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Straight from the Heart
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag comes this powerful novel of passion, heartbreak, and redemption—a story that celebrates our capacity to love one time, for all time, even in the face of adversity and change.
They say that each of us becomes an entirely new person every seven years. But Rebecca Bradshaw doesn’t feel any different when an old lover shows up severely injured at the hospital where she runs the physical therapy department. Seven years ago baseball player Jace Cooper left her without a second thought or the chance to share the life-changing secret she swore she’d keep from him forever. Now he was back, wanting both her help and a second chance. Becca hadn’t changed, and she didn’t believe Jace had either, but as she helped him repair his broken body and his fractured past, she would find she was wrong on both counts. The only thing that had stayed the same was the most important thing of all—and now suddenly time was running out.
They say that each of us becomes an entirely new person every seven years. But Rebecca Bradshaw doesn’t feel any different when an old lover shows up severely injured at the hospital where she runs the physical therapy department. Seven years ago baseball player Jace Cooper left her without a second thought or the chance to share the life-changing secret she swore she’d keep from him forever. Now he was back, wanting both her help and a second chance. Becca hadn’t changed, and she didn’t believe Jace had either, but as she helped him repair his broken body and his fractured past, she would find she was wrong on both counts. The only thing that had stayed the same was the most important thing of all—and now suddenly time was running out.
240 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
52 people are currently reading
593 people want to read
About the author
Tami Hoag
100 books6,138 followersTami Hoag is the #1 internationally bestselling author of more than thirty books published in more than thirty languages worldwide, including her latest thrillers—BITTER SEASON, COLD COLD HEART and THE 9TH GIRL. Renowned for combining thrilling plots with character-driven suspense, Hoag first hit the New York Times Bestseller list with NIGHT SINS, and each of her books since has been a bestseller.
She leads a double life in Palm Beach County, Florida where she is also known as a top competitive equestrian in the Olympic discipline of dressage. Other interests include the study of psychology, and mixed martial arts fighting.
Visit her at www.tamihoag.com, Facebook.com/TamiHoag and on Twitter @TamiHoag
She leads a double life in Palm Beach County, Florida where she is also known as a top competitive equestrian in the Olympic discipline of dressage. Other interests include the study of psychology, and mixed martial arts fighting.
Visit her at www.tamihoag.com, Facebook.com/TamiHoag and on Twitter @TamiHoag
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
July 10, 2010
2nd chance at love story which theme I am not at all fond of. Skipped through this because it didn't hold my interest. Seemed very much on the surface and sort of here's some stuff that happened. The hero leaves her to go to play major league baseball, forgets all about her and lives the high life and when 7 years later he is in a car accident he remembers her and decides to come home and marry her. Not real plausible.
May 19, 2017
An older love story. I took a little break from my norm of action packed thrillers, lol, to read this. It was heartwarming and an easy read.
July 13, 2011
Yes - it's the summer of romance novels. Picked this book up because I read that suspense author Tami Hoag got her start in writing mass market romance novels and its what I found at the library. For the type of book that it is, it is fine. I wasn't crazy about it, however, but that may be that I am not that into this particular slice of the romance Genre. Our heroine, Rebecca, is a PT. The author did a pretty good job of research injuries and treatments and Rebecca really seemed to be working in that role. An ex-flame, Jake, shows up at her clinic - he's a baseball player who's been transferred back to her town after a career threatening injury. He broke her heart before when he left but he's not determined to win her back.
Even though the book was short it took me a while to get through it because there just wasn't a lot to keep my interest. I thought there was too much self talk by both characters about how they felt and what they thought. Some of that is fine, but too much slows things done as it did here.
For those unfamiliar with my ratings, I use the full range of five stars and try (though not completely successful) to keep my ratings consistent across books. Romance/Chick Lit have high hurdles to get above a 3 with me - so a 2 is not bad on my scale. Really which I had more options but such it is.
