Review: Running With Lions

Running With Lions by Julian Winters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finished on May 31, 2021

Favorite Scene/Quote: Grey playing against Mason

I didn’t really look at the summary for this book before I grabbed it, so I only had a rough idea of what to expect. All I knew was that there was soccer and that it was going to be gay, that’s it. I decided to try it out anyways and see if I enjoyed it.
    
Sebastian is about to enter his senior year in high school but before he can do that, he has soccer camp. He is the star goalie, and his team is amazing, this should be a breeze. However, the appearance of Emir throws a wrench in his plans. The two used to be best friends, but now they don’t even speak. For the sake of his team, Sebastian decides to reconnect with Emir and help him with his soccer skills. But things get complicated when Sebastian finds himself feeling more than friendly.

Sebastian is an easy character to root for. He’s the responsible one of his friends and he takes that heavy on his shoulders. He is determined to be perfect and not let anyone down, even if it comes at his own detriment. He is a genuinely likeable character, and I quite enjoyed his chemistry with Emir. Emir is not harder to like, but harder to get to know. You have to learn about him at the same time that Sebastian is so at times it’s a bit difficult. But he seems genuinely sweet if a little awkward around other people. I found that I preferred Emir over Sebastian because I could relate to him more.

I’m not a huge fan of some of the side character. Willie is an amazing person and I adore him, but I couldn’t stand Mason. Even towards the end when he was changing and being less annoying, I found that I just barely could tolerate him. Also, I felt like Grey was wasted potential. After her game against Mason I was hoping that I would enjoy where her character went but then Mason flipped the script on his feelings. I honestly would have preferred if Mason never considered asking her out or if Grey just wasn’t in the book.

Mason probably made up the biggest reason that I didn’t enjoy this book, but he wasn’t the only reason. I found that I quite enjoyed the beginning of the book and getting to know everyone, and I loved the ending of the book. Around the middle of the book however I found that I hit a point where I just wasn’t interested anymore. The writing wasn’t bad, there wasn’t completely unnecessary drama, or anything like that. I just hit a point where I stopped feeling attached to the book and the characters.

This book was a pretty solid read. I had a couple of issues, but they don’t make me regret that I read this book. I doubt I’ll ever reread it, but who knows.