Readers will find themselves charmed by baseball player Holt the moment they see the sparks fly between him and a hardworking young woman in a romance of opposites attracting. Keep reading to get a tempting taste of The Strike Out by Meghan Quinn, along with my impressions of it, then add this sensual and flirtatious addition to the boys of Brentwood baseball series to your bookshelf too!
It started with one night out with the boys.
She was the hot diner waitress putting herself through school.
I was the rich, arrogant player everyone misjudges.
On paper we didn’t match.
Yet all it took was one day. One single day to change her mind.
She wasn’t planning to spend her day off with me.
She wasn’t supposed to fall for my charm.
But one day, one smile, turned into several nights of her calling out my name.
I’m not the guy she should end up with. I’m jealous, possessive. Not here for a long time - just a good time.
She’s changed me.
But, for some reason, I feel her slipping through my fingers and no matter what I do, I fear I’m going to strike out with the one and only girl I’ve ever fallen for.
EXCERPT:
“Four patty melts, then?” Harmony asks, with a little more attitude in her voice than before.
“That would be—"
“Is there something wrong?” I ask, interrupting Knox before he can say something douchey like “that would be lovely."
“Nope.” She pops the P with a snap of her lips and refuses to look at any of us.
“Then the patty melts would be—"
“Do you have something against us being on the baseball team?” I ask, turning my entire body toward her. Carson groans. He becomes “ravenous” when he’s drunk, and I know all he wants is his patty melt with a plateful of fries, but I want some answers first.
The stigma on campus is that the players on the Brentwood baseball team are entitled assholes—which might be true for some of the players who’ve worked through the system, but not for us. There’s also a good chance, at least once a day, that we run into a student on campus who hates us. Didn’t think it would happen before school started.
“Dude, you’re so aggressive right now,” Knox says. “Maybe she just—"
“Yeah, I do.” Harmony props her hand on her hip.
“Okay, never mind.” Knox leans back in his booth and folds his arms over his chest.
“Let me guess,” I say in an irritated and affronted tone. “You think we’re a bunch of entitled assholes who rule the campus and don’t deserve half the benefits we receive for being on the team."
She folds her arms as well and with a whole lot of sass, she says, “Yeah, I do. Your expensive stadium, equipment, staff, and full-ride scholarships eat up half the tuition on this campus, leaving nothing for us peasants. You’re obnoxious, self-righteous, and think the world revolves around you. Meanwhile, the rest of the students around you work at shitty diners, earning low wages, serving drunk morons like you at all hours of the night, just to put ourselves through college so we can earn a degree, graduate to a shitty job that won’t pay for our student loans, and wind up in debt with the rest of the country.”
Yikes.
Silence falls. What do you say to that?
Clearly, she’s bitter, but with the passion flaming in her eyes and the claws ready to shoot from her fingertips, I think I should slowly back away.
Jason takes that moment to appear from the bathroom, and he sits with a resounding plop. He glances around and asks, “Did you order me a patty melt?"
Rolling her eyes, Harmony takes off toward the kitchen, leaving us concerned. Is she going to put in our order? Because we want our patty melts.
FIND AT GOODREADS here.
MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
From the moment I read the first book in the Brentwood University universe I was hooked! I was captivated by the witty banter, fun and flirty exchanges, steamy encounters, and especially the delicious baseball players who balance love with their sport. By the turn of the final page this story becomes a wonderful addition to this world and it was an entertaining romance that charmed me, while putting a smile on my face, as I watched two people from different worlds navigate their way to HEA.
Holt Green is a big city boy who comes from a family of wealth. He has a talent when it comes to playing baseball that has made him one of the Big Men On Campus and it has him beloved by some while hated by others. From the outside he appears to have it all, but looking past his laughing and carefree nature is a man of substance and worth....a man Harmony's going to have a hard time ignoring. Holt's a delightful hero, one with a kind and generous heart and he wins over Harmony through small acts and flirtatious banter that had me drooling over him. A past near-death experience has left him with a zest for life, a positive outlook that's infectious and his scenes with Harmony utterly charmed me because of this. That's not to say that he's perfect though as halfway through the story his alpa side, his jealous side, came through and had me wanting to slug him a time or two before he matured into the man worthy of a HEA with Harmony.
Harmony Styles is a young woman from the Midwest, someone who's had to work hard for everything she has. She always longed for big city life and is finally experiencing it at Brentwood University. Things haven't gone smoothly for her though as tuition is a constant struggle and she's still nursing a bruised heart because of time spent with a duplicitous football player right after she started college. It's tainted how she sees other athletes, has her seeing them in the worst light, and is the impetus to the fireworks between her and Holt the moment they meet. Through every up and down Harmony's a wonderful heroine, one who doesn't take guff off of anyone and it leads to lots of crackling encounters between her and Holt. Exchanges that start out fun and flirty soon turn sensual in a journey that had me rooting them on every step of the way. She's strong-willed and tells it like it is, but behind that tough facade is an air of self-doubt that drew me to her and had me waiting for Holt to prove her beliefs wrong....and boy, did he ever!
This was just the book I needed to start my 2021 right! Fun and flirty banter brought these two apparent opposites together, but time spent getting to really know each other led to heartfelt exchanges and an emotionally engaging romance that boded well for their future. Their witty and laugh out loud banter made for a carefree romance, but moments of heartfelt talks led to a satisfying connection that made them better together than apart. Along with this entertaining main couple were reappearances of the other Brentwood ballplayers of Knox, Carson, and Jason which added extra moments of levity as well as a delightful sense of brotherhood. Harmony's friend Priya was another highlight and is the kind of heroine you can't help wanting to hang out with. From start to finish Ms. Quinn has crafted another winner with a sizzling romance, fun and flirty banter, and a crackling connection that completely won me over. Fans of sports-fueled romances, as well as rom-coms, will want to add this series set in the world of collegiate ballplaying to their must-read list as it's a romance that you won't want to miss!
My rating for this is an A.
*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
AUTHOR INFO:
USA Today Bestselling Author, wife, adoptive mother, and peanut butter lover. Author of romantic comedies and contemporary romance, Meghan Quinn brings readers the perfect combination of heart, humor, and heat in every book.
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