4.25⭐️ All’s Fair in Love and Pickleball by @katespencer is a very cute sports romance. First time I’ve read a book about Pickleball. The contrast of Niko training from tennis to Pickleball with Bex was very enjoyable. Their banter was solid; and overall, I enjoyed how their relationship grew.

4.5⭐️narration by Mia Hutchinson Shaw. The narration was very engaging, and the pacing of the banter was wonderful. Very much appreciated the broodiness that came through with the narration of Niko.

Niko and Bex have a problem. Niko need help getting back on the courts after a career ending injury. With the help of Bex, he thinks joining a Pickleball tournament might just be the answer. Bex runs a racket club where Niko has been training. The racket club is not doing well and the money that they could win from the tournament would really help. As they begin to train together, many think that they’re dating. However, it seems like things may not be very fake.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and the amazing @hachetteaudio for the advanced listener copy.

Aww this was so much better than I expected!!

This story follows Bex, a woman running her late mom’s racquet club in Arizona/local pickleball coach. She meets one of the member’s nephews, Niko, who is broody and grouchy at first. They start a fake dating scheme that mutually benefits them - to help Niko with his reputation and help Bex raise money to get the club fixed up so she doesn’t have to sell it. Of course, over the course of the story, they fall in love and all works out.

I appreciated the way this author wrote the fake dating and essentially made this a slow burn. Though the couple kissed before the fake dating and you knew they were attracted to each other, it wasn’t focused on too much so it felt slow burn which I loved. The tension this author was able to build between the MCs was palpable. I loooooove when there’s no spice until the tension is high and that’s exactly what this author did.

Overall, this pleasantly surprised me! Def would recommend to anyone who loves a good sports romance. 💘

Okay I was hesitant to read this at first because I thought it was going to be too cheesy based on the title - but this has proved that I should never judge a book based on the title!! I have never played pickle ball, but really want to after reading this book 😂 even if you’ve never played pickle ball or tennis it is easy to get hooked into this book right away because the author does a great job drawing you in with the story! I was rooting for these characters so hard although the MMC was not immediately likable (until we learn more about him & get to see his caringnside), the FMC was amazing from the start and you so badly want to see her succeed! Will be recommending this book! The audiobook narrator was great and engaging as well!

3.75⭐
Such a cute little grumpy/sunshine romcom about a girl who needs to win a pickleball tournament WITH her current rival.

Enjoyed this book alot, especially the banter.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio/Forever for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I have been reading so many hockey romances so it was fun change to have another sport, Pickleball. This was a great story with Bex, who is running her mom's Pickleball club after she passes and the club is struggling. Bex has a life line when she meets, Nick, who is an injured tennis pro and nephew of one of her members.

I enjoyed the fake dating and tension between the two and how they helped each other. The grief journey for Bex was well done and I appreciate they showed us it takes time and love Bex desire to keep her mom's legacy alive.

I always love older characters in stories and this one had plenty of them and they added such fun elements.

Mia Hutchinson Shaw did a great job with the narration and made me want to learn to play pickleball after reading this.

Thank you @readforeverpub @hachetteaudio for a copy of this book.

AUDIO REVIEW:
mia hutchinson shaw was phenomenal on the audio for this book! there are a lot of really comical moments and also some very heavy, emotional moments, and mia voiced each one perfectly in a way that really brought the reader into the moment. i felt so connected to bex - mia made her character become someone i was so invested in and rooting for, almost like a podcast celebrity that i was keeping up with. i wanted bex and nico to win the paddle battle so bad, and while i think i would have felt the same just reading the book, the audio put me in that space even more. 10/10 audio experience.


BOOK REVIEW:
yeah i LOVED!!!!!! this book. so much.

i read my first kate spencer last summer and immediately added her to my -need more from this author- list. when i found out she was writing a pickleball romance, i was downright giddy with excitement. i love pickleball and i love romance and i love kate so like… perfect combo?

all’s fair in love and pickleball was so much fun and i enjoyed every minute. the tension between bex and nico had me locked in from moment one. it was deliciously good. technically not enemies to lovers because the enemies phase was really short but like that energy that makes the tension and yearning hit. i also am gonna fall for fake dating x real feelings every time and they took it to the max. let me just tell y’all… the court scene? GIRL. i was sweatingggg!!!

this story also speaks very poignantly about grief. bex grapples with the loss of her mother even though she’s been gone for some time already and it was beautiful reflection of the power of a mother-daughter relationship. one of the primary points of this book is bex’s desire to keep the club alive even though it is financially struggling because she wants to keep the memory of her mom alive for sunset springs. i thought this was really special and the way it plays in to all the different elements of the plot is really well done.

this was such a fun, sweet, sporty summer read that is perfect for romance lovers. thank you kate spencer and forever for the early copy!

