Can you pinpoint a time in your life where you realized you are completely and utterly screwed?
I can. I got the dreaded phone call, the one every baseball player hopes and prays never comes.
I was traded. Yeah, that phone call.
Traded from my long time team of over ten years. And not just to any team, but my childhood rivals; the Chicago Rebels.
Completely and utterly screwed, right? Wrong. … utterly screwed, right? Wrong. The trade was the least of my concerns.
I met a girl. Natalie. Man, she’s perfect.
I swore I would never get involved with anyone during the season. Too complicated. But can you believe I have zero restraint when it comes to this girl? I couldn’t get her out of my head and the more I talked to her, the more I realized I needed her in my life.
So what’s the problem? Why am I screwed? Because, Natalie, the girl I can’t stop crushing on, yeah . . . she’s married.
At least, that’s what I was told . . .
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Cory is everything!
Every since I read The Dugout and I met Cory, I have been dying for his book. It absolutely did not disappoint!
Cory is everything I wanted and more in a book boyfriend. He is sweet, sexy, romantic, smart, an amazing baseball player, and just an overall amazing man. Natalie was funny, smart, and has quick wit that had me laughing out loud. These two together are so perfect. They are an amazing match. Their banter was easy and light; they could truly be their true selves around each other.
I have said it already but I’ll say it again, Cory is everything! It is going to be very hard for another hero to top him as my book boyfriend of the year.
I never want to leave this world of baseball players. I have fallen in love with all of them and never want to say goodbye!
Grateful to have received a complimentary ARC copy to honestly review.
So I am catching up on reviews..I have the previous books coming up..Any who let me start with this one..I luved it..I luved Cory and have been waiting on his book…So he gets traded (yeah I know you figured that out) so after being with this team for over 10 years he has to go to the Chicago Rebels who are not happy with Cory he is nothing like them. Of course he finds his fantasy women only to find out that she is married or so he thinks. Natalie has not had an easy time finding the right guy and after bad date to bad date she is giving up only to find Cory who is way out of her league and man these two were super cute..Grab a copy I dont want to give you more info but please grab a copy and Enjoy!!! .
rcvd an ARC at no cost to author..voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions.
I’m calling dibs on Cory!!!
Meghan Quinn knows just how to hit your heartstrings and then make you bust out laughing. Cory is at the highlight of his career when he was unexpectedly traded, and now, he has to survive to be on a team that is his favorite’s rival with teammates who don’t respect him, and a city full of fans who are not his fan. Until he meets Natalie, a sweet and perky girl of his dreams, who just happens to be one of his new teammate’s sister. I can’t believe all the crud he goes through, but at least he has Natalie, right? I adored these two together, I could see they are soul mates. The Trade is a complete standalone novel that will let you see previous characters shall you want to catch up, and is one of my favorite sports romances out there. You need Cory in all his glory!
I’m back with another review for another EPIC story from the Queen of Rom-Com, Meghan Quinn. I know, I know…you are probably saying ‘Dana, you say that with every Meghan Quinn”…well, you know what, that’s because it is the truth!!!
So, I started The Trade on 5 March at around 6:00 pm….had to stop at 11 pm; woke up at 3:00 AM! because I needed more! I adored Cory (F^cking) Potter! He was everything I thought he would be when I first “met” him in The Dugout. Ms. Quinn brought him to “life” perfectly! Throw in Natalie (wait till you meet her), she is my spirit character! These two together….HOLY BANTER!!!!
I just want to just mention that even though this book is freaking hilarious (um, I’m going to admit that I snort laughed a few times), it also has a serious side to it. Ms. Quinn brings the laughs and of course the snort laughs, but she also brings these passages that are thought provoking and mind blowing!
“Fear should propel us forward, not hinder us”..that right there holds so much truth!”
OH MY GOD. CORY F**KING POTTER Y’ALL. SWOON. CITY. Gah!! I devoured this book and I did not want it to end. Seriously. I would have read another 30 chapters. It’s that good.
From the moment Cory sets his eyes on Natalie (aka Jason’s sister), he’s in love. Unfortunately for him, she falls into the “off limits” category because he is told that she is married. But their paths keep crossing and then they find themselves as the only single people on vacation with their friends/siblings. They decide to be friends and the slow burn begins. And let me tell you…it was TORTURE!