Even though the book was short it took me a while to get through it because there just wasn't a lot to keep my interest. I thought there was too much self talk by both characters about how they felt and what they thought. Some of that is fine, but too much slows things done as it did here.
For those unfamiliar with my ratings, I use the full range of five stars and try (though not completely successful) to keep my ratings consistent across books. Romance/Chick Lit have high hurdles to get above a 3 with me - so a 2 is not bad on my scale. Really which I had more options but such it is.
March 30, 2015
This is a romantic tale of a love relationship between two people, a male professional athlete and a female physical therapist. I didn't particularly like it for a couple reasons. Apparently the main characters had a previous relationship in which the woman was very committed but the man walked away and broke her heart. Then, seven years later, he shows up apparently a changed person, wanting her back, but she's rightfully suspicious, and really doesn't want to be around him. In the following events, more emphasis is placed by this female author on the man's occupation and career, than on the woman's, which I found surprising and unbalanced. I also thought the intimate scenes between the two were average and made me cringe when I heard them coming. The book was predictable and disappointing. This is the fourth book I've read by Hoag. Actually I've listened to all of them on recordings. Two of them were quite suspenseful and captivating. Now two were not very interesting. The other one I didn't particularly like was Heart of Dixie, so maybe I should avoid books by Tami Hoag with the word "heart" in the title.
February 13, 2013
Straight from the Heart by Tami Hoag was published in 1989 by Random House and is 215 pages long.
This book is one hundred percent contemporary romance. This is not one of Tami Hoag's trademark romantic suspense novels.
Jace hit the major leagues and left town with a phone call to his girlfriend Rebecca. She never saw or heard from thim again for seven years. Jace lived the high life of money, parties, women, gambling and so on. But, then he injured his knee and his career in the majors came to a sudden halt.
Now he needs Rebecca's help as a physical therapist to help him get his career back on track. He also knows that Rebecca was the right woman for him all along and he wants to win her back.
Rebecca's heart was broken far more than anyone knew when Jace abandoned her. Now she has her career and more responsibilites than Jace knew. She reluctantly agrees to help him get his knee back in shape, but wants Jace at arms length when it comes to her personal life.
Can Jace break down Rebecca's defenses and prove he is a changed man?
I picked this book up at a library sale along with a handful of other Tami Hoag contemporary romances. I knew before I started this one that it wasn't one of her romantic suspense novels, but I was curious about her other stuff. Although written in 1989, the book isn't all that dated. Jace is just a guy that got caught up in the lifestyle and made some horrible mistakes and now has a chance to clean up his act and hopefully win back the love of his life. He's not an overbearing alpha male type and I really liked him. Rebecca was an overachiever and lived by a certain set of rules and could be hard on anyone that didn't measure up to her standards.
There was some agnst but it was not silly and over emotional. I like this one better than I thought I would. I still like Hoag's romantic suspense much better, but don't dimiss these contemporaries out of hand. Overall I would give this one a B-/C+
This book is one hundred percent contemporary romance. This is not one of Tami Hoag's trademark romantic suspense novels.
Jace hit the major leagues and left town with a phone call to his girlfriend Rebecca. She never saw or heard from thim again for seven years. Jace lived the high life of money, parties, women, gambling and so on. But, then he injured his knee and his career in the majors came to a sudden halt.
Now he needs Rebecca's help as a physical therapist to help him get his career back on track. He also knows that Rebecca was the right woman for him all along and he wants to win her back.
Rebecca's heart was broken far more than anyone knew when Jace abandoned her. Now she has her career and more responsibilites than Jace knew. She reluctantly agrees to help him get his knee back in shape, but wants Jace at arms length when it comes to her personal life.
Can Jace break down Rebecca's defenses and prove he is a changed man?
