The Winged Game by Sophie Kim Review

Carriwitchet, the violent, rugby-esque game played atop winged beasts, was once Taissa Cho's whole life, and she was once the United Kingdom's most promising player. Until her nemesis, rival player Kion Locke, destroyed her career in a single moment. Expelled from the sport in disgrace, Taissa has spent the last two years dreaming of nothing but revenge and relishing watching Kion's team plummet to the bottom of the league.
 

So when Taissa is offered the chance to redeem herself and her career, she can't refuse―even if the offer is coming from the very man who ruined everything in the first place. It's close to a dream come true... except for that pesky clause in her contract that demands she and Kion enter a fake relationship in order to garner some much-needed positive PR for the team. This could not be a worse match. Taissa and Kion only have two things in common: their love of the game, and their undying hatred for each other.
 

Yet as a mysterious illness befalls the winged creatures of the entire league―putting both the beasts' lives and the very sport itself at stake―the athletes find themselves partnering up in other ways, determined to crack the case of the eerie sickness. As their investigation takes them on a whirlwind adventure, Kion and Taissa are prepared for anything...
 

Anything, that is, but their fake-for-the-cameras relationship to maybe, just maybe, become something real after all.

Aerial sports meets fantasy romance in Sophie Kim’s The Winged Game, a book that combines the best parts of each genre while catering to modern romance readers’ tastes. A Ted Lasso-inspired story following a down-on-their-luck sports team on the verge of being disbanded crossed with enemies/rivals-to-lovers athletes forced to work together to save the team, this book is a unique one that’s a ton of fun complemented by good English and Scottish folklore. Featuring a light-hearted tone, great character writing, and prominent romantasy flavor, The Winged Game is a solid read that knows exactly what it’s doing and delivers on its sales pitch.

Contemporary sports romance and romantasy are two of the most popular genres out there and it’s almost surprising how few books have attempted to mix the two together. But as they say, if you want to read it, write it, and that’s exactly what Kim has done with the Winged Game. A self-contained standalone fantasy romance, this book lives up to its marketing with a story that has authentic sports content while incorporating the tone and many commonly associated tropes of a romantasy one. On top of that, this book is simply really fun, full of comedic forced proximity shenanigans, witty dialogue, and over the top mayhem. This book is fully aware of what it’s meant to be and wholeheartedly embraces it, off-beat silliness included.

Yet another new subgenre for Kim whose past works include a YA high fantasy series and the popular urban fantasy romance duology Fate’s Thread, the Winged Game is an honest and genuine attempt at a sports romance and not simply just an aesthetic label. The original sport of Carriwitchet is described by the publisher as a sort of aerial rugby game, though I believe this is a poor comparison. A better description would be akin to an aerial version of capture the flag but replace the flag with three jewels each placed in a team tower they must invade and defend. Where the rugby element comes into play is that each team has assigned attackers and defenders who can utilize an assortment of classic fantasy adventure weapons to blunt force the opposing team off the field while robbers go in to steal.

Meanwhile all this is happening upon a wide variety of winged beasts, each team in the National Carriwitchet League sporting a signature steed of choice, some expected like wyverns as well as unexpected ones like giant mutated chickens. While not directly related per se, the strategies, action, and teamwork capture the same excitement that made Quidditch such an iconic and fan-favorite part of the Harry Potter series. Either by purposeful or accidental coincidence, the FMC being named Taissa Cho is not far from Cho Chang while Kion Locke’s role and persona in the league mirrors that of Viktor Krum, aloofness and grouchiness included (see below):

“Go fuck yourself, Locke” she hisses, beginning to tremble. “Go fuck yourself with a big, bulky broomstick.”

One of the book’s best aspects is that although it’s first and foremost a fantasy romance/romantasy book at heart, its sports element is still the basis for the plot and all of the character development included. Kim describes the overall plot as a Ted Lasso-inspired story which is very apt; a team on the brink of being dissolved and fighting to keep their place through becoming a cohesive team. The book covers a variety of topics such as dwindling resources, being the laughingstock of their hometown, the pursuit of sponsorships (with amazingly hilarious shenanigans courtesy of the team’s “resourceful” PR manager), not to mention each player’s personal relationship with Carriwitchet. Both Taissa and Kion’s characters are heavily tied to the sport not only to come out victorious but because their entire lives revolve around it, the stakes high and perfectly set for him to tap her as a desperate Hail Mary.

While the sports element is a big part of the book, it’s still first and foremost a fantasy book. Besides the team’s do-or-die attempt at a comeback run, the book also has an underlying mystery of dark magic presence in the area and a mysterious affliction that starts to spread amongst the professional Carriwitchet winged beasts. While not quite as dramatic as The God and the Gumiho’s serial murder investigation, it’s still a prominent part of the book with a strong enough hook for potential readers uninterested in the sports content.

Unlike Kim’s previous duology that was East Asian-inspired with a prominent kdrama feel, this one feels like a completely different book, which I found both a surprising and impressive nod to her versatility as an author. This book takes place across England and Scotland and, in turn, taps into the local folklore and mythology appropriately. Nearly all of the book’s key plot and fantasy elements can be traced back one way or another to fantasy beings or legends. In addition to worldbuilding details, the characters’ mannerisms, history, and dialogue are also heavily adapted to the setting, which gives this book a very distinctive narrative flavor. Some of Taissa’s Scottish slang can seem a bit much at times and as someone who has never been to Europe, I can’t comment on how authentic or overly exaggerated it may be. However, I personally prefer it when authors attempt to portray social elements rather than playing it safe and skipping over it. As a fellow ignorant American, I think Kim does a pretty respectable job with de-Americanizing her writing here.