This doesn’t exactly fall into the “one bed” trope, but it’s close enough. It’s also a slow burn because let me tell you…I found myself yelling “OMG JUST KISS ALREADY” multiple times. The sexual tension was off the chart and when they finally give in to their feelings, the result is AMAZING.
This book isn’t all about Cory and Natalie’s relationship though. As the title suggests and the synopsis says, Cory has been traded, to probably the worst team possible. His teammates don’t trust him. The fans loathe him. And the media has no problem publishing false stories about him. His life is extremely stressful and throughout the book it takes a toll on him.
Thankfully he has Natalie, and of course the boys. We get ALL of them, but mostly Jason, since they are now teammates. Cory had become my favorite baseball guy, but Jason is a close second. He provides lots of comic relief in this book and it was great to see their friendship grow.
This doesn’t exactly fall into the “one bed” trope, but it’s close enough. It’s also a slow burn because let me tell you…I found myself yelling “OMG JUST KISS ALREADY” multiple times. The sexual tension was off the chart and when they finally give in to their feelings, the result is AMAZING.
So I have to say that Cory has been one of my most favourite secondary characters in this series of stand-alones. I think in part because when we met Milly he was this super famous, successful athlete, yet he was still such a great brother. And every time we met him he was so straight and together I just loved him.
He was so solid and dependable. Then to get his story and discover he’s always incredibly sweet just made me love him even more. But then Meghan had to go and throw in an overabundance of muscles, a “boss” cock, and some great dirty talking and I was done.
And Natalie was perfect for him. She was just as sweet and despite her ex making her doubt her self worth she was awesome. Plus she’s Jason’s sister so she’s well versed in all the craziness. And with them all being connected we got a lot of the couples I have really enjoyed.
Now there was a bit of a twist in this story and I really wasn’t happy with Cory for quite some time. But at the same time my heart broke for him and I completely understood why he was a huge dick. Luckily for me he pulled his head out and proved why I had fallen so hard for him in the first place.
This story really took me on this awesome roller-coaster ride. First I was teetering on the edge of overwhelming chemistry and attraction. Then I was riding high on some smoking hot sexy times. Before I plummeted into a vast array of emotions. And all along the journey I was laughing and smiling and possibly shedding a tear. I really enjoyed the ride and I can’t wait to see if there are any more additions to this awesome series.
LOVED! I swear, every new book from this author becomes my favorite from her! I was completely sucked into this story and didn’t want to put it down. The story, the steam, the humor, the chemistry…everything was on point. I highly recommend picking this one up, a must read!
The boys from Brentwood baseball were back again in The Trade . Cory and Natalie’s heartwarming story was filled with warm and fuzzy feels, laugh out loud moments and throw your kindle frustrations.
I totally understand why all the guys had a man-crush on Cory Potter. He was kind, genuine, caring and amazing. I admired his work ethics and his positivity in facing all of the obstacle brought upon by his recent trade to the Rebels.
Jason’s sister Natalie was recently divorced. Encouraged by her friends, she was ready to get back out in the dating world and her unfortunate attempts at dating were epically hilarious. I hated her husband for making her see so little of herself.
The slow-burning romance between Natalie and Cory pulled on my heartstrings. I loved the funny banter and the easy conversation between the couple. I understand that being in a relationship was new to Cory, but there were a few moments that I just want to hit him for being so clueless. On the other hand, he could be so sweet and romantic which melted my heart.
Another favorite of the book was the scenes with the gang from the previous books. Jason was always a delight to see and I was laughing so hard at his every appearances. I absolutely enjoyed this sweet, hilarious and touching sport romance. I’m so looking forward to the next story in the series.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance complimentary copy of this book. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Cory Potter is “one of the hottest guys ever to walk the planet.” That simple, but accurate statement, sums up what you need to know about Meghan Quinn’s latest book, “The Trade.” Cory is a baseball legend, a perfect gentleman, and is very close to his family. He gives 100% to the game he loves even though he was unhappy with his new team. He has dedicated his life to baseball, treats his body like a temple and was thrown for a loop when he met Natalie. He never anticipated having such a deep connection with her. She definitely wasn’t in his plans, but sometimes love throws you a curveball.
