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Running With Lions

Running With Lions

  • Downloads：6011
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-08-18 09:56:03
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Julian Winters
  • ISBN：1945053623
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Bloomington High School Lions' star goalie， Sebastian Hughes， should be excited about his senior year: His teammates are amazing and he's got a coach who doesn't ask anyone to hide their sexuality。 But when his estranged childhood best friend Emir Shah shows up to summer training camp， Sebastian realizes the team's success may end up in the hands of the one guy who hates him。 Determined to reconnect with Emir for the sake of the Lions， he sets out to regain Emir's trust。 But to Sebastian's surprise， sweaty days on the pitch， wandering the town's streets， and bonding on the weekends sparks more than just friendship between them。

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Reviews

Hazel Rayson ，

Every sweet story of two friends who find each other after many years。 I'd recommended this story to anyone who wants to read a story with very little angst。 It's a story of two teenagers and their friends， finding each other and learning all about what it is to grow up。 And find love。 Every sweet story of two friends who find each other after many years。 I'd recommended this story to anyone who wants to read a story with very little angst。 It's a story of two teenagers and their friends， finding each other and learning all about what it is to grow up。 And find love。 。。。more

Inês ，

4。5 starsthis was so so good damn I loved it

Katie • forevermorepages ，

not a hard dnf bc I'll probably check it out of the library again someday， but realizing i'm not in the mood for this （nor sure i'll love it）， so i'm going to return it so i can get to my physical tbr （largely 5 star predictions） instead。 not a hard dnf bc I'll probably check it out of the library again someday， but realizing i'm not in the mood for this （nor sure i'll love it）， so i'm going to return it so i can get to my physical tbr （largely 5 star predictions） instead。 。。。more

Sydney ，

Needed more soccer and less of the other 's' word。 Needed more soccer and less of the other 's' word。 。。。more

Angela ，

Sweet and heartwarming！

Selma Pålsson ，

Mysig， inte dålig， inte fantastisk。 Helt ok， lättläst。

Euly ，

I enjoyed reading this book a lot， probably the only part I didn't like was Grey and Mason relationship kind of thing， I'm a big supporter of saying no and accepting that so the little challenge at the end wasn't for me and I found it not necessary but overall I enjoyed this book I enjoyed reading this book a lot， probably the only part I didn't like was Grey and Mason relationship kind of thing， I'm a big supporter of saying no and accepting that so the little challenge at the end wasn't for me and I found it not necessary but overall I enjoyed this book 。。。more

Kat Anderson ，

4/5 stars This was a quick and cute read。

Ella ，

It was not a bad read， I found the characters quite likeable and loved a lot of the messages。 However I found the plot overall very lacking and a little bit boring or slow。

Amy Laidler ，

This was a surprising book for me。 I'm not overly fussed with sports books， but as this had a gay romance I really wanted to give it a go。I am so glad I did！I loved Sebastian （or Bastian） just everything about him。 I really liked that he was battling with some demons and how through the story his character grown。 We all know body image and confidence is a thing for girls， but this story chose to do this to a boy。 I applaud the authors awareness of that， it isn't just girls who worry about how th This was a surprising book for me。 I'm not overly fussed with sports books， but as this had a gay romance I really wanted to give it a go。I am so glad I did！I loved Sebastian （or Bastian） just everything about him。 I really liked that he was battling with some demons and how through the story his character grown。 We all know body image and confidence is a thing for girls， but this story chose to do this to a boy。 I applaud the authors awareness of that， it isn't just girls who worry about how they look。 Running with Lions opened that conversation- particularly for men。 I also appreciated the coming out topic and how much it's made into such a big thing， when actually the people who are coming out to you， don't want that。Emir is just so awkward and quiet。 I wasn't 100% sure about his character but as you get into his story and background， you slowly understand why he's the way he is。You put these two together though。。。 you get arguements， blunt sarcasm and hatred。Then you get。。。one possessive， steamy， full of want， lust and love。 These two are hot together。 I just loved the enemies to lovers troupe， the topics that were approached。 The writing was done so well， I couldn't put the book down。 This was just a powerhouse book that I thoroughly enjoyed！If you like sports romance， get this！ 。。。more