I picked this book up at a library sale along with a handful of other Tami Hoag contemporary romances. I knew before I started this one that it wasn't one of her romantic suspense novels, but I was curious about her other stuff. Although written in 1989, the book isn't all that dated. Jace is just a guy that got caught up in the lifestyle and made some horrible mistakes and now has a chance to clean up his act and hopefully win back the love of his life. He's not an overbearing alpha male type and I really liked him. Rebecca was an overachiever and lived by a certain set of rules and could be hard on anyone that didn't measure up to her standards.
There was some agnst but it was not silly and over emotional. I like this one better than I thought I would. I still like Hoag's romantic suspense much better, but don't dimiss these contemporaries out of hand. Overall I would give this one a B-/C+
September 17, 2014
Oh, the cheese. This book has more cheese than... than... Wisconsin? Lines that will make you roll your eyes right on out of your head. I drive quite a bit these days so I've gotten back into audiobooks, and the library doesn't have the greatest collection, so I just choose randomly and hope for the best. I was willing to give this a 2, despite the cheese and the cliches and the bodice ripper tendencies... but near the end it angered me so and I have to give it a 1. The male "protagonist" can be a bit of an arse and a bully and kept harping on the woman for not being able to trust him, even though he did something fairly awful to her once upon a time. Of course she can't trust him, yet he gets all whiny and mean about it. And she gets all guilty and apologetic and just UGH. The book is repetitive with the same argument and angsty pondering occurring over and over. And if bodice ripper is for you... this might be an OK choice for you but I found it laughable and ridiculous in many places.
June 14, 2019
Tami Hoag started her writing career writing romances and this is one of those early stories. I can certainly understand why she changed to mysteries – this book plodded along slowly.
Seven years ago, Jace Cooper and Becca Bradshaw defined ‘hot couple.’ However, Jace had a chance at one of the major league baseball teams and he left Becca to follow his dream. Now he’s back with a serious knee injury that could sideline him forever – and he wants his former physical therapist to work her magic again.
Becca is not of a mind to walk down that path; once was enough. Jace promises that he has changed but Becca has a long memory and clearly remembers Jace’s trail of broken promises.
I just felt there weren't enough subplots to keep the story interesting. The story was predictable and slow moving.
Seven years ago, Jace Cooper and Becca Bradshaw defined ‘hot couple.’ However, Jace had a chance at one of the major league baseball teams and he left Becca to follow his dream. Now he’s back with a serious knee injury that could sideline him forever – and he wants his former physical therapist to work her magic again.
Becca is not of a mind to walk down that path; once was enough. Jace promises that he has changed but Becca has a long memory and clearly remembers Jace’s trail of broken promises.
I just felt there weren't enough subplots to keep the story interesting. The story was predictable and slow moving.
August 9, 2008
This was an enjoyable, light read. I liked the hero and the heroine, but wished their romance had been fleshed out a little more. Their conflict seemed to be resolved too easily. I also wish Jace's recovery from his knee injury would have been drawn out a little longer. I thought the premise of the story was great -- famous baseball player dumps physical therapist girlfriend when he hit the big leagues, then comes crawling back to her when he is injured in a car crash and realizes that he really loves her -- I just don't think the execution was all that great.
August 6, 2013
I must admit that I really love these old romances by Tami Hoag. She has characters that, in a longer format, would really grow on you. The short romance is so fun and I love the quick escape they provide from her hard core mysteries.
Jace is a baseball player back in town to rehab from a knee injury and Rebecca is not handling that very well. When he left seven years ago, he left her heart in a million pieces. She is having a lot of trouble believing he won't do it again.
Jace is a baseball player back in town to rehab from a knee injury and Rebecca is not handling that very well. When he left seven years ago, he left her heart in a million pieces. She is having a lot of trouble believing he won't do it again.
February 22, 2010
3.5* Enjoyable fast read. Think series romance and you'll have the idea of length and character development. This is not a Hoag suspense story. It is strictly a light romance. However, Hoag succeeds in getting a lot of character development into the short book making it a satisfying read.
