Thirty Love

by Tom Vellner

Things heat up on and off the court for two tennis rivals in this steamy debut gay sports romcom perfect for fans of TJ Alexander and Casey McQuiston.

American tennis star Leo Chambers is determined to win the US Open by 30, the age when many players feel retirement looming. He’s just a year away from that dreaded birthday, but he can’t find his focus—considering he hasn’t told anyone he’s gay, he’s clashing with his strict coach (who also happens to be his dad), and he still can’t figure out how to beat his longtime nemesis on tour, Gabe Montoya, who, well, hits different. Gabe is playing better than ever, and Leo can’t seem to escape him—and maybe he doesn’t want to escape him.

Leo’s other obstacle is Sascha Volkov, a Russian legend who has such a powerful influence on the tennis world, he would destroy Leo’s career if he found out that he’s gay.

No distractions, Leo reminds himself. But when Gabe makes a shocking announcement, Leo is thrown off his game—in more ways than one. Ready? Play.

Thirty Love is a must-read for fans of queer sports romances.

Genres: Romance, Sports, LGBT, Sports Romance, Contemporary, Queer, M M Romance

336 pages, Paperback

First published March 10, 2026

About the author

Tom Vellner is a writer, editor, and mediocre tennis player. A former staff writer at BuzzFeed, he has also contributed to VICE, Thrillist, ACLU Magazine, and more. He lives in the Hudson Valley with his husband and two dogs. Thirty Love is his debut novel.

Reviews

[Marieke (mariekes_mesmerizing_books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went in with zero expectations, but oh boy… this book is good!

It’s a slow, slow, slow burn, and I loved every minute of it. Because what’s better than a great enemies-to-friends-to-lovers story? The first part doesn’t even focus much on the romance—it’s about Leo and his dad, Leo’s encounters with Gabe, and vivid tennis scenes. I’ve watched so many tennis matches in the past, and it felt like I was courtside for every rally: the thud of the ball, the groans and moans, the excitement.

The same goes for the tension between Leo and Gabe. They didn’t know how to act around each other, even though it was obvious there was something between them. I loved how their conversations started cautiously, led to a truce, and eventually grew into something more.

If you’re looking for lots of smut, I have to disappoint you—there’s hardly any. Or you could count Gabe’s guilty pleasure: reading smut (Leo’s is watching Gokden Girls btw).

I hesitated for a moment to round my 4.5-star rating up to five because of the lack of safe sex talk, but that last chapter gave me goosebumps like I was in the stadium myself. So, in the end, I decided to round up my rating after all.

Thank you, Alcove Press and NetGalley, for this fantastic tennis romance!

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[Fernanda (ivyfer_isreading) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5
I loved this book.
If you also had a Challengers phase when the movie came out this was made for you. I was surprised by how the game was so intrinsic to the plot, you can say I've been reading way too many sports romances where the game is just the setting, but not here! And I absolutely loved that. I learned a lot about tennis and I was surprised to see how much I cared about the matches and results. 
I love the cast of characters, both Gabe and Leo have amazing friends and I couldn't get enough of their dynamics. 
The romance is a slow burn and how I missed this omg! It's so good when it's done well, and let me tell you the author KNOWS how to do it. The tension and getting to know each other better as friends, the glances and little touches, the beginning of the relationship, it was. So. Good. 
I basically loved everything in Thirty Love, if you can't tell already. 

Thank you so much to Alcove Press and Netgalley for the ARC! 

[Sarina Bowen]

Fantastic characters! Impeccably-researched sports angle! Found family! I loved everything about this novel, and when I was finished I immediately missed the characters. If you haven't picked it up yet I don't know what you're doing with your life.

[Vini · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah just like in challengers

If there's one thing about me, it's that I love Challengers. It's one of my favorite movies of all time, the soundtrack SLAPS, everyone in it is SO HOT, and it's SO FUN. So, of course, the moment I heard a tennis romance was coming out, I added it to my TBR!!

I'm not a sports person, but tennis is the only sport I'm remotely, slightly interested in, so I always thought it was a crime that there weren't a lot of tennis romances. Tennis is kind of a perfect sport for people to explore in romance books. You have to be at a distance from somebody. You can't touch them, trying to make them think the ball is gonna go one place, and then go another place. There’s a lot of intimacy in that, and a lot of repression. The point is not having any contact. And also the grunts and the sounds people make!! You can't curse!! It's perfect for romance COME ON PEOPLE !!

