Title: Bring on the Heat
Series: Boys of Summer Book #1
Author: Katie Rose
Genre: Romance
Blurb: In Katie Rose’s irresistible battle of wits, a case of mistaken identity lands a female fan in bed with a sexy superstar—and in major-league trouble.
House-sitting for a rich and famous friend has its perks, and Darcy Hamel isn’t shy about enjoying them. Especially when it means scoring a ticket to an exclusive fashion show hosted by the New Jersey Sonics. An avid baseball fan, Darcy has always dreamed of meeting the team—especially the starting pitcher whose body is as hot as his fastball. But there’s a catch. The gala is by invitation only. To get behind the velvet rope, mild-mannered Darcy will have to pose as party girl Lydia Logan.
Schmoozing is one of the downsides of fame, but Chase Westbrook knows how to liven up even the dullest event. And nothing spices a night up more than a beautiful socialite with a naughty reputation. What Chase doesn’t expect is a hint of sweetness beneath her sultry façade. Flirtation turns to seduction and leaves him aching for more. Chase just doesn’t know who the real Lydia is: the spoiled tease crying foul over some missing diamonds or the alluring woman making a play for his heart.
Thoughts: I’m usually a fan of sports romances – most of them I absolutely love, but there are a couple that I have read that were just okay for me. Unfortunately, this one didn’t fall into either category. This is the first sports romance that I have found myself just disliking completely. I hate to say that, and it is nothing against the author personally – her writing style was fine – and perhaps another book of hers I might like. This one just didn’t do it for me at all.
First off, there was just a huge disconnect for me with the characters and the story. When I read a book, I want to feel as if I have become a part of the story – or at least have a vested interest in the characters. That didn’t happen here. However, that is the least of my issues. The main problem I had with this story was why Darcy continued on this line of deception for so long. Darcy had nothing to be ashamed about – her boss, Lydia, gave her the invitation to the event, let her borrow her clothes, and even her expensive earrings – making it clear that she wanted Darcy to have a good time. Darcy even attempts to explain to others that she’s not really Lydia, but no one wants to really hear her. Even so, I can kind of see her continuing it briefly – particularly when it came to Chase- but the reasoning behind her keeping up the charade just started stretching pretty thin the more I read.
I also thought that the reactions of the characters were just inconsistent. At the beginning, while Lydia and Darcy do have an employee/employer relationship, it didn’t seem like a big deal for Darcy to borrow her things and go to events in her place. While I could see Lydia being a little upset at exactly how far the charade went, I just didn’t see something like that getting all blown out of proportion by her character – particularly as the deception somewhat benefited her.
What really did it for me though was how Chase just accepted the women as interchangeable. He switches from Darcy to Lydia without any qualms whatsoever – and once events play out toward the end, that fact was not addressed to my satisfaction at all. Chase’s actions just turned me off completely – and the book just never recovered from that. At least, in my opinion.
All in all, it was a definite ‘miss’ for me. However, Holly liked it and rated with an A- (you can read her review here: Holly’s Review), so I may be an exception!
Rate: D