Natalie was perfect for Cory because she came from a baseball family and understood the sacrifices players make during the season. Cory was lucky to have met someone as perfect for him as Natalie. She was sweet, beautiful, generous and her smile captured his soul from the moment they met. Thoughts of her consumed him, swirling around his mind, making him happy and wistful about the future. Cory never thought about retiring but Natalie would be the kind of woman to have by his side as he said goodbye to baseball and hello to a family, children and a life full of love. As much as Cory hated being traded, and as much as the new fans disliked him, being back home in Chicago brought Natalie to him, which made him a winner in the game of love.
What have I just read???? A masterpiece, that’s what! I cannot even begin to articulate how much I loved this book oh my gosh. This really is the kind of book you should go in blind reading because it takes you on the most magical journey. So, to spare you all from spoilers I’m going to keep things short and sweet.
Cory “F***ing” Potter!!
It honestly makes so much sense why he is referred to by that name so much in the book. Cory is legitamately the ultimate book boyfriend, if I could marry a book character he be up high in the running. He just was so perfect and respect.
While I liked Natalie I found myself getting a bit annoyed with her, but I realize that that just a me problem. It is pretty obvious many of her inner issues stem from the relationship between her and Ansel. I was able to ignore my slight annoyance because Natalie’s response were completely warranted and normal for a woman in her situation. I just wish we lived in a world where men didn’t have such a huge influence over women’s self-worth.
Also I would just like to add that the bromances in the novel gave me LIFE!! I was absolutely living for the banter between the men. I honestly don’t know if I shipped the Cory and Carson or Cory and Jason bromance more. Jason’s “crush” had me in stitches.
If you haven’t had the chance to read this yet, grab whatever you need because we’re going to St. Croix!!
This is a book you can read as a standalone, but if you want to know the history of the side characters, I’d recommend reading the author’s previous books, The Locker Room, The Dugout and The Lineup previous to reading this book, especially The Lineup, as it’s Jason’s book and while he’s a side character in this book, he steals every scene he’s in, and still is one of the favorite characters of mine author Meghan Quinn has ever written.
If you have read those previous books, you will have heard of the famous Cory Potter and this is his book. And while he’s every bit as amazing as you’ve heard about in the previous books, he’s never had a real relationship before and that’s to his detriment when he falls hard for Jason’s sister Natalie. He decides to try for his first relationship right before Spring Training, which means he will be dealing with a brand new relationship becoming a long distance relationship. At the same time he’s dealing with a mid-season trade to a team he grew up hating, where for the first time in his life, his reputation and stats aren’t winning the respect of his new teammates and their fans hate him. Add in a brutal media campaign against him, and the pressure is becoming more than he can handle.
At the same time, Natalie is fresh from a divorce with a crushed self-esteem and not sure she wants to start a serious relationship. Cory Potter sure has his hands full with everything he’s trying to juggle at once. Can he win over the team, fans and the girl? You’ll have to read the book to find out! Definitely read this book because this is another 5 star read from author Meghan Quinn!
Also, as I mentioned previously, side character Jason stole every scene he was in. So much so, it made me want to re-read his book, The Lineup, which I’m now doing because I love Jason so much. If you share my taste in books, I know you’ll love him too. Trust me, read The Lineup, then The Trade and you can thank me later. 5 out of 5 stars for The Trade!
I was generously provided an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Meghan Quinn is fantastic at giving her readers lots of laughs, swoony heroes, fierce heroines, and beautiful romances. The Trade had all that and I loved it! One of my favorite parts was how the author incorporated previous characters into the story because that’s were I found myself laughing the most. #ILoveJason But let me say the author did an amazing job hooking a reader with the prologue. After that I was hooked! I needed to how this was all going to play out. The author did a good job on telling the story and working in all the key points to the story. In the middle of the story I did find it be be a little choppy. It felt like there was just a lot of sex scenes that I found myself skimming. It wasn’t going anything to enhance the story. Other than that. I did enjoy the story and loved the characters. I can’t wait to see what we get next!
OMGEEE!!! Cory F’ing Potter is my new favorite!!! I’ve been waiting for his story and I just knew it would not disappoint! I was totally smitten with him from the first time I met him. Cory is absolutely amazing, wonderful, sweet, and yes even a little vulnerable. I totally adore him!! The bromance between Jason and him had me laughing out loud so much! Jason is just a hoot and I love how he marches to his own beat! He certainly keeps Cory on his toes.
Natalie has been hurt recently so she is a little jaded towards relationships but after spending time with Cory as friends it is not a far stretch for it to become more. Their chemistry is through the roof and they are adorable together! However she is Jason’s sister so that is a big of an obstacle at first. I really like Natalie but she does a couple of questionable things at one point; I mean what was she thinking?