Thirty Love definitely delivered on all I wanted from a tennis romance. I was surprised by how much the game is intrinsic to the plot. I'm a bit used to the actual sport in a sports romance to be in the background, but in here, the tennis plays a part both in the romance development and in the character development. And the matches were fun!!! I was so invested in them, it felt like I was courtside for every match.

The romance between Leo and Gabe is a slowww-burn. Which I love! You get to know both of them, to understand the reasons why they're so antagonistic towards each other at the beginning, and it makes the transition from enemies to friends to lovers feel earned. The tension, the initial awkwardness as they get to know each other better as friends, the glances and little touches, it was all soooo good.

I loved everything about this. Everything worked out perfectly for me. The humor, the writing, the third-person perspective, the romance, and the characters. Excited for it to come out next March!!!

[Christi (christireadsalot) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars! Thirty Love is a debut, contemporary romance between two tennis rivals! I loved the cover for this one and couldn’t wait to get to it. I was so surprised (and happy) to see my library have the audio on hoopla on release day, so I dove right in!

We follow Leo and Gabe. They’ve been in one another’s lives/in the same tennis circles for half their lives competing against one another. Leo is the highest ranked U.S. men’s tennis player and determined to win the US Open before he’s 30, which is a year away when the story starts. His dad (who is also now his coach) retired from pro tennis after being diagnosed with MS just a year after he was the runner-up to the US Open, so Leo definitely feels pressure to win it for them both.

We definitely follow Leo’s story more in this one, but I was down for the ride. I have always loved tennis so it was fun having all the tennis time and matches. Gabe is his tennis rival, and even though he’s ranked lower than Leo, he’s a competitor that Leo has never been able to beat. While they’ve been around one another for years as competitors, they start to realize they don’t know that much about each other at the same time. Gabe ends up coming out as an openly gay tennis player in the story and we see the sports world reaction to that (which isn’t always great) and Leo’s as well (he is gay but not out). I loved seeing these two get to know one another and support each other. The secret messages when they’re playing, Leo sharing how he watched Golden Girls reruns while traveling (and then them watching together), the caretaking, and connection over family. The romance was sweet, the tennis was strong, the personal story and triumph was great, I really enjoyed this debut!

CW: parent with MS, parent has a stroke

[Anniek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thirty Love is the kind of debut that makes me hope for a LOT more to come from the author. Because wow, this was so fun, and so hard to put down. The writing was the first thing that pulled me in - it's exactly the kind of writing I love in a romance novel. It felt introspective, emotional, and funny at the same time.

This made it very easy to emotionally connect with Leo. Which is good, because this is the kind of slowburn romance where the romance portion of the story isn't the immediate focus of the book. At first, it's mainly about Leo, his tennis career, and his dad, who's also his coach, but has dealt with MS for a long time.

I would normally be the first to say I wanted the romance to get more attention, but honestly? I won't say that at all here. Because having Leo's entire life and interiority fleshed out so much made him building a connection with Gabe, and then their romance, feel all the more rewarding. And I still do think the romance got enough attention - it was so lovely seeing the sparks between them grow into something more and more undeniable.

Having read a good amount of sports romances by now, it's noticeable how many of them don't necessarily focus on the sports theme a whole lot. In this case, the tennis takes up a good portion of the story. I'm not at all knowledgeable about tennis, and I'll be the first to admit I still don't really understand the scoring system, but I loved the way Tom Vellner writes about tennis. It was so engaging, and tension-filled, and I was rooting for Leo so much every time.

Without wanting to give too much away, I especially loved the ending. I had to practically inhale it because it felt so full circle, it was just absolutely perfect.

[Matthew Hubbard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have the happiest tears in my eyes and so much love in my heart as I type this— a grand slam of a novel

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

i had a lot of fun with this one! i finished this within 24 hours so it was easy to get pulled in to the story. the humor was right up my alley, the cast of characters is fun and the issues felt incredibly realistic to me. it is so easy to fall in love with leo and gabe, and root for them both on and off the court. their rivalry and issues with each other made sense to me, especially since they met as teenagers. this is a sports romance with the sport at both the heart and front and center in the story. (i got by with wii tennis level of tennis knowledge.) it is definitely a slow burn, but the payoff is soooo worth it. i loved getting to see leo and gabe grow together and into themselves, and get better at their sport.

out 10 mar 2026!

thank you to netgalley & alcove press for an opportunity to read and review this eARC early!

