Match Point by Chelsea Dorsette

In Match Point by Chelsea Dorsette, a young woman decides to move on following a devastating loss.  After the death of her terminally ill mother, Kelly decides to leave her home in New Jersey and move to Hilton Head Island.  Her day job as a realtor can wait while she mourns her mother and tries to establish a career as an author.

Kelly chooses to move into a condo in a small community named Palmetto Dunes. Surrounded by running trails and golf courses, Kelly has many opportunities to get out into the fresh air and exercise.  Most interesting to her is the tennis center on the island.  This is where she meets the local tennis pro, Patrick.

Patrick is the handsome, most sought after tennis pro at the club, and from the moment he meets Kelly, he has eyes only for her.  A relationship develops, and soon, Kelly and Patrick are inseparable.  There are lots of steamy scenes of the two of them, and practically every romantic cliché that you can imagine is represented here—a scene on the beach, one in the shower, some with creative use of submission/dominance.

About halfway through the novel, a couple of jealous employees try to wreak havoc on Kelly and Patrick’s relationship.  Will they succeed in their subterfuge or will they be found out?

Match Point was a super quick read with a few issues that made it frustrating to read.  Yes, the story had quite a few naughty bits (more erotica than romance), but my issue was with the way the story was written rather than the content.  Aside from vast quantities of exposition and telling me what the characters felt, I was quite annoyed with a rather liberal use of exclamation points.  There is nothing like reading a scene and the author telling me when to squeal.  In addition, I was not at all OK with a sex scene in a graveyard.  Yes, they were touring Charleston Ghost and Graveyard and they were so overcome by their carnal needs that they acted on their impulses at the eternal home of many a person.  I was grossed out—not romantic at all. 

Finally, as I was coasting along reading about Patrick, all of a sudden here comes a chapter out of the blue about another male character that I had never heard of.  (Turns out it was the villain making his first appearance.)  Surely, he could have at least been introduced earlier so that the transition was not so jarring.

Match Point was a fast read and I did enjoy the plot twist/blackmail idea introduced in its pages.  However, with a forgettable cast of characters, trite writing techniques, and a bit of a gross out factor, I won’t be putting this on a list of my favorite reads—naughty or otherwise.

 

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  Regina