Strike Out

Texas Titans #1

by Cheryl Douglas

When professional baseball player, Zach Foster, agreed to go into business with five of his best friends, he didn’t expect their little sports bar to evolve into a national chain, spanning fifty states, but it did. The business helps to fill the void in Zach’s life during the off-season, but when he closes his eyes at night, he still can’t forget the girl who left that gaping hole in his heart when she left him standing at the altar.

Lauren ‘Rennie’ Alexander would do anything to fulfill a sick child’s wish. Not only is it her job, as director of the Sky’s the Limit Foundation, but it’s her passion. So when her assistant brings her a letter scribbled in crayon, complete with an application from the little boy’s loving parents, Rennie is ready to make another dream come true. Until she realizes that sick little boy’s dream is her worst nightmare. He wants to meet his hero, baseball player, Zach Foster. The same lying jerk who broke Rennie’s heart. It’s seems she has no choice but to take one for the team.

Genres: Romance, Sports, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Baseball, Sports Romance, Second Chance

214 pages, ebook

First published October 29, 2013

About the author

Cheryl Douglas is a USA Today Bestselling author who kicks back in the country surrounded by farm land and nature. Her life revolves around family, country music, sports, travel, caffeine, chocolate, and deadlines.

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh

This book was horribly written.

The main character, Rennie, was awful. She completely disregarded her dead ex husband, Nathan, and dishonored his memory constantly. Nathan raised Rennie's son, Tyler until he was nine, yet that doesn't matter to any of them because he's not really his dad. Then as the story goes on, she starts to say that she didn't love Nathan as much as she loved her high school sweetheart and biological baby daddy, Zack. Tyler starts calling Nathan by his first name as soon as his learns that he is not biologically related to him. A father is more,than matching DNA!!!!!
Rennie was needy and desperate. As soon as she sees Zack, she clings to him. Her husband died a year ago and she's already ready to make a family with someone else. She seems like one of those women who depend on a guy too much.
There's no character development at all. I hated all of the characters in the beginning of the book and they didn't change or learn anything at the end.
Zack was like a sad puppy . He was more interested in winning Rennie, who was purposely playing hard to get, back and not as much on the fact that he has a son. He was unsympathetic towards Nathan and viewed him as evil for raising his son. He disregarded Tyler's feelings for Nathan and rushed into telling him that Nathan wasn't his father. Tyler was having a hard time with Nathan's death and Zack didn't care about his feelings at all.
This book was infuriating. Full of unrealistic, selfish characters. A character flaw or two is one thing, but these characters had nothing but flaws. Wasted my time reading this trash.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel had a great plot and some good characters but the heroine ruined it for me. She was awful and downright annoying. No matter how many times the author tried to convince me otherwise, she was the only bad guy I saw in this story.

[axola · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am actually given this book 2 stars because what I read was well written, but I admit I didnt finish it.

I wholly agree with another reviewer when she says that the only one bad guy here was the heroine. She was immature, egoist, annoying and I think she deserved to suffer for it, not be rewarded. What is worse is that she had 10 years to mend her stupidity and everyone around her, just let her go on with it. That they were close friends with the other family made it even worse. Wow...you really have to be careful with who your friends are!
Sorry I am venting... but the author tried so hard to made us like her and I found it impossible. 40% into the book I just quitted! Couldn't understand the other characters reaction to her and sure as hell, didn't want to wait for her happy ending.

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not make myself like Rennie. No matter how hard I tried it didn't happen.


Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers



So when the book begins Rennie is accidentally "butt dialed" by her fiancé. The man she is going to marry the very next day.. Granted she did hear some horrible things... But nothing so crazy and extreme that warrants her actions. He does love her but feels pressured into marriage and he doesn't want kids anytime soon. From this, she leaves him at the alter and dissapeared while pregnant with his baby. Fast forward ten years and by some stroke of fate they run into each other. Rennie is now a widow a fact she always seems to throw in his faces. She lies A LOT!!! About the kids age, her late husband. All the while justifying keeping a child from his father because he wasn't ready most new parents don't feel ready. My biggest pet peeve was how she constantly reminded him that her husband was a father to the child all the while forgetting that it was her own fault that he was not there for his kid. You never told him and you dissapeared that is why he wasn't a father... She really annoyed me... But the best part was when she admitted that she pressured him... I was lost... I skipped a lot because I just couldn't stand her in the end the end up together I dnt think I could do it..