[Jack Nix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

I wanted to love this book, but ended up just kinda liking it. I think that’s because I went into it thinking it would be a bit steamier, but the spice level is at a 1.5 out of 5.
It mostly focuses on Leo, a closeted pro tennis player with a dream to win the US Open. He lives in the shadow of his father, a former tennis pro that retired early due to being diagnosed with MS. He develops feelings for a fellow player, Gabe, who has been his rival for years and years. I wish the book focused a bit more on his relationship with Gabe rather than having sooooo many moment-by-moment tennis games & repetitive chapters detailing Leo’s complex relationship with his father. I think it would have benefited having chapters in Gabe’s POV rather than it all being told from Leo’s.
I did enjoy many parts of it tho. There are so very funny moments and some great Golden Girls references. I think it could have been expanded a bit more. The cover is the hottest part tbh.

[Frida · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️ Gladly rounding up for a great debut!

What Thirty Love does extremely well, and what I think needs to be said right at the start, is that this book takes the sports in sports romance seriously! Tennis here, is not a vague backdrop for flirting in locker rooms, but a living, breathing structure underneath the entire book. This is a book for people who either already care about tennis or are genuinely willing to meet it on its own terms. It talks about Grand Slams, rankings, training, pressure, form, legacy, sponsorship, media presence, and the mental strain of trying to peak in a sport that does not wait for anyone. If you are in the mood for that, this really works. If you want the sport to stay in the background while the romance takes centre court, this may feel a little too technical, a little too invested in the mechanics of the game!

And honestly, that is both this book’s greatest strength and the reason it did not land as a full four-star read for me.

At its core, this is the story of two professional tennis players, Gabe and Leo, whose relationship begins in misunderstanding, bruised pride, and a whole set of assumptions neither of them fully interrogates until much later. There is something faintly Pride and Prejudice-coded about the setup, because both of them are wrong about each other in ways that feel deeply human rather than artificially dramatic. Gabe sees Leo as a legacy child, a nepo baby, someone cushioned by his father’s name and the kind of tennis lineage Gabe himself never had access to. Leo, in turn, is shaped by that legacy in a completely different way: by the pressure of it, by the expectation of greatness, by the fear of not being enough, and by the sting of overhearing exactly what people assume about him. Their rivalry does not explode into some huge enemies-to-lovers war zone. It starts young, settles into distance, and then slowly softens through understanding. I actually liked that a lot. It feels less theatrical than many rivals-to-lovers romances and more grounded in the reality of how resentment often works: not as hatred, but as misread hurt.

That groundedness is probably the thing I appreciated most here.

Because once the book moves beyond those early assumptions, it becomes less about rivalry in the flashy sense and more about what people carry privately while the public thinks it knows them. That is where Thirty Love gets interesting. It understands that fandom, social media, sports reporting, public image — all of that creates a version of a person that may have very little to do with what is actually going on underneath. And both Gabe and Leo have to learn that lesson about each other before anything real can happen between them.

I also really appreciated the way the queer storyline is handled. Gabe is coming out as the first active gay male tennis player to come out during a tour season, while Leo is still closeted, not because the book wants to milk maximum melodrama out of that fact, but because it understands how fear works. Fear of disappointing your parents. Fear of becoming a headline. Fear of losing what you have built. Fear of confirming every narrative that the world is ready to weaponise against you. I thought the book struck a believable balance here. It does not pretend that homophobia in sport has magically disappeared, but it also does not turn Leo’s sexuality into a sensationalised misery machine. The tension feels real, the social media integration feels believable, and the emotional stakes never come across as manufactured just to force more angst into the romance.

There are several leitmotifs running through this that I thought were genuinely strong: time slipping away, the pressure to win before it is too late, self-worth being tied far too tightly to performance, the long process of emancipating yourself from other people’s projections, and the difficulty of building an identity that belongs to you rather than to family, sponsors, public opinion, or the sport itself. There is also a really compelling father-son / mentor-mentee dynamic woven into the story, and I think the book is often at its strongest there. It understands how messy love can become when it is filtered through ambition, disappointment, legacy, and the desperate wish to be seen for who you are rather than for what you represent.

And yet....

For all the things I admired here, I never fully lost myself in the romance.

