I was sold on this one as soon as I saw the cover! a pickleball club owner dealing with the passing of her mother and a tennis pro trying to get back into the pro circuit- they team up for a pickleball tournament to raise money for the club, and end up fake dating, then falling in love on the way!

my only complaint is that it ended too soon and I didn’t get to see the end of the tournament :( but otherwise I loved it and thought it was really fun and creative with great chemistry

As a romance, this book didn’t quite work for me. The relationship felt a bit rocky, and I had trouble believing the characters had genuinely fallen in love. However, I did enjoy reading about and learning more about pickleball—it was surprisingly engaging! I’m almost tempted to pick up a paddle myself.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

A cute romance involving everyone's new pass time, pickle ball!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

3.75 / 5 Stars

This was a super solid rom com with really great dashes of humor, writing about grief, and found family. Bex inherited her racquet club from her mom who passed away two years ago. Everything in her life revolved around this club and its members (all of whom are delightful older folks). But then Niko shows up, all hot and “tennis is better than pickleball.” And while he may think tennis is superior, he wants to use a pickleball competition to get his groovy back and get some good publicity for himself. So he asks Bex to be his partner and coach. Cue a slightly convoluted plan to make them fake date and play pickleball together and then we get to see if real sparks can fly.

I had a bit of a rollercoaster journey with the book. From 0 - 50%, I thought this was a perfectly pleasant rom com. From 50 - 85%, I was swooning hard over Niko and was deeply invested. From 85% - 90%, I wanted to bang my head out of frustration. From 90 - 95%, I was back in and deeply moved. And at the very end, I felt like there were still some loose threads that didn’t get wrapped up so I had to suspend some disbelief.

All of that being said, I think Kate Spencer is an incredibly talented writer. I have been a fan of her work for a long time. I think she has an insane ability to articulate emotions and feelings in succinct yet beautiful prose. Each word feels so carefully selected that I really understood and felt what Bex was feeling. I was never confused about Bex’s motivations or actions because they all made sense in both the world that was built and the character that was developed. Kate’s superpower is also her ability to write about grief and it was so lovingly done in this book.

Beyond my love for Bex, I really did fall for Niko. He was complex yet simple and really was the perfect yin to Bex’s yang. We got to peel his layers away as Bex did and it was a delicious journey.

I just had a bit of a hard time with the pacing in the book. Without spoilers, there was an event that happened about a quarter of the way through where I genuinely thought that my pages had been mixed up or that I somehow had skipped ahead because it was just such an atypical event to happen that early in a rom com. Just because it is atypical doesn’t mean it is bad but it threw me slightly. I also felt like the end was wrapped up too quickly and there were loose threads ala an unfinished Project Runway garment. I would happily have read more pages if it meant that certain things, such Niko’s dad, were addressed.

I will continue to be a fan of Kate’s work. I bought “One Last Summer” and I am excited to read it next.

Thank you Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing the eARC! All opinions are my own.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Bex is struggling to keep her family’s beloved racquet club afloat after the loss of her mom when former rising tennis star Niko Karras arrives on the scene. In need of an image rehab and a place to train for his re-entry into the tennis world, he and Bex reluctantly team up. Perhaps their fake relationship and skills on the court can help boost his image and help them win the upcoming Battle of the Paddle pickleball tournament and the cash prize that comes with it!

A stranger to pickleball, I wasn’t too sure what to expect as far as the storyline involving the sport but oh my goodness it was so fun. As someone that relates so heavily to Bex’s type B personality, her enthusiasm for the sport made me think it could be something I would really like!
I think the romance in this was so fun. The opposites attract aspect made the sassy banter that much better. But there was still connection on a deeper level. Like the way that Niko and Bex’s differences helped themselves realize things about themselves they hadn’t before. This book was also a nice highlight of found family especially in the face of grief. I could literally imagine this as a movie playing out in my head! A perfect summer romance and story of coming out on top.

Read if you love
-Opposites Attract/Grumpy x Sunshine
-Nicknames
-Sassy Banter
-Underdogs

This one is out June 3rd.

Thank you to both Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion 💖

Will share review via IG 5/1 and again 6/3

I was excited to pick up this book because I am a HUGE pickleball fanatic and I thought the premise sounded cute! This was my first book by Kate Spencer and I enjoyed it.

I adored our FMC, Bex, she had such a fun personality and I very much felt for her as she struggled to keep her family’s business afloat. However, I do think our MMC, Niko fell pretty flat. The relationship between them very rapidly developed from hatred, to lust and honestly it felt like it stopped there. I did not really buy they had genuine romantic feelings for each other and the relationship felt uninteresting. The fake dating premise was interesting and I did enjoy the scenes where Bex was teaching Niko to play pickleball.

While I did not necessarily love the romance, I did enjoy all the pickleball innuendos and the cast of side characters added a vibrant touch to the story! Overall this was a quick and fun read and I would recommend if that is what you are looking for! I will likely pick up a book from Kate Spencer again.

Love the banter and chemistry in this book. I look forward to reading more from this author. As an avid pickleball over this is romantic and hilarious.

(between 4 and 5 stars, but rounding up)

Pickleball is really becoming quite popular! All’s Fair in Love and Pickleball is a cute little romance.

Bex inherited her mothers pickleball courts/business when her mother recently passed away with cancer. She loves her community and her customers. Unfortunately there have been a lot of expenses with doctors/funerals and the business needs some upgrades. One of her customers falls and breaks a wrist, and her nephew is up and arms and ready to sue.

