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Only For You
Reunion or heartbreak––only time will tell . . .
Emma Delaney has always loved Sam Parker, her childhood friend turned superstar athlete. Sam reminds her of warm sunshine, laughter and passion. In his arms, she dreamed of white picket fences and happily-ever-afters, until the day he abandoned her. She won’t fall for him again, or so she says until he comes home...
Sam spent nine years trying to relieve his guilt over his brother’s death and avoid a father he disappointed, but when Emma calls to tell him his father is gravely ill and that Sam is his only hope, he returns home. Now he must face his guilt and the woman he abandoned, the woman he loves more than life, the woman he can never have—Emma.
Emma Delaney has always loved Sam Parker, her childhood friend turned superstar athlete. Sam reminds her of warm sunshine, laughter and passion. In his arms, she dreamed of white picket fences and happily-ever-afters, until the day he abandoned her. She won’t fall for him again, or so she says until he comes home...
Sam spent nine years trying to relieve his guilt over his brother’s death and avoid a father he disappointed, but when Emma calls to tell him his father is gravely ill and that Sam is his only hope, he returns home. Now he must face his guilt and the woman he abandoned, the woman he loves more than life, the woman he can never have—Emma.
ebook
First published July 28, 2013
About the author
Kate Curran
5 books71 followersKathy Coatney has spent long hours behind the lens of a camera, wading through cow manure, rice paddies and orchards over her twenty-year career as a photojournalist specializing in agriculture.
Kathy also loves—and writes—deeply emotional, small-town contemporary romance. Ironically, her books carry an agriculture thread in them, some more than others. Please note Kathy used to write these books under Kate Curran, but now writes all her books under Kathy Coatney.
Kathy also writes a series of nonfiction children’s books, From the Farm to the Table and Dad’s Girls.
Kathy also loves—and writes—deeply emotional, small-town contemporary romance. Ironically, her books carry an agriculture thread in them, some more than others. Please note Kathy used to write these books under Kate Curran, but now writes all her books under Kathy Coatney.
Kathy also writes a series of nonfiction children’s books, From the Farm to the Table and Dad’s Girls.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 1, 2017
Rated 3.5 - Baseball and farming fans will enjoy this second chance story set in Defiance, Indiana. Can these childhood sweethearts smooth out their differences and realize their career goals together?
Sam Parker and Emma Delaney have a past that Emma would prefer to forget. But Sam's father, Joe, needs a bone marrow transplant, so Emma calls Sam back to Defiance, Indiana, to his family's farm. Sam is not relishing a reunion with his estranged father, but he's thrilled to reunite with the girl he left behind for his career.
After words were exchanged between father and son before Sam left to follow his dream many years ago, neither man is anxious to forgive and forget. Emma just wants Sam to help Joe with a bone marrow transplant and leave her alone. Sam wants more from Emma than she's willing to give and if it takes helping his father to win her approval, then Sam is willing to try. Joe refuses to accept his son's assistance but he forgets how determined Sam can be.
To add to this couple's complications, Sam brings along his eight-year-old son whom Joe and Emma have never met. Emma is hurt that Sam walked away from their relationship for his baseball career, but having a son with someone else crushes her heart even more. Once she hears the boy's story, though, she can't help but fall in love with him, too. I couldn't help but wonder how many hearts Sam was willing to break this time, because taking his son away from the farm would be the worst thing he could do.
I'm not a huge professional sports fan in general so I don't usually read romances with any type of sports hero. I feel it's really not fair to the author if I don't get their references or enjoy the sports connection. But, baseball has always been a part of my life due to my whole family's interest, including the fact that my dad still plays softball at almost 80 years old. One can't be in a baseball-crazed family like mine and not relate to the passion for the game.
Sam was injured and is no longer playing professional ball. He's still involved in sports as an announcer in Chicago, but a lot of the story revolves around his relationship with Emma in their hometown and how Sam's career put a wedge between them. Emma and Sam have a painful past that also includes Sam's deceased brother, so their emotions are palpable and in need of healing for several reasons.
What interested me more than the baseball aspects of the story were the farming characteristics. I don't know why, but I've always felt that baseball and farming go well together, so I liked that this story had that combined connection. Maybe it's that whole “Field of Dreams” scenario that has stayed with me all these years after watching that movie, making me think of baseball and farming together, but farming is the biggest reason why I requested this new-to-me author's book for review. I especially appreciated Emma's point of view as a single woman running a farm on her own. I related to her conflicts and found the side business she started with Sam's father intriguing.
