Skinny Singles by Marianne Cross

Skinny Singles is a warm and quietly moving adult romance set in a small-town recreational pickleball league, following Emily Harper, a woman in her mid-30s navigating the emotional terrain of reinvention, self-acceptance, and unexpected love.

After significant personal changes — including a breakup with her ex Mark and a meaningful physical transformation — Emily arrives at the Lincoln Recreation Center feeling like a stranger in her own skin. Coaxed by her vivacious best friend Lily, she joins the local pickleball league, hoping to find community and rediscover her confidence. What she finds instead is far more complicated and rewarding.

On the courts, Emily slowly builds her skills and her sense of self, moving from the safety of doubles play toward the vulnerability of singles competition. Along the way, she develops a tender, slow-burn connection with Ryan Castillo, a warm and self-deprecating league regular whose easy humor and genuine kindness begin to dismantle her carefully constructed walls. Their relationship deepens through shared practices, a café dinner, and honest conversations about fear, reinvention, and what it means to truly show up for yourself.

The novel builds to a "Skinny Singles" tournament — a one-on-one, half-court format that forces Emily onto the court entirely alone, with nowhere to hide. Her first-round match against the formidable, sharp-tongued league committee queen Carol Abrams becomes the story's emotional centerpiece — a moment where Emily must choose between retreating into old patterns or finally owning her place on the court and in her own life.

At its heart, Skinny Singles is a story about visibility — learning to be seen, by others and by yourself — told with gentleness, humor, and a deep understanding of how much courage it takes to simply try again.