This book made me wish I was a tennis player lol. I went down a rabbit hole learning about tennis. Game Point was my first time reading a sports romance and I loved it!! I was hesitant that it would be confusing but it wasn’t.

I loved how competitive Dylan was and how the book explored the mental and physical toll of playing at a pro level. I loved the relationship between Dylan and Oliver! I thought the coach/player was so well done. Oliver never stopped believing in her and that was exactly what Dylan to pull herself out of her slump.

One thing I appreciated was that there was no stupid breakup and makeup in the end. Instead, the tension was all focused on whether or not she would win the Australian Open and the author had you stressed! It honestly felt like I was at the game watching it.

That said, the book didn’t start getting good until about halfway through. I also felt like there were too many spicy scenes so I ended up skipping a lot of the book.

Thank you to Meg Jones, Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

#GamePoint #NetGalley

*ੈ✩‧₊˚Rating*ੈ✩‧₊˚
2/5 Stars

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗Tropes˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗
🎾Friends to Lovers
🏆Slow Burn
🎾Long Distance Friends
🏆Coach x Player

💭 Thoughts-

-ˋˏ✄┈┈I loved how each chapter had a song to go with it. I thought it was super fun, creative, and unique!

-ˋˏ✄┈┈It definitely fell flat for me. It was just kind of there. I was reading it, and it was like ok, but in my opinion it wasn’t anything special.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈I did also think that the main characters needed more depth, and I needed it to go more into their struggles and all their problems because they also just kind of fell flat…like cardboard one would say…

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

2.5 STARS, ROUNDED UP.

I have no idea how to feel about this book.

Let's start off with the good. I liked the characters. They had fun personalities for sure, especially Ines and Scottie. I can definitely relate to Dylan feeling frustrated with how industries treat women. Oliver was definitely a golden retriever boyfriend.

TENNIS! As a tennis player of almost 10 years, I enjoyed being able to relate to plays and mindsets. It's fun understanding the score and being able to put myself in the characters' shoes.

The bad...

Although I semi enjoyed them, I felt like some of the actual tennis scenes were goofy. There's one set point played that never actually is talked about in the book but it totally skipped to the next set. Maybe I just missed it, but I went back and didn't find it. I also felt the terminology was overused and just felt like AI was used to describe how the match would work. Maybe that's just me though.

The pacing to me was incredibly off, either being really slow or really fast. We don't actually see the romance until around the 60% mark, which in my opinion is wayyyy too slow. I understand the author was meant to be setting up the characters, but what's there to set up? Dylan is known for losing during the finals of slams and is also very "bratty" as Oliver likes to call her. Oliver is a tennis pro turned coach (then to commentator). What else is there to know? Dylan calls Oliver the love of her life towards the end, but as far as I know they've only been dating for a month or two when that happens? Maybe I'm not used to the romance genre enough but that feels a little extreme.

I'm conflicted on this book to be honest. I liked it, but nothing stood out to me. I probably won't be continuing the series.

4.25 stars for Dylan and Oliver, wow I loved them.

I was definitely intrigued to know that we were getting Dylan's book next, because I definitely had mixed feelings about her in Clean Point. But wow, she blew me away.

"Always the bridesmaid, never the bride," is the sum of Dylan's tennis career. She has the drive, the skills, and the endurance to be the best, but never quite makes it to the end. Oliver, freshly divorced, is finding that he doesn't love tennis in the way that he used to. It loves to see a good game, but doesn't have the same passion to compete in them. When Dylan and Oliver meet, they make a bet to see if Dylan can win a title. Over time, their relationship transitions: mutual tennis pros at best to friends to confidants to coach and player to more.

I was a smidge worried Dylan would be a little too black cat for me, but she was truly just misunderstood. She is the definition of "hates everyone but you." And Oliver eats up the reactions that he gets. I loved seeing Dylan's drive - she was so strong physically that watching her mental health improve was refreshing to see. Oliver was the perfect coach for her and I loved that he was a fan of hers before he ever met her.
The relationship between these two is my favorite type of relationship. They had such a strong friendship base that their eventual realization of their feelings for one another felt so genuine.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an eARC. All thoughts are honest and my own.

4/5⭐️
I am a sucker for a good sports romance and this book definitely lived up to my expectations! This was a slow burn, friends to lovers, tennis romance that features Coach X Player. I thought this was super fun and cute read!

I really enjoyed the first installment of this series and this one was just as good. I loved both characters. I thought their relationship was enjoyable and that they were truly soulmates. The tension between the two was fantastic and it was a perfect slow burn.

I also loved Dylan’s character development throughout the book, it was nice to read. She’s a tough competitor and seeing the changes of her character throughout the story was great and you can really see how Oliver’s appearance in her life changed her for the better.

