4 stars ⭐️ Such a cute read!! I loved Pickleball coach Owen! This book made me so giddy I was smiling the whole time!

Thank you for NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC. All opinions are my own 🫶🏼

3.5 stars. I wasn’t going to get this book because I play pickleball and I did not want to read a book that got it wrong. A lot of people think pickleball is lame and “oh tennis is a real sport and pickleball isn’t” blah blah blah blah. But I was pleasantly surprised at how much the pickleball dynamic in this book matches my own community in Oklahoma. You have your uppity pickleball club where everyone over 4.0 plays and newbies are terrified. You have your community centers and parks where older people and newbies play. There are some pickleball douche bags that take it way too seriously and coach you on the court and make you want to rip your hair out and then you have the most pleasant and caring people EVER who become family. So the pickleball stuff? Great. It was a happy little time for me. I was genuinely terrified that this 2.0 heroine was going to somehow magically become a 4.0 player within a month, which would have been a no go for me. It took me two years and hundreds and hundreds of hours of open play and lessons and drills to play at a 4.0 level and it would’ve made my head explode. So I was happy to see the heroine play at a 3.0 level after a solid month of hard work.

Also I was DYING when Brooke suggests that she just play open play with her pickleball crush and Owen had to let her know that was never gonna happen. Pickleball snobbery is real! 🤣 That 4.0 dude isn’t interested in slumming it with a beginner loooool. As someone who only got into pickleball so I could be good enough to play competitively with my husband, I get it. It’s not fun to just get my ass handed to me on the court and it’s not fun to play with someone who sucks. I have high hopes for Brooke to get to a 4.0 level someday and be able to play with her man. It really is the best.

Anyway enough blabbering about pickleball. The romance in this book is alright. Didn’t love it, but also didn’t hate it. Love triangle-esque was pretty grating to me towards the end. I mean OBVS she isn’t really into this Kai guy, why is she trying to convince herself she is? Why were we torturing ourselves with this? It was very obvious from the beginning that Owen was instalove into Brooke and Brooke is INTO OWEN. But also I enjoyed some happy kisses and hugs. And also pickleball made me confront daddy issues too???? Ughhhhhh whyyyy, so I did like Owen being a therapist on the court lol.

Overall, it was good and pickleball rules.

This was an ARC, review is my own.

Pick Me by Victoria Schade is an upcoming romance that is set to release on November 18th or 2025. The novel follows Brooke Murphy, a ghost writer, who dreams of one day having her own name on one of her books. Lately Brook has been struggling to write, so she started a say yes campaign. Now Brook says yes to anything offered to her. This leads to her trying out pickleball at this prestigious club. Since Brook finds sports unpleasant she's rather bad at pickleball. She finds the rules confusing and just does not get the sport. After accidentally sending her ball flying onto another court she meets Owen Miller. A pickleball coach. Owen offers to give Brook lessons for FREE!! And because of her say yes campaign she agrees. As the story goes on Brooke and Owen become good friends and that soon transfers into more than friends.
I personally did not enjoy it, for I felt that the romance was a little off and some things did not make sense from my perspective. However I do think the pickleball aspect was really well done. Seeing Brook progress over time and not being good at it right away was refreshing. I always love characters that are authors, so a lot of mixed feelings with this book. Overall Pick Me is a delightful and fun read, perfect if you're into pickleball.

Pick Me is cute, clever, and laugh-out-loud funny! I never knew what was coming next—in the best way! Brooke and Owen have a wonderful love story, and I had a great time getting to their HEA.

This book is a total rom-com gem—witty, sexy, and packed with chemistry both on and off the pickleball court.

We follow Brooke Murphy, a cowboy romance ghostwriter whose love life (and writing mojo) has flatlined after a breakup. Enter a hilariously misguided plan: join a mixed doubles pickleball game to impress a hot stranger and score some real-life inspiration for her next book.

The catch? Brooke is the least athletic person alive.

That’s where Owen Miller comes in. He’s grumpy, sarcastic, oddly dressed (flip-flops and a bucket hat, anyone?), and one of the city’s best players. He agrees to coach her—and what starts as a quirky favor turns into full-on romantic tension with every dink, lob, and eye roll.

✨ What I loved:
• Brooke is relatable, chaotic, and laugh-out-loud funny
• Owen is the ultimate unexpected book boyfriend—grumpy, low-key hot, and secretly soft
• The banter is elite, the chemistry sizzles, and the sports romance twist is fresh and fun
• If you love grumpy x sunshine, forced proximity, and a good old-fashioned slow burn, this delivers

Thank you Netgalley, Avon & Harper Voyager Publishing and author Victoria Schade for an ARC in exchange for my honest review !

This is my first Victoria Schade Book and it was a very cute read. I feel like I can go play some pickleball now haha! I don’t know nothing about pickleball so I don’t know if it’s all accurate but if it is, Author Victoria Schade did her research!

