Summary: Holly is a reporter who writes on-line series for a popular news blog. She is paid to uncover her subjects’ dirty little secrets. Her last assignment ended up sending her (now) ex-boyfriend, NASA engineer, to jail. Yeah. That. As a result of her most recent heartbreak, Holly is swearing off men. Her next assignment is writing a series about the new Santa Barbara expansion baseball team, the Heat. She’s just beginning her assignment when she meets hot-shot star pitcher (and total hottie) Pace Martin to interview him. When the two start spending time together, there’s no denying they both feel an intense chemistry. But, Holly has sworn off men. And Pace is only focussed on baseball. But, still… there’s something undeniable between them. And for the first time in her life Holly starts to feel that she wants to set down some roots, and make a life for herself.
As soon as Holly and Pace start to move forward, and figure out what exactly is going on between them, Pace faces allegations that could jeopardize his entire career and Holly uncovers some secrets that could hurt Pace and her new friends on the Heat. Both characters become torn between their feelings for each other and their commitments to their professions. Can they move past their differences in order to give love a chance?
Review: 4.5/5
Reasons: I really enjoyed this story. I loved the characters – Holly and Pace were believable, they each had their own baggage but took a chance to pursue something with each other. I liked how their relationship evolved and unravelled, how they both slowly started realizing that their feelings for each other went beyond purely the physical. (Although there were a LOT of very steamy scenes which I loved). The supporting characters were also a blast – and I’m happy to see there are a few other novels in this series. I really like how all of the characters make appearances in each other’s books.
I have read a number of books by this author, including the Lucky Harbour Series and the Wilders Series, both of which I enjoyed immensely. I particularly like Shalvis’ books because of the alpha males, the strong female leads (no wimpering, sniveling virgins in these books), and the touching romance combined with steamy sex scenes. Although the stories are a bit predictable, I always like a good happy ending, and Shalvis delivers in that respect.
I also enjoy her books because Shalvis is a “smart” writer. She gives the reader the benefit of the doubt that she has some brains and wants to read an intelligent story. I find it extremely frustrating when a book is written poorly, and sloppily, with grammatical mistakes (ummm… hello 50 Shades of Grey?). So, when an author doesn’t treat her readers like idiots, I appreciated that.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I even just started the second book in the series which is about Wade, the Heat’s sexy catcher (yum). I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good, steamy contemporary romance.
Tales of a Bookish Nerd 