Reading this book has been a joy. I feel that most of the time, when I start a book and don’t binge read it (due to having a busy life, not the book itself), I frequently never finish it, but that was not the case with Pick Me. It very quickly became a comfort read for me, and I will miss spending time in Brooke and Owen’s world. I’m not sure if this is the most addicting and intense book I’ve ever read, but it doesn’t have to be. I enjoyed seeing the evolution of Brooke and her understanding of romantic relationships, even as a romance writer. Which, speaking of, was another part that I enjoyed. While for some people it may not be their cup of tea, as someone who is playing around with the idea of writing a book, it was nice to have as such a central part of the story. Particularly because I am learning that when you start writing a book you are passionate about, it can quickly dominate your thoughts.

Overall, if you're looking for a book to read when life gets hectic and you need a nice place to escape for a little while, I recommend picking up this book.

Sloooow burn and times I was yelling at Brooke for being so dumb with Owen. But I enjoyed the concept and haven't read a pickleball book yet so that was fun

I did think it was strange Brooke didn't ask Owen any questions about his life and just let him be so vague

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

First, this is one of if not the best modern clinch covers I’ve ever seen.

Second, this slow burn, fake dating sporty romance is lighthearted and enjoyable.

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

Brooke is an author that needs to find a new muse as she is struggling to finish a book after heartbroken from a breakup. When playing pickleball, she ‘meets’ Kai and is instantly determined to make him her new muse. She wants to impress Kai with her pickleball skills..which are nonexistent. She enlists the help of a pickleball coach Owen, to learn how to play pickleball, woe Kai, and finish her book. What she wasn’t expecting was finding her muse elsewhere.

This was my first book by this author, and I absolutely loved it. Pickleball is very on trend right now, so it was fun to read it in a romance book- it is the first one I have seen out there. I really loved Brooke and her character development throughout her pickleball lessons with Owen, as well as, their relationship dynamic. Owen is top tier- I was going to reach through the book and slap Brooke if she didn’t wake up!

Highly recommend!

This book was adorable. I really enjoyed the unusual aspect of Pickleball. It is not a sport. I knew I would like reading, but it was cute. I would say a solid 3.5 stars. The story was really enjoyable. I read through it pretty quickly and honestly, my biggest problem was is. I didn’t feel like they had enough conversations to really fall in love even though it was kind of a longer book if they would’ve had just maybe a few more I think it would make sense, but it was just almost way too quickly for the situation that they were in cause honestly, most of them being together were conversations regarding His Pickleball training. Other than that, I really did enjoy the characters. I didn’t find them disheartening in anyway. I just feel like she had more conversations with the other dude than she did with him.

ARC Review

I picked up this book because I thought it would be a juicy and fun sports romance, but it fell short for me. I didn’t love it or hate it, I just read it. It honestly took me two weeks to get nearly halfway through because I was bored and knew what was going to happen (overall).

Kai’s part in the book wasn’t really prominent until the climax and I didn’t like the third-act conflict. However, I did enjoy Brooke and Owen’s relationship from the start, even if it was just student and coach.

Thank you NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager Publishing for letting me read for free, in return for my honest review!!

This was such a sweet romance story! The setting is perfect for summer time. The romance is so cute!

This book was such a pleasant surprise—it truly exceeded my expectations. It was my first time reading anything by this author, and she absolutely did not disappoint. Her writing is engaging, heartfelt, and full of emotional nuance, and I’ll definitely be picking up more of her work.

The story itself was incredibly sweet, with just the right balance of depth and charm. What really stood out to me were the unexpected turns the plot took—I was surprised by the direction at least three separate times, which kept the experience fresh and captivating from start to finish.

It’s the kind of book that sneaks up on you in the best way—warm, smart, and a little unconventional. Don’t skip this one—it’s absolutely worth the read.

I picked this book because the cover was cute - It was the ultimate rom-com feel good of the Summer. Overall, I enjoyed the story but it was slow at times and it was hard to really like the FMC. It was my first book by Victoria and I will definitely look at what else she has . Thank you for the early copy!

