Review of Match to Love by Johana Gavez

I am a big fan of sports romances and when Lezreviewbooks.com got the book, I snatched it up. And I don’t regret it, it’s a beautiful love story and as far as I know, it’s Ms. Gavez’s first novel.

Dani Martinez is the most successful and famous tennis player at the moment. And as much as she loves tennis and success, she enjoys the anonymity on Tumblr where she befriended Ari, a law student. Ari has no idea about tennis and no idea she is talking to a sports celebrity.

I can’t really imagine how exhausting a personal life can be when you’re famous and (almost) everyone recognizes you on the street. But I can imagine that I would enjoy the anonymity of social media while getting to know someone without bias or prejudice and being loved as the person you are and not just for your fame and money.

Ari Nunez is still searching for the right path in life. Law is her profession, but not with the big companies, where she could make a lot of money. She actually wants to make the world a better place, and that doesn’t go together.  So what should she do? Maybe her Tumblr friend can help, she trusts her and loves to talk to her. Ari has also been through a bad relationship but is unsure if Dani is really serious about her. She has self-doubts about whether she can live up to the expectations.

Dani, for her part, tries in an endearing way to convince Ari what she sees in her, that she is a wonderful and strong woman, and that she can achieve anything if she wants to. Dani must learn to deal with defeats herself, and find solutions to get back on the road to success. Is Ari a distraction or the gasoline for her tennis engine?

The joy of a new message, or hearing the other person’s voice for the first time, the anticipation of the first meeting in the real world, and when they actually meet, everything was wonderfully described and the dialogues were interesting, realistic, and sometimes fun. Also, the struggles of a long-distance relationship and the constant changes in time difference feel real.

This is a sweet love story with little angst and just a bit of drama. You don’t have to know much about tennis to enjoy the sports parts of this book. Although a few events were a bit predictable, it didn’t stop me from enjoying the story. The writing style was good for a debut novel, there was some repetition but it didn’t bother me much and I’m sure with each book Johana will improve her writing style.

An entertaining, sweet love story, a perfect vacation read, or for a lazy weekend.

My rating 4 stars
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review