The Singles Game by Lauren Weisberger

When I was offered a copy of this book I jumped on it, for two reasons, I loved The Devil Wears Prada and the book meets task one on the 2017 Book Riot’s challenge. The theme of this book is buyer beware because sometimes you get more than you bargained for.

That is exactly what happened to Charlotte “Charlie” Silver. After a devastating injury Charlie is not hearing the words she wants to from her coach. She is a driven young woman and being told she may not be able to play tennis on the same level again does not sit well with her. Therefore, she fires her longtime coach and hires Todd Feltner, a no nonsense coach, with a reputation of being ruthless on his players and expecting the same from them.

Todd wants to get rid of the nice girl next door image Charlie has and replace it with the “Warrior Princess” image. He gets to work right away and pushes Charlie both on and off the court. His methods work but there is a price to pay. Charlie’s father does not approve of all the changes and is extremely disappointed when Charlie’s sportsmanship is not to his standards. In addition, Charlie is not happy with who she has become. For Charlie it will come down to a choice, what is more important, to win at all costs at the sport she has dedicated her life to and loves or her self-respect?

The author did an exceptional job explaining the behind the scenes action at major tennis events, the rules, social events, etc. that are part of life as a top ranked tennis player and mixing this information flawlessly with the plot. The best part of all is how well I was able to relate to Charlie. She is strong yet uncertain and is stilling struggling to find who she really is. Very enjoyable read.

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.