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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Blog Tour Review & Giveaway: GAME. SET. MATCH. by Jennifer Iacopelli

 

Check out the full tour line-up here

GAME. SET. MATCH. by Jennifer Iacopelli

Series: Outerbanks Tennis Academy, Book #1

Published: May 1st, 2013

Publisher: Coliloquy

193 pages (eARC)

Genre: Contemporary New Adult/Sports

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

Warning: May contain spoilers

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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.

 

I’m going to be honest: I didn’t expect to like GAME. SET. MATCH. nearly as much as I did. I added it to my TBR list on GoodReads several months ago as an entry in a giveaway, and while I thought it sounded interesting, I didn’t give it much thought beyond that. When Jennifer Iacopelli herself contacted me and asked if I’d like to be part of her Street Team and help with the cover reveal and blog tour, I thought ‘What the heck? I like supporting authors, especially debut authors who need to get their names out there’. I’ve only read a couple of sports-related books, and since I’m personally not into sports, I wasn’t sure if GAME. SET. MATCH. would really do it for me. I’m thrilled to say I misjudged this book and that I loved it! 

GAME. SET. MATCH. is a well-written debut with dynamic characters, life lessons, friendship, sexual tension, and plenty of tennis-related action. We’re introduced in turn to the three main characters: Indy, Penny, and Jasmine, whose lives revolve around tennis. All three girls are very different; they have the same ultimate goal - to become the best tennis player possible - but their personalities, and how they go about reaching their goals is very different.

 

I always worry when there are so many points of view in a story, but Iacopelli did a fantastic job of giving each girl a distinctive voice and personality, while skillfully weaving their stories together. My favourite characters were Indy and Penny. I loved how determined Indy was, and how driven Penny was. I was happy to see them become friends, because they both really needed someone in their lives for support. I’ll admit that I hated Jasmine at first. She was the mean girl/queen bee type, but we quickly learned that it wasn’t necessarily that people really liked her, so much as they liked who she was: the daughter of famous tennis players. I began to sympathize with her when I realized the motivations behind her snarky attitude and that she was actually deeper than I first thought.

Iacopelli also did a great job with the romantic elements of the book. It was alternately sweet and sexy, and I liked all three guys: Jack (Penny’s oldest brother, and Indy’s love interest); Teddy (Penny’s other brother, and Jasmine’s love interest); and Alex (Penny’s love interest). They all had their ups and downs, and things didn’t come easy for any of the three couples, which I liked. I found myself rooting for each couple and enjoying their journeys and the sometimes-painful lessons they had to learn. My favourite boy was definitely Jack. He was confusing and gave Indy all kinds of mixed signals. He clearly liked her but was worried she was too young for him. It made him run hot (and I do mean hot!) and cold with her, which was frustrating, but I also loved the anticipation. I also really enjoyed the tension between Penny and Alex, and the unrequited love aspect of Jasmine’s interest in playboy Teddy. 

GAME. SET. MATCH. drew me in and kept me captivated from beginning to end. While the tennis aspects were over my head at first and I thought I might get tired of the sports theme, I ended up getting really invested in the girls’ successes and failures. This book is a perfect example of what the new adult genre should be - it has elements of sexiness to it, but it’s so much more than that. It’s about the bonds of friendship, family, love, and it has a really positive message about believing in yourself, going after your dreams, and never giving up. Iacopelli has written an incredibly strong debut, and I can’t wait to meet up with Indy, Penny, and Jasmine again and continue on with their stories.

*I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*

 

Jennifer Iacopelli was born in New York and has no plans to leave...ever. Growing up, she read everything she could get her hands on, but her favorite authors were Laura Ingalls Wilder, L.M. Montgomery and Frances Hodgson Burnett all of whom wrote about kick-ass girls before it was cool for girls to be kick-ass. She got a Bachelor's degree in Adolescence Education and English Literature quickly followed up by a Master's in Library Science, which lets her frolic all day with her books and computers, leaving plenty of time in the evenings to write and yell at the Yankees, Giants and her favorite tennis players through the TV.

