Six years ago, they made a pact to conquer the tennis world. Instead, a lie tore them apart.

Francoise Lamarche is tennis royalty. Groomed for Grand Slam victory since childhood, she exists in a gilded cage managed by her relentlessly controlling brother, Pierre. On the court, she is an icy, unstoppable force. Off the court, she has spent six years burying the heartbreak of losing the only boy who ever saw her as more than a family legacy.

Liam Barrett didn’t have a legacy; he had a blistering two-hundred-kilometer-per-hour serve and a desperate need to pay his sister’s medical bills. When the ruthless Lamarche machine stripped him of his first major sponsorship and wildcard entry, Liam learned a brutal lesson: talent doesn’t beat money. He has clawed his way onto the professional tour fueled entirely by anger, determined to stand across the net from the Lamarche empire and make them pay.

When the grueling tour schedule forces them into the same orbit from the red clay of Paris to the manicured lawns of Wimbledon, the hostility between them is electric. But beneath the icy glares and bitter press conferences, the slow-burning tension of their stolen teenage midnights refuses to fade.

As the truth about the betrayal that separated them finally comes to light, Francoise is faced with an impossible choice: protect the family name that defined her, or blow up her entire world for a second chance with the only man who truly knows her.

Winning a Grand Slam takes absolute focus. Trusting each other again might cost them everything.

My Review

I was invited by the author to read this book, and I’m happy to leave my honest review. I was immediately drawn to it because it’s a sports romance centered around a sport I haven’t read much about: tennis!

We begin with Françoise, who is dealing with the grueling demands of management and a brother who seems to care more about the brand than the player. This year, she’s determined to go all in, but that also means facing the man she thought she’d left behind at tennis academy. Liam’s return to her life comes with a wave of cameras, attention, and plenty of unresolved feelings.

Liam is in it for his family, but six years ago, he was also in it with his heart. The tension between these two is palpable! And oh, do we get the history! The story jumps between the present and the past, revealing their shared experiences and all the juicy details of how they got here.

They come from opposite worlds, even going back to their days at the academy where they first met. I really enjoyed the sense of travel throughout the story, from Australia to Paris and who knows where next on this journey through the tennis tournaments. If you’ve ever wanted to travel through your books, following the tennis circuit is certainly one way to do it!

While the tennis world and the budding tension between the main characters take center stage, I would have loved a little more insight into the sport itself. I don’t know much about tennis, the championships, or all the ins and outs of the game, so some of those details went over my head. Even so, I found the characters and their story intriguing, especially with the mix of past and present.

The writing is engaging, and the story has a definite summer feel, with sweltering courts, heat, and plenty of sweating! ☀️🎾 It’s an angsty, tension-filled journey from teenage friends-to-lovers to the complicated realities of young adulthood. These two are tennis stars in their own right, but beneath all the competition and attention are people who care deeply about each other, the people around them, and eventually themselves.

This story is filled with heart, hope, love, and the challenges that come with sports and life. It’s a reminder that life doesn’t always take the easy route, and neither do relationships. I really enjoyed the authentic feel of this fictional romance. It was endearing, captivating, and an amazing story to experience.

I connected with the characters emotionally, even if I didn’t connect quite as strongly with the technical side of tennis. Their feelings, struggles, and history kept me invested. I also appreciated the fade-to-black approach, which allows the focus to remain on the characters as individuals and as a couple rather than on explicit spice. There’s very little spice, but the emotional connection more than makes up for it.

Overall, this was a heartfelt, angsty sports romance with a compelling mix of past and present, a second-chance feel, and characters who have to figure out what truly matters to them. I’m so glad I stepped outside my usual sports-romance comfort zone for this one!

If you would like to read The Grand Slam Year by Lexi Laff, you can find this book on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn on qualifying purchases.

If you like this book you may also enjoy books with these tags and categories: Sports, Second Chance, and Friends to Lovers.