Back In
the Game
Stardust, Texas # 1
Stardust, Texas # 1
By: Lori Wilde
Releasing February 24th, 2015
Avon
Rafflecopter Giveaway (Print Bundle including: BACK IN THE GAME and Twilight Texas Series Books 1-5)
Blurb
New York Times bestselling author Lori Wilde welcomes you to Stardust, Texas . . . where dreams come true and love is always right around the corner
Wanted:
ghostwriter. Must be female, a baseball fan, and have a great pair of legs.
Ex-pitcher
Rowdy Blanton never saw a woman he couldn't conquer or a team he couldn't beat.
And now that he's off the field he's ready to tell all about when he played the
field. So he chooses Breeanne Carlyle to do the job-she's got the requirements,
but more important, there's something about her that makes him want to be a
better man.
Convinced
there's more to Rowdy than a good fastball, a wicked smile, and a tight pair of
pants, Breeanne can't help but be tempted. After all, it's boring always being
the good girl, and Rowdy dares her to be just a little bad. The stakes are
high, but win or lose, this time Breeanne's breaking all the rules playing the game of love.
My Review:
Wow! BACK IN THE GAME is the first book in Lori Wilde's new contemporary romance series set in Stardust, Texas and boy does it rock! Rowdy is a pied piper who attracts women like bees on honey and then he meets prim and proper Breeanne. This is such a fast paced and "breezy" romance, I found myself laughing out loud nearly non-stop during this wonderful sports romance. Rowdy and Breeanne were made for each other and how they meet is hysterical. Even during more serious issues, you are rooting for this couple's HEA. I truly loved Rowdy's joy for life. It was so infectious and when the sheltered Breeanne came on board as his ghostwriter, he inspires her to grab onto life, too. Add some fun friends and family, hilarious banter, and a little dose of magic and you have a wonderful start to a brand new romance series which is guaranteed to be a big hit!
My Review:
Wow! BACK IN THE GAME is the first book in Lori Wilde's new contemporary romance series set in Stardust, Texas and boy does it rock! Rowdy is a pied piper who attracts women like bees on honey and then he meets prim and proper Breeanne. This is such a fast paced and "breezy" romance, I found myself laughing out loud nearly non-stop during this wonderful sports romance. Rowdy and Breeanne were made for each other and how they meet is hysterical. Even during more serious issues, you are rooting for this couple's HEA. I truly loved Rowdy's joy for life. It was so infectious and when the sheltered Breeanne came on board as his ghostwriter, he inspires her to grab onto life, too. Add some fun friends and family, hilarious banter, and a little dose of magic and you have a wonderful start to a brand new romance series which is guaranteed to be a big hit!
Excerpt #2
The
old boy sat on his haunches, tail wagging, staring at Rowdy with love and
concern shining in his big brown eyes.
At the
sight of his bloodhound, the throbbing ebbed, his stomach settled and a
helpless smile overtook his face. He scooted onto his side, and patted a spot
beside him.
It
took the bloodhound a minute to position his aging legs, but he managed the
short hop onto the lounger. Rowdy wrapped his arms around his dog, hugged him
tight, buried his nose in Nolan’s fur, and for one brief moment felt no pain.
He
closed his eyes. Drifted back to sleep.
Found
baseball again. Found the lost dream. Touched peace.
The
seventh inning stretch. Blue skies. Balmy weather. “Take Me Out to the
Ballgame.” Hot dogs. Roasted peanuts. Beer. Pretzels. Dot Races. The familiar
feel of a leather glove against his right palm, the ball weighted in his left
hand. Two hundred and sixteen stitches on a Major League baseball sewn in red
cotton thread.
This
was his whole world. His life. The ball. The diamond. The game.
A
crack of the bat.
So
went the duel between pitcher and batter. The declarative noise he both loved
and hated.
Contact.
The
batter knocking his left-handed screwball back at him. Line drive? Pop up fly?
Foul ball? Home run?
He
looked up, following the ball, but the blue skies disappeared, replaced mysteriously
by velvet night.
Neon
lights spiked the darkness. A woman’s perfume scented his collar. Loud music
vibrated the ground. Distant laughter. A Dumpster. The fetid stench of garbage
seized his nose. He was on the ground. Fetal position. Right arm held defensively
over his face. Left arm separated from his shoulder at the socket, hanging
useless at his side.
Ambushed.
Pain.
Electric. Stunning. Shiny. Blue-white. Razor-toothed. Relentless. So much
goddamn pain.
A man
stood over him. Fierce. Swarthy. Extravagantly muscled. Thick black hair. Pit-of-hell
black eyes. Flaring nostrils. The tattoo of a striking cobra inked on his right
forearm. Louisville Slugger cocked over his shoulder. With each swing of the
bat the snake undulated in the yellow glow of the alley security lamp.
His
attacker yelling with every whack, again, and again, “Stay away from my wife!”
A
crack of the bat.
A crush
of bone.
And
life as he knew it was over.
Author Info
New York Times and USA
Today bestselling author, Lori Wilde has sold seventy-eight works of fiction to
four major New York Publishing houses.
Her first NYT bestseller,
the third book in her Twilight, Texas series, The First Love Cookie Club has
been optioned for a television movie. The town of Granbury, Texas, upon which
her fictional town of Twilight, Texas is loosely based, honors Lori with an
annual Twilight, Texas weekend each Christmas.
A popular writing
instructor, Lori is a two time RITA finalist and has four times been nominated
for Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award. She's won the Colorado Award of
Excellence, the Wisconsin Write Touch Award, The Golden Quill, the Lories, and
The More than Magic.
.jpg)
Hi there, thanks so much for the review and for featuring me today!
ReplyDeleteIt was such a fun story. What a great start to a new series!
DeleteNice review! I really enjoyed this book! It is such a great book!
ReplyDeleteIt's one of my favorite stories this year. Loved it.
DeleteGlad you enjoyed it, Ann! Thanks for reading!
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting BACK IN THE GAME!
ReplyDeleteYou are so welcome. I loved it!
Delete