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Verdict: A gentle, fade-to-black age-gap romance set in an English golf club — a fifty-something divorcee’s late coming out, told with warmth and humour by Harper Bliss and her wife Caroline. Readers who want sweet and mature love it; readers expecting classic Bliss heat or high drama find it pleasant but forgettable.
Best for: Readers who want a closed-door, low-drama romance with older heroines and a late-in-life coming-out story.
Heat level: Fade to black (no sex on the page)
Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.7/5 — a 3.91 Goodreads average across 558 ratings, 3.42 on StoryGraph from 90 reviews, and 4.4 stars across 445 Amazon ratings)
Tropes: Age gap, late bloomer, coming out later in life, friends to lovers, slow burn, small English village, workplace boundaries, dual POV.
A Swing at Love is a 2018 contemporary lesbian romance by Harper Bliss and her wife Caroline Bliss, Caroline’s debut. Diane Thompson runs an accounting firm, plays a lot of golf and is finally over her divorce. Tamsin Foxley is the new pro at the Royal Tynebury Golf Club, determined not to repeat the romance that cost her last job.
It holds a 3.91 average across 558 Goodreads ratings, with 66% of them four or five stars, 3.42 on StoryGraph from 90 reviews, and 4.4 stars across 445 Amazon ratings.
What Is A Swing at Love About?
In a small Sussex village, Diane has settled into a comfortable life with her business, her friends and a first grandchild on the way. When Tamsin arrives to teach at the club, the two become fast friends.
Their friendship turns into something neither expected. Diane has to face her fear of falling for a woman in a place where everyone knows her, and Tamsin has to accept that her taste in women may have changed.
What Works in This Sweet Romance
- Older heroines: Readers repeatedly welcome a romance about women in their forties and fifties, and several who came out later relate to Diane.
- The coming-out arc: Readers call Diane’s panic and denial realistic and handled with warmth; one reader who came out in her forties saw herself in it.
- Humour and family: Readers enjoy the witty banter, especially between Tamsin and her family, and the supportive friends — even Diane’s ex-husband.
- No drawn-out drama: One reader appreciates that the couple’s breakup lasts about an hour.
- Accessible golf: Non-golfers say the sport never gets in the way.
Book Synopsis
Diane Thompson is content: a thriving accounting firm, plenty of golf and a quiet life in the village of Tynebury. Suitors are scarce for a woman her age, and she isn’t looking.
Tamsin Foxley has sworn off romance at work — and off falling for much younger women — after her last job ended badly. At the start of the new season the two become friends, and then something more, and both have to rethink what they want.
My Review
This is a quieter book than most Harper Bliss readers will expect, and that is its point. The romance is built from friendship, small moments and Diane’s slow, anxious acceptance of what she feels, with enough humour to keep it light. Readers who like that register call it lovely and realistic, and several say they didn’t miss the explicit scenes at all.
The main reservation is that it is mild. Several readers call it pleasant but unexciting, bland or formulaic, and say it didn’t move them the way Bliss’s other books do. A few wanted more of Diane’s nerves about her first time with a woman, more angst, or a longer ending. One ace reader was saddened by the opening note flagging the lack of sex scenes, and one listener couldn’t get past the audiobook narration.
My honest note: A cosy, closed-door comfort read — not the Bliss to pick if you want fire.
| Element | In A Swing at Love |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Diane Thompson (54–55, accountant, divorced) & Tamsin Foxley (almost 40, golf pro) |
| Core tropes | Age gap, late bloomer, friends to lovers, slow burn |
| Setting | Tynebury, a small Sussex village, and its golf club |
| Heat level | Fade to black |
| Length | 224 pages; 5 h 38 min audiobook |
| Series | Standalone — happy ending |
| Content notes | Homophobia and lesbophobia, sexism, infidelity (past), cancer, death of a parent, alcohol |
How Spicy Is A Swing at Love?
