Book Review: All’s Fair in Love and Pickleball by Kate Spencer

Title: All’s Fair in Love and Pickleball
Author: Kate Spencer
Pages: 320
Publication Date: June 3, 2025
Publisher: Forever
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary
Synopsis:

Pickleball rivalry? Sure. Falling for your fake boyfriend? Now that’s a surprise.

Bex Martin’s racquet club is her entire world. But the business she inherited from her mother has started to feel more like a sinking ship. That is, until Nikolaus Karras—a former tennis bad-boy with an ego as big as his serve—makes himself at home on her courts.

Niko has something to prove, and a high-stakes pickleball tournament is just what he needs to get back in the game after a career-ending injury. When he is finally able to set his ego aside to ask for Bex’s help, everyone assumes that they are a couple—on and off the court.

But she needs the prize money to save the club, and he needs a win to restore his reputation. So now they have a fake relationship as well as a doubles partner that they can’t seem to resist. Game on!

LINKS: Goodreads | BookBub | Amazon | Bookshop.org

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All’s Fair in Love and Pickleball is my first pickleball romance read, and it was so good! I loved the characters, found family, Dodgeball movie vibes, and the romance.

The romance has a major grumpy/sunshine feel with a heap of fake dating on top. These are two of my favorite tropes, so the love story between Bex and Niko was a big hit for me. Nico has such a grumpy exterior, but once Bex gets to know and understand him, she sees the kind, sensitive, and wounded man underneath. A former tennis star, Niko is looking to ressurect his carreer after an injury (and bad temper) that has stalled his success.

Bex is layered and interesting too. Desperate to save the business that defines her and her relationship with her deceased mother, she faces a lot of financial and emotional challenges. I felt for her as a fellow motherless daughter and related to many of her emotions. Luckily for both characters, there’s an upcoming pickleball tournament that could help them both if they play together and win. It reminded me a bit of the movie Dodgeball in this regard, which I loved.

The chemistry between Bex and Niko is fun to watch develop. It’s not just about the heat (though there’s definitely some of that!), but about the trust and partnership that grows between them as they open up and work together on and off the court. Their banter is sharp and playful and sometimes antagonistic, and I appreciated how their emotional arcs felt grounded in real insecurities, dreams, and needs. I also really liked how their relationship helped each of them reconnect with what they wanted in life—Niko with his career and sense of purpose, and Bex with her confidence and ability to dream bigger.

Though there are some serious issues explored, including grief, financial troubles, career struggles, and more, the story has a light and positive tone. The found family aspect, which includes many meddling senior citizens, is fabulous and comical, as is the fun banter and pickleball play. Aunt Loretta and the other racquet club regulars absolutely stole some scenes for me with their matchmaking schemes, court-side commentary, and sincere loyalty.

This is definitely worth checking out if you like fun, heartwarming, and sexy contemporary romances with a dash of sports rivalry and a big community spirit. Special thanks to NetGalley and Forever for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

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• grumpy/sunshine
• fake dating
• enemies to lovers
• pickleball partners
• opposites attract
• found family

Kate Spencer is the author of the upcoming romantic comedy, In a New York Minute (Forever, 2022), and the memoir The Dead Moms Club (Seal Press, 2017). She’s also the co-host of the podcast Forever35, which tackles all things self-care with humor and honesty. Her written work has appeared on numerous platforms and publications, including Buzzfeed, The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Rolling Stone, and Esquire. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two kids.

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