Showing posts with label Baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baseball. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Hitching the Pitcher (Belltown Six Pack #1) by Rebecca Connolly


Sawyer Bennett has a secret. A risky thing, being one of the popular Belltown Six Pack, a group of six guys from the same college baseball team, all of whom got drafted and now play in the Major Leagues. Between the media frenzy over them and his bond with the guys, his secret has to stay carefully hidden if he wants it to stay that way. He needs to focus on his pitching and let everything else fall away.

Running into his former college girlfriend wasn’t supposed to happen. Falling for her again wasn’t supposed to happen. Confessing his secret to her was definitely not supposed to happen. But the harder he falls for Erica Moore, the more important his secret—and she—becomes.


Welcome to Belltown! Six baseball players meet in the college town of Belltown, Massachusettes, becoming best friends, their lives intertwining as they each get called up to the Major Leagues.

Follow Sawyer, Cole, Axel, David, Ryker, and Levi in these six swoony sports romances.


I cannot even tell you how excited I am for this series!  I LOVE baseball- it's my favorite and when you add some romance with baseball?  😍  Another thing I find really attractive is the feeling of camaraderie I know this series is going to bring as it follows a group of tight knit friends.  I can already feel that from the first book.

Sawyer is something else.  He let Erica go years ago to focus on his blooming baseball career and now she is back in his life.  You would think that Sawyer learned something from his mistakes, but no.  He honestly drove me slightly crazy because I have a hard time with wishy washy men.  I didn't think his "secret" was much of a secret to begin with so I had a harder time buying into his indecision.  I think Erica was way beyond patient with him so to me, she was the real hero of this story.  

I think this first story was probably harder to write because this author had the daunting task of setting the foundation for all the books to come.  She roughly introduced all the characters and gave us a bit of a peek into their personalities.  She also gave the backstory as to how all these men became friends.  It was a lot to pack in with her own story.

While I think this story was just okay, I am going to be reading the next books.  There is so much potential here.  I think it's going to be a fun series and I can't wait to see what (and who!) is coming next! 

Content:  kissing

- I received a complimentary copy of this book.  All opinions expressed are my own.
 

Thursday, September 29, 2016

The Thirteenth Chance by Amy Matayo


Baseball star Will Vandergriff knows any number of women who would happily pretend to be his girlfriend. In a last-ditch effort to restore his good standing with his team’s higher-ups, he enlists the help of his neurotic, goody-goody neighbor. Schoolteacher Olivia Pratt might be a bit quirky and a bit of a loner, but she’s a lot more inviting than she knows. Will hopes that bringing her to his next game might revamp his reckless reputation and help get his career back on track. The only problem? The plan works a little too well. Not only do the higher-ups love Olivia, but Will plays his best game yet. Suddenly his losing streak is a thing of the past, and Olivia is his new good-luck charm. Will feels anything but lucky.

After years of keeping the world at bay, Olivia Pratt is pulling off the ultimate performance—not only reluctantly posing as Will’s girlfriend but also insisting that she’s oblivious to his major-league appeal. But she can only lie to herself for so long. Being by Will’s side feels good. Really good. Maybe it’s finally time to make a pitch for everything she really wants—and to find out just how exhilarating love can be.

 * Goodreads * Amazon *

I saw this book on NetGalley and I knew I had to read it.  Amy Matayo is an author I'm always on the lookout for and I was super excited to see this new book by her!  I think I'm probably the last of my Goodreads friends to write my review for this book but I can tell you that there is a lot of love going around for this book, which makes me so happy.

The characters in this book are fantastic.  They are larger than life and literally fill up the pages.  I felt like I knew them.  I could visualize them so easily and hear them in my head.  That's what I love!  I wouldn't say that I loved either character from the beginning but their personalities were distinct and very human.

Will is just a jerk in the beginning.  He is full of himself and over the top but as the book goes on, he softens and let's down his jerk wall a bit.  :)

Olivia is quirky and has some definite neurotic tendencies.  She is so endearing!  I fell in love with her right along with Will.

This book was just so fun.  I loved settling in and becoming wrapped up in this love story.  The characters really made this story come alive for me.  So well done!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Covering Home by Heidi McCahan + $20 and Book Giveaway!

A themed tour through Prism Book Tours.

Covering Home
Covering Home
Heidi McCahan
Adult Inspirational Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 310 Pages
January 18th 2015 by Snug Corner Cove Press

On assignment in Japan, television personality turned sportscaster Britt Bowen is determined to land an interview with the most reclusive pitcher in baseball and prove she can succeed in a demanding profession. A relationship with a self-absorbed professional athlete is the last thing Britt needs. 

Shunning all media attention, former All-Star pitcher Caleb Scott is focused on rebuilding his career in Japan, far from his past and the horrible tragedy that nearly ruined him. Then he meets Britt, who is everything he vowed to avoid. 

But it doesn’t take long before Caleb is battling his attraction toward Britt. While she works to uncover his secrets, she can’t deny she’s drawn to his wounded soul. At a crossroads, Caleb must decide if he can break free from his past mistakes and give love another chance. And Britt must choose between advancing her career … or falling in love.

