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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the advance reader copy of Game Point by Meg Jones!
In Dylan’s career she’s always fallen just short of a final victory. Following another Grand Slam loss, Dylan decides to retire. However, fellow tennis pro, Oliver, doesn’t think she’s done. Oliver follows her to Australia to convince her to enter the Australian Open and serve as her coach, confident that she can secure the victory.
Wow! I adored this friends to lovers sports romance!!! Oh my goodness, when these two are realizing their feelings for each other are more than friendship, it is the sweetest! I loved the way this story unfolds with Oliver going to Australia with Dylan. I loved how this kicked off a forced proximity trope and maintains through the rest of the story. I love how Oliver believes in Dylan and I so enjoyed reading Dylan’s story from announcing retirement to returning to the tennis court.
In Dylan’s career she’s always fallen just short of a final victory. Following another Grand Slam loss, Dylan decides to retire. However, fellow tennis pro, Oliver, doesn’t think she’s done. Oliver follows her to Australia to convince her to enter the Australian Open and serve as her coach, confident that she can secure the victory.
Wow! I adored this friends to lovers sports romance!!! Oh my goodness, when these two are realizing their feelings for each other are more than friendship, it is the sweetest! I loved the way this story unfolds with Oliver going to Australia with Dylan. I loved how this kicked off a forced proximity trope and maintains through the rest of the story. I love how Oliver believes in Dylan and I so enjoyed reading Dylan’s story from announcing retirement to returning to the tennis court.
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Netgalley - eBook & audiobook
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy
Game Point by Meg Jones is a first person dual-POV tennis romance between an Australian woman’s player and a British men’s player. Dylan is known for joking during the finals, giving her the longest second place streak in the sport. Oliver has won several trophies and is starting to search for something else as he adjusts to his new life as a divorced man and the contentment at what he’s already accomplished. When the two start talking, Oliver bets that Dylan could win the Grand Slam and Dylan bets against herself, but in return, she gets one of his nice trophies.
In terms of how much of the plot the steamier bits takes up, this is about a three on the spicy scale and a four in terms of whether or not kink is utilized. The brat kink is utilized in the spicier scenes between Oliver and Dylan. I’m not super familiar with this kink beyond the basic concept so I’m not sure how it compares to others, but Dylan is called a ‘brat’ by Oliver multiple times and she is more demanding in all aspects of life. There is also the use of toys and some dirty talk.
One of the things I thought was really cool is that it is established by the narrative that both Dylan and Oliver do not want kids and it’s done at different points in time. We see both of them interacting well with Dylan’s sister’s kids so it’s not that they don’t like children. Some people are just childfree and will always be childfree and that’s OK. Children should be something people actively want and not a passive choice. In a romance book, which typically has babies ever after, it is nice to see this subverted.
I’m not the world’s biggest tennis fan, but I do sometimes watch matches and I know a decent amount about Venus and Serena Williams as well as Naomi Osaka and some of the drama that happens at tennis matches. The throwing of rackets and the screaming and the arguing with the coaches and judges is all fairly common drama. That is to say, the tennis parts actually felt accurate because it is that high-tension and there are people who take losing very poorly in that world.
I would recommend this to fans of romances where the leads choose to stay childfree and readers of romance who prefer tennis to other sports
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Slow burn friends to lovers black cat anxiety-ridden tennis star FMC paired with a golden retriever MMC? I’m in.
There was a lot I liked about this book! In a genre saturated with enemies to lovers, it’s a breath of fresh air to see an angsty tension-filled slow burn friends to lovers. I loved the tennis rep, especially seeing the struggles of a professional female athlete. I also appreciated the anxiety rep and some common anxiety-reducing tools being used.
I also absolutely loved seeing childfree representation in this book. I loved the conversations Oliver and Dylan separately have with their friends and family talking about wanting to be childfree, however, as far as I can recall, they never discussed it together. This is such an important issue to be on the same page about, and considering Oliver’s reason for his divorce, I would have loved to have seen them have a conversation about it together.
