Depois de uma temporada medíocre e um desempenho desastroso que custou o campeonato ao seu time, o Vegas Aces, o arremessador Eric Weaver agora tem que encarar o ultimato dado pelos supervisores da equipe: ou corrige o que há de errado com suas jogadas até o final do treinamento na primavera, ou está fora. Quando dizem a ele que estão contratando um novo treinador para corrigir sua técnica de arremesso, ele range os dentes e concorda em ser treinado como se estivesse mais uma vez na liga juvenil. Ele sacrificou tudo em prol da sua carreira e fará o que for preciso para salvá-la. Até que lhe dizem quem é o novo treinador.
Nicki Bates ralou a vida inteira para chegar a um só objetivo – arranjar um trabalho como treinadora de alto nível na principal liga de beisebol. Mas quando recebe o tão aguardado convite, ela percebe que o Destino tem um senso de humor doentio. O único time disposto a dar uma chance a ela tinha que ser logo o de Eric Weaver? Sete anos atrás, ele a dispensou sem dó quando o Aces o convocou da liga da segunda divisão, e ela jurou que nunca mais deixaria o amor a distrair de seus objetivos outra vez. No entanto, quando segredos do passado vêm à tona, as faíscas persistentes entre os dois se reacendem em uma paixão que nenhum deles é capaz de ignorar.
O calor ardente destruirá tudo pelo qual ambos se esforçaram tanto?
Ou será que uma segunda chance ao amor provará ser a maior vitória de todas?
Lyssa Kay Adams is the pen name of an award-winning journalist who gave up the world of telling true stories to pen emotional romances. She’s also a diehard Detroit Tigers fan who will occasionally cheer for the Red Sox because her husband is from Boston.
Lyssa lives in Michigan with her family and an anxiety-ridden Maltese who steals food and buries it around the house and who will undoubtedly be a character in a future book.
Things Lyssa loves: Baseball pants, mashed potatoes, and that little clicking sound that scissors make on the cutting table at fabric stores.
Things she doesn’t love: Mean people, melting ice cream cones, and finding food in her underwear drawer.
Keep up with Lyssa on Twitter at @LyssaKayAdams. Please note: She mostly tweets about baseball pants and mashed potatoes.
What a great way to begin my year of reading! 2020 is off to a fantastic start with this 5-star read. I decided to visit some of Lyssa Kay Adams’ older stuff since I love her Bromance series so much. Only problem is, this series here is left incomplete! I want more!!! Eric & Nicki’s story receive the happy ending they deserve, but I’m left hanging on Abby & Devin’s. Hopefully it’s still in the works?? Regardless, this book was every bit enjoyable. It’s emotional, humorous, & the characters are so VIVID! That is something I have come to love & appreciate in Lyssa Kay Adams’ writing. And it’s why I will continue to seek out more books from her backlist.
3.25 stars This book was good, but it just made me mad and sad. Sad because of what the heroine had been through, mad also because what she had been through and the prejudices women still have to face. When the h/H meet again it is fairly obvious the sparks are still there but the heroine has thick walls and her game, which is all she has wanted and worked towards. I liked the messaging the author put across, the game is not that important, it won't love you or comfort you.
3.5 stars. This was a decent second chance story. I liked that it wasn't too heavy on the coaching, training, or playing aspects of baseball. Not that I have anything against America's pastime; I just get bored by sports-related narratives. The theme of women breaking through into traditionally male-dominated industries was interesting and added a whole new level of depth and complexity to it all.
I liked that there was no OP drama in this story. With how famous and good looking the H is, I think it would've been reasonable to have at least some OW drama, but there wasn't any. Thank you, Lyssa Kay Adams. The H seemed to be a genuinely good guy who liked and respected women. There was only one mention of what he did during their seven year separation, and I wasn't happy that The didn't come across as a manho at all, and that was a refreshing departure from the usual professional sports star H trope.
