THE USA TODAY BESTSELLER
Perfect ass. Perfect arms. Perfect swagger.
They call Dash Wallace the Diamond King.
He’s the hottest commodity in baseball and in the bedroom.
When he runs the bases, every woman’s eyes are glued to his stunning body and a smile that puts the night lights to shame.
I’m no queen. I’m a regular girl with a regular job. I just watch him on TV and from the bleachers, … watch him on TV and from the bleachers, season after season.
Girls like me grab a guy like that one in a million times.
My number just came up, and he is as spectacular in bed as he is on the field.
But there’s not a woman in the world who can distract Dash Wallace from the game. Not for a moment. Not even me.
Until the night I do. And everything changes.
Hardball is a SMOKING HOT, SEXY romance with a touch of angst and a ton of heart from CD Reiss. It’s a fun, witty, full-length standalone meant for the over-eighteen crowd.
more
I absolutely loved this book! There is just something about seeing the progress of a flawed character falling in love.
Dash is such a complex character. He’s a famous baseball player that is 100% focused on the game. So much so that he’s OCD about his routines before, during and after the game and Vivian pops into his life and shakes it all up.
Vivian is just a regular person working as a librarian in a public school. She meets Dash when the kids take a field trip to the stadium to meet a few players. The attraction between these two was instant. I just loved how Vivian was a game changer for Dash even if he didn’t know it right away.
Their relationship wasn’t easy but that was the beauty of this couple. It’s what ultimately made the ending so much sweeter. I crave books like this!
** *************Breaking News *************
The King of Elysian Park is struck down with Vivian-itis ! !
The damn Avocado tree started it all !
Dashiell Wallace – LA Dodgers shortstop and sex God is a man of control. He gets easily distracted by tiny things that upset his routine. He needs order and a set routine or his deep superstitions start getting the better of him
(The tree defies logic and bears fruit early )
“the first inkling that the thirty-foot tree would be a major encroachment on his routine.”
He comes back from New York games and his yard is littered with Avocados. It’s roots having dug themselves deep under his house, bursting his water pipes, his set girls in every game town are quitting, his favourite glove with his lucky pin goes missing, he makes an error in his play , and The Librarian in the yellow hoodie starts nagging his mind! !
Gawwwd he’s a Diva*eyeroll*.
( the avocado tree had been a sort of good luck charm, and that off-bloom, and the crushing roots on the foundation, had messed everything else.)
While Vivian , the sexy librarian, and he play a game of Hit And Miss, they come together, break apart, get back again, break away….
As if she was unspooling his rope from the mooring. And he’s a boat that docks in the port !
Vivian has her own insecurities to deal with. She feels as if she’s just his rabbit’s foot, but she deserves more. Love isn’t contingent to batting statistics you know ….
Dash desperately wants to find his True North , not just a direction on the compass, but a partner who understands him, his obsessions, his superstitions. But to win in his game , he can’t disrupt his life’s set routines for love. Cause his game is his job, career, his center.
It’s said- Life happens when we’re busy making other plans. And sometimes love breaks open hearts and people seep in through the fissures and take deep roots in your soul
(Turned out the roots of the avocado tree had been holding the mountain up, and now the ground was going where water and gravity told it to go. So he could shore up the hill, which he did, but he had to unearth the steps. Otherwise, the only way to get down was to slide and slide.)
New courses need to be charted, new schedules need to be formed, new routines to be set to make way for Vivian in his life and Dash hates change.
Is this love doomed from the start because the season started ?
The characters are written brilliantly , no doubts there. The sex is off-the-charts-scorching hot ! What can I say, Dash is a multi tasker and he can juggle 😉
“I was close before he entered me. Once he was buried inside, I went someplace else. A place with no words, only colors.”
Vivian is beautiful and sexy, is drawn to him but can’t compromise on Expiration Dates, because she sees her father be there for her Mom, even after her death. She sees love as togetherness and finality, something very tough to promise for a sportstar who is constantly playing and practicing .
The nuances you see in Catherines books are to be savoured. So read slowly, if you read too fast, you might miss these precious gems
“She was a locked box with a tiny window that let me see something shiny inside “>]
what a brilliant beautiful line. Stole my heart away !!!
Pay attention cause every word, every sentence means something, leads somewhere.
from a shimmy in her hips belying the depth of her tears to Shakespearean quotes From reading together to apples in her basket .
From openeing the car door for her to juggling the balls …..Everything !!
