A matchmaking Great Dane, mischievous baseball players, a wise grandfather, beach town, and a new beginning for a woman looking for a place to belong. I’ve enjoyed a few of Kate Angell’s stories I read in anthologies, but I was eager to try one of her novel-length stories.
No One Like You is the fourth standalone romance in the Barefoot William Beach contemporary romance series focused on the Cates family and friends who come to this small, touristy Florida beach town.
Unfortunately, professional baseball centerfielder, Rylan Gates’ personal assistant is on leave so he needs a temp assistant for the eight weeks leading up to and including the spring season. His criteria include a competent person who can attend to his four dogs, oversee his home, events he hosts, and his schedule, but, unsaid, he doesn’t want anyone who temps him to mix business with pleasure. Hence, his choice of the short brunette who can fit all her worldly goods in the back of a battered PT Cruiser. If he’s not attracted, why does he find himself always wanting to be around his new assistant and annoyed when his teammates and dogs want to be with Beth?
Beth got the Cinderella experience without the slipper and the prince when her dad passed, her stepmom and step-sister were out in the open with their dislike, and a freak thunderstorm drowned the big society wedding she planned right before the groom got called out for cheating and named innocent Beth his partner. Yeah, she just wants to keep her head down, do her job for Ry, and figure out what she wants to do next.
But from the first, Ry’s behemoth Great Dane, Atlas, drags her by the leash right into the life of Rylan Cates, the community of Barefoot William and the Rogues’ ball club. Ry is an amazing man, genuinely sweet, adores his dogs, loves his family, caring of his teammates, and works hard to be a good ball player, but apparently utterly uninterested in Beth or so she thinks. When her job finishes, she’ll have to leave this haven that has become special from spending time with Ry’s dog crew, his teammates, his granddad, and that funny ‘this or that’ game Ry plays with her to get to know each other.
These humans are not going to strike out- not if Atlas has anything to bark about it.
No One Like You was one of those gently-paced slow burn romances dog-trotting its way through the laid-back life of a small touristy beach town.
Atlas, the Great Dane, is the central figure so dog lovers are in for a treat with this one. I’m not exaggerating to say that nearly every page involves time with the dogs or talking about them. I’m an animal fan, but wow, this one even pushed me to getting blasé about dog-focus after a bit.
Now, sports romance fans who expect a lot of on field action need to adjust because, in actuality, this book only has one ballpark scene. That said, there are the several publicity moments and team togetherness times for the ball players leading up to “opening day” for pre-season. I found these scenes and the funny antics of two of Ry’s ball team friends to be quite amusing.
The story introduced Beth as something of an enigma to Ry and his curiosity is what led to his attraction when he spent time with her. I thought it had nice suspense because of Beth’s secret about the rain-soaked career that messed up her life and there’s something about her family because of the way she is in awe of Ry’s warm and tight family.
The previous books paired up Ry’s siblings who make appearances in No One Like You, but it never felt like I was missing out.
The time with the older folks, the walk through the boardwalk carnival for charity art festival, the picnic, the beach visit and more were just the thing and each time this pair are together, they move that one step closer to something deeper particularly when Ry plays a little question game with Beth to draw her out.
An all-around feel-good romance with a little spice and a whole lotta ‘friends to lovers’ with a big goofball dog dragging them toward their happily ever after.
My full review will post at Caffeinated Reviewer 8.25.25.