ALC Review: Clean Point by Meg Jones
Pub Date: December 31, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley, Meg Jones, HarperAudio Adult, and HarperAudio for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book started off okay for me - it follows Scottie, a disgraced former tennis star who decides to come back to the sport and partner with Nico, her fathers old rival. Initially Nico and Scottie don't get along but after enough time spent in forced proximity, they find out that they're more similar than they thought. I liked the forced proximity and how both Scottie and Nico get to know each other and gain better understanding of the other.

I did finish but about half way through I realized that I just really did not care what was going to happen next. It felt pretty cookie cutter and predictable.

As far as the narration goes, I liked the female narration done by Mary Jane Wells. The male narration by Patrick Zeller I really struggled with. He felt SUPER quiet compared to the female narration - enough that I had to resort to listening via headphones and turning up the sound for his chapters. I also had a harder time understanding what he was saying.

Thank you to NetGalley, Meg Jones, HarperAudio Adult, & HarperAudio for the complimentary ALC of this book.

This was a wonderful slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers tennis romance. In my limited understanding of tennis, I believe the situations were realistic, and I enjoyed the book from start to finish. The conclusion was also unexpected, but in a good way. For the majority of the plot, this book grabbed and held my attention. Mary Jane Wells and Patrick Zeller's dual narration of the audiobook was amazing. They truly embody the essence of these characters and were great for Scottie and Nico! This narration is outstanding.

This spicy, enemies to lovers read was so fun! Tennis is not in my wheelhouse, but I loved the lingo and learning more about it. Scottie has been through a lot and she thought that Nico would add to her problems, but he was such a pleasant surprise! There is good spice, but I loved how Nico supported her. Overall, a good, quick listen.

4 stars.

I don't know the first thing about tennis, but I had heard nothing but good things about "Clean Point" by Meg Jones, so I was excited to read it. It is a thrilling, scandalous, steamy enemies-to-lovers sports romance with good characters and even better drama. I really liked the characters in this book. Scottie has been through the wringer. Two years after allegations of d0ping, she has to claw her way back to stardom and success while also fighting a slew of paparazzi lies *and* while having a POS father who has taken up training her tennis rival. I found this book to be the perfect mix of romance *and* sports, which a lot of books like this lack. The balance between the two is excellent. The ending was also not what I expected, in a good way. This book held my fascination and attention for the most part, minus a few repetitive things that happen in the middle of the story. I loved the dual audiobook narration from Mary Jane Wells and Patrick Zeller. They were both perfect for Scottie and Nico and really embody the spirit of these characters! Fabulous narration here,

Thank you to NetGalley, Meg Jones, HarperAudio Adult, and HarperAudio for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

I really loved Scottie and Nico. I felt so bad for Scottie and I loved how Nico-honestly pretty quickly-gets to her side. I love a good contemporary romance and this was a great read.

This was a cute enemies to lovers story with some tennis included. The story was predictable, but most romance books are. There were a few spicy scenes, graphic but brief.

Added this to one of my instant favorites and Meg Jones (@megjoneswrites ) to my list of auto-buy authors! This pro tennis romance was SO fun, so engaging, and I absolutely ate it up! It follows Scottie Sinclair, a reported “party girl”, who left the tennis world two years ago when it was reported that she cheated by using illegal substance… but was she really?

And Nico Kotas, a tennis legend and ex-rival of Scottie’s father, who was taken out by a knee injury, who team up as mixed doubles partners to both make their comeback in the tennis world, and unexpectedly find love along the way. I loved Scottie’s strength and entering her reputation era, and Nikos protectiveness even over his strong girl. This was the perfect slow-burn, enemies to lovers tennis romance. I rated this 4.75 stars and you’ve GOTTA add this to your TBR!

Thank you so much to the wonderful folks at @avonbooks for sending this book!

𝑩𝑶𝑶𝑲 𝑰𝑵 𝑬𝑴𝑶𝑱𝑰𝑺:
🎾🏆😱💉😭👫🏻👩🏻‍❤️‍💋‍👨🏼🏆💕

👍🏻𝑳𝑰𝑲𝑬𝑫 / 💗𝑳𝑶𝑽𝑬𝑫: 💗

𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫 𝑰𝑭 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑳𝑰𝑲𝑬:
♡ tennis
♡ reluctant partners to lovers
♡ comeback story
♡ FMCs who speak their truth
♡ HEA

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑻𝑯𝑶𝑼𝑮𝑯𝑻𝑺:
I played tennis competitively and this book took me right back to the court in all the best ways. Makes me want to pick up my racquet again!!

Scottie had a rough go of it, being labeled a cheater for reasons completely out of her control. I admired her courage to come back to the sport she loved, despite all of the doubters. Even more so, her courage to speak up about the wrongs that were done to her. I think Nico was a great partner to Scottie, both on and off the court. He really did right by her and it made my heart flutter! The spice was 🤌🏻 and the HEA was everything I wanted from this story.

I definitely want to check this author’s backlist! Her writing was great and I’m eager to see what else she has in store.

Scottie Sinclair, tennis up-and-comer, has a fall from grace when she is caught dopeing. After her two year ban she decides to team up with her dad's rival as an act of revenge. Scottie knows she's clean but will the world believe her?

