah Sammis

It's basically Yuri on Ice! the soccer edition. It's cute and upbeat and great if you're into soccer.


http://www.pussreboots.com/blog/2018/...

Julia Moran 

it's pretty cringy at times but it's ok pretty entertaining.

trixie

i want to say that i don’t think this book was bad!!! i actually really enjoyed it!!! it is just. disappointing i guess. like there were so many great things that i wish could have been expanded on that just didn’t get time in the story, and there were parts that i felt were very straight face emoji. 3.5/5

Bloomington High School Lions' star goalie, Sebastian Hughes, should be excited about his senior year: His teammates are amazing and he's got a coach who doesn't ask anyone to hide their sexuality. But when his estranged childhood best friend Emir Shah shows up to summer training camp, Sebastian realizes the team's success may end up in the hands of the one guy who hates him. Determined to reconnect with Emir for the sake of the Lions, he sets out to regain Emir's trust. But to Sebastian's surprise, sweaty days on the pitch, wandering the town's streets, and bonding on the weekends sparks more than just friendship between them.

Katherine Yang

it's a quick and cute story, but personally i found the drama overblown and the writing style unnatural or clichéd—little things like going from "my friends are the best" to joking about how "i'm disowning my friends" after some gentle teasing. what i did love was the tension and excitement of the final match—that made me really believe that the author was a big fan of soccer.

Jamieson

"And that's the thing, life is sometimes just another day, and sometimes it's moment after moment after moment that only paralyzes you if you let it." 





no offense but this was so cute and my cold dead heart wasn't ready to so violently care about these angsty jocks I mean !! Sebastian, a bi disaster really going out there and Doing That, just snatching himself up a man over summer camp? Iconic!

So Running With Lions basically follows a team called The Lions who are at their summer sports camp. The main character Sebastian, wants to make captain but is blindsided by the new addition to the team - former best friend Emir Shah, who's terrible attitude has Sebastian wondering where their friendship went wrong. Whilst struggling to adapt to his new role as captain of the Lions, Sebastian, being the giant gay that he is, also finds himself super attracted to Emir and now he's got double shit to deal with. And it's just SO GOOD FROM THERE. 

I seriously loved how cute this was like urgh!!! You know when the couple are so cute you gotta scream into a pillow to contain the feels? thats how I feel about Emir and Sebastian. They're so sweet and I just think they deserve the world. Honestly their whole romance was just pure fun, it had so many cheesy tropes and cliche moments but I LOVED IT. Julian Winters used to be a big fanfic writer and you can tell because it utilises those corny romance tropes so perfectly I love it. 


  "Why do people let things so precious to them turn into dark, unbearable secrets?" 




I also love that this dealt with other issues outside of the romance body positivity and image, bullying, homophobia in sport and so much more came up. Sebastian's arc involving his self-image and his struggle with feeling worthy of being captain was something that really boosted this book from being a romance to something a bit more and I loved that. I also loved the diversity of this book - Sebastian is bi, Emir is a Muslim, Pakistani-American and gay. The team is also made up of two gay boys, one of whom is black. 

The relationship between the team was also super well written and I loved these bro's so much. I think showing strong bonds between guys, and how they support eachother in a positive way, is really important. Found family tropes are my favourite and the focus on the team being a found family for all the boys, where they're free to express their sexualities without judgement, really warmed my heart. 


  


I had two main issues with this book which kept it from being a five star read: the writing, and the treatment of one of the characters. 

The writing didn't always work for me, I found some sections a bit awkward and clunky and had to reread some parts to make sure I had it write because the transitions were a bit awkward. Julian Winters writes romance and fluff so well but chapter endings and the filler parts felt a bit messy, and I think you can tell he came from a fanfiction background because the transitions felt like the end of a fanfic chapter. 

My other issue was the treatment of the only female character, Grey. Throughout the book her love interest Mason was SO mean to her and it was never really called out properly. And the whole "he's mean to you because he likes you" trope was at play, and I really hate that. I think there needed to be more repercussions for Mason's behaviour toward her and less romanticisation of it. 


  

’You’re beautiful.’
Sebastian rolls his eyes. ‘Guys aren’t-‘
‘Hey,’ Emir cuts in. ‘Guys are beautiful. And girls are handsome. Words aren’t gender-specific. Don’t be some jerk asshole about this.”


