The Tomboy

Covington Prep: The Girls We Love #1

by Kylie Key

He wants to win her heart...but she's not looking for love

MAX

I have a major crush on...the Tomboy

Taylor Frank is the new addition to the Covington Prep tennis team

She’s in the weight room everyday

Her serves are like deadly missiles

And her forehand flies like a cannonball

And I am seriously in love...

But in tennis, love means nothing

And Taylor’s game plan doesn’t include me

How can I get the tomboy to give me a shot?

TAYLOR

I’m at Covington Prep on a tennis scholarship

I know I don’t belong at this exclusive school

But it’s where I need to be for my tennis career

Max Saunders pops up everywhere I go

His honey brown eyes and cute smile are a distraction I don’t want or need

Tennis is my only focus

And I need to keep my head in the game…

But what if Max is my perfect match?

Genres: Romance, Sports, Sports Romance, Young Adult, Amazon, Contemporary Romance, Young Adult Romance

222 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 1, 2023

Reviews

[Maven_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Tomboy by Kylie Key is a sweet, small‑town young adult romance set at the exclusive Covington Prep where Taylor Frank, a gritty, driven tennis player on scholarship, finds herself navigating a new school, the pressure of big athletic dreams, and an unexpected crush on fellow student Max Saunders, a boy wrestling with his own emotional baggage and a faded passion for the sport. It’s a story of ambition, friendship, vulnerability, and that tender shift when admiration begins to feel like more than that.

What I truly enjoyed about this book was how alive Taylor feels as a protagonist whose priorities are rooted in purpose and perseverance rather than instant romance, even while Max’s steady, heartfelt interest adds a flutter of warmth to her otherwise focused world. The tennis court isn’t just a backdrop, it’s integral to both their identities, shaping how they approach competition, confidence, and connection, and it gives the stakes a satisfying emotional push.

Max’s journey, shaped by self‑doubt and lingering guilt about a friend’s tragic accident, is honestly poignant; his soft encouragement of Taylor made me root for them both as people first and a couple second. I also appreciated the balance of lighthearted high school moments with deeper themes like loss, loyalty, and earning trust, which gave the romance genuine texture and made me smile at their shy laughs and shared vulnerabilities.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
This was a sincerely charming YA romance that made me feel hopeful and warm inside, with characters who felt real and relatable. I wished for just a bit more smoky tension in their turning points, but the honest pacing, heartfelt themes, and sweet chemistry made it a memorable, feel‑good read that left me smiling.

[Clara☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐️
it was a good read! Enjoyed it a lot but I don’t really think the title matches that well but that’s not a problem just for me something else would have fit better. I just didn’t feel like 4 ⭐️ but it was great!!!!

[Chicken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐

This story was a lot of fun to read. Being a tennis girl, I was able to understand all of the terminologies and loved how the story went. There was so much going on and I just felt like I could relate to the heroine in this story. I can’t wait for more of this series. It seems like it is going to be a great ride through Convington Prep.

I received a review copy and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lissa Paxton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this book! Max, former tennis player who
Worked for his parents taking care of lawns for their real estate company. His best friend Phoenix, who was an incredible tennis player, was in a serious auto accident, he couldn’t even walk.

Taylor got a scholarship to Covington Prep for tennis, so she and her dad moved near there, but in a house that was pretty dingy. They weren’t financially affluent, but had each other and that was enough. Taylor’s mom had been her tennis coach, but had succumbed to Cancer last April.

This book teaches so much! About tennis, about friendship, family.

This is a wonderful book and excellent for any athlete to read as well.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Cath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book one of the Covington Prep: Girls We Love series and tells the story of the romance between Max Saunders and Taylor Frank. Max used to be number two on the Covington Prep High School’s tennis team, with his best friend Phoenix as the number one and team captain, until Phoenix was in an accident and badly injured at the end of the previous school year. Max blames himself for his best friend’s accident and has refused to play tennis all summer and hasn’t signed up to play for the team so far this year. He believes he shouldn’t play tennis, a sport his friend loved and lived with all his being, since Phoenix will possibly never be able to play again! Taylor is a tennis prodigy, having started playing when she was six and being coached by her mother. Her mother’s dream was for her to play college tennis and maybe even go further and the next step was winning a tennis scholarship to Covington Prep and having the access to top notch coaches and extra playing time. Unfortunately only her dad and she have moved to a tiny and rundown house on the wrong side of town, with her father having to take a job far below him, all for her mother’s dreams and wishes for Taylor.
Taylor is the new female player for the school’s tennis team and she doesn’t get the greatest of starts with a few of the more bitchy girls making fun of her clothing and more. New girl in a new school, but all she wants to do is concentrate on her tennis, even if a certain boy’s face keeps on distracting her! Max is keen to help her mix in with the team, even though he is no longer playing and having a close connection to her coach at the Country Club certainly helps. Taylor soon gets herself into the school gym first thing in the morning, even if that is usually for the football team only and is son treated as one of the lads by the other boys there. That doesn’t help Max feeling a bit jealous though and matters don’t go smoothly when they each find they can’t get a word out to each other, when face to face and someone else is making trouble for Taylor and she ends up blaming Max for it! He tries everything he can to get her to see him for what he really is and not another stuck up prep school student like a lot of them around there. A school newspaper article and a swopped out tennis skirt cause all sorts of problems, but a garden box and some bulbs bring Taylor closer to Max and a lady from the club that they have in common. Another nice tale in these stories of high school kids and romance, with all the usual difficulties of high school plus more to contend with, never mind a serious career in tennis to consider. The woman she meets at the club and knocks balls about is a great secret find, and I loved how supportive Taylor’s father was, in putting his wife’s wishes for their daughter first and changing jobs and home tom make it all happen! I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.

