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Verdict: A gentle, grown-up rugby romance about a divorced mother reclaiming her life and the younger teammate who never forgot her — warm, relatable and well liked, but much of the romance happens off the page and the last third feels rushed.
Best for: Readers who want a 40+ single-mom lead, second chances, found family at a local sports club, and a quick, low-key read.
Heat level: Not rated (I Heart SapphFic lists it as medium; no romance.io steam rating)
Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.7/5 — a 4.25 Goodreads average across 318 ratings and 3.99 on StoryGraph from 44 reviews)
Tropes: Second chance, single mother, age gap, workplace romance, small town, sports romance (rugby), third-act breakup.
A Game of Two Hearts is Iona Kane’s 2022 contemporary sapphic romance, the first of her self-published Touchline sapphic romances. Tess Kennedy is 46, newly divorced from an emotionally abusive husband, and moving her two teenagers back into the house they lived in more than a decade ago — and back into the orbit of Rowan Russell, the younger rugby player she once shared a pitch and an unspoken attraction with.
It holds a 4.25 average across 318 Goodreads ratings, with 79% of them four or five stars, 3.99 on StoryGraph from 44 reviews, and 4.5 stars across 442 Amazon ratings. Readers warm to the characters; the complaints are about how the story is told.
What Is A Game of Two Hearts About?
Tess is not where she expected to be at 46, but she is finally in control of her own life. After years of following her husband’s career, she is back in a town full of mixed memories, focused on her teenagers’ exams and on her daughter, who wants to follow her into rugby. The last thing she wants is a relationship.
Rowan works hard and plays harder to drown out the guilt she carries over an accident that killed her mother and cost her younger sister the use of her legs. She has let life happen to her, working in her father’s business and anchoring the local rugby club. When Tess comes back — and then comes to work for Rowan and her dad — Rowan has to decide whether she is willing to risk anything for happiness.
What Makes This Romance Work
- A relatable heroine: Readers praise Tess’s journey to reclaim her independence and confidence after a controlling marriage.
- Rugby for everyone: The club and the matches are described well enough that readers who knew nothing about rugby wanted to watch a game.
- Growth: Both women grow as individuals as well as together, and readers liked the solid backstories behind their reactions.
- Club as found family: One reader compared the cast to a real rugby club — a mix of people with messy lives.
- Its antagonist: Toxic masculinity, in Tess’s ex, a sexist co-worker and her son’s echoes of his father, gives the book a clear theme.
Book Synopsis
Tess Kennedy is not where she thought she would be at forty-six. She is focused on keeping things together as a single parent as she returns to a town that holds mixed memories. As she tries to build a new life for her family, she is relieved to be in control of her own destiny, and the last thing she is looking for is a relationship.
Rowan Russell is living her regular, predictable life. She works hard and plays harder, to drown out the voice in her head reminding her of all the bad choices she has made. When Tess’s return stirs up old, complicated feelings, she has to question whether she is happy letting life happen to her. When Rowan and Tess end up working together, they both need to decide how much they are willing to risk for happiness.
My Review
The first two-thirds is the book at its best. Kane paints a convincing picture of a woman getting her agency back in every part of her life — as a parent, at work, on the touchline — and Rowan’s guilt-bound stasis is a quiet, believable counterweight. The chemistry is there, the rugby adds energy, and readers came away feeling they had made new friends.
The problems are in the telling. Several readers felt too much happens off the page: a first date that is summarised rather than shown, romantic build-up that is reported rather than dramatised, and heavy inner monologue in place of scenes. The pacing shifts in the final third, where a third-act breakup arrives around 80% — one reader said it ruined her day — and is resolved in a rush. Side plots, including a side character’s illness and the fates of the book’s villains, are left loose, and one reader, re-reading it, dropped her rating from five stars to about four for those reasons.
My honest note: If you want a warm story about a 40-something mum rebuilding her life, this delivers. If you want every romantic beat on the page, it will feel thin in places.
| Element | In A Game of Two Hearts |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Tess Kennedy & Rowan Russell — divorced former international and younger club player |
| Ages | Tess is 46; Rowan is younger |
| Core tropes | Second chance, single mother, workplace, third-act breakup |
| Setting | A hometown rugby club, Haresby |
| Heat level | Not rated — medium per I Heart SapphFic |
| Series | Touchline sapphic romances #1 — happily ever after |
| Content notes | Emotionally abusive ex-husband, misogyny, lesbophobia, grief and guilt |
How Spicy Is A Game of Two Hearts?
