sportsromance – Page 6 – Sincerely Karen Jo

Hello beautiful bookish friends! Welcome to my Blog Tour Stop for The Game Can’t Love You Back by Karole Cozzo hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. Today, I have my review to share and I can honestly say that this book was cute, funny, and heartwarming. I really enjoyed reading about Eve and Jamie and cannot wait for you to meet them. Don’t forget to stay until the end and join the giveaway! aboutthebook2

The Game Can’t Love You Back
Karole Cozzo
(Swoon Reads)
Publication date: May 15th 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

Eve is used to being the odd woman out. As the only girl on her school’s baseball team, she knows exactly how to put sweaty, macho baseball players in their place, and she’s focused on one thing and one thing only—being the best pitcher she can be.

But when a freak accident forces her high school to be absorbed by the neighboring town, Eve has to contend with a new group of guys who aren’t used to having a woman on their team. And the new team’s star pitcher, Jamie, has no interest in being ousted from his throne. He can’t afford to give up his starting slot to a new pitcher—even worse, to a girl.

As the competition between Jamie and Eve starts to heat up, so does their attraction to each other. Can they keep their heads in the game, or will they end up getting played?

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Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

reviewrating

4halfhearts

Heartwarming, Cute, and Incredibly Inspiring reviewthoughts

I think I’m slowly warming up to sports themed books and might just be my newest obsession. I didn’t really care for them that much before since I’m not into sports, but the books I’ve read in the past few months were pretty darn good. The Game Can’t Love You Back by Karole Cozzo was no exception and I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would. I even had tears in the end and couldn’t stop smiling and swooning.

Enemies to lovers stories are just the absolute the best. I love the angst, the tension, the bantering, the build-up, and of course the romance. Karole Cozzo did fantastically and managed to create a genuine, realistic, and believable story about two rivals who end up falling for each other. Eve and Jamie totally had me going crazy with all the FEELS and I loved it! From their not so nice insults to their adorably cute bantering, they made me gush and root for them. I thought their story was beautifully written and devloped with plenty of sweet moments and swoony kisses.

Eve and Jamie were so frustrtingly cute together and their chemistry was amazing. They were both incredibly competitive and did not give up too easily. Eve was fiesty and ridiculously stubborn, but also incredibly hard-working, dedicated and smart. Jamie had a reputation of being a player and was sometimes a jerk, so it took a while to win me over. However, by the end of the book, I can honetly say that he’s more than earned his place in my heart. Underneath all his bravado, Jamie actually had such a big heart and was really a sweet guy. Together they were kind of a mess, but also pretty darn perfect.

The Game Can’t Love You Back was a heartwarming and delightful story about acceptance and taking chances. It’s funny and cute, but also genuine and wonderfully inspiring. I loved the writing, the characters and the crazy bantering that went from horribly sour to sugary sweet. This was definitely a home run for me and I cannot wait to read more books by Cozzo.

I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley for participating in a Blog Tour hosted by Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

authorbio2 Karole lives outside of Philadelphia, PA with her loving husband, exuberant little girl, and smiley little boy. She adores YA Romance, because it would be awesome if life in general had a requisite feel-good happy ending rule. Vices include obscene Haribo gummy consumption, addiction to Starbucks NF vanilla lattes, and tendency to hoard Bath and Body Works 3-wick candles. followtheauthor2 Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter entergiveaway2 Join the Rafflecopter Giveaway

Thanks for stopping by everyone. I hope you enjoyed reading my review.

Have a lovely day!

sincerelykarenjoendsign

bookreview

Hello everyone! I hope you’re all having a fantastic week. Mines has been quite busy, but I am so darn excited for this weekend because of Yallwest!!! But more on that later one. Today, I want to share my review for this fun and charming YA contemporary romance.

outofleftfield

4hearts

Cute, fun and entertaining

aboutthebook2

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance Sports

Release Date: May 1, 2018

There’s no playing it safe in love or baseball in this sparkling debut, perfect for fans of Morgan Matson and Kasie West.

Marnie has never had a hard time fitting in with the guys. It would take a lot more than their goofy antics to keep her from joining them at the neighborhood sandlot to do what she loves best: play ball.

An added perk of hanging out at the sandlot? Spending time with Cody Kinski, their high school’s star pitcher and Marnie’s best friend. Sure, he can be stubborn and annoying. He also knows how to make her laugh and respects her skills on the mound. And when he gets nailed in the arm by a bone-fracturing pitch, Marnie becomes the team’s best chance at making it to the playoffs. Except no one told the guys they’re supposed to be on her side.

With her own team against her, Marnie begins questioning her abilities. And when fate throws her a curveball, can she play without losing the game, Cody, and her belief in herself?

reviewthoughts
Out of Left Field by Kris Hui Lee is a lighthearted and charming YA contemporary read!

I’m not really into sports that much, so I don’t find myself immediately drawn to sports-themed books. I just never really know if I’ll enjoy the plot since I don’t do sports at all and most likely wouldn’t be able to relate to the characters. But, I do love romance and friends-to-lovers stories. The premise for Out of Left Field also sounded really cute and fun, so I figured why not. Well, I definitely do not regret requesting. This book was heartwarming, sweet, and so cute it made my heart melt. I loved the friendships, the MC chasing her dream no matter what, and of course the romance. I thought the writing was decent, but wished there were more scenes that actually showed me rather than telling me this or that. The characters were likeable to some extent. They’re teenagers after all, so it’s expected that they got on my nerves every now and then. While I did find some parts a bit repetitive and frustrating, I still really enjoyed the story.

I liked Marnie well enough. She was the typical angsty teenager trying to find her place and go after her dream. She obviously did not always make the right decisions and had her own insecurities, but she was also strong and fierce. I admired her talent, determination, and the way she always stood up for herself. Cody was absolutely adorable and I really liked him a lot. He was sweet and incredibly supportive of Marnie. He encouraged her and truly believed in her potential. I really wish there were more scenes with him in the book. I would have loved to see Cody and Marnie interact more, rather than have the other characters describe how they really felt for each other.

So, as you can guess, the romance was relatively slow, but it was totally cute and heartwarming. I love romance in general, so whether it’s insta-love or not, as long as the story works and it makes some sense to me, then I usually have fun with it. I definitely did with this one and enjoyed the tension. I thought the story wrapped up nicely and I turned off my kindle with a smile on my face.

There were some things that could have been better, but overall, Out of Left Field was a delightful debut novel. With cute moments, fun bantering, and adorable romance, this was just the fluffy lighthearted read I needed. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for Kris Hui Lee’s future works and would recommend this book to anyone in the mood of something quick, sweet and entertaining.

I received an advance reader copy from the publisher, Sourcebooks Fire, via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

authorbio2

Kris is a contemporary YA author who found success through the online writing contest Pitch Wars in 2015, where her submitted manuscript eventually became her debut novel OUT OF LEFT FIELD.

She is also a graphic designer and pianist.

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Goodreads – Twitter – Tumblr

Hope you enjoyed reading my review. Have you read this book? What did you think? Leave your comments down below. I’d love to hear from you. As always, have a wonderful day lovelies!

sincerelykarenjoendsign