3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. Thanks NetGalley & Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

First of all, I love the Taylor Swift and Gracie Abrams in the playlist. It was neat that all the chapters had an associated song - it gave foreshadowing into what might happen that chapter.

While I consider my “big three” interests to be books, tennis, and Taylor Swift, I think this fell a little flat for me. I’m usually not a fan of friends to lovers and this really wasn’t an exception. At about 20% in, Dylan’s inability to handle her emotions was killing me and it was difficult to see why Oliver would even want to be her friend in those times. It always felt like it was a little bit flirty instead of just friendly. His patience with her as a new friend just didn’t seem all that believable. It also surprised me how little they discussed his previous marriage and why it ended. Oliver’s internal thoughts explained quite a bit but was it ever explored deeper with Dylan? Seemed like he should have been a bit more hesitant about being in another relationship with someone who said they didn’t want kids as well, but he was more focused on the coach-player aspect of it.

That being said, I did find many enjoyable moments in the book! The Twilight references were too-notch as well as the argument about physical vs digital media. I like that Dylan always stood her ground even if she was a bit stubborn. I always love a good bet and every time they would try to get the other to do something using reverse psychology. The “just one night” trope always gets me because everyone knows that only opens the floodgates - it’s never enough! It’s waiting to see who will crack first after that night that keeps me on the edge of my seat. Along with that, there were just so many adorable moments and Oliver was so sweet with her. I loved that we could see both players struggling with their own mental health issues and saw their growth together by the end of the book.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read that had many moments where I was giddily kicking my feet. The world needs more tennis romance, so I’ll definitely be recommending to others, especially those who love friends to lovers! ✨🎾

This one was so stinkin’ good!
Game Point by Megan Jones follows Dylan, an Australian tennis pro who can’t seem to clinch a win no matter how hard she tries. She’s clearly talented, but her own tough love and mental blocks have pushed people away—so much so, she’s ready to call it quits.

Enter Oliver: recently retired American tennis star, total cinnamon roll, and Dylan’s unexpected new friend. He’s convinced her story isn’t over yet. Cue the friends-to-lovers slow burn! Their chemistry is adorable, the banter is top tier, and Oliver is absolutely smitten (even if Dylan can’t quite see how lovable she is yet).

Before she officially retires, they make a bet—if Dylan enters one more tournament, win or lose, she gets his US Open trophy and can finally walk away from the sport. But Oliver isn’t just planning to give her a trophy—he’s coaching her to a win, and maybe even back to herself.

This was my first Meg Jones book and now I need to read Clean Point, because I loved these characters so much. Dylan’s family was warm and supportive, and Oliver’s unwavering belief in her was swoony perfection.

A heartfelt, sporty rom-com with just the right dose of vulnerability and charm.
4.5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC 💫

A tennis romance novel? Sign me up, Game Point. But while a lot of the tennis was on point, the romance didn't fly for me. It very much read like fan fiction, and as a tennis lover I couldn't get past it. The WTA and ATP are very separate entities and there isn't much overlap between the players, and I had a hard time buying that the male protagonist would have had so much background knowledge about the female protagonist's career. If the chemistry had sparked more, it would have been more engaging, but...it just didn't. For a more moderate tennis junkie or somehow who doesn't know the sport at all, it might be more enjoyable.

Three stars.

ARC provided for free by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own.

I devoured this in a single sitting! We love a sports romance and I loved it more with an FMC. The dynamic between Dylan and Oliver is witty, fun, and endearing with just the right amount of fiery attitude. This is a great read with a solid balance of plot and spice and some of my favorite tropes — will they/wont they, a healthy dose of yearning, close proximity, and friends to lovers. Can’t wait to read more from Meg!

3.5 stars! What better way to deal with post-Wimbledon blues than by reading a tennis-themed romance? I feel like tennis has been a pretty underrepresented sport in the sports romance world, so I’m glad that’s starting to change! And whether you’re a diehard tennis fan or don’t usually follow it, you’ll definitely find something to enjoy in GAME POINT.

