Monday, February 17, 2014

[Kame's Review]: "Catching Heat"


Catching Heat by Alison Packard
Publisher: Carina Press (February 10, 2014) 
Series: Feeling the Heat, 3
Genre: Contemporary Romance


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.





Where to Buy*:
 Kindle | NOOK | ARe
More Info:



Reviews of Packards' Other Books:

The Winning Season (#2) -- Kame
A Christmas for Carrie (#2.5) -- Kame



Kame's Review:






J.T.’s eyes bored into hers and caused a tingle to dance up her spine. “If you love someone it should never go without saying.”





Angie DeMarco tried so hard to listen to her Mother’s advice. She worked hard, paid her bills, and stayed away from ballplayers. Which was hard now that she had a job in the front office of a major league baseball team; and even harder still since the first time J.T. Sawyer, a player for the team, walked into the office two years ago when she first started working there. J.T. was leading man in her nightly fantasies. Then one night after her softball team won the city championship Angie has the opportunity to make a fantasy a reality.



J.T. Sawyer is now one of my favorite heroes. He is not your stereotypical hero athlete. Yes he has an incredible body, with great hair and eyes; but it is his heart that I liked so much. He is one of four brothers, and grew up in a close knit family. His father not only spoke of how to be a man but also lead by example. There is nothing more J.T. wants that to make his parents proud and be half the man and husband his father was.





“Is this one of your grandmother’s recipes?”

“No. It’s one I came up with on my own.”


“You should sell these. You’d make a fortune.”


Angie turned off the water and reached for the dish towel on the counter next to the sink. “I appreciate the compliment, but since you’re the self-proclaimed garbage disposal who’ll eat anything, I’m not sure your opinion is valid.”


“Hey, I know a damn good muffin when I eat one.” He paused. “Did that sound slightly dirty?”






Angie’s character evolved throughout this book and I really enjoyed the character she became. I think she became the person she always wanted to be. Through her interaction with the Sawyer family she learned what it meant to be a family; that is was more than the “us versus them” attitude her mother had. Sharon, J.T.’s mom, brought unconditional love back into Angie’s life; something she missed since her grandmother Sophia passed away.  I thoroughly enjoyed all of Angie’s talents; she came up with some recipes I personally would love to have.


This book is not a new never done before plot - Hero and Heroine have an unexpected pregnancy and chose a marriage in name only for the sake of the child. However I found J.T.’s almost reverence to marriage and wanting to honor the example set forth by his parents touching and honestly my favorite part of the book. The conflict at the end that threatens their marriage is believable and I didn’t feel either character was being untrue to their feelings. The resolution was touching.



While we got a few peaks at Kelly and Matt from The Winning Season  I am hoping for more glimpses at their growing romance in a future book or novella. There are plenty of secondary characters left over from the books in this series that make it exciting to think of all the possible characters that would be in the next installment of this series.  I myself am pulling for Jake; J.T.’s brother. Whoever the characters will be I know for sure I will read it.

    
  4 1/2 STARS!





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Kame received an e-copy of this book from the author  in exchange for her honest opinion.

*Note: The quotes used belong to Alison Packard; Kame and TBQ's Book Palace do not claim them.
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Meet Kame:

Kame is part of a family of readers; one day she picked up the Nook she purchased for her husband and discovered her love of e-books. A few months later he purchased one for her so he could have his back! Kame’s Nook is never far, and she is hard pressed to pick a favorite book, genre or author. As long as there are characters that make her want to sit down and have a chat and a plot keeps the pages turning, she’ll read it.

Kame's GoodReads 




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Thanks for the review, Kame! :) Love the quotes you picked! 

Have you read Alison Packard before? Do you enjoy a pregnancy plot? 

Remember, Kame interviewed Alison today -- head on over to this post to read it











Enjoy!


Until Next Time,

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  *TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!

1 comment :

Alison Packard said...

Thanks for the lovely review, Kame. I'm so glad you enjoyed the book. -)