The author's writing style just resonates with me. I find her stories very easy to read and usually finish them in one sitting. There are quite a few F-bombs in this book and one or two intimate scenes (which I skipped), but what really got to me was the ending for the secondary couple. I loved how strong the h in that couple was and the author left us all hanging. Please write other books for this series. Please! Brody is awesome and so is Cal. I would love for them to find HEAs too. :)
It nearly kills me to rate this book so low, seeing as I've loved everything else that Adams has written so far, but this one just didn't sit well with me. It had it's sweet moments and that's probably what kept me reading, but those moments were far and few between. I think my biggest issue with this book was the amount of anger in it. It seems like everyone was angry, rage filled and throwing punches every chance they got. The anger in this book put me in a bad mood while reading it and that bled over into my daily routine. Being angry isn't what I wanted while enjoying a book. There's also the disturbing issue that Nikki is still dealing with and having it explained in detail was a bit more than I was ready for. Having it alluded to is one thing but explained in detail I'm not a fan of.
There is a section at the back of the book that explains what the next 2 books in the series are about, and they are characters that I'd like to see more of, but it appears as though those books aren't going to be published. I'm still rooting for Abby and Devin and hope they got their HEA as we may never know what happens with them.
Boy, the hero gets hit in the face a lot. I fear for his brain cells. Lots of dramatic moments tinged with humor. So much sexual tension! You definitely get why they're so irresistible to each other. I like the baseball premise, and it gives the story a natural voice. Can't wait to read the next one. There are lots of people in and around the team with stories to tell, so it should be fun to watch how it all happens.
Overall I enjoyed this book, but I would not have read it had I known there was a fat cliffhanger at the end! I wasn't expecting that. I feel like books should have a cliffhanger warning lol. I like everything tied up with neat bows. The book was published in 2016, and it seems the author has moved on to a different series instead, so I don't know if it will happen.
There was A LOT going on in this book. I enjoyed it thoroughly, but it was wayyy more intense than the blurb suggested. Would have liked a heads up before I went delving into these deep waters. Nevertheless, well worth the read.
O Eric é talvez o pior mocinho que já li: agressivo, mimado, grosso e simplesmente chato. A briga final deles pra mim foi imperdoável, não consigo nem falar sobre. Casal tóxico e que não tem nenhum momento de conexão que não envolva sexo.
one of the main characters of this book has a tattoo of chinese characters and the other one has a tribal arm band. yes, they are both white. and that is all you need to know about this book.
I absolutely loved this book. If I could give it 6 stars I would. It is also very different then anything I have recently read and that is good. I signed up for this author's newsletter and I am looking forward to the next books in this series.
I liked all of the characters in this book including the major characters Eric Weaver and Nicki Bates. There were some very intense moments through out this book. And leading up to Chapter 49 was getting emotional and intense and I was feeling the sadness of the characters when in Chapter 49 Robby goes to see Eric and punches him in the face. I suddenly couldn't stop laughing. It was such abrupt change to the emotions being felt at that moment.
This author is definitely very good at what she does.
Highly recommended and can't wait for next chapter in the Vegas Aces story. Solid storytelling, believable characters. I enjoy the ups and downs of a good romance as long as there is an HEA ending involved. Just wish Cal's story was the next to be told.
An entertaining, fast paced book with characters that have depth and flaws. This is the first book in a series, and, as the secondary characters are as interesting as the primary ones, I'm excited to continue reading the books.
There is so much to love about this wonderful book! It's smart and funny, and so touching. Oh, and the chemistry between Nicki and Eric is electric. Wow. I highly recommend!
Love this author as of late but this early book...I could not finish. There were too many stories within the one book. Just could not bring myself to stick with it to finish.
Decidi ler este livro, pois é da mesma autora da série 'Clube do livro dos homens', que gosto bastante.
Eric está prestes a passar de jogador titular para reserva no time Vegas Ace. Mas como se isso não fosse suficiente, Nicki foi nomeada a nova treinadora do time.
Nicki e Eric namoravam no passado, até que Eric optou por sua carreira no time de baseball, deixando Nicki para trás.