Part of that is the structure. This is very much Leo’s book in terms of introspection, and while I understand why that choice was made, it also means Gabe remains more distant than I wanted him to be. He is important, he is compelling, and he clearly functions as a kind of emotional lifeline throughout the story, but because we only ever really get him refracted through Leo’s perspective, I kept wanting just a little more. A little more access, a little more texture, a little more sense of his inner life outside what Leo sees and understands. Gabe is too central to the emotional arc to remain quite this elusive, so a few chapters from his POV would have been great!

And the romance itself, while definitely the life thread of the novel, is not exuberantly loud. It is quieter, steadier, more restrained. That will absolutely work for some readers, especially if they like slow-burn sports romances where intimacy builds through trust, communication, and mutual recognition rather than explosive chemistry. But for me, I think the relationship could have used one or two more chapters of depth, just to let it settle more fully into itself. Not because I did not buy them together, but because I wanted to feel the emotional payoff a little more intensely by the end.

Another hiccup for me personally is the extensive use of pop-cultural references. Now, I know that Tennis is a celeb-magnet, it's a class statement, it's an inside-group thing, BUT I COULDN'T CARE LESS! I could have done without half of it. But this is really just a minor issue, and a me thing!

So this is where I land: Thirty Love is a refreshingly sport-heavy, emotionally grounded queer tennis romance that actually respects the world it is writing about. It does not use tennis as aesthetic wallpaper. It makes the game matter. It understands pressure, image, discipline, fear, and the strange loneliness of being watched while still feeling unseen. I admired that a lot. I also liked that the rivalry softens through understanding instead of dragging itself out through pointless drama. But I wanted more Gabe, and I wanted just a little more relationship development to push this from very good to fully great.

Still, if you are looking for a romance that genuinely engages with professional sport, that treats queerness in athletics with realism and care, and that is more interested in emotional honesty than in overblown spectacle, this is absolutely worth your time. Just go in knowing that the tennis is not a side dish here. It is the main course!

[fatma]

30% in and there is no romance in sight in this romance novel, so i am DNFing

[Harrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for an eARC of this book!

Following the enemies-to-lovers between Leo Chambers and Gabriel Montoya, this story deals with self-acceptance, having courage, and achieving your dreams.

I went into this very optimistically. Maybe I was riding the energy and fun of ‘Heated Rivalry’ and the movie ‘Challengers’, but this stood out as a real contender for me. Sadly, I don’t know if this lived up to the hype I was hoping for.

This book seems to be promoted as an adult romance, when I would argue that this is more of a YA novel. It’s not that the topics aren’t adult - because they are - but the way the characters talk and engage is very juvenile and not at all what would be expected from 25+ year olds. I believe if the characters had been aged down to being in their early 20s, perhaps, or even in the 18+ teens, this would work; however that is not the case.

Additionally, I don’t know if I cared for most of the characters; I can say with certainty I did not care for the two main characters. I could not buy that someone like Leo who has faced against Gabe and lost 9 times would even be remotely interested in seeing them romantically. Further, there does not seem to be any redeemable qualities to Gabe except that he wants to be a role model to Peruvian viewers and one other moment that happens later in the book.

This book had some questionable choices in the plot and did not feel realistic nor fantastical enough to believe. Without spoiling ending plot points, I felt that Leo was a bit too forgiving around a particular situation and I don’t believe that that person should have been pardoned so easily.

Ranting aside, this book was fine. I don’t necessarily think I could recommend it, but there may be readers that enjoy it more than I. Suffice to say, I don’t know if I would call myself a fan.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

4.75 stars

Thirty Love is a entertaining and really engaging enemies-to-lovers sports romance. It appears to be the debut novel for author Tom Vellner and I am really impressed with this exciting, character-driven story. Sports romances are an interesting sub-genre, as there is always the challenge of how to present the sport in a way that appeals to its fans, while still being accessible for those who are unfamiliar or not enthusiasts.

While the tennis itself provides the structure to the story, the real heart are the characters. The story is told in Leo’s sole POV and it really highlights his journey, though Gabe gets significant character development as well.

Read Jay's review in its entirety here.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was truly a DELIGHT from start to finish! I loooooved the romance, as well as the larger themes of queer pride and self-acceptance — but also adored that Thirty Love really put the sport front and center too (and made it deeply entertaining!).

While it wasn't in the official comps, I kept thinking about Rachel Reid's novel Heated Rivalry while I was reading, particularly with Leo's internal monologue. He and Shane Hollander are very different characters, but they both possess a specific type of self-deprecation and self-consciousness that I find deeply charming.