Scottie was a delight. She could have had way less integrity after finding out about her unconsented dopeing but she want's to play a fair game and I think that is what drives the story forward. She's easy to cheer for, which is the best part about sports. You want your player to win despite their obstacles and loses. Nico is a lot less interesting but he makes a good foil for Scottie

I really wanted more game play! We spend so much time training, and talking about training. When we get to the games its fantastic, quick, and energetic. I wish there was more in the front half but I am happy with what we got.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
3/5

An enemies to lovers story in the tennis world. Something extremely disgusting happens to Scottie and she runs away from her life. Years later, she reluctantly finds herself back in the tennis world and partnered with a man who doesn’t want to play doubles.

I’ve realized I’m not a fan of sports related books as it kind of takes over.

Thank you NetGalley, Harper Audio, and Meg Jones for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I could not understand how similar this felt to a story like Brittney Spears. It was downright disgusting what her dad did to her, and I DNF'd the book.

This novel follows a tennis player who was banned from competition for being on steroids and a tennis player recovering from a bad injury, when they are paired up to train. As they train as a doubles pair to get back into the sport, a romance blooms between them.

I think that the tennis scenes seemed accurate in my minimal knowledge of the sport, and I found the novel engaging throughout.

The main characters were a bit bothersome at the start, but they grew on me quickly. I think that the novel displays a lot of growth in both of them, which I appreciated.

Unfortunately, since finishing the book, I have forgotten many details of the book. Also, the novel did not have the oomph that I like to see for a five star rating, but I liked it fairly well.

I would recommend this to people who enjoy enemies-to-lovers novels and sports romance.

Please take this as my request for more Tennis Romance!

Scottie left the tennis world a disgrace and has spent the past two years partying across Europe under a new name. When she is given a chance to return, she only agrees for one reason: revenge on her coach/father who betrayed her and ruined her career. That also means partnering in doubles with her father's enemy, Nico.

While I struggled to understand some of Scottie's choices regarding disclosure, it did make the moments where she opens up more satisfying. This book has just the right amount of grit and glamour to make it fun and the chemistry between them is so good! I love how Nico wants her to thrive and will steamroll anything that gets in her way!

Thank you to Meg Jones, Harper Audio Adult, and NetGalley for the AudioARC of this book

This one I was super excited for! This started out so strong for me, and I even cried and set myself up with a lot of excitement. But towards the end it fell a little flat to me. I still overall enjoyed this book!

Classic enemies to lovers with lots of discussion on real problems in the sports world. Really enjoyed this listen.

The plot of this novel was very well set up. I enjoyed the way it clearly had intentions to speak on sexism in sports and the brutal training regimes athletes push through. I also held on to the curiosity I had around Mateo and Scottie’s dynamic, and wanted to witness the way Scottie grew as a character and took hold of her own autonomy. Yet, I unfortunately feel as though the romance overshadowed the rest of the character development or chance to explore more family dynamics and individual experiences. Niko oftentimes would not allow Scottie to have a moment of her own, instead becoming aggressively overprotective of her and also showing a level of ownership that made me cringe. The number of times he says some variation of “I won’t share you with anyone else” or “I want you to forget all the other men you’ve ever been with” or “you’re mine, only mine” I know were meant to show him as a sexy bad boy, but only registered with me as that he was sl*t-shaming her and believing that she was his property. I was frustrated with his character and how he moved the story along, especially in the way he approached sex with a “tell me to stop and I will”, which is not an approach that feels like it takes consent seriously.

The ending felt a bit rushed in order to make it a happily ever after, and there felt to be many important discussions in this book that were overshadowed by the blossoming romance that I wouldn’t entirely consider healthy, albeit kinda cute sometimes.

3.5 stars

A solid book, especially if you are into sports romance. I really enjoyed the dynamic between the main characters. Also a big fan of the he-falls-first protective vibes Nico gave off. Scottie had a lot to prove, and the development sets it up well. The dynamic with her father and proving herself was a great secondary (almost primary) storyline.

Narration: solid duet narration. Both narrators were easy to follow, even with Scottie's accent.

I listened to this book on audiobook and really enjoyed it. I usually don’t like book where the narrator has an accent but I actually found myself enjoying Scottie’s British accent.
Nico and Scottie were an unlikely pair and actually only paired up because they shared a mutual enemy but it turns out they found exactly what they needed in each other. Nico stood up for Scottie and made her start to do the same thing for herself and showed that sometimes first impressions are not correct. Scottie pushed Nico after his injury but really made him see there are more important things and sometimes it’s ok to have some fun. The banter was fun and I loved watching them fall back in love with tennis. Fun read!

I play mixed doubles with my husband so this book intrigued me. I was also a fan of Carrie Soto is Back. This book is an enemies to lovers story with a pretty good tennis come back story as well. I enjoyed both of the main characters and especially liked Scottie’s wit. There are a few very spicy open door scenes. Sometimes I think that these type of scenes are too crass and very cringy but I was ok with the scenes in this book. I prefer thriller and horror over romance novels but I definitely enjoyed this one. I listened to the audio version and I liked both of the narrators. Mary Jane Wells and Patrick Zeller did a great job! They were easy to understand and their voices were interesting. It was easy to tell when a new chapter starts and who the narrator was. 4 stars for me!

Clean Point is such a great tennis romance with a solid plot and characters that feel real and relatable. It touches on some heavier themes, but they’re handled so well and just add to the story. The romance didn’t feel like the main focus, but Scottie and Nico’s chemistry is off the charts and fits in perfectly. Their growth, both together and on their own, is so satisfying to watch.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC. If you enjoy sports romances, I would highly recommend checking this out!