He thinks we’re playing the longest game of hard-to-get ever. We’re not.Joel: The hottest girl on campus won’t go out with me. I know, I know, that sounds presumptuous, but this girl… this girl has gotten under my skin, and I can’t seem to walk away.Every Thursday, I show up at the café where she works. She’s fed me every excuse in the book. I should give up and bang one of the many girls … book. I should give up and bang one of the many girls blowing up my phone. I’m not.
Even when she says no, Thursday is my favorite day of the week.
Katrina: The hottest guy on campus won’t stop asking me out. I know that sounds like a good problem to have, but this guy… this guy has no idea how complicated my life is trying to juggle being a single mom and college student.
Every Thursday, he shows up at the café where I work. His cheesy pickup lines and arrogance should have me completely annoyed. I’m not.
I can’t say yes, but Thursday is my favorite day of the week.
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Joel!!! I love you! You’re sweet, kind, and an extremely hot basketball player. Not only a basketball player but just a player in general. Yes ladies he’s one of those. You know, the ones who won’t commit, who hit it and quit it, yes that’s him. Into he meets Katrina and all that is dust in the wind.
Katrina is a single mom who quite frankly doesn’t have time for games, actually she doesn’t have time for anything. Raising a son pretty much on her own, working and going to college, she just doesn’t have the time or energy. Until the sexy basketball player starts pursuing her and now her four year long dry spell may come to a close.
I loved these two, they just fit. Add in Katrina’s adorable son and love is in the air. It’s cute, it’s sexy and I love that the author chose basketball to set this around. Really enjoyed it!
*Review by Michelle
I loved Joel and Katrina! This was such a fun college sports romance story, one of my favorite types of stories to read.
Katrina is a single mom at college and Joel is a college basketball player.
“It means that I’m willing to risk you turning me down every week because there’s always a chance you’ll say yes. I might fail ninety-nine times before I succeed, but I’m going to keep trying because I want you. You’re not the ball, Kitty, you’re the goal.”
I especially loved the humor and back and forth banter in the book. It definitely had me laughing out loud at times!
If you’re looking for a feel good, makes you laugh and swoon NA romance story, this is the one for you!
The Fadeaway is the second book in this series (it could be read as a stand alone) and it was so good that I am already looking forward to reading the next.
I enjoyed to read about Joel and Katrina journey,from his Thursdays request to going out on a date, to her accepting his offer.
I thought Joel was an irrecoverable player,he likes girls and one night stands, but I changed my mind,there’s so much more going on with him you cannot not to fall for him.
I love basketball and I think that there are still so few books about this sport so be sure to keep an eye on this author and this amazing series.
Katrina has a lot on her plate and doesn’t have time for games. Joel is all about the game, but feels a different reaction to Katrina.
These two together were perfect. Thy came together with an understanding and never pressured the other person for more. They both tried to put other people’s needs above their own and often showed selfless acts with many family and friends.
Even though they were both generous with their actions, my heart still broke for both of them. They both had a tendency to mask their true feelings. However, I loved how they grew as a couple and as individuals. I only wish there was more to their story. I want to know what happens after graduation. Hopefully we will get that information in on of the future books.
-An ARC was generously provided in exchange for an honest review.-
The Fadeaway was such a good read, I absolutely loved it. Everything from Joel and Katrina falling in love to Joel and Christian developing a relationship to even Katrina and Victor’s relationship was written very beautifully. I liked reading a story where two parents are working together and not just constantly fighting with another. I good go on and on but I won’t. If you read The Assist the what are you waiting for, read The Fadeaway! Happy Reading!
With his star status on the basketball court Joel has never really had a problem with catching the attention of the ladies on campus, usually they are lining up just to get a moment of his time, and hopefully a date later. He is your typical playboy jock, the king of the campus if you will, and to him there is nothing wrong with that… but to Katrina there is so much wrong with that.
The moment she meets him, Katrina knows just what kind of guy is, the love’em and leave’em type, and those are the type of guys she runs far away from. She got mixed up with one of those kind of men a long time ago, and she learned the hard way, about what can happen when you tangle with them. So from that day forward she decided no more, and also no to love and relationships. Not to mention the fact that she doesn’t have time for any of it anyway… but Joel just won’t let it be!
The Fadeaway is sexy little literary romp that will have you feeling the heat and smiling the whole way through… wow what a read! This one captured my attention right from the start and had me flying through the pages with a dire need to know more, which lead to lots of swoons and some loss of sleep, but it was well worth it! This was a first time read for me, and I have to say it impressed on many fronts, the words were perfectly paced and addictive, and the characters were superbly crafted and came bearing a story that is certain to linger with me for a while! Highly recommend!!