Anyway, let me know when Tom Vellner's next book comes out. I'm in.

[Bethany Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much @alcovepress for the advanced copy to review!

Sometimes shooting your shot on NetGalley works and I gotta say, I was *SO* excited to get an early copy of Thirty Love to read and review.

This really *felt* like a sports romance, with just as much emphasis on the sport itself as our two main characters. I felt the high stakes and the pressure. I also really loved the complexity of Leo’s relationship with his dad who has coached him for years.

I loved Gabe and Leo’s rivalry so much. It’s sometimes just as simple as a miscommunication that sets off years of bitterness. I gotta say, watching them become friends was SO much fun. Their light flirting was so cute and then it kept going and got just steamy enough for me. The SHOWERS???!😮‍💨😮‍💨

Their first kiss was so freaking gorgeous and epic???? And then the aftermath?! Yes. Yes. Yes. I don’t want to spoil anything but that ending absolutely made me cry real tears last night, because it was so gorgeous and I was so in love with our characters. Leo and Gabe forever 😭😭😭🥰🥰🥰.

Also, I LOVED Ollie and Tess so much. Found family forever and ever and ever in any and all queer books. It always makes me so happy to see it. And down with Sascha!!!!

Cannot recommend this one highly enough. Had an epic time. I’m also dying to know who will narrate the audio cause 😮‍💨😮‍💨.

[Pallavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATING: 4/5 STARS

Post-US Open season was the perfect time to read this book! I have been on a sports romance kick lately and this was a solid one. Think RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE meets Challengers meets CARRIE SOTO IS BACK. There is a lot to like in THIRTY LOVE - Leo and Gabe's romance, navigating their queer identities in the spotlight, the influence of social media, fast-paced tennis... Leo's relationship with his dad/coach with multiple sclerosis especially stood out to me.

[Miglė | Perskaičiau ir aprašiau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not gonna lie, I chose this book almost purely based on the cover, which I sometimes do, but usually the book turns out not as good. This time, however, I was pleasantly surprised as Thirty Love not only has a superb cover, but the story was as good if not better.

Not being a fan of tennis, I was a little sceptical if this story will be a hit or miss for me. It was a major hit, even though I can't say I will start watching the sport. But Tom's writting made me feel like I was a live spectator every time a match was described. Very real, I was emotinally invested from page 1.

It really is a talent & great skill to write sports romance that leans heavy on the sports and not make the readers bored. I was on the edge of my seat most of the time. The tension during matches, Leo's anxiety before them felt real. I was consumed by the story and read the book in one day.

The slow burn of the romantic relationship between Leo and Gabe was one of the most naturally-paced I read this year. I hate it when feelings get rushed, but Thirty Love had a perfect amount of slow burn, emotional evolution. Basically enemies to friends to lovers and it felt natural, healthy and by the time the first kiss happened, I was giggling & kicking my feet as I adore L & G together.

A real gem of a sports romance. Thanks so much to Netgalley for the ARC.

[Ally Bateman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the classic sports romance story of rivals to lovers. The chemistry between Leo and Gabe was there from the start, but it took them until they were 30 to realize it.

I liked that Leo’s progress was tracked in smaller gains and not just if he won a tournament or not. His support network was great and his friends were huge green flags. I do wish Leo was better equipped to tell his father what was/wasn’t working within their professional relationship, but the respect in their dynamic was refreshing.

What I didn’t like was the number of times that real people and real brands were named dropped. For one, it will not age well, and two, don’t you need licenses to use actual names? For me, it feels like a lack of creativity to say that Ariana Grande was at the match instead of creating your own characters. Maybe other people aren’t bothered by this, but I don’t enjoy real world inserts in this way. I also took issue with the lack of transparency around safe sex. They didn’t use protection and they didn’t at any point have a conversation about if they’d been tested prior to becoming exclusive.

For a first novel, I thought the author created characters that I wanted to cheer for, but there were a few writing/editing areas with room for improvement. The character of Leo felt like he was written by a man 10 years older than him. His tv and music references and even his slang was reading as a child of the 80s, and not a 29 year old. The tennis, although very well researched, was often too detailed and took away from the action of the scene. I don’t need to be told more than once how many times Leo bounces the ball before his serve (it’s 5) or all the individual game, set, match scores every time.

