As a newer convert to Pickleball, I found this book delightful. The romance itself was fun and had me rooting for both characters. I also love the background of Pickleball, especially since people who play pickle ball can’t get a little bit into it and that really was expressed while on this book. All in all, it’s a very entertaining book.

The lead characters were interesting and I liked their general arc of a story and liked the side characters.

This is such a cute summer read and is the perfect little pallet cleanser if you are in a book slump. It’s fun. It’s easy. And definitely has a HEA. What a s great summer beach read.

Just know there is 3rd act drama so if that’s not your thing…you’ve been warned.

A very special thank you to NetGalley, Kate Spencer, and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Can we talk about how pretty the book cover is! I can't! Perfect book for spring. It made me smile a lot and the banter! Now I really wanna play pickleball! I am delighted to have read it in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you Netgalley

I have been a huge fan of Kate Spencer since before she started writing novels, and In a New York Minute is one of my faves, so I was very excited to receive an early copy of her new one. I really loved it! It was so much fun.

Kate Spencer does a great job of tackling serious issues amid the swoony romance -- Bex is still mourning the loss of her mother, and Niko is trying to move on after a devastating tennis injury.

I loved both Bex and Niko -- Niko was so sweet and charismatic, and Bex is someone I would love to hang out with. I loved all the supporting characters and adored the setting of the club. Overall a very sweet and endearing rom com!

I will read everything Kate Spencer writes and can't wait to see what's next!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

Not my cup of tea.

I liked the bits and pieces of witty humor, emotional depth, and sweet comedic romance—but it lacked passion big time and was more about lust than anything. I don’t feel like these characters connected enough, and everything happened so fast, which didn’t make it any better. The characters weren’t the most likable either; I found them super annoying, actually.

The audiobook is the best thing about this; it’s so comforting—the narrator’s voice and the passion within bring a sense of warmth and make this book even better than it already is. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook as you follow along! The experience it brings is unexplainable but so special and exciting.

Book itself: 0.7 ★
Audio book: 4.5 ★

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙍𝘾 & 𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠!

Thank you Forever Pub and Hachette Audiobdor my gifted copies. All opinions are my own.

I’ve enjoyed all of Kate Spencer’s books but this might be my new favorite. Mia Hutchinson-Shaw did a fantastic job with the narration. I was rapt from the very beginning and didn’t want to stop listening.

Things are not going well for Bex Martin. Her racquet club is struggling and then her dear friend and member falls on the court and needs surgery. She meets Niko, a former tennis player and her friend’s nephew. Bex and Niko end up agreeing to compete in a local pickleball tournament and in a fake relationship.

I loved this! Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes! Niko and Bex start off enemies, but have amazing banter and the relationship quickly becomes more. I know nothing about pickleball but that didn’t take away from the story at all. I also loved the community Bex and her mother built for themselves at the racquet club. The ending made me so happy!

This was a super quick read. Once I started, I was rapped up in the story. While I wasn't a fan of the inserted villain, I liked the story of Bex and Niko getting together a lot. Kate Spencer is one of my "hope for " authors since her first novel. In a New York Minute. I really enjoy her style of writing and the stories she writes.

Thank you for the copy, this is my honest opinion. Please be aware of any trigger warnings, as your mental health is most important.

Such a cute book! What’s screams summer more than pickleball! It’s a must read especially for fans that love the sport!

Fake dating
Dislike to lovers
Grumpy sunshine
Spicy


Did I immediately go play pickleball with my kids after reading this, yes yes did. This was such a fun read! And surprisingly spicy!! A great summer read imo if you are looking for something light hearted and fun! The audio was well done as well.

Thank you @hachetteaudio @readforeverpub for this ALC/arc

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher. I love the cover of this book. I enjoyed reading it and think it had a fun premise!

This was a quick, fun read. After her mom passed away from cancer, Bex inherited her beloved tennis and pickleball club, but although she loves the club and is passionate herself about pickleball, she's finding that running the club is no easy matter. There's lots of deferred maintenance, the crosstown rival club is flashy, new, and stealing her members, and the club is barely breaking even.

