Pick Me

By Victoria Schade

A delightfully sexy romantic comedy about a romance writer determined to learn how to play pickleball to impress her crush, only to fall for her coach.

As a cowboy romance ghostwriter, Brooke Murphy knows a thing or two about happily ever afters. But following her last breakup, Brooke is feeling fresh out of hot and steamy vibes.

With her next deadline looming and desperate for inspiration, Brooke says yes to every possible romantic opportunity, including a mixed doubles pickleball game, where she meets a tall, dark, and handsome guy taking his pickleball very seriously. A couple of dates with this stranger would be all she needs to crank out her next trope-tastic novel. She just needs to learn how to play. Fast. So what if she's the least athletic person alive?

Enter Owen Miller, aka The Big Gripper, the secret weapon of Manhattan's most competitive finance bro pickleball players. The surly coach doesn't look like a former elite athlete--with his bucket hat, oversized basketball shorts, and flip-flops--but the man can move when the ball heads his way. With enough shameless begging, she convinces him to take her on.

As her game improves, her muse comes back in a big way. Could it be that her feelings for the grump who taught her the difference between a dillball and a dink shot run deeper than just student and coach?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0063444771
• ISBN13: 9780063444775
• Release Date: November 2025
• Publisher: Avon A
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Rom-com on a pickleball court

Thanks to the author for a gifted advance copy. All comments and opinions are my own unless otherwise noted. Sparks fly along with the balls on the pickleball court as Brooke tries hard to score with Kai, never seeing that Owen has fallen for her. Romance writer Brooke Murphy has writer’s block after a messy breakup. She’s on the lookout for a muse to give her steamy inspiration for the romance novel she’s ghostwriting, in time to meet her upcoming deadline. She meets Kai, a hunky guy on the pickleball court, but doesn’t know the first thing about how to play the game. She’s in luck when coach Owen Miller offers to teach her, for free. I’ve read a few other Victoria Schade books but this one is a little different. While it is a rom-com, it’s not dog-focused like many of her others. This one is pickleball focused, with a side story on writing romance novels. Another thing that’s a little different from the others I’ve read is it’s got more spice, with intimate details that are on the steamy side. As a rom-com you know it’s got to have a few typical relationship issues. In this case the tropes are slow burn, friends to lovers, grumpy vs sunny, opposites attract and fake relationships. I gave this one 3 stars. While it was a comfortable rom-com, I felt it was too predictable. Also, the spicy language often went over the top for me, and I didn’t connect with Brooke or identify with her crush on Kai. I liked Owen but didn’t understand what he saw in Brooke.