Pickleballers by Ilana Long is an amateur outing on the pickleball court. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and is entirely here for a fun, mind-numbing time.
It’s flimsy, fleeting storytelling won’t leave a lasting impression on romance readers, but it will provide a light and fluffy new take on the sports genre for those tired of reading about hockey dude bros. Beat for beat, it offers all the generic yet beloved trappings of the romance genre with heart-warming encounters and adorable banter.
The rom-com follows Meg, an artist scrambling to establish a new life for herself after a brutal breakup. She joins her friend’s recreational pickleball league as a way to keep her mind off her ex, but soon finds trouble when she falls for a player from the rival league — a man also in charge of demoing the school’s pickleball courts, which her league lays claim to each week.
If that summary sounds messy enough, know this book is a hot mess on and off the courts.
It throws around plot twists and new characters with careless abandon. It can be challenging to follow at times and lacks depth. Much of the book relies on the miscommunication and drama between the lead couple, Meg and Ethan, so much so that you’re never really rooting for them to make it work in the end.
Despite the grating back and forth of their budding relationship and the immature nature of our protagonist, there is something positive to be said about the pickleball of it all.
The play-by-play action sequences are far more fascinating than anything else this premise has to offer. The rival league dynamics and wholesomeness of Meg’s encouraging teammates build camaraderie on the courts, making for a breezy beach read. The author milks the gimmicks of the sport, dropping interesting terminology and tidbits about pickleball’s history at every available opportunity.
Suppose you’re curious enough to immerse yourself in a fictional pickleball world to understand what makes people gravitate towards this sport of all things. In that case, Pickleballers isn’t a terrible place to start.
It offers us plenty of time on scenic courts with beautiful waterfront backdrops.
The book never reaches its full potential, weighed down by poorly written characters and tired plot tools. If the author can refine their delivery and make this concept shine, readers will be eager to see Long bounce back with another pickleball-centric romance.
Unfortunately, Meg and Ethan aren’t the winning pairing this book needs them to be.
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