Synopsis:
“Katie Rose writes sexy, skilled sports heroes who know how to treat a woman right!” raves Wendy S. Marcus. Now the award-winning author of the Bad Boys of Baseball series introduces a team of soccer stars who score on and off the pitch.
New Jersey Hurricanes striker Logan Hart lives for the grind of training, the adrenaline of competition, and all the perks of the road—until his ex hands him a baby and tells Logan to raise her on his own. He’s eager to pass this bundle of joy into more capable hands and get back to his hard-playing, hard-partying ways. But when a beautiful, blond drill sergeant of a nanny turns Logan’s life upside down, he sets a new goal: winning her heart.
Isabella Bennett takes pride in teaching the rich and famous how to become loving families. Her no-nonsense style is just what Logan and his crying, copper-haired cutie need. So why can’t she get the image of Logan’s tanned, muscular body out of her head? Isabella’s here to whip a new father into shape, not fall for a sexy ladies’ man. But their chemistry is too tantalizing to ignore, much like the temptation to trust someone with her deepest secrets—and embrace a loving family all her own.
Review:
A new sports romance series from Katie Rose! Yay! (And soccer this time–bonus :))
I loved Logan. I’m sure I met him in his sister Jessica’s book (The Heat of the Moment), but quite frankly, that poor girl has so many brothers that I don’t specifically remember him…or maybe I just read to much. (But no, that can’t be it, surely? I’m going with the “too many brothers” reasoning here.)
Regardless, Logan’s a great hero. He’s dedicated to his sport, loves his family, and even though he doesn’t believe for a second in the beginning that the baby who is thrust upon him in the bar is his (or what the heck to do with her, whether she’s his or not), he takes little Cinnamon in and doesn’t hesitate to give her what she needs to thrive while he tries to figure out what to do about her absentee mother. And yeah, you gotta love a guy with a baby. Especially a baby girl–there’s just something about a big strong man holding a tiny pink bundle of baby, you know? It was a lot of fun watching him grow from confirmed bachelor to a caring parent. All those descriptions of him leaning over the crib, talking and smiling at her? Watch out, ovaries! 😉
(And I loved, loved, loved what he did at the end. Fictional dad of the year!)
I liked Isabella too, though she was a bit more challenging at times–as a nanny, she’s pretty darn perfect (it’s kind of intimidating for us lesser parents) and she does have a tendency to be a little sanctimonious and preachy. Though in the beginning, that’s what Logan needed–the guy was pretty clueless, and she definitely did her job with him. She capitulated much quicker than I thought she would to Logan’s charms, though–I know he’s a hot single dad and soccer player and all, but I thought her nanny sensibilities would have made her hold out a little longer. Still, I can’t deny that she was a lot more likable when she was with Logan.
Her relationship wig-out, though? Made me a little crazy. When characters unilaterally decide what’s best for the people they supposedly love without ever having a single conversation with them about it is a major pet peeve of mine. They can make up for it somewhat in how they realize the error of their ways and what they do to fix things–and in both of these, I do like how Bella responded. So in the end I was back in her corner–however, for a while there I just wanted to shake some sense into her.
Though Cinnamon was described absolutely adorably, she did feel pretty plot moppet-ish for a lot of the book. She was just so darn cooperative most of the time, except when she was needed to cry and interrupt and almost-make out session or something similar. Naturally her existence is the whole reason the hero and heroine even meet, but she needs to be more than that. She was cute, but I wanted her to feel more real.
Still, this was an entertaining read and I’m looking forward to more in this series. Bring on the hot soccer guys, please! Preferably shirtless, when possible. 😉
Rating: 4 stars / B
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