Find Jennifer online: {Website || Twitter || Facebook}

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Have you read GAME. SET. MATCH.? Do you enjoy sports-related fiction?

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Cover Reveal: GAME. SET. MATCH. by Jennifer Iacopelli

Today I'm really pleased to have the chance to participate in the cover reveal for Jennifer Iacopelli's debut novel, GAME. SET. MATCH. This book sounds really good with a fun, fresh premise, and I can't wait to read it!

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Add GAME. SET. MATCH. on GoodReads

Nestled along the coastline of North Carolina, the Outer Banks Tennis Academy is the best elite tennis training facility in the world. Head Coach, Dominic Kingston has assembled some of the finest talent in the sport. From the game's biggest stars to athletes scraping and clawing to achieve their dreams, OBX is full of ego, drama and romance. Only the strong survive in this pressure cooker of competition, on and off the court.

Penny Harrison, the biggest rising star in tennis, is determined to win the French Open and beat her rival, the world’s number one player, Zina Lutrova. There’s just one problem, the only person who’s ever been able to shake her laser-like focus is her new training partner. Alex Russell, tennis’s resident bad boy, is at OBX recovering from a knee injury suffered after he crashed his motorcycle (with an Aussie supermodel on the back). He's hoping to regain his former place at the top of men’s tennis and Penny’s heart, while he’s at it.

Tennis is all Jasmine Randazzo has ever known. Her parents have seven Grand Slam championships between them and she’s desperate to live up to their legacy. Her best friend is Teddy Harrison, Penny’s twin brother, and that’s all they’ve ever been, friends. Then one stupid, alcohol-laced kiss makes everything super awkward just as she as she starts prepping for the biggest junior tournament of the year, the Outer Banks Classic.

The Classic is what draws Indiana Gaffney out of the hole she crawled into after her mom’s death. Even though she’s new to OBX, a win at the Classic is definitely possible. She has a big serve and killer forehand, but the rest of her game isn’t quite up to scratch and it doesn’t help that Jasmine Randazzo and her little minions are stuck-up bitches or that Jack Harrison, Penny’s agent and oldest brother, is too hot for words, not to mention way too old for her.

Who will rise? Who will fall?

Told from rotating points of view, GAME. SET. MATCH., is a 'new adult' novel about three girls with one goal: to be the best tennis player in the world.

Jennifer's reaction to the cover:

"My cover artist is the INCREDIBLE Erin Fitzsimmons, who also designed (and redesigned) the covers for Lauren Oliver's Delirium series! I love how it focuses on the girl, because the girls are truly the heart of this series, plus the couple really looks like Penny and Alex, one of the three couples featured in the OBX series. That's one of my pet peeves, when the models don't look anything like the characters! And of course, the kiss, because really, who doesn't love a little kissing?! I adore the title treatment. The yellow brightening to the green brings out a fun tennis color scheme. So yes, lots of love from my end, but I fully admit, I may be a little biased"

About Jennifer: Jennifer Iacopelli was born in New York and has no plans to leave...ever. Growing up, she read everything she could get her hands on, but her favorite authors were Laura Ingalls Wilder, L.M. Montgomery and Frances Hodgson Burnett all of whom wrote about kick-ass girls before it was cool for girls to be kick-ass. She got a Bachelor's degree in Adolescence Education and English Literature quickly followed up by a Master's in Library Science, which lets her frolic all day with her books and computers, leaving plenty of time in the evenings to write and yell at the Yankees, Giants and her favorite tennis players through the TV.

Find Jennifer Online:

{Website || Twitter || GoodReads}

 What do you guys think of the cover? I like that it's simple and clean with a bright, eye-catching title. Don't forget to add it to your TBR and enter the awesome giveaway below!

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