Review : Game Point (Game, Set and Match Book 2) by Meg Jones
A sweet and spicy friends-to-lovers romance set against the backdrop of the Australian Open, from the author of Clean Point.
In the aftermath of Dylan Bailey’s tenth Grand Slam loss, she decides to put her racket away for good. Until a tempting bet from fellow pro Oliver Anderson convinces her to give it one last shot.
If she sticks it out, and still loses the next tournament, she takes home his US Open Trophy, and is free to walk away from the sport forever. To sweeten the deal, Oliver proposes a twist—he’ll swap his racket for a whistle and coach Dylan in the months leading up to the Australian Open.
After all, with the solid friendship they’ve built, surely working together could score a game point.
They just need to keep their eyes on the ball and ignore their sizzling tension.
As Oliver and Dylan navigate the unpredictable court, they rediscover their love for the sport, but the feelings they share could complicate things. With the world watching their every move, they must ensure their partnership stays on-court.
But as the lines between coach and player blur, especially in a sport where every detail is scrutinized, keeping their feelings in check may be their toughest match yet.
Review:
Dear Meg Jones,
I saw the romance in a tennis setting and suddenly I was very tempted.
Readers, this is book 2 of a duology. I don’t believe that you need to read the first book prior to reading this one (I have not), but the couple from the first book make guest appearances here.
I will be honest, before I started the book I was interested in tennis more than in an actual romance, but for the most part I ended up enjoying the romance as well. I mentioned this previously in the reviews of tennis romances in the past, but I will say it again: I know the sport of tennis well enough for a fan of the sport who never played, but at least on the level of watching of it I am able to judge whether the tennis setting is competently portrayed and I believe that in this book it was portrayed competently indeed.
Moreover, some unfortunate circumstances happening to the main character and some side characters resonated with me as something I observed happening to some top tennis players male or female (not word by word, but it certainly felt recognizable). I really appreciated that the author showed some practices and matches and the characters actually *playing* tennis.
The developing romance between Oliver and Dylan was enjoyable, but also I could have done without some *romancy* plot turns. Yes, I am aware that romance can develop between two tennis players (and some of those romances become very successful relationships). I am also aware that romance can happen between a player and a coach. I feel a little less happy about those, but I know it does happen and it can end well and happily, too.
When I say romance plot turns I mean for example when Oliver and Dylan at some point decide to have a one night stand, *get it out of their system* and then try to go back to being friends. Who does that? Nothing against one night stands do not get me wrong, I am asking who does that when two adults who are wildly attracted to one another and who continue to be within close proximity from one another, think that they can just do it once and then ignore all the tension between them because “we are back to being friends now”. Right.
To both Oliver’s and Dylan’s credit they abandoned that idiocy soon enough and realized that they do want to have a relationship. I appreciated that. I also just enjoyed their chemistry very much and actually enjoyed the sex scenes quite a bit. Now, I did appreciate them trying to figure out how to deal with Oliver being Dylan’s coach (even if a temporary one) and her boyfriend at the same time, and I thought their solution was good enough.
I want to go back to Dylan’s life as a tennis player from Australia. I had to sadly roll my eyes at her mom’s suggestion that she can balance it all – only enter certain tournaments and see her family more. I am afraid with the WTA increasing the number of mandatory tournaments even more now, especially tennis players from Australia will have even less chance to spend at least some time at home. I think I am still bitter about Ashley Barty retiring at such early age few years ago :). I mean I totally get that she actually wanted to have a family and she deserved it, I am just saying that the WTA should think about a player’s physical and mental well being more. My real life rant is over, but it really was relevant to the story.
The book’s grade is a B
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