Jennifer Bernard, the USA Today bestselling author of the Bachelor Firemen series, scores another homerun with a brand-new series about sexy, single baseball players.
BLURB
Playing for the Kilby Catfish is hotshot pitcher Caleb Hart’s last chance to salvage his career after a major league meltdown. But the day of his opener with the minor league team, Caleb strikes out with the gorgeous woman who is delivering a petition to run the unruly Catfish out of town. Now to stay in the lineup, Caleb will need to score big with the feisty brunette he can’t keep out of his thoughts.
After the nasty lies Sadie Merritt’s rich ex-boyfriend spread about her all over town, she’s lucky to have a job at all. She can’t afford to screw it up by falling for the player who is supposed to be helping her change the image of the fun-loving Catfish. But that’s easier said than done when Caleb’s voice alone is enough to make her pulse race. And when he surprises her with a mind-blowing kiss, she knows there’s no turning back.
MY THOUGHTS
Jennifer Bernard is one of my favorite contemporary authors and when I heard that she was writing a new series I knew right away that I had to read it. The 'Love Between the Bases' series follows the Kilby Catfish, a minor league baseball team with a rowdy streak and a bit of a bad reputation with the proper matrons of the small, Texas town. In All of Me, we meet Sadie Merritt, the sassy but scarred assistant to the Mayor of Kilby, who knows all too well how much power the wrong kind of reputation can wield. Her assignment to issue the petition to 'Can the Catfish' and reform the team's image gets interesting when the mouth-watering pitcher, Caleb Hart, gets thrown in her path. Keeping things professional is far from easy when Sadie and Caleb can't seem to keep their hands off each other.
Both Caleb and Sadie have a whole mess of baggage and neither of them has the best track record with trusting the right people. Sadie's reputation and privacy was completely destroyed by her sadistic ex-boyfriend, who secretly photographed and videotaped her and then shared it online, bullying and slut-shaming her. Caleb carries the weight of his father's crimes on his shoulders along with the responsibility for raising and caring for his three siblings. They definitely both have things they need to work through, but they find a safe harbor in each other where those burdens seem to be quite a bit lighter. I loved their flirtatious attitude toward one another and although the physical attraction was there from the moment they met, I really enjoyed that their relationship really started to grow through their phone calls during his away games.
As in all of Jennifer Bernard's previous novels, there's a great sense of passion and humor throughout the couple's interactions. I really appreciate that they can get super hot-and-heavy one moment and crack jokes and tease each other the next. Their love feels genuine and well-rounded which allows you to connect all the more with the characters. All of Me just reads like a Jennifer Bernard novel, and I mean that as a compliment. There's such a great sense of camaraderie and friendship between the males in her stories. They're never perfect, but they're always interesting, determined, multi-faceted men who you'd want on your side in a bar fight. Bernard has such a way with writing secondary characters that you get so pulled in by their humor and heart that you can't wait to read their own story. As much as I absolutely loved Caleb and Sadie together, Donna and Mike just made the story that much better for me. I'm so intrigued by the possibilities of what Donna's secret could be and I love her feisty, no-holds-barred attitude, which obviously hides a soft, gooey center, If she and Mike don't end up together I'm going to be extremely upset. Hell, if their book isn't the next one in the series and I have to wait over a year for it I'll be upset.
I have never been a fan of baseball, or really been all that attracted to baseball players, but if someone is capable of making me a convert, it's Jennifer Bernard. All of Me is a sweet, funny, sexy introduction to a series that promises to be all that and more. If you're a fan of her 'Bachelor Firemen' series I think 'Love Between the Bases' will more than live up to your expectations. Who's ready to catch themselves a Catfish? I know I am.
Disclaimer: I received this book free in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions shared are my own.
About the Author:
Jennifer Bernard is a graduate of Harvard and a former news promo producer. The child of academics, she confounded her family by preferring romance novels to … well, any other books. She left big city life for true love in Alaska, where she now lives with her husband and stepdaughters. She’s no stranger to book success, as she also writes erotic novellas under a naughty secret name not to be mentioned at family gatherings.
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