Meet Braxton Smith in this enemies to lovers romance.Dating the hot athlete? Yeah, been there. Done that…Braxton Smith.Cessna University’s baseball captain.Naturally talented.Sinfully gorgeous.And exudes enough arrogance to fill a stadium.That same cocky attitude is what landed him in my anonymous gossip column. Believe me, I, Cara Gonzalez, don’t want anything to do with him.But he’s … cocky attitude is what landed him in my anonymous gossip column.
Believe me, I, Cara Gonzalez, don’t want anything to do with him.
But he’s everywhere.
In my class.
In my dorm.
In my mind.
I left this type of drama back home.
Transferring to Cessna University is my chance for a redo.
And regardless of his rock-hard abs and panty-dropping smile,
Arguing with an athlete isn’t one of my goals.
My instincts betray me, though.
This attraction feels different.
Stronger.
I have no choice but to stand my ground.
Because this time, I’m afraid I’ll not only be hurt.
I’ll end up gutted.
Book One in the Cessna U Wildcats series, Swinging Strike is an enemy to lovers, standalone romance. If you like sexy, hot baseball players, download Braxton Smith today.
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I was hooked from the blurb and the book didn’t disappoint. Full of in depth detail and world building that I actually felt like I was in the story with them. Loved the characters and truly believed in them. Definitely worth reading.
Swinging Strike by Kimberly Readnour was a sports romance with a touch of an enemies to lovers story. Cara moved to a new college for a fresh start and was determined to stay away from athletes. So, when she meets Braxton, she thinks she has him all figured out. Her past clouds who she is today, but the more time she spends with Braxton, the clearer she sees him. Braxton is working through his own things and the new gossip writer is the last thing he needs. Though they went through many ups and downs, they shared an undeniable chemistry. Could they find their way through the various obstacles in their way before it’s too late? I am excited to see what is next in the series.
Read and reviewed for Reviews From the Heart.
Happy reading.
I enjoyed this book. It’s hard for me to pass up a book with a baseball player. I really liked Braxton and Cara. Their banter was one of my favorite parts of the book. I am right there with Cara about how important the playoffs are because I don’t want to miss them either by making plans. This book also shows the tough sports we find ourselves in and how react to them can cost us or impact our futures. I cringed a little wit some of the situations Cara gets herself in. This is a book that I was instantly lost in. The characters has me hooked. I got invested in their journey. I did have a little bit of a book hangover from this one. I can tell you I’m already looking forward to the next book in the series because It sounds like it’s going to be a good one.
I love sports romance books and this one is right up my alley. This book has it all from lies, mean ex’s, protectiveness, family and most of all love. So Cara has made a decision to start over due to some personal issues. While she is minding her own business she runs into Braxton. However, their relationship in the beginning is based on secrets. Braxton is trying to find out who is writing a gossip column which is focused on him. Well finally Cara gets two strikes against her. So what will happen? Will they realize that they feel love? Will they let gossip and past relationships depict them? Is it doomed before they start anything. They have chemistry that is undeniable and the cat and mouse game they have going on is hot. So will they get their HEA? Well…. of course they do. This is the first book I have read from this author and I absolutely loved it. I cannot wait to read what will happen next!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Talk about he feels with these two. Cara has dated a baseball player in the past that left with her a bad taste towards jocks. Braxton is the star baseball player at her college and is clearly instantly smitten with her when he first runs into her. But Cara’s attitude was been there done that no thank you. This was a slow build but at the same time nothing was rushed and you get to see how their relationship builds from him being persistent, to their banters/insults, then of them no longer trying to deny their feelings. But this relationship wasn’t the easiest and came within lots of drama, ups and downs and secondary characters interference. They were moments that were so real and nothing was rushed to make things great again. The ending was great but there’s still more of Braxton and Cara left to discover. These two were opposites in a sense but also great for each other. Her relationship with her brother was beautiful.
Wow! I am not usually a huge fan of college-age stories, but WOW! Kimberly Readnour did an amazing job with this one! I am a sucker for sports romances, so I decided to take a chance with Swinging Strike and I am so glad I did! Braxton and Cara’s story was everything for me! Watching them fall in love and overcome all the obstacles was everything I didn’t know I wanted it to be! FIVE STARS!!