[Jamie (The Kansan Reader)]

DNF in the second chapter. The guy was way to insta-love for me. It wasn't something I really wanted to read.

[Rubi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but a bit frustrating

Okay, the last few chapters were cute and helped turn things around. I loved Max the whole time and how he tried to make Taylor feel welcome, but....
It's hard to fall in love with a story/couple when one of them is being avoiding, being rude, and misunderstanding the other MC. Taylor was SO judgmental towards Max without even KNOWING him! It was almost like purposeful misunderstanding and I HATE that trope 😅
So much could have been avoided if she just gave him the time of day, but oh wells. She finally figured it out in like, chapter 18 put of 21 lol
The novel did explore some deep issues pretty well though, such as loss and guilt. I'm glad Max had a best friend that didn't hold things against him 🥰

[☠︎︎༒︎✞︎ ѕℓιм ☠︎︎༒︎✞︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book

https://ladiikeiii.wordpress.com/2021...

***Spoilers here and there***

Taylor didn’t give me tomboy vibes though. I’ve read plenty of tomboy books but I don’t think she was a tomboy at all in my opinion.

I did felt bad for her though because I think that Bianca and her friends was jealous of Taylor. But Bianca she finally came around and stop being mean to Taylor. Unlike Addison I didn’t know what her problem was with Taylor. I did think Bianca only did what she did was because of Max.

But she finally got over it and move on from being petty to Taylor. I also think that Millie and Phoenix might be good together. If not Millie and Tennessee would be good together. I think something may happen between those too. When Millie goes to interview him.

I do hope they do get a book. I also want Phoenix to get a book too. It’ll be nice if he did dated someone from River Valley. But I am just hoping that. > Millie, Tennessee and Cullen gets a book since they all are friends with Taylor and all was single out in this book as friends including Phoenix.

[Lindsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Tomboy(the girls we love) is a new trilogy by Kylie Key.
It centers around tennis with a little football thrown in.
Taylor just moved to River Valley to go to Covington Prep with a tennis scholarship. It was her mom who set everything up but unfortunately she died before she could see her daughter go to Covington.
Max used to play tennis and be the number 2 spot. His best friend was in a car accident and was the number one spot. This caused Max a lot of guilt to the point that he didn’t want to play tennis anymore. He even pushed Taylor away because he told her no when she wanted to play tennis with him.
I enjoyed the chemistry between these two but I wish Taylor was more honest with him so he didn’t feel like she was brushing him off all the time. Max was super into Taylor from the beginning but Taylor didn’t need any distractions. Plus she was trying to deal with her mother’s death and her not being there almost by herself. Her dad was awesome and super supportive; he had to change his whole life just so his daughter could play tennis. I wish it hadn’t taken these two so long to figure things out but hopefully we will see more of them in Millie’s book.

[funkelbunt.liest]

DNF at 29%

I can’t really say why I didn’t enjoy this book. I really tried reading through it but at one point I decided to give it up because I just didn’t feel it and honestly, where is the point…?

Sadly it was just kind of boring. The characters were nice enough, I liked both main characters but I didn’t really buy the insta love (or even the adoration) from his part especially after being with “mean Bianca” not long before and thinking this was real love.

The book just dragged and I waited for something “real” to happen. And that is actually saying a lot coming from me, usually loving long(ish) books and a slow burn.

So this book isn’t bad and maybe the pace will pick up after 30%, but I just couldn’t get into it.