May 30, 2014
I must say this book was not one of my favorites. The characters were very wishy-washy and not interesting. I found it hard to believe that after 7 years SUDDENLY a man decided he needed to get back a relationship he'd walked away from...even if he had been in an accident.
February 20, 2018
DNF. Annoyed me!
October 2, 2017
Starting read this and remembered I had already read it awhile ago. I finished reading it though,,,for the 2nd time. It was an easy breezy romantic read.
July 18, 2019
DNF
When the main character talks to herself constantly about her newly-returned old flame and how she shouldn’t but “god I want to,” so much so that I wanted to throw my phone (audiobook) across the room, I thought it might be in my budget’s best interest to stop listening.
Yah that’s all one sentence.
When the main character talks to herself constantly about her newly-returned old flame and how she shouldn’t but “god I want to,” so much so that I wanted to throw my phone (audiobook) across the room, I thought it might be in my budget’s best interest to stop listening.
Yah that’s all one sentence.
March 3, 2019
Old lovers meet again, the lady determined to have nothing to do with him, the man determined to woo and win her, but knowing that he’ll have to work hard to regain her trust. Both have demons to exorcise. Will they be able to achieve a happily ever after?
June 1, 2024
It is an older romance story where the author followed the traditional formula of no matter what kind of jerk the man is/was .. all he has to do is look at her and she melts and forgets everything but his lips.
It is a second chance love story. Jace and Rebecca date 7 years ago. Jace went off to the major league baseball teams, partied away his life, got injured and came back to his PT, Rebecca to fix him and prove that he had changed and wanted her. It is a cute story but I am so glad that as a fan of Tami Hoag she has grown as an author and I as a reader have grown past the old fashioned romance novel that was so typical years ago.
THere are some humorous parts but not as much explanation of why the so called funny people are acting the way they do and the secondary characters were just back ground noise and I wanted more of them.
It is a second chance love story. Jace and Rebecca date 7 years ago. Jace went off to the major league baseball teams, partied away his life, got injured and came back to his PT, Rebecca to fix him and prove that he had changed and wanted her. It is a cute story but I am so glad that as a fan of Tami Hoag she has grown as an author and I as a reader have grown past the old fashioned romance novel that was so typical years ago.
THere are some humorous parts but not as much explanation of why the so called funny people are acting the way they do and the secondary characters were just back ground noise and I wanted more of them.
March 20, 2024
This book is a second chance at love story. Jace plays third base but injured his knee in a car accident. Becca is head of the physical therapy department. They dated 7 years ago but his career took him to Chicago and he left her without a second thought, which broke her heart. He is now back and wants her to help rehabilitate his knee but he also wants her back. Will they get their second chance? Can Jace make it back to the big league?
April 8, 2019
I was interested in reading this Tami Hoag novel. I was suspected some freaky turn in story line but it never happened. Rather predictable. Still glad I read it as as it was quite different from Hoag books I've enjoyed. Light reading.
June 30, 2019
The book was just OK, almost stopped read them a few times. I’ll try another from this author to see if it gets better. Would’ve been nice for Cooper to stay in the big leagues at least one more year.
February 25, 2019
I nice romance novel, happy ending, feel good story.
March 5, 2020
1.5-2 Stars
Read
April 10, 2020Liked the blurb, but the characters and writing didn't engage me. DNF.
Read
February 22, 2021Pretty good book. Very fast reading.
June 1, 2021
I'm usually a fan but this book did not resonate with me.
January 19, 2022
Not a suspense that I expected from this author. It was a romance but once I was committed to reading it I finished it. It was good if you’re into romance.
March 29, 2022
I like the scary ones better.
July 6, 2022
A somewhat predictable romance, but still a fun read.
October 25, 2022
I enjoy her murder mystery books much more than her romance books
May 3, 2023
Commiting mistakes makes you human.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews