Laura’s Review of Worth the Trade (More Than A Game, #2) by Kristina Mathews

If you have read and enjoyed Crazy On You (Lovett, Texas #2), Squeeze Play (Richmond Rogues, #2) by Kate Angell, and Wallbanger (Cocktail, #2) by Alice Clayton, then you will LOVE this book!

**ARC provided by Net Galley**
Comes out July 7, 2014

Basic Summary

A ballplayer and a team owner would give anything for a championship—even their hearts… 

              After inheriting majority ownership of the San Francisco Goliaths baseball team, Hunter Collins wants to prove to herself—and the rest of the league—that she’s got what it takes to build a champion. Her first move is to trade for a hot left-fielder. He’s got it all, speed, power, and a desire to win. Not to mention undeniable charm. 

             Marco Santiago is tired of being the new player in town. After four teams in six years, he’s facing free agency at the end of the season. He wants nothing more than a long-term contract and a World Series win. Hitting on his new owner probably isn’t the best way to get it, but love may be the most powerful challenger either of them has ever faced... 

            Warning: Strong language, consummated love scenes, and some baseball clichés.

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First Impressions

                So far so good!  I really love Marco so far and I really like Hunter.  It was a little slow going at first but just because the story is a little slow doesn’t mean I haven’t instantly fallen in love with Marco.  I really like how unsure he is about joining a new team, and how his confidence is shot after meeting Hunter it makes him even cuter!  This is the second book in this series and I have read the first as well and right away I can see the improvements in the writing as far as background details go.  I am really enjoying this book so far.

What I Loved

              

          First of all I have fallen head over in heels in love with Marco Santiago, I want more of his blue eyes and his hot body and I was want more now!  The chemistry between Hunter and Marco is instant and the author does a great job of portraying that to reader.  Right away you know that Marco is just plain sexy and I can feel Hunter’s attraction to him, which makes for one hot and sexy book.

          I also really enjoyed Hunter Collins, she didn’t annoy me too much, although she kind of fits into that cliché of what lead female character being very inexperienced sexually versus the male lead.  I love how much she loves the Goliaths and the lengths she goes to, to make this team her family.  She definitely had a great character development as the story moves along and she is an easy character to relate to and ultimately be one hundred percent on her side.

Not So Much

                I truly enjoyed reading this book and the writing was a huge improvement from the first book.  There were such great details of Hunter’s home, Marco’s apartment, the club house, the stadium everything.  It really added a layer to plot that made me more into the story.  There were times the transition from one scene to the next didn’t go very smoothly, in one paragraph they would be outside and in the next they would be Hunter’s apartment.  Sometimes the story got a little a boring and I found myself skipping some sentences to get to the point. 

This Book Was…

                Wonderful! At first the book was a little slow but once the plot picked up I was addicted.  I couldn’t put it down, I just need to get to Marco and Hunter’s happily ever after!  It’s so obvious from the way this book is written, and the first book in this series that the author truly loves baseball.  There are such great details not just of the game itself but the business behind it.  I love when author’s really put a lot of thought in the background like that, and Kristina Mathew does this beautifully.  It’s almost as if baseball itself is the third main character in this book, and now that I’m done reading this, I want to go to a baseball so badly!