[Nev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Queer sports romance! Thirty Love follows Leo Chambers on his quest to win the tennis US Open. On top of all the typical pressures, he’s also dealing with the fact that he hasn’t come out to anyone yet… and he might be having feelings for his rival Gabe Montoya.

This is a SPORTS romance, not a sports ROMANCE. Leo’s tennis career, his relationship with his dad, and his overall personal journey is the A plot of the story while the romance is more of the B plot. The first half of the book simply feels like a contemporary sports story instead of a romance. In the second half of the book the romance does finally enter the plot, but it never fully feels like the main focus of the book. Sometimes it does really bother me when books marketed as romances don’t entirely feel like the romance is the main plot. But in this case I didn’t mind too much because I did find the explorations of Leo’s life as a closeted professional athlete to be compelling.

I enjoyed getting to see Leo and Gabe start connecting with one another and open up about misconceptions they had in the past. They had excellent chemistry and really sweet ways of showing up for each other. While there are on page sex scenes, they’re not the most descriptive or steamy. They’re more like a blurry watercolor rather than an in-focus photograph, which isn’t my preference. But overall I really appreciated the relationship between Leo and Gabe.

Definitely check this out if you’re interested in a queer sports romance that has a heavy emphasis on the sport itself and the wider reactions of the sports world.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Hirondelle (not getting notifications)]

I love tennis, I love slashy rivals-to-lovers romances. This seemed interesting AND a competent audiobook is available on a streaming platform. (Also, this seems to be getting quite a marketing push: "Heated Rivalry but tennis!" Uh, no, not the same ballpark at all for my taste.)

I did not go very far with it, so I am not rating it. But just in case this is useful to any friend considering spending money on it, here is why this did not work for me:

- The style of the prose is very very boring. (For me and all that, my modest non-writer opinion) This is the author's first novel; he seems to have a podcast and has been a writer for internet media and it's just not the kind of writing I respond to emotionally. It's very visual and with lots of dialogue, with little interiority. Lots of details about what the characters are doing and moving, and it is slow and as boring as somebody going blow-by-blow describing something on screen;

- No chemistry or romance apparent till around 25% which is when I quit. It feels like a romance written by somebody who has not really read many romances... (Sorry, but really...). If it is a romance, then the focus is what the MCs think and feel about each other, gives us the first meeting, the first lines, the feelings they had at the time, and everything else has to fit around it (go read Heat Rivalry and see its adaptation to name the most basic example...), not a slow process of how MC1 feels about the upcoming tournament;

- Lots of tennis - theoretically it should have been right up my alley, since I do not really require a romance plot to be interested. But the focus of the book is around the US Open and it being more than 20 years since an American man won the US Open singles title (or any Grand Slam, which was actually shocking when I checked. American women seem to do better). But I am not American that is not my trauma, and I really do not care if an American wins the US open again or not. For me, from an outside perspective, the underdogs are all the others: I am more sympathetic to, for example (off the top of my head), any Spanish, Italian, Swiss, Serb, Russian, or another Swiss who is not THAT Swiss, Argentinian to win it, because they will never ever get a chance to win a tennis grand slam in their home country. It is a zero-sum game, and somebody will win it, and players from other countries might have fewer advantages. So I do not have any particular oh-poor-underdog American sympathy for our main character to beat those terrible odds and finally win a grand slam (on his home ground). I do not care as a foreign fan, I just want to watch the best matches possible (with luck somebody will be going all God mode and it will be oh so fun to watch), no matter their nationality. Though it might be fun to read about somebody British at Wimbledon because British media angst is oh so extreme and also far more self-aware.. And this book did not feel self-aware.

Quitting at about 25%, not rating, but I had thoughts, clearly.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75*

I didn’t really know what to expect going into this since I’m not a huge sports romance reader (and when I am I tend to gravitate towards hockey), but wow this was so fun! I finished it in just a few sittings because I was absorbed from page one.

Leo and Gabe are so cute, i loved their slow build of a romance so much. I also adored Leo’s friends -Tess and Ollie were such fun and well rounded side characters (though reading Ollie say the word “tabarnak” so many times in a mainstream book was shocking to my core I will say). I think the dialogue in this was so well written and natural sounding, I believed all of the conversations on the page.

