Release Date: May 1st, 2013
Publisher: Coliloquy
Format: eARC
Nestled along the North Carolina coast, the Outer Banks Tennis Academy is the world's most elite training facility. In this pressure-cooker environment, futures are forged in blood and sweat, and dreams are shattered in an instant.
Penny Harrison, a rising female star, is determined to win the French Open and beat her archrival, Zina Lutrova. But when her coach imports British bad boy Alex Russell as her new training partner, will Penny be able to keep her laser-like focus?
Tennis is all Jasmine Randazzo has ever known. The daughter of two Grand Slam champions, she's hell-bent on extending her family’s legacy and writing her own happily-ever-after...until her chosen Prince Charming gives her the just-friends speech right before the biggest junior tournament of the year, the Outer Banks Classic.
With a powerful serve and killer forehand, newcomer Indiana Gaffney is turning heads. She’s thrilled by all of the attention, especially from Jack Harrison, Penny’s agent and hot older brother, except he keeps backing off every time things start heating up.
With so much at stake, dreams—and hearts—are bound to break. Welcome to OBX: Where LOVE is a four-letter word, on and off the court.
Just saying "Oh my god, I LOVE this book!" probably isn't going to cut it for a review, huh? Game. Set. Match. is multiple POV told in the perspective of three girls at the Outer Banks Tennis Academy. You've got Penny, the professional, who's just won big and has to begin training to play in the French Open. Of course, she didn't expect her training to include Alex, a guy who she loathes, but who she also can't seem to keep her mind off of.
Then you've got Indy, the newcomer to Outer Banks, and she's ready to do whatever it takes to reach her dreams. The girls at OBX aren't very welcoming, but she strikes up a friendship with Penny and can't seem to keep her eyes off of Penny's older brother, Jack (swoon).
And lastly, we get Jasmine. She's the child of two tennis stars, and the founders of OBX, so she's always feeling the pressure to be just as good. After a disastrous encounter with her best friend, Teddy, and having to deal with new girl, Indy, Jasmine isn't having the best couple of weeks.
This book was paced so well and even though I don't typically like more than two POV's in a story, I didn't mind switching between the three girls. At first Indy was my favorite and I wasn't too fond of Jasmine, but as the story progressed and you got to know the characters better, I really got attached to all three of them. They had such different stories, but at the same time they had so much in common. They also had hot guys to contend with, which is never a bad thing. I do have a definite favorite there, Team Jack, all the way :0)
This book also had some serious tennis. It wasn't a book that had characters who played the game, so it was mentioned occasionally throughout the story. These girls lives were all about tennis, so we definitely got to live that with them. I'm not really a tennis fan, never watched much of it, but it didn't take away from the story for me. I thought it was really cool that it was such a main component and it definitely wasn't boring. I don't know this for sure, but I'd guess that Jennifer Iacopelli is either a huge tennis fan or a player herself.
I love how the relationships develop between all of the characters as the story progresses and by the end of the book you aren't sure who to root for more. I could actually see this one as a great television series. It moved along at such a great pace and had just enough tension and drama to be immortalized on the little screen. I know I wouldn't mind watching these guys every week.
My first thought when I finished this one was "I need book two, now!", so this is definitely one that I would recommend. You don't have to be a sports fan, you just have to like a book with great characters, solid storylines, and plenty of swoony romance :0)
About the Author:
Jennifer Iacopelli was born in New York and has no
plans to leave...ever. Growing up, she read everything she could get her hands
on, but her favorite authors were Laura Ingalls Wilder, L.M. Montgomery and
Frances Hodgson Burnett all of whom wrote about kick-ass girls before it was
cool for girls to be kick-ass. She got a Bachelor's degree in Adolescence Education
and English Literature quickly followed up by a Master's in Library Science,
which lets her frolic all day with her books and computers, leaving plenty of
time in the evenings to write and yell at the Yankees, Giants and her favorite
tennis players through the TV.
Where to Buy:
Amazon:
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Giveaway Time!! This is an awesome one, guys! An ereader is up for grabs and some killer swag! Go Forth :0)