grace ，

ok。 this book gave me mixed feelings。the fluff was adorable， and made me feel lonelier than ever。 it was just adorable。 cuteness overload。the writing style， on the other hand。。。 less amazing。 i don't know how to describe it exactly， but it just gave off what i like to call a 'Wattpad published' book vibe - no real structure or reason to it， more just stream of consciousness interjected by a few tangible moments。 i also wasn't a big fan of the tone， it just seemed a bit cheap and lackadaisical。ov ok。 this book gave me mixed feelings。the fluff was adorable， and made me feel lonelier than ever。 it was just adorable。 cuteness overload。the writing style， on the other hand。。。 less amazing。 i don't know how to describe it exactly， but it just gave off what i like to call a 'Wattpad published' book vibe - no real structure or reason to it， more just stream of consciousness interjected by a few tangible moments。 i also wasn't a big fan of the tone， it just seemed a bit cheap and lackadaisical。overall， a good read if you're in a chill sort of mood， or want to torture yourself with the knowledge of your own lack of love life。 。。。more

Charlie Cote ，

More like a 3。5The tense this book is written in sucks。 I absolutely hate narration in present tense。 That said， the book was good and the romance was cute。 Though Emir was somewhat hot and cold， and a bit of a hypocrite about the ‘don’t be a hero’ thing。 I liked the message it gives to young people: That it’s okay not to know what you want out of life when you’re 18。We put a lot of pressure on kids to make huge life decisions， when they have so much more growing up to do。 So， this perspective w More like a 3。5The tense this book is written in sucks。 I absolutely hate narration in present tense。 That said， the book was good and the romance was cute。 Though Emir was somewhat hot and cold， and a bit of a hypocrite about the ‘don’t be a hero’ thing。 I liked the message it gives to young people: That it’s okay not to know what you want out of life when you’re 18。We put a lot of pressure on kids to make huge life decisions， when they have so much more growing up to do。 So， this perspective was really refreshing。 。。。more