Nicki precisa mais do que tudo dessa oportunidade e vai lutar não só contra o preconceito masculino, mas também contra os traumas de seu passado e contra o amor que ainda sente por Eric.
A história é leve e fácil de ler, é, absolutamente, um clichê. Eu estava na expectativa de encontrar um clima mais parecido com as histórias do Clube do livro dos homens, mas aqui não tem aquele humor gostosinho. É drama atrás de drama.
Achei o protagonista masculino, Eric, um baita egoísta. Em situações bizarras ele só conseguia pensar nele, não tentava entender de verdade os motivos de Nicki e ela, por sua vez, se rendeu super fácil (minha opinião, ok?). Não comprei esse romance entre eles. Eles estavam há sete anos separados e aí, quando descobriram que iam trabalhar juntos, perceberam que não poderiam viver um sem o outro. Me poupe, né?! Odeio esses clichês!
Os conflitos em relação ao preconceito foram resolvidos de forma rápida, não acho que foi dada a devida atenção as questões e consequências de agressão física.
O casal Abby e Devin também não me passaram química alguma. Outro casal que "do nada" decidiu que não podia ficar longe um do outro. Devin também é um babaquinha que "do nada" se arrepende e decide virar gente.
A história de Abby e Devin terá continuação em outro livro, mas não pretendo ler. Essa experiência de leitura não foi legal para mim (que já não gosto de romance). Este clichê não funcionou para mim. Ainda assim, sugiro que as pessoas que gostam do gênero leiam e tirem suas próprias conclusões.
This book was beautiful. I went in expecting a light-hearted baseball romance, but I was completely wrong, in a good way. Not only did this book have the butterfly-inducing romantic aspects I expected, but it also included the complicated relationships between family and friends, some of them gut-wrenching and agonizing. And somehow, she was also able to seamlessly write some humor into these tragic stories as well.
I fell in love with almost every character. The chemistry between Eric and Nicki leapt off the pages, just as much as the chemistry between Abby and Devin. And cute Harper Brody may have stolen my heart 💙 Lyssa Kay Adams has a way of drawing you in with her fantastic writing that you feel emotionally invested in every single one of her characters, even the ones you want to punch in the face...and there was a lot of face punching, haha. And let’s not forget how Lyssa Kay Adams writes BA women characters in all her books 💪🏼
This book was unique, in that it was told from the point of view of more than two characters, which I really loved because it allowed you to get into the heads of even the secondary characters. The accuracy of the baseball talk in the book was great as well. As a fellow baseball nerd, I really appreciated that.
There is so much more I could say to praise this book, but I’ll just say, go and buy it because you won’t regret it! I really hope we get more books from this series!
For as much as I enjoy the Bromance Book Club series, friends.... I gotta say this book is not good, and you should give it a pass. As my dear friend Andi would say, this is a kitchen sink book. As in the plot contains everything but. There is simply too much going on for this first installment. Adams is attempting to introduce the world, but instead of doing it more gradually over the course of several books, she does EVERYTHING in Seventh Inning Heat. If this book had focused on Eric, Nicki, and their families, it might have been fine. But instead we have half of a book featuring a second couple shoved into this one. It didn't help either plot. Add onto that much past trauma for most characters, multiple family dramas, and some teammate bullshit, and there was simply Too Much shoved into this book. The bloated and convoluted plots did not fit. It was ill plotted and the characterization was pretty thin. Supporting characters were flat in their sparse moments of page time.
Bravo to Lyssa Kay Adams, though, because I can tell she has done a LOT of work on her writing to get to where she is with Bromance, and I applaud her for it.
To my fellow readers, I highly advise you pretend this book doesn't exist and stick with the BBC.