Honestly not my favorite romcom but fun enough. I liked the premise a lot and it was pretty well written. I just didn’t vibe with the characters so I didn’t care what happened in the end.

I loooooved this absolutely adorable slow burn romance. Owen is a perfect golden retriever man and the main character drove you just enough crazy - not making you mad but definitely keeping you turning the page. I couldn’t put it down and it’s perfect for the summertime!

I really enjoyed this romance! First, the pickleball angle was new and different, but not so loaded with jargon that a newbie couldn’t understand. I liked the FMC a lot because she was honest - sometimes to the point where I wanted to be like “Girl this doesn’t embarrass you?” And NOPE she just kept going. But the romance between her and Owen was really cute and I super enjoyed it. The smut scenes were good, but y’all come back to me after the dessert dinner - I had myself FANNING. Overall, this is my fav pickleball romance I’ve read (and I’ve done a few!) and one of the better new romances coming out for 2025!

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. What I thought would be mainly of pickleball, was more like a story splashed with pickleball 😂

City, cowboys, hamptons, sports, romance, and the MC is a writer. It had a little bit of everything, but the romance was so cute!

I absolutely loved both MCs.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

I enjoyed the pickle ball focus of this book. I thought it was cute for a romance and a fun way to bring two characters together. I am, however, really not a fan of love triangles. And although this was maybe a possibility in my mind after having read the synopsis, I was hopeful that the the plot would not take us in that direction. Since it did, I was unfortunately disappointed.

3.5 stars

As a romance author, Brooke knows quite a bit about a meet cute and what the most romantic stories are made of. After a chance encounter at on pickleball court, she is determined to impress her new crush by learning how to play and enlists the help of a local pickleball coach. Behind the Adam Sandler-style basketball shorts and ratty t-shirts, could the romantic hero of her story be hiding in Owen instead of her assumed knight-in-shining-athleisure across the court?

Utterly realistic to what modern dating looks and feels like today, Pick Me is a great example of what happens when a romance enthusiast tries to orchestrate her own story. Full of laugh out loud moments, Victoria Schade has written a sweet story that reminds readers that not all romance heroes are the perfectly sculpted big shot billionaires.

We follow Brooke, a romance ghost writer who begins playing pickleball to try to get over her writers block. She starts taking lessons from, Owen, a coach at the local pickleball club to try to get inspiration from her new muse, Kai. Eventually, Owen and Brooke find themselves falling for each other making Brooke realize she didn't need a muse after all.

I hadn't read a pickleball romcom before so this was a cute pallet cleanser. Overall, I would rate is 3 stars.

Thank you NetGalley & Avon and Harper for giving me this ARC!

I just read this all in one sitting. I love the banter, the distrust, the ultimate romance and the burning sexual tension in between. So maybe giving pickleball sports romance a chance was a good choice?

I hadn’t read a pickleball romance before I picked up Pick Me, but I absolutely am going to read more now! Sports romances are some of my favorites, and this book is an easy add to that list. Brooke and Owen’s dynamic on the court is so real, and I loved his gentle but firm coaching style. It felt so true to who he is as a character!

Brooke, as a ghost writer, is highly relatable to me. Her search for inspiration in others is toooooo real, and it made her an easy character to understand. I loved seeing her realize the inspiration was not coming from her crush, but from Owen & the way Owen treated her. It felt so true and fitting for Brooke as a character!

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a very real romance and the characters were so perfect together. Brooke and Owen are a couple I would love to hang out with, and I may have to try pickleball now… though like Brooke, I fear it may be an uphill battle at first!!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read and review this book! I received a free advance copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was so stinking cute! I apparently love a good pickleball romance! This has me laughing out loud so much!!! It has romance writing, humor, heat and all the pickleball references you could ever want! It was such a cute sporty romance! Great for a summer read too!

-3.75 Stars-

"I'll wait for you, as long as it takes."

I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome of this book. See, at the beginning I had my doubts because the way the first one or two chapters were written felt rough. But then I got deeper into the story, got to know the characters, and I enjoyed it so much. There's something so warm about this book. Something so relatable, and when you find a romance novel that's relatable who truly does something to the heart strings.