This was a fun one! As a fan of both pickleball and romance, I knew I was going to enjoy this. I think the author Kate Spencer did a good job of blending the two without over doing. it. You could totally read and enjoy this book not knowing anything about pickleball. You were really rooting for Bex and Nico.

All’s Fair in Love and Pickleball
By: Kate Spencer

- enemies-to-teammates-to-lovers
- fake dating
- pickleball club owner/avid player + pro tennis player
- he takes care of her

This was a super cute and original story!! Bex is grieving her mom’s death and trying to keep their pickleball club up & running. Nikolaus is a pro tennis player down on his luck after a meltdown turned injury. The two team up to improve Niko’s image and help raise funds for Bex’s club. Their chemistry is charged & the banter was witty!!! Loved the other characters in to story too!

The narrator was great and managed to voice all the characters well!

Content warning: loss of parent, grief, illness

Thank you to NetGalley & the author for access to this ARC in return for my honest review!

I originally saw this book at a romance bookstore and it stuck out as an original concept - pickleball! In a world of hockey romances! It feels more accessible than your average pro sport romance, given I've actually played pickleball. And it's indeed a very accessible romance, although it doesn't elevate much beyond that.

3.5 Stars rounded up! I love Kate Spencer's writing and enjoyed this book. I liked learning more about Pickleball, loved the FMC and like the story of the community that surrounded them. It felt a little insta-love for me but it was a fun summer romance to read!

I love a sports romance that actually features the sport, so I was excited to see Kate’s take on the pickleball trend. I really enjoyed the idea of a tennis star learning pickleball and I’m always here for fake dating, but this one failed to fully hook me. I’ll definitely read whatever Kate writes next, but this one wasn’t for me.

The narration, however, was a slam dunk (or whatever the pickleball equivalent would be). Mia did a great job with this one and really brought Bex to life. I particularly loved how she captured Bex’s emotions.

Thank you to Hachette Audio for the ALC. All thoughts are my own.

Pickleball rivalry? I'm here for it. Falling for your fake boyfriend? I'm here for that too!

I loved this audiobook. it was such as fun sports romance with elements of emotion and support that boosted the storyline while being relatable. Bex struggles on a greater level with the potential loss of her club because she would also lose a piece of her mom along with it. I also really liked the characters and found the choice of pickleball to be refreshing as a sport of choice for this book. The audio was enjoyable to listen too. I got lost in the story and it was an easy listen. I highly recommend this one in any format.

I have never played pickleball, and I never intend to. I have zero interest in any sports involving rackets. Please explain to me why I was so invested in this romance between a racketball club owner struggling to keep things afloat and an injured tennis pro hoping to make a comeback. This was great.

This was such a satisfying romance novel. Give it a read for fake dating, he fall’s first, an underdog business, big dink energy (pickleball pun), and social media savvy elderly pickleball players.

This was a very high 4 stars for me and so close to a five stars! There were just a few things that held it back from being a five stars but this book was the perfect summer read and definitely made me want to pick up a pickleball racket.

What I loved:
-The grump and sunshine trope (I loved how Katie Spencer did this trope, The FMC was funny and I loved the banter between her and the MMC. The MMC was the perfect mix of grump, attractive, and caring)
-The way the author discussed grief, it was realistic and genuine
-I loved the side characters, It was giving Golden Girls and I loved every single one of them

What made it not a 5 stars for me:
-The last few chapters (I thought the last arc breakup was rushed/unnecessary)
-I was also disappointed we didn't see or read about the main thing we talked about and trained for the entire book

Easy-listening Sporty Romance

Having heard a lot of good things (and a few bad) about All's Fair in Love and Pickleball and always having been curious about this new kind of sport (I come from a country where pickleball decidedly is not a thing), I wanted to give this novel a go and it did not disappoint!

Bex has inherited her parents' racket club and is trying her best not to let it run into the ground, teaching pickleball, renting tennis courts out and even cleaning the club house (where she also lives) all by herself. But the courts aren't in the best of conditions and the local competition has been picking up ever since pickleball picked up in popularity. Enter Nikolaus Karras, nephew of one of her regulars and former tennis pro looking to make his comeback. Oh, and he also hates pickleball. What could possibly go wrong?

Kate Spencer's newest single-POV novel is read by Mia Hutchinson Shaw, who does a simply marvellous job! I thoroughly enjoyed her narration and great pacing, I tore through the audiobook in no time. It was also great company on my morning runs, very motivating!

Bex as the lead character is your typical quirky, colourful, hard-working and slightly (very) horny mid-twenties girl. While the quirkiness and her utter inability to ask for help (or accept it) felt overdone and like much I'd read before, her POV made this book unputdownable. Niko as her frenemy is less of the tall-and-brooding type and more of a very particular man with very particular mannerisms, which was refreshing.
Together, they are very likeable and great chemistry develops, especially against the backdrop of Californian desert asphalt tennis and pickelball courts.
A special shout out to the side characters, who were absolutely sweet and not your usual gaggle of same-age support friends.

