The Loyalty Test: As Luck Would Have It, Book 2

by Sonya Lalli, Megan Suri (Narrator)

Megan Suri (Never Have I Ever), stars in this sports-romance sequel to As Luck Would Have It, by Sonya Lalli.

Soraya Das is done with men. In the aftermath of her divorce from her cheating ex-husband, Kumar, she kicks him out of the house, and is now in the anger stage of grief. After trying to cope through workouts, throwing herself into work or spending time with her best friend Ash and her boyfriend Devin, Soraya becomes involved in an online community of Loyalty Testers–women who flirt with men in relationships, at the request of their partners, to test their loyalty.

After weeks of being a tester, Soraya is hired to loyalty test a woman named Kiana's boyfriend, Tag Peters, a professional football player and the newest quarterback of the Vancouver Sharks. To her surprise, Tag passes the test, even though the chemistry sizzles between them. Eventually, Tag and Kiana break up amicably, and he pursues a relationship with Soraya. The two click instantly, but she's wary of trusting him, especially after everything that’s happened with Kumar. Soraya must decide if she can trust Tag, and herself, or if there’s too many flags on this play.

Please This project is a work of fiction. Names, characters, companies and events are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, companies or events is entirely coincidental.

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, Sports Romance, Sports, Contemporary

Audible Audio

Published August 28, 2025

About the author

Sonya Lalli is a Canadian writer of Indian heritage. She studied law in her hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and at Columbia University in New York City. She completed an MA in Creative Writing and Publishing at City University London in 2015, and currently works as a journalist at a legal magazine in London. She has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and loves travel, yoga, piano, reading and cocktail bartending.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Girl needs some serious therapy. I couldn’t stand the main character and she never really redeemed herself in my opinion, but I did like hearing about the characters from As Luck Would Have It.

[Ida Wilcox · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

Here I am thinking this one would be a little different than the first one. NOPE

Man hating - very angry woman.

Its understandable that she is upset because of the divorce but my goodness. To go after every guy and think they are all the same.

Just not my cup of tea to read right now if ever.

[Elle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sirius from the beginning to the end is insufferable. Came close to DNF many times. Stayed for Tag whom I loved. He’s way too good for her in so many ways.

[angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

listened on audible. ah yes, nothing better than a sequel to a good book about the most unlikeable side character in the story! i understand the character arc and growth. i do. i just did not enjoy it at all. makes sense why there’s no epilogue to these now, but still unsatisfying to leave the endings the way they are. tbd how hannah and jas and emil do! i also didn’t love that the narrators between books pronounced the names differently?? and ash was perceived so much girlier in this one but oh well.

[Lakresha Malone · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this was picked as my palate cleanser. I did enjoy the book. however it was not a cute romance like I was hoping. this girl stressed me out. I will say if you used to be crazy or one of those people who stock their spouses it might be for you.

in all honesty it gave me PTSD and anxiety. 😂 but it had me talking to the main character like I was watching a movie or TV show. just an idea.

[Jessica Thibault · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️(rounded down)

The FMC was kind of insufferable and toxic.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t love what little we got to know about the FMC in the first book of the series and boy did this book reinforce that. I think the author does a fantastic job and writing growth in characters over the span of her books. With that said, boy was the FMC insufferable for a large part of this book. The miscommunication trope was top notch in this book and the FMC’s immediate distrust in the MMC up until the end made the resolution seem very unrealistic to me. Therapy or not, the two characters didn’t know each other long enough for the issues the relationship had. The MMC, while seemingly a total sweet heart, came across as a bit of a submissive doormat to me at times. The loyalty testing had potential but ended up feeling like a really gross storyline. I appreciate the acknowledgment that the social media side only showed the fails and aided in the FMCs anger towards men. And don’t get me started on the bitterness/man hating elements that just seem to resolve oh so quickly when she meets the MMC at the bar. I love the secondary characters in the story and how they pushed the FMC into bettering herself. I felt like we missed key parts of the MMC’s personal growth though.

Did I mention that the FMC was insufferable for most of the book? If it weren’t for the way the dynamics were written and the other characters this would have been a DNF or 1 star for me 100%

[Lady TBR · Rating 3 out of 5]

When testing other people’s relationships becomes your coping mechanism… you just might fumble into a romance of your own. 🏈

Dear Readers,
Filing today: The Loyalty Test by Sonya Lalli — a contemporary sports-romance where healing from betrayal leads one woman straight into an unexpected, slow-simmer second chance at trust.

This was a fun listen. Soraya’s path through post-divorce chaos is equal parts concerning and hilarious… an extremely human mix. Tag, despite his flaws (no one is perfect), is incredibly patient, emotionally mature, and genuinely kind. Their romance isn’t the kind that combusts; it’s the kind that simmers, steadies, and slowly comes to a rolling boil.

I loved how these two grew both individually and together. Their communication is clear, the emotional groundwork is solid, and the third-act breakup is basically nonexistent.

