Tag: indie author

Book Review: Caught Stealing (Southern Sports Sweethearts #1) by M.J. Padgett

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Rating: ★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 270 pages
Author: M.J. Padgett
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: August 24th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Charlotte Clarke’s life revolves around numbers and facts. But when life throws her a curveball, will she rely on her brain or her heart to guide her?

Love is the last thing on Charlotte’s mind. She’s too busy teaching uninterested high school students mathematics to make time for dating, despite her best friends’ protests that she needs a man. They seem to forget that the breakup with her long-time boyfriend shattered her heart.

When Charlotte’s friends discover a new dating app, they sign her up, surprising her with a list of men interested in stealing her heart. Not wanting to disappoint them, Charlotte chooses the first name on the list, preparing herself for utter humiliation and rejection. What she doesn’t know is the app is a cover for athletes looking for serious love. And one thing Charlotte doesn’t need is another athlete breaking her heart.

Andrew Rossi is sitting out with his second injury of the season. At his age, he’s beginning to worry his career with the Savannah Sharks might be coming to a close. What’s worse is he has no one to share the rest of his life with. Sick of superficial dating and flimsy relationships, Andrew decides to sign up on an elite, super secret athlete dating app. The second his eyes land on a gorgeous, brainy redhead with a deep love for dogs, his heart leaps in with cautious optimism.

The only problem? His sunshiny, sweet date despises athletes.

Keeping his athletic stardom a secret gives Andrew the chance to get to know Charlotte. As the two grow closer, he knows it’s only a matter of time before he has to come clean. But how do you tell a woman you’re falling for that you’re the one thing she hates?

Caught Stealing is a sweet, secret identity baseball romance with light faith elements, a side of comedy, and two show-stealing pups!

This is the first book in the Southern Sports Sweethearts series and the first in the Savannah Sharks baseball mini-series! The books in this series can be read in any order, mixed and matched, and moved around!

THIS DID NOT WORK FOR ME.

I was initially enjoying this one. I’ve been looking for some more baseball romances and was excited to try a new author out. Buuuut, this ended up not clicking on many fronts.

One of my main issues was that the whole plot felt centered around Lottie’s ex. Why the broke up, why she has a hard time trusting, why she STILL has a hard time trusting, him trying to win her back, him trying to win her back AGAIN, and so on and so forth.

And while there were some sweet scenes with Andrew in there and some of the dates were cute, it felt very ordinary. It was missing swoon and heat (even though I admit Andrew had some quotable lines).

I thought the writing was fine and I know this will work for others. I don’t know that I would try another book by this author.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Content warnings: cheating (previous relationship)

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Book Review: Drop Shot (The Off Court #1) by Vai Denton

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Rating: ★★★.5
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 302 pages
Author: Vai Denton
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 9th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Delilah Anderson is no stranger to sacrifice where her siblings are concerned. Who needs to go to college when you have three hungry mouths to feed and pro tennis money in your sights? Except it’s not that simple. No matter how hard she works, the bills are piling up ad infinitum. When her doubles partner decides to start focusing on singles, she knows the margins are going to be razor thin.

So when Matteo Corsi, three-time Grand Slam winner and a friend of a friend, offers to play mixed doubles with her, it should be a no-brainer. She doesn’t believe he’s as hateful as the media claims, and with her new endorsement deal, teaming up with him could give her the financial breathing room she needs. But after years of carrying her family on her back, accepting help isn’t Delilah’s strong suit.

When circumstances force her hand, Delilah reluctantly agrees. As the days blur together with drills, practice matches, and lighthearted teasing, she realizes there’s more to Matteo than she ever could have imagined—not to mention what getting him to reluctantly smile or seeing him shirtless does to her.

Matteo is a distraction she can’t afford, but one she’ll have to navigate to keep her (im)perfectly constructed life from falling apart.

I HAVE THOUGHTS.

There are very few people who could convince me to drop what I’m reading and pick a book up, my sister is one of those people. This was not on my radar until she told me I might like it, and I did like it! 3.5 stars might seem otherwise, but I’m still on board to read the second book in the series so I consider that a positive.

This might be my first tennis romance?? And I may be a sports girlie but tennis is not at the forefront of that knowledge base. I liked learning about the tournaments and how playing singles/doubles worked and that there’s big facilities for all of training.

I liked the grump x sunshine trope between Matteo and Delilah. I thought they were a sweet couple and the spice wasn’t superfluous. I do think there was a quality to the relationship that seemed, superficial? While some deeper topics were explored I think the shortness of the story left something to be desired. There were MANY paragraphs dedicated to listing out random things that did not build the setting or story in anyway (to show my work: one long paragraph detailed every piece of art on Del’s bedroom walls and I just don’t think that was necessary). A little more show vs. tell would go a long way.

