Buy: Kindle Ebook | Paperback
Blurb
Sikai Solomon is a tennis prodigy.
A mega-talent.
A legend in the making.
Kai is also the official, undisputed, bad boy of the “gentleman’s” sport with more smashed rackets than trophies; more penalty fines than prize money. The temperamental Australian sells out every match and the crowd loves his unconventional style of play, but when his fuse gets lit? Game. Over.
With the Australian Open only a few weeks away, a Grand Slam win should be a no-brainer. Instead, Kai’s self-sabotage has him on the verge of being banned from professional tennis for life. As a last-ditch effort to help save his career, his agent hires Daisy Watson to spend two weeks with the hotheaded superstar.
Daisy is a specialist in the healing arts. Or she will be, someday. Right now, she’s a broke receptionist at a Reiki Wellness Center in Maui, Hawaii, trying to make ends meet and heal her own emotional wounds from a dark episode in her past she’d rather forget.
Kai and Daisy are fire and water, but her compassion could be the perfect balm for his hot-blooded temper. His fearless, take-no-prisoners approach to life could be just what she needs to rediscover her own power…or they might end up with nothing.
Because in the sport of tennis, love means zero.
*Love Game was previously published in Team Player 2: A Sports Anthology*
Review
5 stars!
Emma Scott has a knack for writing beautifully broken characters who are real and relatable, and the characters in Love Game are no exception. Kai and Daisy take us through a world of loss, grief, and trauma, and bring us out of the pain through healing and love. Though only a novella, this story is full of big feels, and it was easy to escape to Hawaii and fall in love with Kai and Daisy.
Daisy lives in fear after a traumatic event shook her to the core. She is afraid of the dark and her only comfort is a dog name Keanu. She moves to Hawaii to try to heal but it’s slow going. She doesn’t let it get her down though and is a breath of fresh air.
Kai is a skilled tennis player who has a shot at winning the Australian Open. That is, if he doesn’t get kicked out of the league before the tournament. Hot-tempered and with a history of acting out, his “don’t give a damn” attitude may ruin his chances for the win. When he is sent to Hawaii to wind down and get his head on straight he never imagined his time there would change his life.
Kai’s manager, Jason, cares about Kai and does not want him to throw away everything he has worked so hard for. With no other choice, Jason decides to try something new. He hires Daisy to calm Kai’s nerves and help him sort his problems using yoga, meditation, and Reiki. Needing the money, Daisy can’t turn down the job but Kai isn’t as quick to jump on board.
Daisy knows she has her work cut out for her but she is willing to give it a go. Kai is skeptical of Daisy and his anger rules his life but here is so much more to the man on the court and the actions he shows the world. He chooses anger over pain because that is easier to experience than the overwhelming grief that consumes him. He can’t get away from the heartache but as he spends time with Daisy, he realizes there is something special about her and she starts to change the way he feels.
She met my eye, and instead of complaining about my predicament, I felt a lightness in my chest, like a balloon that kept filling with warm air instead of anger and frustration.
Daisy is wonderful. She is confident, compassionate, and honest. She can hold her own and I love her witty comebacks as she and Kai banter back and forth. They have fun together and with smoking hot chemistry like theirs, there is no denying their attraction.
Daisy and Kai are just what the other never knew they needed and they push each other out of their comfort zones. The feels are real as is the pain and fear as they help each other heal. Daisy and Kai are the perfect mix of sweet, swoony, and sexy as they go from enemies to friends to lovers, and I loved the progression of their romance.
Overall, Love Game is a bite sized treat with big flavor, and I loved it! I only wish it was longer because I couldn’t get enough of Kai and Daisy!!
*ARC Review based on content in Team Player 2: A Sports Anthology provided by the author*
Check out our Emma Scott Author Spotlight for more amazing reads!