Title: Curveball
Author: Kate Angell
Publishing Date: 2007
Genre: Contemporary
Rating: B
Sensuality: Warm
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!
This review was part of Keishon's TBR Challenge. This month the theme was friends to lovers or unrequited love. You can view all the participants of this challenge here. Be sure to check it out!
6 comments:
Not a big fan of multiple romances! Thanks for the review Jill D.
Oh, so glad you enjoyed it, Jill! I really like Psycho and Keely, but I wished their storyline was longer. Actually, I would have preferred it if the Pack Rat had each their own book. Chaser and Jen's story was so short :(
I liked this one, too. SHe's pretty entertaining.
Hey Keishon! Thanks for stopping by. I prefer for there not to be multiple romances either, but it was a cute read.
Nath, I feel exactly the same way you did. And you're right Jen and Chaser's was the shortest.
Lori, I was very entertained. I looked into her after reading this book and she has a new release coming up soon. The book doesn't have the cartoon cover, but it part of this series. It looks good. I can't remember the details off the top of my head.
Did you read Curve Ball as well? That one also had three romances, but one of them definitely seemed to get more play time (maybe I'm just thinking that because she opened the book with those two characters...)
It also had a friends to lovers romance. I love those, too!
Good one, Jill! I'm not sure I would enjoy a book featuring three relationships in as well, unless we're talking anthology.
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