Member Reviews
I was very surprised with how much I loved this book. Let’s start off with the narration part. Both of the narrators had the perfect voices for how I had imagined each character. It’s hard for romance audiobooks because the narration really does make or break the book but this one was superb. I have no notes on them. I love how it was duet chapters and narration. Now if you are fans of Carrie Soto you should definitely check out this book. We have Scottie, who is a professional tennis player. She is making a comeback after being blindsided by someone close to her. Everyone thinks she’s a cheat and look at her as entertainment. Then we have Nico, who was the tennis champ for a long time until an injury that took him out of the game. What happens when you make these two a tennis pair? You get a lot of tension, competition, and spice.
In Clean Point, Scottie and Nico are getting back into tennis after having time off. This was my first tennis romance and while I'm not a sporty person, I do enjoy a good sport themed book. I think my favorite parts of this story were when they were practicing in Greece (the cats!) and also Scottie's mom/their reunion. Are these main points in the story? No. But enjoyable all the same. The enemies to lovers didn't start off very enemy-like and it could have been shorter, but a fine read all the same.
Note on narration: this book could have benefited from duet narration as one main character had an American accent and the other had a British accent and I kept getting distracted by thinking about them changing their accent and voice throughout the book.
Thanks NetGalley for the audio ARC!
such a fun audio & fun tennis romance read!!! these two were so fun & I loved this story :)
thank you HarperAudio for the ALC!
Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!
This book was great!!! I couldn’t stop listening to it! I enjoyed the characters, storyline and writing style. It had me hooked. Please read/listen to the trigger warning.
Such a fun tennis drama and trope. The characters ended up being much more likable than I initially thought they would be. I appreciated how all the characters came together in the end against a common enemy. Once I got into the book, it was hard to put down.
I haven't read a tennis-based sports romance before, and I surprisingly liked it a lot better than I expected! The main characters' tension was really well written, and I'm a sucker for the fake dating trope. This is how a romance book needs to be written, with a MMC who simps hard for the FMC & a strong as steel FMC. My only complaint about this book was the narrators. They were a bit difficult to understand, especially while I was driving. I truly think I would have rated it even higher if I was able to clearly understand both narrators. The male narrator in particular mumbled his way through 1/4 of his narration.
Thank you Netgalley and Harper Audio for the ALC.
Story: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Narration: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Clean Point is a fun, chemistry-filled sports romance between two tennis players. Scottie is a tennis prodigy betrayed by her famous father and labeled a cheat in the tennis community. Now she is a tabloid star and considering a comeback. When her former coach convinces her to team up with her father’s former rival, Nico, sparks fly.
This was such a fun read with absolutely top notch narration. Mary Jane Wells is a favorite narrator of mine and I loved listening to her narrate a modern romance (vs a historical romance). I adored this romance and can’t wait for more stories from Meg Jones.
ALC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was a fun read, and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys rom-coms or sport romances. I really enjoyed that the FMC is on an equal playing field as the MMC and not just a fan, or journalist, or owners daughter like other sports romances I’ve read. Also the multiple points of view are always a favorite of mine. Scottie’s back story with her dad is also super interesting and a great angle I haven’t read before.
an we make a new rule? Let's stop making cute covers and sweet sounding books that involve sports disguised as porn books. First it was basketball, then "Hockey" Romance books....now I am even seeing Pickleball books. *Nerd Alert*
As a former college tennis player this book just infuriated me. Yes I know tennis players are known for being prima donnas, but I just couldnt begin to connect with the main characters.
The plot was so weak and unreal I wanted to scream.
I do not want to devote a lot of time and energy into this review because I am so angry at how graphic it was. Maybe if the author had spent more time telling me a story and developing a plot and less time telling me about their athleticism in the bedroom I would have had better things to say.
PS no male tennis player would given up his chance to win SINGLES Wimbledon for the Mixed Doubles title. Case in point can you tell me who won the Mixed Double Title last. year?
No you can;t.
Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to review this advanced copy of Clean Point.
There was nothing clean about this book.
Clean Point is an enemies-to-lovers sports romance where both of the MCs are working to overcome something from the past (scandal or injury) and make a return to tennis. I really enjoyed the addition of the revenge/ vendetta to the storyline and thought the book was more nuanced than I originally anticipated. I loved that their return (and the FMC's scandal) are at Wimbledon. I also loved that the chapters start with songs that hint at what's going on within the book (might love that over a general list at the front?).
Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio for the advance audiobook (ALC)! I think the narrators did a great job of giving voice to the different POVs as well are narrating lines of the opposite sex (dual narration would have been awesome though).
