Playing for the Kilby Catfish is hotshot pitcher Caleb
Hart's last chance to salvage his career after a major league meltdown. But the
day of his opener with the minor league team, Caleb strikes out with the
gorgeous woman who is delivering a petition to run the unruly Catfish out of
town. Now, to stay in the lineup, Caleb will need to score big with the feisty
brunette he can't keep out of his thoughts.
After the nasty lies Sadie Merritt's rich ex-boyfriend
spread about her all over town, she's lucky to have a job at all. She can't
afford to screw it up by falling for the player who is supposed to be helping
her change the image of the fun-loving Catfish. But that's easier said than
done when Caleb's voice alone is enough to make her pulse race. And when he
surprises her with a mind-blowing kiss, she knows there's no turning back.
This one has been sitting on my TBR for a long time, so it
jumped to the top of the pile when I needed to read a sports-related romance. I
enjoyed the quirky small town, the misfit-filled baseball team, and the
importance of family to the main characters. The story was a lot of fun, the
characters felt realistic, and many of the situations were believable.
Caleb is a baseball pitcher who had a shot at the big
leagues and blew it. He's back in the minor leagues, playing for the Kilby
Catfish. He knows he must get his act together, but he has family issues that
complicate his concentration. Caleb is a good man. We learn what he has given
up for his family and why it was needed. He has a great relationship with his
younger brothers and his sister. He is also sexy and charming and protective of
those he cares for. He also has trust issues and a deep-seated dislike of being
surprised/blindsided.
Sadie is a young woman who hasn't had an easy life. Her
father abandoned the family, and her mother shuts down whenever life gets
stressful. Sadie dated the town's golden boy, Hamilton Wade, for a while but
broke things off when she got tired of him cheating on her. Hamilton takes his
revenge by trashing her reputation via social media, including sharing a video
he made of a private moment between them. But with the Wade family owning the
town, Sadie finds it difficult to get her life back on track.
Sadie and Caleb meet when she delivers a petition from
the town to the team owner, calling for the team to clean up their act. The
players can be very rowdy, which doesn't sit well with some more conservative
townspeople. Management assigns Caleb to work with Sadie to find a way to reconcile
the differences (Sluggers for Slugs?!!). The sparks between Sadie and Caleb are immediately
apparent, but neither needs the complications a relationship would cause.
I loved watching their relationship develop. They first
try to fight it because each has their own goals to focus on. But the more time
they spend together, the deeper their connection grows. They start by enjoying
the here and now, realizing it may not last. But it isn't long until they've
gotten past each other's walls. I liked watching them fight to make their
relationship work, which isn't easy when one person is frequently away. But both
hold back a little, reluctant to share their deepest secrets. When those
secrets collide with their fears, both Sadie and Caleb must face those fears. I
loved seeing Sadie meet hers to help Caleb - and an incredible sight that was!
Unfortunately, outside interference causes some crossed communication, and
Caleb makes a total idiot and jerk out of himself. He has his work cut out to
fix things, and I loved that Sadie didn't make it easy for him.
The secondary characters were terrific, each adding
something special to the story. Sadie's mother showed us why Sadie has some of
her trust issues. Her best friend Donna is a great foil and a tremendous source
of support. Caleb's best friend, Mike, is a source of support for him. Sparks
between Mike and Donna bode well for the next book. Caleb's father, Bingo, is
the source of many of Caleb's issues. The strained relationship between them
contributes to some of the drama in this book. I mostly liked the mayor, who
hired Sadie and gave her a chance to move on from her past trauma. I liked the
Catfishs' owner, Crush Taylor, a Kilby native and former pitcher. He tends to
be as wild as the men on his team, which causes some interesting tension
between him and the mayor. But Crush also backs up his players when they need
it, and there is a terrific scene near the end of the book when he is there for
his player's girl, Sadie. 
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