Alison Packard - Breaking His Rules

Losing fifty pounds is an incredible achievement. But for Melissa Atherton, progress doesn't come with praise--a scathing comment from an evil cousin at a bridal shower threatens to crush her new self-esteem. Who will she bring to the upcoming wedding? Showing up without a date would be humiliating. It just isn't an option.
Personal trainer Jake Sawyer was attracted to Melissa before she lost weight, but her progress has him floored. When she admits she plans to hire a male escort--and why--his heart all but breaks. Melissa's come too far to be knocked down, especially by her own family. He'll go as her date...and figure out a way to keep his hands to himself.
But when a steamy hotel room encounter takes them both by surprise, Jake balks. He's sworn never to date one of his clients, not again. And Melissa can't bear to be just friends with the man who treated her so tenderly, even if it was only for a weekend. Jake's helped her see she's strong enough to stand up for herself, but will she find the strength to pursue the only man who's ever seen the real her?

Comment: When I got the first book I've read by the author, I liked it, so I also got the sequels, including the one I've read last month and this current one. I must say I haven't been much impressed by the following books...I suppose the other one was novelty enough or maybe it was just the best of the bunch...

In this story we have the romance of Jake (brother to the hero from Catching Heat) and Melissa, a woman who started to attend his gym.

Jake has been very strict about his personal rules when it comes to date clients. He has had a bad experience and now he only wants to keep things as professional as possible. The problem is that Melissa isn't just a client, she is a person he cares about, a woman he likes to spend time with and her motivation to treat her body better a plus in what he sees in her. He was already interested before she started losing weight but now her own perception is different, she seems even more attractive. Can he put his own rules side just one more time or is he doomed to repeat the same mistakes?

As a whole, I can't say this is a bad romance. I liked the personal stories of both Jake and Melissa, as individuals and their relationship wasn't too bad. I think my biggest disappointment comes from two things, one that probably only I would think of and another associated with the end of the story, when the HEA is about to happen.

First, a good element: I did like how Melissa wasn't portrayed as a woman only focused on losing weight. She had a believable reason to do it, she went about it in a positive way as well and  liked how she got to a certain point and decided she was feeling ok that way and she wasn't going towards a goal that would be too difficult and discouraging. She was feeling well and often that is a goal not many can admit, so I liked this aspect of Melissa's path and choices.

Also interesting, and slightly connected to the above, was Jake's impression of Melissa as a human being, as a person before she got to be a woman he was attracted to. Although this seems a little too sweet to be realistic, the idea is so cool I liked imagining Jake thinking of Melissa as a great person who was doing something she as not only entitled to but she was smart enough to do it correctly. 

Part of me has created a very personal image of how their relationship has evolved but overall, it was well done.

I also liked how professional Jake was when Melissa started attending - who is the obese person who wants to be ridiculed when trying to join a gym? - and also when she started to look like a woman he liked and not just a person he genuinely wanted to help and see succeeding. 

The biggest problem for me was closer to the end of the story... I think Melissa is a great character, she embodies those who want to change and are so totally in the right to do so but... is it truly believable the process is that easy? I understand, for the story's purposes she had to be confident enough but... I don't know, this part felt a let down, I wanted to see her personality accept the change as well, she sounded a little too perfect.

This meant the romance up to the end was amazing, when they have a conflict things get weird and the resolution was too weak and not romantic enough for me. Some situations related to this were also a bit silly, like how the contrast was done with Jake's former client, the one he had a bad experience with. Things could have been done differently and much better too.

The second little detail I would change is how Melissa and Jake finally give in to their feelings. It was too obvious, too premeditated. I wanted something a bit more magical and maybe Melissa would need to think twice about it, considering how emotionally the whole process had to affect her. Or maybe I' just being picky.

All in all, this wasn't too bad but I still hoped for more. I'd definitely change some details to better suit what I'd want to see. This means the story wasn't as perfect as I'd have like it to be. 

There's one more story in this series but I don't have the book and so far I don't really feel like reading it so... maybe one day.

Grade: 6/10

Alison Packard - Catching Heat

Life has taught Angie DeMarco that all baseball players are womanizers, and her incredible one-night stand with sexy San Francisco Blaze back-up catcher J.T. Sawyer seemed to prove it. Determined not to give in to their sizzling chemistry a second time, she's kept her distance ever since, focusing on her accounting job with the team. But now she's laid off...and pregnant.
J.T. was hurt by Angie's rejection, but with one more year with the Blaze, he has no time for love. He needs to spend the off season training hard so he can negotiate a better contract with a new team at the end of the year. But when Angie shows up on his doorstep, he's overwhelmed by wanting to not just do right by her but pursue a relationship with her. Hoping for a second chance, he proposes.
Angie agrees to marry J.T. on one condition: the marriage will be purely a business arrangement. But as Angie spends time with him and his family, and J.T. neglects his training to spend time with her, what begins as a union in name only slowly grows into something more--something that looks a whole lot like love and friendship.

Comment: After having read the book before this one in 2015 and enjoying it, I added the following two (this one and the installment after) to my reading lists and this month I did pick it up. I confess, however, that I was expecting more...

In this story, we have Angie and JT's romance. They were secondary characters in the previous toy, it didn't seem they would have that much in common but a night together has had is consequences and now Angie is pregnant. To top it, she is also out of a job so after some debating she does accept JT's offer of marriage but only for two years so she can find a job and not have to worry about lack of health benefits int he meantime. But deceiving his those around them and dealing with their families can prove to be quite challenging...

As for their personalities, I liked them individually but together they didn't seem to become that much better or stronger or maybe this was just my impression.

