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pattyfgd's review
5.0
The Fadeaway
Smart Jocks, Book 2
By: Rebecca Jenshak
Narrated by: Teddy Hamilton, Summer Morton
Who doesn't want the hottest athlete on the basketball team to ask you out? Well, it seems Katrina doesn't! As a single mom in college, it's hard to find a time to have a social life with work, school and a child, not counting a dad who doesn't help out! But eventually, the man with the reputation, Joel, wears "Kitty" down and they begin to date. Joel is shocked by his feelings for Kitty, but are they strong enough to start a relationship? This book is so easy to get caught up in. Rebecca Jenshak has a style of writing that is easy to fall into, making us feel like we are experiencing all the emotional tugs as the story unfolds. What do I love the most about this one? I love that you can't always believe what you hear, you never know where love will find you and it's important to follow your heart. She brings it all to life with this one.
Jenshak's choice of narrators for this is perfect. I love Teddy Hamilton's voice, always an easy going sound. He has a way of having that comforting feel in his narrations. Summer Morton is a wonderful pick for Kitty. She has an inflection of maturity in her voice , yet pulls off the college age sound. It's like an older soul included which Kitty has with her experience. Loved this team!
Smart Jocks, Book 2
By: Rebecca Jenshak
Narrated by: Teddy Hamilton, Summer Morton
Who doesn't want the hottest athlete on the basketball team to ask you out? Well, it seems Katrina doesn't! As a single mom in college, it's hard to find a time to have a social life with work, school and a child, not counting a dad who doesn't help out! But eventually, the man with the reputation, Joel, wears "Kitty" down and they begin to date. Joel is shocked by his feelings for Kitty, but are they strong enough to start a relationship? This book is so easy to get caught up in. Rebecca Jenshak has a style of writing that is easy to fall into, making us feel like we are experiencing all the emotional tugs as the story unfolds. What do I love the most about this one? I love that you can't always believe what you hear, you never know where love will find you and it's important to follow your heart. She brings it all to life with this one.
Jenshak's choice of narrators for this is perfect. I love Teddy Hamilton's voice, always an easy going sound. He has a way of having that comforting feel in his narrations. Summer Morton is a wonderful pick for Kitty. She has an inflection of maturity in her voice , yet pulls off the college age sound. It's like an older soul included which Kitty has with her experience. Loved this team!
juliettemarian's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
alwaysbooking's review
5.0
5 Looks can be deceiving stars!!!
Persistence is key, at least that is what Joel thinks. I really enjoyed this book, I loved getting the other side of Joel. He has such a loving family you would think that he was always the rich kid, but he wasn’t, and I loved that he came from sort of humble beginnings. I also wasn’t quite sure if he was jaded from love or just a player, so it was nice to see his reasoning behind not sticking to one woman at the time. Any time he was with Katrina’s son my heart melted because he knew exactly what to do which probably comes more from the huge family aspect also, he’s just a great guy. His friendships with all the guys are amazing which seems to be a theme throughout the books with this author.
Katrina is so freaking strong, and she of course must be since she is a young mom. I kind of wish she would realize though that she has more backup than she thinks when raising her son. I like that the father is sort of in this book and his family is, that doesn’t always happen in romance books with young kids and parents. She is an amazing mom, working and going to school which is the main reason she is turning down Joel. Of course, then he says he can get her the information she needs for her play, so she goes on a date with him. It was a different perspective to see that since she is a young mom, she isn’t having the normal college experience so going out drinking isn’t her thing so when someone says what do you want to drink, she has no idea how to respond. She has had such different life experiences than most of her friends and it makes her such an interesting character.
I didn’t think I would like this couple as much as I did, and I cried a little during some of the book. These books have so much more depth than I was looking for and I’m so glad a good friend suggested them to me.
Find more reviews at Alwaysbooking.wordpress.com
Persistence is key, at least that is what Joel thinks. I really enjoyed this book, I loved getting the other side of Joel. He has such a loving family you would think that he was always the rich kid, but he wasn’t, and I loved that he came from sort of humble beginnings. I also wasn’t quite sure if he was jaded from love or just a player, so it was nice to see his reasoning behind not sticking to one woman at the time. Any time he was with Katrina’s son my heart melted because he knew exactly what to do which probably comes more from the huge family aspect also, he’s just a great guy. His friendships with all the guys are amazing which seems to be a theme throughout the books with this author.
