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…
Excerpt
“Are you ready?” She dropped a bag by the backstop, pulled out a blue visor and adjusted it over her head. When she swept off her glasses and peered up at him, his stomach jittered and his breath hitched. He reined in his slipping control and forced an easy smile.
“Sure. Would you like to pitch first?” He wanted her to say yes. Going last meant he could guarantee his score only topped hers slightly, just enough to make Holly Springs dust in his tire treads and Heather a dream that’d never materialize.
She angled her head so that her long ponytail slid over her tanned shoulders. The smile she gave him was as sweet as freshly squeezed lemonade, minus the sugar. “I’d like to observe you first, if you’d don’t mind.”
“Observe me?” The question leaped out of him in surprise.
She finished a gulp of her sports drink and lowered it, looking him dead in the eye. “So I can finish taking notes on you.”
He nearly swallowed the sunflower shell he’d just popped in his mouth. Her ego must be out of control if she thought he’d lose. He flexed his fingers and nodded curtly. “It’s your prerogative.”
Dean’s red hair appeared in the dugout, and he jogged around the fence, pulling on his catcher’s mask. “Sorry I’m late!” He dropped two bags of balls beside home plate and squatted behind it. “Who’s pitching first?”
“Looks like me.” Garrett sauntered toward the red clay mound, ignoring his jeering teammates.
“Whatever you do, don’t pretend you’re in a game or you’ll definitely lose,” heckled Hopson, whose comment earned a round of chuckles from the team.
“Go get ’em, wild thing,” put in Waitman, who did an impromptu dance Garrett caught out of the corner of his eye. The rest of the crowd joined in, laughing.
“Ignore them, Wolf.” Dean punched his mitt, his nearly colorless eyes squinting against the sun.
Garrett shrugged. “Who? I don’t hear anything but some whining gnats.” This was actually going to be fun. Pitching contests meant no batters. Nothing but mitt. And his throws would strike it every single time.
“Ohhhhhhhhhhh! That hurt,” guffawed another player, and some made boo-hoo sounds.
“Knock it off, Falcons,” snapped Heather, and the rowdy bunch subsided. Even Garrett gaped at her, surprised. Her voice might be low, but it demanded attention.
“Sorry, Skipper,” murmured the new shortstop. A few kissy noises erupted, then stopped when she turned her head and stared hard into the dugout.
“Thank you, Valdez. As for the rest of you, stay and act like the professionals you are, or leave before I ask you to. All right?” She leaned her defined arms on the padded top of the dugout fence, her shapely ankles crossed. But her casual pose didn’t fool him. She was deliberately acting like this to make him believe her victory was a foregone conclusion. It was the oldest trick in the book. She’d need to do a lot better than that if she hoped to best him.
“Ready whenever you are,” she said, her voice flippant, her lips turned up in a ready-for-anything smile.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
My Review
My very first of Karen Rock and I enjoyed reading it. Always love reading about sport romance though I'm not a big fan of sports. For some people, maybe the details about baseball was a bit too much. Since I knew nothing about baseball, I learned a bit about one thing or two and I liked it.
And what I loved even more was Heather, the female character who bravely taking the chance and managed to show to those all those male in the baseball team that she has something, that she's worth it. Though there were parts when I thought she should be this and that towards her father and Garrett, parts where I want to shake her hard, it was pretty understandable. I could imagine that I might be doing the same thing if I were in her shoes. Nevertheless, I really think that she's tough, smart and cool.
Garrett was pretty okay. I liked the way he interacted with kids in the foster care program, and the way he determined to win Heather's trust. Somehow he made me want to hug him for all the tough times he had all those years.
I loved the way Karen Rock wrote the story and the characters. The romance was sweet, well built with all the ups and downs. I learned about forgiveness (something that was easier said than done), about dealing with your and others' past, about fighting for your dreams and to prove others that you can do it. Definitely a sweet, light and heartwarming story because I felt that way by the time I finished reading it.
Anyway, I wonder if there would be a story about Dean, Garrett's friend. :D
You can find A League of Her Own on
You can buy A League of Her Own here:
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:
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:
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