Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Review - Strike Out by Cheryl Douglas

Strike Out
by Cheryl Douglas

(Texas Titans Book One)
Category: Adult
Genre: Romance   
Publisher: Smashwords Edition 
Release Date:Oct. 30, 2013
Edition: E-Book
Page Count: 152
Source: Via Mark my Words Book Publicity

Goodreads Synopsis: 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. 

Review: Now, let me begin this review by sharing that I do not usually read adult books. For anyone who has been spending any time on my blog since I began it, you would know that I usually stick to YA, and perhaps a little bit of NA. Despite that, I was intrigued when I received the email asking if I would like to review Strike Out by Cheryl Douglas. I would be lying if I said it was not mostly because the guy was a baseball player and, well, I am a baseball fan. Not that I have ever played or know everything about the game, but it is the sport that I enjoy the most, so I decided I could give an adult novel a shot. 

I am glad that I did. While I was skeptical, I quickly fell into the story like I always do when I read anything else; mostly my young adult things. The story seemed quite familiar, and I think it was mostly because the characters met when they were in high school, and so you think back to when they were that age and together. I did this, at least. Just like YA there was plenty of drama, these things were just a bit bigger than some of the issues that might occur in YA (like looking fat in a school picture). These were life-altering decisions. 

The characters were great as well. Rennie was an awesome, strong protagonist, which was wonderful. You first get to see the main characters in a prologue, and that is what made me want to keep reading. I feel that is the best sign of a great book, when you read the prologue and just NEED to know what happens next. It is also that prologue that has Rennie become the person she is in the novel. She is heartbroken and pregnant, and realizes that she had to do whatever she has to for her baby, and to make sure that she is in a good situation. Along with that, she has a job where she gets to help make kids' dreams come true; I LOVED this! 

The romance was amazing as well. While it was a little predictable that they would end up together, I was completely thrilled by the whole thing. I loved Zach and Rennie from the very beginning, even if it was not a great situation, so I was THRILLED with the way that things ended up. The sex though, WOW! While I definitely have nothing against it, it was not something that I was expecting, either. It's just not something you get in such detail in YA, so it threw me off a bit. Still, I feel that it was very tastefully done, which I appreciate. 

Overall, Douglas has done a great job of convincing me that I might need to read more adult novels. Sure, I know that I probably won't run out and buy all of Nora Roberts books (I wouldn't actually need to do that, my mom adores her and probably owns all of them), but I will be more willing to give them a chance in the future.

Rating: 4.0/5.0


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