This was such a fun, cute summer read! I absolutely loved how it was set in the world of pickleball and at a racquet club - it really made me want to try out pickleball for myself! Bex was a great main character and I loved how passionate she was about the club. Niko was the epitome of a broody, swoonworthy love interest and I was rooting for them the entire time. I really loved the supporting characters as well and was so happy with the ending. This will definitely be popular when it comes out!

Such a sweet read! I’ve never read a pickleball romance and this had such big rom com vibes, so adorable. It was fast paced with pretty good character development. I enjoyed Bex and Niko’s tension and banter!

Welp with Pickleball being one of the fastest growing sports it is high time we got a romance book about it! Forced proximity meets enemies to lovers in this super fun rom-com story.

All’s Fair in Love and Pickleball was a fun, fast-paced romcom with just the right mix of competitive tension, banter-filled chemistry, and emotional depth. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Bex and Niko rally through fake dating tropes, personal baggage, and high-stakes pickleball drama—yes, pickleball, and yes, it was oddly thrilling.
Bex was a fierce, determined heroine trying to keep her late mother’s racquet club afloat, and her love for the place gave the story real emotional grounding. Niko, the fallen tennis star with a chip on his shoulder and abs to spare, brought a dose of swagger and vulnerability that made him impossible not to root for—even when he was being infuriatingly smug.
Their fake relationship felt both playful and charged, and the transition to something real was handled with satisfying slow-burn tension. The on-court scenes added a fresh, fun layer of action, and I appreciated how the stakes—both personal and professional—were high without veering into melodrama.
The pacing dragged a bit in the second act, and a couple of the misunderstandings felt a touch too predictable. Still, the writing was charming, the humor sharp, and the chemistry electric.
In short: this was a sporty, sunshine-and-sarcasm kind of romcom that scored big on both heart and heat. I’d happily read more matches from this author.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Forced proximity check enemies to lovers check . This book was adorable in every way. I love how Kate Spencer creates big omelets character who actually feel like people you know .

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!