I thought Oliver was a great character. I don’t see how anyone could hate him. I enjoyed reading about his journey with learning to coach. I thought he was sweet and was a perfect match for the FMC.

Overall I thought this was a very nice sequel to the first book and I can’t wait to see more from the series.

Thank you Meg Jones, the publishers, and NetGalley for sending me this arc for an honest review❤️

Thank you NetGalley, Avon and Meg Jones for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn’t put this one down! I really enjoyed it and was surprised at how much I liked Dylan Bailey.

This could be a standalone but I recommend reading Clean Point first to understand the drama that follows Dylan and the history with Scottie.

Dylan is sick of finishing second after putting so much into tennis and being half the world away from her family.

After another 2nd place finish she’s looking for a distraction and meets Oliver who promises to be her wingman to meet someone. When she ditches the set up, Oliver and Dylan have a few drinks and talk about their troubles with tennis. Oliver is positive Dylan can win a first place trophy so they make a bet.

The bet snowballs into them becoming best friends and it progresses from there!

I really liked Oliver and his character. He was such a calming, confident presence (until he wasn’t). The tension and teasing was so fun.

I love when two crazy kids with loads of tension think they can get each other out of their system after one night.

I wish I remembered more about tennis terms and scoring from gym class but it wasn’t too much that I couldn’t follow.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story!

this was a lot of fun, very carrie soto, but i am not down with the wattpad trend of having a song for every chapter, 90% of them did not fit that chapter in particular or inadvertently ruined it for me

thank you to netgalley for an arc of this title in exchange for my honest feedback!

Big thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read Game Point by Meg Jones in exchange for an honest review!

I wouldn't consider myself a die-hard tennis fan - however I do keep up with general standings and big tournaments from time to time. In saying that, I read this just after Wimbledon and finished it during the National Bank Open and boy was it a fun read while tennis was on the brain.

Tropes:
- Slow Burn
- Friends to Lovers
- Dual POV

I have the same sentiments with this book that I did with Clean Point (Game, Set, Match #1) in that this book is just fun. The mixture of romance, feel-good humor, and TENSION (!!!), is something I really appreciated in this book. It was a refreshing romance that had you just close enough to the edge of your seat with just the right amount of spice and banter. Books like this are always my favourite to recommend because although this particular is centered around tennis, I really do think anyone would enjoy this because of how well rounded it is.

There were a couple of terms - similarly to Clean Point - where I think a little glossary at the front or back of the book may be of help to readers who are not familiar with tennis. In saying that, the storyline itself is one that I really do think will appeal to a wide audience. On the other side of the coin, like I said - I am no professional tennis player myself so I cant speak on specific accuracies within the book regarding technicalities but I think that over-all it is well rounded.

After the glimpse we got of Dylan in Clean Point, I was SO excited to really get to know her in Game Point - and she did not disappoint. Her character had depth in the way that she held her head high even though she was struggling with the internal battle of where he life was going, and I think Oliver was the perfect MMC to help not only guide her but help her find her own way. First and foremost he helped her as a friend - but with that - something more developed between the two of them. I really don't think you could as for a better rom-com sandwich!

My ONLY critique - if you would even call it that - would be that I wish we got to know a little bit more Oliver to just give him a little bit more depth. We did get to learn a bit about his past but I wish that carried on throughout the book just a tad more. I feel like I completely forgot about little aspects of his life and I desperately wanted him to open up more about his past marriage with Dylan.

That is really the only reason why I gave it 4 stars rather than 5.

It was a pleasure reading, thank you again for the opportunity to read and review!

I enjoyed this book a lot I didn’t realize it was the second book in a series but you don’t have to read the first one to understand. I really liked the banter from the couple and it kind of reminded me of the challengers a little bit. I wanted a bit more spice but I understand it’s not always like that. I give it a solid 3.9-4 because I need to understand tennis a little more but yes I liked it a lot.

I really loved this book!! The growing tension as they get to know each other. Will this finally be the time they act on their feelings? Amazing loved it no notes. As a non-tennis person, I thought there was a nice balance of getting into the practices and matches.Where the book was lacking for me was Oliver’s character depth. Towards the end of the book, Oliver is having some mental health issues and that is basically swept under the rug and we don’t get much resolution to that or his family stuff. Conversely, I thought Dylan was an amazingly fleshed out character and we really got to know who she is.

As a warning, I would recommend reading the first book as a lot is referenced in this book from it! You can kind of piece together everything but the background context would make reading parts a lot easier.

You're in for a good time if you love slow burn or besties to lovers! Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and the author for an ARC for my honest review :) This book is expected to be published on September 9, 2025.