I really enjoyed Dylan as a character! Her vulnerability, sharp wit, and strength made her so easy to root for, and her character development was very well-done. Oliver was so sweet and supportive from start to finish, and I loved reading about how their friendship slowly blossomed into something more. Their bond was built on such a strong foundation of respect and trust—and, of course, undeniable chemistry.

One thing I did notice, some of the tennis facts mentioned throughout the book were wrong (like saying that the U.S. Open takes place on a grass court, when it’s played on a hard court). I’ll also add that while this can technically be read as a standalone (it’s connected to Jones’s first book in this series, CLEAN POINT), I feel like having read that book beforehand would have given me even more insight into some of the relationships/storylines explored. I kind of felt like I was spoiling some things for myself by not having read it, if that makes sense lol. Overall, I enjoyed this one and would recommend it for tennis lovers or anyone who is in search of a good sports romance! Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC.

Thank you for this ARC! Unfortunately, this was an immediate DNF for me. In the first page, the author got major tennis facts wrong. They stated that the US Open is played on grass. This is just not true. They also said the name of the trophy at the US Open is the Venus Rosewater Dish. Also not true, this is the Wimbledon trophy. At that point I knew this book would annoy me. And the author did not do basic tennis research. Zero stars.

THIS IS WHAT SPORTS ROMANCE IS MADE OF!
I honestly think Meg Jones has the perfect balance of sport and romance in this series and I consider it's even better because it's not one of the sports we are used to read about, at least not me, and even when I know so little of the sport she managed to make this SOOOO interesting.

I was hooked on the plot for the first book and didn't think the 2nd could be better, and I still don't think I can compare them but they are just too good in their own way.

Ohhhh how I loved to see their relationship developing from acquaintances to friends to veryyy close friends and roommates, to lovers / coach+athlete. They gave us tension, they gave us angst, they gave us slow burn and the chemistry between them? CHEF'S KISS!!!!

I do have to say even though Dylan was so stubborn and had so many things to work through, her journey and seeing how Oliver helped her to find her joy and passion while falling in love was absolutely fantastic.

AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE TWILIGHT REFERENCES, because I almost took a star off this review automatically when Oliver said he was team Jacob 😩.

To top these amazing stories, THEY HAVE THE BEST PLAYLISTS!!! I haven't stopped listening to Clean Point's playlist, loooooved the selection for this one too!!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Avon, Harper Voyager and Meg Jones for this ARC ✨

Game Point by Meg Jones
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An absolute joy to read—Dylan and Oliver’s story was everything I hoped for and more! Dylan remained true to who she was from book one, but her growth was clear from the very beginning and carried beautifully through to the end. I loved that she was never watered down; her strength and authenticity stayed intact. And Oliver? He saw all of her—every bold, brilliant part—and fell in love because of it, not in spite of it. Just perfect.

It was also such a treat to revisit Scottie and Nico and the rest of their tight-knit tennis family. This book was the perfect escape, full of heart, fun, and excellent character development. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

2.5 ⭐

Thank you to HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoyed Game Point, so I was excited and intrigued to dive into Dylan’s story. The concept of this book had a lot of promise, but unfortunately, the execution didn’t quite deliver for me.

The pacing felt uneven, with a particularly slow start. The story didn’t really pick up until the second half, and by then, I had started to lose interest in the characters and where this was going to go. While I appreciated the deeper look into Dylan’s struggles as a professional tennis player who’s been outcasted and constantly scrutinised by the media, I found it difficult to connect with her. Whether it was her standoffish attitude or her resistance to support from those around her, she often came across as arrogant and prickly, which made emotional investment a challenge.

As for the male main character, Oliver, he was intriguing in theory. Recently divorced, navigating retirement, and dealing with panic attacks— he had the potential for a compelling arc, but unfortunately, he felt secondary, as a main character. HOW? I don't know. The story’s heavy focus on Dylan made Oliver feel like a supporting character in his own narrative. Honestly, the book might have flowed more naturally if it had been told entirely from Dylan’s perspective.

