Review - The Singles Game

The Singles Game

​​by Lauren Weisberger

​​Release date 6/6/2016

​​352 pages

​​4 out of 5 stars

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​​According to the publisher, “Charlotte“Charlie” Silver has always been a good girl. She excelled at tennis early, coached by her father, a former player himself, and soon became one of the top juniors in the world. When she leaves UCLA—and breaks her boyfriend’s heart—to turn pro, Charlie joins the world’s best athletes who travel eleven months a year, competing without mercy for Grand Slam titles and Page Six headlines.

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​​After Charlie suffers a disastrous loss and injury on Wimbledon’s Centre Court, she fires her longtime coach and hires Todd Feltner, a legend of the men’s tour, who is famous for grooming champions. Charlie is his first-ever female player, and he will not let her forget it. He is determined to change her good-girl image—both on the court and off—and transform her into a ruthless competitor who will not only win matches and climb the rankings, but also score magazine covers and seven-figure endorsement deals. Her not-so-secret affair with the hottest male player in the world, sexy Spaniard Marco Vallejo, has people whispering, and it seems like only a matter of time before the tabloids and gossip blogs close in on all the juicy details. Charlie’s ascension to the social throne parallels her rising rank on the women’s tour—but at a major price.

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​​Lauren Weisberger’s novel brings us exclusive behind-the-scenes details from all the Grand Slam tournaments: the US Open, the French Open, the Australian Open, and Wimbledon. Charlie Silver jets around the globe, plays charity matches aboard Mediterranean mega-yachts, models in photo shoots on Caribbean beaches, walks the red carpet at legendary player parties, and sidesteps looming scandals—all while trying to keep her eyes on the real prize. In this sexy, unputdownable read about young tennis stars who train relentlessly to compete at the highest levels while living in a world obsessed with good looks and Instagram followers, Charlie must discover the secret to having it all—or finally shatter the illusion for good.”

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​​If the author’s name sounds familiar to you, it’s probably for good reason; Lauren Weisberger is the author of the incredibly popular Devil Wears Prada books.  While The Singles Game doesn’t involve any characters or plot points from the author’s other books, it is pretty similar to her “chick-lit” style that is found in the other books. I personally enjoy this, so I gave it four out of five stars.  If you prefer books with deep content, or that are less geared towards one gender, this may not be the book for you.

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​​That being said, if you do enjoy this genre, this is a really fun, well done book!  We follow main character Charlie Silver on her journey from being a lower-echelon professional tennis player to a full-blown tabloid superstar!  Throughout the book, we get to follow along as Charlie travels around the world, goes to fabulous parties, and mingles with other insanely famous tennis stars.  

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​​If you aren’t into tennis, or sports in general, don’t worry; this book will definitely give tennis fans what they want without skimping on the drama.  There is also romance, player vs. player intrigue, and ultimately a moral dilemma for our protagonist. 

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​​I got completely sucked into the characters and could not wait to see how everything turned out; this was a really quick read for me!  Like I said before, this book doesn’t cover the most serious subject matter, but that’s what was most enjoyable about it.  If you are looking for the perfect book to take on a spring getaway, I definitely recommend The Singles Game!

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