Monday, March 3, 2014

After Wimbledon by Jennifer Gilby Roberts {Review + Giveaway}

Genre: Women's Fiction/Chick Lit
Age Group: Adult
Publication Date: November 20th 2013
Series: Stand Alone
Pages: 262
Format: Kindle
Source: Provided by author for review



After 12 years on the pro. tennis tour and four years with her sort-of boyfriend, Lucy Bennett has had enough. She wants real life… and real love. Her life, her decision. Right? Well, no one else seems to think so. With opinions on all sides, Lucy’s head is spinning. And she’s stumbling right into the arms of long-term crush and fellow player Sam. Shame her boyfriend – his arch-rival – would sooner smash a racquet over their heads than agree to a simple change of partners. As the Wimbledon Championships play out, Lucy fights for her life on and off the courts. The question is: what will she be left with after Wimbledon?



My Review:

If you met me in person you wouldn't be able to look at me and tell that I used to be super active when I was younger. What was my favorite sport? Tennis! I used to take lessons weekly and even competed in some small time tournaments which is the reason I wanted to read After Wimbledon. I knew this would be a good book, gut instinct told me I would love it. And I did. It was funny, romantic, extremely witty and absolutely charming!

28 Year old Lucy Bennett wants nothing more than to win a Wimbledon title. Or so she thinks. She's been grappling herself over a possible retirement after several injuries and never advancing past the fourth round has beaten her spirit down a little bit. Her parents want her to take some time to rethink her decision so she doesn't regret it later. With her boyfriend Joe competing to win the men's title and a secret crush on another title competitor, Sam, her decision making skills are put to the test.

I fell absolutely in love with this book from start to finish. Lucy Bennett was a hilarious and complex character I found myself relating to a little by little. She's spent her whole life trying to achieve something she thought she wanted only to find out she might not want as badly as she used to. After befriending Sam Pennington and learning he's planning the retirement move as well she starts to give it serious thought. Of course it has nothing to do with her secret affection for him does it? Another tough decision she must make is if she should break up with her boyfriend before or after Wimbledon. I instantly loved Lucy and from the moment Sam came into the picture I wanted her to dump her boyfriend Joe no questions asked to be with Sam. It's not that easily done though because Lucy didn't want to upset him while he's trying to win at Wimbledon. I could understand her dilemma being a complex woman myself. While she and Joe weren't in love and their relationship was only one of convenience she didn't want to cause him any grief. I admired her for that even though Joe was a wretched character I couldn't stand. At All. There really wasn't anything about Joe I liked. He was bossy, pushy, rude and controlling and I was on the edge of my seat waiting for Lucy to wise up and cut him loose.

Lucy and Sam begin a friendship while she's still technically seeing Joe even though she's decided to stop being with him in the girlfriend sense of the word while she figures out what she wants. Sam was such a fantastic character and a wonderful guy. It was very obvious how he felt about Lucy and what he wanted for them in the long run but didn't want to come between her and Joe if she really cared about him. He's had some past issues with relationships that have shaped his viewpoint on cheating that have caused him to keep his distance. Sam had amazing integrity and I couldn't have loved him more if I tried. He was so gentle and patient with Lucy even when Joe was being a total bastard to him trying to get in his head before their match. The two have been unspoken rivals and making matters worse is Lucy being caught in the middle. Sam really proved to be the better man after taking the high road and not stooping to Joe's level of unsportsmanlike conduct. he did upset me a little bit when Lucy had a little trouble with the media, wanting to believe the worst about her but I was glad he gave her a chance to explain once the tables were turned.

