What to expect:
- a disgraced tennis star who has to take a two-year ban after her father (a.k.a her coach) DRUGS her!
- a comeback and revenge plot that involves her father's old rival
- enemies to lovers
- age gap (he's older)
- a dash of spice (dick-tionary included 🤭)
- great narration!

I've read hockey and football romances, but I didn't think tennis romances were a thing. So when I saw this one, of course I jumped on it!

Scottie Rossi had her greatest moment in the sport. She won the women's single title at Wimbledon, but she's brought crashing down right after. She gets home from an after party to find her father and coach arguing, and her father attempting to drug her food. After an injury, apparently, he thought she needed an extra boost, and unbeknownst to her, had been dosing her with performance enhancing drugs for awhile. Scottie comes clean immediately, her title revoked and a two-year ban placed on her.

She has no intention of returning to tennis, or her overbearing father. Immediately following the break, she stopped going by Rossi, taking up her mother's last name of Sinclair. Scottie's been doing whatever she wants, where ever she wants. She's traveled, actually seeing the places she goes to instead of focusing on tournaments and training. She's taken home whoever caught her eye, and she's broken her strict dietary rules, savoring being able to eat whatever she wants simply because she feels like it.

The press have had a field day with her. After being labeled a cheat, an oh-so-clever tabloid journalist dubs her "Slutty Scottie". It's fine. She doesn't let it get to her. For once, she's living how she wants to, not following the rules of her overbearing father who viewed her as nothing more than a legacy.

When her old trainer approaches her with an idea, she's ready to turn him down. She's turned her back on tennis and doesn't need to go back. But when John offers her the opportunity to tie her comeback with that of Nico Kotas - himself coming back from a nearly career ending injury - her father's long-standing rival, Scottie decides this might just be the chance she needs. She has missed tennis, and being able to come back on her own standards, away from her father's name,

More than just getting back into tennis ready shape, Scottie has many hurdles to overcome. Her partner, Nico, is not a fan of her. He's heavily against doping and is doubtful that Scottie has really changed her ways, especially when she's been playing the role of party girl for the last two years. He's not the only player who's doubtful about her morals, and former competitors make it clear they're not looking forward to her return. The press is following her, wanting to be the first to tell the story of her comeback, and making theories about the true relationship with her upcoming mixed doubles partner. When a false positive test result comes back, Scottie's almost ready to give up. Too much is conspiring against her, is another chance at the title really worth it?

For fellow tennis fans out there, there were many aspects I felt were done right. Both watching, and with reading, not every point is edge of your seat worthy. I thought Meg did a good job of keeping a thrill to the games, picking the right moments to describe points and rallies, and knowing when to give a brief overview. The grueling regiment athletes go through to keep themselves at the top of the game, and the punishment they'll put their bodies through to get results. The unfortunate extreme coaching that can at times go on behind the scenes, and the effect an unfairly biased chair umpire can have on a match. The difference in questions asked to female and male players in the media. I did question some moments, especially why a team would spend months preparing for Wimbledon playing on hard courts instead of grass, since it's such a tricky surface... but the reward of seeing a sport I love turned fictional romance was worth it, and I thought the good points outweighed the "huh" moments.

But what about the spice? I'll admit, I'm still getting used to listening vs reading spice, and oh my. The spicy moments were definitely NSFW, maybe even not suitable for listening to without headphones! Even when I was alone at home.

Altogether, this was a highly enjoyable listen, I thought both narrators did an excellent job at keeping the story moving, keeping things entertaining and drawing you in with the palpable emotions they conveyed. I'll be sure to try out other titles by this author, and I hope there are more stories like this to come!

This was okay, but I felt like there were some plotlines that could have either been removed or fleshed out a little more.
The narrator did an excellent job.

I think the book would’ve been better with better narrators. The female narrator did not enunciate enough so it was hard to understand her. Don’t even get me started on the male narrator. He oscillated ONLY between whispering and screaming that he had me constantly tampering with my volume and that got tiring after a while so I resorted to accepting that i would only be able to understand 1/4 of this book. Then i realized that was a waste of time and there’s so many better books out there so I DNF’d it. I didn’t think there was much you could do to ruin a sports romance.

