Review: Baseball, soccer...& romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 4, 2013
Book 1, "Fastball" -- I liked this story and the hero and heroine, Jake and Maddie. I also liked Martha as secondary.However, I found three problems with this book: 1) When Jake and Maddy were making out in the back of the cab and the driver didn't pay any attention. I have a friend who drives a cab and I can tell you for sure he would have said something, especially because he probably could have seen what they were doing in the rearview mirror -- that scene just didn't seem very realistic to me.2) The scenes with the Mafia were very stereotyped and when Maddie yelled "He's got a knife," I kept picturing Jake doing a "Crocodile Dundee" and saying "That's not a knife! This is a knife!"3) Through almost the whole book, I got the idea that Maddie was very close to her mother, and very upset because the facility she was in was in Massachusetts, not Philadelphia, so she couldn't see her as much as she wanted. I know her mom had Alzheimer's, and didn't recognize people, etc., but when Jake and Maddie get married (spoiler), she's not only not at the wedding, there's no mention of her at all. Maddie just mentions her new family, like she's forgotten all about her mom.Book 2, "Hardball"I really enjoyed this story. I loved Holly -- if I had a kid, I'd want her on the job. She was self-confident and classy. I loved Nate, too, and his interaction with the kids in the hospital. I loved the way he and Holly joked around but got to know one another. I liked the scene where she's getting into his fancy sportscar and they're trying to talk formal. I loved the way this book turned out.Book 3, "Bigger Than Beckham"I'm so glad Martha got her own book -- I loved her as secondary in the first two books. She's funny and nice and someone I'd love to have as a friend. I liked Tony a lot. The book started out slow for me, but the pace sped up later. I understand how close Martha was to her father, but I like the way the book ended. I loved the pop culture reference to "Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine," and all of Martha's funny comments.