Search - Curveball (Boys of Summer, Bk 2)

The bad boys of baseball, they are the top power hitters of the Richmond Rogues, and the team's best hope for a shot at the World Series. But when all three have to be benched for brawling, it's the beginning of a whole new ball game.

Psycho hits a homerun with a decorator who manages to dress up his derelict Colonial while undressing him.

Romeo slams it out of the park with a female reporter who is the first woman to throw hardballs at the third baseman known for his sweet talk and bedroom eyes.

Chaser almost strikes out with the girl next door, the one he always took for granted until he discovers she's known where his sweet spot is all along.

The author combines humor and romance to produce, if you'll excuse the pun, a home run. It is an original plot and the characters don't automatically jump into bed—relationships develop and feelings deepen. If you like baseball, all the better.

The story weaves three "bad" (appearances are deceiving) guys of baseball straight into the hearts and hands of three loving, strong, supportive women.

This is what romance novels are all about.

Curveball is the second book in Kate Angell's Richmond Rogues Series. The Rogues are a major league baseball team and Curveball is a fun romantic comedy of three romances that revolve around Psycho, Romeo and Chaser, Rogue teammates better known as the "Bat Pack". Psycho develops a relationship with his interior decorator, Keely Douglas, when she unexpectedly shows up on the front porch of his historical colonial home. Romeo has it bad for Emerson Kent, the sports reporter for the local newspaper whom he accidentally mows down in a sideline brawl. Chaser finally notices the girl who he has lived next door to since they were kids is now a woman.

Curveball is different from most romances that I have read in that instead of featuring one hero and heroine there are three. Each romance gets about the same amount of billing time in the book. My favorite thread was the romance between Psycho and Keely. Psycho is from the wrong side of the tracks. He grew up with practically nothing and made something of himself by sleeping, eating and breathing baseball. He right away notices how threadbare Keely's clothes are and how desperately she needs this job as his interior decorator. On the outside he is abrasive and cutting, but on the inside he is a big softy and he definitely has a huge soft spot for Keely.

I had a little trouble getting into Romeo and Emerson's romance. Emerson is very controlling and stand-offish. She continually holds Romeo at bay and I just didn't like her personality. It seemed to me that Romeo was too good for her and I didn't understand what about Emerson appealed so much to him. Chaser and Jen's romance was a friends to lovers theme and I always enjoy reading about that.

Curveball was a very fast read. The characters were enjoyable and the plotting was simple. The drawback to having three romances was that I didn't get to spend enough time on each one. I really enjoyed Psycho and almost wish that he could have gotten his own book. Really, the author is just scratching the surface of these characters. The writing and storyline was definitely good enough to draw me in and make me want more. I would recommend this book to those who want something light and funny when they need a quick read. At just under 300 pages, I was able to read this in less than a day. You might want to bring it to the beach!

Another book about the Richmond Rogues team; this time the Bat Pack finds themselves benched. They use the down time to chase the women in their lives. A cute, humorous story. I would definitely read more from this author.