And the Crowd Went Wild
By: Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Published Year: 2026
Publisher: Avon
Pages: 352
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel.
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): After a mortifying—and very public—humiliation, Dancy Flynn is desperate to find sanctuary far from the crowd. But where can a washed-up sex symbol hide? How about making an unannounced appearance at the secluded lake house of the sweet, sensitive high school boyfriend she hasn’t seen in almost twenty years?
But Chicago Stars quarterback Clint Garrett is no longer the kid Dancy remembers. Now he’s a gridiron superhero, still holding a massive grudge against her for breaking his teenage heart. With no room in his life for either complexity or distractions, he banishes Dancy to a refurbished old railroad caboose tucked away in the woods…and out of his sight.
Except Dancy’s not good at staying invisible. Her efforts to rebuild her career clash with Clint’s desperation to regain his focus, all made more challenging by a rescue dog, a local woman in trouble, a meddling mother, an ex with an agenda…and the sizzle of rekindled emotions.
As Dancy attempts to get her life on track and Clint tries to get his groove back, can these two one-time lovers navigate their rocky pasts and complicated present to find themselves…and each other?
First Impressions
Susan Elizabeth Phillips was one of the first romance novelists that I read. I remember picking up her books in high school or college and really enjoying them. She really opened the romance world to me. I was excited when I saw that she was coming out with a new novel as I haven’t read anything by her in a while. I do love the cover as it’s not the very common cartoon cover that has taken over the romance world, but I don’t know if it would’ve caught my eye off the shelves.
What I thought
This book is the latest installment in her Chicago Stars series. This is a football romance series that I’ve read at least a handful of in the past. They aren’t connected in a way that you need to read one to understand the other, but more that there are characters that pop up from other books.
Dancy is an actress who is on the brink of a breakdown. Clint is the quarterback for the Chicago Stars. Dancy and Clint dated in high school until she broke his heart. Now 20+ years later, she shows up at his door as a safe place to hide after her ex humiliates her at an event.
I don’t know if my tastes have changed, but I found this book to be a little boring and predictable. There was also a little bit too much going on in terms of dramatic events. Like there’s a storyline about a character who is with an abusive man and Dancy saves her from him, and even though that’s essentially one scene, he then has a chapter or two from his point of view. It just seemed very unnecessary to the rest of the book.
I did like the chemistry between Dancy and Clint but I didn’t quite understand it. They haven’t spoken since high school and now she just randomly shows up at his house for refuge? And then they are immediately attracted to each other again? It threw me off. But I did like how their relationship developed and how they addressed the issues that they had.
I was a little disappointed with this book given how much I remember liking her previous ones. I didn’t dislike it enough that it has turned me off of her as an author, but it wasn’t one of my favorites. I think it was a very basic romance novel and I wish there had been something to give it that extra spark.