Calling It by Jen Doyle (Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Also by this author: Called Up, Holiday House Call
Published by Carina Press on April 11th 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, General, Romance, Sports
Pages: 220
Baseball player Nathan Hawkins needs to get away from Chicago. After a near career-ending car accident and with paparazzi surrounding his penthouse, Nate can only think of one place to go: home. But when he finds his old apartment occupied by a half-naked woman wielding a baseball bat, he's not sure what to think...except that maybe his luck has finally changed for the better.
Librarian Dorie Donelli never thought she'd get to meet her fantasy man in person--much less while she's wearing her bathrobe. To her surprise, her nearly naked run-in with Nate leads to more unclothed encounters. But Dorie is sure their fling is only temporary. As long as she remembers he'll be gone once his life gets back on track, she won't get hurt. In the meantime, she throws herself into enjoying their three weeks together before he has to report for spring training and go back to his old life.
For Nate, being with Dorie is the only time in months that he finds himself smiling. Laughing. And he has no intention of letting that go. He might even be falling in love...if only Dorie will let him say the words. What they have isn't just a dream, but the start of a dream come true.
Contemporary Sports Romance is my latest binge you guys and I have absolutely found a winner!
I stumbled upon this title and immediately had the highest of high hopes… and it was everything I had dreamed it would be.
Let me just say first of all, I love the small-town setting when I’m reading Contemporary Romance (please see Jill Shalvis). The “everyone knows everyone” vibe just really works for me, and that’s really how this one starts out. Dorie has moved from Boston to Iowa to work in a small town, rebuilding the library that has honestly seen way better days. She’s left behind a boisterous family that includes 6 overbearing brothers who have raised her on sports. So when she steps out of her bathroom half-naked with a bat, yelling at the guy eating her dinner, she certainly doesn’t expect it to be THE Nate Hawkins.
Nate has had a string of bad luck and before Spring Training starts he decides to get out of the bright lights of Chicago and head back home to his family and friends. With nowhere to stay except his sister’s apartment, he never expects to find a half-naked girl who has no idea who he is… and he certainly doesn’t expect the instant attraction between them.
With their interactions coming more frequent, Dorie has to find a way to tell Nate she knows exactly who he is, and Nate has to find a way to break it to this girl he’s connecting with on every level, just what she’d be in for if she wants to pursue anything with him. Can I tell you that the reveals really are mostly drama free and Doyle does it in a way that’s pretty cute (bar trivia!) and really allows us as the reader to get to know them both a bit more.
Doyle has created some pretty fun characters in Calling It and I absolutely loved Dorie! Despite her insistence that the relationship forming between her and Nate is only temporary and it has a deadline, she’s fun and funny and while there were times where she wasn’t sure why Nate would want to be with her, it wasn’t because she didn’t think she was amazing, it’s just that she was comparing herself to this other life he lived, and felt as though she just wouldn’t fit because she was so different than his ex and anyone else he was ever associated with. But maybe that was the point even though she couldn’t recognize it. These two had so much chemistry and the relationship was seriously hot and Nate!
I don’t even know what to say about Nate other than to tell you that he has definitely made my book boyfriend list. He agrees to Dorie’s deadline, but only knowing that he’s going to do anything and everything he can to get her to realize he’s in this relationship and it’s not just a fling for him. I loved how invested and interested in her he was. Yes, it all happens pretty quickly, but I didn’t even care one bit. I just loved how much Dorie fits into his life and his world and I love that he recognized it as well!
The secondary characters here, while not a huge part of the story, still impact these two and we get the chance to start to get to know them too! I’m excited to see that this is a companion series and even more excited to know that I have more to look forward to from Jen Doyle.
Fans of Jill Shalvis and Kristen Higgins are definitely going to enjoy this series! I’ve already got book 2 queued up on my kindle because I begged for an early copy, but no worries because that’s out soon too!
If you love contemporary sports romance, don’t miss out on this series or this author!
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