Sam's eight-year-old son is cute, but I often wondered why Sam didn't create a bond with the boy by playing ball with him. That seemed out of place and uncharacteristic to me. It made me feel bad for Sam that he couldn't relate to his son enough to play with him and that his son wouldn't interact with him. Even though they were new to each other, due to circumstances revealed in the book, they had such a great opportunity to connect as father and son. It just seemed out of sorts and made me doubt Sam's motives when his father related to his son better than Sam did.
Sam's relationship with his father Joe was very believable. I enjoyed that Emma and Joe had continued a working relationship after Sam left the farm to play ball. I think that was hard on Sam to accept that the girl he left behind knew his father better, plus she had Joe's respect more than Sam.
One of the things that I didn't enjoy in this novel was the overuse of similes. At first it was the baseball similes that bumped my reading, then when the farming analogies started, I would have to stop and try to figure out what the author meant. Sometimes I was at a loss with the creative phrases and so I'd backtrack to see if I could figure it out. Some readers will fly through those and not even notice, but I like a more succinct approach to storytelling that often draws me into a deeper point of view. A few similes are cute, but there's an opportunity to reach the reader that's getting missed with too many of them. That said, it's one of the very few things that bumped me repeatedly in this story.
SHE'S OUT OF HIS LEAGUE will especially appeal to readers who enjoy older protagonists who are career minded and the conflicts that result from living in two different states. I think farming or baseball fans will be more partial to this book than anyone else and if you're both, then all the better. Not your standard lovers-reunited plot, SHE'S OUT OF HIS LEAGUE has some twists that enhance the authenticity of this couple's resolution.
Review by Dorine, courtesy of Romance Junkies. Print copy provided by the author.
Sam Parker and Emma Delaney have a past that Emma would prefer to forget. But Sam's father, Joe, needs a bone marrow transplant, so Emma calls Sam back to Defiance, Indiana, to his family's farm. Sam is not relishing a reunion with his estranged father, but he's thrilled to reunite with the girl he left behind for his career.
After words were exchanged between father and son before Sam left to follow his dream many years ago, neither man is anxious to forgive and forget. Emma just wants Sam to help Joe with a bone marrow transplant and leave her alone. Sam wants more from Emma than she's willing to give and if it takes helping his father to win her approval, then Sam is willing to try. Joe refuses to accept his son's assistance but he forgets how determined Sam can be.
To add to this couple's complications, Sam brings along his eight-year-old son whom Joe and Emma have never met. Emma is hurt that Sam walked away from their relationship for his baseball career, but having a son with someone else crushes her heart even more. Once she hears the boy's story, though, she can't help but fall in love with him, too. I couldn't help but wonder how many hearts Sam was willing to break this time, because taking his son away from the farm would be the worst thing he could do.
I'm not a huge professional sports fan in general so I don't usually read romances with any type of sports hero. I feel it's really not fair to the author if I don't get their references or enjoy the sports connection. But, baseball has always been a part of my life due to my whole family's interest, including the fact that my dad still plays softball at almost 80 years old. One can't be in a baseball-crazed family like mine and not relate to the passion for the game.
Sam was injured and is no longer playing professional ball. He's still involved in sports as an announcer in Chicago, but a lot of the story revolves around his relationship with Emma in their hometown and how Sam's career put a wedge between them. Emma and Sam have a painful past that also includes Sam's deceased brother, so their emotions are palpable and in need of healing for several reasons.
What interested me more than the baseball aspects of the story were the farming characteristics. I don't know why, but I've always felt that baseball and farming go well together, so I liked that this story had that combined connection. Maybe it's that whole “Field of Dreams” scenario that has stayed with me all these years after watching that movie, making me think of baseball and farming together, but farming is the biggest reason why I requested this new-to-me author's book for review. I especially appreciated Emma's point of view as a single woman running a farm on her own. I related to her conflicts and found the side business she started with Sam's father intriguing.
Sam's eight-year-old son is cute, but I often wondered why Sam didn't create a bond with the boy by playing ball with him. That seemed out of place and uncharacteristic to me. It made me feel bad for Sam that he couldn't relate to his son enough to play with him and that his son wouldn't interact with him. Even though they were new to each other, due to circumstances revealed in the book, they had such a great opportunity to connect as father and son. It just seemed out of sorts and made me doubt Sam's motives when his father related to his son better than Sam did.
Sam's relationship with his father Joe was very believable. I enjoyed that Emma and Joe had continued a working relationship after Sam left the farm to play ball. I think that was hard on Sam to accept that the girl he left behind knew his father better, plus she had Joe's respect more than Sam.