Katrina is so freaking strong, and she of course must be since she is a young mom. I kind of wish she would realize though that she has more backup than she thinks when raising her son. I like that the father is sort of in this book and his family is, that doesn’t always happen in romance books with young kids and parents. She is an amazing mom, working and going to school which is the main reason she is turning down Joel. Of course, then he says he can get her the information she needs for her play, so she goes on a date with him. It was a different perspective to see that since she is a young mom, she isn’t having the normal college experience so going out drinking isn’t her thing so when someone says what do you want to drink, she has no idea how to respond. She has had such different life experiences than most of her friends and it makes her such an interesting character.
I didn’t think I would like this couple as much as I did, and I cried a little during some of the book. These books have so much more depth than I was looking for and I’m so glad a good friend suggested them to me.
Find more reviews at Alwaysbooking.wordpress.com
daydreamingreview's review against another edition
3.0
3.5★
cute single mom x basketball player book, third act conflict had me feeling like this fell a little flat. I felt she should have made him grovel a little or something lol. Cute though, just wanted more really.
cute single mom x basketball player book, third act conflict had me feeling like this fell a little flat. I felt she should have made him grovel a little or something lol. Cute though, just wanted more really.
madisonlarissa's review
4.0
This book follows single mom Katrina and how she falls in love with basketball star Joel. Joel spends months coming to the coffee shop Katrina works at asking her to go out with him. I loved many things about this book, but especially Joel’s dedication to getting to be with Katrina.
I felt like the biggest miss with this book was Joel’s seeming abhorrence to love. He spends so much of the book acting like Katrina was going to hurt him and never gave himself the chance to just feel. Despite this, their love story was cute and quick. I wish we got to see more of Christian but that’s okay. I also wish we saw more of the consequences of Viktor being a horrible dad but Katrina was willing to forgive him.
I felt like the biggest miss with this book was Joel’s seeming abhorrence to love. He spends so much of the book acting like Katrina was going to hurt him and never gave himself the chance to just feel. Despite this, their love story was cute and quick. I wish we got to see more of Christian but that’s okay. I also wish we saw more of the consequences of Viktor being a horrible dad but Katrina was willing to forgive him.
lmeyer's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
charlottenw1's review against another edition
4.0
We're thrown back into the Smart Jock world.
Joel is a very charming character who knows how to work his magic on the ladies, which doesn't take much with his good looks and money. He's known for being a great player on and off the court until he meets his match with Katrina. As soon as he tries his pick-up lines on Katrina at the coffee shop where she works, he gets shut down and Joel has no idea what to do. So the next plausible step would be to pursue her relentlessly.
Katrina has someone else she needs to think about besides herself, her son Christian. She never wanted him to see her give up her dreams while she had a child so she moved to college and took Christine with him. In doing so she missed out on many after-college experiences but has no regrets. When Joel tries to step into the picture she has no qualms about turning him down. Again and again and again.
I loved how Rebecca incorporated Joel into Christian's life. He just slotted right in and it was so effortless, not cheesy or over the top. Christian was always an integral part of their relationship and not just an added extra. Christian was the result of the typical "one night of sex" situation and he was the result. Katrina was still very new to all the adventures that could happen in the bedroom and Joel loved showing her all the new things they could try together.
Joel is a very charming character who knows how to work his magic on the ladies, which doesn't take much with his good looks and money. He's known for being a great player on and off the court until he meets his match with Katrina. As soon as he tries his pick-up lines on Katrina at the coffee shop where she works, he gets shut down and Joel has no idea what to do. So the next plausible step would be to pursue her relentlessly.
Katrina has someone else she needs to think about besides herself, her son Christian. She never wanted him to see her give up her dreams while she had a child so she moved to college and took Christine with him. In doing so she missed out on many after-college experiences but has no regrets. When Joel tries to step into the picture she has no qualms about turning him down. Again and again and again.
I loved how Rebecca incorporated Joel into Christian's life. He just slotted right in and it was so effortless, not cheesy or over the top. Christian was always an integral part of their relationship and not just an added extra. Christian was the result of the typical "one night of sex" situation and he was the result. Katrina was still very new to all the adventures that could happen in the bedroom and Joel loved showing her all the new things they could try together.