[Mariel Hoss · Rating 2 out of 5]

***ARC from NetGalley in Exchange for an honest review***

I’m a sucker for second chance romances especially when there is a secret child in the mix but this one was a mixed bag for me. For the life of me, I could not connect to Rennie. She was a little too one-dimensional for me, everything colored by that one fateful night, on the eve of the wedding she fled. Yes, I felt that she was immature given her age at the time of the “discovery” but in the intervening years, it seemed that she just got older not wiser. Zach maybe was too forgiving? Everybody else too? Such a drastic action (by Rennie) that impacted so many lives! And everybody understands? Really? If I was family, I would have shaken her hard and told her to really think about the consequences…and maybe that’s what I wanted, some voice of reason that said, STOP IT! GROW UP!
I really felt sorry for Nathan and he was already dead in this story!

[P · Rating 4 out of 5]

re read this omg I loved this one it has second chance romance, secret baby, juvenile diabetes Representation,

[Shauni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally Reviewed For: Tea and Book

There is just something about second chance books that speak to me. There is that promise of forever that the characters were denied once upon a time.. That spark of innocent love that grew into a bonfire. That second chance of forever. Yeah, I am a sucker for this kind of story and Cheryl Douglas offers us a wonderful one in Strike Out, book one of her Texas Titans Series.&

Lauren ‘Rennie’ Alexander had her heart broken by the man of her dreams. Now it's ten years after the wedding that wasn't and Lauren is back home, running a make a wish like organization. When one of the kids asks to meet Zach Foster, professional baseball player extraordinaire, Lauren hears the past calling. Not wanting to deal with the man who broke her heart Lauren does just about everything to get out of it. That is until her assistant goes behind her back and contacts Zach. Leaving Lauren backpedaling and trying to find a way to explain the son he never knew about.<

Zach Foster has loved one woman his entire life. The couple that made it.. childhood sweethearts, then on the day of their wedding, Lauren left. Leaving him a broken man standing at the alter. Ten years later, every relationship he has had is just a poor copy of Lauren. There is no one else for him, there never has been. When he discovers she is running the foundation that has contacted him Zach is stunned. Upon discovering the wedding ring on her finger and the son that wasn't his (of course he doesn't know) Zach is devastated. No second chances for him.. That is until the facts begin rearranging themselves.<

Two people who made mistakes.. I like the way Ms Douglas didn't make this either person's fault. That both of them were wrong and had some growing up to do. Zach, had some righteous anger going on, and some realistic jealousy about the man Rennie married. And Rennie had to face the fact that maybe she made the wrong call. But hindsight is truly 20/20 and these two have to learn to deal with the now. Can a love that never died be renewed? Can Rennie believe in Zach? And what do they tell their son?

A very good book. There were a couple of issues as a mother I disagreed upon.. but that is real life.. and this was a book with all sorts of poetic license allowed. In the end this was a book truly worth reading and I am excited about this new series and yes this new author (for me).

Shauni

This review is based on the ARC of Strike Out, provided by netgalley.<

[Simply Love Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scarlett‘s review posted on Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews

Review copy provided for an honest review

4 STARS

Strike Out is the first book in the Texas Titans series by Cheryl Douglas. Rennie and Zack were high school/college sweethearts set to marry when a terrible misunderstanding sends Rennie running from Zack. Chance brings them back into each others lives ten years later. When the truth comes out, will they be able to reclaim the love they once had or will they strike out?

I enjoyed this second chance romance. Cheryl Douglas provides us with a heartwarming story of well rounded characters. She instantly draws you into the tale and you become involved with what happens next. Heroine Rennie isn’t always the most likable but in the end she grows on you. Hero Zack…what can I say? Rich, sexy, sports hero who is a great guy! Strike Out is a believable story with a nice happily ever after. Looking forward to reading the rest of the Texas Titans series.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am giving this 2 stars. The reason it's that high I was able to read it and it kept my attention. The bad...don't read if you don't want details.

I have no respect for the heroine. It's fine she called off the wedding because of what she heard hero say. But to keep his son away from him for ten years? NO! To deny his grandparents his existence for 10 years? She lied to her own parents for ten years. She led her son to believe another man was his father for 10 years. But guess what?! Everyone forgives her. Just say no!