The pacing was also really great - not too much tennis so we got to spend time with the characters and watch Leo’s relationships with his friends and family and Gabe deveop over time. Leo’s relationship with his dad was so interesting, their conversations about how he can support his dad who has MS were well done and nuanced. I also love that Leo was a golden girls fan bc of his grandma, it was very adorable.

I did find the occasional flash backs were a bit jarring and could have been a bit more seamless, because it sometimes wasn’t obvious that there was a flashback happening, and no page or paragraph break to indicate it, but that could have been my e-arc’s fault.

My only other complaint is that a kn95 mask is used to evade paparazzi and I just think there are better reasons to include masking in a book, and concealing identity is rly not one of them. It was odd and annoyed me.

Thank you to Alcove press and Netgalley for an advanced e-arc of Thirty Love.

[Cinthya · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

This was so cute!!! I really enjoyed it! My heart was extra happy to see that one of the main characters was a fellow Peruvian 🥹 I absolutely loved that. Both main characters were great and likable.

One of my favorite things was the description of the tennis matches. They were very well done and easy to follow, they painted the picture so clearly. You can just tell the author is either a tennis player himself or a big fan :')

I would say though, that although it’s advertised as a romance, I would personally consider it more of a sports story with a romance subplot. Gabe and Leo definitely had plenty of cute moments, but they were always very tennis-oriented. Tennis is clearly the focal point, and the romance happens alongside it, rather than the story being centered on the couple with the sport as the backdrop. Does that make sense?

Either way, it was a fun read. Lots of great characters and beautiful character development, especially toward the end 💚

[Kristen Wallo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I enjoyed reading this advanced trader copy of Thirty Love, I give it a four star rating. I said it was a good read but, sometimes I feel like things happen too fast that I was missing them. I liked the characters a lot and I feel like the struggles were real. It did make me very emotional at times and I enjoyed the character development. I never read a book about tennis before, and I thought this was a good one to start with. 

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars!

I absolutely loved this book. This being Tom’s first novel is shocking at how well it’s written. It gives a good and easy to follow storyline. I was living for the rivals (yet secret crush) to lovers. I swear anytime there was scenes where they weren’t in it, I was speed reading to get back to them. I loved the flirting and the cute banter between them. I was kicking my feet and giggling the whole time.

I absolutely loved the ‘Challengers’ feel to it and the family & side characters made the book even better. Even with a very clear ‘villain’ in the book (who can choke for all I care…), he made the book better and more interesting. The father/son relationship was so heartwarming. I just loved everything about this book, it was so cute & it was a shorter read which I loved (I finished it in one day).

Thank you NetGalley & Tom Vellner for an arc copy of this book. I cannot wait to read more by him.

Some of my favourite quotes:

“Leo’s mouth began to water. For the food. Not Gabe. Just to be clear.”

“He had never felt his breath catch in his throat like this before.”

“Soothing my first-round loss with some smut.”

[Temi (temisreads)]

dnf @ 30%

i am come back to this at some point but this is not giving me the romance i am so desperately craving at the moment 😩 there is arguably too much tennis in this (and that’s coming from a massive tennis fan)

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75*

Really putting the tennis in tennis romance damn

[This Curly Arab · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thirty Love by Tom Vellner is a debut enemies-to-lovers sports romance about two tennis players chasing the US Open, and I really wanted to love this one. The premise is solid, but the execution just didn’t fully work for me.

The beginning is slow. Like, really slow. The first few chapters spend a lot of time in Leo’s head, and his internal monologue felt overly long and repetitive. We get the same thoughts about tennis, his dad, and Gabe over and over again. After a while it started to drag, and honestly, I didn’t find Leo that interesting. I kept wishing we’d get more of Gabe, or even Tess and Ollie, who were way more compelling to me.

Around the halfway mark of the book, the banter between Leo and Gabe finally kicks in and that helped the pacing a lot. But then the romance itself felt rushed in a weird way. Their first sex scene doesn’t happen until about 65% in, and when it does, it’s over in just a few pages. It felt abrupt and kind of empty, especially compared to how much space is given to Leo’s internal thoughts. The second sex scene is literally a single sentence, which really threw me.

The second half of the book goes in some odd directions. The author spends so much time setting everything up in the first half, and then suddenly everything is happening really fast. We miss a lot of the in-between stuff, especially the conversations about what Leo and Gabe actually are and how they’re moving forward. There’s a brief mention that Leo doesn’t want to be out publicly yet, and that’s basically it.

