Customer Reviews

Strike Zone (Richmond Rogues, Book 3)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the 3rd book in the series featuring the Richmond Rogue's Baseball team.

3 years ago Taylor Hannah left the love of her life at the altar in order to mend her grieving heart the only way she knew how, by seeking dangerous adventures. Brek Stryker got on with his life playing for the Rogues and finding a woman who is the exact opposite of Taylor; a woman he plans on marrying. Taylor heads back to Richmond to make amends and ends up making waves instead.

Taylor and Brek have a lot of the past to rehash and work on, while her sister Eve and relief pitcher, Sloan McCaffrey, have a lot of new ground to cover. The two sisters are very different as are Brek and Sloan, each lends their own flavor to the story.

My only complaint with this story was the same I had with the last, sharing stories. Her characters have enough depth and allure to have their own book, they deserve their own book. This time around the spotlight sharing didn't bother me half as much as last time, but the book could have explored each couple further within their own pages.

As for those yummy Rogue boys, Ms. Angell sets up what I hope will be the star in the next story with a new team member and a bit of a loner, Kason Rhodes.

This is one of the stories that had me fighting with myself, one part of me wanted to rush to the finish, the other part kept telling me to slow down and savor. The impatience in me always wins out and I ended up finishing this in a day. I loved ever minute of it. If only real baseball was this exciting!

Squeeze Play
Curveball

Cherise Everhard, March 2008

In Richmond, Virginia three years ago, Taylor Hannah broke her engagement to Rogue pitcher Brek Stryker as she needed to grieve the sudden death of her parents alone. She always felt that once she healed she could go home to heal what she broke off with her beloved Brek until now. Her sister sends the Thrill-seeker guide a clipping from the Virginia Banner announcing that Brek is engaged to marry Mayor Talbot's daughter Hilary. Leaving Paris for Richmond, Taylor comes home for her Brek.

However, Brek wants nothing to do with the woman who humiliated him three years ago on their wedding day when she fled town even if she does outrageous stunts like being the mascot Rally to get his attention. Meanwhile relief pitcher Sloan McCaffery makes a pitch towards Taylor until he finds himself thinking of her sister Eve as he sits in the bullpen; neither sister wants anything to do with Sloan who wants to kiss her between the strikes if she will kiss him between the balls (paraphrasing Soupy Sales).

This is an excellent baseball romance in which two couples fall in love. Taylor and Brek are the prime show as she tries to prove to her beloved they still belong together like hot dog and mustard. Sloan and Eve almost steal home from the lead pair as their support subplot brings extra runs to the latest Rogue sports tale (see CURVEBALL and SQUEEZE PLAY)..

Harriet Klausner

Warning - contains spoiler.
Kate Angell, one of my favourite authors is getting better and better. Her last book "Strike Zone" of the boys of summer series is just perfect. Although it's part of a series you can read it without knowing "Squeeze Play" and "Curveball" but I recommend you to read these books because they are so good.
Back to "Strike Zone", it's about Taylor Hannah and Brek Stryker. Three years ago Taylor left Brek at the day of their wedding (literally in front of the altar), but never stopped loving him. Then she felt pressured to marry him only months after her parents died and needed some time alone to deal with it. So the last three years she worked as an adventure guide and had no contact with Brek but is still shocked to read that he is planning to marry again.
Feeling that she has to finally solve the situation with Brek she comes back to Richmond. Brek is absolutly not interested in hearing anything Taylor has to say, but when Taylor is forced to stay longer than planed because of a knee injury he can't avoid her and his feelings any longer. When Brek is severly hurt too while playing ball and Taylor is there for him they both have to handle their feelings and finally the past.
Kate Angell gives us another love story involving Eve, Taylors sister, and Sloan, a pitcher on Breks team. Taylor doesn't trust the arrogant Sloan and thinks he only wants to play with her and Sloan realizes that Eve is perfect for him and that he has to stop being a player to have a chance with her.
Both love stories are great and I only wished the book had way more pages because I enjoyed it so much.
IMO this is a must read, so if you are a romance fan buy yourself a copy immediately, enjoy reading it and then start waiting for Angells next book of the series hopefully with more of Kason (a new dark, bad boy on the team).
Enjoy
S.M.

STORY BRIEF:
This is the third book in the series about the Richmond Rogues baseball players. This book has two interspersed short stories about two baseball players (pitchers) and the women in their lives.

Three years earlier Taylor and Brek were engaged. After her parents died in a plane crash, Taylor was emotionally messed up. She ran away from Brek on the day of their wedding. Since then Taylor has traveled around the world as a thrill-seeking adventure guide. Brek began dating the mayor's daughter Hillary. Taylor's sister Eve sent a letter to Taylor saying Brek was engaged to Hillary. Taylor was so unsettled that she couldn't concentrate and was injured in a skiing accident. She came home to Richmond to heal and to see Brek one more time.

Sloan loves his groupies and is attracted to Taylor. He wants to spend time with Taylor (because she's hot) and asks Eve to register him for one of Taylor's adventure trips. Taylor and Eve throw a birthday party for their grandmother Addie. Sloan crashes the party so he can see Taylor. Eve tries to stop him at the door, and he pushes his way in telling Addie that he is Eve's date. Eve hates the type of guy Sloan is and tries to avoid him. He never dates the same woman more than three times, and he's proud of it. Circumstances continue putting Eve and Sloan together. Eve is the opposite of Taylor. She runs the office for their guide business and is an artist on the side.

REVIEWER'S OPINION (WITH SPOILERS):
As with the other books in this series, I like this baseball world and the characters in it. It's fun reading. This was my least favorite, but I'm still glad I read it.

