Review: Sports Romance
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 12, 2014
3.5 StarsMajor League Baseball’s spring training is beginning all over the U.S. and I can’t wait for opening day so it’s exciting to have a new book that centers around the sport to read. Fresh on the high of winning the World Series, the San Francisco Blaze are making some changes and those changes affect the front office as well as the field players. Angie DeMarco finds herself being laid off from the accounting office and J.T. Sawyer finds himself trying to get into the best shape of his life so he can prove he’s an asset to the team in hopes of landing a starting spot somewhere next season. Trouble is one night of passion months back leave them both facing the consequences and trying to figure out the best way to move forward.This is one of those books that made me a little crazy. I loved the characters despite their hang ups and flaws; they are both genuinely good people. J.T. feels like his back is up against the wall and with no hope of moving into the starting catcher position with the Blaze, he knows he has to get into tip-top shape so he’ll be attractive to other teams but once he finds out he’s going to be a Dad he realizes his life is going to change forever. Angie finds herself pregnant, unmarried, and soon to be unemployed and without a lot of options so she eventually accepts a marriage proposal from J.T. that she insists is in name only. I get why they both agreed to this arrangement despite the fact they both feel more for one another, but I hate that they wind up lying and refusing to face their feelings. I also hate that Angie feels like she has no other option but to do agree to this marriage. There are some incredibly poignant and moving moments in this book but there are many more that make me feel sad for both characters. I loved watching them learn more about each other and the way they supported one another. It was fun to watch them discover their love for one another but I felt bad because there was just so much doubt and distrust because of their contract.I liked this book but I didn’t love it; the often used plot device fell a little flat in this book because there was nothing to make their story stand out. I look forward to the next book in this series as Alison Packard’s characters are always intriguing, fun, and very likeable.Review copy provided for an honest review.