Swinging Strike is book one in the Cessna U Wildcats Series by Kimberly Readnour. The genre is an enemies to lovers book which looks at the characters Cara Gonzalez and Braxton Smith. Cara has been hurt before and is looking for a fresh start at a new college, working as the anonymous gossip columnist of her college she has Braxton in her cross-hairs, thinking she knows who he is. As their relationship develops, Cara bumps into Braxton everywhere and feelings start to change, but secrets have a way of getting out and baggage gets in the way with these two strong willed characters.
Braxton Smith is the hot athlete at college who seems to have it all and we only see through his POV what type of man he is and how the past has defined him and his relationships. He likes to get on Cara’s nerves and knows how to push her. He seems to have a great group of friends and they certainly get up to some fun antics on his behalf when things come out in the gossip column. Braxton seems to have a lot of pressure put upon him and you really do feel it coming to a head for him partway through the book.
The two characters together have a lot of chemistry and at times can be really amusing together. The story-line was catchy and there was a lot going on, not only between Cara and Braxton, but also from secondary characters and story-lines which were all intertwined. There were times though that you wanted to shake both characters, either for preconceived notions they had about the other, but also because of the baggage and the drama that caused in their relationship.
This was a really good sports romance and you get to see what it would be like to play a sport at such a high level and the standards that are put onto you. Overall, a really good romance.
ARC received for a fair, honest and sometimes long review
More of my reviews can be found on my blog: https://thehotmesslibrary.blogspot.com
Cara is wanting a fresh start. A place to prove that she isn’t full of drama, and that everyone has her wrong.
Braxton has a lot of pressure on him. He hasn’t made a decision about his future, and the articles being written about him aren’t helping.
These two together run have chemistry in spades, but there are several obstacles that stand in their way. Seeing them navigate these obstacles will have you wanting to hug them, strangle them, and will allow you to understand their insecurities more.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I’m a sucker for sports romances and this one was such a good read. I just wish the characters were able to experience more happiness with each other. There were moments of happiness and definitely a HFN, but I felt that so much happened in the book that they were never able to just relax and be a couple a little bit before it ended.
The secondary characters added just the right amount of mystery, and I’m excited to see how their stories unfold.
– An Arc was generously provided in exchange for an honest review.-
Book one in a new and from what I read with Swinging Strike, promising series from Kimberly Readnour. Cara, who we know from Bad Boys Redemption book 3, Bottom of the Ninth, is Aj’s sister. She is looking to start over at Cessna University where no one knows who she is. Unfortunately she catches the eye of hotshot 2nd baseman of the Cessna U Wildcats, Braxton Smith. Cara does everything she can to shake off the determined baseball player but she can’t help but like him. The two have an incredible spark but Cara is hiding something, the fact that she is the new gossip columnist that hasn’t exactly gotten on Braxtons good-side. The two navigate through the little bumps but get caught up on some bigger ones that threaten to put an end to their new relationship. With all the decisions Braxton has to make this year maybe Cara is the last thing he needs right now. Guess you will have to read to find out anymore. I’m excited for this series. I loved all the side characters and Readnour did a great job of getting me interested in their stories like Garret and Lexie are the or aren’t they or Noah and Shannon what’s going on there and who the heck is Dalton. So many questions I can not wait to get the answer to.
***I did receive a free copy of this book is exchange for a fair and honest review.***
I usually skip books with college aged kids but I’ve read a lot of Kimberly Readnour other books and loved them so I decided to give this book a chance. I loved it! It brought back a lot of memories of college and young love and the insecurities that come with that age. I loved Cara and Braxton and I loved watching them grow up over the course of the book.
Braxton is the captain of the Cessna U Wildcats baseball team and with this being his draft year he needs to be on top of his game. The new girl on campus catches his eye and when he tries to talk to her, his cocky attitude gets the better of him and ends up landing him in the college’s gossip column. Cara transferred to Cessna University for a new start after a bad breakup and does not have time for cocky athletes but everywhere she turns Braxton is right there. After a fire leaves Braxton’s sister without a place to stay, Cara offers up her place which puts Braxton right in her path. Braxton realizes that he is better off with Cara in his life than out of it and will stop at nothing to prove that he is different.