3.5 stars rounded up, maybe a solid 4 stars?! I absolutely ate up this story. My biggest gripe was the male narrator if you're listening to the audiobook, but don't let that deter you from a good story.
Plot: I loveeeed it. I loved the professional sport aspect, grumpy personalities, the revenge plot, the spice. It was overall a great story line without being too overbearing or hard to follow. Such an easy read (or listen!) because the story line is really captivating.
Characters: All amazing and not too many. They were dynamic and developed well. I loved every characters personalities and their contribution to the story. Big point that there weren't too many because you're really focusing on the main few and I enjoyed that.
Writing: I listened obviously, but again the story was easy to follow and I partly credit that to the writing. I didn't love the writing of the spicy scenes, but it's definitely spicy to say the least lol.
Narrators: The female narrator was great! She did a fantastic job with the character and I loved her accent. The male narrator on the other hand...he was fine when it wasn't a spicy scene. I just didn't think his voice matched Nico and I was seriously cringing listening to him do the spicy scenes.
Overall, really enjoyed and appreciate the advanced copy from Meg Jones, publisher, and NetGalley! :)
*I received an advanced listening copy for review. This is my own opinion.*
Clean Point has
🎾Slight Age Gap
🎾Revenge Plot
🎾Female Rage
🎾"Enemies" to Lovers
Scottie Sinclair was at the top of her game when she discovered her father doping her, and she's labeled a cheat when she comes forward about the doping but not its source. Two years later, she begins training to play with the man who beat her father, when he's trying to make a comeback after an injury. What ensues leads to a true partnership between the two, and when Scottie's father tries to make his own comeback (as a coach because he's old) they work together to bring him down.
I will be the first to admit that I'm not a tennis girlie-- my sports of choice are baseball and hockey. BUT that's okay, because even though we get training montages and a fair amount of gameplay throughout, Jones places focus more on the physical and internal struggles of our MCs, rather than sportsy jargon, which I whole-heartedly appreciated. Nico is an absolute delight of a book boyfriend, and Scottie feels like someone you could be friends with. This book was relatively long, but it never felt slow or lagging because SO much happens in this book.
4.5/5 stars
Clean Point is OUT NOW!
Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for the ALC!
Rivals to lovers joining forces for revenge and redemption = delicious!
This was so good. Gripping, sweet, and satisfying, I ate this up. Think ‘The Cutting Edge’ meet ‘Carrie Soto is back’ but with sex and lots of dirty talk.
Niko was a perfect book boyfriend. He started off resenting Scottie due to allegations of her doping and her bad reputation, but once he got to know the truth of her he was all in. He gave her time and space to get on board with their relationship and backed her the entire book. True supportive caregiver hero in a grump package. 🔥
(No OW mentioned whatsoever, the man may have been a life long monk for all we are told).
And Scottie was so complicated and strong. She had been through a lot and had trouble sticking up for herself but once Niko had her back she became a fierce self advocate and I loved her so much.
So much external drama and conflict in this one but the core romance never once wavered (no third acts). The ending was satisfying and also realistic and the tennis moments were so well done. Full disclosure I’m a tennis fan and player so expected to nitpick this one but I couldn’t! Perfect balance of sport knowledge without crushing the reader in technical terms. Even non tennis fans will be good with this one.
Narration: loved both narrators, Mary Jane Wells is a personal fave of mine. I’ve never heard the male narrator before but he had a good grittiness to his voice and I enjoyed him. Dual POV was also well balanced and we were in Niko’s head a lot but it was well done and he did not constantly objectify the heroine and have sexy thoughts (though he did have some).
I did not expect to like this one! I picked it up off NetGalley on a whim because I like tennis but whew, was it good!
(The Taylor Swift song references at the beginning of some chapters did not make sense. It felt crowbarred in for swifties. Easy to skip but what was the point? )
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the advanced copy, these opinions are my own.
This audiobook was perfect. No notes.
I loved the chemistry between Nico and Scottie. Their bond with each other as well through tennis was done extremely well and I loved every minute.
The narrator’s were incredible. Superior than some others I’ve listened to.
I believe this the first in a trilogy, so I’m very excited for more.
3.75! I really enjoyed the audio narrators of this book! I want to listen to more from both of them because I thought they brought the characters to life SO well. Overall for this book, I enjoyed it! I thought both characters had a lot of depth to them, and you can tell the sport was well researched before writing about. I felt like it was a little too long and drawn out, and I found myself feeling a bit bored after the 75% mark because I was waiting for the resolve. I'm glad there was no third-act conflict between the MCs, but I do wish that the pacing was a bit more even throughout. I will definitely be recommending the audio and will be picking up the other books in the series.
