ABOUT THE BOOK:

Title: GRAND SLAM

Author: Heidi McLaughlin

Series: The Boys of Summer, #3

On Sale: August 15, 2017

Publisher: Forever

Trade Paperback: $14.99 USD

eBook: $4.99 USD

Audio: $21.98

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**Now Available in Print for the First Time!**

Win the game. Lose your heart.

Everyone knows who I am and that I could have any female fan I want. That's supposed to be the "perk" of playing left field for the Boston Renegades. But I don't want just any woman; I want her.

She should be just another face in the crowd, but I can't stop thinking about the one night we spent together-and her look of regret the morning after.

Because Saylor Blackwell is the kind of woman who haunts a man. Smart, sexy as hell, and one of the best managers in the business. She's every ballplayer's dream woman. And I'd do anything to make things right with her.

I'm done sitting on the bench when it comes to Saylor Blackwell. Time to swing for the fences.

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Whenever I wake up with a hangover, I often ask myself why I drank so much and promise that I’ll never do it again. That promise is something I’ve been breaking for the past few days, and up until now, I didn’t care.

I had hoped the booze would muddy my memory of last night, but it hasn’t. Every word she said, every expression she had, every punch to my chest to get me out of her apartment is crystal clear. I fucked up, and I don’t even know how. All I know is that the sobs I heard on the other side of Saylor’s door last night were enough to sober my stupid ass up.

For hours, I sat against her door, until a resident suggested I leave or they were going to call the police. If I hadn’t been arrested ear- lier, I probably would have encouraged them to dial Boston’s Finest. Another man might understand my plight. The woman that I want to be with kicked me out of her house, and while I probably deserved it, I didn’t want to leave until she stopped crying. I didn’t want to be the one to walk away in her time of need.

But as egos go—and believe me, mine is huge—I couldn’t let it get in the way any longer, so I walked my drunk ass back home with my tail between my legs, only to stay up all night while the booze wore off, knowing that I had to live with whatever I’d done to Saylor.

She’s the last person in the world who I want to hurt, and she’s the one person who can save me. Not only from a life behind bars, but from myself. When I’m with her, I’m a different person. The cocky son of a bitch whom everyone is used to doesn’t exist when she’s near me, and frankly, that is the man I like, or at least I used to. It’s easier being a fucking douche. It’s second nature to me and comes with the territory of being named one of the city’s most eligible bachelors.

Except when I’m with Saylor, I can be the man who hides in the shadow of that Travis Kidd. I can be the kind of man who doesn’t have to have a one-liner available or wink in order to get a phone number. When I’m with her, life outside of baseball starts to have a meaning, a fucking purpose.

Grand Slam by Heidi McLaughlin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is #3, in The Boys Of Summer series. This book can be read as a standalone novel. For reader enjoyment and understanding, I recommend reading series in order.

Travis is already taken. It's just that the woman he wants does not know it yet. She won't let him close. The past for her, is a painful place that may come back to haunt them in the present.

Saylor wants Travis. All the time. She has to work with him. Her feelings can be a dangerous thing. How do you build a future if you are chained to the past?

This series is really building momentum! I found these characters to be very easy to read. The banter was good and helped build the heat. I hope to see more of this series!


***This ARC copy was given in exchange of an honest review by Netgalley and its publishers.

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THE BOYS OF SUMMER SERIES:

THIRD BASE, #1

HOME RUN, #2

GRAND SLAM, #3

Series Page on Goodreads

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Heat Wave
-- 'Rex on the Beach' by Stephanie Bond
-- 'Getting Into Trouble' by Leslie Kelly
-- 'Shaken and Stirred' by Heidi Betts

Average Overall Rating:  3.4 Stars

It's pretty typical that novella-length stories are usually only good for a fast and breezy enjoyable taste of what an author is capable of.  The three stories in Heat Wave are entertaining, but don't really feel all that interesting, and probably not stories I'd come back to because they aren't entirely memorable.  And maybe a little cheesy to boot.

The beach theme was nice though--it made me want to take a little vacation to relax on a nice, sunny beach myself... despite the fact that I've never really been fond of beaches.

But hey, this sounds kind of nice:

"We'll get a great room with an ocean view, go shopping for sexy new beach outfits and laze around on the sand all day, reading steamy romance novels and sipping umbrella drinks."

Rex on the Beach -- 3.0 Stars

by Stephanie Bond

I have a lot of problems with the premise of this story, if only because I'm not entirely comfortable with how quickly our couple lusts after each other even when they each have their own commitments--one of which is a possible marriage.  But if you can get past that, the development of our main couple had a pretty good amount of potential to make a fun romance.