I was fortunate enough to read this early last year and I adored it. It was a joy to visit these characters again in their final form. I loved Scottie’s tenacity and wit and how much Nico is determined for THEM to win. I loved seeing them open up to each other as their relationship develops and seeing Scottie’s confidence grow in standing up for herself in front of her father. I also loved her (very slow) growing friendship with Dylan (which we get to see more of in the next one)
Reading again on audio was even better than expected. Mary Jane Wells is a standout narrator and I absolutely adored her as Scottie.

This story was such an adorable, swoon worthy, exciting sports romance! Scottie was such a sweet, likable character I was rooting for. I love a good redemption/come back story and this was just that, but with a swoony, broody, supportive man added in. Nico’s story was so fun to see unfold along Scottie’s.
The writing was fun and well-paced. Loved the story!
My only complaint is with the audio book narrators, more so the male narrator than the female. Both had pleasant sounding voices, however both were VERY hard to hear at points. The male would get very quite and speak at a dramatic whisper for probably half of his part of the book, then get loud for an angry or enthusiastic part and it was IMPOSSIBLE to find a volume level to listen to this story at comfortably, especially in the car which is where I assume most audiobook readers spend most of their time listening to their books. The female narrator would get quiet and hard to hear especially when delivering the broody male dialogue. Audio should be kept at steady volume level for audiobooks and this was not done well. It took me so long to finish this story because I kept getting so frustrated and distracted by the hard to hear audio.
Book- 4 Stars
Audio-2 Stars

I really wanted the FMC to stand up for herself sooner, but ultimately I liked how the story ended up.

Clean Point was such a fun read/listen from the very start - starting out giving some of Scottie's backstory really introduces the reader to who she is and what she values, before moving on to the fallout from that and the climb back into her career. I absolutely loved the characters and the writing, the only critique I'd have of the audiobook was how harsh the transition was between the male and female narrators, I kept having to crank up the volume on Nico's chapters and then drop it back down when Scottie was being narrated. Otherwise, great book and I'm so excited for Game Point to come out this fall!

Game, Set, Match! This books started off with a killer serve. I listened to the obvious distaste between Scottie and Nico and I could tell when they started to become friends, and then lovers. I love a good tennis match, and listening to this audiobook not only let me see the picture in my mind, but I really felt what was happening. The only thing is it took so long. Towards the middle and end, I was just hoping it would wrap up. The romance between the two characters felt so real, but sometimes it felt more lust than love. There are difficult topics, like drugging, family trauma, and starting over that were described really well and raw in this book. Definitely read it and see who wins in this match!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Nicknames: Old man & κατσαρίδα (cockroach in Greek but it’s cute in the enemies to lovers 🥲) ✨

Thoughts: Clean Point is a Swiftie’s DREAM sports romance. From the dedication which legitimizes every female sports fan’s credibility regardless of if they were introduced to the world through “Taylor’s boyfriend”, I knew this book would feel like girlhood as sports and Taylor Swift have been my longest loves. I adored how each chapter began with a pop song (the majority Taylor Swift, but also from artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Gracie Abrams) that foreshadowed what would occur. Scottie is in her reputation era after a steroid scandal and she’s looking to clean herself from the mark her controlling father left. Nico is recovering from injury at the end of his career and he’s looking to win at Wimbledon for the first time so he could win every Grand Slam tournament. While they’re unlikely doubles partners, they soon become each other’s champions. Scottie and Nico push each other to be their best selves on and off the court.

The romance is so sweet and the spice is hot; but more than that, this story will stick with me for its show of true perseverance and redemption. The humanizing of the tennis players was refreshing. Too often sports romances focus on the glitz and the glamour of the lifestyles, but this book didn’t feel that way. Instead, the author shed light on the blood sweat and tears professional athletes sacrifice in order to compete. Your heart pulled for Scottie and Nico’s respective comebacks, especially after seeing the mental and physical battles they endured to get to the top.

Other: There are little nuggets that only Swifties will get and lines that will hit hard for the Taylor Swift songs they’re inspired from (you’ll love this book if you’re a Clean girl like me).

Audio Review: I love the narration of tennis matches! It made those scenes feel immersive, like I was actually courtside at Wimbledon. However, there were parts where I couldn’t understand what the narrators were saying, either because the tempo was low or the British accent didn’t sound clear, that took away from the audio experience.

