Publication Date: May 19, 2026
A fun, sexy rom-com about a woman who discovers it’s never too late to pick up a racket and take another shot at love.
Jules has lived next door to the local tennis club for years without picking up a racket. As a full-time buyer for a chain of lifestyle stores and a single, widowed mother of a teenager, she doesn’t have time for a hobby–or for a potential run-in with her old school crush, Sam, whose killer forehand is now in direct view of her bedroom window.
In a surge of boldness and facing the anxiety of an empty nest, Jules decides to stop playing it safe and accepts an invitation to join the amateur tennis team. They are desperate for players, and the fact that she doesn’t really play doesn’t seem to matter.
As rallies are hit and friendships are formed, Jules is astonished to find herself in the grip of a passionate, all-consuming relationship . . . and not only with the tennis. Now Jules is facing a whole new kind of match with her insecurities, her desires, and maybe—just maybe—a second shot at love. And boy, does it have some spin on it.
With her daughter leaving home, a widowed mother misjudges the jarring impact of an empty nest. In fact, not even her full-time job or other pre-planned activities are enough to prevent her from doing anything but worry.
Author Jane Costello serves up a delightful story about finding happiness in Forty Love. Told in first person from Jules’s perspective, this lighthearted romance is perfect for a relaxing evening.
At the center is a tennis club next door to Julia that she has never had the time or made the effort to visit. On a whim, she agrees to join the Rusty Rackets. This is an interesting choice given her past history with tennis.
New opportunities come her way in the form of an old crush she hasn’t seen in 25 years. Through the storyline, the author communicates hope, regardless of the stage of life.
Forty Love offers an entertaining cast of characters who are brought together by tennis.
Jane Costello is a bestselling British novelist whose romantic comedies have sold over a million copies in the UK. Her novel You Me Everything, published under the pseudonym Catherine Isaac, has been translated into 26 languages. She lives in Liverpool, England, with her husband and three sons.
