Watching all nine seasons of One Tree Hill prepared me for this romance set in the world of high school basketball.
In How You Get the Girl, we follow Julie, a high school basketball coach questioning her sexuality. When her path unexpectedly crosses with Elle Cochrane, her childhood NWBA idol who happens to be the foster parent to one of her new players named Vanessa, Julie is baffled for a multitude of reasons—one of them being that the woman she always idolised somehow ends up being her assistant coach. After an unplanned heart-to-heart in which Julie confesses to her struggles trying to figure out her identity, Elle offers her a fake dating arrangement in which Julie can find out what she’s comfortable doing with a potential romantic partner. However, when their fake scenarios turn into something very real, it’s up to Elle and Julie to decide whether their fake dating can lead to their happily-ever-after.
Anita Kelly is one of those authors who do self-discovery plotlines so well that you leave their stories either feeling like you’ve been found or like you need to reconsider just who you think you are and how you fit in this world (in a good way). This book focuses on Julie trying to figure out whether or just where exactly she lands on the asexual spectrum, a struggle I could highkey relate to. It’s such a difficult situation and while Julie’s arrangement with Elle might not work for everyone, I really appreciated all the open communication that went into making sure that Julie felt comfortable.
I loved that both Julie and Elle had their individual struggles that they were contending with while their friendship and eventual romance evolved. Elle especially was portrayed so realistically, a woman who seemingly had everything in life but is still having trouble coming to terms with her successful basketball career just ending in the blink of an eye. Her story really showed how long one can be impacted by things even if they’re not visible to the naked eye. On top of that, Elle trying to figure out how to be a good foster parent and her familial struggles added so much depth to her character.
Together, Julie and Elle were so soft in the best of ways. You could feel the genuine connection the two of them had and all the hesitancy and later on steadfastness just made for a wonderful, wholesome romance.
What I will say is that the pacing didn’t quite work for me at times. Some chapters dumped a whole lot of information while others then dragged out tiny scraps of relevant character development that made it hard to fly through the pages. However, the frequent cameos of beloved characters like London, Dahlia, Ben and Lex definitely made up for it.
While it’s a tragedy that this series has been concluded now, I think Kelly did a stellar job of giving their characters (and us readers) a proper farewell. I know I’ll be revisiting their stories frequently and can’t wait to see what Kelly will tackle next.
Celebrating queer love in all its beautiful facets with a fun work-place romance, How You Get the Girl is filled to the brim with the power that lies in discovering who you are and revelling in the unconditional support of your found family.
How You Get the Girl is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of February 13th 2024.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Chemistry sizzles in this workplace rom-com set in the world of high school basketball from the author of Love & Other Disasters , named a “must-read” by USA Today , PopSugar, SheReads, and Harper Bazaar.
When smart-mouthed Vanessa Lerner joins the high school basketball team Julie Parker coaches, Julie’s ready for the challenge. What she’s not ready for is Vanessa’s new foster parent, Elle Cochrane—former University of Tennessee basketball star. While star-struck at first, soon Julie persuades Elle to step into the unfilled position of assistant coach for the year.
Even though Elle has stayed out of the basketball world since an injury ended her short-lived WNBA career, the gig might be a way to become closer to Vanessa—and to spend more time with Julie, who makes Elle laugh. As the coaches grow closer, Elle has a hard time understanding how Julie is single. When Julie reveals her lifelong insecurity about dating and how she wishes it was more like sports—being able to practice first—it sparks an intriguing idea. While Elle still doubts her abilities as a basketball coach, helping Julie figure out dating is definitely something she can do. But as the basketball season progresses, and lines grow increasingly blurred, Julie and Elle must decide to join the game—or retreat to the sidelines.
