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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
A standalone Sport Romance, unrelated to any of Anna Bloom’s back catalogue.
A woman with big balls – check
A moody, hot sportsman – check
An interesting back story – check
A cute kid – check
I was always going to love this book. This is my first Anna Bloom book, but having met and had a chat with her at a recent intimate book signing, I knew that out all her books, this would be right up my alley; and it really was.
I won’t get into a story overview, because the synopsis really does tell you all you need to know. What I will say though is that this book had everything I like in a sport related romance story. What I liked about this book was that it was in the world of the quintessentially British sport of Cricket. Now, before you think that isn’t for you… seriously it will be, because the beauty of this book is the balance that Anna has got just right. Yes, this is the world of Cricket, and it is a major part of both Lyssa’s and “the Lancashire Lion’s” lives, but you won’t be reading about runs, wickets and balls (well maybe some balls). This book is really about finding love when your first passion lays in a game. It is an engaging romance, without the sickly, boring and obvious insta-love. The characters have something about them, and both have great back stories. I enjoyed every single page.
So if you are looking for a great romance with a British voice, a book that will remind you of a beautiful summer day (maybe whilst holding a Pimms), then this really is a must read… even if you aren’t a fan of Cricket.
This review was originally posted on Perusing Princesses
When someone reviews with the words ‘if you liked Kulti, then you’ll love this one’, I actually expect to read something amazing and NEW.
What I don’t expect is a re-write of Kulti and Wait for It.
*****SPOILERS******
In this book the heroine is the coach. The hero is still the antagonist that is a form set super star (athletically). He retired and ended up being drunk all the time. This leads him to leave the retirement and give the up and coming team a chance.
Sounds familiar (hint: KULTI!!)
Then we have the heroine who’s ‘inherited’ her nephew when her brother died (WAIT FOR IT) and at a game, the nephew asks for the hero’s autograph, only to have him be a dickwad to the kid. When the heroine finds out and tells him off, he apologizes by giving the kid a ton of merchandise (KULTI!)
The heroine also has this cricket camp for the kids at her nephew’s school and the hero shows up with his friends and makes the heroine soooo grateful (STILL MOTHER FRICKIN KULTI!)
Oh, but we’re not done!
In the epilogue they are at her nephew’s cricket game and they’re joking about how ‘funny it is that we’re both super good at this sport but both our kids suck at it’....
Now why does this sound familiar?! Hmmm... it wasn’t in a Kulti... No, but it is up on Mariana Zapata’s website as a KULTI outtake/ future scene.
No... just NO!
Moderate: Sexual content
I enjoyed this story and read it all in one sitting. Jase is a complex with his own issues buried under his a/hole exterior. And Alyssa is self sacrificing lamb, all for the greater good. I love how this story came full circle and there are so many sweet and memorable points that made my heart swoon. Maybe having and understanding of cricket and my first crushes on cricketers made this story all the more impressionable for me.
4 BOWL ME OVER STARS.
I really don’t like cricket. If I were to pick a sport, I’d take rugby any day. Cricket is right up there with golf on my list of sports I’m not interested in list. Nevertheless, as I’ve enjoyed quite a few baseball reads I decided I would give a cricket book a read. After all, it was only fair of me to read a book set in the sporting world on my side of the pond.
Not to mention, I’ve recently become a big fan of Anna Bloom. I love her Truth About Love stories, super excited for the next one, and I decided if anyone could make cricket interesting it would be Anna Bloom. After all, the synopsis alone was interesting – I was hopeful the rest of the book would grab my attention just as much.
It turns out that the book was even more than I’d anticipated. Whilst cricket is the backdrop to the story, you do not need to know or like the sport to enjoy this story. In many ways, you could substitute cricket to any sport – all that would change is the specific details of the sporting world. I’m oversimplifying to the extreme, I admit, but I’m merely trying to highlight how this isn’t a cricket book with romance rather it is a romance book with cricket.
As I’ve come to expect from Anna Bloom, this book was thoroughly addictive. From the very first page, you’re pulled into the story, addicted, unable to put it down. It was one of those wonderful stories that begged me to read it in a single sitting, despite how I didn’t start my reading until the early hours of the morning. Sleep took second place to finding out how this story played out. I needed answers. I needed to see how everything came together.
This book has so many elements – enemies to lovers, past ghosts, finding oneself, to name a few – and each element is woven together so beautifully. Everything links back to a gripping story, told through wonderful characters. If forced to choose what I loved more – the amazing storyline or the brilliant characters – I would be unable to do so, because this book hit all the spots. If I knew cricket lingo I would crack some kind of joke regarding it being a high scorer (I want to say it’s a sixer, but I fear I’m wrong here).
Honestly, this is a prime example of Anna Bloom’s work. It is wonderful, and I cannot wait to pick up even more of her work. I have a couple on my Kindle I have yet to read, but I know they won’t last me long – as soon as I’m done, I’ll be eagerly anticipating her next release. If you’ve yet to pick up an Anna Bloom book, I would certainly recommend this one.
Ever if, like me, you’re not a fan of cricket (or even sports), this book is wonderfully gripping and well worth the read.