I Heart SapphFic lists the heat as medium, and romance.io has no steam rating, so we have not given it a score. Readers mention strong chemistry, while one critic found an awkwardly placed sex scene in the resolution.
On content, Tess is leaving an emotionally abusive marriage, a co-worker and her ex are misogynistic and lesbophobic, and Rowan carries guilt over a fatal accident. One reader noted that the villains never really get their comeuppance.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you want a 40+ single-mom heroine, a second chance with an old teammate, and a sports club full of messy, likeable people. It is on our single mom lesbian romance and sapphic sports romance lists.
You may want to skip it if: you dislike third-act breakups, heavy inner monologue, or romance that happens off the page.
In short: Warm and relatable, but told more than shown.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)
This is a self-published Kindle Unlimited title with a steady readership; a web search surfaced no Reddit threads. On Goodreads the split is 46% five stars, 33% four, 16% three, 2% two and under 1% one. On StoryGraph, 75% tag it emotional and 88% call it character-driven. I could not find an audiobook.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): The characters first. Second, Tess’s reclaiming of her life. Third, the rugby. Fourth, the sense of community.
What readers argue about and complain about: Telling instead of showing, above everything. Second, a rushed final third. Third, the third-act breakup. Fourth, loose side plots.
The comparison worth making first: If you want another single mother in her forties finding love again, Returning Home to Her is more emotional and less sporty.
Frequently Asked Questions
What sport is A Game of Two Hearts about?
Women’s rugby. Tess is a former international player whose daughter joins the local club, where Rowan is still a senior player. Readers who knew nothing about rugby found it easy to follow.
How old are the leads in A Game of Two Hearts?
Tess is 46. Rowan is younger — she was a newer player when Tess last lived in town — but her exact age is not given in the listing.
Does A Game of Two Hearts have a third-act breakup?
Yes. Readers mention a split around the 80% mark that could have been solved with a conversation; it is resolved, and the book ends with a sweet happily ever after.
Is A Game of Two Hearts part of a series?
Yes. It is book 1 of the Touchline sapphic romances, set around the Haresby rugby club, and it can be read as a standalone.
Is A Game of Two Hearts on Kindle Unlimited?
Yes, at the time of writing the Kindle edition is available on Kindle Unlimited.
If You Loved A Game of Two Hearts, Read These Next
Try Returning Home to Her for another midlife single mother, or The Loudest Silence for a single-mom romance with more angst. For more, browse our single mom lesbian romance, women over 40 and sapphic sports romance lists, or the full Book Reviews archive.
The Bottom Line
A Game of Two Hearts sets out to tell a gentle second-chance story about a woman taking her life back, and it succeeds in making Tess and Rowan people readers care about. What holds it back is a habit of summarising the moments readers most want to see, and a rushed third-act breakup. For a warm, easy read with a 40+ heroine, it is worth it. Check A Game of Two Hearts on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, A Game of Two Hearts ranks as a good second-chance romance — warm characters and a relatable heroine, held back by off-page romance and a rushed ending.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★★☆ 3.7/5
- ✓ 4.25 average across 318 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ 79% of Goodreads ratings are four or five stars
- ✓ 3.99 on StoryGraph from 44 reviews
- ✓ 4.5 stars across 442 Amazon ratings
Romance ★★★☆☆ 3.3/5
- ✓ Rekindled attraction
- ✓ Good chemistry
- ✓ Build-up off the page
- ✓ Third-act breakup
Characters ★★★★☆ 4/5
- ✓ Relatable Tess
- ✓ Guilt-bound Rowan
- ✓ Likeable club cast
- ✓ Villains unresolved
Writing ★★★☆☆ 3.2/5
- ✓ Easy, quick read
- ✓ Rugby well described
- ✓ Tell over show
- ✓ Heavy inner monologue
Emotional Impact ★★★★☆ 3.7/5
- ✓ Escaping a toxic marriage
- ✓ Grief and guilt
- ✓ Growth for both
- ✓ Rushed payoff
Heat Level — not rated
- ✓ Medium per I Heart SapphFic
- ✓ Strong chemistry
- ✓ One awkward late scene
- ✓ No romance.io steam score
Ending ★★★☆☆ 3.4/5
- ✓ Sweet happily ever after
- ✓ Rushed final third
- ✓ Loose subplots
- ✓ Series continues
Re-read Value ★★★☆☆ 3.2/5
- ✓ Comforting characters
- ✓ One reader lowered her rating on a re-read
- ✓ On Kindle Unlimited
- ✓ No audiobook found
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