In this book you have Brooke who is an author in a writing slump and hits up a pickleball court with her friend where she forms this crush on a guy named Kai and he is instantly her new muse for her book. Brooke learns she isn’t very coordinated or good at pickleball and gets Owen; a pickleball coach to coach her and get the attention of Kai. But we all know where this leads. A good ol love triangle.
Who will end up being Brooke’s muse? Kai, the man she had ‘BooM’ insta-lust connection with ? Or Owen, the man she least expected. 😉 find out in November !

A very breezy, fun read with lots of laughs. I'm usually hesitant to read love triangles, but this one was handled in a way that felt digestible and relatively painless.

There's an unexpected wave of pickleball and Victora dives into full throttle. It's a nice blend but predictable at times with room for expansion and emotional growth. It's charming and pulls you into a sport that's still growing in public recognition.

Overall 3.5 stars! Thank you Avon for the digital arc.

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

3.5 stars

Owen (MMC) is a pickleball coach who helps Brooke (FMC) to impress her crush while he starts to fall for her.. He's a "grump" but soft for her and offers her free lessons only for the sole purpose of spending time with her. I thought this was a cute and easy read. I felt like Owen was written perfectly by book boyfriend standards, but I wasn't a massive fan of Brooke. I feel like the "love triangle"/Kai storyline went on a little too long and would have liked Schade to focus more on Owen and Brooke. Lastly, I also would have loved Owen's POV as I feel like he was the stronger written character.

Read if you like:
- Grumpy x sunshine
- He falls first
- Single POV
- Sports romance

Pick up this book!! I've never played pickle ball but this book had me mentally taking notes to "push" not "swing" during a dink if I ever did find myself on a court. I was completely enthralled. I loved the evolution we see in Brooke from a lack of confidence in herself (in various areas of her life) to completely owning things. Bonus: Owen may officially be my favorite out of all of Victoria Schade's leading men. I loved him! Overall, this is a book I definitely recommend for those who love romance (and sports -- though you don't need to love sports to love this book)!

Pick Me was a delightful romance about gaining confidence in yourself. I related to Brooke a lot, she felt very stuck in life and wanting to do something but not really believing in herself and sticking to what’s safe. I also liked that while she was a bit oblivious (obviously Owen liked her) she wasn’t annoyingly oblivious. Owen was doing a really good job of giving some mixed signals but playing his cards very close to his chest. Owen felt like a fully realized person and every bit of information we got out of him made me want to know more. All the side characters were super fun, and felt like three dimensional characters. I fully expected Kai to turn into some kind of horrible person but it was refreshing for him to actually just be the wrong guy for her without being some monster. Brooke’s brother’s fiancée kinda came out of no where which was my only real critique. Overall I will highly recommend and can’t wait to read it again.

I was skeptical about this book at first but once I got into it I could not put it down.
I feel like parts of their relationship moved a little too fats once they got into it but I loved this book. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

First, I want to say, I know nothing about Pickleball. After reading this, I know just a little, but you do not need to know anything to thoroughly enjoy this book. This is a single point of view story about someone finding themselves again. Brooke was heartbroken after a recent breakup and feels this leads to her writer's block. Little did she know, a little good coaching would lead her in the right direction. Owen is a perfect counterpoint to Brooke; he is patient and calm, while she feels confused and erratic. This is a slow-burn, and the payoff is well worth the wait. I loved how Brooke found herself and took responsibility for her mistakes. I liked how their relationship developed from friends to lovers, it gave depth to their relationship. This is a well-written story, full of hope, empathy, redemption, and love. I had such a good time reading this book. Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

4 stars.
This was a cute book. MCs are readers (who doesn't love that?!), ex-tennis pro, pickleball coach, romance writer (ghost writer).
I liked that this was a new and different setting and concept. It was unique.
Our FMC, Brooke, is the ghost romance writer. She is in a writing slump since her breakup and needs to get back into the game! She ends up deciding she needs to learn Pickleball, where she meets a coach and a cute guy she wants to impress.
MMC - Owen. The Pickleball coach is going to help Brooke impress a cute player. He takes his job seriously and the sport. Our grumpy, but actually a teddy bear, MMC, gives Brooke lessons for free just so he can see her. I love Owen.
The love story between Brooke and Owen is so charming and sweet. There is humor, sexual tension, and a charming relationship.
The characters were well-developed. I was able to connect with Brooke for the most part - I did feel that the heartbreak over the 4-month relationship that ended at the beginning was a little bit dramatic and unrealistic, but who am I to judge - lol. Owen was so perfectly written, again, I LOVED him. I do think the dynamic with Kai was drawn out and continued for too long, maybe that was me, but it started getting on my nerves when Brooke continually brought him up to Owen.
The plot was structured well. Some of the pacing was a bit slow in some areas, but the author recovers.
The book is written in Brooke's POV, and I loved this; it just works so well in this plot structure.
This is a fun, quick, and sweet read. Perfect for a Fall TBR.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!
Happy Reading!

