Review: "A Perfect Match" by Rachael Sommers

A Perfect Match by Rachael Sommers
Published February 2026 via Ylva Publishing
★★★

Erin's been the star of the Manchester women's football world for a while now, but when an injury sidelines her, her future in football is uncertain. Enter Lia, an up-and-coming star fleeing trauma of her own...and they clash immediately.

I just cannot resist a lesbian soccer (sorry, old habits die hard, and I can't say "football" without thinking of a pointing oblong ball and permanent brain damage) story. Plus, you know, cute cover, and (shh, don't tell) I do in fact judge a book by its cover. This was an extremely quick read—I read half of it in one evening at the gym and finished it before bed the same day—and there's a really satisfying amount of soccer in the book. Lia and Erin both do a lot of thinking with their hearts rather than their heads, for better or for worse, and they don't really go at things in a half-assed way...which is probably just what a successful soccer player needs.

(The next couple of paragraphs are a bit longer than I intended, so if you just want to know who I recommend this for, skip to the last paragraph!)

Two things gave me pause: First, this doesn't feel like a healthy relationship. There's Erin's distrust of Lia—she might be a soccer superstar, but it makes me think that she isn't much of a team player. This is reinforced by the shape of the relationship, as while Erin and Lia are able to play well together on the field, much of the book sees one or both of them refusing to treat the other one civilly and no consideration of what this might mean for team dynamics. On top of this, there's quite a lot of jealousy throughout the book—e.g., Erin getting jealous when another woman hits on Lia—and between that and the push-pull dynamic they set up early on (pulling together and then pushing each other away), it just doesn't feel like the setup for something healthy in the short or long term.

Second, I don't love the approach to workplace relationships and power dynamics. Though there isn't a direct power dynamic between Erin and Lia (Erin has no say over Lia's play time, her position on the team, etc.), there is an indirect power relationship (Erin is about a decade older, more senior on the team, and Lia's childhood sports hero). I think this is probably in line with the fact that the author's other books seem to be age-gap romances, which is fine but not my jam; I would have liked more discussion of it within the book, but this will still be a good fit for readers who like more power play between their heroines. Also didn't love, in the context of a problematic player–coach relationship, repeated references to the player "getting away with it"; i.e., not being publicly shamed for it (though the coach is) and another character unfairly taking some of the blame. And while yes, the player should take ownership for cheating, that's a whole different ballpark (soccer field?) from the subordinate in an unequal relationship deserving a public lambasting.

So while this didn't work as well for me as I'd have like...it's still a fast read with soccer, and interesting family relationships as B plot, and a decent amount of spice. A better fit for those who like age-gap romance, workplace romance, power dynamics, and enemies to lovers. And of course one for sports fans!

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.