Nico was a world-ranked tennis player until he blew out his knee in a match. He's been rehabbing in Florida, but when his aunt is injured playing pickleball at Bex's club, he drops everything to rush to her. Bex and Nico clash immediately, especially since Nico barely considers pickleball to be a sport, and Bex finds him quite arrogant and rather grumpy. Yet somehow, they end up not only agreeing to enter a pickleball tournament together, but fake dating as well.

This is a classic, grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract romance, although I never really warmed up to Nico. We did not get his POV, so I never felt like I got to know him. Bex though, was a quirky breath of fresh air and I loved all the fun outfits she designed from castaway clothing.

I was also a bit let down by the abruptness of the ending. The big pickleball tournament that they were working toward competing in was summed up in a couple of sentences rather than showing the action. Overall, though, a fun read and my thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

This book was good. The romance was cute. I’ve never played pickle ball but it seems fun. I like that it took place in a retirement community. The supporting cast was great

All's Fair In Love and Pickleball by Kate Spencer
An easy 3.5 for me!

This was a low stakes, palate cleanser kind of sports romance!
Bex is trying to save her club, working through her grief, and is stubborn as all get out being used to taking care of everything herself. Niko is having a hard time getting away from his prior "tennis bad boy" image, everyone expects him to be the mean ol' grump, sore loser, always quick to lose his temper. Once the two are on the same page with being pickleball partners (okay and accidental fake boyfriend/girlfriend) we really see their partnership take off. I liked their banter and I liked their honesty, which made the third act break up a little more unbelievable. I would have loved to see this storyline playout without that break up - there was enough conflict surrounding the racquet club, pickleball tournament/tennis foes, and the tennis open that we could have stayed together to figure things out, right?! We got some good grand gestures out of it all though.

I liked this one and hope you will, too! Thanks, Forever, for the arc!

This author is new to me, but I will be keeping an eye out for anything else they publish. I loved the story and the characters. The pacing of the story was great and the characters were relatable.

I had read the e-book first then DNFed the audiobook early on because I just had enough with these two. I really think he was mean for no reason, oh wait the reason why is that he was attracted to her. Since he liked her, he had to be mean to her. Fuck this.

I’m not a huge pickleball person, but this book hooked me immediately! I loved Bex and Niko’s story and didn’t want to put it down. I liked the pacing of this story, I felt like it didn’t drag but also wasn’t rushed. The side characters were hilariously entertaining as well! Definitely a fun romance novel.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for an ARC!

3.5 Stars

This book was really sweet and I enjoyed it! Definitely a cute summer read & bonus points if you like pickleball.

I think at times it felt a little immature to me & the third act breakup seemed so silly. Additionally, it ended really abruptly! I felt like we’d had this “event” built up as a major plot point & then it was skipped over & we were told about it in the epilogue which was not my favorite.

Thank you to NetGalley & Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is was a fun and easy read. As someone who loves tennis, I am not really sure what I think about pickleball but I was intrigued enough to read this book.

Bex is still grieving the death of her mom. She inherited a pickleball club but is struggling to maintain it as she lacks funds for repairs. One of her favourite client's nephew is Niko. He's a professional tennis player who is looking to make a comeback after suffering an injury. The two of them enter a pickleball tournament together in the hopes that the prize money could help Bex with the repairs and the publicity will improve Nike's public image.

This book had some of my favourite tropes, grumpy and sunshine, fake dating and rivals to lovers. The banter between both of the main characters was witty. I enjoyed the side characters too, which were the senior citizens who played at the pickleball club. I would have rated the book higher but I did not enjoy the third act breakup, which I felt was not necessary.

Thank you Forever Grand Central Publishing, for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pickleball sounds weird but fun! A really enjoyable and entertaining read. Well written and decent chemistry between the leads. Did not love the third act breakup but otherwise still worth a look.