If you listened to As Luck Would Have It and loved the no-spice dynamic, note that this sequel does have more spice. Not graphic, but present — just enough to warm the story without taking over.

A sweet, thoughtful romance about trust, healing, and learning to let someone prove they’re worth believing in.

Rating: ⭐ 3.8 / 5
Spice: 🌶️ 2 / 5

Until the next chapter,
Lady TBR 💌

🏈 Sports romance audiobook
🔥 Slow-burn contemporary romance
📚 POC author
✨ Loyalty tester trope

[Brianna · Rating 1 out of 5]

What in the ACTUAL heck is this? The MMC should run and never look back. Why does he keep coming back? The FMC is the most selfish and toxic book character I've ever read. Somehow her character "development" turns her into an even more self absorbed narcissist. And what is Ash doing this whole time? Giving into the FMC's desires so the FMC doesn't start to hate her again like last book?? That is firstly, ridiculous manipulation from the FMC and, secondly, it makes Ash just plainly a really bad friend for not trying to help her friend see sanity. Every single relationship the FMC has in the book are lesson in unhealthy lifestyles. Overall, what really removed me from being immersed in this book is the fact that the MMC was even attracted to the FMC at all once he started to get to know her.

Honestly, the horrible-ness of the FMC really overshadowed the creative setting and interesting elements that the author included. I would have also been happy to have spent more time with The Loyalty Test plotline (and based off the title, I thought that this was going to happen) because I found those portions of the narrative much more bearable to read.

[Jessica Kowalkowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh, I wanted to love this book like I loved the first one. I loved watching the character growth, however it took so long. We are two years post-divorce Soraya, and girlfriend needs therapy badly. She is angry and takes it out on everyone around her which makes her so hard to like. I understand being angry and frustrated about the end of her marriage, but it just felt like she was not even trying to move past it until the last 20% of the book. I found myself telling Tag to run, which isn’t normal to root against the female lead! I did like hearing about the As Luck Would Have It characters and seeing the eventual growth, even though you wish for it a lot sooner.

[Jessica Zack · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really hoping this book would be good because it had a lot of potential after the first in the series, but I felt like she took these really interesting and complex characters and just… made them caricatures of themselves. The way they spoke about their issues and therapy was so contrived and a lot of the dialogue and inner monologues just did not feel at all how normal people talk. The plot was interesting but definitely overshadowed by the unrealistic way they spoke to one another.

[Vicky Drapeau · Rating 4 out of 5]

As good as the first one! Always happy to hear from previous characters to see the story progress, and here, the romance was good, but the learning about being able to love ourselves and learn to be who we are instead of always searching to be a people pleaser is really well written in Soraya’s mind.

[Nickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is NFL not hockey like in Book 1. The FMC in this is better than the FMC in book 1 but it still isn't landing for me. And thats fine. Not all books are for me. I just wish this one was as the basis of the story is right up my alley, just lacked the execution for me.

I wanted more fleshed out characters that drew me in and made me care about them more. The author also missed an open goal with having the person behind the insta account be the guys ex-girlfriend. I think that would have added a nice dynamic and it all led to that point then didn't happen for some reason.

It's decent but not the best. Not sure I will be seeking out more of this authors work based on this series as it doesn't seem to be for me. But this series is cute and can see why others really like it.

[Shelley Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this follow-on book just as much as I did the first. Sonya writes her characters so well. Instead of hockey this time, she wrote about football and it was just as riveting as the 1st book in this series. I feel like I really know Ash & Soraya and I love them both.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The FMC was super toxic and gave me more anxiety than probably appropriate from a lighthearted easy read. I did like the MMC but didn’t really understand why he kept giving her passes. She needs therapy pretty bad and the story by the end was fine, but yikes.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute! Loved the continuation of the Ash and Soraya friendship. Appreciated the character development and personal growth for Soraya. Cute love story.

[Grace Lee]

Dnf 3:06

[Sheena · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️

[Kim Ciuffardi]

-

[paloma :) · Rating 2 out of 5]

this whole book could’ve been an email

[Katie Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting way for a romance. It’s unfair to play mind games and cause us to feel insecure and second guess ourselves.

[ya girl jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hated this chick but I get it

[Rémy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute and has depth.

[Trinesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Soraya was immature and really made listening to this book a bit of a chore. I did like the ending that is not as predictable.

[Savannah Curci · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was better than the 1st book, but still meh tbh. The ending left something to be desired

[Angella Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Priscilla Ippolito · Rating 2 out of 5]

Main character is out of her damn mind.

[Erica Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of self growth for FMC for her to still not deserve the good people in her life at the end.

[Adriana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok book. FMC was very annoying. Her immaturity was frustrating and the book took on a whiny tone at times.

[Lavern · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled to finish this book. The concept sounded fun to start with but the insecurities of the main character drove me nuts. The ending did surprise me though. Nothing else to say really!