The writing is good, and I did find the tennis knowledge to be enjoyable, as a fan of Wimbledon myself, but characters felt underdeveloped in some parts, and the plot, equally, felt disjointed, just with the overall pacing and the narrative. Overall, this one had a strong premise and moments of potential but didn’t fully land for me.

★ ★ ★ ★

Thank you NetGalley, Avon, Harper Voyager, and author Meg Jones for the eArc! ♡

Dylan Bailey excels at coming in second place, but she’s one more runner-up trophy away from a breakdown. Oliver Anderson is divorced and looking forward to retirement… kind of? The two connect and rekindle passion for the sport, competition, and love. Can Dylan battle her inner thoughts enough to not crack in the finals? Can Oliver find a reason to do… anything that brings him joy? Will two professional athletes learn how to cook, or will they continue to somehow burn & also undercook chicken at the same time? PLEASE pick up this book to find out.

Slow-burn, friends to lovers, and YEARNING from across the globe. They text and facetime all day long because they can’t get enough of each other. Cupid is shooting arrows at them and they are very professionally dodging them… until they aren’t.

I loved this so much that I put it down before the last chapter and waited a day because I didn’t want the happy chemicals gone!

᳂ player x coach
᳂ strangers to friends to lovers
᳂ and they were ROOMMATES
᳂ “just one night”
᳂ therapy & journaling together
᳂ yearning for days
᳂ slow-ish burn

Fun tennis themed story! I did not read book 1 in this series, so learning that Dylan was the villian of book 1 really has me reaching for Clean Point next :) Plus, I did not feel lost at all while reading, and love that you don't need to read book 1 for context. Although Dylan was stubborn at times, I felt for her and related to her inner struggles. If you enjoy tennis, I would highly recommend you read this book!

ahh i really enjoyed this book! there are not enough tennis romances in this world, and we have meg jones to fill that hole.

i loved the first book of this series so much, and this was truly a great follow up! i think the first one still holds a place in my heart, but i love a misunderstood heroine and dylan brought that in spades. i loved the friends to lovers aspect even though that's not always my favorite trope, but it worked in this case. dylan needed a friend first and a lover second, so i felt like it was appropriate for their relationship to develop that way and really establish that trust!

nothing to say about oliver except i love that man

Yay, tennis romance enjoyers rejoice! If you're like me and seeking more sports romances where both partners play sports, you'll enjoy this one. The tennis was well done and pretty accurate, which I think my fellow tennis lovers will appreciate. The romance was lovely, featuring a fiery FMC and grumpy but sweet MMC. I will be reading more by Meg Jones!

Another solid 3 star read. Like this was good but that’s it, just good. This was my first tennis romance & I lovedddd that part of it. I need to read more.

It just felt like a long read even tho it wasn’t?

I love angry little Dylan & I just wanted to give her a hug more than half the time. Oliver is a sweet boy. The romance just felt? Not platonic? But not intense? Idk how to explain it more.

You’ll enjoy the read, I think this would be a good in between/ in a slump book to read!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager & Net Galley for an eARC! Review & opinions are honest & my own!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and HarperVoyager, and Meg Jones for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Publication Date: September 9th, 2025

Meg Jones has this way of writing her characters with such depth and such emotion that it feels like they are leaping off the page and straight into your soul. I said it about Clean Point and I’ll say it again, this book has HEART. Both times, I have gone into Meg’s books expecting to have a lovely time, and both times I have had a lovely time AND unearthed an absolute gem of a love story that leaves me feeling healed and hopeful and happy.

Dylan and Oliver. My babies. What can I say about them that can express what they actually mean to me? The way they love each other—it is the actual definition of “to be loved is to be seen” because their understandings of the other and how it leads them to be the most supportive, caring partner is ridiculously heartwarming. Much like Scottie and Nico, their love makes them better people, for themselves and for others, and that really, truly is the best love story. Their relationship develops so naturally and beautifully, and the healing they offer each other through their unconditional love is just as healing for the reader. I am so attached to them both that I actually cheered, out loud, for the ending.

Truly one of my favorite reads of 2025. Dylan and Oliver will join Scottie and Nico in sticking with me for years to come.