Game Point is a sports romance between Dylan, a professional tennis player who unfortunately keeps losing in grand slam finals, and Oliver, a friend-turned-coach-turned-love interest. The two pair up to help Dylan finally win a slam, with the goal being the Australian Open.

As a lifelong tennis player with some friends who have succeeded at the professional levels, I was so excited to see this available on Netgalley. However, even if I knew this wouldn't be a mirror reflection of the actual lives of tennis players with it being a romance novel and all, this fell flat for me.

I think I got off on a bad foot in the very first chapter when the author uses the wrong name for the U.S. Open women's singles trophy; she mistakenly calls it by the Wimbledon women's singles trophy. The author's bio/acknowledgements note that she is interested in tennis and lives in Scotland, so this early oversight with the Wimbledon name--being the author's home slam--was difficult to overlook as a reader.

I did continue to read because I love sports romances, and I thought that the premise of the series itself was interesting. I enjoyed the in between chapters which splice up the typical romance novel chapters, but all in all, I just couldn't buy into the story. I fully expect artistic license to take place in books, but for a sport that is already so peripheral to many parts of the world--especially in the U.S.--it was disheartening to me to read the behind the scenes aspects of tour life. Perhaps interviewing coaches and players could have made this part of the book feel more authentic, but I fully recognize that that is a tall order with how long and demanding the pro tennis season is. Obviously the romance is supposed to drive the whole plot, but I don't know, I guess I just was so excited about there being tennis that I wanted more.

Ultimately, I applaud the author for tackling tennis and for highlighting it in a way that is accessible to people who are potentially not familiar with it--through the romance novel. Yet I wish that the tennis side of it was a little less romanticized, if that makes sense, because it seems to fall into the same trap that popular movies about tennis seem to fall into: in trying to make tennis accessible, it glosses over some important behind the scenes aspects for the sake of the plot.

Thanks to Avon for the opportunity to read this ARC.

5 STARS — 6 if I could give it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read and review an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

This was my first time reading a book by Meg Jones, and now I have to go back and pick up the first book in the series—because this was absolutely incredible. The story isn’t just about a woman trying to win tennis matches—it’s about everything: friendship, family, homesickness, burnout, toxic relationships, and what a truly good and loving relationship can look like. It was powerful, honest, and beautifully written.

Dylan was such a cool and compelling character to follow. Having grown up in a competitive space myself, I completely related to what she was feeling—though I saw myself more in Oliver, who understood when to step back. Both Dylan and Oliver experienced so much character growth, and their friendship felt deeply authentic. Their relationship? So unbelievably sweet, and the romantic scenes were absolute perfection—chef’s kiss.

Also, having just come back from the UK, I found myself really appreciating the world-building. I don’t usually comment on setting, but every place they visited felt so vivid and unique. It made the whole experience even more immersive and honestly felt like I was there again.

Truly, this is one of the best five-star reads I’ve had in a while. Everything about it was a 10/10. Thank you again, NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager, for the ARC!

This duology has been a delight. Perfect for fans of sports romances that are looking for something different than hockey.

Dylan is a professional tennis player and has had an amazing career, but unfortunately she has never won a championship. She often comes in second and has a reputation for choking in the finals. She's finally had enough and decides to retire. Enter Oliver. He is recently retired but offers to coach Dylan to victory. They have recently developed a friendship but it soon turns into more. Can they work together and not get distracted by their attraction to each other?

I loved the dynamic between these two. Dylan is driven, sarcastic, and stubborn. I love a heroine like this. Give me all the black cat energy. Oliver was her opposite. He was encouraging, positive, and grounded. Calling this book friends-to-lovers is a bit of a stretch. They had chemistry from the start but were both in a difficult time in their life. They were never truly in the friendzone and it didn't take long before that attraction took over the friendship element. I loved the mental health element of Dylan's journey. This was very much Dylan's story focused on her career and then the romance. I didn't get much from Oliver besides supporting her. He does have a small storyline toward the end but it kind of came out of nowhere and didn't fit for me. I also got a little bogged down in tennis terms.

I would definitely read more from Meg Jones. I loved both of these tennis romances and can't wait to see what comes next. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the e-book in exchange for my honest review.

I hadn't read the first book in the series, but that didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying this story. I was drawn in, tennis playing a key role in the narrative, even though my understanding of the game was quite basic. The chemistry between Dylan and Oliver was fantastic, and I really loved Dylan's feisty and determined nature. She was clear about her desires and went after them with confidence. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

ARC Review:

This book was good. I'm not a tennis player so a couple of times I just needed to look up some terms like the AD for scoring advantage (might want a glossary for these things). The slow burn between Dylan and Oliver was great and I enjoyed their banter through talk or text.