I also didn’t realize this was a sequel in a series of interconnected standalones, but I really enjoyed Jones’ writing and I’m always up for more tennis books (especially with a female tennis player) so I will definitely check out the first book (and more in this series if she does more)!
Thank you to Meg Jones and Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon for providing an ebook. I am voluntarily leaving this honest review.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I started reading and got like ten pages in before I realized there was a first book I didn’t read and decided to go back and do that first. It isn’t required to understand or enjoy the book but I LOVED getting some backstory on Dylan’s character before reading her story! There’s something about a reformed villain that is so addicting, maybe it’s that fact that no matter your faults, someone is going to love you for them, not in spite of them.
“𝐓𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝-𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬.”
I LOVED the tropes in this one, the romance was incredible and the tension was *chefs kiss*!!!! The banter in this one was amazing and I loved how they went from friends to lovers.
“𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘳.”
“𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙢.”
I had a deeper appreciation of book 2 after reading book 1 and seeing how Dylan’s mental space translated to her behavior and how pivotal it was to work on her head space and mindfulness. I loved watching her gain confidence and believe in herself as much as Oliver did in her!
“𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗳 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁 𝗜’𝗺 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.”
“𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵.”
Oliver was also a compelling character, someone who is confident but also entering a new stage of life and has different goals. His hesitancy to enter a new relationship after the divorce from his wife showed maturity and growth, and I loved how it allowed Dylan and Oliver to become friends first.
If you like:
🎾Brat Kink
👟Coach X Player
🎾Flirty Fun Banter
👟Forced Proximity
🎾Bet That Leads to More
👟Panic Attack/ Mental Health Rep
🎾He’s VERY Attentive to Her Needs
Then you will LOVE this book! Thank you to Avon for the advanced copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
“𝐓𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝-𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬.”
I LOVED the tropes in this one, the romance was incredible and the tension was *chefs kiss*!!!! The banter in this one was amazing and I loved how they went from friends to lovers.
“𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘳.”
“𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙢.”
I had a deeper appreciation of book 2 after reading book 1 and seeing how Dylan’s mental space translated to her behavior and how pivotal it was to work on her head space and mindfulness. I loved watching her gain confidence and believe in herself as much as Oliver did in her!
“𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗳 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁 𝗜’𝗺 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.”
“𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵.”
Oliver was also a compelling character, someone who is confident but also entering a new stage of life and has different goals. His hesitancy to enter a new relationship after the divorce from his wife showed maturity and growth, and I loved how it allowed Dylan and Oliver to become friends first.
If you like:
🎾Brat Kink
👟Coach X Player
🎾Flirty Fun Banter
👟Forced Proximity
🎾Bet That Leads to More
👟Panic Attack/ Mental Health Rep
🎾He’s VERY Attentive to Her Needs
Then you will LOVE this book! Thank you to Avon for the advanced copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
This was a really fun tennis romance!
Dylan Bailey has made it to ten grand slam finals, but has never been able to overcome her nerves and clinch that final win. After her latest failure at the U.S. Open, followed by a disaster at the next tournament, she contemplates giving up the sport entirely. Unfortunately for her, her newest friend on the tour, Oliver Anderson, won't let her give up that easily. Feeling ready to leave the tour himself and contemplating making the switch to coaching, he decides to follow Dylan back to her home in Australia and help her prepare for the Australian Open.
Being that my partner is a huge tennis fan, I am a casual observer by association, so naturally, I found myself watching the U.S. Open over the last two weeks. Or rather, I pretended to watch a lot of it while I read this book. And I'm so glad that I did because that proved to be the perfect backdrop for it!
I really liked the journey that Dylan's character has to go on to get to a mental space where she can continue to compete at such a high level. It's always nice when a romance has a little more depth to it. But, of course, I thoroughly enjoyed the romance too. I thought Dylan and Oliver had great chemistry, and I really liked all of the banter between them and how their relationship progressed. However, I think this is better marketed as friends-to-lovers, rather than a player/coach romance, as Oliver doesn't start coaching Dylan until more than halfway through the book, and even then, the dynamic feels more like helping out a friend versus a player and coach.
