Review: Game Set Match Review
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 20, 2013
Wow! Coliloquy does it again!  Here's another book with lots of angst, set amid the ultra competitive world of tennis.  Here's a secret; I can't stand tennis, and yet I couldn't put this book down!  The interpersonal relationships had me hooked.  Would Penny get over her fling with tennis bad boy Alex?  Would Jasmine live up to her parents' legacy?  Would Indy ever fit in at OBX and make her dreams of being a top tennis player come true?  Will I get over the cruelty of those painful little words - THE END??While I don't enjoy tennis, I was drawn to this book because I love sports stories.  It doesn't matter what the sport is, either.  As long as the protagonists are committed to training hard and being the best they can be, I'm onboard.  There is just something about a competitor refusing to be second best that keeps me engaged in their struggles.  I want to see them persevere, to overcome all obstacles in their path, and become the best they can be.  Throw in rivals, disinterested parents, interfering parents - in short, any emotionally distracting relationship, and I am that much more invested in the story.Game. Set. Match. has three central characters, and the book is told in alternating POVs.  Penny has just won her first major tournament, defeating the world's number one player.  She's determined to win the French Open next, but she's still having flashbacks to a disastrous competition where Alex Russell messed with her mind, her heart, and destroyed her game.  To her utter dismay, her coach has brought Alex to OBX to help her train.  Can she keep herself together and ignore the attraction raging between them? Can she ever trust him again?  I loved this story line, because Alex is such a player, yet he's ready to make a commitment to Penny, if only she'll give him the time of day.  There was a lot of great tension between Alex and Penny, as they both strove to train for their matches at the French Open.  Penny has so many pressures now that she's finding success, from potential sponsors to rivals waiting in the wings to take her down a notch.  Great stuff here!Jasmine is probably my least favorite character, because she came across as a spoiled princess.  Her parents were both tennis superstars, and since she was seven, all she's wanted was to follow in their footsteps.  When Indy shows up at OBX and promptly derails her dreams and hopes for the future, she lashes out at her new tennis opponent.  Jasmine lost the mental game long before she even stepped out on the court.  She expected that success would just fall into her lap, without her truly working for it.  While I did like her better by the end of the book, it took a lot for her to win me over.Indy gave up on tennis after her mother's death.  After Penny wins the Madrid Open, her fire to play tennis is re-ignited.  She is surprised that her offer to attend OBX is still open, and jumps at the chance to train at the best tennis academy in the country.  I really liked Indy and found her story arc highly engrossing.  Still reeling from her mother's death, she and her father have a distant relationship at best.  She's never been as interesting to him as his work, and Indy has resented his indifference for years.  Now she's facing the toughest competition of her life, and she's learning the hard way that tennis is more about the mental game than she realized.  Her early success at OBX hasn't earned her any friends among her classmates.  She's surprised to discover how down to earth Penny is, and the two girls soon become close, which leads to more rivalries with the other girls at the academy.  Indy's story was my favorite, and I thought that her romantic pursuit of Jack, Penny's older brother, was very sweet.Game. Set. Match is a great read with lots of emotion.  Even if you don't usually enjoy sports stories, give this a try.  It's more about relationships and chasing your dreams than tennis.Grade:  B / B+