Elisa ，

3。5 ☆ | 28。07。21 - 01。08。21TWs para este libro: Discusiones de dismorfia corporal y bullying， homofobia， islamofobia。Encontré este libro mientras buscaba alguna lectura que me diera vibes de All for the Game （de Nora Sakavic） y puede que por ello mis expectativas estuvieran un poco más altas de lo que debían haber estado。 Y es que hubieron varias cosas que sí me gustaron， pero también otras que no tanto。Entre lo que sí me gustó está lo relatable que fue Sebastian para mí; muchas de las insegurid 3。5 ☆ | 28。07。21 - 01。08。21TWs para este libro: Discusiones de dismorfia corporal y bullying， homofobia， islamofobia。Encontré este libro mientras buscaba alguna lectura que me diera vibes de All for the Game （de Nora Sakavic） y puede que por ello mis expectativas estuvieran un poco más altas de lo que debían haber estado。 Y es que hubieron varias cosas que sí me gustaron， pero también otras que no tanto。Entre lo que sí me gustó está lo relatable que fue Sebastian para mí; muchas de las inseguridades que él sufre a lo largo del libro las he vivenciado también en algún punto， así que eso me hizo conectar un poco más con él。 También me identifiqué con Emir en su falta de ganas de sociabilizar y de tener una expresión eterna de "Los odio a todos"， y en general creo que fue mi personaje favorito。 Y por último， me gustó la idea base en la que se construye el equipo: "No importa quién seas o a quién decidas amar， aquí siempre vas a tener un lugar" （y， de nuevo， esto puede tener que ver con mi insana obsesión con AFTG）。 Algo que no me gustó del todo fue la narración; el problema no estuvo como tal en el tipo de narrador o en el tiempo verbal empleado （3era persona en presente， siguiendo todo el rato a Sebastian）， sino en que te tiraban comentarios random de la nada de algo nada que ver， junto a demasiadas referencias a la cultura pop que， aunque al principio me gustaban， llegó un punto en que me aburrieron。Otra cosa que no me gustó es que siento que los personajes secundarios tuvieron cero desarrollo。 En general no se habló mucho de los compañeros de equipo de Sebastian， más de la mitad solo fueron mencionados un par de veces y con suerte describieron un rasgo de sus personalidades。 Hay un personaje latino que su única característica， literalmente， fue decir un par de frases en español de vez en cuando y sería。Hay cuatro personajes secundarios de los que sabemos un poco más y aún así no siento que se haya profundizado demasiado en ellos。 （Spoiler。。。）Al menos a mí se me hizo un poco difícil empatizar con Grey （una de las pocas mujeres que aparecen en el libro y， a su vez， la que tiene más interacción con Sebastian dentro de este） al inicio， porque su presentación fue básicamente "Odio el color rosa y las cosas femeninas， a mí solo me gusta el fútbol y Mason Riley"。 Con el tiempo pasó de desagradarme a serme un poco "indiferente"， con la excepción de cierta escena dentro de los últimos capítulos en que， al fin， medio-enfrentó a Mason por su actitud; ahí me agradó mucho más。 Pero igual hubiera preferido que lo mandara a la mierda y lo olvidara de una vez por todas， que dejara de ser la chica que gastó casi cuatro años de su vida enamorada de un chico que no le daba ni la hora， y que encima la trataba pésimo， y empezara a centrarse en sí misma o en otras cosas （como trabajar en su kind of misoginia internalizada。。。）Y eso nos lleva a hablar de Mason， probablemente uno de mis personajes menos favoritos del libro。 Durante más de la mitad del tiempo fue un imbécil， especialmente en la forma en que trataba a Grey， y me molestó mucho que al final te dijeran que en realidad a él "siempre le había gustado ella" y que quizás en un futuro ella sería capaz de "hacerlo cambiar"。 Ehh， me imagino que no hace falta que explique por qué detesto tanto esto （？（Fin del spoiler。。。）Willie y Hunter estuvieron bien （？ Al menos siempre me cayeron bien y creo que no tengo nada de lo que quejarme sobre ellos， aunque sí me esperaba una escena entre Willie y Sebastian hablando de cierto tema， pero me da igual que no haya ocurrido。 Ah， y ya que estamos， no entiendo qué hace Gio en la portada （sí， lo tuve que buscar porque no tenía idea de quién podría ser ese último personaje）， teniendo en cuenta de que fue un cero aporte a la trama; por un momento pensé que podría ser Zach， ya que él al menos cumple un pequeño rol dentro de dos escenas en el libro， pero no。"Running with Lions" no es un mal libro （de hecho me gustó el mensaje que busca entregar y la relación entre Sebastian y Emir fue muy linda）， pero no fue una lectura del todo memorable para mí， ni tuvo ese "algo" que la hiciera destacar lo suficiente。 Ni siquiera considero lo que no me gustó como algo memorable， lo cual es un poco triste， porque en serio esperaba que me gustara más。 Supongo que la moraleja de esto es que no debes empezar una novela esperando encontrar lo mismo que encontraste en otra， ni tampoco debes tener las expectativas tan altas en algo， porque te terminarás decepcionando。 。。。more

Jennifer ，

I usually don't like coming of age books because they make me nostalgic but I really enjoyed this story。 It has good LGBT， poc abd muslim representation and it deals with issues such as bullying， acceptance and the importance of communication。 If you want something light to pass time this is your book。 I usually don't like coming of age books because they make me nostalgic but I really enjoyed this story。 It has good LGBT， poc abd muslim representation and it deals with issues such as bullying， acceptance and the importance of communication。 If you want something light to pass time this is your book。 。。。more

yasmim ，

the main characters were cute but the story got a little boring towards the end。 overall is a very cute book