Not at all on the page. Every intimate scene fades to black, and readers describe the book as chaste and vanilla — by design. There is no romance.io steam rating.
Content notes submitted on StoryGraph include homophobia and lesbophobia, sexism, alcohol, minor infidelity, cancer, a parent’s death and pregnancy.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you want a sweet, mature, closed-door romance. It is on our feel-good list.
You may want to skip it if: you come to Harper Bliss for heat or intensity.
In short: Gentle, warm and a little slight.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)
On Goodreads the split is 32% five stars, 34% four, 25% three, 6% two and 1% one. On StoryGraph, every reader who tagged a mood picked lighthearted, and 90% called it character-driven. The book is a known quantity among Bliss readers: it was announced as fade to black from the start, and reviews frequently compare it with her other work. The audiobook is narrated by Carmen Rose.
Prefer audio? Listen to A Swing at Love on Libro.fm — the audiobook shop that supports independent bookstores.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): Older heroines first. Second, the coming-out story. Third, the humour and family. Fourth, the low drama.
What readers argue about and complain about: Too mild, above everything. Second, not enough angst or depth. Third, the missing heat. Fourth, the narration, for one listener.
The comparison worth making first: For Harper Bliss with mature leads and much more heat, try That Woman Next Door.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does A Swing at Love have sex scenes?
No. The book is fade to black, and it opens with a note saying so. Most readers say it didn’t need them; a few missed Harper Bliss’s usual heat.
How old are Diane and Tamsin?
Readers put Diane at 54 or 55 and Tamsin at almost 40 — an age gap of roughly 14 years.
Is A Swing at Love a coming-out story?
Yes. Diane is divorced from a husband and falls for a woman for the first time, and much of the book is her working through fear of what her village and golf club will think.
Do I need to like golf?
No. Several readers who are not golf fans say there is only as much golf as the setting needs.
Is A Swing at Love on Kindle Unlimited?
Not at the time of writing — the Kindle edition was listed at $6.99. The Tantor audiobook, narrated by Carmen Rose, runs 5 hours 38 minutes.
If You Loved A Swing at Love, Read These Next
Try That Woman Next Door or This Foreign Affair. For more, browse our feel-good and late-bloomer lists, or the full Book Reviews archive.
The Bottom Line
A Swing at Love sets out to be a sweet, closed-door romance about a late coming out, and it delivers exactly that. What holds it back is how little it risks. Worth it for comfort. Check A Swing at Love on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, A Swing at Love ranks as a good gentle read — warm, mature, mild.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★★☆ 3.7/5
- ✓ 3.91 average across 558 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ 66% of Goodreads ratings are four or five stars
- ✓ 3.42 on StoryGraph from 90 reviews
- ✓ 4.4 stars across 445 Amazon ratings
Romance ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ Slow burn
- ✓ Friendship first
- ✓ One-hour breakup
- ✓ Happy ending
Characters ★★★★☆ 3.7/5
- ✓ Relatable older leads
- ✓ Funny families
- ✓ 72% loveable characters
- ✓ Not memorable for some
Writing ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ Warm and witty
- ✓ Dual third-person POV
- ✓ Formulaic for some
- ✓ Short
Emotional Impact ★★★☆☆ 3.3/5
- ✓ Tagged emotional by 21%
- ✓ Coming-out resonance
- ✓ Low angst
- ✓ Unmoving for some
Heat Level ★☆☆☆☆ 1/5
- ✓ Fade to black
- ✓ Announced up front
- ✓ Chaste
- ✓ No romance.io rating
Ending ★★★★☆ 3.8/5
- ✓ Happy ending
- ✓ Ended too soon for one
- ✓ Standalone
- ✓ Sweet
Re-read Value ★★★☆☆ 3.4/5
- ✓ Under six hours on audio
- ✓ Not on Kindle Unlimited
- ✓ $6.99 Kindle price
- ✓ Comfort read
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