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The Winged Game

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

The sweeping 'rivals-to-lovers' sports romantasy from Sunday Times bestselling author, Sophie Kim .

For a chance at redemption, a disgraced player of carriwitchet - the brutal, rugby-esque sport played atop winged steeds - must team up with and fake-date the rival player who destroyed her career.

Grumpy Taissa Cho lives alone in an obscure corner of Scotland for a reason. Once, she was the UKHC’s (United Kingdom’s Hidden Cities) most promising carriwitchet player.

It was Taissa’s coach who had etched the illegal rune onto her, turning the odds in her favour despite Taissa’s protestations. And it was Kion, the annoying, handsome star player of her rival team, who caught her out. Her career was completely, and utterly, over. No team would take her.

Until Kion asked her to come and play for the Stymphs.

To garner publicity and keep Taissa as the Stymphs' secret weapon, she and Kion are forced into a fake relationship.

Can they save their team from ruin, even when sabotage seems afoot?

Tropes:

  • Rivals-to-lovers
  • Fake dating
  • Found family
  • Fantasy sports romance
  • Bickering MCs


© Sophie Kim 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

Critics Review

Fourth Wing-meets-rugby is something I didn’t know I needed in my life, but now I’m obsessed. This has everything romantasy fans are looking for—from fake dating to found family to bonding with intelligent fantastical beasts. The setting was vivid and detailed, and I really adored our two stubborn, hardheaded leads.
Ruby Dixon, New York Times bestselling author
Sophie Kim is a fearless storyteller, deftly drawing together fantasy and sports-romance tropes to create a tale that is magical, dangerous, and high-octane. The world brims with detail and imagination, yet Kim never loses sight of magic and wonder amidst the delightfully brutal games of carriwitchet.
Brigitte Knightley, New York Times bestselling author of The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy
Delightful at every turn, The Winged Game is equal parts high-flying adventure, slow-burn romance, and pure adrenaline. . . . An unforgettable ride.
K. X. Song, New York Times bestselling author of The Night Ends with Fire
This is what the romantasy genre has been missing: MAGICAL SPORTS! Add in the intense rivals-to-lovers dynamic plus tension you can cut with a knife, and we were hooked.
Bree Grenwich and Parker Lennox, authors of The Ascended
Charmingly magical and wonderfully paced, The Winged Game swept me away. From the fake dating, rivals-to-lovers romance to the intricate magic system and world, this is a must-read for fans of romantasy, sports romance, and clever, cozy magic vibes.
Rachel Greenlaw, author of The Ordeals
With fantasy at its most whimsical and the heart-racing stakes of a sports romance, The Winged Game is an unputdownable rivals-to-lovers romp, full of humor, top-notch banter, and lovable characters you’ll be rooting for from the start. Readers won’t be able to stop thinking about Taissa and Kion long after the final chapter.
Annie Summerlee, author of The Book of Blood and Roses
Action-packed, brilliantly imaginative, and ridiculously fun, Kim’s The Winged Game is a one-of-a-kind fusion of fantasy adventure and sports romance that is sure to soar straight into readers’ hearts. This delightfully wild ride had me gripped from its first page to its last; consider me a NCL Stymphs fan for life!
Lenora Woods, author of Roll for Romance
Kim’s latest truly has something for everyone: edge-of-your-seat sports action and found family for the sports lovers as well as telepathically-bonded animals and a rune-based magic system for the more fantasy-inclined. While this may sound like a lot for one book, Kim weaves it together effortlessly, leaving readers with a sparkling heart-filled adventure that truly flies off the page.
Booklist
Former rivals in a magical game must learn to work together in this light and humorous blend of sports romance and contemporary fantasy from Kim. . . . Readers in it for the romance will be well pleased.
Publishers Weekly
A delightfully fantastical mystery with animal bonds, an enemies-to-lovers romance, a magical sport, and dire curses. Romantasy readers who like their protagonists with snappy dialog and supporting characters, both human and animal, should pick this up.
Library Journal
Author Sophie Kim
Narrator Shakira Shute, Will Watt
Duration 21 hours and 22 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781405991261
Format Audiobook
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Genre Fantasy romance, Romance: enemies to lovers, Romance: fake or pretend relationships, Romance: sports, Romance: unintentional or forced proximity
Availability AU, GB, IE

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