Called Up by Jen Doyle
Series: Called It, #2
Contemporary Romance
Carina Press
August 29, 2016

Reviewed by Kini

There’s one thing Max “Deke” Deacon can always count on besides his old high school teammates: Angelica “Fitz” Hawkins. But no matter how much Deke might secretly fantasize otherwise, a relationship with one of his best friends is off limits. Until one unexpectedly smoldering encounter has Deke and Fitz giving in to the feelings they’ve both been fighting for far too long.

Fitz knows for a fact that it is not better to have loved and lost. After losing her parents, she’d rather lock up her heart and throw away the key than endure that kind of pain again. If that means giving up any hope of a lasting relationship, then so be it.

But with Deke, Fitz feels dangerously close to falling in love. She can’t risk another broken heart–especially if it means losing one of her best friends for good. Now it’s up to Deke to convince her that the safest place she could ever be is right here with him. (Blurb)

This is not listed as part of a series but it is definitely related to the previous book that came out earlier this year. Amazon labels it as a “sports romance” and the cover does have a baseball on it but I think those are a little misleading. Fitz’s brother, Nate also the hero from the previous book, is a baseball player and Fitz runs his charitable organization. I think this book would read okay as a stand alone, but the reader would probably benefit from having read the first book.

Fitz is a prickly and closed off heroine. She has suffered a lot of hurt and loss in her life. She lost both of her parents in a tornado. In her work life, she is pretty confident, yet longs to be out of Iowa to be seen as more than Nate’s sister and all the other family drama that she feels plagued with. She was subjected to some serious mean girl behavior in high school and she carries those wounds with her. I would label Fitz as difficult, broken, and extremely stubborn, but not at all unlikeable. Although for someone who proclaimed to have spent several years in therapy, she still had a lot of issues connecting with people and believing in her place in their lives and theirs in her. I feel like I had a lot of feelings and thoughts about Fitz, and Deke was just there.

There is a very complicated backstory about her parents, her dad is also the father of Nate and siblings from book 1. Their dad left Nate’s mom and then started a family with Fitz’s mom but neither knew the other existed until Fitz ended up in their town when her parents died. Again, kind of complicated and hard to explain here. Anyway, Fitz ends up in this small town and becomes part of the family that her father left behind. And it was weird for her. She never felt fully accepted, mostly because she put up walls and never fully let anyone in. Except the hero, Deke.

Deke is the owner/bartender of the local bar. He is the quintessential good guy, enjoying small town life and the ladies that live there. He also plays up his, “I’m the guy that stuck around in the small town” and uses that as a crutch of sorts.

Deke and Fitz are best friends that hang out all the time and love each other but in a very platonic way. When the story opens, they both are starting to change their perception of the other and starting to see them as more as BFFs. Neither wants to risk losing what they have.

One of my notes to myself while reading was “this is sweet and heavy.” I feel like that is a good summary of their story. Deke has a sweet love for Fitz, although they do engage in some dirty smexy times, yet he wants to be her partner and by her side.

“He just wanted her to be HER. Both Fitz and Angelica.”

Deke doesn’t want her to change so much as he wants what they have between them to change.

This story felt slightly unusual to me. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it, but it really felt like Fitz’s story that happened to feature Deke and not their story together. I did enjoy this story, it was more emotional and heavy than I expected, but so is life. Fitz was flawed and uncertain. Deke was a solid hero. I liked reading their story and seeing them progress to their HEA. I feel like Fitz will stick with me, but Deke will fade away.

Edited to add: Amazon doesn’t list this as part of a series but Goodreads does. (T)

Grade: C

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