Review: Losing at Love by Jennifer Iacopelli

Losing at Love by Jennifer Iacopelli

Series: Outer Banks Tennis Academy #2

Published: February 24th, 2015

Publisher: Coliloquy

206 pages (eARC)

Genre: Contemporary NA

Acquired this book: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Warning: May contain spoilers

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Read my review of Game. Set. Match.

Grass courts, tennis whites and the fiercest competition in the world. Wimbledon. After two crazy weeks in Paris, the girls of the Outer Banks Tennis Academy are headed to London with just one thing on their minds: winning.

Indiana Gaffney is fresh off a surprise win at the French Open junior tournament. Sponsors are clamoring for her attention, but what she wants more than anything—aside from a wild card to Wimbledon—is to be with Jack Harrison, but international fame and a secret relationship rarely mix well.

When Penny Harrison dreamed of playing at Wimbledon she never imagined agonizing pain shooting through her ankle with every step. With just a month until the tournament and the whole world expecting her to win, she’s determined to play, with or without the support of her coach or the love of her life, Alex Russell.

For the first time ever, no one expects anything from Jasmine Randazzo. After a crushing first-round defeat in the French Open juniors, the tennis world has given up on her, but worse than that, so have her parents, her best friend Teddy and maybe even her coach. With everyone writing her off, can she find it within herself to go after her dreams?

 

I read and loved Game. Set. Match. two years ago and have been waiting (im)patiently ever since for Losing at Love. In my review of the first book, I said that I went into it not expecting to love it. I have no interest in tennis, plus I often find it hard to keep multiple POVs straight, especially when a lot is going on. I was pleasantly surprised, and ended up loving not only the tennis stuff, but also the three main characters, Indy, Penny, and Jasmine. Iacopelli succeeded in capturing my attention from the very beginning, and she did that again in Losing at Love.

It was so great reconnecting with these characters. It felt like meeting up with old friends, and I was eager to see what they were up to. I love that Indy, Penny, and Jasmine have stuff in common beyond tennis - they’re all strong, independent, smart girls - but they also have their own distinct personalities, interests, and goals. Throughout the book, the boundaries of their friendships (and other relationships) were tested, and it was nice to see them go through real life stuff even though their lives are far from most peoples’ idea of normal. I also appreciated that the relationship stuff wasn't always easy. I love the boys in this book as much as I love the girls. There were some steamy, sexy moments that were great, and they were mixed in nicely with the emotional stuff and some cute, funny moments.

I’d love to see this series as a TV series. I can picture it clearly, and I think it would make a great teen drama. It has all the elements of a hit TV show - friendships, romance, humour, sexytimes, competitive characters, action. It’s not often that I can picture a book translated to the TV or movie screen, but I’d watch a TV show about the OBX girls in a heartbeat.

I’m completely hooked on this series. I didn’t want the story to end, because I want to know what will happen next for Indy, Penny, Jasmine, and their sexy love interests. I just hope we don’t have to wait another two years for the next book! ;-)

 

    

Have you read Losing at Love or Game. Set. Match? What did you think? If you haven't read them, do you plan to? Do you like books about sports? Let's talk here or on Twitter!

 

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