Review Tour: The Changeup by Rhonda Shaw

The Changeup
by Rhonda Shaw

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BLURB:

Playing for keeps

After nine years of striking out in the dating department, Maddie Hamlin is throwing in the towel. But just as this mom resolves to remain single, she meets sweet and sexy pitching phenom Chase Patton at a family dinner. He’s perfect for her and aside from the fact he’s only twenty-two.

Chase knows he should be focusing on his rookie year with the Detroit Rockets, but he can’t stop thinking about Maddie. He doesn’t care that the beautiful school counselor is twelve years older, and he’s already lost his heart to her adorable daughter. When an incredible date leads to an incredible night of passion, he knows he never wants to let her go.

But dating in the media spotlight is a whole new ball game. Maddie quickly discovers that not everyone accepts their unconventional relationship and that finding love may mean losing everything else…


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Excerpt:

It turned out not to be that long after all. For the first two innings, Chase worked past his issues and succeeded in striking out three batters while the others had managed to fly out or groundout. He started to fall apart, however, when he faced the first batter in the bottom of the third inning and ended up walking him on four straight pitches. Rather than shaking it off, he felt himself tighten up and his restraint started to falter. Nothing he did helped to relax him. He paced the mound too many times, rolled his shoulders too much and the crowd noise crawled under his skin. Chase knew he should remove himself from the game, make up some injury, before he cost them the win, but he would not claim defeat, stubbornly refusing to give up. When he stepped back on the mound and faced the next batter, setting himself to throw a fastball, he knew he was going to make a huge mistake if he kept going. He wasn’t mentally prepared or in control. His emotions were controlling him and that was not his game.

He shouldn’t have thrown the pitch. As he watched the ball sail through the air, gaining height and speed as it approached the plate, he wasn’t surprised when it cut to the left and nailed the batter smack in between his shoulder blades. What happened next did surprise him, however.

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My Review:

★★★★★

I loved this book! The characters are wonderful, the story was terrific, and the whole thing was engaging from start to finish. Maybe the fact that my husband is ten years younger than I am  helped me enjoy this story? Nah! That might have helped me relate to Maddie even more, bit didn't force me to like the story.

I liked Maddie from the moment we meet her in the book, trying to fake excitement over her dates dazzling conversation about lawn mowers, while trying to drink just enough wine to make it through yet stay sober. She decides that she has had enough boring dates and wants to take herself out of the dating game for awhile. Her best friend thinks she just needs some nice steamy alone time with the right man to get her feeling better. Her sister constantly reminds her that she chose to be divorced and a single mom.

Then she meets Chase. He immediately makes her feel things she hasn't felt for awhile. Unfortunately, he seems to be dating her niece and he's many years her junior. He is kind to her daughter and is sexy as all get out, so she finds it hard to stop thinking about him.

You can imagine how the rest of the story goes. There is always drama when a guy starts dating an older woman, especially if said guy is in the public eye. Is the hassle too much for them? Is he the right person for Maddie and her little girl? Will there be a happily ever after ending? You'll just have to read it and find out!

I recommend this book to everyone that enjoys a good romance story. The characters are easy to care about, especially Bree. The story reads so easily that I flew through it in one sitting, not realizing how much time had passed. The storyline was engaging and believable. I believe that many people will love this book as I did.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

After writing one mind numbing technical document after another, Rhonda Shaw decided to combine her love of writing with her love of reading romance. Born in California, but transplanted to the Midwest, Rhonda is a warm weather girl to the bone. She works in the software development industry and was a lifelong dancer until her body told her it was time to come down off her toes.  For more information about Rhonda and her books, please visit her website at http://www.rhondashaw.com.

Website – http://www.rhondashaw.com

Twitter – https://twitter.com/AuthorRShaw

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/authorrhondashaw

GIVEAWAY:

Rhonda will be awarding a $25 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour

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Disclosure: I received a copy of the ebook free for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own. I was not required to leave a positive review.