I sort of expected more out of this novel, after a slow but promising beginning. The marriage of convenience trope no longer works as well in contemporary romance as it used to but I like it when the situation is told in a way that even if I can't truly accept it, I can suspend belief to see how it's done. I just think that the romance wasn't as "romantic" or "special" as I imagined.

One great way to show the characters are falling for each other and wanting to be together but don't immediately give in for some reason is using sexual tension scenes. Not placing them having sex and stop before things go to far! Just showing scenes where their connection is developing, scenes with them doing things together or looking at one another that it can't be mistaken or letting us know they are thinking or doing something with the other one always in their minds. I think it's usually just easier to make them talk about or act more sexually interested than it was necessary to give us the clue they are hot for one another... that should be supposed to be a given, I, personally, would prefer the subtlety that would increase until it got to the point they couldn't ignore it anymore.

I jut felt their relationship wasn't done well, they were all about the marriage deal, she said no sex but quickly changed her mind... I thought the relationship wasn't a good element of this book.

The bigger conflict, however, comes from Angie's relationship with her mother. The older woman also had a romance with a ballplayer so she doesn't seem to accept how Angie left a stable fiancé to be with this man. I can understand her reasoning based on her experience but she was also clearly made to be the villain so although some plot moves make sense based on her personality, it was also something that could be avoided or dealt with differently...

What I liked the best in this novel was JT's parents. They are lovely, they (and two of his brothers) provided the stability Angie needs so it's no surprise when she and her mother in law connect and the future seems promising to Angie. The HEA is believable enough, I'd say. Just too bad about how everything was done and developed.

Also, for a sports romance there isn't that much talk about the sport JT plays...not that I'd want a list of every single practice or game or preparation but...it felt like it was just an element to suit the plot.

All in all, I thought this book would stronger, considering the previous one, but despite the things I liked less, it was still entertaining and had some cute scenes here and there. I'm curious about the dynamics of the next one and I will read it somewhere in the future...next year, most likely.

Grade: 6/10

Alison Packard - The Winning Season

Kelly Maxwell has finally landed her dream job as publicist for the San Francisco Blaze. But the team's newest member, handsome bad boy catcher Matt Scanlon, is refusing every interview. She's got to get him to open up before the season ends, or she may not be back next year. And after everything she overcame to achieve her dream, Kelly's not about to let that happen.
Matt Scanlon just wants to be left alone to rebuild his life and his career. After a year of masking the pain of a recent loss with hard partying and fast women, he finally hit rock bottom and was traded to a team he's loathed his entire life—a team with little to no chance at the post-season.
Butting heads is getting Kelly and Matt nowhere but annoyed, and with the team's schedule on the road, they can't avoid close quarters—or their surprising attraction to one another. As the season winds down, Matt finds his growing feelings for Kelly have brought his numbed emotions back to life. But when betrayal shatters their fragile trust, winning it all seems more impossible than ever.

Comment: This book hasn't been in the pile for long. I don't exactly remember when I got it, but it was somewhere this year. The premise of the story seemed appealing to me despite the first book not being something I'd want to try. Usually I try to follow series' order but in this case I just wanted to get to this book and that's it.

 

This is the story of Kelly Maxwell, a successful woman working for a baseball team. She faces a new challenge, Matt Scanlon, a new player in the Blaze team, coming from the Dodgers, a rival team.

Matt knows he's done badly in the last year but he has good reasons. He doesn't know how welcome he will be in his new team but he didn't think he would have to deal with Kelly too.

Kelly and Matt met before and their conversation didn't went well. Could they now work together? Kelly needs to settle Matt's interviews with the press, but despite thinking they don't have anything to talk about, surprisingly they do have things in common...

 

I liked this story. I liked the "feel" of the story and how nice it was to meet the main characters and see them interact and become better by being together.

I liked that both Matt and Kelly acted believable. They didn't do stupid things and the author didn't turn this into comic/exaggerated territory. In the end of the day, this story was sweet, simple and almost perfect because of that.

 

The flaw I found in this book comes from the conflict. We are told about the character's secrets and personal issues, they share those and it's actually good because it helps to strengthen their bond. But at some point the secrets come out and one of them acts fast and without weighting the consequences. I found this hard to believe when they are characters that act so practical and conscientiously the rest of the time. I understand this is supposed to add some drama and accelerate the HEA by making them react and be forgiven but sincerely the whole situation didn't have to follow this cliché of fighting and making up.

 

I also didn't get all the baseball facts. That's a sport that we don't have here in my country and apart from movies I have no clue about how it's played, why some things happen and most of the baseball talk about specific or technical facts passed me by. I assume most things make sense though.

I'm not saying I graded this lower because I didn't get it, but it's true I didn't follow some parts. Still, I suppose things are correct and all that talk helps building up the story and the dilemma that can be to change teams.

 

The romance was sweet. I liked knowing Kelly and Matt. I also liked them together.

Kelly is a likable woman, she's been through some hard challenges but she's smart, understandable and dedicated to her work and her hobbies. I liked her a lot.

Matt also had difficulties in his past, we totally get why he behaved badly before and I felt much empathy towards him and how hard some things he went through must have been like. He faces some personal issues but also professional because he changed teams. I thin this subject was interesting and in a way I wish the author had focused a bit more on it.

Their relationship was quite balanced and easy to want to follow.

 

I liked the author's writing. I think the story itself helped but overall I had a good time and found the writing appealing and without annoying fuss or details. I'm really interested in reading more by her.

This first book by a new author surprised me positively and this book is quite good.

Grade: 8/10