All of Me by Jennifer Bernard
Publisher: Avon (5/26/2015)
Series: Love Between the Bases, book 1
Genre: Sport Romance
Source: Tasty Book Tours / Edelweiss
Rating: ★★★★1/2
Jennifer Bernard, the USA Today bestselling author of the Bachelor Firemen series, scores another homerun with a brand-new series about sexy, single baseball players.
Playing for the Kilby Catfish is hotshot pitcher Caleb Hart’s last chance to salvage his career after a major league meltdown. But the day of his opener with the minor league team, Caleb strikes out with the gorgeous woman who is delivering a petition to run the unruly Catfish out of town. Now to stay in the lineup, Caleb will need to score big with the feisty brunette he can’t keep out of his thoughts.
After the nasty lies Sadie Merritt’s rich ex-boyfriend spread about her all over town, she’s lucky to have a job at all. She can’t afford to screw it up by falling for the player who is supposed to be helping her change the image of the fun-loving Catfish. But that’s easier said than done when Caleb’s voice alone is enough to make her pulse race. And when he surprises her with a mind-blowing kiss, she knows there’s no turning back.
{ review } .
So sorry; long night at work, followed by a work meeting, followed by
debriefing breakfast with coworkers... Time got away from me :(
Jennifer Bernard first drew me in to her writing with those sexy firefighters she wrote about. I had only read the first 2 or 3 books, and then I had the next ones on hold via the virtual library, and my card expired, and well... I never read the rest of the series. But I do remember liking them, and liking her writing style.
So when this popped up, I knew I wanted to read it -- author I liked? Genre I liked? Home run (pun intended)..!
If you know anything about me, you know I love my sassy leading ladies. Lauren Layne writes them very well (Sophie, anyone?). Well, Sadie is pretty sassy, herself, and it just gets to Caleb Hart, now-minor league pitcher.
"You must be one of those crazy Catfish players."
"What clued you in? The uniform or the overuse of profanity?"
...Something sparked in her eyes, and her lips quirked. "Well, I guess it must be the profanity, since I don't see much in the way of a uniform." She glanced down his torso. He remembered he was bare-chested, having ditched his shirt.
"Yeah, well...had to let off a little steam."
"So that was you cussing up a storm? I thought I was about to get trampled like a barrel of grapes."
or what about...
"Fine. In the interests of moving on with our lives--you to your shower and probably a six-pack and a groupie..."
Holy RBI. This girl could certainly talk. Her face moved as she spoke, her eyes danced; every bit of her seemed alive and in motion.
Their first encounter comes with an elbow to the gut, and the subsequent have parts to do with Caleb needing to get on the clubs' good side. Sadie works for the town Mayor and the town has some issues with those naughty Catfish baseball players -- beer in pools stands out the most in my mind. When Sadie comes to the owner and manager with a petition for the team to move, he ends up handing the assignment over to Caleb -- once Minnesota Twins' great, now... a not-so-great who throws more home runs than strike outs.
What I liked most about the coupling of Sadie and Caleb is they are equals in most aspects. Both have crappier parts of their life; both give their all in everything they do; both have quick wit.
And they both have some major trust issues.
Caleb is a stand-up guy. As his mentor and boss points out, his career typically takes a major setback whenever family issues arise. His father is a cheat, and has spent time in jail. As such, Caleb has taken the roll of father-figure to his younger sister and twin-teenaged brothers. During the baseball season, his sister takes on the matriarchal role but goes to Caleb when needs arise. Caleb is the backbone of the family and is the financial checkbook. And as much as it pains him, he's the homestead of his father during this baseball season.
Sadie has been dealt a pretty icky card, courtesy of her ex. What was supposed to be a private birthday gift managed to hit social media hard and Sadie lost a lot of important contacts and credibility.
But everything happens for a reason.
Without the fallout, she'd have never searched for months for a job -- even a petty job -- eventually landing assistant to the mayor; working with the mayor lead to the petition which lead Sadie to the Catfish... which, of course, then leads to her meeting Caleb. And vice versa for Caleb. The minors may be a bit of a set-back in his career pathway, but it lead him to Sadie.
These two were super cute..! I liked how they played with each other and off of each other. I liked that one wasn't weak and one was super dominant. They were, as I stated above, equals in their relationship.
I'm excited to see where Jennifer takes the series! All you sport-romance fans, this is one you won't want to miss.
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