Thank you to @avonbooks & @netgalley for an eARC!

Last summer, I watched Challengers and became ✨obsessed✨ with finding a spicy tennis romance to fill the tennis shaped hole in my heart and Meg Jones wrote exactly that with her Game, Set, and Match series!

Clean Point is a new fav and I’ve been (not so) patiently waiting for the follow up and for Dylan’s story! Game Point had me hooked from the start!!

>> Dylan is done with being second best and maybe tennis altogether until she makes a bet with Oliver Anderson (a pro tennis peer!) who thinks she’s got another grand slam title in her future.

Oliver, oh Oliver, my sweet, British, golden retriever mmc. (Side note: I bet the audiobook for this will be so good 🥵). I loved the banter, the tennis, the forced proximity and the overall dynamic. Really mostly everything about this was perfectly right.

By the end I was stressed the heck out for Dylan but what I appreciated was that the drama was outside of the romantic relationship. No funny business messing with our main duo!

Sports romances just hit different and I can’t wait to see what Meg continues to do because I love her books so dang much!

This was a good romance book and gave me almost everything I was hoping for. I've gotten more and more into tennis and so I was so happy to be able to read this book.

Dylan is a world-class tennis player who can never quite seal the deal and win her first Grand Slam. After years of reaching the finals and falling short, constantly changing techniques and coaches, Dylan is at a crossroads and needs to make some decisions.

Dylan struggles with confidence, anxiety, homesickness, and a lack of purpose—issues that feel very genuine. I believe these are problems that plague professional athletes constantly. I’m also a sucker for books that are broken up by news articles, interviews, etc. I love getting that alternative point of view.

I also enjoyed the simultaneous but perpendicular career changes that Dylan and Oliver face together. Her career continues in the same vein but evolves, while his morphs into something completely different. I liked how their differences didn’t hinder their friends-to-lovers story but instead enhanced how much they care for each other. I appreciated that they kept their careers separate from their relationship—no jealousy, no drama, just straightforward communication: “This is what’s best, and it doesn’t mean anything nefarious.”

I didn’t read the first book in the series, but I will definitely be checking it out and will absolutely finish the rest of the series upon release!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the ARC.

What a great story! I love tennis and romance novels and this was the perfect pairing. Dylan, a top pro athlete who always makes the finals but never quite wins is questioning her career when she meets Oliver, also a pro player and recent winner of the US Open. They forge an adorable friendship and, that turns to him being her coach, and then turns to love. I can't quite put into words quite how much I enjoyed this book and will absolutely read again.

I think the first book in this series was a better fit for my tastes. This one took me a while to get into but I did really enjoy reading about Dylan overcoming her anxieties and challenges. I do feel like as a character motivated reader it took some time for me to actually like the characters though. The slower pacing also didn’t really help my case either but overall a good time.

Dylan Bailey, una jugadora australiana que, tras perder su décimo Grand Slam, decide retirarse. Sin embargo, un desafío irresistible de su amigo y colega Oliver Anderson la hace reconsiderar su decisión: si pierde el próximo torneo, podrá quedarse con su trofeo del US Open y alejarse del tenis para siempre. Pero hay un giro inesperado: Oliver no solo será su amigo, sino también su entrenador.

A medida que entrenan juntos, la química entre ellos se vuelve innegable, aunque intentan mantener su relación estrictamente profesional. La tensión, la complicidad y el apoyo mutuo hacen que su conexión se fortalezca dentro y fuera de la cancha, obligándolos a enfrentar no solo sus propios miedos, sino también los sentimientos que han intentado ignorar.



~


Al principio me costó un poco engancharme porque recordaba a la Dylan de Clean Point. Si bien nunca fue realmente una mala persona… bueno, sí fue bastante dura con Scottie. Pero, en cierta manera, su desagrado estaba justificado, ya que todo apuntaba a que Scottie había hecho trampa en Wimbledon .
En este libro, se entiende mejor la reacción de Dylan ante lo ocurrido en la historia anterior. La vemos estancada, enojada consigo misma, bloqueada y al borde del retiro porque siente que ya no puede más… hasta que conoce a Oliver, y ambos terminan ayudándose mutuamente.

