big dink energy
Bex Martin has her hands and her ADHD brain full running the Sunset Springs Racquet Club. It had been her mother’s, and when her mother passed, Bex took it over and made pickleball her life. It has issues she needs to fix, but it’s her baby, and it’s everything to her. So when one of her favorite pickleball players, Loretta, has an accident on the court and breaks her wrist, Bex rushes to the hospital to make sure she’s okay.
As she’s trying to get to Loretta, she is blocked by an angry man who lets the door slam in her face and demands the staff help him. Bex tries to shake off his rudeness, but when she gets to Loretta’s room, Bex finds herself standing face-to-face with the rude man. He’s Loretta’s nephew, and his first instinct after being introduced to Bex is to threaten to sue her for the condition of her courts. And then Bex realizes who he is. Loretta’s nephew is Niko Karras, a tennis star as famous for his skill as he is for his temper, in particular, the tantrum that caused him a knee injury that took him out of the game for years.
Niko stays with his aunt to make sure she’s okay, and he rents time on the courts so he can train. He has the chance to join the professional tennis tour again, if he can win an upcoming qualifying match. Bex could use the cash for her club, especially once she sees the five-figure estimates on fixing the courts so no one else falls. But she struggles with his attitude and his never-ending supply of bright white tennis shirts. And she struggles with her attraction to him, despite all that.
But with all that, it’s a surprise when they start kissing at the front desk of the racquet club. And it’s a bigger surprise for Bex when a woman walks in looking for Niko. It’s a reporter who is supposed to be interviewing him about his upcoming qualifier for the tennis tour. But Niko shocks both women by saying that Bex is his girlfriend and that he’s participating in the upcoming pickleball tournament with her. Bex goes along with his for the interview, and later she confronts him about his lies. He apologizes and explains that he thought it would help his reputation.
Bex agrees to pretend to be his girlfriend and to train him for the pickleball tournament, but in return, she gets to keep all the money they win, which is enough to put a dent in her repair costs. Bex acts as Nikos’ pickleball coach, and eventually he learns that the power he uses in his tennis swing does him no good in pickleball and starts to improve as a pickleballer. In fact, he’s so good that they might be able to win the tournament. And when Bex finds out that his tennis rival will be at the tournament also, she understand why he agreed to play pickleball in the first place. But as their lies about the fake relationship starts to unravel, and Bex’s financial problems spin out of control, Bex starts to doubt that pickleball is the answer after all. But will she figure out what the answer is for her before the racquet club and her budding real relationship with Niko all disappear?
All’s Fair in Love and Pickleball is a sweet sporty rom com. There is immediate attraction and lots of banter, and plenty of pickleball. Bex is a bright spark of energy, and Niko is dark and brooding but lightens up whenever Bex appears in the scene. Most of the players at the racquet club are retired, and they all add their own personalities to the mix.
I thought this was a lovely rom com, light and bright and perfect for summer. I especially liked that Bex had ADHD and made her own pickleball outfits. It was fun to watch Niko open up to her. I liked their chemistry and wanted them to realize that their fake relationship was pretty useless, since everyone around them could see that their feelings for each other were real. All’s Fair in Love and Pickleball was a refreshing blast of flirting and fun, and it will be perfect for reading with a lemonade by the pool (or next to a pickleball court).
Egalleys for All’s Fair in Love and Pickleball were provided by Forever through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.
