Striker by Michelle Betham

This summer, it’s time to play dirty...

Amber Sullivan is an ambitious, beautiful and feisty Sports reporter for a local TV news programme. With an ex-professional soccer player for a father, she’s grown up in and around the world of premiership football, and boy does she know better than to get mixed up with the men who play the game. As rich and charming as they are, Amber has a strict no player rule.

One of the biggest names in football, Ryan Fisher is young, hot, and talented. He has it all – looks, fame, money; not to mention women falling at his over-insured feet and a lifestyle he’s in no hurry to give up.

At the centre of a multi-million-pound transfer deal back to his home club, Ryan’s a big scoop for a local sports journalist and Amber can’t afford to miss this career-making opportunity – even if that means having to interview the cocky sports star.

But once the tape starts rolling it’s clear Ryan’s got more than just an exclusive on his mind… and he’s used to getting exactly what he wants.

Delving into the lives of those who live and work within the so-called Beautiful Game, ‘Striker’ is a story of sex, secrets and the true cost of fame.


This book was one of those books that I have been wanting to read but never got around to doing it until weeks, months later. (Thank you, ever-growing TBR pile!) I am a huge football fan and I was uber excited to read this book since it's especially rare to find footy romances. Not to mention great ones.

Unfortunately, this read didn't quite meet up with my expectations, high or otherwise. Don't get me wrong, although part of a trilogy, this book does have its own HEA. But it was a HEA wrapped up with an entirely different bow than I was expecting. Maybe I haven't been reading these kinds of books wherein more than two protagonists are highlighted in a relationship and then typical of me, I ended up cheering for the wrong couple. What an eye-opener. Haha!

With my aforementioned love for football, I guess it was only natural for me to be so Team Ryan and Amber because that was what I expected. But as things became clear, that this was not the usual love story, I became partly sad. It turned out that although this was Amber's story, it wasn't Ryan's. And Ryan turned out to be a bit douchy that needed a lot of growing up. Imagine me having to deal with that when I am used to roses, rainbows, and unicorns.

Nevertheless, this book ended with something for us to look forward to and even if this wasn't one hundred per cent my cup of tea, I will eventually come around to reading the next books. If this book felt like a break-up, I need a deserved closure. 


Final verdict: 7/10. Okay read.