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Book: “It Happened on a Sunday” by Tracy Wolff
Publishing Info: Entangled: Amara, September 2025
Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!
Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound
Book Description: They call her the Black Widow. A pop star. A tabloid tragedy. A girl who set the world on fire—and got burned in return.
But Sloane Walker doesn’t care what they say. Not anymore. The headlines, the hashtags, the rumors that never die? Let them come. She’s survived worse—like the ex who tried to kill her and the fans who blamed her for surviving. These days, she’s armor and eyeliner, singing songs that hurt and pretending they don’t.
She’s halfway through a sold-out tour and dangerously close to unraveling when a meet-and-greet throws her into the path of Mateo Sylvester—a rising star quarterback with a devastating smile and a grandmother who’s Sloane’s biggest fan. He’s got stadiums at his feet and the press eating from his hand. She’s got a flask full of sweet tea, a voice full of ghosts, and no patience for golden boys with good intentions.
She tells herself it’s just a photo op. Just another handshake. Just another charming fan with perfect cheekbones and no idea what it means to bleed for your art.But Mateo sees more than the stage persona. He sees the cracks in her smile. The songs she’s too scared to write. The girl underneath the glitter, still fighting to stay.They weren’t supposed to fall. Not in the spotlight. Not when the world is watching. And definitely not when the people closest to them would do anything to keep them apart.
This isn’t a fairy tale. It’s a slow-motion car crash. And if they’re not careful, it might just cost them everything.
Review: As I’ve ventured further into romantasy and fantasy romance fiction, I’ve also started dipping my toes back into other subgenres of romance. I’ve most regularly enjoyed historical romance novels (Sherry Thomas, one of my favorite authors, has written several!), though I’ve been known to read a few contemporary romances sprinkled throughout. I’ll be honest, these are the hardest sell for me, most of the time. But I’ve also read a few recently that I’ve enjoyed (after loving “Shield of Sparrows,” I’ve gone back and read a few of Devney Perry’s contemporary books and really enjoyed them, though I haven’t reviewed those here on the blog.) All of this to say, I was happy to jump on board when I was given the opportunity to review an early copy of this title!
So, this one both worked really well for me in some areas, but also was a struggle in others. First off, there’s no escaping the obvious and intentional parallels to Taylor Swift and and Travis Kelce (the book leans into this, in fact, with several references to Swift’s songs). I don’t particularly enjoy Taylor Swift, but that’s more due to the fact that her style of music isn’t my preferred style, and less to do with anything to do with her particular songs. Further, I’m by no means caught up on all of the celebrity gossip and drama to be found there. That said, there’s no avoiding the basic points, so it was easy to see the lines being drawn within the book.
However, I think the author did a very good job of distancing this story enough from these real life individuals. While there are similarities to be found, the core of the story revolves around an almost “thriller-like” plot line involving the mysterious deaths of Sloane’s previous boyfriends and the present danger of an increasingly threatening stalker. And, of course, this gives the book plenty of opportunities to place our romantic hero in a protective role as the couple tries to cope with these increasingly dire circumstances. All of this gives the book a lot of action, as well as fully centers the story around unique characters who aren’t simply carbon cut-outs of their real-life counterparts.
I will say, there were quite a few moments that push the limits of credibility with the way many things played out, particularly with the stalker plot-line. However, this is a romance novel first and foremost, so I didn’t go in with expectations of a hard-nosed thriller/mystery. That being the case, it was easy enough to sit back and enjoy this plot line for what it was. And by far, this mystery and built up sense of danger was my favorite part of the book.
Unfortunately, while I liked the the thriller aspects of the story, I struggled more with the romance itself. For one thing, there was exactly zero build up or progression of feelings. Instead, by date number two, love is being expressed and devotion committed. While I expect romance novels to move a bit more quickly than my slow-burning heart desires, this one was fast even by comparative standards. There was no tension, no push and pull, just instant gratification. It was all too much and too fast for me to ever feel fully invested in their relationship.
Further, some of the writing was a bit off-putting to me at times. While most of the book is written in a very casual style, there would be random moments where the author would throw in obscure, lesser-used terms. These moments always stood out to me, almost as if a second editor had went through and used a thesaurus sporadically to “smarten up” the text. It just read as off. Similarly, some of the spicey scenes also included phrases and descriptions that felt oddly clinical or even eerie at times, leaving me feeling as if perhaps there was some deeper mystery being built up between the two. But nope, in the end, it seems like it was just odd writing choices.
Overall, this was an ok read. I enjoyed the stalker plot line and the tension that was built up as this threat intensified. However, the love story itself didn’t quite land for me. That said, I do think this book will work well for a lot of contemporary romance fans, particularly those who have enjoyed following Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s love story!
Rating 7: I enjoyed the stalker plot line quite a bit, but the romance took off too quickly and never quite struck the right chord (chord…get it??) with me.
Reader’s Advisory:
“It Happened on a Sunday” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Musicians Romances and September 2025 Sports Romance Release.
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