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay... It started out decent but Reenie just pissed me off... I dunno. Sure Zack said some pretty shitty things on the phone but... 10 years to never tell him? Meh. She was over dramatic too.

[✨Cassie ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

REVIEWED FOR Abibliophobia Anonymous Book Reviews

* Review of Strike Out by Cheryl Douglas *

Here's to second chances!!

Zach Foster and Lauren 'Rinnie' Baldwin are high school sweethearts, with ten years under their belt, but with one fateful butt dial, everything they were preparing for is thrown away.

Zach has his life planned out and is on his way to being a famous baseball player, but being left at the alter by his first and only love never crossed his mind.

Rinnie had it all, she was in love with the most handsome man, a man who had his career planned and life set, or at least that's what she thought. Hearing that she really didn't fit into those plans the day before their wedding destroyed her.

With a blue note and nothing else, Rinnie disappears.

Fast forward ten years later and soon their life's will merge once again when Rinnie is asked to make a wish come true for a sick little boy. A little boy who wishes to meet his idol, Zach Foster the famous baseball pitcher. Trying everything to get out of it, Rinnie's persistent assistant put's the plan in motion.

Coming face to face with the woman who left you the day of your wedding, heartbroken and with know explanation is the last thing Zach thought would happen when he walked into that office. Seeing Rinnie brings it all back, but seeing the wedding ring on her finger and her child in a picture frame, it's a slap to the face of what could have been.

"Do you know how many times you've snuck into my dreams over the years?"- Zach

Rinnie has been keeping a secret for the last ten years, only a few people know the truth about her son and soon so will Zach and both their families.

"Living with this lie was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but I didn't know what else to do."- Rinnie

Will this secret blow up in Rinnie's face? Can they give love a second chance and will question's finally be answered? Or will it all be too late and the pain be too much?

"I want the life we planned. I want a second chance with you."- Zach

Strike Out is one of those books about second chances at love, forgiveness and overcoming. The story flowed okay, but Rinnie, the lead female character, I just couldn't connect with her. She was too much back and forth. Constantly bringing up everything he did wrong, but what she did didn't seem like it was wrong in her eye's. Then she was constantly wanting forgiveness, throwing up what he did in his face. I just didn't like that and it made me not like her. Zach, he was a strong male character in the book, he just wanted what was taken away from him, make good on what Rinnie took without him even knowing. I'm just torn by this book. The ten year old boy seemed like he should have been older, the way he talked and how he expressed his self, I couldn't connect  that he was this child that just turned ten years old. The plot line was good, everything else I liked, but those I couldn't get over. I would like to see where they go from the hospital room. How it all comes full circle. I give this book 3.5 stars.

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[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought Zach was a flaming ash pit.

I don't know about other grooms, but I was scared spitless before my wedding. Believe me, if I had felt "pressured", there would not have been a conversation with my brother the night before telling him all the things I had promised my bride to be that I Wasn't going to be doing. They had been together for years and he had been lying to her the whole time. What a total Dutch bag (Iknow, that's not the way to spell the word, but I don't want to bother the editors, too much).

I can't imagine how it would feel to hear the person you loved tell how what you wanted didn't matter. Things were going to be a one way street, and there were no plans to drive on your street. Being a Type A, I would have waited until the Pastor and everyone was in the church for the confrontation to see why I wouldn't marry a splt tongue snake with no moral strength.

Zack never had respect for Nathan. Knowing you are a second choice, but loving her enough to marry her and give her child your name takes an especially strong person. Most all men can be a father, with certain restrictions, but it takes a whole different kind of person to love a child not your own and be a Dad.

Zack flew into rages thinking about a man willing to be a Dad to HIS son, just as he was overcome thinking of Rennie being in another man's arms and bed. Hypocrite much? While Zack claimed none of the women he was with was Rennie, but there certainly was nothing that led you to believe HE had led a life deprived of sexual satisfaction.

Respect for his son? Didn't see any evidence of that. Rennie wanted to take things slow, but Zack wanted what He wanted and he wanted it NOW.

That worked really well, but hey, his ego got what he wanted and screw the damages.

I'm surprised so many women reviewers hated Rennie and thought she should have lived with the knowledge her "husband" was a lying north end of a southbound donkey.