When two characters carrying secrets hop into a relationship, you're bound to have all sorts of juicy twists and turns to work with.  So maybe if this story had been a little bit longer, it might have been more intriguing.   But otherwise, even the characters as individuals were a little flat.

Getting Into Trouble -- 3.5 Stars

by Leslie Kelly

Leslie Kelly is always hit or miss with me, and I've read enough of her work to keep her on my radar.  But a lot of her older work, or mainly some of her contemporaries are laden with dated romances, and an underlying sense of judgment towards females and their sexuality--akin to slut shaming, I'd say, but not quite so blatantly.  I say 'dated romance' because it's quite typical to find these themes in older romance novels: a sense that good girls don't talk about sex, don't think about sex, and don't have sex.

Which is in full contradiction of the main female characters in her contemporaries, because they are cast as very sexual people--they DO think about sex, the DO talk about sex, they DO like sex.  Except that there's always that unofficial disclaimer of "I don't always do this."  Because it's quite alright for a woman to have sexual needs and express herself sexually... if she doesn't announce it often, or if it's not in her normal behavior.  I'm not even sure Kelly realizes she does this, because I've read other works by her that don't have this underlying tone of a qualifying a woman's open sexuality.

It bugs me, if only because, even in this day and age, women are hesitant about expressing themselves in a sexual way, because society has taught us that women should not talk about sex nor even like it--that it creates gossip and makes you look bad.  Even though it's perfectly acceptable for men to joke about, talk about, have, and/or even be crass about sex.  On a regular basis.

I have a friend who can't even say the word 'sex' without turning pink and whispering it like it's an evil mantra.

But anyway, let me get back off of my soapbox, because this could go on for a long time.

Getting Into Trouble was the longest, most in-depth novella in this collection.  A lot happens that really DOES create a well-rounded romance, with conflict, angst, and fun.  I just got a little irritated with both of our characters:  Allie for being so wishy-washy with her actions; Damon for taking rejection so personally that he acts all butthurt and kind of douchy about it.

But in the end, everything comes together and it's a pretty nice and enjoyable romance.  My spiel about the whole 'dated romance' thing came mainly, because there were points in the book where Allie finds herself having to justify her attraction towards Damon, and it bugged me.  The word 'scandal' got tossed out there, and suddenly I'm thinking, "What is this, a historical?"  That people would disapprove of her getting close to a strange man because she's a single mom.  That it was okay when all the other women did it, but NOT Allie, because she's the virtuous main character.

That she feels she can't be attracted to, start a relationship with, or get to know this passerby in town, otherwise she'd get judged for it.

Of course, it might also have to do with the fact that Damon is traveling with a carnival, and carnies really do get a bad rep, more often than not.

Otherwise, the story was pretty good.

Shaken and Stirred -- 3.5 Stars

by Heidi Betts

The honest truth is that Shaken and Stirred was the better written of the three stories, with a cute and sweet romance, a slight amount of conflict, and a Happily Ever After™.  The relationship developed in a mature, fun, honest fashion, if a little too fast for my liking.  There was a cutesy, breezy feel to the story's progression.  And there weren't any overly complicated twists.

It was just a sweet little chick lit piece about a woman breaking out of her normal, shy and closed-in personality, and having a fun vacation; meeting a man, having a fling, and generally enjoying herself.

It was simply a contemporary romance, about a man and woman who meet during a summer vacation, have a fling, and start developing deeper feelings.  The sex might have happened a little too quickly, and the "I love you's" were flung out faster than I expected, but it seemed like a pretty decently outlined, down-to-earth romance.

If only it hadn't been so boring.  Which is probably why it felt like the shortest of the three stories.

But, nonetheless, it was still very enjoyable, and readily likable.


***

Roll #33:  "Read a book with water on the cover, or where someone turns on the waterworks (i.e., cries) because of an emotional event."

The cover features water from a beach and ocean.

Page Count:  320
Cash Award:  +$9.00

Updated Bank Balance:  $258.00

Not it sure I will ever get tired of this book. ❤️❤️❤️

“Listen.” Kayla was back on her feet and pissed as hell, but Haley rounded on her, pregnant belly and everything.

“No, you listen. You too, Pastor. You listen, and you listen fucking good. You get your ears turned all the way on, because today I have the gospel for you, and you had better fucking take notes."

Love for Haley. ❤️❤️❤️

One of my favorite scenes.  Love Love Love