Love of the Game by Lori Wilde (Stardust, Texas #3)
Released: April 26, 2016
Avon
Reviewed by Mandi
Axel Richmond is a pitcher for the Dallas Gunslingers. An expansion team, he feels like he hasn’t quite made it in life, and his real dream is to play for the New York Yankees (I’ll try to forgive him *wink*). But before anything can happen in his life, he needs to rehab his shoulder. After doing physical therapy and pushing himself as hard as possible, the team doctors still say he is not where he needs to be to get back on the mound. He is actually doing worse. Frustrated, he has one final hope…
Kasha is a new physical therapist for the Gunslingers, and is on a three-month probation period. If she does well in these three months, the job is officially hers, but her boss warns her it’s a very tough job. When she observes Axel in the training room getting frustrated with the doctors, Kasha decides to step in. Her idea is that he takes more of a break. Practice yoga, do soothing exercises instead of his all-out training. While the doctors want to do an experimental surgery, Kasha asks if she could have some time with him to do it her way, and see if it improves. They decide if she is successful, her probation is over and she has the job. If she isn’t, well, she might be job hunting sooner than she thinks.
To add to Kasha’s job drama, a few weeks prior she learned she has a half-sister with downs syndrome. Kasha is adopted and adores her parents, but to have an actual blood relative is something she always dreamed of. Her sister, twenty-three, lives in a group home, as she is unable to care completely for herself. Kasha gets to know her sister and starts to make plans to live with her permanently.
There is also the whole…falling in love with an arrogant baseball player thing too.
Qverall this book is pretty enjoyable, but I did have a hard time getting into it. I think my problem is that we are slammed with the lust Kasha and Axel feel for each other right away – it’s a little over the top. And I kind of feel that with Kasha’s more uptight personality, it felt out of place. Once the story settles down a bit, and we get to know Kasha better, and she gets to know Axel better, than the lust made more sense.
I really enjoyed Kasha – she is professional with big dreams of being a physical therapist. While she tries her best to give Axel soothing massages and teach him yoga, his big charming personality and pure muscled athletic body is hard for her to ignore. Axel is very flirty and all charm, but it’s more bravado hiding a dark pain he has kept to himself the past couple of years. Once I got to know him a little better instead of his constant flirtation, I liked him more.
I liked Kasha’s sister’s storyline – but I also felt like at times she is portrayed too much like a child, instead of an adult with downs syndrome. That bothered me at times. But it is addressed as the book goes on.
I think this is my first Lori Wilde book – It read fine as a stand alone although supporting characters are mentioned from I assume previous books.
Grade: C+
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