Swinging Strike is a college baseball enemies to lovers romance in the Cessna U Wildcats world. This was my first Kimberly Readnour book and I am looking forward to more of the Cessna U Wildcats. This was a refreshing change from the novels I normally read. Kimberly Readnour was able to capture what it is like to be at college, juggle a relationship and the pressures of trying to make it in the pro sports world. The building of Braxton and Cara’s relationship was interesting to follow. The narrators were decent to listen to, did a good job portraying the characters and I liked the drawl in Chris’s voice. This was my first book narrated by Chris Brinkley and Sarah Puckett and would listen to them again.
*ARC was generously provided in exchange for my honest review*
Listen to the Audible version. The dual narrators kept me engaged in the extended story, Like a real relationship, there wasn’t just one obstacle to overcome. There was a little more angst than I was hoping for, but there were also times that they talked through issues so that I wasn’t completely frustrated. I would have liked to give the story 4.5 stars.
This is a stand alone/first in series, but at the beginning of the story I felt like there were other events summarized that happened in another book. It seems be related to the Bad Boys Redemption series, so I’ve added that to my TBR list. I would recommend Swinging Strike to contemporary sports romance fans.
I’ve listened to stories performed by Sarah Puckett before, so I had high expectations for her. Chris Brinkley was new to me, and he also did a great job. I always appreciate having two narrators for dual points of view.
#AudiobookObsession
So I liked this this book but there’s things I didn’t understand. Most of it had to do with Cara. I get why she wanted to protect herself and kinda hide her identity, while in college. What I didn’t get is why she didn’t seem to understand why Braxton was struggling with baseball. I mean with how big her brother was in the majors,shouldn’t she have known the pressure that builds up when trying to make a big decision? Maybe I’m wrong and her brother hid all that from her. My other thing with her was why did she make him wait so long even though they had moved passed their issues. I mean I get she wasn’t super honest with him but that shouldn’t be the reason to hurt him. That’s her issue. I liked them together but mixed in with everything that was thrown at them, it took them a while to figure things out and actually be happy. Braxton got a bad rep but he’s determined to change the mind of the reporter who said it. He’s very overprotected to the ones he loves and doesn’t even date. His love is baseball and making it into the big leagues. His dad puts a lot of pressure on him to do what he couldn’t do. It’s even to make him question whether he even wants it or not. He’s been hurt before and is just leary on putting his heart out there. Cara catches his eye and he’s smitten. They have their fare shares of ups and downs, mostly due to her not being honest with him but whatever. I did enjoy the book and can’t wait to read the next in the series!
**4.5 Stars**
This was my first book by the author and I was hooked from the start with the story line, which I found very engaging and the characters who I really liked.
Cara has sworn off guys in general, but definitely baseball players after the fiasco that was her last boyfriend. She recently transferred to Cessna U and is focused on her studies and staying out of trouble, until she catches the eye of none other than Braxton, Cessna U’s star babseball player of all people. Despite turning down his many advances, he is relentless and she eventually gives in when she sees that maybe he isn’t the average steretypical playboy jock.
The book is full of a bit of drama as Cara finds herself keeping some secrets which never ends well, and both main characters have some baggage from their past relationships that causes their interactions to go haywire from time to time. Their chemistry is definitely off the charts HOT though!!!
I was slightly frustrated at times that a lot of the drama in the book could have been avoided with some basic communication and it made them both appear pretty immature, but overall I really enjoyed the book. I think Braxton was overall pretty swoony.
I listened to the audiobook version which was highly enjoyable! I enjoyed the author’s writing style and look forward to checking out more of her work.
Great story. Cara and Braxton have a love hate relationship. She is trying to get aways from a sports jocky to fall in love with the team captain who does give up trying to be in her live.
Perfect sports read
This is a college sports enemies to lovers story with a lot of drama.
Cara struggles with her attraction to Braxton. He’s the cocky, gorgeous, arrogant captain of the baseball team. Being lab partners doesn’t help with her attraction to him.
Braxton knows what he wants and it’s Cara. Her indifference to him makes it a challenge. It’s Game On.
Cara is Mel G, the anonymous gossip columnist of Rumor Has It, targets Braxton as a playboy, the Heartburglar. Braxton is being endlessly teased by his teammates in the locker room. Braxton is determined to find out the identity of Mel G.
Braxton is feeling the pressure from his father, no relationships, keep your eye on the prize. A contract with a major league team.. He’s one year away from graduating. What does Braxton really want? What will he do when it comes time to make his decision?
