Sophie Reads YA: June 2026

june

Stacking the Shelves: June 20th 2026

10:00

june

Stacking the Shelves: June 13th 2026

10:00

june

Stacking the Shelves: June 6th 2026

10:00

5 Stars

ARC Review: The Tiger in the Sack (The Cocky Kingmans #7) by Amy Award

13:00

The Tiger in the Sack
Series: The Cocky Kingmans #7
Author: Amy Award
Published June 9th 2026 by Coffee Break Publishing

Goodreads Synopsis
There's freedom behind a motorcycle helmet.

Nobody knows who you are.

No name. No jersey number. No six brothers who'd been famous longer than I could legally drive, and no one stopping me on the sidewalk to ask if I was actually related to the Chris Kingman.

So when I find Clover stuck in a tree with her cat, I keep the helmet on.

I crack Mandalorian jokes, rescue her and her cat, and feel like an absolute genius when I ask for her number and she gives it to me.

I am, in fact, an idiot. She's the new Dance and Cheer coach for the Cincinnati Tigers. The team where I happen to be the starting quarterback.

I can't keep this secret from her. That's a douchepotato move.

She figures it out before I can tell her. Which somehow manages to be worse.

And just to throw a monkey in our wrench the boss has assigned us to work together on a super-secret project to unmask whoever is sabotaging the team, and our cover? Of course, it's fake dating.

We’ll do it because Clover moved to Cincinnati to do the impossible: build a body-diverse professional cheer squad in a league that's never had one, for a team that everyone says is going nowhere.

Someone powerful is betting she'll fail. She's taking that bet, and I'm going to be there to make sure nobody hurts her.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

After seeing his older brother's all find love, Isak Kingman is ready to step out of their shadow and make his own path in life. Yes, he's the starting quarterback for the Cincinnati Tigers, but his older brother's careers have always been more famous. Isak prefers the solitude of being on his motorbike, the anonymity of wearing a helmet and being completely unknown. That is, until he meets Clover. She seems to be everything he ever wanted, and he's lying to her about his identity. And to make it worse, they're forced to fake date for work. Yeah, that's not going to go well.

I love the family element of this series, and how close knit the Kingman family are. Isak has always been a secondary character in the previous books, in the periphery but never close enough to the action to really get to know him. We definitely see who he really is in The Tiger in the Sack, and Clover is just perfect for him. I adore the fake dating trope, and it was done so well here. I do think it might've been done slightly better in the first book between Chris and Trixie, but even so, it worked for this story. I can't wait to get Jules' book, it will be worth the wait!

Dates Read:
June 2-3, 2026

Rating
5 Stars