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 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…
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
Excerpt:
Heather flushed, remembering how she’d warned him that she could never trust him or any addict. Had pushed him away when he’d kissed her. So why, then, was she telling him things she hadn’t even shared with her father?
“How many times did you go to rehab?” she asked.
“Once.”
“How long were you an alcoholic before that?”
“Five years. I was twenty-one when Manny got shot.”
Heather stiffened in his arms, realization spiking through her. He’d turned to alcohol because of Manny.
“You drank so you wouldn’t think about it.”
“Basically.” She felt his head nod against hers. “And, after a while, because I had to.”
“And now you’re never tempted.” She tried keeping the skepticism out of her voice and failed.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. But I’m committed.” He lifted his head, tipped up her chin and looked her directly in the eye. “I can only promise one day at a time. But I’ll keep that vow. Continue renewing it. I want more out of life than a bottle.”
Heather reached up and touched the sides of his face, unable to stop her impulsive action. It was sending him mixed messages, the same ones she felt.
“What else do you want?” The question came from a part of her she didn’t recognize. Asking a man like Garrett a flirtatious question was playing with fire.
Garrett groaned, longing sharpening his features. “You.”
Without waiting for her response, his lips captured hers. She knew she should push him away, but instead her head fell back, her pulse leaping in her throat. The pressure was exquisite as he nibbled and explored. Soft. Warm. Gentle. His lips moved slowly, gradually exerting more pressure.
This felt incredible. Better than the last time. She had to stop this, but need seized her, shoving aside her good intentions.
Her body hummed and a fuzzy sensation filled her head, making it hard to focus on anything but the feel of him, the evergreen scent of the forest and his aftershave heightening her senses.
His hands gripped her waist as she swayed against him, holding her as his mouth sampled her lower lip, then put pressure on the top. Nerves sent small shock waves through her chest, and her hand rose to stroke the back of his neck, making him tremble against her.
Suddenly his kiss intensified, growing fierce and demanding. His lips moved fast against hers, their tongues tangling, causing warmth to explode in her body, melting every piece of her.
She moaned and Garrett’s arms tightened, bringing her closer still. Her lips maneuvered against his in response, loving his sweet taste. Garrett shuddered, curling his fist into her hair with a groan. She loved how her touch affected him, how it affected her.
At last his lips let her go, and he looked down at her tenderly, pleasure in his eyes, his chest rising and falling hard.
“I wasn’t getting involved with anyone. Planned to focus only on baseball,” he said when his breath came easier. “But I can’t stay away from you. You follow me, even in my sleep. Your eyes.” He kissed each lid. “Your smile.” He pressed his lips to each corner. “These freckles.” His warm mouth brushed her cheeks.
Her chest expanded, taking in his beautiful words. This incredible moment. And then it hit her, reality a cold shower.
She opened her eyes and scooted away. “Garrett. I don’t know.”
His eyes moved out over the falls, tracking the sprays of water as they hit the jutting rocks and tumbled to earth. “You don’t trust me.”
Her mouth opened and closed. He was right. While he touched a chord inside that’d never sounded for anyone else, she still couldn’t put her heart in harm’s way again. And she knew without a doubt that if Garrett let her down, he’d devastate her as much as her mother had. Even more. She’d loved and lost too many times to try again, especially with her father gone so recently.
“I’m sorry,” she said inadequately as he stood and helped her to her feet.
His blank expression gave little away. She wondered if, deep down, a part of him was relieved they weren’t taking things further. He’d said he hadn’t wanted distractions. And now she wouldn’t be one.
“I can’t make you believe in me, Heather.” His voice was steady and strong. “I need someone who’ll give me a chance to earn her trust.”
She crossed her arms and looked down at the falls, speaking from her heart. “You could be sober a hundred years and I’d still be waiting for the one day you slipped.”
Air escaped him. “I’ve never had a drink as long as you’ve known me. Put you in danger.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry.”
“Me too,” he said as they wandered back to the path. “But better to be up front now. So…this is for the best.”
She wasn’t sure if it was pride talking, or she’d convinced him that they were wrong for each other. Either way, incongruously, she felt let down. Had she wanted him to push it harder? Make her change her mind? If he had, she’d only have distanced herself more. No. He’d made the right call.
Only it felt completely and absolutely wrong.
As most know, baseball is my all time favorite sport. As a baseball mom, I eat, sleep and breathe it. I have no life from February through June. My husband is our son’s coach, I’m the official scorekeeper and our dog is the mascot. Its been that way for the past 3 years and I don’t see it stopping anytime soon. Do I miss having a life? Not really. I’ve meet some awesome people through baseball and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Okay, now that I’ve sorta set up the story…
What really got me going at the begin of the book was how truly dedicated Heather was to her job at the college. You could feel the ball, were the ball and I wanted her to teach my son how to pitch. I loved her from the beginning, flaws and all. Oh yes, she has flaws, demons and a father to please. Trust me, I felt her pain with her father. I have the same relationship with my own mother. At 47, you’d think she’d let up but sadly no. I’m a wife and mother now and there is still no pleasing her. Same with Heather. Except she had the doozy of a mother that thankful left them when she was a teenager.
Garrett was a completely different story. Orphaned, he found his way through baseball. He was someone and he had his “family” at the orphanage. I wasn’t as fond of Garrett in the beginning. I thought he was a bit selfish and standoffish. I could understand with the drinking and all but he just didn’t gell with me until basically the pitching contest. OMG…that was a funny scene and perfect to set him up with Heather.
Now if you are looking for red hot romance its not there. There romance is a slow build and its not rushed. But what you do get is a story about two people that need each other, understand one another and know each other better than they think. Garrett and Heather have trust issues from their past and their road to happiness isn’t all glitter and roses. Or in this case, strikeouts and no hit games. They have obstacles in their way and mainly its just the stubbornness between them. Both Heather and Garrett have something to prove not only to themselves, to the team but most importantly to one another.
I will say this…I shouldn’t have read the book. 😉 It makes me miss baseball, as much as I complain about the no time I have during the season. To me there is nothing better than sitting at a ball field, drinking a Dr. Pepper, eating a hotdog and catching some rays. Oh and men is tight pants is a bonus.
This is not my first book from Ms. Rock nor will it be my last. I love her writing, voice and how she makes me feel after I finish. She makes me feel better about myself and also realize that I’m not alone with some fictional characters. We all have issues, its just how we deal with them that different.
About 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)
For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you so much for this beautiful, moving review!!! I connected with it so much because we’re both baseball super fans 🙂 Luckily I wrote it during baseball season… so I wasn’t having withdrawal yet, but I am now! I had so much fun visiting the Yankees Triple A team in Florida while researching… growing up playing softball (I was a pitcher 🙂 and watching baseball, I was surprised at how much I learned from them. It was so important to me to recreate that world of baseball exactly and give readers the same joy it gives me! Your son is so lucky to have your support as he grows up playing such a wonderful sport. Like you, I had a hypercritical parent (I based that aspect of the book on my own life) and even games I won were dissected and examined for what I did wrong/could have done better… still, it was a great outlet and drove me to go after what I wanted most in life, and ultimately, that was to be a writer. It means so much to hear your kind words! Thank you again ((HUGS))