Checking a pickleball book off of my sports romance list! ✔️

Brooke, a romance ghost writer, begins playing pickleball to try and get out of her funk when she spots her new muse, Kai. To impress Kai, she starts taking lessons from Owen. As her lesson go on, the tension slooooowly builds. She gets her HEA in writing and real life.

The story felt a bit rushed and left me unsure if I loved the book or not. Overall I’d give it a 3.5 ⭐️ and 1.5 🌶️. Thank you, NetGalley/Avon and Harper, for the ARC!

This was such a cute and quick read! A book about pickleball is definitely a new one and I found myself really enjoying how the author balanced the sport and the romance without getting too lost for people not really interested in pickleball. I also love how it was explained in simplistic terms making it easy to follow along. The plot was super cute and unique.

I do wish the love triangle aspect wrapped up a bit sooner and that we were able to see the main characters really shot one another a bit longer. I don’t feel like we got to really know them beyond the surface level and sometimes it made it different to connect with the FMC and I found myself wanting to shake her sometimes. Owen was so cute and I was rooting for him the whole time. I love how kind and patient he was with her even when she was so sure her fantasy was what she wanted.

All over this was so fun. It did take me a bit longer to get through but I am looking forward to what this author writes next!

I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager!

I'll admit I was nervous reading a sports romance centered on pickleball, but I'm shocked to report that this was actually sort of cute? I thought the balance between the romance and the sports was very equally yoked and it didn't feel like it was too sports heavy. I also appreciate the way the author gave us the sports in dummy terms and didn't come to the story with the impression that the readers understood what pickleball is.

I thought the characters were well flushed out and their motivations made sense in context of the story. Even though I thought Brooke the fmc was slightly messy, it sort of added up with the chaotic way that her life was going. Owen was very cute as well and I liked how he was just super supportive from the beginning and wasn't so down bad that he allowed Brooke to mistreat him during her messy period.

On that note, I get that Brooke needed to have a reason to get over her writer's block, but I didn't really buy that a 4 month relationship would destroy someone this badly. Like how well do you actually know someone after 4 months? And you're that upset over it that you sabotage a romance for yourself because of it? I guess....

I think the whole Kai thing went on for too long. I get that he was her imaginary muse, but the way she was thirsting over a man she literally had never spoken to for like 70% of the story while ignoring the guy who was clearly in love with in front of her face was starting to grate on me. Almost every time her and Owen would have a moment, she'd bring up Kai and it's like REALLY?????.

Owen had valid reactions to the way Brooke was doing him dirty, especially after the halfway point, but I appreciate that they were both able to see how they were treating each other and course correct without any massive 3rd act miscommunication. Always appreciated lol.

I don't know, this was very sweet. Hate to say it! Owen was supportive of Brooke's writing and her learning a sport, and Brooke was supportive when it came to him coming out of his shell. They felt like a good couple once all the drama was over. It wasn't super steamy which worked well for what they had going on. For once the sex didn't derail the plot and we actually saw the sports lmao.

Overall I liked it. It didn't quite reach holy grail for all the reasons I mentioned, and it didn't really make me want to play pickleball but I would definitely tell my friends to read this lol.

I really enjoyed this book but MAN did I not like the FMC for a majority of it. I didn’t love the love triangle aspect because of Owen’s past and really wanted him to just Be Happy.

This book was a quick read and super fun. The sports aspect was a focus, but didn’t overpower the story. Honestly, it made me want to try my hand at pickleball lol what a disaster that would be. I’m not familiar with pickleball, so I wasn’t critical of the jargon or play like I would have been for a sport I am familiar with.

Full Goodreads review to come.

3.5/5 - super cute, fun, and quick read! I was able to get an ARC! As someone who also recently got into pickleball within the past year i connected with Brooke as a beginner to the sport. When she was talking about her break up with Leo and said, “Leo would know that it wasn't actually my birthday. He'd asked me about the date and then recorded it in his phone, but we'd never shared a November.” that was SO HEARTBREAKINGLY BEAUTIFUL!!!!! perfect way to describe being with not someone for an entire calendar year. I was smiling so hard when her and Owen finally figured their issues out. I was rooting for him the entire time because I knew Kai wouldn’t have lived up to her fantasy of him (not his fault - she set high expectations for essentially a complete stranger). Also I would’ve liked to see more detailed when Owen and Brooke hooked up. I felt like Owen would be a dirty talker and it just seemed short? But I understood there were was so much tension that it was consuming them so they just let their actions do the talking. also Brooke choosing Howard as her pickle ball partner for the tournament??? Adorable!!!! Overall enjoyed this book!

If you're looking for a quick pallet cleanser, look no further! This book was fun, and the Pickleball setting was something different. I could've done with fewer puns, but overall, it was cute. Worth noting that this is not the most emotionally complex book, but was the perfect break from some of the longer books/series I've been reading.

Overall, I would recommend this for someone looking for a fun take on a contemporary romance.

📖 / 4⭐️

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager via NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinions! #PickMe #NetGalley