This story has it all! Fun, laughter, tears, jealousy, misunderstanding, secrets, drama. Not everything is as it seems, which causes trouble between Braxton and Cara..
Sarah Puckett and Chris Brinkley are perfect narrators for this story! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it! audiobookObsessionreviewer
Amazing Sports Romance! Awesome Narration
Swinging Strike
Cessna U Wildcats, Book One
By: Kimberly Readnour
Narrated by: Sarah Puckett, Chris Brinkley
Wow, this is an awesome new adult sports romance. I found the story captivating from start to end. I enjoyed Kimberly Readnour’s writing style, she created storylines and characters that are realistic and easy to relate to. I liked both lead characters, each had their own issues and hangups and were set in their ways. Cara Gonzalez transferred to Cessna University, she is keeping the fact that her brother is a professional baseball player to herself, she wants a new start and does not want to be known as A.J.’s sister or to be used to get closer to him. She was burnt bad by her cheating ex-boyfriend, who was also a ballplayer and that left a bad taste in her mouth for all male athletes. With a minor in communication she is assigned to write for the school paper, her assignment is to write a gossip column. She was put to work before classes started but she found the perfect candidate for her first rumor column, Braxton Smith the hot jock. Braxton is a star player on the school’s baseball team, he is expected to get picked for a professional team in the draft this year. He is not just a jock, he is a smart jock and when he lands in the same class Cara he likes what he sees, she sparks not just an interest but something inside of him, but she wants nothing to do with him. I loved the back and forth between them and how he would not give up on her. The two were great together and for each other, but each held back their secrets and own inner battles. Things start to heat up for the two but can they survive when their secrets are revealed and the truths come out. I loved how everything plays out in this book, it is cleverly plotted and there is never a dull moment with plenty of drama, angst, heartfelt moments and some hot romance. In addition to the great lead characters there are some great secondary characters and I am looking forward to hearing more about them as well. Thank you for this awesome story and the emotional rollercoaster ride.
I listened to the Audible edition, Sarah Puckett and Chris Brinkley are fabulous narrators and voice performers. They do an amazing job portraying the characters, bringing them to life, humanizing them with their own voice and personality, as well as heart and attitude. I adored Sarah Puckett’s Cara, she truly captured her persona, Chris Brinkley’s Braxton was perfection too. They did a great job with all the secondary characters too. They are entertaining storytellers and a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for another awesome listen
Thank you @AudiobookObsession #AudiobookObsession #AudiobookObsessionReviewer
Audiobook Review
This might be my first time listening to this author and I’m hooked!! This new adult, sports romance, kept me on my toes and wanting more!! Cara and Braxton’s story is full of secrets, drama, angst and betrayal. Have I mentioned I loved it?!?!
Cara has her reasons for transferring to Cessna University. She has reasons for keeping her identity a secret. She plans to keep her head down and keep her grades up. Keeping her distance from all baseball players was a given, until Braxton comes crashing into her life.
Braxton is captain of the baseball team. He’s in his junior year at Cessna and there’s talk he could be drafted. Running into Cara was like a breath of fresh air. She didn’t recognize him, and turned him down. Huh. When the college paper’s new column, Rumor Has It, starts targeting him, he is on a mission to find Mel G. He may or may not, like who finds.
Rumor has it, Braxton Smith is a heart burglar! I’m still laughing at this
Sarah Puckett and Chris Brinkley we’re perfect for narrating this book!! They did an amazing job and I think they fit the age brackets well!
Swinging Strike by Kimberly Readnour is an enemy to lovers sports romance that I listened to on audio narrated by Sarah Puckett and Chris Brinkley. This is the first book in the Cessna U Wildcats Series and can be read as a standalone.
This is the first book of Kimberly’s that I have read and it definitely won’t be my last. I loved the Chemistry between Braxton and Cara. I cannot wait until the second book in the series Behind The Count is released on audible so I can dive into Noah and Shannon’s love story.
Sarah and Chris did an amazing job on the narration. They really brought the story to life.
I would highly recommend this book if you love sports romances, enemy to lovers, or college romances.
#AudiobookObsessionVIPReviewer
My all time favorite kind of books, baseball and romance! I absolutely love this series! I fell in love with Braxton and Cara’s story and can’t wait for Noah’s story! I was definitely not disappointed! I am so hooked that I couldn’t put it down!