Overall this was so cute and sweet and jfghdf and I enjoyed reading it so much it's one of those books that just drags you in and forces you to be in a good mood feeling all warm and wholesome inside. It's the perfect feel-good sweet read and I just love this team and Emir/Sebastian SO MUCH. I would love a spin off about Grey or Willie! And I would definitely reread this to get all those warm ooey gooey feelings all over again.

amber baardsen

** spoiler alert **
           3.75⭐️ the plot is good, i love gay sports!!
i love the characters(Willie!!) and they’re found-family and accepting coaches
did not like Masons whole misogyny act. like i get it was cause he liked her or whatever, but…really? you’re not fucking 12 years old🤨
also didn’t like the lack of female characters or how they were written(Grey’s whole “i’m not like other girls” made me cringe❤️)
loved Sebastian(❤️❤️) and how his insecurities and issues were shown
loved the relationship(friends-to-enemies-to-lovers supremecy!!) even though they literally only “hated” each other because of a small misunderstanding, but yk
a relatively fun and fast read🤞

Olivia

I stayed in bed all day and read it in one sitting because I loved it so much and I could not put it down. I don’t even have the words to explain my feelings on this book and how important of a story it really is. I only heard about it a week before it was released but the synopsis was so amazing? I knew I had to buy it and read it as soon as I could and I wasn’t disappointed. Definitely a new favourite, I’m going to be obsessing over this one for a while. Do yourself a favour and read it as soon as you can

sophia

supa supa cute..
the theme of uncertainty after high school is . very relatable!!

”As soon as puberty hits, all of a sudden people find reasons not to like you: weight, height, acne, sexuality, race, parents’ income, whatever. Confidence is earned by how many flaws you can find in someone else.”

wildemononoke

Mijs Franssen

4/5 ✨ I really enjoyed this book

Finished at exactly 0:00 🤭
I read this one in two sittings and it’s one of the only books I’ve ever smiled so much at. This book has everything; 3-dimensional characters with development, cute ships, POC and LGBTQ+ representation and a decent plotline. I enjoyed this book so so much and it was so cute and sweet. I did miss a more active plot, as this one is mainly focussed on the characters and their relationships with eachother. I also felt like at some points, more scenes could be written in. Other than that, I thouroghly enjoyed this… 🤍🤍🤍

Go Lions!

Naomi

sporty I-thought-we-were-enemies to lovers .....sign me up

☽ jess ☾

Reading Rush 2019 Read:

I really enjoyed this, I don’t know what else to say.

Angela Jison

Sahi K

Updated review 6/14/2018
Sebastian is an awkward teenage soccer player whose whole life revolves around his favorite sport. He is the one with the cool head in the team, a peacemaker and negotiator, total captain material but at the same time, he is also feeling lost because he doesn't have a clue what to do after graduation. He also turns into a clueless idiot when having to talk to Emir -- his British Pakistani once-childhood-best-friend-turned-noone -- whom he wants to help with the game.

Their relationship is the sweetest part of this book. It takes time for them to uncover their resentments about becoming apart during their early teens and now slowly have to start building up the trust again. There are lots of hurdles in the way - Bastian has to deal with his insecurities and low self-esteem issues and the shy introverted Emir has to come out of his shell and try to open up to Bastian and also the team. While they have some trouble in navigating their newfound feelings for each other, their sexuality is never an issue. Bastian may be a little terrified of telling his family he is bisexual, but his friends know and it's all cool with the team. Emir is a practicing Muslim gay teen who is totally comfortable with his orientation while also being true to his religious beliefs. They both are so cute together and I absolutely loved their morning runs, rainy soccer lessons and the adorable summer dates. Their feelings for each other are so obvious even though they never talk it out but everyone around them can totally see it.

This book has some amazing side characters. Bastian's group of friends are super cool - I loved Willie and Hunter and Grey. Mason and Zach act like douches sometimes, but are also very supportive of everyone in their team. They are also a very diverse group of teens but their races or orientations are never an issue in their friendships or team. Coach Patrick is the best example of how a mentor should be - tough, dedicated, motivating and also very inclusive and encouraging of all his players. His belief that anyone should be able to play on his team, purely based on merit and irrespective of their sexuality forms the crux of this story and that's the attitude he inculcates in all the boys. The parents in this book are also very accepting of their kids and their support shines through.

There is obviously not a lot of plot here. It's just about a boy finding his footing in life, falling in love and accepting himself for who and how he is. The whole vibe of this book is very positive with wonderful messages about being okay with feeling lost, letting life take it's course, playing sports not just for the sake of winning but for being a part of a family based on mutual respect, parents being the biggest champions of their kids, and not judging anyone based on social constructs and inherent prejudices. 