And I am grumpy over the third act. While short (hallelujah), I’m tired of FMC’s being angry over the love interest being helpful? Especially when it’s not vindictive, came from a place of love, and wasn’t a genuine over step. The resulting “fight” was silly.

All of this to say, I liked the side characters. I do think Delilah showed high levels of resilience of hope even when she’s had to hold things together for so long. I loved seeing the soft side of Matteo and I will forever love a man down bad.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports romance
  • Langauge: mild
  • Romance: 2 open door scenes
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: driving after drinking (side character, no one is injured), alcoholism/addiction, absent parent, loss of a parent (recounted)

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Book Review: Enchanted Kingdom (The Enchanted Kingdom #1) by Tricia Wentworth

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 434 pages
Author: Tricia Wentworth
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 22nd, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Some women in Wylan had dreamt of this day. Some pined and planned for it their entire lives.

Chosen for the Assemblages of Consorts, Jorah Demir will have the opportunity to vie for the twin crown princes’ affections. Though no one knows which prince will eventually rule, they are two of the most powerful Enchanted in all the kingdom.

Not only is a chance for a crown at stake, but also a small drop of the royal bloodline’s magic. Jorah isn’t interested in either. Both princes are Enchanted, the very type of people responsible for her father’s murder.

From the lowest level of the kingdom and without magic, she is forced to go above the walls of Wylan and into the castle itself. She only has one goal: to avoid the crown princes and not, under any circumstances, form an attachment with either one of them.

Surrounded by Enchanted at every turn, she soon learns not all are as evil as she assumed. And when the king’s magic doesn’t affect her, everything Jorah thought she knew is called into question

PREDICTABLE.

And while that’s not always a bad thing I don’t think I’m the audience for this book. I’ve read a lot of fantasy books and this didn’t give me anything new to hold on to. From the first chapter I could tell you where things were going and the romance and characters didn’t bring the swoon I wanted.

Now granted I will say that it is a series so I fully expect some of those aspects to change. But I’m tired of pushing to a second book when I didn’t feel fully invested by the end of book one and that’s the case here. There will be plenty of people who will enjoy this one.

I am not that person.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: mild

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Book Review: First Down and Forever to Go by (River Foxes #1) by Leah Dobrinska

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Football Romance
Length: 285 pages
Author: Leah Dobrinska
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: January 20th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Can a pair of opposites come together to heal from past wounds, lay their secrets bare, and pave the way for a future full of laughter and love? Or is this Cinderella story destined for an unhappily ever after?

TJ Wilson, the outgoing star running back for the Green Bay River Foxes, swears he’ll never fall in love again…not after losing his college girlfriend. He’s content with a life of football and carefree dating. Nothing serious. No strings. No matter how much his teammates rib him for it. When a stunning, secretive woman all but begs him to show her a good time at his team’s charity ball, he’s the man for the job. If the shoe fits, after all.

One heart-to-heart and an almost-kiss later, TJ finds himself enamored with the bashful but brazen mystery Cinderella, and, against his better judgement, longing for more than the one night she’s offered him.

One night. Lucy Dupree, a secret author and media personality-turned-social pariah, promises her literary agent she’ll come out of hiding for one night. Just long enough to get inspired, overcome her writer’s block, and finish her manuscript by the deadline. With the help of her fairy-godmother landlord and a vintage wedding gown, Lucy attends the Green Bay River Foxes Gala where she meets TJ, a walking, talking prince charming.

The masquerade theme allows Lucy to conceal her identity, and TJ provides her with enough content to write ten romance novels. A win-win. She got what she came for, and that’s enough. It has to be. Because when the clock strikes midnight, the fairytale ends. Or is it just beginning?

First Down and Forever To Go is a soft and sweet closed door romance with kissing only and no implied intimacy, perfect for fans of the opposites attract and friends to more tropes. This is the first book in the River Foxes Football Romance series. All titles can be read as standalones.

SWEET START.

I’m a big fan of Leah Dobrinska’s sports romances. They hit the spot and she rights some of the best closed door kissing scenes around. Even the *almost* scenes had my kindle heating up. I looooove it.

And this was such a good story. I adored TJ’s cocky nature with a soft cinnamon roll interior. The amount of times he just *adored* upon Lucy were some of the sweetest and I couldn’t get enough. I really liked the dynamic between them and the chemistry they couldn’t deny.

I did like Lucy for the most part. I understood the struggle and the time it takes to step back out, but I did get a bit frustrated with how the third act was handled. Some of it was fine? But for the most part I had hoped her growth had hit its climax before that point.

But a genuinely great start to the series and I’m looking forward to seeing the romances for the other players on the team!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: loss of a partner (recounted)

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