3.25 stars
Cute story with a really interesting premise! While on the way to a wine competition in Vegas, sommelier Gretchen, meets her favourite baseball player, Joshua Malvern, at an airport. Instead of freaking out like a typical fan, asking for an autograph and selfie, she notices that he looks upset and approaches him with a coffee instead. Turns out he’s having a less than stellar season, just got downgraded to the minor leagues and needed a little pick-me-up by way of a pretty blonde stranger.
Their first encounter is very much insta-lust, hot and heavy within the first 12 hours of meeting. This is extremely out-of-character for both Gretchen and Joshua, but they decide to go for it anyway, choosing to live in the present and not bothering with the what-ifs. Obviously—as anyone who reads romance knows—this isn’t just any one night stand. They fall in love, learn to navigate their feelings and a long distance relationship.
In spite of the whirlwind nature of their relationship, I do feel like there is good chemistry between Gretchen and Joshua. This story is very sweet and full of good character internal monologues which relay a lot of their shortcomings, insecurities and dreams.
The initial misunderstanding and conflict caused by Gretchen’s best friend (and over-protective guard dog) Sharla was pretty annoying. I wasn’t so sure about the other subplots too, they ultimately ended up being unimportant and dragged the story out a little. In spite of that, I liked that the author found ways for Gretchen and Josh to be on page together (by infiltrating each other’s thoughts) even when they were physically apart.
Overall, an easy read if you enjoy good steam, low angst and sports romances—baseball, in particular. It is obvious Caroline Richardson loves the sport and knows it well.
Thanks to Netgalley and Wattpad Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.