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves character driven, wholesome and heartwarming stories. Perfect summer sports romance with beautiful friendships.

6/13/2018
This book was lovely and cute and so heartwarming... Definitely another perfect summer read with the perfect atmosphere..
RTC

Rio (they/them)

I found this book while I was searching for some stories with a good found family trope and I really wanted to love it, but sadly I just couldn’t.
I feel like if this book was written differently, maybe by another author with a different approach to narration I would have actually really enjoyed it.
The constant pop culture references, the exaggerated way characters often reacted and sometimes the repetition just drove me off.
The romance was cute, especially when the MC was pinning for the guy, but it all happened too fast for my liking.
Plus, I love LGBTQ+ books being part of the community myself, but I feel like this one was highly unrealistic (literally almost every character on the team is gay or bi, even one of the coaches) and sometimes a bit cringey (every time the MC talks about the way the coach wanted acceptance on the team specifically in regards of the players’ sexuality was a bit much for me).

To sum it up, it’s an easy read and it’s really cute at times, but I wouldn’t recommend it to my friends and fellow readers.

Erin Pitstra

I wasn't sure I would like this when I started it. The writing and some of the characters at the beginning kind of bothered me.But it definitely got better! And the ending was super cute!!

Ariel Himboi

I went into this book only knowing two things: A) That this was, undeniably, about soccer. And B) That this was going to kill me. 

I first heard about this book from the author on twitter and how many people were hyping this book up. Unfortunately, the hype died down a little over time and I didn't even remember it existed until yesterday! I am so glad I decided to pick up this book on Scribd because otherwise, I don't think that I would have spent an hour in the bathroom finishing the last chapter and crying!!!

This was more than the romance I knew it had to be. This has been the only book in a very long time to leave me feeling happy, and okay, and just. Safe.

This was a book full of positive energy and it definitely did a Hell of a job making me feel better about my own anxieties. This is an incredible book that will leave you speechless, happy and so warm that you'd feel like the person who invented the fireplace. 

In most books you feel like the negativity is the center and that the world revolves around pain and focusing in on all the bad stuff. But this book, the writing style, the world, and its characters... it took those negative things and turned them into positivity, which I find hard to do in my daily life. I have never felt so better represented and warm by words. 

I can't explain enough how wonderful this book is. There are the ups and downs and the questions of, "What if"s that we all feel sometimes. I related a lot to our main character. Maybe I'm still not coming into terms with my own sexuality yet, but I felt his uneasiness. College, life after high school, feeling confident about my body, especially after extreme trauma and bullying. It was as if I wasn't sharing the burden alone, and that I had a mentor to keep me focused. 

I loved that this was about a team- a family of misfits and teens who are all just trying to live and breathe their passion and figure out who they are. I liked that this story covered a lot of topics and areas, the positivity of change and doing things differently, how they broke the rules and just DID the things they wanted.

I loved every character in this book and I loved their friendships, relationships and their bumpy roads to love and life. I loved our main character and I loved seeing into the eyes of so many different people and how they struggle with their identities, their skin, their background, etc. It was a positively breathtaking read. I absolutely recommend this, 10/10 for anyone who wants a good, delightful, cute, astounding novel. 

Please for the LOVE of all things in this world.. pick his up... read it... and LOVE it. Most importantly, SHARE it. Give it to your friends, your family, your relatives, your teachers, your co-workers, your classmates. DO IT. Shed this ray of positivity on everyone you meet. Express love with friends and family and do good. Share this love so others can feel it too.

Abi Baker

some parts of this book really clicked for me and some parts just...didn’t, so it’s really hard to rate it. i guess it’s something like a 3.5 because i love the whole childhood friends to enemies to lovers vibe but the language sometimes just didn’t work and it was very slow in parts. i wanted to like it way more than i actually did which sucks

Joana Rodrigues

"High school is just like the night sky. It's beautiful. Some moments, you're just in awe of it. But it's dark and endless, which can be scary, too. When the stars fall away, what's left? (...) The sun. Darkness goes away, but the sun shows up and you start over again. So let high school happen, and eventually you light up the rest of your life. Burn as bright as you want. The wonderful thing about the sun is, it's always there. People don't have to see you to believe you'll be there."

:')

Running with Lions

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