I can’t stress enough how you should, you need , you MUST read this awesome book . The simple story is lifted to extraordinary highs and explored the layered depths by her brilliant pen
her penmanship is a work of art BTW ,
^^see what I did there. Hope CD gets it 🙂
5 Outta The Park stars
My New Favorite Author!!
C. D. Reiss’ Hard Ball, has just moved to the top of my list for a perfectly written romance novel that has everything a reader could want: a sexy as sin leading man at the epitome of his professional baseball career, with a sharp and well-read mind, a god-like body, a face that makes women weep for its beauty, and enough flaws and charisma to keep the reader interested. He is enthralled by Vivian, a middle-school librarian with an ethereal face, perfectly proportioned body, a mind as well-versed in the classics as it is in avant-garde literature, an ability to comfort and care for everyone around her, and enough wit and sense of humor to tickle the most droll satirist on the block. The chemistry between them is so hot, I literally turned on the A/C (and that had nothing to do with the humidity outside and everything to do with the fact that Ms. Reiss knows how to write a seriously edgy and hot love scene). The supporting characters are well-developed and attractive for their foibles and quirky traits and evoke great compassion and affection in the reader, not a feat easily accomplished by an author. Usually most romance novels I have read are missing something vital: the romance is great but there is no love being described; the scenes and location are described in words that are sheer poetry, but the protagonists have no substance or heart; there is plenty of love described, but no chemistry; there is plenty of chemistry, but a disconnect between love scenes and the parties’ actions; etc., basically something vital is always missing. Well not anymore! Ms. Reiss delivered the total package and she did it in such a way that the reading was easy and flowed organically, so-much-so that I could not turn the pages fast enough, or put down the book when I had to perform some mundane task like sleeping or eating. Admittedly this was my first time reading one of her novels, but given the plethora of titles attributed to her name, I sense she has a knack for writing and story telling that demonstrates her longevity as a popular author, and evidences her actual talent for a smartly crafted tale. I enjoyed escaping into Ms. Reiss’ world so much that I have decided, like Dash, not to be without one of her books to read at least for the foreseeable future! So, if you’ll excuse me, I am off to select another one to start reading now…
Watching The World Series with the Dodgers with my hubby and thought about this book. CD’s steamy wonderful book is much better and Dashiel Wallace is so way more sexier than Cody Bellinger! Highly recommend!
An interesting story. Dash and Vivian are cute together, it took some time to get things moving smoothly, but the journey was enjoyable. I liked this story.
This was a really great read about pro baseball player Dash and Librarian Vivian. Alpha male dominant with his OCD ways needs to have a woman in every city, and he has a lucky routine that he won’t break for anyone until he meets the down to earth Vivian. The story line was great the characters lovable and the sex was HOT great narration by Jeremy York and Jo Raylan who has a very sexy male character voice.
CD Reiss always delivers! Steamy, hot, and a great story. Cannot ask for anything more.
HardBall by CD Reiss is a charming, sweet contemporary sports romance with some heat. I love the combination of sweet and spicy, and Reiss’ has balanced the two for the perfect game…I mean book.
I fell in love with Reiss’ characters; they are lovable, realistic, and totally relatable. Vivian is an elementary school librarian with a generous heart and a penchant for baseball. She and her fabulous stepdad are ardent Dodgers fans. He is a generous, kind man who is the perfect male role model. His relationship with Vivian is enviably loving and supportive.
When Vivian meets Dashiel Wallace during a school field trip, both their lives are turned upside down. Dash is the elusive, reclusive star shortstop for the Dodgers. He is the quintessential studly athlete. I swooned over Reiss’ descriptions of Dash ‘s athletic prowess and features. Dash, #19, is easy on the eyes, but there is so much more to him. A guy with Dash’s swagger who talks about books and can quote classic literature will undo me every time! What made Dash absolutely delicious was not his seeming perfection, but all his foibles. Reiss’ characterization of this man hit home with me.
HardBall is a pitching dual. It’s all about skill and strategy. The plot is well paced, and Reiss doesn’t rush the layered development of characters and relationships. Reiss did not shy away from showing her characters inner demons and struggles—whether they eventually overcome them or not. The story dynamics and chemistry between all the characters is engaging. Reiss’ always makes me care deeply about her characters; she has also filled my fictional little black book with delightful book boyfriends. Pay careful attention to the descriptions of Los Angeles and the Dodgers’ empire, because it is almost as good as taking a tour of the town.
I loved the structure of the story. It is told in dual point-of-view narrative, and Reiss’ incorporation of late night text messages between Viv and Dash—replete with the typing symbol, “ {…}” is engaging and au courant. I felt the characters anticipation as they stared at their phone screens anxiously waiting while the other typed out their response.