Then there is the emotional damage the trade itself has on Cory that becomes one of their biggest obstacles to overcome to find their HEA! I was really hurting for Cory and Natalie during this time.
Meghan Quinn has given us pure RomCom perfection here! 5 major league stars!!!!
The Trade is Cory Potters story and let me start by saying that you are in for the ride of your life!
Its a wonderful book with witty banter and great friendships where support is the most important part. Underneath it all this man, baseball player extraordinaire will hook your attention from the very first page and solidify a place in your heart just as he has in mine.
Cory is the ultimate fictional boyfriend!! He’s caring, thoughtful and very private but he also is very loyal to those close to him. He has some struggles and you have to wonder, how on earth will he overcome this?? Who does he have in his corner!?
I loved every aspect of this book! I laughed, cried, swooned and sighed and wholeheartedly love a certain bromance!! Natalie is really a breath of fresh air and struggles with self worth! Can she see herself as he sees her?? How does this budding friendship progress?
Well you will just have to read it to find out what happens in this highly entertaining and beautiful story!!!
Hilarious, heart wrenching, and oh so sexy!! I loved every second! I don’t know how she does it but Meghan, once again, outdid herself. She continues to amaze me with her off the wall humor and heart dropping angst! What a home run!
Cory was not having the greatest season. He was traded, hated by fans, and he found out the girl of his dreams was married.
But one vacation could change everything. Would Cory and Natalie be able to find their way or would Cory’s life tear them apart?
“He had nice knuckles” and the story about applesauce
Cory and Natalie were on fire! Such an emotional ride from start to finish! I really hope we get to see more of them (as well as the others). I absolutely loved these boys!!
Meghan Quinn’s “The Trade” gave me all the feels, and I absolutely loved it. The main characters, Natalie and Cory, were incredibly likeable and well-developed, and the slow burn of their growing relationship kept me on the edge of my seat for hours. Their banter was a tremendous amount of fun, and I enjoyed the way they constantly kept each other on their toes.
Cory was such a kind, sweet, and loving person, and I appreciated the way he treated Natalie as if she were the most precious, beautiful thing in the world. Natalie was also a very sweet person, and she deserved to be treasured after the way her jerk of an ex-husband behaved towards her. However, Cory’s protective instincts sometimes went too far, and he had to learn that it was okay to share his burdens with a partner. Natalie was more than capable of helping him to shoulder those burdens.
I laughed out loud so many times while reading this book, especially during Natalie’s early dating disasters. I felt bad for her having to go through such terrible experiences, but as an outside observer, I couldn’t help but find them hilarious. I also loved Cory’s story about his encounter with a crazy fan, which made me laugh so hard I cried. However, there were a number of serious moments in the book too, which really made me empathize with both Cory and Natalie. For example, the way Cory was harassed by the press and his team’s fans made me sad, especially because of the toll it took on his health.
The book’s secondary characters, particularly Natalie’s brother, Jason, added a tremendous amount of depth and fun to the story. Jason was so lovably quirky, and his man crush on Cory made me laugh every time it came up. Now that I have read and loved “The Trade,” I look forward to going back and reading Jason and Dottie’s story in “The Lineup” (in addition to whatever Ms. Quinn chooses to write next).
*ARC provided by the author via Candi Kane PR. All opinions expressed are my own.
I can’t even think of where to begin to describe my absolute love for this book and burgeoning obsession over Meghan Quinn’s words.
This is a long book and every page is worthy of praise. The push and pull, the torment, the will-they-won’t-they, the freaking SEXUAL TENSION!!!! This book is the epitome of slow-burn.
Natalie is who we all are. We have our insecurities, we think we’re less than what we are, we have that one friend who as inappropriate as they are, knows us inside and out and we couldn’t be without. (Side note, I love Monica!!)
Cory *EFFING* Potter. I can’t. I don’t normally envisage a face or person when reading but the EYES on the cover model were ALL I COULD SEE. Heavenly. To be in his POV, in his mind was awesome. He was going through some real tough times and his strength was commendable but he took too much on. But goodness alive, I adore him. I wanted to jump him one minute, mother him the next and then slap him a few pages on.