There wasn't anything really overtly steamy about the love affair between Lucy and Sam but I have to say their chemistry was so amazing that the build up of excitement was well worth it. This was another closed door book I have read that filled in the missing steamy scenes with characters that were well developed and had such an amazing connection that I didn't feel like I needed to see them get dirty. These two have their share of drama both together and separately. Lucy's is mainly dealing with her parents and the fallout of her impending retirement and the effects it's having on her parents as they face a possible rift between them over it. My heart broke for Lucy but she was so poised and determined to make her own choices even if it disappointed those she loved. Sam's bit of drama was sad because he was such a great guy even when he had his butthead moments. A past relationship comes back to haunt him in the tabloids with a family secret not far behind that had me wanting to snuggle him if it wasn't for Lucy beating me to it!

The writing in After Wimbledon did take me some getting used to with it's very English wording and phrasings. It wasn't hard to follow by any means but I did find myself putting to use my Kindle's definition feature several times when I didn't know what something was. (I'm still not clear on what snogging is btw)Since it has been so long since I have played tennis and never really understood the scoring technique anyway, I was a little bit lost during the matches but nothing that deterred me from enjoying the book. The way this author paced out her story was unique and very easy to read. Everything flowed so nicely it was difficult to put it down even to do menial tasks. I was so engrossed in the everything going on around Lucy that once I started I couldn't put it down until I was finished. With the easy pacing of the story and the flow of one scene to the next it made reading After Wimbledon a quick read that didn't take me long to finish. I always love a book that can suck me in and hold me until the last page. This was such a great story that had me falling in love right along with the characters and experiencing all of their ups and downs. I was drawn into the excitement of the games and felt nervous wondering who would win in the end! Being the first experience with this author I would absolutely read her other works based on how much I loved this book. The way she wrapped up the story between Lucy and Sam was just one more reason I was smiling when I finished this book. I have been on a roll lately with really great books after having been in a bit of a slump so if you, like me, are in need of a great story full of fun characters and sweet romance you should bump this up further on your to be read list. It's definitely a book I could read again and again!


{I went crazy with my highlighter function so choosing just a few quotes was HARD!}

Quotes:

~What is wrong with my tongue? It keeps saying things I don't mean it to. Terrible things. True things. Kindle 5%

"I'll bring some food for the mice."
"You can actually get special mouse treats from the pet shop."
I laugh. "You're just a sad lunatic, aren't you?" Kindle 18%

~Will it sound like a pick-up line if I arrive on his doorstep and ask if I can stroke his pussy? Kindle 19%

Just once, I want to go into a conference and say, "I'm way better than her and I'm going to kick her arse." Tennis is such a polite game. I sometimes wish I'd gone into WWF wrestling instead. Then I could say anything I liked and beat people up. Not that I have anger issues or anything.
Ahem. Kindle 33%

~It's stupid to let emotional crap get in the way. After all, love means nothing in Tennis. Kindle 40%

Giveaway:

Jennifer is hosting a Chick Lit giveaway over on her blog!



About The Author:

Jennifer Gilby Roberts has a degree in physics and a postgraduate certificate in computing, so writing fiction was inevitable really. She was born and grew up in Surrey/Greater London, but now lives in Richmond, North Yorkshire with her husband, small daughter, two middle-aged cats and a lot of dust bunnies. She also has a grown-up step-daughter and a large extended family (by marriage). Her job right now is taking care of her younger daughter (who was born three months premature, but is doing just fine now), but previously she worked many thrilling jobs in administration, including one in an insurance claims office (wholly unrelated to the one in 'The Dr Pepper Prophecies'...). She's written two novels, both in the chick-lit genre, four novellas and a variety of short stories.

Links:

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE




After Wimbledon is only .99 cents on Amazon right now!




4 comments:

  1. Thank you very much for the review and featuring the giveaway!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I didn't know you played tennis! I had a boyfriend who played, but I'm but good at all. The story soubds really good. I'm glad you loved it!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think I added this to my TBR while you were reading it. The quotes you shared with me were awesome! I like tennis, but I don't think I'm very good. I rock at Wii tennis though.

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  4. After Wimbledon will be FREE on Amazon 29-30 April 14.

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GZ88WIS/

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00GZ88WIS/

    http://mybook.to/AW

    ReplyDelete

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