Review: Hot and sweet and everything in between!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 23, 2013
3.5 stars - rounded up because I enjoyed their verbal sparringMatt Scanlon has managed to survive a disastrous year of gossip, womanizing and temper tantrums. Although traded from his Dodgers to the San Francisco Blaze, he still has a career and a chance to rectify his life and he is determined to do it.Kelly Maxwell loathes Matt Scanlon since the night they met. She thinks he's a selfish, a-hole with a chip on his shoulders. However, she loves her job and will deal with him in the same professional manner as any other player. If only he didn't push all her buttons, this would be an easy feat.The Winning Season is a tale of love, trust and second chances that will leave you wanting more.I admit that in the beginning I didn't see the connection between these two, but through angry exchanges, emotional dialogue and deep inner musings Alison Packard did a great job of letting me get to know these characters better. Of course, their chemistry jumped from the page, but it was those moments of honesty between them and their easy manner when they got along that sealed the deal for me.The story was packed-full of emotions. From lust to loss, every emotion was clearly depicted on the page to impact the reader in its full capacity. I understood where each of them were coming from. Matt's pain over his loss and Kelly's struggles with her past, all came across beautifully in the page, helping me connect to them fully and cheer them on.I liked Kelly very much. She was funny, sarcastic and gave as good as she got. She never backed down from Matt, but yet had a softer side that made her seem more real to me. Matt, on the other hand, came across as the quintessential alpha male. Strong, determined and sexy as hell, he was what you would expect from a tough athlete. But it was when he let go and showed his vulnerable side that he won me over.Often times I enjoy sport-themed romance books and this one was no different, except I found that there were too many references to baseball in this one. I think that those pages could've been put to better use to develop the ending a bit more. After everything these two went through, I though these two needed a more thorough ending.All in all, The Winning Season was a hot and sweet romantic read with great complex characters that kept you on your toes with their verbal sparring and their chemistry.I received this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange of my honest opinion.