Ler isso aqui e não comparar com O Acordo foi quase impossível pra mim por que existem muitos tópicos relacionáveis - atletas, passado traumático da protagonista, daddy issues - que plantaram em mim o questionamento "o que o Garrett e a Hannah fariam nessa mesma situação?" Provavelmente algumas coisa que me irritasse menos. E terapia. A Hannah teria feito terapia, o que, pelo visto, a Nicki não fez... O que te falta, Nicki Bates, é terapia!!! Ele é *jogador* de basebol, ela é *treinadora* de basebol, o nome do livro é *Jogada* Decisiva e simplesmente não tem jogo algum aqui. Nenhunzinho. Neca. Nada. Nadinha. Eric e Nicki são uns queridos e tudo mais mas o casal secundário roubou tanto a cena que, literalmente, subiram 0.5 estrelas na nota do livro dentro de dois capítulos. Eu *amo* Clube do Livro dos Homens - amo demais meus meninos - mas aqui eu entendi o por que dizem que se deve ler um autor seguindo sua ordem de publicação. Lerei os outros livros da série quando forem publicados? Lerei, sim senhora, por que eu sou curiosa, na esperança de encontrar protagonistas que não ajam como adolescentes no auge dos 29/30 anos.
Eric is the pitcher for the Major League Baseball team Las Vegas Aces. After a terrible performance in the World Series, he’s been given spring training to improve or he’s out. When they tell him a new pitching coach is coming to help him - he’s glad for the assistance until he learns who it is. Nicki is the woman he dumped when he got called up from the minors. Nicki has been dreaming of this job for years - but didn’t anticipate having to work with Eric.
Seventh Inning Heat was a quick read. Despite the fact that I don’t care about baseball at all - I enjoyed this story. I really loved that while there is one main couple there’s also a secondary couple who I hope will be getting their own book soon.
Content warning: past sexual assault is a major plot point throughout the story.
Thank you to Brilliance Audio for the free audiobook to review. The narration was excellent and I listened to this book in two sittings.
I don't why is this book received so much hate and bad reviews but I am so in love with the characters and the storyline is amazing. Just beautiful. I read this book two times and I even listen to the Audiobook to satisfied my need for this book. I don't know bout you guys but Lyssa Kay Adams really did a good job on this book and I really really enjoy it.
I'm so in love! and THIS BOOK IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED :)
What can I say? I'll read anything Lyssa Kay Adams writes! This is the 3rd work of hers I've read and I just can't get enough. Eric and Nikki are adorable and I loved them as a couple. My favorite thing about this author is that both people need to fight for a relationship. Forgiveness is 2-ways and these characters really dive deep and come back better than ever.
Simply amazing! This is actually such a fantastically well written example of evocative contemporary romance. It legitimately made me laugh and then at times cry. But honestly I am blown away with how amazing this Author’s writing is. Such great character development 💞😍🤗
While the story was interesting and kept me engaged, it was also very overdramatic particularly for the male lead POV. Another knock off for my stars was the sheer number of POVs including some very unnecessary ones. Overall a good time read but you can definitely see an improvement in her writing when she did Bromance book club which I LOVED (although it also had some overdramatic parts lol)
Thank the Lord for Lyssa Kay Adams, she saved my beginning of the 2023-reading year.
So cute, I loved her bromance book club series, and I hope she continues this one. Devin and Eric were perfectly imperfect heroes, Nicky was strong and I hope hope hope that we get to read the rest of Abby and Devin's story.
I am glad i stumbled over this book while reading book reviews. Being a baseball nut and all i can honestly say I enjoyed this book alot and cant wait for book #2 & #3... i wont make anymore comments so i dont give any spoilers hehe... happy reading
I'm not far in and already I don't like these characters at all. And this is definitely a feminist book - which is fine, but it's just got too much of that for my taste.
Gina Rogers is good on the audio, but Tor Thom is lacking -
A woman in a man’s world. She has a lot to overcome and to prove. Lots of obstacles in her way will she let them (men) win or will she prove them wrong?
nossa que livro ruim. a história é série é um portante, mas é tão rasa, tão mal construída. umas histórias de casais nada a ver no meio (puxando gancho pra outro livro ok) mas foi feito de uma forma que não tinha pé nem cabeça
It's kind of interesting reading an early, self-published work from a favorite author, because you can definitely see how they've grown as a writer and a story-teller. This had the heart and heat I enjoyed from the Bromance Book Cub series, but the writing was a bit clunky.