Game Time by Kate Christie

Game Time
by Kate Christie
Pages: 313
Date: September 30 2016
Publisher: Second Growth Books
Series: Girls of Summer (2)

Review
Rating: 4.75
Read: October 4 to 5 2016

Important note before anyone dives into this book or this review – this book continues a story begun in Training Ground - it should not be read on its own, nor should its review be examined prior to completion of book one.

This book does not pick up directly from the end of the first book – but it is still directly linked to the first and heavily based on the first. No, instead of beginning an hour, day, week, or even a month later, this book opens ten years later.

The first book focused on two people (and their friends and family) in 2003, Jamie Maxwell, and Emma Blakeley. Book two sees these same people, but ten years later in 2013.

I am somewhat padding my beginning portion so that I do not reveal anything in the tiny snippet that will appear on other people’s feeds. Are we there yet? Maybe.

As noted, it’s ten years later. Emma and Jamie’s lives have continued – separately. Both have graduated from college. Both have pursued careers in soccer – one playing for two different US based professional women’s soccer leagues while also playing for the National team; while the other went directly from college into the pros, then drifted over to Europe to play for an English soccer team when the professional league folded. Both have had lovers, lives, changes – some in the public eye, some not.

When the book opens, Jamie has had some success with soccer, and advancing up the levels, but every time she seems on the cusp of true success, she gets injured (two times so far) – now she’s been invited to her first national team residency camp – over in California. She’s 26 (or reaches that milestone in this book), and hasn’t been ‘frozen’ in time – as in, she has a lovely English girlfriend who she lives with – and has done so for the last 18 months. Both, apparently, love the other. Though the girlfriend is a little . . . worried about this opportunity that Jamie has before her – since it will bring Jamie close to Emma again.

It’s not actually true that they, Emma and Jamie, haven’t talked in ten years, but it’s close to being true. Fate has kept them apart. When Emma was having success on the national team, Jamie hadn’t been advanced enough, yet, to be on the team at the same time; when Jamie advanced for a moment or two, Emma was off recovering from injury. And the few times they have been near each other, prior to this ‘residency camp’ (as in – something like 24 women living in the same location, with roommates, and spending time practicing, exercising, etc.), the two have been near – there was one prior camp, but that time Jamie didn’t’ live ‘on campus’ so they only saw each other, briefly, ‘on the pitch’. Now they might actually have to talk to each other.

So – Jamie is in a long established healthy relationship (though there are ‘signs’), while Emma is currently unentangled.

Its good then, that Jamie is in a relationship, eh, since she doesn’t need the distraction of what might be, what might happen from interacting with her lost love– her mission is to get on the National team – to show what she can do.

But can they interact in these close confines without combusting? Can they become friends again?

I rather enjoyed this book here – I liked seeing the characters at a different stage in their life (and yes, someone at the age of 16, and someone at the age of 26 are at different stages of their lives). And there were some rather neat things along the way. Like for example – “her little moans of contentment making Jamie lean away and Maddie drift closer” – referencing here a woman named Angie eating some pancakes. Angie and Maddie have been eyeballing each other for a little while, but, at that moment, hadn’t reached relationship status – seeing them flirting was neat. They aren’t the main characters, of course and their time on the page is brief.

On one level this book was both more and less satisfying than the prior book in the series. As human beings, both main characters seem healthier now – emotionally I mean; while at the same time the book itself feels slightly less deep than the prior book. Just a vague feeling.

I look forward to the next book in the series. Whenever that might appear.

October 5 2016