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Verdict: A steamy, emotionally healthy pining romance between two pro soccer teammates who become roommates, then fake dates, then more. Readers who love yearning and heat are happy; a vocal minority found it slow, repetitive and hard to invest in.
Best for: Readers who love unrequited pining, friends with benefits and adults who work through their baggage.
Heat level: Explicit
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.3/5 — a 3.71 Goodreads average across 82 ratings, 3.43 on StoryGraph from 35 reviews, and 4.2 stars across 19 Amazon ratings)
Tropes: Unrequited love, roommates to lovers, platonic dating, friends with benefits, teammates, divorce.
She’s a Keeper is Liz Lincoln’s 2023 contemporary lesbian romance in her Milwaukee Wolfpack soccer series, now sold on Amazon as Loving a Keeper. Rose Olivieri has loved her teammate, goalkeeper Cassie Dickinson, for years.
It holds a 3.71 average across 82 Goodreads ratings, with 63% of them four or five stars, 3.43 on StoryGraph from 35 reviews, and 4.2 stars across 19 Amazon ratings. Written reviews are relatively few, so this review draws on a smaller pool than most.
What Is She’s a Keeper About?
Determined to get over her friend, Rose invites the recently divorced Cassie to be her roommate — forced proximity should kill any lingering feelings. Cassie, with two broken marriages behind her, has sworn off romance but misses going out.
When Rose suggests they date platonically, Cassie agrees. Neither expects it to slide into friends with benefits, and both are sure they can keep feelings out of it.
What Works in This Romance
- Steam: The most consistent praise; readers call the sex scenes very steamy.
- Pining: Fans enjoy unrequited love turning into requited love, with plenty of sexual tension.
- Healthy handling of baggage: One reader highlights therapy, communication and boundary-setting.
- Representation: Readers note lesbian and bisexual leads, plus a glitter-bombing of anti-LGBTQ politicians.
Book Synopsis
First comes love, then roommates, then friends with benefits — are they doing this right?
Rose and Cassie have to find out whether they make as good a team off the field as on it.
My Review
For readers who like a long, aching build, this delivers: Rose’s years of quiet love, Cassie’s careful recovery from divorce, and a lot of heat once the two finally cross the line. A women’s soccer fan compared the defender-and-goalkeeper pairing to a real NWSL couple.
The critical reviews are blunt. One reader called it a chore to get through; another felt a disconnect between how the romance is described and how it reads, found the reasons the pair can’t be together weak and repeated too often, and noted that the friends-with-benefits arrangement starts only well past halfway.
My honest note: Try the sample first — the pacing is the deciding factor.
| Element | In She’s a Keeper |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Rose Olivieri, a defender, & Cassie Dickinson, a goalkeeper, on the same pro team |
| Core tropes | Unrequited love, roommates, platonic dating, friends with benefits |
| Setting | The Milwaukee Wolfpack, a professional women’s soccer team |
| Heat level | Explicit |
| Length | 258 pages (Kindle listing) |
| Series | Milwaukee Wolfpack (now titled Loving a Keeper on Amazon) |
| Content notes | Divorce, injury, past death of a sibling, grief, unsupportive parent |
How Spicy Is She’s a Keeper?
Very. Readers describe steamy, on-page sex scenes and a lot of sexual tension before them.
One reader lists content notes including divorce, injury, the past death of a sibling, grief, therapy, an unsupportive parent and discussion of abortion and LGBTQ rights.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you want pining teammates and plenty of steam. It is on our sapphic sports romance list.
You may want to skip it if: you need a strong reason for the obstacles, or a faster build.
In short: Steamy pining, uneven pace.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)
On Goodreads the split is 20% five stars, 43% four, 24% three, 7% two and 3% one — more mixed than most soccer romances on our list. On StoryGraph, readers tagged it emotional and lighthearted in equal measure and most said it was fast-paced.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): The steam first. Second, the pining. Third, the healthy communication. Fourth, the representation.
What readers argue about and complain about: Pacing, above everything. Second, weak obstacles. Third, repetition.
The comparison worth making first: For another roommates-and-soccer romance, see Score to Love.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is She’s a Keeper the same book as Loving a Keeper?
Yes. The book first published in 2023 as She’s a Keeper is now listed on Amazon as Loving a Keeper, with the same blurb and characters.
What tropes are in She’s a Keeper?
Unrequited love, roommates, platonic dating that turns into friends with benefits, and teammates to lovers.
How spicy is She’s a Keeper?
Steamy. Readers praise the on-page spice, and one says Liz Lincoln writes the best steam.
Is She’s a Keeper slow?
For some. One critical reader says the friends-with-benefits arrangement doesn’t start until well past halfway, and that the reasons the pair stay apart are restated too often.
Is She’s a Keeper on Kindle Unlimited?
Yes, at the time of writing it was available through Kindle Unlimited, or $4.99 to buy on Kindle. An audiobook edition is also available.
If You Loved She’s a Keeper, Read These Next
Try the rest of the Milwaukee Wolfpack series, or browse our sapphic sports romance list and the full Book Reviews archive.
The Bottom Line
She’s a Keeper sets out to be a steamy teammates-and-roommates romance, and the heat is there. What holds it back is a slow, repetitive middle. For pining fans. Check Loving a Keeper on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, She’s a Keeper ranks as a fair sports romance — hot, slow.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★☆☆ 3.3/5
- ✓ 3.71 average across 82 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ 63% of Goodreads ratings are four or five stars
- ✓ 3.43 on StoryGraph from 35 reviews
- ✓ 4.2 stars across 19 Amazon ratings
Romance ★★★☆☆ 3.3/5
- ✓ Unrequited pining
- ✓ Friends with benefits
- ✓ Late start
- ✓ Weak obstacles
Characters ★★★☆☆ 3.3/5
- ✓ Bi and lesbian leads
- ✓ Healthy boundaries
- ✓ Hard to invest for some
- ✓ Twice-divorced keeper
Writing ★★★☆☆ 3/5
- ✓ Repetitive
- ✓ Told not shown for one
- ✓ Fast pace on StoryGraph
- ✓ Chore for one
Emotional Impact ★★★☆☆ 3.3/5
- ✓ Emotional
- ✓ Grief backstory
- ✓ Therapy
- ✓ Mixed investment
Heat Level ★★★★★ 4.5/5
- ✓ Explicit
- ✓ Best steam per one
- ✓ Lots of tension
- ✓ On page
Ending ★★★★☆ 3.5/5
- ✓ Requited at last
- ✓ One true pairing
- ✓ Series continues
- ✓ Pining pays off
Re-read Value ★★★☆☆ 3.2/5
- ✓ Kindle Unlimited
- ✓ Audiobook available
- ✓ 258 pages
- ✓ Retitled edition
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