Loved this cute story! That voice actors were wonderful, I loved listening to them. I would often have to adjust the volume with Patrick was narrating because his volume fluctuates. But I love his energy, and Mary Jane’s as well. The story was super cute, I loved the tennis setting, that was new for me. And the little twist at the end was chefs kiss romance. Great story, great audiobook!
4.25⭐️
I always think I’m not a huge Sports Romance fan until I read one, and then I remember I’m wrong 😆 First of all, I LOVED the dynamic between Scottie and Nico! They’re arguing, enemies to allies to lovers vibes are perfection. I love Nico’s insulting nickname for Scottie, and I especially love that it ends up sticking in the end.
Second. The redemption plot in this is amazing. I was genuinely invested in everything happening.
Third, the spice was fantastic without it overwhelming the plot. Nico’s bedroom talk also had me 🥵
Finally, the narrators are wonderful! I have been a fan of Mary Jane Wells for a while from her historical romance narrations. She, as per usual, did a great job. i had not heard of Patrick Zeller before this but I can safely say I would pick to a book simply if he’s listed as the narrator. I love his voice and the way he brings the story to life.
I adored this story!!! But before I go into why, a big thank you to NetGalley, Harper Audio, and Ms. Meg Jones for an advanced listener copy to the audiobook for Clean Point which I will recommend to many others! :)
Okay, so the story goes: girl gets burned by her dad (who was basically a second coach) and leaves the sport he cares more about than her, goes a bit wild in rebellion (which does allow her to reconnect with her love for the sport and her other family), then gets approached by her first coach to make the comeback she deserves, giving her dad the middle finger in the process when she starts playing doubles with the guy who, as a young upstart, beat him so badly he left the sport. Meanwhile, that former young upstart is on his own comeback/vengeance tour after a knee injury and surgery, but he definitely hesitates to do it with the girl he thinks cheated. Neither of them want to trust the other but they have mutual trust for their coach and persist.
Sprinkle in a bit of contempt turning to compassion turning to attraction, a slight age gap romance, a SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOW burn of a romance, a playlist fit for any swiftie (or lover of modern female and NB singer-songwriters), and being set in a sport I always wished I could have been better at (played in high school but not great)? I was SOLD.
Now for the audiobook! This was as solid as any audiobook can be- 5/5!! I think the narrators were PERFECT for each character- the narrator for Scottie was perfectly striking the balance of confident and irritable but also soft and wounded girl (and she also voiced other females quite well, but maybe wasn't as strong at narrating the male voices such as the coach). The narrator for Nico? well, lets just say some of the more spicy scenes were VERY well acted. He was able to narrate this level headed guy who found himself growing soft for Scottie when he was initially, to be quite frank, rude to her.
Their pacing seemed typical- though I did find myself listening more at about 1.5 speed than my usual 1.25, so maybe it was a bit slower than other stories. However, the editing of the audiobook made it very clear when new settings or chapters were beginning, and the narration around the inter-chapter highlights (like the media headlines or tweets and playlist songs) were nicely done as well.
Oh my gosh this book was so good!! I loved the banter and it was so moving to watch two characters who had been through so much find someone to be by their side through the difficulties of professional tennis. Nico had massive Travis Kelce energy. He was initially suspicious of Scottie but once he gets to know her, he is her staunchest supporter and it was the cutest thing. I adored watching them fall for each other and find the support they've been lacking. The way they were both so proud of the other and wanted the other to succeed was absolutely adorable. The romance arc was so satisfying but I also loved their individual arcs too. Watching Scottie spread her wings and play on her own (not under the influence of her father) was so inspiring. Definitely pick this book up if you're looking for a swoony, steamy sports romance because Meg Jones 100% delivered with Clean Point. The narrators were fantastic as well. I'm so glad I listened to the audiobook because they definitely brought the banter to life in a really fun way.
Scottie has resigned herself to being misunderstood in order to get the freedom she so desperately needs in her life. Nico thinks he knows Scottie, but he’ll learn she’s a much stronger person than he’s given her credit for.
Clean Point is a story of perseverance and ignoring others’ perceptions of you in favor of being true to yourself. I love that this book brought attention to sexism and double standards in sports. I respect Scottie’s integrity and Nico’s determination.
Nico and Scottie have great chemistry and this book had just the right amount of spice. If you love sports romances, steadfast MMCs, and spice, you’ll love Clean Point.