Does Reiss know baseball? Yeah, she does! Her descriptions of the shortstop to second plays are poetic. This book was written by a smart, romantic, woman who is also a fan of baseball. I really enjoyed this enchanting, sports romance; it brought a lot of smiles to my face, a couple chuckles, and a bizarre desire to watch some men in snug white pants run around a grassy field. With HardBall, Reiss’ has hit for the cycle.
C.D. Reiss has done it again. Written a very sexy story with some really great characters. Cause that’s really what made this book for me. The characters. Especially Vivian. But let’s not forget her father and of course Dash.
Vivian was such a fresh breath of air. A very ordinary woman with an ordinary job. But beneath the surface she was anything but. She was strong in her love, in the people closest to her, her job and of who she was. Her relationship with her father was so full of love and mutual respect. There was also so much humor to it. I really enjoyed their father daughter bonding time. So good.
Dash Wallace was a very complicated yet interesting man. He truly had his work cut out for him. Especially when it came to himself. Around Vivian he’s a gentleman with a dirty mouth and when he came home and closed his doors, the wheels in his brain couldn’t stop spinning. I really liked how he tried to change himself for Vivian, even if his habits were so deeply intertwined with his past and his mental state.
Together Vivian and Dash created fire. Dash brought out a wild side to Vivian. She really learned to appreciate herself and her sexiness. Vivian on the other hand brought out more feelings in Dash.
Overall a sexy and great character driven story. I was entertained through out and especially by these amazing heart felt characters.
4 BadAssDirtySweetAppleStars
I’m going to start this off by saying that I know I’m in the minority and while I’m writing this, I think there might be something wrong with me. With that being said, I didn’t really connect to Bombshell as much as I was hoping to. I’ve always like watching the playboys fall hard and I like the single father figuring it out stories. So I should have been over the moon.
I did adore Nicole. That little girl just sneaks up on you and steals your heart, just like she did to Cara. She has such a great personality and is so full of life. I honestly felt like I connected to her more than Cara and Brad. I would say that she stole the show but CD wrote her to be part of the main so there isn’t really any way she could have stole it. She was it.
Here’s where I think it fell short for me. I just couldn’t connect to Cara or Brad. Sure, I was pulling for the Nanny who has a heart of gold and professionalism to boot but at the end of the day, I still just felt kind of meh towards here. I also didn’t feel the chemistry between her and Brad. Sexy times were honest skippy times for me. Ok, that was bad. I admit. I just said skippy. I’ll own up to it.
While I didn’t full connect to the book, I did enjoy the storyline and the writing and I know that many people are going to fall head over heels for this book. So I recommend you give it a whirl. It might be exactly what you are looking for.
5 Team Apple Dash Stars!!
Ahhhh I loved this, like so hard! I’m Julia Andrews spinning on top of a mountain singing my love of all things Dash and Vivian!! Those two are so great together. The love, the issues, them finding common ground to work everything out, his dirty talking sexy self…so awesome.
“I was a meaningless ball of thoughts and fears with no control over the way my life unfurled. But with her, I wasn’t afraid.”
I’m a huge Capo fan, I’m thinking this book might nudge him out of that top spot. Wow, what a book. I devoured this whole story in one sitting, I couldn’t put it down. The ending left me with a big gin and made me all happy-clappy. For me, this book is for sure worthy of a reread. I can’t recommend this book enough!!
“You,” he said. “You threw it all in the fire. Things started collapsing right before you, and when you came, everything went to hell. It’s you. I denied it because if I let you in, I had to start over. I tried to bend it around to not want you. But I can’t deny it anymore. There’s no center without you.”
Just loved it! Perfectly written funny, and very sexy story of heartthrob baseball player Dash Wallace and librarian Vivian Foster. He’s a superstitious, super sexy alpha heartthrob baseball player with enough “rules” that are non negotiable regarding life around baseball, including “how” he beds women in each city he plays at. She’s a quirky public school librarian with her own baggage and non negotiable rules especially her hard rule of not having relationships with expiration dates. Both characters are sexy, and funny, vulnerable, and livable. Their banter was sharp with double entendres, quick witted and funny. When they meet during a class trip, sparks fly but mostly because he annoyed her with his rudeness and one of her students stole his lucky baseball glove. However their attraction to each other overshadowed everything else, and the result was a strong story about lust versus love, versus, control versus letting go. You have to read it to find out the end game result!