Team Mates

by Sally Carbon

“We spend every waking hour creating extraordinary bodies.
With so much physical ability at our disposal,
it’s often intensely hard to control ourselves off the track.”
Jerome Kremers
#11, Wests Football Club TEAM MATES is told through the iridescent blue eyes of Jerome Kremers as he tries to bring his physical prowess and emotional intelligence into equilibrium. Everyone brands him superbly masculine and blissfully pretty, yet he’s simply not considered a great footballer. But then, having been forged by the world of high-performance sport, the Dutch-born, Australian-made Kremers unexpectedly graduates to being a formidable team leader. Bang . He skips great and goes from good to legendary. He bulks up, smartens up, and mans up. The inspiration for change comes not from his coach or teammates, but from the captivating surf life saving champion Chelsea Leigh, who has an innate knack for unnerving the intense performer. Now, everyone seems to want a piece of the superbly built leader, except the sensual woman who inspired him in the first place. Even as Jerome’s sporting career takes flight, the erotic pull of his equally fit sparring partner steals the focus. Come and grow with four tight-knit male footballers as they work tirelessly to stick to the rules on the field while making and breaking their unique game plan off of it. The Australian Team Series is a collection of edgy romance novels by real sportsperson Sally Carbon. She knows these sportspeople have a public life, a private life, and a secret life, and that without fail, they’ll jump in the trenches to back each other up. C’mon—join the Australian Team.

434 pages, Paperback

Published December 24, 2018

About the author

Sally Carbon at five, in 1973, was asked to shift to Germany, sans parents, to join the East German gymnastics movement. After a resounding 'no' from her parents she enjoyed ballet through to being asked to join the Australia Ballet in Sydney at age 13. At the same time, she was in the West Australian junior athletics team and the under 16 (field) hockey team. The team sport of hockey won out through to success playing hockey for the Australian senior team from 1987--- getting a goal with her first touch of the ball, and a hat-trick in that first game against Korea---exactly one year before the Seoul Olympics. She continued for nine years playing for Australia for 125 internationals, was in the Australian Institute of Sport for 11 years, went to two Olympics and two World Cups, and won an Olympic gold medal and World Cup gold and silver medal, three gold medals at the best-in-the-world Champion’s Trophy, and 11 national titles with Western Australia. She studied maths and phys ed at university, re-studied in business strategy, and was asked by the Prime Minister to join the board of the Australian Sport, where she served for nine years. She’s proud to have raised over $50 million per year for sport through the Australian Sports Foundation, where she served as a Director for 11 years. She is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, sits on three other private company boards, is a Chairman of a WA firm, runs her own company “Green Eleven” (her playing number) consulting in business strategy, execution and high performance. She has now written nine books. She, along with her football coaching husband, Michael Broadbridge, have three big kids.

Reviews

[Floraljoy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me
Firstly, it should be noted that this book is not a standalone and you'll have to read Team Pursuit to get the conclusion of Chelsea and Creeps story which I did not know until I had slogged my way through this book. Team Mates seemed to be more of a portrayal of the life of sports people in Australia than a romance story as there was never an actual relationship between the main characters, just a couple of hook ups with little to no interaction in between. I was able to muddle my way though all of the Australian football descriptions and details but did not care for the author's continual elevation of sportspeople's physical attributes and 'amazing' bodies - as if that is the most important thing. I found the writing style choppy and it was a jarring read with the strong language & Ozzie colloquialisms. It was also told from a "blokes" point of view and I found it annoying that Creeps never expressed his emotions or had a proper conversations with Chelsea. All in all, it was a disappointing read.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[The Mysterious Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall Sally Carbon’s Team Mates (Australian Team Series Book 1) was a good but not wonderful read. It felt incomplete to me, not just with the ending that was left too open, but with the character development such seems somehow incomplete. I’m giving it four stars as what was written was pretty interesting - and because I’m counting on the next book to finish things off. If that doesn’t happen I’d likely subtract a star.

[Shani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good sports romance book! Its a genre that I think is overlooked more often than not. In this book, Chelsea and Jerome are two top athletes in different sports, swimming, and football. Their focus has been on their love of the sports they participate in, but even the most focused need some time to just be themselves. They begin a friendship that is stopped and go at some points, but later they reconnect and it becomes more. They do lack the ability to share what's on their minds more often than not and that only plays into their stop/go relationship. They both make a lot of sacrifices for their respective sports and ultimately it costs them more than is realized. That was one thing I found interesting is that there really is a lot more to just the people playing in the game, but the preparation, sacrifice and drive it takes to do well. I'm not a big fan of cliffhangers, but it will be interesting to see where it goes from here. It's a pretty well-done book, but I think it needed just a little more to have it flow smoother. It's a good addition to sports romance in general.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book looked great when I read the blurb, it was well written and the characters are quite developed. I just had a very hard time getting into this book for some reason. I hope that someone else will really enjoy it more than I did.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book via HiddenGems.

[D. R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

With this great book, Sally Carbon firmly establishes herself as the master of modern erotica. A funny, intense, fascinating look at the private lives behind public athletic achievement, this book is filled with terrific dialogue, vividly drawn characters and titanic sensuality. Creeps and Chelsea are, hands down, ;) the athletes of the year.

[Reg Airey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much more than just Aussie Rules

Liked the easy read as characters develop, drawing the reader into the story. Ending leaves wantng more so hopefully not too long before next one released

[Kendra · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have received this book for my honest review. I really wanted to like this book but I couldn't even get through it which for me is very unlikely. I struggled with what was going on through the first half of this book. By the middle of the book I didn't even know what the story was about. I had to stop reading it as it just dragged on and I knew I had to stop wasting my time reading it.

[Samantha - Booked with a Gemini]

Review copy received in exchange for an honest review
DNF at 8%
I was keen to read this because it's from a Perth author, which I always want to support. However, when I highlight 10+ lines that I do not like in the first 30 pages then I know I'm in for a bad time.
I have been told no less than three times how fit and big Jerome is, who can't possibly be called Jerome by people and instead they call him Creep. And yes, I do want to close my tab and go hide just from typing that.

It's Chelsea. Her message is simple, but sprinkled with a hint of intrigue: Good night.

Excuse me? Where? How? What? Where is this possible hint of intrigue?

"I'm sorry. I can't be by myself tonight" With that, I lift the stylish athlete under her knees and shoulders and carry her to my bed.

Keep in mind that at this point Jerome
1. Is naked.
2. Has spoken to Chelsea for approximately 5 minutes.
3. Oh yeah, has a girlfriend.

And last but not least

I have such an embarrassing dick, which seems to believe in the philosophy of "show, don't tell". Chelsea's response to it is merely to reach down, move the offending piece of plank and rest it slightly off-centre in a more comfortable location.

I have questions, I have comments, I am officially done.

I may continue reading this at a later date because Sammi has requested commentary but we shall see.