Thank you, Meghan, for writing his story. And I’ve got to say it was AWESOME to catch up with Knox, Emory, Carson, Milly, Dotty and my fave Jason! <3
*4,5 stars*
I’m really enjoying this series and this story just had a lof of things that made it really special. It was a fun, flirty and lovely story that you can’t help but feel for both lead characters. I definitely enjoyed this book!
Cory is living his worst nightmare and that is being traded to the rival team. With his life turned upside down, he’s trying to make the most of it but it’s not easy when not only the media is breathing down his neck but the fans are doing everything they can to make his life hell. When he first meets Natalie, there’s something about her that instantly draws him to her but she’s off limits… or not… Natalie is trying to make a fresh start after everything she has been through and starts dating again but she’s beginning to feel it’s all hopeless. When life seems to throw Cory and Natalie together, their chemistry is undeniable but something is holding both back to give in to their feelings. But sometimes you just can’t help how you feel and they’ll slowly work their way to each other. When Cory’s life seems to be tumbling down around him, it’ll get harder for him to keep everything together, especially the new founded relationship with Natalie. Will they be able to work through it all?…
The Trade is another fantastic book from Meghan, I always admire the skill she has to seamlessly blend sports romance and rom com, whist still having a level and angsty goodness for good measure!
We met Corey Potter in the Dugout and I loved his relationship with his sister, so I was curious how his story was going to play out. From the get go we learn that Corey has been traded from his lifelong team The Bobcats and now finds himself a member of his long term rival team The Rebels alongside Jason Orsen (from the Line up). The story is about how Corey navigates this change when your team won’t except you and the fans despise you no matter how good you play.
Natalie is the heroine and is also Jason’s sister, there is instant chemistry and Corey is smitten – only to learn things are not so black and white. When they go on a group vacation for pre-season down time Corey and Natalie are the proverbial third wheel. This throws them together thus starting the slow burn between our Hero and heroine. Natalie is feisty woman, one who has some brilliant banter, a fantastic relationship with her brother and knows her worth in so many ways.
The Trade surprised me when it came to Corey, I assumed he was going to be the all American blue eyed good boy of baseball, which he is; but he has an edge that begins to show under the stress of the situation he is put in professionally. As always this book has Meghan’s trademark humour courtesy of Jason especially. That man is just on another level and he cracks me up every time. However The Trade surprised me with the angsty feel Meghan managed to add into the mix that played a big part, not just between Corey and Natalie but Corey’s career elements added so much to the story too.
I can’t write my review and not mention the fact that Meghan wrote a couple of epic dry humping scenes, add to that Corey’s filthy mouth and you have literal combustion! Corey and Natalie’s chemistry is a delicious slow burn but it’s oh so worth the wait. Meghan crafted this novel amazingly well, giving Corey a lot of depth and layers to his character, with multiple elements to his story line there was never a dull moment or a drop in pace for me. The Trade is definitely a welcome addition to the Brentwood Baseball series!
Call me Marta… F..antastic Potter !!!!
HE IS SO DAMN PERFECT… He might break my poor heart during our love adventure, just, from the other side ??? I could fall in love with Him over and over again, right ?????
Since the first moment I’ve met Mr.Potter in this series, I was sure – CORY IS MY PERFECT MATCH !!!! He was amazing earlier, but now OMGGGG!!!!! I wanted to jump in the paiges of the book and steal Cory from Natalie !!!! Mrs. Quinn just write The Trade and… Cory, like She knows exactly what is inside my head, just to write exactly what kid of story is my DREAM-ZONE land in The Trade about Cory F… antastic Potter !
The Trade wasn’t only a good book – it was EPIC !!! It was OUTSTANDING!!! It was BEAUTIFILL and HOT AND UNFORGETTABLE !!! And… absolutely one of the best books I’ve ever read.
This book is slow burn romance, a little friends to lovers romance BUT …all this tension !!! AND ALL THE FEELS !!!! OMG- it was so overwhelming. Chemistry between Cory and Natalie was amazing since the first time they have meet. I loved how they worked together, how they were diffeent from all characters around. How Mrs. Quinn make their story so beautiful, and breathtaking. One little thing steal my atenttion more from time to time – The Best From The Best – Jason Orson !!!! Every single moment when He appears I just couldn’t stop laughing, like for real !!!! If I could – I would take them both- Cory and Jason- only for myself !!!!
In the end… I will only tell – Grab Your Copy Ladies !!! The Trade is absolutely MUST READ !!!