What fell a bit flat for me were the villains, if you want to call them that. Having a British guy stereotyped as an asshole is nothing new and I found that to be too predictable (try making a Frenchman the bad guy? or a Spaniard? I want variety!), same with Bex' greatest competitor. I think villains can have some depth to them - that usually makes their betrayals and awfulness even worse.,

Overall a great romance read not only for sports fans but for anyone looking for a sweet, gripping romance with actual stakes and a wee bit of spice.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC.

This was such a cute story & the perfect summer read! Bex & Niko are forced in to a fake dating scenario (with all of the banter) and pair up for a pickleball tournament to win money to restore Bex's tennis club, which she inherited from her mother. While this is a rom-com, it also touched on several deeper themes such as grief & loss.

I really related to Bex's character in several ways, which connected me more to the story. Kate Spencer did a great job representing the ways ADHD can show up in the daily life of women. I recognized several habits that I engage in regularly. I also related to Bex's sense of duty to keep the club running and wanting to do whatever it takes to succeed.

Loretta was one of my favorite parts of the story, who even gets a love story of her own. I adore stories where older characters play a primary role with the younger main characters (such as Happily Never After by Lynn Painter). As most of the pickleball players at the club are older, Bex spends most of her time around them and even joins their book club.

The only major issue I had with the story was the third act breakup. I find them annoying in general, but the conflict for this one was so minor that it was extra frustrating.

Audiobook length: 9h 25m
Narrator: Mia Hutchinson Shaw

Mia Shaw did a wonderful job narrating multiple characters, and I felt immersed in the story while listening.

Thank you to Forever & Hachette Audio for providing me with copies of this book. This review is voluntary, and all opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 stars
• bex is struggling to keep the racquet club business she inherited from her mother afloat. but when niko, a former tennis “bad boy,” shows up at the club, and offers her a deal, she can’t help but say yes. the pair enter a fake-dating plot, hoping to win some prize money in a doubles tournament, and also generate some good press to get niko back in the spotlight. will the doubles partners end up becoming something more real?
• i actually had a lot of fun with this, despite its relatively cheesy & predictable set up. i thought bex & niko had some fun banter moments, and it was refreshing to see some open communication between them both throughout the book.
• while the ending was really sweet with the entire club rallying together for bex, it all wrapped up pretty quickly. would have loved a longer conclusion.

All’s Fair in Love and Pickleball is a fun, bubbly rom-com with a refreshing twist. The rivalry between pickleball and tennis brings out some playful tension and makes for interesting relationship dynamics, especially between Bex and Nikos. The third-act conflict felt a touch unnecessary, but I appreciated how Spencer wove in heavier themes that gave Bex’s journey some emotional weight.

It’s a light, relaxing read perfect for anyone after something quick and charming. While it didn’t completely pull me in, the audiobook elevated the experience—both narrators infused warmth and wit into the story, adding life to Bex and Nikos’s connection.

3.5 ⭐️, this is a sweet, low-stakes romance with just enough depth to round it out.

Thank you Hachette Audio for this ALC. Opinions expressed are my own.

This is a fun, quick summer read, which is exactly what I was hoping for!

Bex was cute, fun, determined and maybe a bit immature in her boy-craze. I mean, how many times can you mention the sounds coming from the next pickleball court over?? But overall, she's a great character.

Nico was very hot and cold. I feel this could have been explained better if we had his POV - just my opinion!

I was not a fan of the third act breakup. I know that this is part of romcoms 99% of the time, but this felt forced and the timing of it just seemed very off. It made the whole ending very rushed.

Solid 3.5 stars for this one. Definitely a fun one to start the summer reading!

Thank you to Forever for the advance reader copy and to Hachette Audio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

I find Kate Spencer's books so delightful. And I am thrilled to be participating in a pen pal series this summer relating to this book. As a quick summary of how much I enjoyed the story, I immediately bought the paperback even though I already had the ebook and audiobook versions.

Bex is trying to keep the racquet club she inherited from her mom afloat. Niko comes to support his mom and practice his tennis. But somehow, one things leads to another and they become pickleball doubles partners and start fake dating.

This story is grumpy sunshine even down to the way they dress. And I loved the way he pays attention to her and picks up on every detail of what she wants. Oh my goodness! That first steamy scene... That's all I'll write about that.

I also found Bex's grief and process of dealing with her mom's death incredibly relatable. This had me crying, as she talked to her mom and as I thought more about where my mom would want her ashes scattered.

The other characters also added to the book, especially with a strong feeling of found family. Now I want to learn to play pickleball this summer.

Mia Hutchinson Shaw narrated the audiobook superbly. She's always one of my favorite narrators.

4.5 stars rounded up