No, this isn't a masterpiece. And no, it's not so fantastical but it was good. The romance was sweet, though it felt slow at time, and nothing felt half-attempted. Victoria Shade knew what she was talking about in the pickleball lessons, she knew what she was talking about in the horse scene, and she knew how to describe the struggles of a writer. And I really liked that, because that isn't always the case.

However, though there's lots to praise that doesn't mean this was all cupcakes and rainbows. As I stated before the beginning wasn't very hooking. To be completely honest it felt as though dialogue had been written and then descriptive paragraphs were put in to fill space. And that was in a way, disappointing. The writing style did improve though early after (maybe somewhere around the second more likely third chapter) so it didn't last long, but it still was there.

But ANYWAYS, moving onto the couple of the hour....
╰┈➤ ❝ 𝓑𝓻𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓮 & 𝓞𝔀𝓮𝓷 ❞
Let's just give a moments to them hehe:
"Do you remember what you asked me at our first lesson?"
"I'm sure I asked you a lot of stupid questions, so take your pick."
"You asked me if I'd ever had an immediate reaction to a person. A 'bam' connection, I think you called it...I need you to know I had the reaction when I first saw you."

Ugh, they were actually really cute. I mean the way Owen consistently, from the very beginning, cared for her and wanted the best for her was very heart warming. They weren't over the top and they didn't stand out, they were real. (I feel like that word is going to come up a lot in this review because it perfectly describes this book AND the way it makes you feel). And that's what made them special. The fact that their case, story, didn't seem SO impossible; that their emotions weren't dramatized made it all so much sweeter. I mean they never even technically said "I love you", but they didn't need to. They said with actions, with the unspoken words, and that was enough. Much like in real word scenarios. They don't need words to explain or reason what they feel, they just feel it.

He helped her get out of her head, he was ALWAYS there for her, and that was something she needed without even knowing. He was everything she needed and more, it just took her a little while to figure out it was him and not Kai. And by a little while I mean a WHOLE LOTTA WHILE. And then when they finally followed through their happiness lasted for about a chapter and then it ended and that was just so deflating. I would've loved to see more of their time together before their breakup but other than that (and how excruciatingly long I had to wait for them to finally 'get together') they were nice.

*AHEM*
Mr. Owen Miller
»----► "You have my heart, Brooke. Since the very first moment I saw you."
Oh honey, we could tell.

This man was head over heels in love with Brooke before he even knew her name. And that's not even an exaggeration. He truly did fall in love at first sight with this girl, and it was obvious. But it was obvious in a cute way. He kind of gave off the vibe of that one Notting hill scene where Julia Roberts is standing in his book store and says: "I'm just a girl standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her." Obviously Owen didn't say anything like that -like at ALL- for some reason I got the same from him as I got from that scene.

He did everything he could for her because he wanted her to have what she wanted. THAT'S how much he cared.

Now, he's not my type in a man and he wasn't what I expected but I grew to love him. Not as a book boyfriend, but as a character. As him. He didn't make me swoon, he made me smile.
He was precious in a boy-ish way, and I like that :)

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Now enter
↳ Brooke Murphy ༉‧₊˚✧
Our cutesy writing queen.
She was honestly so relatable, I saw my own personality in her. (Which is why at time I felt embarrassed FOR her, because I felt LIKE her). There were moments where she either annoyed me because she kept mentioning how she's not athletic (like girl, it comes to a point), and then there were moments where I frustrated with her because I wanted her to realize Kai wasn't who her muse was Owen was! She eventually realized it, and I was very proud of her :)

But anyways, back to her character. I'm going to be completely honest, there were moments where she was just utterly delusional. (Can't protest though because as hopeless romantics aren't we all?) I specifically noticed it when she was talking about Kai and referred to him as her future husband. It was at that moment that I knew, she was me and I loved her character. She was so simple, chill, and fun while also showing the complexities and difficulties of a writer and just a girl in love. It was wonderful.

<><><>

Overall, this was a really cute and quick read. The feels were fun and happy, and if you're looking for a nice rom-com add this to your tbr :)