Team Player

4.5 stars — Oh dudes, I’ve only read one other book (well novella) by this author, but reading this one, I remember how much I love her voice. These characters were rich and deep and sassy and it was just a fun read, you know? I will admit that I had a few problems with some actions/reactions, mainly from Ty, and that’s why I’ll be rounding down, but other than that I just super enjoyed this one. Gwen and Ty were just…well, not without flaws, but eminently easy to connect with. One of the weird things I loved most about Gwen was that, while she was somewhat shy/nervous/awkward, she was also very secure in her own worth as a woman, and confident and positive about sex. I LOVE sex positive books, and Gwen was a great heroine representative IMO. And even though she was at the tail end of her heavy grief period over Aunt Marge, I really felt for her, and how she’d isolated herself. I loved seeing how she stepped up to the plate with her job, and excelled at it…it was an interesting element to the story, because it contrasted with how she’d put her job in jeopardy with her connection with Ty. And Ty…well damn. That boy made some of the STUPIDEST decisions, I swear…and sometimes I just wanted to smack him with the things he would say to Gwen. He was a bit impetuous and even immature at times, but I guess I got where it came from in some ways. Doesn’t mean I accepted it, but I got it. He was so lost and confused without his best friend, struggling in a world that he isolated himself from as well. I loved seeing him grow through the book and learn to trust and connect with his teammates. And OMG, the two of them together were just adorable, and hot, and made me laugh, and I just LOVED what they brought out of each other. Because it wasn’t just a strong physical connection, it was their friendship chemistry that truly sucked me in. They helped each other heal and grow. They weren’t always the best with one another, but in some ways I felt like that made them a bit more realistic…because sometimes we just don’t always bring the best out of each other, no matter how hard we try. Now, I will admit, I’m not a baseball fan (though if I was I would be a Blue Jays fan all the way, represent). But I find in sports romances, you don’t need to be versed in a sport to enjoy it. And I thought Ms. Keyes actually did a great job of making me invested in the Thrashers team, and I couldn’t help googling RBI and ERA, and I’m still confused, but that’s stats for you. And part of the reason I connected with the Thrashers team was because of all the well developed and hilarious characters on the team. I love knowing this is a series and that we’ll get more stories for these guys, b/c they were all kind of larger than life, and I loved what they brought to the story. And it wasn’t just the players, I loved Coach Stripley, and even Allison made an impression. So yeah. This story started off SOOOOO strong, and I connected with it super strongly. I can’t wait to read more in this world…

Gwen Scott, rabid baseball fan has got a dream job in PR for her favourite team, the Charleston Thrashers. The only problem is her boss is super-scary, the Thrashers are having an appalling season, her colleagues loathe baseball and she has just been given a hospital pass to deliver the 'talking points' to Rax Stripper, the team's manager - a job that got the last person fired. Luckily Gwen's encyclopaedic knowledge of baseball allows her to make some better suggestions for comments to the press and suddenly she has an in to the team manager. Tyler Ashe was the star player for the Thrashers until his best friend went to jail, now he can't seem to get a break and everyone is blaming him for the team's poor performance, including the sassy new PR girl who doesn't pull her punches. Gwen can't believe her childhood pin-up Tyler Ashe is someone she gets to speak to on a regular basis, but she can't allow him to slide out of press conferences or duck his team commitments. As the season progresses teasing and banter turn into flirting and forbidden kisses. But with the team's reputation on the line, can Gwen and Tyler keep their budding romance a secret, especially when an old sex tape from eight years ago threatens to surface? I recently read another ARC of a sports romance and while I liked it I wasn't blown away, in fact I had almost completely forgotten the book within a few days. This was different, more nuanced characters, more plot, more baseball, more emotions, more heart. In the blurb at the back Julianna Keyes outs herself as a lifelong baseball fan and it really shows. This had everything, romance, bromance, suspense, humour, sport and I loved it. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.