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!

Spicy - but so much more than just spice!

Scotty Sinclair was declared a cheat... but she was secretly given performance-enhancing drugs before winning the women's singles at Wimbledon,

Nico Kotas didn't have the best public image, either... but after recovering from an injury, he's ready to make a comeback.
He is super grumpy and passionate.... you know that forced proximity would work its magic!!

Mary Jane Wells and Patrick Zeller's narrations were so perfect. Excellent diction and pacing... they just really brought the characters to life!
I'm ready for the next book!

when i tell you guys this is one of my favorite books... absolute champion, take no prisoners, revenge era main character energy inside !!! scottie sinclair is a perfect representation of why i absolutely love being a woman- she is independent, strong-willed, determined as hell- all while having to navigate through one of the most challenging and vulnerable chapters of her life.

after a shocking discovery invalidates the pinnacle of her tennis carreer, scottie leaves the court behind and in a blazing fury. some years later she decides to turn back and prove to the world what kind of a player scottie sinclair really, truly is. clean point follows her vulnerable and gritty journey alongside other tennis pro, *let the tennis heavens open and sun reign down on* nico kotas... crying. i love them so much.

the way the two of them come together for each other and against the scrutiny of literally everyone around them. one of my favorite couples of the year. not many other ways i know how to word "i love this book" but... i love this book.

meg is so talented and i am so honored to have been a part of this project in even the teeny-tiniest way. if you pick this one up, dm me and let me know !!

I'm always down to broaden my horizon with more sports romances. This was my first one that involved tennis. I wouldn't say it was my favorite sports romance and I think that it just had to do with tennis and I realized that it doesn't interest me enough to be invested in the sport of the book, but I did like what else the book had to offer.

The enemies to lovers aspect of their relationship was great. There was just enough banter between them and I liked that they were both trying to make a comeback. They needed each other even if they didn't want it to be that way in the beginning. I felt really bad for Scottie. Her dad was the worst. Since her dad is abusive there is some harsh topics (author has content warning) and so it's not always a light and fluffy read which was fine. I think that the harder topics were done well and did keep me invested in the story.

Overall, this one was good. I like the narrators and am looking forward to seeing what else this author writes.

I really enjoyed this book! This was a cute mild enemies to lovers sports romance book. The spice was just the right amount. I loved how this book really delved into real issues that women in sports deal with. It highlighted the overt misogyny as well as the exploitation of athletes.

I just realised that this is book 1 of a soon to be series and I’m very much excited to read the other books!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, HarperAudio Adult and Meg Jones for giving me an advanced listener’s copy of this wonderful book!

I loved the narrators!

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Clean Point
Author: Meg Jones
Romance

Thank you SO much Netgalley and Harper Audio for the ALC! This one was amazing! Our story begins with Scottie who is a professional tennis player that wins the women’s singles title at Wimbledon. Shortly after her victory though it’s discovered that she was on drugs, even though it was actually her father secretly drugging her. Now she is a disgraced former tennis star, living life on the edge and doing whoever and whatever she wants. Then we have Nico, who is her fathers former rival, and has been out of the game for years since suffering from an injury. Unfortunately for them, their coach thinks that them working together is the perfect come back for their careers. As soon as I started listening to this I was hooked immediately. This is also a duo pov between Scottie and Nico which I loved. The story captivates you from right off the bat. If you like sports romance with a splash of spice, you will love this one. Both the character come with so many layers of messed up, it was a really good mix of plot, and in depth character development with spicy romance fun. Loved this listen. 🎾🌶️💞

Both characters in this book are really well written, I was excited to see how the father's rival trope was going to be tackled and it was amazingly done. There is an age gap but it's not very dominant as both characters are going through something similar. They are both trying to get back to competing in the tennis national and internationals after a major setback and that's what plays a huge role into them understanding each other's struggles and getting together in a romantic sense for them made a perfect duo.
I hated the Fmc's father for what he did to her and I was so glad that in the end he got what he deserved.
They both stand up for each other and fight for each other when always whether it might matter or not.
The audio narration was fantastic with the accents so the different character voices.
Thank you so much for this Alc to the author, publisher and netgalley.

ALC Review: Clean Point by Meg Jones
Pub Date: December 31, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley, Meg Jones, HarperAudio Adult, and HarperAudio for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book started off okay for me - it follows Scottie, a disgraced former tennis star who decides to come back to the sport and partner with Nico, her fathers old rival. Initially Nico and Scottie don't get along but after enough time spent in forced proximity, they find out that they're more similar than they thought. I liked the forced proximity and how both Scottie and Nico get to know each other and gain better understanding of the other.

I did finish but about half way through I realized that I just really did not care what was going to happen next. It felt pretty cookie cutter and predictable.

As far as the narration goes, I liked the female narration done by Mary Jane Wells. The male narration by Patrick Zeller I really struggled with. He felt SUPER quiet compared to the female narration - enough that I had to resort to listening via headphones and turning up the sound for his chapters. I also had a harder time understanding what he was saying.