Total Book Geek: Rhonda Shaw

“Love ’em and leave ’em” has been real estate agent Karen Bently’s motto for as long as she can remember. She doesn’t need a man, except to make her toes curl. Or so she thought, until her longtime crush, Ace pitcher Jerry Smutton, sets his sights on her.

After signing one of the largest baseball contracts in history with the Detroit Rockets, Jerry enlists Karen to help him find the house of his dreams. Their connection is instant and electric, but neither of them is the relationship type. When Jerry proposes a friends-with-benefits arrangement, that suits Karen just fine.

Passionate sleepovers soon turn into long, romantic evenings… Still, Karen and Jerry refuse to acknowledge they’re a couple. Karen insists that she’s immune to Jerry’s heart-melting charm. Jerry’s not ready to settle down. Denial is the name of the game, until one pitch changes everything…

*I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

It had crossed Karen's mind, now that her best friend was marrying a Rocket player, she might finally meet Jerry Smutton. Karen is a huge baseball fan and she has a little crush on him, though she would never admit this to Jerry.

Finally luck is on her side, Jerry signed on of the biggest contracts in baseball history. Which means he finally needs a real house instead of the condo he's been renting. Who better to help him than Karen, the best friend of the fiancé of his teammate. Upon meeting they immediately feel that physical attraction and since both aren't looking to settle down anytime soon, this is the perfect opportunity to have a little fun. Jerry can barely commit to house let alone a woman.

Karen is kind of the same, she doesn't do relationships, though her reasons are different. She has been hurt very badly once and since then she doesn't believe HEA exists for her. So this friends with benefits situation with Jerry suits her just fine. Except Jerry confuses her. He breaks the rules, no emotions involved, but he keeps asking about her past, her dreams and he does all these sweet things. Still he keeps claiming he doesn't want a relationship, which confuses Karen.

Actions speak louder than words and it seems Jerry is mostly contradicting himself. Thus the drama begins. Karen tries to keep him at a safe distance, but each time Jerry just knocks down her walls. Meanwhile Jerry doesn't really know what he wants and just focuses on baseball, 'cause at least that is safe.

Karen and Jerry are amazing characters and their story was a hoot to read. The things that come out of Karen's mouth had me cracking up on multiple occasions. She tells it as she sees it and that definitely keeps things interesting. Her hang up on her bad relationship experience did get a bit tiresome after a while, luckily she too knew it was stupid, she just couldn't help it.

Jerry was of course very dreamy. Physically he's near perfection and the more steamy scenes were very fun to read. I loved how he kept Karen on the tip of her toes. Each thing he said would get an interesting reaction and left Karen wonder who he really was. So much fun to figure this out.

Another wonderful novel by Rhonda Shaw. Two very strong novels, with plenty of humor. She is going on my must read list!

Men Of The Show - Reading order and purchase links

All books can be read as standalone novels

My review

The Author

Rhonda owes her love of reading to her mother who would read to her each night before bed and sometimes give into her pleads for more than one chapter. These days, if Rhonda doesn't have a book in her hands, it feels like something is missing. While romance is her true passion, Rhonda enjoys reading multiple genres.

Born in California, but transplanted to the Midwest, Rhonda is warm weather girl to the bone (even years later, winter and her are not on speaking terms) and loves nothing more than a balmy, summer evening. She and her husband are diehard fans of pretty much all sports, but especially for their hometown Detroit teams. Rhonda received a bachelor's in Human Resources Development and continued onto a master's in Marriage and Family Counseling before making a drastic career switch into computer technology. She started out as a website developer and made her way up into management where she now spends most of her days in meetings. Rhonda was a life-long dancer before her body told her she needed to come down off her toes and wrap it up. She also loves all animals--especially moose. She is a proud member of Romance Writers of America.

Connect with Rhonda Shaw:

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

*I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review*

Playing for keeps

After nine years of striking out in the dating department, Maddie Hamlin is throwing in the towel. But just as this mom resolves to remain single, she meets sweet and sexy pitching phenom Chase Patton at a family dinner. He’s perfect for her--aside from the fact he’s only twenty-two.

Chase knows he should be focusing on his rookie year with the Detroit Rockets, but he can’t stop thinking about Maddie. He doesn’t care that the beautiful school counselor is twelve years older, and he’s already lost his heart to her adorable daughter. When an incredible date leads to an incredible night of passion, he knows he never wants to let her go.

But dating in the media spotlight is a whole new ball game. Maddie quickly discovers that not everyone accepts their unconventional relationship and that finding love may mean losing everything else.

Review:
I admit I've never been a great fan of big age differences between my main characters, though Rhonda Shaw has done a superb job with The Changeup.

It is Chase first year as pitcher with the Detroit Rockets, so all his focus is on baseball. No bars, booze or groupies for this man. Which went alright until he met Maddie. Ever since he can not get her and her daughter Bree out of his mind and he feels the need to pursue that. Only thing is that Maddie has quite the problem with their age difference, seeing him as just a kid.

Add the fact that she has just given up on men as it seems she can not find someone worth it. Though Chase is quite different. He pays attention to her daughter and he cares about Maddie's feelings and what she wants. If he was ten years older he would be perfect. Still it is only the age thing that is holding her back, and she is afraid what other people will think.

The way these two met was a bit strange as Maddie's niece brought Chase as her date to a family dinner. Now apparently they weren't dating, still it felt weird and I could totally understand the animosity of Maddie's family when they found out she and Chase were dating. I also understand why the author chose for this kind of meeting, it still left me with a feeling of not-quite-right.

Other than that I really liked the story. Chase is simply amazing. He really took his time getting to know Maddie and Bree. There were all these sweet little moments which made the story seem more believable and real. I also loved how mature and responsible he was for his age. If he wants something he will give it his all, no holding back. I like that attitude, which he really needed as Maddie often was being difficult and resistant.

I had more problems with Maddie. It always came back to that age thing. In the end she could get over it, but she is always afraid what other people might think and then used it as an excuse when things were not going perfectly to end it between. Which is simply ridiculous, because she didn't even give Chase a real chance. At least that is how I felt it. What I did like about Maddie was how everything she did and every decision was with the thought of wanting the best for her daughter. She is very protective over her little cub.

Overall I really enjoyed the book. Chase was definitely my favourite and Maddie just needs to be a bit more positive. The baseball scenes were written very well as in I could understand what was going on (I know pretty much nothing about baseball). A good portion of the drama, the 'best' best friend, crazy family members and plenty of love that will keep you turning page after page.