A review by katiedermody
40-Love by Olivia Dade

This was one of the options for a book club this month and it wasn't picked but I've always wanted/intended to read more Olivia Dade books, so I read it anyways even tho it is book 2 in a series. I'm not sure it mattered because it was a pretty insular story, taking place primarily during a two week vacation the FMC takes at a resort on an island in Florida for her 40th, where she meets a 26 year old former professional tennis player who now coaches at the resort. They have such a great meet cute, the way her larger size is part of the story was wonderful (he's so over the moon for all of her but there's also discussions of ableism, fatphobic treatment by men and doctors, etc. so it all felt genuine and not too pie in the sky). I've also been on a sports romance kick and it's very rarely tennis so it was interesting to throw another sport into the mix (I'm not a sports person in life but I love them as a romance reader). The two of them have to figure out if they're really compatible, she has to deal with hang ups from previous relationships and assumptions she makes because of the age difference, and he needs to figure out what he wants from life since he's a tad aimless after having to retire from playing earlier than he wanted to. The chronic pain and injury rep was appreciated, the caretaking was lovely, and the spice was there but not super explicit, so I think readers who don't mind sex in books but don't want it SPICY can still enjoy it. Definitely going to go back and read book 1 now, and then book 3!