Disfruté mucho la lectura, pero no le doy una calificación mayor porque hubo un detalle que me incomodó. Al principio, Dylan cree que Oliver sigue casado y, aun así, no le importa acercarse a él. Obviamente, luego se revela que ya estaba divorciado, pero en ese momento ella no lo sabía, y el hecho de que eso no la detuviera me bajoneó un poco (odio las infidelidades).

Además del romance, el libro aborda temas como la salud mental en el deporte, la presión del alto rendimiento y la importancia de encontrar un espacio seguro para ser uno mismo.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.

I wanted to like this book but I DNF at 15%. I just couldn’t get into it.

In this book, Dylan and Oliver decide to tackle their problems together: Oliver will help Dylan win another grand slam title, and Dylan will help him rediscover his love for the sport. As they both unlock a new level of understanding their shared sport and each other, they can't keep their chemistry off the courts.

Something about me: I will always love a comeback story in a sports romance. Especially a tennis one. Both in books and movies, something about the sport and the interwoven social politics of a grand slam tournament will always intrigue me despite never have played the sport myself.

(Actual: 4.75⭐, rounded up) Absolutely love Meg Jones and devoured her debut novel + CLEAN POINT (the first book in this series)..... which is why I was so, so excited to get approved for GAME POINT and, let me just say: It did NOT disappoint. I devoured this read so quickly LOL, I'm surprised with myself even. CLEAN POINT is a Friends-to-Lovers, sports-centric [tennis] romance comprised of the perfect balance. imo, of heart, humor*, spice, and some good ol' fashioned angst (*Meg is hella funny irl and I truly just love seeing her sense of humor shine from the pages of her books). CLEAN POINT is a slow-burning romance, which I've always loved *so long as it's done right*— and here, with Meg, it is. The chemistry and tension between Dylan and Oliver is straight ACES, I thoroughly enjoyed watching how their whip-smart banter and emotional ties as friends slowly turned into something more. Furthermore, as always, I LOVE stories that resolve miscommunications quickly (if there are any) + do *not* shoe-horn in a 3rd-act breakup, both of which CLEAN POINT successfully avoided, so it truly did scratch that specific part of me as a reader in the best of ways. Highly recommend this to all my romcom lovers FOR SURE, this book is a true win and I can't wait to see what Meg comes out with next!

Cute sports romance which I enjoy. I had never read one that focused on tennis. It didn’t get too much into the sports that it dragged the story down or needed a lot of prior information about the sport. Cute romance story with a few spicy pieces along the way.

This was a cute one! The characters were fun and the chemistry was good. Just enough sports talk to be interesting but not too much.

4⭐️
Thank you NetGalley for this arc. This was an easy and fun read, I love sports romances and this was both my first tennis book (didn’t realize it was book 2 until later) and first Meg Jones book. I plan to go read book 1 now too. I really enjoyed reading about Dylan working through her anxiety’s and of course loved Dylan and Oliver’s friends to lovers story.

Game Point is the second book in the game, set, match series. This book is somewhat of standalone book but it is a little helpfule to read clean point first. Some things that happened in clean point are mentioned in this book but the story is still easy to follow if you have not read clean point. Dylan Bailey is a professional tennis player that has been playing tennis her whole life but has never won a gran slam. Oliver Anderson is also a professional tennis player but he has won many matches and trophies. As Dylan is finally ready to give up tennis for good, oliver convinces her to continue playing with his help.

This was a game set match from Meg Jones. After Clean Point was a favorite read of 2024 I could not wait to get to know more about Dylan & Oliver. Dylan was such a good and strong FMC, who gives us angry girls some representation and then men who are they to support and soften them. Oliver was such a breath of fresh air in this book, he was so much fun and one of the best parts of this story.

