TEST
I loved Double Play, the first entry in Ms. Shalvis’ Pacific Heat baseball series, so I was eagerly anticipating this next release, Slow Heat. I’m happy to report that it lived up to my expectations, and now I’m eagerly awaiting the next one.
When a woman goes to the press claiming to be pregnant with Heat catcher Wade O’Riley’s baby, team publicist Samantha McNead is forced to do some quick PR moves to counter the bad press. The plan is to show the public that notorious playboy Wade really is capable of a committed relationship. Sam and Wade agree to have a public, albeit pretend, relationship for one month to try to stifle all that bad press, and regain public favor.
Complicating matters is that Wade and Sam have history: a drunken bout of elevator sex last season, to be precise. They both pretend The Incident never occurred, but whenever they’re in the same room sparks fly and the arguing begins. Sam knows that she must resist Wade’s obvious desire to add “benefits” to their relationship if she’s to have any hope of making it through this without her heart getting trampled, but Wade proves to be very, very difficult to resist.
The best way to sum up Slow Heat is that it’s fun, often funny, and more often sexy. The setup requires some suspension of disbelief, but the story is so much fun that I didn’t mind. There’s great chemistry between Sam and Wade, and their sex scenes are steaming. And although there’s a fair amount of lusting, their relationship has much more than sexual attraction going for it. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Sam and Wade have a lot in common, despite their very different economic upbringings. There are enough similarities in their relationships with their parents to provide the common ground necessary to break through their emotional barriers and really understand each other. The only complaint that I had with their romance is that the ending felt a bit rushed.
There’s nothing that really sets Slow Heat apart as a ground-breaking romance – at its heart this is simply another take on the classic Opposites Attract premise – but the bottom line is that I don’t need a book to be ground-breaking to truly enjoy it. A big reason this book worked so well for me is because it’s not pioneering or innovative; it’s really just my favorite kind of comfort read: light, funny, sexy, and just plain enjoyable to read.
I recommend Slow Heat to anyone looking for a sexy read to escape into – especially if you’re a big sports romance fan like me. It may not be revolutionary, but it sure is fun.
Grade: B+
Book Type: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: Hot
Review Date: 01/02/10
Publication Date: 2010
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.