REVIEW: THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT by KATIE ROSE

 

In The Heat of the Moment (The Boys of Summer  #3) by Katie Rose, after the Dodgers team management decide to trade him to the New Jersey Sonics, Gavin King finds himself struggling to cope with the move. Worse yet, he's worried that he might not fully recover from the injury he's sustained, that has sidelined him from the game he loves.  Yet, with help from one of the team's physical therapists, Gavin finds his chances of playing again increasing day by day.

 

Physical Therapist, Jessica Hart, has sworn off dating professional athletes, especially baseball players.  Yet, there's something about her new patient that tempts her to change that rule. Working alongside Gavin day after day, helping him on his road to recovery, so he'll have a chance of playing again during the current season, she finds it becoming harder to resist him.

 

From start to finish, this book was highly entertaining, fast-paced, and I could not put it down for one second. The start was brilliant, and I felt sorry for Gavin. What a way to learn that he was being traded before team management had an opportunity to tell him.

 

The dialogue was well-written, and the teasing banter between Jessica and Gavin was compelling. She really helps him to adjust to his new situation, as he struggles to deal with the fact that the Dodgers traded him, and the possibility that he might not play again. The dialogue was also quite intense, as Jessica struggles with the fact that she's sworn off professional athletes due to a bad relationship with a baseball player. Yet, the more she's around Gavin, the more she starts to see the differences between him, and the jerk that hurt her in the past.

 

I loved both characters. The heroine is smart, sassy, hard-working. She isn't afraid to push the players when it comes to their physical therapy. The interactions she has with them should boost her self-esteem, and yet she lacks it due to her last relationship. The way she compares herself to other women was quite poignant. How could she not see that she had just as much to offer a man as any woman? Especially as Gavin proves he's a one-woman man through his actions both in and out of the bedroom. While the hero, he's strong, brave, honorable and very determined to recover from his injury so he can play again. I was touched by his struggles at the start. It wouldn't have been easy to accept being traded, and then suffering another blow soon after. Luckily, Jessica is there to help him.

 

Some of the secondary characters I liked,  while others I didn't. The player that bad mouths Jessica is one I didn't like from the start. I'm glad she stood up to him, because he certainly deserved the verbal smack down she gave him. Gavin's dad was another I disliked. It seemed he wasn't proud of Gavin, unless he was playing for a team worthy of his skills as a player. While Gavin's teammates I absolutely loved. Their pranks made me grin. Jessica's brothers were wonderful also. They're very protective of her, and don't want Gavin to send her life spiraling out of control again when she's barely recovered from her last relationship.

 

Scorching sex scenes heat up the pages, and illustrate this couple's intense chemistry perfectly. Every time they banter increases the sexual tension, and the first sex scene was just right where it was in the book. As the heroine needed the comfort Gavin offered, to chase away the hurt of her past relationship, that surfaces in that moment.   

 

Overall, I was absolutely engrossed by this book, and can't wait to read the previous ones of this series. This is one of the best baseball sports romances I've read, and I would highly recommend it to all romance readers, especially those that love sports romance.  

 

      

OVERALL RATING:

 

 

 

 

  

BOOK INFO:

 

Publication Date: September 22, 2015 / Loveswept / The Boys of Summer #3

 

The Boys of Summer are back! In Katie Rose’s sweet, sparkling novel, the newest New Jersey Sonic falls for the woman who’s trying desperately to save his career.

Physical therapist Jessica Hart has learned her lesson: Never date professional athletes. She’s been down that road, and barely recovered after the relationship crashed and burned. Then Jessica meets Gavin King. An All-Star slugger with chiseled good looks, Gavin was traded to the Sonics because he hurt his knee sliding into second, and now his future is in her hands. Gavin’s no bad boy—but he’s tempting enough to make Jessica think twice about all her rules.

Gavin is trying to find a comfortable routine. If he wants his old life back, he must take it easy, stay out of the limelight, and keep his distance from gorgeous redheaded physical therapists. The thing is, Gavin isn’t the kind of guy to sit on his ass and let other people pull his weight. And when he sees something he wants, he can’t help but fight for it, even if it means risking everything, even if it only lasts a single moment: like one kiss from Jessica.