The hardest part of the read were all the out of context background parts. Like the situation with Scottie and her Dad; I did not read the 1st book so I was having a hard time wondering why Dylan felt bad. Similarly, the disagreement with the Trainer, Brooke, what was the fight with the paperweight? Why do all the players know about the argument, what did they hear? I was confused about this dynamic and why Brooke had to come back when the dialogue was that they were toxic to each other.

Other than that, I enjoyed the story and the ramp up of feelings between Dylan and Oliver and wished there was a little more after her winning it all.

Also please put the song title above the POV name of the chapter. It was difficult to figure out what that was.

So cute! Absolutely loved Dylan and Oliver’s relationship. I found it super easy to read (even knowing nothing about tennis) and zipped through this one quickly. Loved how he helps her evolve and supports all her goals.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this e-ARC. All opinions are my own

My love of sports romances runs deep, and I really enjoyed getting to watch Dylan and Oliver fall in love as they figured out their future in the world of tennis.

There is something about elite athletes that always draws me in. Their ambition and drive is awe inspiring, and Dylan definitely fit that mold. She was a world class athlete, but unfortunately, her claim to fame was coming in second place. I really appreciated the focus on the mental aspect of being at the top of your sport. Dylan had her own intrusive thoughts and anxiety to overcome, but she also had some toxic people in her life with whom she needed to cut ties.

I loved that Oliver and Dylan's relationship was built on a strong friendship. It was a delight to see it evolve and change via text messages, phone calls, video calls, and interactions. I was excited every time I thought they would take that leap because they shared a special bond. The support and friendship they showed each other was what everyone needs or hopes for, and I was excited to cheer them on.

But it wasn't just the relationship between Dylan and Oliver that excited me, it was seeing Dylan allow some other connections to grow into more. She was a fierce competitor, but she realized that some of her opponents could be great friends. The interactions between Scottie and Dylan inspired me to backtrack and read Scottie's book, and I will admit, I am eager to learn everyone's backstories.

Overall, this was slow-burn sports romance which pulled me in from the very beginning. I was hooked by Dylan's personal journey and was thrilled to see her fall in love and discover so much about herself along the way.

Game Point follows Dylan, a professional tennis player who is "always the bridesmaid but never the bride." After losing her tenth grand slam title, she is sick of being runner up and ready to quit the sport. But then fellow professional Oliver Anderson bets her she can win her home slam, the Melbourne Open. Accepting the bet, Dylan and Oliver become unlikely friends. Until they realize their attraction to each other is a little more than friendly...
Now, with her self-doubt deepening and her feelings for Oliver intensifying, will Dylan be able to put everything aside and finally win? Or, will she realize that maybe she's already won, just not in the way she expected?

Wow! I did not expect to love this book as much as I did, but I absolutely loved it. I've never read Meg Jones before, but Game Point made me a huge fan. I'm looking forward to going back and reading the first book in this series, Clean Point, and also reading any future books in the series! As a big fan of the movie Challengers, Dylan reminded me so much of Tashi Duncan--a confident and intense player who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to say it. Dylan was an electrifying character, and I really enjoyed seeing her journey throughout the story. Struggling with imposter syndrome and self-doubt is something everyone can relate to, and seeing Dylan come to accept her past failures and move past them is a lesson I think many can benefit from. I thought Oliver complemented her character so well too, and loved getting to see their relationship in multiple lenses: strangers, friends, coach and player, and partners. Dylan, initially prickly and not wanting to show or admit weakness, coming to trust and lean on him was heart warming, and created a nice emotional pay out. Their chemistry flew off the page, and some of their scenes had my jaw literally dropping. I could not get enough of them! The only thing I wish this book explored a bit more was Oliver's experience with panic attacks and anxiety, and him overcoming that, as well as his coaching stint. But overall, I truly loved this book and can't wait for more in this universe.

Thank you to Avon, Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! I would highly recommend picking up Game Point on publication day (expected September 9, 2025) if you are fans of sports romance, friends to lovers, emotional growth, slow burn, or dual POV.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! I do think I would have benefitted from reading the first book in the series. I love a sports romance and thought all the tennis pieces were well done. Unfortunately, the FMC really annoyed me and I didn't feel like we got too much growth from her throughout the book.

Overall, enjoyable read!

3.5 stars

I read the first book in this series on KU and enjoyed it immensely as tennis is not as common is the "sports trope" genre. I'm a sucker for a redemption arc and Dylan's didn't disappoint! Overall, I enjoyed this book and thought it was a good follow up to Clean Point. It was a quick and enjoyable read!

*this was provided as an ARC by netgalley