Courting Carlyn - Melissa Chambers

Title: Courting Carlyn
Author: Melissa Chambers
Rating: 3.5/5

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for letting me receive a digital copy of this book before its official release date.

Vaughn Yarborough is ready to trade the fame and glory of the international junior pro tennis circuit for college and a more settled life. First stop: spearhead a summer camp for underprivileged kids. The girl who’s agreed to run it with him has Vaughn more intrigued by the minute, but with the strict no-fraternizing rules, he’s got to figure out how not to fall for her.

When the boy Carlyn Sadowski has crushed on for years asks her to work with him for the summer, she has to pinch herself. When his world-famed coach offers her training for free, she can’t believe her luck. He could actually help her follow in her mother’s footsteps by playing college tennis. But when she finds out the catch is she’s got to convince Vaughn to go pro, Carlyn will have to decide between her dreams and the boy currently stealing her heart.

This is the kind of book I'm talking about wanting to read when requesting a novel published by Entangled. Surely, I've read two books by Melissa Chambers before, so I knew what I got myself into. I even looked forward to it. I was bit more disappointed in the second novel I read by her, but now Courting Carlyn had me feeling really good again.

I'm not a sports person. Like, at all. I used to be a dancer, but that's about it. Which is why I was surprised, finding myself liking the idea of two tennis obsessed people, finding their way in lives and finding each other. There was a lot of sports involved in this book, but it never bored me. Maybe also because I just recently played tennis for the first time and actually really enjoyed it. But yeah... Back to the book. I liked reading about how determined Carlyn was about getting into the tennis team she wanted to, how she pushed herself and still enjoyed what she did. You don't get that a lot. And then there's Vaughn, who seemed so much older than he actually was in the book. Already a celebrity, I assumed he was in his twenties. Turns out he's just eighteen. I have no idea about these kind of things, but it sure seems like even teenagers are known in the business.

Carlyn and Vaughn are both really stubborn characters, but the way they acted around the kids in camp they were looking after, or even the way they acted around each other, was totally different from their usual personalities. Or an addition. People will probably say the two of them were too predicted, and sure.. A bit, maybe. But it's really about their paths, I think. Also, about how much of an adult some of us need to be, even at a young age. Those parts really broke my heart, but I liked the way this novel still stayed true to itself and remained a light read.

It was refreshing to see how Carlyn's character changed through the pages. You could actually follow her become more self-confident and more adult. And with her help, Vaughn cracked and wasn't his all-too-serious self anymore. They were good for each other and it still seemed so natural.

If you're looking for a sweet romance on the last days of this year's summer, I suggest you pick this one up. It's worth it!