I enjoyed the Sloan and Eve story, but I had trouble with the end. I didn't understand why Sloan wanted to settle down with Eve. He was too young and enjoyed his groupies too much. That logic was hard for me to buy, but still it was a fun story.

Don't expect the traditional romance story about Taylor and Brek. We don't see them getting to know each other which is usually the best part for me. He was angry and hurt after she left him at the altar. Most of the book has them separated, and we're wondering if and how they will ever get back together. Then near the end it looks like they will, but there is a new separation. I had to read it twice to figure out why. It was just odd. He said one thing. She thought it meant another. So she left him. I felt like the author was creating an unnecessary additional separation before they got together.

There was an interesting side story about Brek's relationship with Hillary, but it needed more of an ending. I wanted to know if the mayor won his election, if he got the funds mentioned, what happened to the bad guys. I wanted to see some pain and justice done to certain people.

DATA:
Story length: 259 pages. Swearing language: moderate. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 5. Total number of sex scene pages: 12. Setting: current day Virginia and France. Copyright: 2008. Genre: contemporary sports romance.

OTHER BOOKS:
Although not required, I recommend reading them in order if you're interested in the entire series. It's a fun light-hearted-sports-romance series. For a list of my reviews of other Kate Angell books, see my 5 star review of "Sliding Home" posted 9-18-09.

At $0.00 this book is only slightly overpriced. I fought my way through it. The love/sex story is dumb. Supposedly "strong" women who will jump into bed if the man is "chizeled". The baseball part is not believable. I doubt the author is much of real baseball fan. Not a good book. I was especially dismayed to see that an 8 year old reviewed this book, with its graphic sex. Disappointing all around.

I love romance books and I love romance, so I was excited to see this book up as a kindle freebie, but for me this was not worth downloading, even for free.

The storyline is choppy, jumping back and forth from one couple to another. Although there are some fun moments (Eve and Sloan's paintball fight was great) and at times the chemistry really sizzles, at other times Angell resorts to simply summing up several MONTHS worth of interaction. We never really get to see the development of the romance, or in the case of Brek & Taylor, the re-development. Instead, the scenes I enjoyed were like snapshots of their relationship, strung together by a weak explanation of what happened to get them to the next point.

In addition, many of the characters' motivations were not well-justified, the "villains" were fairly cartoonish and their storyline unresolved. Instead of this book, try another Kindle freebie which I found much more enjoyable and more well-written, "Speed Dating" by Nancy Warren.

I loved Strike Zone....I just can't get enough of those Richmond Rogues! :) I really hope she takes on Kason Rhodes in the next one. I just a have thing for those bad boys! :) He really intrigued me!

Brek Stryker is having the year of his life. He is in position to break all of his father's pitching records, and he is engaged to marry the mayor of the town. Not only is he engaged, but his fiancée is nothing like his last one (Taylor) and he thinks that this is just what he needs.

Taylor is stunned when her sister Eve lets her know Brek is getting married. She has always thought she would be able to talk with him about why she left him at the alter all those years ago. Now she might not get the chance. So she actually bangs up her knee while skiing and comes back to Richmond to make amends. The problem is that instead of making amends, she ends up making things worse. She realizes she is still in love with Brek who wants nothing to do with her. Additionally, Brek's relief pitcher (Sloan) seems to be hitting on her when he really is attracted to her sister Eve. Will Sloan and Eve get together? Or will he live up to his love`em and leave`em reputation.

Suddenly things don't seem to be as good in Brek's life as in the past. He is still drawn to Taylor, his fiancée is trying to keep a distance that he doesn't like, and there is a rumor that his batting nemesis might be traded to his team. When Taylor ends up in the hospital from her knee injury, he decides that he will be the friend she needs to get better. Will the rest of his life straighten out? Will they acknowledge the flames that are still between them?

Taylor and Brek were the main characters of Strike Zone, but I almost liked the secondary story between Eve and Sloan better. But then again, that is like choosing between chocolate and oh, chocolate, as all four characters are written so well that it was easy to become involved in their lives. Strike Zone is the latest in the Boys of Summer series and Ms. Angell just might convert me to baseball after all. I enjoy reading about the lives and times of characters we have met in the past and their interactions with the new ones. I also want to point out that you do not need to read the series in order, though if you start with Strike Zone, you will find yourself hunting for the others. I have to say that if there is any complaint I have with Strike Zone, it is that I will have to wait another year to read the next in the series. It is with great pleasure that I am Joyfully Recommending Strike Zone.

Tanya
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Kate Angell's writing style is not for me. This is the first book I've read from this author and I can't see myself reading any more of her books. The book was recommended to me because I'd read similar books by Rachel Gibson and Susan Elizabeth Phillips but it would be like comparing water to wine to compare this book to theirs.

The writing was really cheesey at times and I've never before come across such a collection of ridiculous character names like, - Brek Stryker, Risk Kincaid and Kason Rhodes, gimme a break! I felt that Taylor and Brek barely featured together at all till the last quarter of the book and more time and effort seemed to be given to Sloan and Eve's story.

I struggled to finish this book and skipped many pages on the way.

This is my first book by Ms. Angell. It was a fun, breezy bit of fluff. And if you take it at that - it's wonderful. It's a great book when you don't want anything too deep.

However, the reasons for only 3 stars are: it was totally predicatable (as are all romaces, I suppose, but this really had no surprises.) Some of the baseball stuff was silly (5 Cy Youngs and I forget how many golden gloves for Brek -come on!) And, last but not least, the cutesy names. Sorry, but this drives me nuts. A pitcher named Stryker???