For fans of:

-Thirty Love
-Heated Rivalry

After years of carefully avoiding each other on the professional tennis circuit, stars Will and Theo are forced into an unexpected doubles partnership. What begins as barely concealed hostility slowly shifts as the two men spend more time together on and off the court. As old tensions begin to unravel, so do the feelings buried underneath them, leading Will and Theo to confront a connection neither of them expected, and neither can walk away from.

I loved, loved, loved this book!

One of the things this book does exceptionally well is capture the intense psychological pressure professional tennis players face. The sport is so individualistic that one bad match, one loss of confidence, can completely derail you. That aspect of the story felt incredibly authentic throughout. Will especially stood out to me as such a layered and compelling character. I really connected with the way he throws himself entirely into tennis to avoid dealing with his emotions. For athletes at this level, winning becomes everything; as long as you stay at the top, nothing else has to matter. Watching Will slowly realize that mindset is unsustainable was one of the strongest parts of the book for me.

At the start, you can genuinely feel Will’s resentment toward Theo. He’s built Theo up in his mind as arrogant, untouchable, and almost cruel, and convinces himself that Theo intentionally isolated him from the social side of the tennis world. Their decision to become doubles partners is initially rooted in image rehabilitation: Will wants to shed his reputation as the “Ice King.” At the same time, Theo hopes to control the emotional volatility that constantly follows him on court. Theo may be the golden boy of tennis, but beneath that image is someone just as insecure and emotionally guarded as Will.

As the story progresses, from tense practices to quieter, more vulnerable moments like their late-night swims, Will's image of Theo slowly breaks apart. What emerges instead is a relationship built on mutual understanding, loneliness, and the realization that both of them are carrying far more than they let the world see.

I also thought the third act was incredibly strong emotionally. You could feel Will’s frustration and self-loathing as he struggled to perform at the level he expected from himself. He desperately wants to regain control over his emotions and return to the version of himself that existed before he allowed himself to be vulnerable. But once he finally lets himself experience happiness and connection, he realizes he can’t simply bury those feelings through harder training or stricter discipline. That internal conflict felt raw, believable, and, at times, honestly heartbreaking.

I received this eBook ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Anna Rowan, Carla Brooks, and LYX for the opportunity to review *Guard Your Heart*. This review has also been posted on my Goodreads: @jack-pusloskie.

Thank you LYX and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I continue to absolutely tennis romances! William Hagen just lost his chance to win the U.S. Open and he wishes he could blame it on his play, or only on his play, but really it doesn’t help that all the crowd hate him as do the interviewers. But really is it his fault that his sole focus is winning and playing good tennis? Somehow it’s given him the name the Ice King. Everyone thinks he’s cold and aloof but really he just plays the game. He’s not interested in making friends, plus he struggles with the interviewers he’s just not good at them. But now the hatred is affecting his game. His coach comes up with an idea to have him play a doubles charity tournament in order to bring him some good press. Plus his partner would be Theo Eastwood the golden boy of tennis. Who, even though he has an anger streak and his emotions get him a lot, everyone seems to love. But he’s also Will’s biggest rival, the two don’t get along at all. But the more they play together the more they see what they have in common. And soon what starts as friendship starts to turn into something more. Will’s gay but Theo has never felt this way for a guy before. Will what they have last beyond a two week tournament or will the possibility of them being something more have them both running? This one’s sweet and charming, a rivals to lovers slow burn which are some of my absolute favorite tropes! It’s exciting, fun, swoony, and I couldn’t put it down! Anna Rowan and Carla Brooks write not just a good love story but also a heartwarming story of mental health, loneliness, growth, and seeing yourself better!

It was supposed to be the greatest victory of his tennis career. But under the pressure of a roaring crowd that wants to see him fall, William Hagen suffers his most brutal defeat. To polish his image as an untouchable Ice King, he is sent to the prestigious Ortega Cup — where he must play doubles with his greatest rival, Theo Eastwood. The fan favorite. The Golden Boy. His complete opposite. But during shared training sessions and evening laps in the pool, it becomes harder and harder for Will to hold on to his contempt for Theo. And finally, Will must ask himself whether he wasn't the only one who was too quick to judge.

Thoughts
Although there was great banter, I found it more emotional than I expected. Not that it was too heavy, but you were really pulling for these guys. The single POV was very effective and it was such a ride to experience the character growth. Honestly at first I thought both characters were little sh*ts and I was totally ok with that, it was entertaining that way. But then as you really dig into their story, you realize there was more to both of them. A cute and sweet read with a nice touch of angst and yearning.

I went into this thinking it would be a cute sports romance; I thought that I would have fun but I didn't think that it would hit a bit harder than that. And it did.

Although this book did have a great romance plot, I almost found the self-discovery plot more interesting. By the end of the book I almost didn't care if the romance worked out because of how invested as I was in Will. You got to see how both Will and Theo grow as human beings and learn more about themselves.

I enjoyed how the characters communicated—for the most part, there was still miscommunication—and how they were relatively upfront with one another.

I really enjoyed this read, and I hope that it is made into a series as the ending makes me believe it should be.