sola ，

100th

maze ✿ ，

dnfing for now; ill pick it up again i just don’t know when

Carla ，

ok listen i had a bunch of issues with this book。 i picked it up like seven books ago and had to leave it because i Simply Wasn't Connecting and i really thought i wasnt gonna finish it。 these issues kept being there further on， but i immediately noticed that i was reading teenagers written by adults。 you know that feeling？ like the issues felt superficial and the banter didnt go anywhere， like it was there for the hell of it？ a lot of whatever and shut up when someone can't push the banter furt ok listen i had a bunch of issues with this book。 i picked it up like seven books ago and had to leave it because i Simply Wasn't Connecting and i really thought i wasnt gonna finish it。 these issues kept being there further on， but i immediately noticed that i was reading teenagers written by adults。 you know that feeling？ like the issues felt superficial and the banter didnt go anywhere， like it was there for the hell of it？ a lot of whatever and shut up when someone can't push the banter further？ a lot of that。 so i quit。but then i read All For The Game and my sports gays hormones were running high and i said you know what？ fuck it we're just gonna power thru。 coincidentally， i think i had abandoned right before things actually picked up， so this time i was actually able to genuinely enjoy it！its not perfect alright？ it isn't。 especially not after the beast that is AFTG because those are。 very complex and deep and this is more of a light summer read WHICH IS FINE but also that contrast highlighted some issues:-the sports gays angle was。。。 a lot of gays and not enough sports？ i cant believe im saying this， a year ago i would have slappec myself across the face， but after AFTG （which made me literally fall in love with a sport that doesnt exist） and fence （which made me fall in love with fencing， which does exist） i have come to the conclusion that the sport must serve a purpose other than simply Be There。 and i felt nothing for the soccer。 i was ready to be like HELL YEAH GOAL THAT or whatever yall soccer people say， and yet i didnt。 also， emir went from the Absolute Worst to the Absolute Best and we only get a glimpse of the reason and that makes me BITTER how tf did that happen mister-i like that we discussed body dysmorphia， i dont love how lightly we breezed over it。 i COMMEND the fact that it was there at all， but also， it fizzled and dissolved unsatisfactorily， and didnt show up when it needed to。 are you really going to tell me this guy who regularly looks in the mirror and pinches as the "excess" did not have a glam of self consciousness when he slept with the boy he likes， that he considers absolutely perfect and stunning and out of his league？ did not fuckin think so。 so。 good attempt， next time lets do more of it-can we NOT do the "hes mean to you because he likes you" thing anymore？ or at least call it out properly？ because the way mason treats grey the entire time is UNCOOL man and shes a firecracker and deserves better and should have fuckin kicked his head like the footballother than that。 cute！ we LOVE pakistani gay emir and bi disaster bastian。 its super cool to see a confident， secure， open bisexual character， we dont get a lot of those。 also， i liked that we introduced emir's faith into it， although i dont know how accurate it is （and i really hope this was fact checked and shit with people who actually practice it）。 theyre really cute as a couple and though their falling out as kids wasnt exactly what i thought had happened， what actually did happen was satisfactory enough。 i like them they get a pass。 my absolute favorite characters， tho？ willie and hunter。 LOVE THE HELL OUT OF THEM WHERES THEIR BOOK SIR。 all in all: more soccer， more realism in the body dysmorphia， less mysoginy， but just the right amount of kissies in the lake and gay panic and hoodie stealing。 and the title is pretty as hell。 not mad at it！ 。。。more

Katzenberger ，

It kept me going， when I had to stop， I couldn't wait to pick it up again， and that's kind of rare。 It kept me going， when I had to stop， I couldn't wait to pick it up again， and that's kind of rare。 。。。more

Gibby ，

willie carried this book。

Sofia ，

lovely story about the most progressive group of teen footballers i can imagine with a fun childhood best friends to enemies to lovers plotline as well。 very simple （as in there is only one plotline really） contemporary but so so effective & heart warming3。5/5

Naomi Ruth ，

I would like to start this review with the admission that I am not the demographic for this book。 I needed to read a sports book for a reading challenge & this was on sale & was a diverse read。 So it probably deserves a higher rating but I'm just NOT into sports books like。 At。 All。HOWEVER。 I loved the relationship part。 The characters are well-developed & complex。 The main character is relatable。I did find it weird that Sebastian's parents are called by their first names？ I kept thinking they w I would like to start this review with the admission that I am not the demographic for this book。 I needed to read a sports book for a reading challenge & this was on sale & was a diverse read。 So it probably deserves a higher rating but I'm just NOT into sports books like。 At。 All。HOWEVER。 I loved the relationship part。 The characters are well-developed & complex。 The main character is relatable。I did find it weird that Sebastian's parents are called by their first names？ I kept thinking they were like step-parents， but maybe it was because it was written in third person？ I don't know。 But it confused me。So。 If you are into good romance， complex characters， & sports， absolutely recommend。 。。。more