Subsume who she was to marry the hot jock that was going to make a lot of money? I should hope not.

[Christina Montminy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good story. Zack & Rennie were supposed to be together for ever, but a butt dial to his fiancée the night before the wedding turns their life upside down. That was ten yrs ago & Zack & Rennie are brought back together by her job of granting wishes for sick kids, when a sick boy wants to meet his hero major league pitcher Zack. He's in for some surprises though, when he sees Rennie again he finds out she married someone else & has a son. What he doesn't know is that son is his. The past has caught up with Rennie & now the truth will come out. Definitely recommend.

[Coco.V]

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[Stox4story · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved It…. an emotional tug-of-war with compassion

This is a heartfelt story filled with emotion, love and a long uphill battle to that happy ever after. I was completely drawn into this story from the start. It’s full of relatable people who hurt from unresolved conflict and where foolishness came with a cost. It takes 10 years for a BIG secret to unfold. Yes, Rennie, Zack and Taylor get their HEA but the road to travel there isn’t easy

🤔 OBSERVATIONS:

✒︎ Bad choices … there’s always a price to pay

✒︎ Fear … choosing fear over truth cost Rennie 10 years of her life

✒︎ Collateral damage … consequences from bad choices made out of fear affects many people

✒︎ Taylor…. So cute and soooo mischievous. That young boy knows how to play the game to win.

[Nic · Rating 3 out of 5]

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3.5 Stars

h overhears via buttdial the night before the wedding the Hero saying he felt pressured into marriage & most definitely did not want babies with the h anytime soon. The pregnant h (unbeknownst to the H) takes off & stands him up at the alter. In the interium, the h marries another man & raises son with him. After death of husband, the h returns to hometown & runs into the Hero, who has never gotten over her. Quickly realizes he is the father of the 10 yr old son due to resemblance. Both H & h grovel to each other for mistakes made.

[Mandi Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to agree with other reviewers that the chick was a tool. She acted as if she was a teen not a college graduate. Then when he comes back into her life she’s cruel and treats him awful. The ending was a HEA but u didn’t think it fit with the characters how they had been up until that point.

[Michelle Padilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story of high school sweethearts whose fairly tail romance ended. Can they meet again 10 years later and put back together their hearts? Will a secret child bring them back together or make them madder at each other?

[GTR33GURL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute

Cute little story with a nice HFN I hate when the heroine doesn’t tell the dad he’s a father even if she’s doing it for his own good still I believe they should know but I did like Zach and Ren and Tyler was the cutest bit of a rushed ending hence the 3 stars

[Jack Gambill · Rating 5 out of 5]

JG review of 'Strike Outlook by Cheryl Douglas

Strike Out by Cheryl Douglas is an excellent story with a great plot and wonderful characters. I hated for the story to end and hope to read many more of her stories in the future. I highly recommend this book and author.

[Elizabeth T.Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ended Too Soon

Nice storyline just wish it had been developed better. There was too much desperation in Ronnie's character and too much jealousy in Zach's. Then not enough thought was given to the 10 year-old's situation. It was cute but could have been better.

[Jenny Delandro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short holiday book about second chances..
And the second chances are both for the hero and heroine as they try to navigate life after 10 years apart.. can she trust him? Can he convince her that he has never stopped loving her?
Add into this mix an opinionated 10yr old boy…
I liked the story.

[Janice F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

This book is a sweet book that will raise your spirits. I would highly recommend it. I will be looking for book 2.

[Kaitlyn Lau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

I did not want to stop reading this book, so good. It kind of reminds me of a hallmark movie.

[Sharon Dundon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading!

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

It felt like this book took forever. It just seemed far fetched and unrealistic to me.

[W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Story

The story of Zach and Rennie was very entertaining. Her 10 year secret is exposed and working through the secrecy is quite a task.

[Glenn E Grigsby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good story kept me interested all of the way through. I liked the slight twist and turn. Yet the ending was good in this day and age of hurt and anger.

[Caylin Edley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing Read!!

This book is the perfect form of long list love/reconnecting romance. There is a slight bump in the mixture but a great ending to the story!!

[MNKNMNKN · Rating 1 out of 5]

Someone should’ve told the “heroine” that she was a childish asshole.