Pickle Perfect
A swoony, second-chance sports rom-com full of tropical heat, sharp banter and sizzling chemistry on and off the court
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
He broke her heart in high school. Now he’s breaking her serve.
Your latest obsession has arrived - it's time to pick up your paddle and fight for romance. It's game, set, pickleball!
‘Fans of sports romances will delight in this flirty, laugh-out-loud vacation romp!’ Jessica James, author of For One Night Only
A second chance at love crashes one woman’s tropical pickleball vacation and serves up an adorkably swoony romantic comedy.
Lulu Gardner only takes predictable shots. After faulting on tennis stardom at eighteen, Lulu, now a thirty-something single parent, is in control of her game. But when an unanticipated blunder threatens her teaching job, Lulu’s stable, well-planned—okay, boring—world spins out.
And somehow, her godparents convince her to join them for a “de-stressing” destination pickleball vacation in Costa Rica. Maybe an all-inclusive picklecation is just the pick-me-up she needs to loosen her grip.
Or it would have been if she wasn’t backhanded by the sight of her high school fling Tyler Demming on the beachside courts.
Fresh off the pickleball pro tour, the reigning bad boy of paddle sports is as studly and snarky as ever. Even though his public image took a hit with a ballsy publicity stunt, Tyler seems to be the big shot he’s always been.
But Lulu’s had years to steel herself against his rugged good looks and hypnotic charm. Despite the changes she sees in Tyler since their teenage days, Lulu will have no problem keeping her head in the game and her heart on the sidelines. Or so she tells herself….
Praise for Ilana Long:
‘Pickleballers delivers the ultimate serve…a fun new rom-com that will definitely have you hitting the court ASAP’ Cosmopolitan
‘Flirty fun’ Good Housekeeping
‘Like a perfectly executed third shot drop, Ilana Long's Pickleballers is a delightful banter-filled romcom sure to plink all the heartstrings as the adorable heroine and a swoon worthy hero navigate love and life both on and off the court’ Jenn McKinlay, New York Times bestselling author
‘With lush prose, swoony adventures, and an atmospheric setting, Pickle Perfect is the perfect escapist beach read…An utter delight of a romcom’ Heather McBreen, author of Wedding Dashers
‘With Pickleballers, Long has taken a big swing and hit a winner’ KING 5’s Evening
‘A funny, feel-good adventure you won’t want to miss’ Kirkus, starred review on Pickleballers
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Long returns to the pickleball court (after 2024's Pickleballers) for a delightful second-chance romance with heart. After high school teacher and single mother Lulu Gardner accidentally sends a recording of herself cursing to all of her students via malfunctioning educational software, she's suspended from work indefinitely, freeing her up to accompany her Aunt Laverne and Uncle Rooster on their "Costa Rican pickleball vacation," with her three-year-old daughter, Zoe, in tow. Their last-minute addition to the trip hits a snag when the resort doesn't have rooms for them. The concierge recommends that Lulu take the open slot in a pickleball adventure cohort traveling throughout the country. This brings her face-to-face with her teenage love turned pickleball champ, Tyler Demming, whom she hasn't seen since he broke her heart 15 years earlier. As the pair travel and compete together, old feelings reignite, but can Lulu forgive and forget? Long makes her characters easy to root for, and adorable Zoe steals every scene she's in. The Costa Rican backdrop and fast-paced action on the pickleball court add to the fun. This charms.