I requested an advanced copy of this title, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion
The Fadeaway is about a sexy college basketball player, Joel, who avoids relationships due to being seriously hurt by his high school girlfriend. Katrina is a young mom to her adorable 3 year-old son and I love how she is a dedicated mom and is striving to fulfill her dream of completely college. I like how Katrina “Kitty” continually rebuffed Joel as I found myself laughing when he got all bent out of shape as no girl has ever refused him before. Joel completely closes himself off to relationships as a means of protecting himself so at times I just wanted to shake him and say “Let down your wall as you’ve got an amazing girl!”. The two make a great couple and I desperately wanted them to have their HEA. It was also great to see the appearance of characters from the previous book in the series, The Assist as well as Joel’s awesome large family. They are humorous, loyal, and also have great insight. The Fadeaway is a well-written college sports romance with likable, well-developed characters with a good storyline that moves at good pace. The Fadeaway is book 2 in this author’s Smart Jocks series and it can be read as a standalone. Although, I do recommend reading the Assist because it is so good! I am definitely looking forward to the next book in this series. I received this book for free.
The Fadeaway is the first book I have read by this author and I loved it. I loved Joel and Katrina. They had amazing chemistry and were perfect for each other. I loved them together! Loved all the secondary characters and am looking forward to reading more!
I am a big sucker for sports romances, but even more so when it includes a delightful journey. The Fadeaway by Rebecca Jenshak was fun and sweet and had light angst. Joel is hot, sexy and charming. Women flock to him and he enjoys them. Why not? After being hurt when he was younger, he swore never to give his heart away gain. Then he walks into a coffee shop and everything changes.
Katrina made a choice to go to college to accomplish her goals. She is doing it for both herself and her son. She is so determined to not let anything get in her way, especially not a cocky jock. But when he makes it his routine to stop by every Thursday to ask her out, her resolve begins to break. But in the end, she knows it would only lead to heartbreak, right?
The Fadeaway by Rebecca Jenshak was my first read by this author and I enjoyed it. It was sweet and steamy. Joel was confident, cocky and overall a great guy who was once hurt badly. Katrina was beautiful, smart and very determined. But her son had to always come first and any man in her life would need to understand that. Can Joel and Katrina realize what they have before it’s too late?
Read and reviewed for Sultry Sirens Book Blog.
Happy reading!
I really enjoyed reading The Fadeaway. It’s part of the ‘Smart Jocks’ series by Rebecca Jenshak. She’s a new to me author and I have to say, I loved her writing. This was Joel and Katrina’s story.
Joel is a hot jock and a bit of a player, he’s not one for being tied down because of what happened in his past. He’s not looking for a relationship, at all, but there’s just something about Katrina that he can’t ignore.
Katrina is a single mom, she doesn’t have the usual kind of freedoms that most college kids have. She’s got responsibilities and needs to keep her head on her shoulders. Joel, though, he tempts her, more than she realizes and once he meets her young son, it’s basically all over. Joel and Christian ar super sweet together and make you go ‘aww’.
This was a seriously sweet story. Joel as you would expect his sexy as sin and has a lot of friends that we got to meet too. Katrina, is a strong, independent young woman just trying to live her life as best she could. They shouldn’t have matched up, but oh boy, did they. I just never wanted this feel-good story to come to an end.
This was the first book I’ve read by Rebecca Jenshak. I thoroughly enjoyed this new adult/sports contemporary book filled with witty charm, emotion, and unique twists that it kept me captivated the whole way through.
Joel Moreno hasn’t had to work for much. As a star basketball player at Valley University, girls pretty much fall at his feet, so when Katrina Phillips turns him down, he accepts it as a challenge. You see, he actually didn’t get to be a star player by talent alone, he did work for it, so having Katrina continually reject him just makes him work harder. A challenge she didn’t realize she had even instigated.
“Challenge accepted. I mean, honestly, how hard could it be to convince a girl I know already wants me, to go out with me?”-Joel
Katrina loved Thursdays. It was the one day a week when Joel came in to the cafe where she worked to get his coffee, and to ask her out. It was also when she repeatedly turned him down, but a girl could fantasize in between those moments. She was able to actually fantasize that he wanted more from her than just a quick moment in between the sheets, she could think a lot beyond the few moments he came in and asked her out once a week, but she could never say yes. Her life was complicated.
“Fantasy is almost always better than reality and Joel Moreno is my perfect fantasy.”-Katrina
When fantasy meets reality and Katrina needs help with her senior school project, Joel is there to offer his help, but not without stipulations. He offers a trade, a date for his knowledge. While it would seems harmless enough, Katrina knows keeping her personal life separate from everything else is best, but somehow that’s near impossible once Joel sets his mind on getting to know her better. It isn’t long before he’s become entwined in her life and while he seems to know a lot about her, he is still a mystery.
Could it be too late when Katrina realizes her mistake in letting Joel into her world and she hasn’t been let into his?
The Fadeaway by Rebecca Jenshak a four-star read that will rock you. This is the second novel in the Smart Jocks series, but I would say it can be read as stand-alone as I haven’t read the first and didn’t feel lost. Katrina will surprise you, she has more depth that a lot of characters in this type of story. She has her own story to tell and one you will enjoy reading about. Joel at first seems like your typical player, but as you get to know him, he becomes so much more. I enjoyed the fun of this story but also the deeper undercurrents also. Give this one a go as you won’t be disappointed.