Their story was so much fun, between the text banter and the long distance friendship. I love the small moments between these two and build up of their relationship. With a slice of forced proximity to really round it out. The push and pull was good but I love the foundation of their friendship being the most important part in this story.

I love the focus on mental health in this story and the importance of therapy, taking care of yourself. It’s such an important message to have in this book.

Meg Jones had the ability to create another favorite book of mine. Her way of writing captivates you from the very beginning and makes you feel very immersed in the story.

Summary:
Dylan is a talented pro tennis player who can’t seem to win a final—second place, every time. When her new friend Oliver offers to help coach her, they make a great team. But when sparks start playing, can they remain friends and keep it professional, or will their attraction ruin the close friendship they’ve built?

Title: Game Point
Author: Meg Jones
@megjoneswrites
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️ 2/5


Tropes:
Friends to lovers
Forced proximity
Coach/adult athlete

Triggers:
Extreme anxiety/panic attacks



Whitney’s Thoughts:
This is a sweet sports romance with a teddy bear MMC and a black cat FMC. The tennis jargon was over my head, but I could still figure out what was happening during on-pages matches. More sweet than spicy and a sweet read.

This was a pretty okay romance for me.

I found the start to be quite slow and that was a massive part of my problem with it. It had some weird pacing. The start is really slow and then all of a sudden they're together and obsessed with each other. And even then, they didn't really have that much chemistry to me I like a smoother transition of relationships in books.

I didn't need ALL of the tennis info-dumping that felt pretty constant and deep, but that is totally a personal preference. Some people absolutely love to learn a lot about a sport through books, I'm just not really one of those people.

Maybe if this book was a tad shorter, a lot of these problems would go away (especially when it comes to the pacing), I'm not sure.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

Giving this book 4.5 stars!! if you love a good sports romance please pick this up IMMEDIATELY when it comes out. The tension and banter between the two mcs was perfection. I have always thought I wasn’t a fan of the friends to lovers trope but maybe I just haven’t read many good ones because now it’s one of my favorites. Meg Jones will be added to my must read authors. Her writing style is unmatched and she never missed a beat in this entire book. Oliver is a walking GREEN FLAG. This man was everything. It is a classic black cat/golden retriever couple (and the fmc is the black cat!) if you love sports romances like myself, friends to lovers, close proximity, dual pov, coach x player add this to your tbr. You will not be disappointed!!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyage for this arc!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED Clean Point and I'm SO glad Dyland and Oliver got their book. Move over Nico, Oliver is my new favorite book boyfriend...a GIANT walking and talking green flag. I always loved a black cat/golden retriever book. Dylan FMC is a pro tennis athlete who always ends up choking in the finals and finally quits, but Oliver MMC convinces her to go on. Their relationship from the start was swoon worthy and has gone through lengths for this woman. I absolutely loved both of the characters' journey. Dylan is going from being super prickly but soft for Oliver and achieving her dreams. and I loved that Oliver found a new path from playing to coaching. It felt super organic along with their chemistry. I do wish Meg touched a bit more on Oliver's past since it seemed like he kind of moved on quickly from his divorce, but that's here nor there.

P.S.- LOVED that Scottie and Nico played a role in this book. They weren't just random cameos.

Read if you like
- Sports Romance
- Dual POV
- Black Cat/Golden Retreiver
- Friends to lovers
- Coach x Player

meg really excelled with this romance. I wasnt sure about the fmc in this book but her journey is great. truly tennis excellence and best friends to lovers done right.

I do usually like a tennis romance but the characters read so juvenile. In fact I went back to check if this was supposed to be YA but it is in fact listed as an adult novel (presumably because of content). I do feel like I've been subjected to quite a lot of romances lately where everyone has the attitude and decision making skills of an 18 year old but are well older than that. Kind of annoying. Wanted to live it, unfortunately did not.