Overall, this felt like way more tennis than romance. The tennis is clearly where the author’s focus is, and while I appreciated that, the romance didn’t get the depth or care it needed. That said, the final chapter was easily the strongest part of the book. The pacing was good, the tension worked, and it was the most interesting and exciting section by far.

In the end, I think Thirty Love has a lot of promise, especially for a debut, but it fell flat for me. I would’ve loved more depth in the romance and way more time with Gabe as a character. I did really enjoy Tess and Ollie, but overall, this one just didn’t do it for me.

*ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review

[Jeremy Fowler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, Spicy, & Excellence in Romance!

Thirty Love by Tom Vellner is one of those books that gets under your skin emotionally. Readers won't realize it as it happens, but insistently, until you'll be feeling everything right alongside Leo, our anxious main character. Vellner absolutely nails the emotional complexity of coming out later in life. In your 30s, when the world tells you you’re supposed to have everything figured out, but Vellner gives us a perspective that lets readers know that it's never too late to keep growing and developing our identities. That perspective is so rarely centered, and he handles it with a grace, honesty, and raw vulnerability that feels downright groundbreaking. There’s this real, aching truth to the way he writes about identity, shame, desire, and self‑rediscovery that makes you pause and think, Oh, this is going to matter to a lot of people. His voice is powerful, and after this debut, I fully believe he’s going to become one of those authors who shape conversations in the queer lit space for years to come.

Beyond the emotional gut‑punches, the book shines in all the small, intentional ways, too. The humor, the awkwardness, and the messy navigation of relationships, both romantic and not, combine to make such a unique story. Vellner balances heartbreak and hope with a lightness that keeps the story from ever feeling too heavy, even when it cuts deep. The tennis world backdrop adds this textured layer of discipline, pressure, and physicality that mirrors the internal journey beautifully. And the writing itself? Sharp, warm, and painfully human. Thirty Love is the kind of novel that sneaks up on you, tears you open a little, and then quietly stitches you back together. It’s emotional, resonant, and honestly one of those stories you carry with you long after the last page.

Perfect for fans of Rachel Reid, CE Ricci, Sarina Bowen, and other excellent LGBTQ sports romance.

[Naomi (aplace_inthesun) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually finished this yesterday and loved it. It’s one of the few tennis-related books I’ve read. I’m thinking Carrie Soto and Apples Never Fall are the only tennis or tennis-adjacent books, I could be wrong.

This is a slow burn, rivals to (friends to) lovers MM romance. Leo is approaching 30 and is in search of a grand slam tournament that has alluded him. What makes this all the more important is it alluded his father as well (who is now his coach). One of the people standing in his way is Gabe - he and Leo do not see eye to eye. But a series of events causes Leo to look differently at Gabe, and all of a sudden tennis may not be the sole priority in Leo’s life.

As the book progresses we see significant growth in Leo’s character; initially he is closeted, and struggling with maintaining his sense of identity within the sport that he simultaneously loved but was stifling him. We get some idea of the attitudes of different factions within tennis - players, support staff, and the media. We get a real sense of friendship with his on-tour ‘family’ and a sense of him as the child of an ageing parent with a debilitating illness. There was a nice sense of graduation of Leo and Gabe’s relationship, presented in real terms with the challenges of their professional life and commitments.

Loved this one for the storyline and points of difference.

I was provided this digital copy by the publisher and am willingly leaving a review.

[Shannai · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐️

Thank you to Alcove Press and NetGalley for the review copy of Thirty Love. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This was such an interesting and unique read, and overall, I had a really pleasant time with it. There aren’t many tennis romances out there, and I loved how much thought and care went into capturing that world. It’s clear the author knows the sport very well, and that attention to detail really brought the setting to life.

I will say it did take me a little while to get fully into the story, partly because there is quite a lot of focus on the aspect of the sport, and the third-person perspective made it a bit harder for me to connect with the characters at first. Once I settled into the rhythm of it, though, I began to appreciate how immersive it all was.

This is very much a slow burn of a book, with a strong focus on the sport itself. The romance feels more subtle and secondary. Gabe and Leo’s interactions were genuinely fun and had a nice warmth to them that balanced out the more technical tennis moments.

Overall, I enjoyed this and found it an engaging and thoughtful read. It may not have completely swept me away, but I can absolutely see it appealing to readers who enjoy character-driven stories with rich detail, a steady pace, and a heartfelt connection to the world of sport.