I personally like it when a sports romance has a good amount of that sport in it, and this definitely has plenty of tennis. I know that tennis scoring may be confusing if you are unfamiliar with the sport, but I thought all of the scenes where Dylan is playing in a match were well-written and easy enough to follow. That being said, I did notice a few inaccuracies, but nothing that really affected the story.
Overall, I had a fun time with this, and I will be going back to read Clean Point!
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Dylan Bailey has made it to ten grand slam finals, but has never been able to overcome her nerves and clinch that final win. After her latest failure at the U.S. Open, followed by a disaster at the next tournament, she contemplates giving up the sport entirely. Unfortunately for her, her newest friend on the tour, Oliver Anderson, won't let her give up that easily. Feeling ready to leave the tour himself and contemplating making the switch to coaching, he decides to follow Dylan back to her home in Australia and help her prepare for the Australian Open.
Being that my partner is a huge tennis fan, I am a casual observer by association, so naturally, I found myself watching the U.S. Open over the last two weeks. Or rather, I pretended to watch a lot of it while I read this book. And I'm so glad that I did because that proved to be the perfect backdrop for it!
I really liked the journey that Dylan's character has to go on to get to a mental space where she can continue to compete at such a high level. It's always nice when a romance has a little more depth to it. But, of course, I thoroughly enjoyed the romance too. I thought Dylan and Oliver had great chemistry, and I really liked all of the banter between them and how their relationship progressed. However, I think this is better marketed as friends-to-lovers, rather than a player/coach romance, as Oliver doesn't start coaching Dylan until more than halfway through the book, and even then, the dynamic feels more like helping out a friend versus a player and coach.
I personally like it when a sports romance has a good amount of that sport in it, and this definitely has plenty of tennis. I know that tennis scoring may be confusing if you are unfamiliar with the sport, but I thought all of the scenes where Dylan is playing in a match were well-written and easy enough to follow. That being said, I did notice a few inaccuracies, but nothing that really affected the story.
Overall, I had a fun time with this, and I will be going back to read Clean Point!
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
After really enjoying Clean Point, I was anticipating this one and it did not!! disappoint!!
I really enjoyed watching Dylan and Oliver’s relationship unfold. They went from strangers to friends to lovers in a way that felt right. I didn’t feel like any feelings were rushed or forced by being in close proximity when they lived and worked with each other.
I thought the tennis coach x player element worked SO well!! Not only did it show them off as individual characters but also it gave so much for their relationship. Oliver knew the perfect ways to support and encourage Dylan and it never felt like he had other ambitions. You could tell her just cared for her 😩
I’m slowly learning with Meg Jones that she lovessss to give her FMC’s fantastic development and Dylan’s was top notch!! To see at the start vs the end, where her priorities lay and how she viewed tennis, oh it was so !! when Her whole mindset towards competing changed for the better and I love that she was able to find happiness and joy again 🥹
The only thing stopping this from a higher rating is that I wished his panic attacks were addressed and that they did talk about his previous relationship. I think it would have been a good opportunity to show how much Dylan cares for Oliver and allowed her to support him like he did for her. But otherwise, I really enjoyed Game Point!!
I really enjoyed watching Dylan and Oliver’s relationship unfold. They went from strangers to friends to lovers in a way that felt right. I didn’t feel like any feelings were rushed or forced by being in close proximity when they lived and worked with each other.
I thought the tennis coach x player element worked SO well!! Not only did it show them off as individual characters but also it gave so much for their relationship. Oliver knew the perfect ways to support and encourage Dylan and it never felt like he had other ambitions. You could tell her just cared for her 😩
I’m slowly learning with Meg Jones that she lovessss to give her FMC’s fantastic development and Dylan’s was top notch!! To see at the start vs the end, where her priorities lay and how she viewed tennis, oh it was so !! when Her whole mindset towards competing changed for the better and I love that she was able to find happiness and joy again 🥹
The only thing stopping this from a higher rating is that I wished his panic attacks were addressed and that they did talk about his previous relationship. I think it would have been a good opportunity to show how much Dylan cares for Oliver and allowed her to support him like he did for her. But otherwise, I really enjoyed Game Point!!
