Don’t hate the player… Tyler Ashe, the team’s sexy shortstop and baseball’s most ineligible bachelor.
BASES LOADED
Ty has sworn off relationships in order to focus on his all-star career, but with his best friend gone, his team struggling, and the press blaming him for every loss, the most recognizable man in the majors is in a slump. Until he starts spending his time off the field with a stern blonde who recites baseball stats for kicks and sees through his arrogant façade.
TWO OUT
As the Thrashers’ season gets into full swing and Gwen adjusts to her new job, their fun banter and friendly teasing turn into stolen kisses and countless steamy nights. The team’s strict policy against player-staff relationships throws a curve ball into the mix, but they can’t hide from their feelings any more than the most famous man in baseball can hide from the spotlight…
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REVIEWED BY SUNNY
After loving TEAM PLAYER (book 1 in the Charleston Thrashers series), I was super excited to read BENCH PLAYER. Connor was so mysterious and Allison was so unlikeable, so I was curious to see how Julianna Keyes would pull off their romance. She didn’t disappoint!
Connor’s character worked for me. He was remorseful for the naïve mistake that put him jail for two years. He understood his baseball career wasn’t going to be handed back to him on a silver platter. The perspective he gained while serving time and realism drove him to work hard! The painful journey back into the real world made Connor vulnerable. All these things made him a perfectly flawed character.
Allison’s unlikeable character in TEAM PLAYER showed up again in BENCH PLAYER, but her antics made more sense in the second book. Not only was she trying to save herself, she was trying to save Connor. This softened her character for me. She was dealing with a difficult study in Connor and I loved the challenges it presented her with professionally. Allison’s personal life, including the house falling apart and her Grandpa Biff, really made Allison sparkle. Every scene with Biff made me smile, and their relationship made Allison more relatable.
Connor and Allison early on were like oil and water. As they learned more about each other and were working toward similar goals, their relationship started building into something special. It was hard until it was easy. I loved that evolution!
I am a big baseball fan! Because she “gets” baseball and writes great baseball romances, I am a big Julianna Keyes fan as well! More Charleston Thrashers, please!
I found the baseball jargon a little overwhelming (it is a baseball romance!) but I enjoyed it none-the-less. I actually came about this backwards. I found this author when I received a copy of the second book of this series from Netgalley. I loved it so much I purchased this one to find out Ty’s and Gwen’s story.
I did enjoy this books loved the chemistry between Tyler and Gwen. Gwen knows all about baseball especially the Thrashers since her aunt raised her since she was a little girl and taught her that she knows. Gwen is working in the Thrashers PR department and does all the jobs no one wants to do and feels she is living her dreams regardless of the job because it would have made her aunt proud and Gwen still really misses her. Tyler plays for the Thrashers but feels lost since his best friend Connor is now in jail and he is not friends with anybody else. Gwen and Tyler start spending time together even though it is forbidden, but someone figures it out and causes chaos with the things they spill, will they be able to survive it? Grab a copy and enjoy!
Rcvd an ARC at no cost to author..(netgalley) voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions.
This is the first time I have read this author and I really enjoyed this book. This a slow burn romance that I couldn’t get enough of. I love a good sports romance and this was one was right up my alley.
Ty and Gwen had a connection that was sometimes on and sometimes off. I am recently learning the game of baseball so I really enjoyed this book. I felt like I was there with them during the baseball games.
I will be reading more from this author.
Who knew American pro baseball could be understood by a Kiwi? Add a clever heroine who was good at her job, original secondary characters, great team spirit and a sexy hero…what’s not to love?
Other than the occasional soccer game that my husband talks me into watching with him on TV, I’m not much of a sports viewer; and definitely not what I’d consider a fan. So I was a bit leery of this story because so much of it seems centered on baseball. Which it is. But only in the fact that most of the action occurs in and around a ballfield with a team of baseball players. The real meat of the story, however, is all about the people and the relationships that they develop.
Ty is pretty much your typical egocentric, playboy jerk. But (before the action of this story even begins) he experiences some personal losses that make he start to reevaluate his life and what he wants from it.
Gwen, on the other hand, is a reclusive loner who never ventures out of her comfort zone. She weathers an even more devastating loss that basically leaves her floundering and unsure of what to do with her life.
That they end up being perfect for one another is as much a surprise to them as it would be to anyone else (if anyone knew). The tale isn’t just about how their romance grows though; it is also about the many other relationships that both of them develop, especially among their coworkers, many of whom end up becoming true friends. I appreciated the fact that everything didn’t magically turn around both characters after they “found love.” They both still had real struggles and difficulties. But, as in real life, at least it was easier to bare (mostly) when they had each other.
There is quite a bit of baseball jargon and discussion, which gives a real feel for the game and this (fictional) team in particular. But it is never so much that it is excessively boring or overwhelming to the actual plot.
There are quite a few things about the politics of the team that, while I’m sure are more than accurate, really bothered me. One scene in particular at the near end was highly upsetting to me. And I did feel that the very end was a bit too little too late. But, in another way, it was also quite appropriate for this couple. I’ll let you read it yourself to discover what I’m talking about.
I’m not a sportsball fan in real life, but do enjoy reading them in my book life. I really enjoyed Ty and Gwen. They had to keep their romance on the down low since it’s a huge no-no. Since Gwen is in PR she was in charge of the tweets, the responses to them were really funny. Some were cracking me up. The writing and storytelling were really good and I didn’t get bored with all the ball talk. I will never understand why it takes 9 hours to play this sport. This didn’t have an epilogue, not a huge deal but I think it would’ve been neat to have one, but that’s just me.
3.5 stars
Team Player is a feel good read. It’s a sexy secret workplace romance and sports romance package deal. With a bond formed between player and a PR assistant, their relationship takes off while the team is tanking.
I had fun reading this. Team Player has some very entertaining characters and I look forward to hopefully more of them. Between the socks, the cologne, and the book club, I’m ready for more shenanigans. Plus I’m jealous about the book club!
This is one of those mixed feelings books for me. The writing was good IMO, but I was not a huge fan of where the plot line went. Gwen was OK, even showed some moments of sass, but it wasn’t very consistent. Ty was actually kind of gross. Nobody thought anything of having him followed for his escapades and getting NDA’s after the dirty deeds?? EWWW I also had an issue with WHY this was necessary. If this particular event had happened to a female, I bet the outcome would have been different.
There’s a lot to love here-from the team and club dynamic, to this lovely, developing romance, and a lot of moments that I laughed, (who doesn’t hate Todd anyway?), and some that really made my eyes sting. But, if you don’t like baseball — it may be possible that it’s too much baseball.
There was some fumbling at the end-including the wrap up of some light suspense plot–and some wonderful, wonderful acts of love.
In case you’re curious, I’m not canceling my preorder. 4.5 stars — or so.
Thanks to Netgalley/publisher/author for an advanced copy of this book