Amazon * Goodreads 

I am such a sucker for baseball stories.  Especially baseball and romance.  <sigh>  I'm so glad baseball season is upon us once more.  Yay!

This book took baseball to Japan of all places.  Honestly, my brain has never really given much thought to baseball in Japan.  It was kind of cool.  I loved the change from the norm in baseball settings.

Both Britt and Caleb are full of life and energy.  You can feel their emotions and struggles.  I enjoyed getting to know them both through this book.  There is obvious chemistry between the two of them but there is also a lot of resisting.  Britt is trying to prove herself in the demanding and mostly man dominated world of sportscasting.  She is focused and determined.  Caleb is trying to play a game that he loves and hide at the same time.  It isn't really working for him but he is also pretty determined to stay out of the public eye.

This is a good story, easy to read.  There was a lot of back and forth toward the end that kind of drove me crazy.  You know- yes I want you.  No, I don't.  Yes, I do.  Well, now I don't.  But, eventually I got to that happy place and I really enjoyed the ride.

Heidi McCahanHeidi McCahan is a Pacific Northwest girl at heart. She spent her formative years in Alaska, where her unique upbringing, coupled with Alaska's breathtaking scenery, fueled her active imagination and loosely inspired her debut novel, Unraveled

Heidi graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Sports Medicine from Whitworth University and a Master's Degree in Athletic Training from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. After a brief career as a Certified Athletic Trainer, Heidi married her husband, Steve. They currently live in North Carolina with their three boys. 

When Heidi isn't stepping on Legos, chauffeuring the boys around suburbia or watching one of their many sporting events, she loves to read and write heartwarming romance.


- US Grand Prize: Birchbox 3-month subscription ($30 value) & signed paperback of Covering Home (US Only)
- Gift Card Grand Prize: $20 Gift Card for Amazon/iTunes/B&N (winner's choice) & an ebook of Covering Home (open internationally)
- Ends April 7th

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Prism Book Tours

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

A League of Her Own by Karen Rock + a $100 and Book Giveaway!!

A League of Her Own tour banner

This is my stop during the blog tour for A League of Her Own by Karen Rock. This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 1 till 14 December, you can view the complete tour schedule on the website of Lola’s Blog Tours.

A League of Her OwnA League of Her Own
By Karen Rock
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age category: Adult
Release Date: 1 December, 2014

Blurb:
He was attractive, talented…and way off limits.

Heather Gadway may have been a world-class college pitcher and a top university coach, but she's a rank amateur when it comes to managing the Falcons, her father's struggling minor league team. And when it comes to managing her aggravating attraction to Garrett Wolf, their talented new pitcher. It's going to be difficult enough to make it as the first female manager in the league and prove to her overly critical father she's worthy. No distractions. No missteps. And certainly no romances with players. Everything stands between them—including their troubled pasts—even as Heather's world falls apart and Garrett's the one who's there to catch her…
First off, I love baseball!  And to combine that love with my love of a clean romance is like perfection!  Like peanut butter and chocolate.  Like dark chocolate and raspberry.  J

So sorry but my love spewing will continue now with my love of Harlequin Heartwarming Line and Karen Rock writing for Harlequin Heartwarming.  This is also one of my favorite combinations! 

This book had two characters that I fell in love with.  Heather and Garrett.  Both have faced tremendous difficulty in their lives but both are working so hard to overcome those difficulties.  It’s a rough road for them separately and together.  As a reader I felt like I had to wait a long time for that first kiss because the tension and build up was killing me!  But the kisses were worth waiting for.  <sigh>


I picked this book up on NetGalley and started it the same day even though I shouldn’t have.  I just couldn’t help myself.  The baseball aspect was a lure I just couldn’t escape.  It was the story that kept me there though and I finished this book the same day I started it.  Yup.  That’s some serious reading right there.  

You can find A League of Her Own on Goodreads.

You can buy A League of Her Own here:
- Amazon (Kindle)
- Barnes & Noble
- Kobo
- eHarlequin

Karen RockAbout the Author:
Karen Rock is an award-winning YA and adult contemporary romance author. She holds a master’s degree in English and worked as an ELA instructor before becoming a full-time writer. Currently she writes for Harlequin Heartwarming and her first novel for the line, WISH ME TOMORROW, has won the 2014 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, the 2014 Golden Quill Contest and a finalist in the Published Maggie Awards. The first novel in her co-authored YA series, CAMP BOYFRIEND, has been a finalist in the Booksellers Best and Golden Leaf awards.

You can find and connect with Karen here:
- Website
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Goodreads
- Tumblr
- Quarterly Newsletter

There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of A League of Her Own. These are the prizes you can win:
- a 100$ Amazon gift card (INT)
- a set of signed paperback of Wish Me Tomorrow, His Hometown Girl, Someone Like You and A League of Her Own (US only)
A League of Her Own Blog Tour Grand Prize


For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:
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