I love how the exact words of Bex come back around. Very creatively written.

The community is great with Bex and she with them. Very heartwarming. (Trying to decide whether it would be a book that I would buy for my mother, and I’m guessing that it is a little “too open door” … and probably not. Maybe a bit too much heat in the kitchen for my mother.)

Approximately 320 pages, publication date is June 3, 2025.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for approving my request to read the advance review copy of All’s Fair in Love and Pickleball by Kate Spenser in exchange for an honest review.

I'm having a hard time classifying this romance, because it has it all: grumpy/sunshine, fake dating, enemies to lovers...and pickleball!

Kate Spencer's secret weapon is her skill for verisimilitude. The club felt so real, I wanted to jump online and buy a t-shirt for the fundraising drive. Definitely grab this book for your summer bag, especially if you're a pickleballer.

I loved Kate Spencer's "In a New York Minute" and have read her subsequent novels. All's Fair in Love and Pickleball is a cute rom-com, set in an area I would guess close to Palm Springs and features a FMC that has lost her mom, tries to do all the things, and of course falls for the grumpy, sexy, retired tennis player. They fall for each other as he falls for Pickleball, which is a cute premise that works. I loved the cast of characters, especially the retiree's that brought additional comic relief to the story. This novel is perfect for a weekend getaway, a vacation, or just curling up at home to take a break. Highly recommend. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I imagine this is the first of many pickleball romances, and it is a hit! This is one of those books that's hard to put down, I almost read it in one setting. Bex is a young woman who, after her mom died, is running her family's racquet club. She meets Nick, the nephew of one of her senior citizen clients, who is a pro tennis player trying to get back in shape after an injury. Bex and Nick wind up becoming pickleball partners, and entering into a fake romance, you know where that will lead! My one problem with the book (from a very amateur pickleballer perspective) is that Bex is teaching Nick pickleball alone, and it's such a doubles sport, it doesn't make any sense to learn it that way. But maybe I'm wrong at the higher levels! Anyway, this book was delightful, and I especially enjoyed the cast of senior characters who make up members of the club and Bex's social circle. Her fashion choices were always cracking me up, and the relationship with Nick felt real.

It’s a cute, cheesy little pickleball romcom. FMC is a great adhd rep. Author clearly knows pickleball.
It’s insta love, which works with the story. It’s light and easy.

I do feel like we jumped a lot which meant I never got butterflies, and it’s cheesy as hell. But entertaining nonetheless.

Timely and fun- weaves the story of “they rescue each other” through their desires to save Bex’s family business and Nico’s career. Storylines of found family and a manipulative nemesis (a la George Wickham from Pride and Prejudice) are easy and additive…and the insta-lust between Nico and Bex softens them both to teaming up for everyone to win.

I had no idea I would love a romance surrounding pickleball so much, but I guess I do now! This read was just adorable-A fake dating trope will get me every single time, and this one was done perfectly. The humor was so good that I found myself smiling while reading this. I loved how easily this story flowed, and I am excited to read more from this author in the future!

This romance is warm and comforting like a cozy moment in a ray of sunshine! I love a good underdog novel and this one just makes me root for the heroine from page one. This enemies to lovers story is fun, fresh and flirty! Who knew pickleball could be so sexy!!!! Thank you to @NetGalley and @readforeverpub for this perfect beach read. This book makes me not just want to pick up a pickleball racket but to pick up but to pick up this book again for a re-read!

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the advance reader copy of All’s Fair in Love and Pickleball by Kate Spencer. 

Bex inherited a racquet club from her mother and Bex needs money for necessary updates to ensure the club’s future. Through the connection of a beloved club member, Bex meets Niko, a former tennis player who experienced a career ending injury. He’s looking for a comeback in Tennis. Through a series of events, Bex and Niko end up as pickleball partners practicing together to enter a tournament and hopefully win the prize money Bex will need for the club. Not only are they pickleball partners but everyone thinks they’re dating.

This story was absolutely adorable!!! I LOVED how the fake dating trope was used in this story. Bex and Niko have an engaging dynamic as their relationship forms. I love the humor, the tension, and the pickleball! I learned a lot about pickleball. There are also multiple side characters to adore. As soon as I started I wanted to keep going. This is such a fun easy read!

If you enjoy a fake dating trope and a rivals to lovers vibe, this is one to check out!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this ARC. I love a grumpy sunshine romance so this was a slam dunk for me. The bits about her mom tugged on my heart, and the older people made me smile. This was a joy.

This was super cute. Not my favorite of hers, but a fun read and perfect for summer. Will recommend to friends looking for a good warm weather read!!

All’s Fair in Love and Pickleball is a cute light-hearted Rom-Com. I’ve read a previous book by Kate Spencer, and once again this one didn’t disappoint. There’s something special about the way she writes her characters that you just can’t help but relate to them and want to see what’s in store.

We’re introduced to Bex, who’s taken over a racquet club once her mom passes away. As we learn about her own struggles with grief as well as guilt in trying to keep the club afloat, we get to learn about her support system of friends. They’re also members of the club and quite a bit older in age. The different personalities of them all lead to some pretty funny moments throughout. Nikolaus is a tennis star trying to get back into the game after an injury. The two of them meeting by chance at first doesn’t go well, which lets the rest of the story unfold. This is an easy light hearted read with some really relatable moments for the characters. There’s a bit of spice but not over the top. It’s just a really cute story that left me smiling at the end for the whole world created by Kate Spencer in this one.