Trigger Warnings: Non Consensual doping, Unhealthy dieting, Sexism, Handsy men

🔸️enemies-to-lovers
🔸️he falls first and harder
🔸️broken FMC
🔸️cinnamon roll MMC
🔸️forced proximity
🔸️tennis teammates
🔸️no third act break-up

I enjoyed this audio so much! The shared tension between these two as they both struggled to get back on their feet was engaging and gave the best butterflies. This was a first time with the author for me, but will not be the last! Thank you Avon for the early listen!

First, I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
This was great! I really loved how Scottie and Nico’s relationship truly developed over time as they got to know each other and break through the personal truths each was holding close to themselves. I also love that this story had emotional depth and had some very real reasons for issues to arise, but instead took a caring, thoughtful approach to the situations and the trauma.
There was and there wasn’t a lot of tennis in the story. What I mean by that is, they played a lot between practice and games, but the focus was more about the relationships, conversations, and connections between the characters than in depth play by play of the matches.
Overall, this story was captivating, emotional, and fun. And the two audiobook narrators, Mary Jane Wells and Patrick Zeller, did a fantastic job embodying the emotions of the characters on and off the court.

I think the storyline is strong, but I found the audiobook to be a bit lackluster and got bored with the narrators. I also would have liked to see more tennis content here that details scoring, etc. The main characters had good chemistry but I still felt like something was off between them. In general, this was fine, not bad but not my favorite.

I thought this was an excellent and wonderful rom-com, grump x sunshine, slow burn. It was extra spicy, but also limited which would make for great closed door readers. However, I loved learning about "our little cockroach" and her life in and without tennis. Niko made a great doubles partner and I reallllllly loved the narrator. I would absolutely listen to more by them. Additionally, I thought this book was a perfect feel good summer read. I would highly recommend to others!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio for advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5⭐️

🌟Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Audio for an ALC of Clean Point by Meg Jones🌟

This plot-driven romance story was extremely entertaining and filled the Challengers-shaped hole in my heart perfectly. I never realized I needed a tennis romance until I started it! I loved how there was vendetta between all parties of this book—it made for an excellent listen!

Also, a very, very satisfying ending & epilogue!

I thought Mary Jane Wells did a phenomenal job narrating at Scottie. However, when listening to Patrick Zeller narrate the story Nico, I found it difficult to hear what he was saying because of the volume and tone of his voice.

However, I would recommend this book/audiobook to a friend who is looking for a new sports romance!

Thank you again Harper Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to Clean Point by Meg Jones. 🤍✨🌟

This was just okay for me. It didn't leave me with a lasting impression like it did for a lot of people. I did not like how the book started with her dad drugging her. Also, this was a slow burn and I have a hard time when they are too slow, I just get bored. It wasn't a bad one just not my favorite.

I usually am very into books or audiobooks about tennis but this was pretty intense and I really did not like it and dud not finish it all.

Scottie Sinclair is the comeback kid! A triumphant tale of a woman determined to control her narrative. I loved seeing her grow on and off the court. Finding your voice when speaking against your parents can be hard. That dynamic will always be difficult to shift in the way that Scottie did.

Nico turned out to be a pretty good guy. His grumpy ways melt away the closer he gets to Scottie. Solid MMC.

3.5 ⭐️

This book was definitely giving Carrie Soto is Back vibes. I loved that book, but this one wasn’t as well executed. I really appreciated Scottie and Nico’s relationship development - it was sweet and seemed very natural. We even got to avoid a third act breakup, which is always a plus! And the few spicy scenes were great.

I also appreciated the commentary on sexism and coaching abuse in sports, which is an extremely timely topic. What I didn’t like was the lack of accountability in the end, from the unapologetic journalists to Scottie’s dad continuing to coach because of lack of evidence. While that might be more relatable to real life, I like my fictional stories to show what could happen if we actually changed the narrative, because maybe that will bleed into real life eventually. One can only hope.

The narrator for Scottie, Mary Jane Wells, did great as Scottie, but her Nico was a bit too growly for me, and she tended to go up and down in volume a lot so I would miss half the dialogue. The narrator for Nico, Patrick Zeller, sounded good except during the spicy scenes, where he sounded more like he was in pain than pleasure.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio for the audio ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion!