He didn’t think coming home would mean falling in loveOutfielder Calvin Ramsey returns to his Texas farm home after being released from his team, an unexpected surprise sure to tarnish the family baseball legacy. But when he finds a sexy stranger acting as the temporary caretaker for his childhood home, all thoughts of baseball disappear.She won’t fall for another playerAfter losing her savings … player
After losing her savings to a swindler ex-boyfriend, Josie Vance moves to Last Stand to start fresh where no one knows her unhappy past or the con that bankrupted her. But her peaceful healing time evaporates when the homeowner’s son arrives and throws himself into life on the farm—and charming Josie. She can’t risk an affair that draws attention to her or her past. Especially not when the public’s fascination with the baseball-playing Ramsey clan is at an all-time high. Can she keep her secrets, her low profile, and her heart too?
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This was a kind of short book that you wish would be longer. It was a short, easy read and I for one need that every once in a while.
The characters were cute together. Josie was enjoying being on her own in a pretty isolated situation, and Calvin was running from his imploding baseball career. Calvin’s grandfather played a pretty important part in the story and he was a total hoot! I could actually see him walking down the gravel road with his walker, while wearing his slippers and bathrobe!
I enjoyed the developing relationship between Josie and Calvin. They really were good for each other (even if Calvin was a butt at one point). Ms. Rock gave me a HEA, and that makes ME happy!
I was given a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.
Loved this book! This was my first look at Last Stand Texas and I am hooked! This is the first in the series “Texas Playmakers.” In this book Josie Vance has escaped her family drama with her mom and has taken a caretaker Job working for Clavin Ramseys mom on the familys fruit farm in Last Stand,Tx. Calvin was just droped from his major league baseball team has decided to take a much needed break and visit his mom and grandfather. Can you guess the surprise he gets when he walks into his mom’s house in the middle of the night and finds Josie. Will they find love?
Wonderful story enjoyed the series
Trademark Joanne Rock–she delivers all the feels!
Last Stand, Texas is a great new town in the Tule Publishing Group to visit and yes come to “live”. In this book we get introduced to a family that has raised a baseball dynasty. We get to know the first of the boys first, Cal Ramsey. Cal comes home after being cut from his team after being one of the brightest of the bright. I say home..he come to him mom’s place which happens to have a caretaker there at the moment (unknown to him) when he shows up. Scares the dickens out of Jose Vance too. With his grandfather next door and a lovely lady in residence in his mom’s place. Life is up in the air for the baseball player who has no idea if he even IS a ball player anymore. This book is a wonderful read from start to finish and I can not wait to read the next book in this series.
I loved this book! It’s the perfect summertime romance! I loved watching Cal & Josie try to resist each other, but there was no way to stop their attraction. I didn’t want to put it down!!
I really liked this story by this new to me author. Calvin is a major leaguer baseball player who had a pretty great season or so he thought. When he is cut from his team he decides to go home and figure out what he is going to do next.
He meets Josie instead of his mom at the house. He learns that she is the caretaker while Calvin’s mom is on a mission trip. Josie is not impressed with Cal all she wants to do is to be left in peace to figure out what she is going to do next after the things that have happened to her recently.
Their is strong chemistry between them and they can no longer deny it. Will Josie’s past that she has worked so hard to leave behind find its way back and possibly ruin what she could have with Cal?
I enjoyed the book and would recommend it. I can’t wait to read about the next Ramsey brother…we’ll done!!
4 1/2 STARS!
A hunky ballplayer, family drama galore and lots of sassy banter! With the first book in her new Texas Playmakers series, Joanne Rock brings a baseball dynasty to life with the backdrop of a good-hearted Texas family. Cal is the son of a retired star pitcher and his brothers are in the game as well, so to hear the news that he might be disgracing the family name by being cut from his team is life-changing to him. The setting of the story is really interesting and the characters hooked me quickly. The ending was a bit abrupt and left me hanging a little bit, but overall I loved the story and look forward to hearing his brother’s stories!
When professional baseball player Calvin Ramsey learns that he has been cut from the team, he’s thrown into a tailspin. Baseball is all he’s ever known, and he’s not sure what to do with himself if his career is really over. For now, he’s going to head home to Last Stand, Texas to see his family and let the realness of working on the farm ground him a little bit.
Josie Vance fled embarrassment and despair in Florida to take this temporary caretaker job in Texas. She doesn’t know what to think when her boss’s son shows up in the middle of the night thinking he’s coming home to Mama. The last thing she needs is another handsome man finagling his way into her heart … the last one that did that ended up stealing her life savings and sending her life into chaos. No thank you … she’ll just steer clear of this hunky cowboy … if only he wasn’t so tempting!