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
🅶🅰︎🅼🅴 🅿︎🅾︎🅸🅽🆃
By: Meg Jones
𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕜 𝕪𝕠𝕦 🫶🏻 @Avonbooks for the free book! All opinions are my own.
𝔽𝕒𝕧𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕢𝕦𝕠𝕥𝕖 💕
“Not moving closer to her was like fighting gravity, the strain on my body pulling all of my energy and self-control”
𝕊𝕦𝕞𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕪 ✏️
After her tenth Grand Slam loss, Dylan is ready to pack up her racket for good when a new friend and fellow pro player persuades her to give it one more shot but this time with him as her coach. The pair head to Australia to train but their close quarters and powerful connection cause them to begin to blur the lines between friendship and something more. With everything on the line, Dylan must hone her desires as well as her skills in order to come out on top.
𝕄𝕪 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤 💭
Sports romances are just so much fun! I really enjoyed the banter and love that develops between Dylan and Oliver. Their slow burn friendship to more storyline is impeccably done. Dylan is stubborn and a fighter and Oliver is kind and grounded so together they are the perfect match. I loved how their relationship starts over texts and shared phone calls and develops into so much more.
I had so much fun reading this one and would definitely recommend you adding it to your list!
ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕚𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 📖
✩ Sports romance
✩ Tennis themes
✩ Slow Burn
✩ Forced Proximity
✩ Friends to lovers
✩ No miscommunication or third act break up
✩ Dual POV
funny
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Game Point is a slow burn, friends to lovers, sports romance between 2 tennis players who meet in NYC at the U.S. Open.
Dylan is from Australia and she’s infamous for coming in “second place” in Grand Slam tournaments. She’s hot-headed, stubborn, and thirsty to get a win of her own.
Oliver is from Britain and he’s coming off a high, having placed first in Wimbledon. A longtime fan of Dylan, Oliver sees her struggling and wants to see her succeed. He retires his tourney days and picks up coaching — for Dylan, of course.
It was fun seeing these “second place losers” turn things around and continue the competition. As a former tennis player, I love that we’re finally getting more and more tennjs romance novels.
This is a slow burn, so if you’re looking for immediate spice, this probably not for you. There are 2 major spice scenes, and the characters don’t hook up until halfway through the book.
This is book 2 in a series, but you don’t need knowledge of the first book to enjoy this one. I like the setting of the books and how it covers various Grand Slams. Although I really enjoyed Oliver as a character, I went back and forth about Dylan. She was really mean to Oliver in a certain scene, and he definitely did not deserve. (She apologized after, but still.)
Trigger warnings: Lots of angst in this book, as the characters are dealing with many toxic relationships in their life (friends, coaches, etc.).
Dylan is from Australia and she’s infamous for coming in “second place” in Grand Slam tournaments. She’s hot-headed, stubborn, and thirsty to get a win of her own.
Oliver is from Britain and he’s coming off a high, having placed first in Wimbledon. A longtime fan of Dylan, Oliver sees her struggling and wants to see her succeed. He retires his tourney days and picks up coaching — for Dylan, of course.
It was fun seeing these “second place losers” turn things around and continue the competition. As a former tennis player, I love that we’re finally getting more and more tennjs romance novels.
This is a slow burn, so if you’re looking for immediate spice, this probably not for you. There are 2 major spice scenes, and the characters don’t hook up until halfway through the book.
This is book 2 in a series, but you don’t need knowledge of the first book to enjoy this one. I like the setting of the books and how it covers various Grand Slams. Although I really enjoyed Oliver as a character, I went back and forth about Dylan. She was really mean to Oliver in a certain scene, and he definitely did not deserve. (She apologized after, but still.)
Trigger warnings: Lots of angst in this book, as the characters are dealing with many toxic relationships in their life (friends, coaches, etc.).