Laura’s Review of Rounding Third By Michelle Lynn

Synopsis

I was destined for stardom.
From the age of seven, I was an all-star.
Parents praised me, coaches worshipped me.
As I got older, girls begged for me.
I was Beltline’s baseball God, guaranteed to put this small town on the map.

Then, after one night, that future vanished.

The legend was laid to rest.
I gave up my scholarship.
I fled from Beltline.
I left the girl behind.

Now, I’m back.

What I Loved

        I really loved the premise of this story; high school sweethearts find each other again after tragedy tore them apart.  It was a new spin on second chance romances because it wasn’t like they broke up because one dumped the other, or distance but because something horrible happened.  Right off the bat (no pun intended) it showed that Ella and Crosby can withstand hard times because they have in the past. 

        The story begins with Crosby reestablishing his college baseball career and transferring to the same college Ella attends.  From the very beginning Crosby doesn’t just have baseball on his mind, he wants his girl back and intends to make that a reality.  Obviously this leads to a lot of push and pull between Ella and Crosby which was fun to read.  I love heart break and drama and as the story unfolds there is plenty of that to go around. 

        I don’t want to give anything away but eventually you do find out what happened to them in high school and it just completely broke my heart.  Not only that, you see how this event has shaped their lives and how they have lived with this every single day since then.  Even though they find their way back each other, their relationship is an uphill battle for many reasons and it was great to experience that from both Ella and Crosby’s point of views.

Not So Much

        I really did love this story but I felt like when the story was from Crosby’s point of view it wasn’t a man’s state of mind.  Rather what a woman would want a man to be thinking and saying and because of that parts of the story came off disingenuous and cheesy.  I love romances obviously and of course there are going to be sappy parts but Crosby laid in on too thick at times for my taste.  The same can be said from Ella’s point of view as well.  I get that there was a lot of drama going on but I did feel like Ella created it herself for no reason.  It was hard to relate to her because of that and it took me out of the story emotionally.

To Sum It All Up!

       Overall this was a quick fun book to read filled with heartbreak and love.  Crosby always knew that Ella was his soulmate.  When he transferred to her college to play baseball he had one objective in mind and that was to get her back.  Ella wasn’t prepared to see Crosby again after high school but there he was and no matter what she did, she couldn’t resist the attraction and love she felt towards him.  I really did love them together and it was great to see them overcome obstacle after obstacle as a united front rather than separately.  I will warn you though, the first sex scene isn’t until about 70% of the way through so be prepared to wait a long time. 

        I did feel like this book crossed over to cheesy at times, but I understand that this is a new adult romance and it’s to be expected.  Them confessing their love for one another over and over again was a bit much though.  There was some baseball in this sports romance and I liked that it wasn’t completely glossed over like some romances do.  I did like the details when it came to Ella’s small hometown, you really got a good grasp on what small town living is like especially in farm country.  I do wish there were more background details when it came to Ella’s apartment or the college in general, because there was very little of that. 

        There were definitely times that I had tears in my eyes, so be prepared for the emotional parts of the story.  The love between Crosby and Ella was strong from beginning to end and I really loved the happily ever after ending.  This book did a great job of setting up other stories to development with the secondary characters and I hope that happens because I enjoyed them as much I enjoyed the primary ones.  This was my first Michelle Lynn book and I can say that I am definitely interested to read her many others.

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