I enjoyed this romance. I liked Cal and Josie. Cal is a guy who is on top of the world and then one day gets broadsided by life. Josie has always had to struggle and life has never been easy. Her vulnerability and loneliness causes her to get scammed by a guy. So she has some big trust issues. I thought the attraction and chemistry between these two was strong. I do wish that this book had been longer. In the end I felt things wrapped up too abruptly. Still it was a good read.
A book about professional player that was let off from the team after his injury and his caretaker.
The plot was interesting and the story had a great potential, so I was interested in reading despite few bumps on the road… This is a new author to me and her books. It is a short read and I finished it in one sitting.
It was perfect for this period when I was so busy but wanted to read something that will relax me.
Josie is loving life in Last Stand tending to the garden the dogs and the bees plus she is hiding out from a possibility her mother has a warrant out for her arrest. She keeps to herself and doesn’t go anywhere except to keep an eye on Everett next door who was hurt recently and gets around on a walker.
When Cal’s baseball career tanks he comes home to his mothers home in Last Stand to lick his wounds and wait for a call from his agent. When Cal lets himself in he is greeted by a stranger with a shotgun even though you can tell she doesn’t know how to use it.
Cal is attracted to Josie right from the start but she is very cautious about giving him any details about her life but they both are circling around each other because their attraction is so strong. Josie and Cal have issues with their parents that are similar but different and it made for a really enjoyable book.
Reviewed on behalf of Once upon an Alpha
Back to Last Stand, Texas.
What I liked:
The writing style
Part of a series: Texas Playmakers
Standalone
HEA
I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC from NetGalley.
You can never go wrong when you pick up a book by this talented author, and this one proves the point.
This one centers around Calvin Ramsey and Josie Vance. Cal/Calvin is a well known baseball player who never expected to be let go from his team. Baseball is his life and with his future uncertain, he decides to go to his mother’s farm.
Josie is a young woman who has left her life in Florida and is in hiding working as a caretaker at Cal’s mother’s farm.
The attraction is there , but both have their issues and try to keep their distance. As they try to deal with their lives , a friendship develops. But the road will be rocky and gets worse when secrets are exposed.
It’s a story about family dynamics. On how parents can make or break the lives of the children, no matter their age. It’s a story about heartbreaks, but also hope , and maybe love.
Another touching and well written story by this author.
I am looking forward to future books in this series.
I was entrusted a copy of this book by Netgalley . The opinions expressed are solely my own.
Short, sweet, romantic love story of a high profile sports player down on his luck and a once bitten, twice shy woman…both of whom are running from themselves.
This was a very cute story but I didn’t care for how open it was left at the end. I’m sure it’s so you continue with the next characters but I would have liked to see what happens with their future.
I loved the baseball theme in this story, the development in the lives of the characters, and the events that led to a happy ever after. Everyone needs a feel-good read these days!
Meh. This started out pretty promising but fizzled for me about halfway through. I kept on reading and did finish the book. Although, I have to admit to skimming the last 5-6 chapters. The ending was very abrupt and the resolution so quick that it made my eyes cross.
Enjoyed it.
Story of two people both trying to rebuild their lives after unexpected life outcomes. A romance that develops nicely with the help of family members.
Josie Vance had run away from a bad situation in Florida. Her ex-boyfriend had swindled her out of her entire savings and when she said she wanted to leave, her mother, threatened to turn her into the police for doing repairs without a license. Josie was the building supervisor for an apartment building her mother owned and she was such a cheapskate and never wanted to pay to hire someone to make repairs for the tenants so Josie learned to do them herself.
Josie had found a temporary job in Last Stand, Texas, for three months taking care of a farm and the dogs and bees that came along with it. Everything was wonderful until the owner’s son showed up in the middle of the night.
Cal Ramsey had left Atlanta when he was cut from the professional baseball team that he played for. He had come home to the place he was raised but when he arrived in the middle of the night, it wasn’t his mother he found, but a beautiful stranger holding a gun on him.
Josie and Cal danced around each other for most of the book. Both of them had trust issues but they both began to see the true nature of the other person and the thought of maybe there could be more, at least for a while began to surface. Josie was only going to be there for a few more weeks and Cal was hoping to get a contract with a new team. Was it possible to find happiness in such a short time or was it worth the effort?
This is a new author to me but I enjoyed the story very much. These two characters were opposites in a lot of ways but both needed love and trust in their lives and a safe place to land. There was one somewhat descriptive sex scene which is not something I like but it was easy enough to get feel the chemistry without reading the details.
I was given a arc copy of this book and I willingly offer my honest review.