Another one of the book’s high points is its character work. Taissa and Kion are both interesting characters with distinctively different POVs despite both being abrasive and cocky. Though she’s often angry and dramatic, it’s done in a way that’s purposefully entertaining as well as intentional to facilitate her character growth in the back half of the book. From aggressive couch crocheting to weathered bunny shoes, her character has a lot of personality balanced out by the loss following her removal from her previous team and the pain of her bond with her wyvern being forcibly removed. Kion, on the other hand, embodies the grouchy, aloof, stormy MMC image well—made all the more amusing when he’s forced to beg Taissa to join the team, bend to the powerful ways of their PR manager, etc.

This book’s characters are flawed by design and can be aggressive for some readers, but the execution is very well done. Both characters also believably feel like true elite athletes with the confidence and arrogance to match, an area I often find lacking in other contemporary sports novels. Having read Kim’s previous books, I feel that her character writing and development just gets better and better with every book.

The supporting cast rounds out most of their teammates and company assistance, who are not only varied in personality but also in terms of representation. There’s good queer representation, disability representation (deaf athlete), ethnic diversity (I did not expect to see Hawaiian/Polynesian representation with a character from my island, let alone an obscure rural town at that), etc. While Taissa and Kion carry most of the book, the supporting characters and team make up the rest of it. Its Ted Lasso storylines of a team in disarray and coming together are done very well, giving it a strong found-family theme that’s applied both metaphorically and literally. The winged styphs are also entertaining, while Taissa’s unorthodox dynamic and her slow warming of Cronus’s frosty facade is done well; a recurring joke about Cronus constantly wishing to commit patricide against his annoying styph children is hilarious.

I’m not sure if this book is officially classified as a fantasy romance or a romantasy book given its heavy sports element, but it has the tone and feel of a romantasy book. Though it’s written in third-person present tense, the prose is very conversational and casual. Laced with profanity, exclamation points, and loud reactions, it also has a frequent tendency of almost breaking the fourth wall, which is very comedic against both characters’ moody and angry exteriors. I personally am not too big on this style of writing and would’ve preferred a more neutral approach, but I understand this is likely an attempt to stay on brand. The book packs in quite a number of popular romantasy tropes that include enemies-to-lovers, rivals-to-lovers, fake dating, forced proximity, one bed/room, begging/groveling, touch-her-and-you-die (and by that, I mean “only I get to torment and antagonize you, no one else”), etc.

In a lesser novel, this could seem like cheap and lazy pandering to the romantasy crowd, but to Kim’s credit, they’re integrated into the story very well. Though the fake dating aspect goes on a bit longer than I personally would like, the book incorporates them into the fantasy sports narrative so cleverly that I can forgive any aspect of them that could potentially come off as cringy; both characters and the book clearly aware of how ridiculous certain situations are, leaning into them purposely that almost feels meta. It also helps that Taissa and Kion have great chemistry with each other in a very English “take a piss out of each other” constantly way. Though they follow the expected antagonistic rivals-to-lovers arc, their dynamic progresses slowly but naturally, past misjudgments of each other’s character and actions being an effective use of miscommunication properly supported by good plot mechanics (I have a low tolerance of miscommunication, often find it a cheap and lazy writing cushion).

While the book is entertaining, underneath the humor there are a few areas that can feel a bit lacking. Though the worldbuilding is more or less serviceable for the scope of the story, it can often feel like a lot of areas aren’t really explored or developed beyond tidbit-style, off-handed “did you know” type moments. The book has a tendency to mention new Scottish and English fantasy beings or folklore elements by name without explaining who or what they are, assuming the reader already knows or can look it up on the side (this is an issue I also had with the Fate’s Threads duology). More nuanced or mature themes and elements also feel underdeveloped, particularly the historic conflict between seelie and unseelie beings. A major component and aspect of the ending arc, the prejudice and oppression of unseelies by seelies like warlocks and witches is a great concept that’s barely covered. The same could be said about Kion’s childhood trauma and background, which is a great idea on paper but underutilized.

Another weaker area is the underlying fantasy mystery that plagues the mystical winged beasts. While the mystery and investigation are interesting, it constantly feels like it’s playing a supporting role in the story and doesn’t have quite enough development. The culprit’s M.O. and the folklore it’s based off of are great on paper but aren’t given enough time, which affects the impact of the reveals. The same could be said about Kion’s traumatic childhood as well as their other teammates’ baggage; the ideas are good, but they feel thrown in and tacked on abruptly at the end of the book.

This book also has the added challenge of balancing its sports and fantasy romance content that Kim largely succeeds in, avoiding alienating prospective readers of either genre. I personally feel like the sports content could’ve been even more prominent than what’s presented. While the training sessions and bureaucratic strategizing to keep the team going are great, the book only depicts one full game of Carriwitchet with Taissa and Kion on the same team. This book is full of romance content and comedic moments that’ll likely please romantasy readers, but I was left wanting more Carriwitchet, more fantasy lore, more character writing, etc.—a true double-edged compliment to Kim’s work.

Successfully blending together two separate but popular romance-adjacent genres, The Winged Game is a solid and fun read that understands the assignment well. Full of hilarious moments and witty dialogue supporting appealing characters, this book covers a lot of content and narrative elements in its sub–five-hundred-and-fifty pages while being an authentic sports and fantasy-based story. Though it’s more light-hearted and less dramatic compared to Kim’s other books, her character writing just gets better and better in addition to her versatility as an author. And while this is a fully standalone novel featuring a different narrative flavor, there are a few fun Easter egg references to the Fate’s Threads duology for returning readers. This is an easy and accessible entertaining read worth picking up, especially for fantasy romance readers bored with the genre’s norms and looking for a unique spin on familiar tropes.