Book Review: Set Point by Meg Jones

Official Synopsis: Nothing fades faster than a former prodigy—and Inés Costa is dangerously close to disappearing.

Once queen of the court, Inés is limping through qualifiers. And after losing her biggest sponsor to Chloe Murphy, the sport’s fiery new favorite, she and her bank account are running on fumes.

Chloe, known as much for her talent as her temper, is a top seed for the upcoming US Open. But thanks to broken rackets, code violations, and the inability to play well with others, her “favorite” status is slipping away.

However, when they are forced to share the same side of the court, and the world surprisingly doesn’t implode, Chloe makes an offer: she’ll fund Inés’s journey to the US Open, but only if Inés agrees to be her hitting partner and teach her to keep a level head.

It’s strictly business, but somewhere between practice drills and tour stops, the line between rival and something more begins to blur.

As the summer burns toward Flushing Meadows, their sizzling tension catches fire. With a trophy in sight and emotions running high, will their romance double fault at set point?

As the third book in an interconnected series, Set Point is the first queer story of the series. (Also, you only need to read them all if you don't want spoilers for how the couples end up together, so if you only want to read the sapphic one you definitely can.)

Inés Costa is struggling after returning from injury, no matter what she does it seems to flair up when playing, and when she again loses to the younger, and extremely hot-headed Chloe Murphy she doesn't know what to do. Inés is losing sponsors and money but not her love for tennis, especially when surrounded by her friends. When she decides to play in a charity tournament between Grand Slams, she is shocked when her former mixed doubles partner brings Chloe to their little beachside retreat. She is also shocked when she and Chloe are paired to play together. Chloe is quick to anger, known for fighting the umpires and lines people and being hard to deal with, but something about Inés keeps her calmer.

But Inés hasn't forgotten the night years ago when her and Chloe shared a kiss at a party, then never talked about it again, and even though she has been trying to move passed it, she can't help but remember every time she is with Chloe. When they end up working together well on the court, Chloe's brother and coach ask Inés to travel with them and be her hitting partner before the tournaments. Inés knows she doesn't have much of a choice and the money means she will continue to be able to play, but the longer her and Chloe hang out the more the feelings from that first kiss start to make their appearance again, for both of them.

As they start to explore their off court feelings, they also have to deal with their different personalities on court, along with the ever present rumors about Chloe that keep making their way into the media from someone both of them thought they could trust.

One thing I really liked about this story is no one is 'outed' by the media or forced to come out. The drama in the media has more to do with how Chloe acts on the court and little to nothing to do about her sexuality. Obviously them being close after being rivals brings up some rumors, but its nothing forced or life altering for them. I liked seeing Chloe and Inés ask for their private moments, avoiding the questions not due to embarrassment but due to wanting something for themselves. I also really enjoyed having two characters who saw each other as rivals, had strong feelings about how the other acted, come together to understand how each of them functioned. We get to see the how anxiety and depression impact Chloe and how those things are treated by her parents as well.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and the characters in it. I have always enjoyed Meg Jones' tennis romances and the different tropes and types of relationships they cover. I'm excited to see more queer and sapphic romances within the tennis romance genre too! (Stay tuned, we have so many more coming soon here.) I think we also got an intro into the next book's relationship which is really exciting too.

I rated this book 3.5 out of 5 stars!

Set Point is out now!

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