Hello Literarians!
So the book I am reviewing for you today is Fielder's Choice by Pamela Aares. It is book three in the Heart of the Game Series. The first two books were absolutely fantastic, so I had high hopes for book three, and it did not disappoint.
Fielder's Choice tells us the story of socialite Alana Tavonesi, who has just inherited her grandmother's ranch and is forced to leave Paris and return to California to decide the fate of the ranch. She meets All-Star shortstop Matt Darrington, a widower with a feisty six year old daughter who wants nothing more than a stepmother.
This story was extremely interesting to me because it really showed the struggles of a single father with a thriving and time consuming career as Major League Baseball Player. Being a single parent is never easy, and sometimes it seems more difficult as they get older, especially in Sophie's case because she really wants a mom, and she clings onto Alana almost instantly. This scares Matt, and understandably so, it's very easy for a little girls heart to be broken if she got attached to someone and they left. His character development was interesting to me because he was hardened again love from his marriage and the loss of his wife, but it runs deeper that that. He is an extremely passionate man but he can't give himself over entirely to a woman because he does have responsibilities career wise and most importantly with his daughter.
Alana is another very interesting character to me because she lives the elite life, she went to art school and now lives in Paris for most of the year. We don't get too much of a look into her life in Paris besides her relationship with Marcelle. She doesn't do commitment or relationships beyond sex which at her stage in life is totally understandable. And I think that is the big obstacle in the book. She thinks she is not ready to settle down and be a wife and stepmother, because she still sees herself as a socialite who should be galavanting around Paris and living that life. Owning her grandmothers ranch is not something she ever saw herself doing so she really has to undergo and huge transformation and become a responsible business owner. And that scares the living daylights out of her. And understandably so. For me that was the most interesting part of the story is change in Alana's personality, and realizing that she is more than she thinks she is.
There was one major sex scene in the book and holy crap was it hot, Pamela Aares knows how to write some a good romp, my only critique is I wanted more, especially because of how well she writes it. But the story really won't have allowed more due to how their relationship developed and how much time they fought their attraction to each other. So I understand that there really couldn't have been more sexy scenes than there was, but it doesn't mean I wouldn't have enjoyed some more nookie.
Plus don't you just love those couples who instantly connect and think that they won't fall in love, that hot sex will be enough. Because we all know it never is, and I just love that happy ending factor. There is something about it that makes me all tingly inside.
And honestly I just love how the author writes, I don't think she could really write a bad book. Technically speaking her writing is flawless, no grammatical errors, no dull moments, perfect balance between description and dialogue and internal dialogue. The story progressed at a good pace and it was just brilliant. I cannot rave enough about her writing.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my review! I hope you enjoyed it, tell me what you think about Pamela Aares books! Here are the links to my reviews of Book One and Book Two.
The lovely Pamela Aares was kind enough to send me an ARC for book four Love On The Line. I am reading that currently and will post my review very soon!
Peace, Love and Olives ;)
- Lady Literary <3
Just for fun I have linked my blogging playlist that I listen to on Grooveshark here. I am not sponsored by Grooveshark, it's just a site that I've discovered because I can listen to any song I want and make playlists. It's quite fun, check it out. Oh and my blogging playlist is a work in progress.
So the book I am reviewing for you today is Fielder's Choice by Pamela Aares. It is book three in the Heart of the Game Series. The first two books were absolutely fantastic, so I had high hopes for book three, and it did not disappoint.
Fielder's Choice tells us the story of socialite Alana Tavonesi, who has just inherited her grandmother's ranch and is forced to leave Paris and return to California to decide the fate of the ranch. She meets All-Star shortstop Matt Darrington, a widower with a feisty six year old daughter who wants nothing more than a stepmother.
This story was extremely interesting to me because it really showed the struggles of a single father with a thriving and time consuming career as Major League Baseball Player. Being a single parent is never easy, and sometimes it seems more difficult as they get older, especially in Sophie's case because she really wants a mom, and she clings onto Alana almost instantly. This scares Matt, and understandably so, it's very easy for a little girls heart to be broken if she got attached to someone and they left. His character development was interesting to me because he was hardened again love from his marriage and the loss of his wife, but it runs deeper that that. He is an extremely passionate man but he can't give himself over entirely to a woman because he does have responsibilities career wise and most importantly with his daughter.
Alana is another very interesting character to me because she lives the elite life, she went to art school and now lives in Paris for most of the year. We don't get too much of a look into her life in Paris besides her relationship with Marcelle. She doesn't do commitment or relationships beyond sex which at her stage in life is totally understandable. And I think that is the big obstacle in the book. She thinks she is not ready to settle down and be a wife and stepmother, because she still sees herself as a socialite who should be galavanting around Paris and living that life. Owning her grandmothers ranch is not something she ever saw herself doing so she really has to undergo and huge transformation and become a responsible business owner. And that scares the living daylights out of her. And understandably so. For me that was the most interesting part of the story is change in Alana's personality, and realizing that she is more than she thinks she is.
There was one major sex scene in the book and holy crap was it hot, Pamela Aares knows how to write some a good romp, my only critique is I wanted more, especially because of how well she writes it. But the story really won't have allowed more due to how their relationship developed and how much time they fought their attraction to each other. So I understand that there really couldn't have been more sexy scenes than there was, but it doesn't mean I wouldn't have enjoyed some more nookie.
Plus don't you just love those couples who instantly connect and think that they won't fall in love, that hot sex will be enough. Because we all know it never is, and I just love that happy ending factor. There is something about it that makes me all tingly inside.
And honestly I just love how the author writes, I don't think she could really write a bad book. Technically speaking her writing is flawless, no grammatical errors, no dull moments, perfect balance between description and dialogue and internal dialogue. The story progressed at a good pace and it was just brilliant. I cannot rave enough about her writing.
Another huge technical part of Pamela Aares that always gets a huge thumbs up from me is that she doesn't skirt around the baseball. She actually goes into detail and uses the technical terms. I feel like every time I read one of her books I learn a ton about America's favourite pastime. I'm not really much of a sports fan beyond UFC and the odd European Football or Rugby match. But these books make me like baseball and understand how much skill is involved in it. And if you are going to write a book, especially a series I expect the author to give accurate detail, and the author goes above and beyond expectations every time.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my review! I hope you enjoyed it, tell me what you think about Pamela Aares books! Here are the links to my reviews of Book One and Book Two.
The lovely Pamela Aares was kind enough to send me an ARC for book four Love On The Line. I am reading that currently and will post my review very soon!
Peace, Love and Olives ;)
- Lady Literary <3
Just for fun I have linked my blogging playlist that I listen to on Grooveshark here. I am not sponsored by Grooveshark, it's just a site that I've discovered because I can listen to any song I want and make playlists. It's quite fun, check it out. Oh and my blogging playlist is a work in progress.