[Kiriwai Pitihira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Game, Set, Match

Thoroughly enjoyed exploring the dynamics of Covington Prep with Taylor.
It was refreshing to have a mutual respect develop between Taylor, Tennessee and his football cohort and to have tennis as the game of choice for Taylor, Max and Phoenix.
Whilst the mean girls tried to sabotage Taylor's tennis dreams, it was intriguing to have her rely on her Mum's coaching tips to help deal with the anxiety; even if it was via Taylor's own inner dialogue. Enjoyed her proactive relationship with her Dad.
Definitely going to enjoy exploring the other Covington Prep stories - especially Millie and Tennessee's story

[L H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taylor is at Covington Prep on a scholarship. She is not from means and playing tennis has meaning to her much beyond competition. She decides to focus so that she can use tennis as a vehicle to her own success. Max has been there. He played pro and did well but stops playing when his bestie, who also played, was injured in a car accident. Each of these young people is dealing with heavy emotions, Taylor's mother's death, Max's friend's injuries. He wants to be with her, she does not think she can take the time. They both have a lot to work through and a lot to learn.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clean and Cute

This book was good and I enjoyed the story. Max and Taylor are normal teenagers with normal insecurities. Tennis plays a vital role for all of the major characters, but if you are not familiar with the sport you will not be lost. There are the typical mean girls in the story who pick on the scholarship girl. I believe this is the first book I have read by the author, but I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series as the characters were introduced in this book.

[Barbara Jacobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read many Kylie Key books, but I have to say, this is my favorite so far. There is such a depth of emotion in this book, I have to admit that I shed tears at least one time in this book. I loved the way the relationship between Taylor and Max develops throughout the book. The relationships between Taylor and the secondary characters is all too believable - teenagers can be so mean sometimes, and I like the way Kylie approached the issue. Definitely would recommend this book!

[Arceli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is super awesome. I loved Edward and Carington. As a couple they were super sweet. It is nice to see a hero who is royalty that is a complete art nerd. I loved the respect for art this book had. Also, there is tons of sweet moments. I also enjoyed the tender moments and the relationship between Carrington and her father. They have some of the best father daughter relationship moments. I highly recommend this book. It is sweet and has a lovely bit of suspense.

[Audra Christianson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am always looking for more good teen fiction and came across this series. Knowing it’s not faith-centered I wasn’t sure about it though. It was okay-the typical hardships of a poor girl going to a rich school and finding a boyfriend. Friendships were hard and there were tough aspects of life such as the death of a parent and the major injury to a friend. A quick read, and while I wouldn’t promote it to my teen, it would be a safe read if they wanted a quick, easy, book about stereotypical teenagers.

[Abby Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is without a doubt one of the best YA romance books I have read this year! I was sucked into the story immediately and devoured this book in one single sitting. This author knows how to write and I highly recommend you start this book today!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[L. M. Ransom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great YA sports romance! I loved both of the main characters, Taylor and Max, and the supporting cast is really good, too. I'm not a tennis person at all (my jam is football), but the story was easy to read without getting hung up on the semantics of the game. And I learned a few things, too. I'm excited to read the rest of the series.

[Priscilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted MORE!

🎾- Ok this book was cute; My only thing was I felt the author should have given us more detailed scenes!
(Ex: Backstory more on Phoenix)

🎾- I couldn't really appreciate the characters relationship, and I think the pacing was too fast. Maybe that was just me but I felt it was lacking in that aspect it was too shallow.

[Leeann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the sports aspect of this book. Taylor is a tennis player with a scholarship to Covington Prep, Max is a former top player who no longer wants to play. A cute and sweet read where there’s more going on beneath the surface.

[Michaela | Reading in the Heartland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this YA romance. I liked the start of a new series in a familiar area. I liked learning some about tennis. It’s a sport my hubby played and it was fun to think of him in high school as I read it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Surfy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Estuvo bien, fue una lectura ligera y fresca, tiene su drama pero es relajado. Es el primer libro que leo que habla del tenis, eso me gustó mucho.

Me causa conflicto no entender por qué la autora le puso ese nombre al libro.

[Emerson A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars ⭐️

Very cute and clean. I didn't like it as much as the second one but it was still super good.

And hey, if the boy's gonna fall in love at first sight, at least he ADMITS IT :)

Also, Tay's relationship with the football team is so adorable. I love it!!

[Nati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taylor is new in town, with an scholarship to play tennis at Covington Prep, a posh school. Can she fit with the team or will she be the outcast? Max won’t play tennis this year. He owns it to his best friend. Or so he thinks. An emotional story about losses, second chances, friendship and hard work.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kimberly]

The book is a good, and enjoyable sweet teen and young adult romance read. The story has a good story line. The characters are good, and they have good chemistry.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Geri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, this was a really cute read. Calm, sweet and adorable. Just what i was looking for. Can i meet a guy like this? Except we bond over, like, Tig Notaro?

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story

I have enjoyed this amazing heartfelt adventure of young tennis player that meet the young man that family own the house she lived in.

[Carol Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

enjoyed this book

I loved the story in this book. It was captivating and kept me wanting to read it to find out how it was going to turn out

[Pauline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute sports romance. Does ambition leave time for romance? Expectations from others?
Ideal for young teens.

[Josi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet!

This was a cute book. I really enjoyed it. I even teared up a few times. I loved all the tennis stuff. Very sweet.