Author: Jennifer Iacopelli
Publisher: Coliloquy LLC
Release Date: May 1, 2013
Received: For review for a honest review
Summary: 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.
Review: I am going to preface this review by saying that I have never been into tennis. I don't hate it or anything but it never made any sense to me, though I would occasionally watch it if it was on even though I had no idea what was happening. I say this so you will know that even though this book is about tennis players you will enjoy it even if you nothing about tennis.
Moving on... I really liked this book! It was the perfect combination of tennis, romantic relationships, and friendships. Speaking of the tennis; I really liked that part! I learned a lot about tennis, so much so that if I were to watch it I might have some idea what was going on. But like I said knowing tennis is not a big deal, it is more a story of girls reaching for their dreams, it just so happens that their dream is tennis.
The romantic relationships were so well written. There were two primary ones and they were written completely differently which I appreciated. The only real thing they had in common was the fact that the male counterparts are HOT. But my personal choice would be Jack but that's just me. ;)
I liked the rivalry between Indiana and Jasmine. It was realistic and I liked how it was worked on. I also liked the friendship between Indiana and Penny, it was nice to see two girls at different stages in their careers being their for each other.
Having each of the three girls narrate their own chapters added depth and understand to their characters that would not have been attained if it was from one POV.
Overall I recommend this book to people who both like, or don't understand tennis. The friendships and romance will keep you captivated till the end! I personally cannot wait till the next book!
