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Verdict: A steamy, grown-up age-gap romance set in English women’s football, where the couple talk things through and the drama comes from outside. Football fans praise how real the matches feel; readers who don’t follow the game may find the play-by-play long, and a late plot turn divides opinion.
Best for: Readers who want an age-gap, boss/employee sports romance with heat and without a third-act breakup.
Heat level: Explicit
Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.9/5 — a 4.26 Goodreads average across 712 ratings, 3.68 on StoryGraph from 78 reviews, and 4.5 stars across 885 Amazon ratings)
Tropes: Age gap, boss/employee, athlete comeback, secret relationship, found family, instant attraction.
Last Chance is Claire Highton-Stevenson’s 2024 age-gap lesbian romance, the first book in her Chances Collection. After a second ACL injury, midfielder Nora Brady joins the Bath Street Harriers, a struggling young team trying to establish itself in the Women’s Super League — and falls for its owner, Gabriella “Gabby” Dean.
It holds a 4.26 average across 712 Goodreads ratings, with 81% of them four or five stars, 3.68 on StoryGraph from 78 reviews, and 4.5 stars across 885 Amazon ratings.
What Is Last Chance About?
Nora, almost thirty, has one last shot at the career she loves. With matches to win and a reputation to rebuild, nothing should distract her — except her new boss.
Gabby will do whatever it takes to build a top-tier programme, even if that means signing the confident player who reawakens feelings she has guarded against for years. Giving in could cost them both professionally and publicly, and put at risk the team of young women they have come to see as family.
What Works in This Romance
- The football: Readers say the author clearly knows and loves the game, and several found the match descriptions exciting and real.
- An adult relationship: Reviewers like that the leads communicate openly and agree to get to know each other before sleeping together.
- The team: The squad, coaches and a side character you love to hate get a lot of praise; one reader felt a touch of Ted Lasso in the struggling club and its owner.
- Heat: Readers describe it as hot and spicy.
Book Synopsis
An injured athlete desperate for a comeback meets a career-driven team owner, and the attraction is immediate.
As their connection deepens, it threatens both their careers and the team that depends on them.
My Review
Readers keep coming back to the same strengths: two adults who act like adults, a lovable squad and football written by someone who clearly understands it. The drama — a leaked changing-room photo, jealous teammates and an old grudge — keeps the couple on the same side.
The complaints are about balance. A non-football fan skipped the play-by-play, and one reader found the age gap bigger than they prefer. Another expected more spice early and found it slow, predictable in who took the photo, and then capped by an unbelievable late twist. Others found the ending rushed or the last chapters long, and one felt the leads and dialogue were underdeveloped.
My honest note: If you like football, move it up your list.
| Element | In Last Chance |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Nora Brady, a midfielder in her late twenties, & Gabby Dean, 47, the club’s owner |
| Core tropes | Age gap, boss/employee, athlete comeback, secret relationship |
| Setting | The Bath Street Harriers and English women’s football |
| Heat level | Explicit |
| Length | 382 pages (Kindle listing) |
| Series | Chances Collection #1 |
| Content notes | Sports injury, leaked private photo, violence |
How Spicy Is Last Chance?
Very. The Amazon listing calls it steamy, reviewers call it hot, and StoryGraph users have tagged graphic sexual content. One reader notes it is closer to a slow build for the first half.
StoryGraph users have also flagged violence and moderate injury detail. Nora’s injuries and a leaked compromising photo are central to the plot.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you enjoy boss/employee age-gap romance and women’s football. It is on our sapphic sports romance list.
You may want to skip it if: you have no interest in match detail or dislike larger age gaps.
In short: Steamy, sporty and drama-from-outside.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)
On Goodreads the split is 49% five stars, 32% four, 14% three, 3% two and under 1% one. On StoryGraph, 58% tagged it lighthearted and 50% emotional, and 92% said the characters were loveable. Several readers went straight on to the next book in the collection.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): The football first. Second, the mature communication. Third, the team. Fourth, the heat.
What readers argue about and complain about: Too much match detail for non-fans, above everything. Second, the late twist. Third, pacing at the end.
The comparison worth making first: One reader says fans of the author’s Scarlett Fever will love it. For more, see our age-gap lesbian romance reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big is the age gap in Last Chance?
About twenty years. Nora is almost thirty and Gabby is forty-seven.
Is Last Chance spicy?
Yes. It is marketed as a steamy romance and readers call it hot, though one reader notes the intimacy does not start until around halfway through.
Is there a third-act breakup in Last Chance?
Readers say there isn’t: the conflict comes from outside the couple — a leaked photo, jealous teammates and an old grudge — rather than between them.
Do I need to know about football to enjoy it?
It helps. One reader says some knowledge of the game makes it more enjoyable, and another skipped much of the match play-by-play.
Is Last Chance on Kindle Unlimited?
Yes, at the time of writing it was available through Kindle Unlimited, or $0.99 to buy on Kindle.
If You Loved Last Chance, Read These Next
Continue with the Chances Collection, or browse our sapphic sports romance list, contemporary lesbian romance reviews or the full Book Reviews archive.
The Bottom Line
Last Chance sets out to be a steamy age-gap romance on a football pitch, and it largely scores. What holds it back is how much match detail it asks non-fans to sit through. Worth it for sports romance readers. Check Last Chance on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, Last Chance ranks as a good sports romance — hot, grown-up.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★★☆ 3.9/5
- ✓ 4.26 average across 712 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ 81% of Goodreads ratings are four or five stars
- ✓ 3.68 on StoryGraph from 78 reviews
- ✓ 4.5 stars across 885 Amazon ratings
Romance ★★★★☆ 4/5
- ✓ Instant chemistry
- ✓ Open communication
- ✓ No third-act breakup
- ✓ Big age gap for some
Characters ★★★★☆ 3.9/5
- ✓ 92% loveable characters
- ✓ Lovable squad
- ✓ Villain to hate
- ✓ Underdeveloped for one
Writing ★★★★☆ 3.7/5
- ✓ Real football
- ✓ Knows the game
- ✓ Heavy play-by-play
- ✓ Late twist divides
Emotional Impact ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ Tagged lighthearted by 58%
- ✓ Tagged emotional by 50%
- ✓ Comeback story
- ✓ Found family
Heat Level ★★★★★ 4.5/5
- ✓ Explicit
- ✓ Graphic sexual content tagged
- ✓ Hot and spicy
- ✓ Slower first half
Ending ★★★☆☆ 3.4/5
- ✓ No breakup reported
- ✓ Rushed for one
- ✓ Long final chapters
- ✓ Series continues
Re-read Value ★★★★☆ 3.8/5
- ✓ Kindle Unlimited
- ✓ $0.99 Kindle price
- ✓ Four-book collection
- ✓ Re-readable for one
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