Here’s to never expecting to cry in a tennis romance and Meg making me do it TWICE

Reading this during Wimbledon was honestly a vibe.
I'm going with 2.5/5. I really liked the tennis atmosphere that the author created with the different players, tournaments, etc. The meet-cute was fun as well. The main thing that I didn't really enjoy was the pacing. I feel like things got going about 50% of the way through the book and don't get me wrong. I love a slow burn, but I just didn't like the progression of this one.
Thank you so much to Avon, Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for the e-arc!!

3.5 Stars

This is a sweet, friends-to-lovers, tennis romance. Dylan and Oliver are both tennis stars - Dylan holds the record for most Grand Slam final appearances with zero wins. She can’t seem to get out of her own head and is constantly focusing on her failures. Oliver has one Grand Slam under his belt, but he’s beginning to lose his hunger for competition. He and Dylan meet one night at a party and become friends, and Oliver starts to help Dylan believe in herself.

This is a dual POV novel, but it’s really Dylan’s story. I’m sure Dylan will be a polarizing FMC, but I actually quite liked how flawed she was. She was frustrating to read at times, but I still found myself rooting for her and understanding where she was coming from.

I enjoyed how Dylan and Oliver’s relationship grew over time as friends first. The author does a great job in showing how sometimes two people just have a connection right away, and it was fun seeing how this transitioned from friends to more. I prefer to see a bit more angst and tension, so while I didn't feel as much chemistry between Dylan and Oliver as I would have hoped, I still liked their sweet romance. It also would have been nice to see more of a narrative arc for Oliver beyond his support of Dylan. He is facing a career crossroads at the beginning of the novel, and while he does end up going from Point A to Point B (I’m keeping it vague so as not to spoil anything), it’s explored rather superficially which led to his character feeling underdeveloped.

This was my first tennis romance, and I loved the tennis aspects of this book, the descriptions of the matches and the focus on both the physical and mental strength to be a top athlete in the sport. And I was pleasantly surprised to read about characters who were happily childfree (this is not a spoiler as this comes up with one of the characters super early on). Most HEAs include MCs who want children, and it was cool to see representation for characters who want a different future.

This is the second book in a series, technically an interconnected standalone, but the details of the first book are mentioned a lot throughout this book including some that I assume are spoilers, so just a heads up for anyone who hasn’t read Clean Point yet (like me!).

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the advance copy

This was a cute tennis sports romance. Dylan wins a lot of tennis matches but can't seem to close out in the finals of a Grand Slam. She's ready to hang it up but fellow pro Oliver encourages her to keep at it, even going so far as to betting her his own U.S. Open Trophy if she loses. He starts coaching her and their slow-burn friendship morphs into an attraction even as they both rediscover their love for the sport.

I thought this was really cute but I didn't realize that it was the second in a duo. It did seem like there were things relevant from the first book so I would highly recommend reading that first. If I had known, I would have read it first and I think it would have made more sense. The only thing I didn't quite get was her wanting his own trophy. It didn't make a lot of sense to me if it wasn't one she had won herself but overall this was a cute tennis romance.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for the ARC.

4.5 ⭐️What a delicious surprise! Perfect for fans of Carrie Soto is back but wished it was sexier. I immediately fell in love with Dylan & Oliver. Their chemistry had me hanging on every word! This kind of sports romance with the FMC athlete is chef’s 💋. The 🌶️ was perfect & well done! This was my first Meg Jones read and I am immediately going back for more. The first chapter had me worried when the US Open court was described as having grass. It’s a hard court! But this book absolutely ate & left no crumbs. I loved the story and would love to read more about them in future tennis stories! Thank you for the ARC, I am an official Meg Jones fan!

3 stars! I really enjoyed the first in the series, 'Clean Point', especially as I've been devouring Wimbledon and the fun little romance rumors popping up (Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz anyone?!). This is the second in the series and felt much too long. We didn't really seem to start the story (or the romance) until about halfway through, which feels silly for a fun summer tennis romance.

To give Meg Jones the credit she deserves, she does a brilliant job writing about tennis and the world of professional tennis players! Will definitely keep reading the series!