Anni ，

Maybe I just made the mistake of reading The Foxhole Court before diving into this- way too high expectations people。 Wayyy too high。

Victoria Elton ，

I think I would have warmed to this more if I wasn’t going into it hoping this would fill the Foxhole Court shaped hole in my heart。 A pipedream， huh！ It was enjoyable enough but fell a bit flat。 And a lot of the themes and side characters seemed to come out of nowhere and just… went nowhere？In short: you can keep your lions and I’ll keep my foxes。

Littlerhymes ，

Star goalie Sebastian goes to soccer camp just like he does every summer - but this time his old friend/new crush Emir is also attending， and Emir seems to hate him。 Will Sebastian and his team get through camp closer than ever？ Will Sebastian get his boy？This came highly recced and it is for sure great to see a YA novel with a diverse range of characters from a POC author。 Sebastian's coach is an ally and the boys on the team who are LGBTQ feel safe and supported， and that is so nice and positi Star goalie Sebastian goes to soccer camp just like he does every summer - but this time his old friend/new crush Emir is also attending， and Emir seems to hate him。 Will Sebastian and his team get through camp closer than ever？ Will Sebastian get his boy？This came highly recced and it is for sure great to see a YA novel with a diverse range of characters from a POC author。 Sebastian's coach is an ally and the boys on the team who are LGBTQ feel safe and supported， and that is so nice and positive。However the romance is undersold to me - the leads seem attracted to each other， but not to actually like each other？ - and the supporting cast is only roughly sketched out and their relationships all feel really thin。 。。。more

June Figal Ocina ，

such a fun read

jo ，

3。5

Pope ，

Unlike many books in this style of %v_array_gen[0]%， even when I did start to lose interest， something quickly pulled me back in。

Birgit Koopman ，

As far as debut novels go， this one wasn't bad at all。 Sure there are some things in it that could have gone better。 In my opinion there were too many plot points shoved into the story and at the same time it felt a bit aimless。 The summer training camp was more of a setting than that it was important to the plot。 A wasted opportunity maybe。 Winters throws in a bunch of backstory for some of its characters and then never brings it up again。 It makes you curious what happend and then disappointed As far as debut novels go， this one wasn't bad at all。 Sure there are some things in it that could have gone better。 In my opinion there were too many plot points shoved into the story and at the same time it felt a bit aimless。 The summer training camp was more of a setting than that it was important to the plot。 A wasted opportunity maybe。 Winters throws in a bunch of backstory for some of its characters and then never brings it up again。 It makes you curious what happend and then disappointed that it will never be resolved （unless he's setting up a sequel， but that seems unlikely）。 I did enjoy the positive representation of LGBTQ elements。 The fact that the team they play on is their family and every one is accepted， whomever they decide to love。 As long as you can get the ball in the goal。 I also like the banter that happened between the main characters and the supporting cast。 It really felt like how a high schooler would talk。 Bumbling through their conversations。 Characters are diverse， with different backstories and goals。 Nobody's perfect， and that's a good thing。All in all， not het best book I've read， but for a debut it's oké。 Julian Winters shows promise in his writing and I will probably be reading something else from him。 。。。more

Stavro ，

An ok debut novel here。 It wasn't a bad read at all。 I just couldn't get around the choppy 3rd person POV。 It made it confusing at some points to understand who is talking。 A few spots were scattered and had to read a few pages again。 I was thinking 'is this a flash back or present time？' LOL。 Also please for the love of all things holy do not call 'Keep ups' 'keepie uppies' maybe a minor gripe to some but drove me a bit up the wall hahah。 Overall a cute， and quick read。 Cheesy ending which kind An ok debut novel here。 It wasn't a bad read at all。 I just couldn't get around the choppy 3rd person POV。 It made it confusing at some points to understand who is talking。 A few spots were scattered and had to read a few pages again。 I was thinking 'is this a flash back or present time？' LOL。 Also please for the love of all things holy do not call 'Keep ups' 'keepie uppies' maybe a minor gripe to some but drove me a bit up the wall hahah。 Overall a cute， and quick read。 Cheesy ending which kinda worked。 Good debut from author。 Good read though。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Running With Lions

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Running With Lions&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Running With Lions&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0