One of the things that I didn't enjoy in this novel was the overuse of similes. At first it was the baseball similes that bumped my reading, then when the farming analogies started, I would have to stop and try to figure out what the author meant. Sometimes I was at a loss with the creative phrases and so I'd backtrack to see if I could figure it out. Some readers will fly through those and not even notice, but I like a more succinct approach to storytelling that often draws me into a deeper point of view. A few similes are cute, but there's an opportunity to reach the reader that's getting missed with too many of them. That said, it's one of the very few things that bumped me repeatedly in this story.
SHE'S OUT OF HIS LEAGUE will especially appeal to readers who enjoy older protagonists who are career minded and the conflicts that result from living in two different states. I think farming or baseball fans will be more partial to this book than anyone else and if you're both, then all the better. Not your standard lovers-reunited plot, SHE'S OUT OF HIS LEAGUE has some twists that enhance the authenticity of this couple's resolution.
Review by Dorine, courtesy of Romance Junkies. Print copy provided by the author.
January 14, 2021
Forever His is a sweet, second chance romance. Emma and Sam had a lot of baggage as well as current obstacles between them and their HEA. It was an entertaining journey. Kevin was a delight. Joe was so taciturn that at first I wasn't sure I'd like him but he mellowed and he and Sam made peace with each other. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series--Cassie and Griffin's story.
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January 3, 2015
Emma is a farm girl who fell in love with Sam in the face of his brother, Ryan's, intention to marry her. But Ryan's dead and their dad needs a bone marrow transplant. Sam comes home when Emma calls him, but he has his doubts whether he can convince his dad to have the transplant. Then there's Kevin, the boy Sam now parents. He loves the farm (unlike Sam) and captures both Emma's and his granddad's heart. Will that be enough to convince Sam to stay when he still yearns to resume his pro baseball career?
July 14, 2016
I won this book in a goodreads giveaway.
A very well written book about love and second chances that will make you laugh and cry. I loved Emma's and Sam's story and was glad I was a part of it. I loved every minute of the story especially the ending.
A very well written book about love and second chances that will make you laugh and cry. I loved Emma's and Sam's story and was glad I was a part of it. I loved every minute of the story especially the ending.
March 16, 2026
This is a second chance romance that I wanted to like more than I did. Sam and Emma were torn apart by a terrible tragedy. Sam followed his dream and in turn Emma felt left behind. The author tells their story well, but there was too much back and forth for me.
Sam is a retired professional baseball player who is coming home to care for his ailing father. They have a difficult relationship so this just adds to the discomfort of coming home. The only bright spot is getting to see Emma again,
Emma has run her family farm alone since her parents passed away. She is determined to show she is strong and independent. Sam’s father has been wonderful to her and even partnered with her. Now that Sam has come home it is stirring all of her old feelings up again.
This is a story of facing the past, coming to terms with it, and finally communicating about feelings and misunderstandings. There are some deep rooted issues to get over for Sam and his Dad as well as for Sam and Emma. Also, as sweet as Sam is with Kevin, the story was hard to believe.
I truly liked the main characters, and the storyline, I just was missing something that I can’t quite figure out. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sam is a retired professional baseball player who is coming home to care for his ailing father. They have a difficult relationship so this just adds to the discomfort of coming home. The only bright spot is getting to see Emma again,
Emma has run her family farm alone since her parents passed away. She is determined to show she is strong and independent. Sam’s father has been wonderful to her and even partnered with her. Now that Sam has come home it is stirring all of her old feelings up again.
This is a story of facing the past, coming to terms with it, and finally communicating about feelings and misunderstandings. There are some deep rooted issues to get over for Sam and his Dad as well as for Sam and Emma. Also, as sweet as Sam is with Kevin, the story was hard to believe.
I truly liked the main characters, and the storyline, I just was missing something that I can’t quite figure out. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
January 13, 2018
This is a beautifully done story. It’s leads, Emma and Sam are “real” in their emotions, and their emotional baggage. Whether it’s Emma’s having been in love with Sam unknown to him, or vice versa, the influence still remaining from Sam’s deceased brother who had intended to marry Emma, how Sam - and Emma - deal with Sam’s adopted son Kevin, how the need of Sam’s dad for a bone marrow transplant is dealt with, how Sam deals with his defunct baseball career .... I’m getting exhausted just writing all of this: and yet Kate Coatney somehow makes it all fit together beautifully and in a way that works smoothly to the HEA these characters deserve. It takes talent to do that. I’ve not read this author’s books before, but she’s definitely on my “to read” list now.
Definitely recommended.
Definitely recommended.
January 24, 2021
Emma Delaney loved Sam Parker. Sam Parker loved baseball. He loved Emma too but chose baseball. He has been gone for nine years. It was at his brother’s funeral that his father made him an ultimatum and he never returned. Emma contacted Sam to let him know his father is dying. As he returns home with Kevin, watching the story play out was so heartwarming. Will everyone involved have a second chance for love and get the healing they all need.
January 21, 2021
Overall this is a very sweet story full of love, struggle, memories, and following your dreams. I enjoyed the characters and getting to know more about them. There were parts of the story that I felt were slow or repetitive, but I still enjoyed the overall story. I look forward to reading more in this series.
January 17, 2021
This is a second chance romance that is sweet and full of emotion. It's got a mix of elements that keep the story interesting and flowing. It will be good to see how their future goes as we progress through the series.
October 22, 2021
Sam's baseball career is cut short by injury and he's adrift trying to figure out what to do next when the ghosts from his past come knocking on his door. Add in a frightened boy who needs a home and a Dad. This is a heartwarming story of overcoming fears and guilty for a second chance at a life.
August 30, 2017
A wonderfully sweet story with a little bit of naughtiness thrown in.
December 27, 2013
Only For You is a wonderfully heart-warming story from beginning to end. Set in the tightly-knit farming community of Defiance, Indiana, former professional athlete Sam Parker's hometown, there are plenty of fences to mend when Sam returns to face his estranged father and the woman who engineered this uneasy reunion—Emma, the girl he left behind. These are also eminently likeable characters to cheer for. Wounded and holding on to the past, can Sam and Emma embrace a new future...together? Can Joe, Sam’s father, accept the choices his son has made? And can Sam forgive himself for some of those choices?
Superbly crafted and filled with such rich detail to make the sights and sounds of Defiance come alive, Kate Curran’s Only For You is a delightful charmer guaranteed to leave you wanting to read more by this talented author.
Superbly crafted and filled with such rich detail to make the sights and sounds of Defiance come alive, Kate Curran’s Only For You is a delightful charmer guaranteed to leave you wanting to read more by this talented author.
August 4, 2014
Sam gets a phone call and needs to go home to the farm and a father who was disappointed in him for choosing baseball over the farm.
Emma stayed and loves the family farm. She is helping to take care of his father who is like a father to her. She loves Sam but would never have called him but to help his Dad.
They finally get Dad to agree to bone marrow transplant.
He brings a son, not biological, with him and has fallen in love with.
Him and Emma are getting along really well.
They can hopefully get their feelings back and become a couple again.
Great beach read.
Emma stayed and loves the family farm. She is helping to take care of his father who is like a father to her. She loves Sam but would never have called him but to help his Dad.
They finally get Dad to agree to bone marrow transplant.
He brings a son, not biological, with him and has fallen in love with.
Him and Emma are getting along really well.
They can hopefully get their feelings back and become a couple again.
Great beach read.
May 9, 2016
She’s Out of His League by Kate Curran was an enjoyable read. I couldn’t put it down and immediately fell in love with both characters. I could feel the pain and desire that Sam wanted to return to his beloved career in baseball. I also felt the struggle he had dealing with Kevin, his son. I also sympathized with Emma’s desire to want Sam and also not wanting to throw away her memories. This is the first book of Ms. Curran’s that I’ve read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend it. I look forward to reading Ms. Curran’s backlist and future works.
December 16, 2013
I won this book via the first reads drawing and was thrilled when I did!!!! I started reading this book the day I received it in the mail,and was finished with it the next day! I was beyond hooked and could not put it down..Absolutely wonderful story! Very well written and I really really enjoyed it!! I am looking forward to reading the next book from this author!! Very highly recommended!!!
July 18, 2014
I enjoyed the story of Emma & Sam' struggle to find happiness & love. This story has wonderful sub plots. Kathy Curran makes the heartland farming community come alive with fresh mowed hay & colorful characters. One of the best books I've read this year!!!!
October 30, 2015
Wow
This was a new author to me and I am so glad that a friend told me to read this it's a great book about forgiveness, love and finding their self I say everyone should read this.
This was a new author to me and I am so glad that a friend told me to read this it's a great book about forgiveness, love and finding their self I say everyone should read this.
January 4, 2022
they way the two of them, Sam and Emma with the loss of Ryan and with Kevin and Joe, it was a smash, Griffin and Cassie also hitting it off well, it was all worth it, the rating is worth it and not much of mistakes in it either.
November 27, 2013
It was truly a well written book, I loved every minute of , especially the end. Way to Kate ! Keep them coming
June 8, 2015
Great debut novel by Ms. Curran. Characters have depth and the story is emotionally captivating. What a great read for a Sunday afternoon!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews