Title: Courting Kate
Series: Panthers Players #1
Author: Tori Kron
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Publication date: June 23, 2019
Genres: Adult, Romance, Sports
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Slapped with court ordered community service for brawling—again, Miller Cassidy, the Indianapolis Panther’s star player, is forced into laboring under stodgy non-profit supervisor, Kate Gallagher. Her saving grace—she happens to be best friends with Stella, the woman he’s been chasing for years.
Despite the masses falling for his charm, Kate doesn’t care for Miller’s notorious reputation or his flippant behavior. But wanting to impress her strict boss, she agrees to a trade that could give them both a shot at success.
Propelled into an unlikely alliance, Miller finds himself taking a defensive stance when he sees beyond Kate’s hard exterior. And Kate is equally thrown off guard when she discovers there’s more to Miller than games.
But is love worth sacrificing friendship? And can Miller let go of the feelings for Stella he’s held onto for years?
In love and basketball, it’s five fouls and you’re out, and every play counts.
Disclaimer: This review MAY contain spoilers. I received an Advance Reader Copy at no cost from the publisher/author. All opinions expressed in my review are my own.
I adore sports romances and this one was definitely one that I enjoyed. I usually like them on the steamier side, but I still very much adored this one even though it is a clean read. I actually had no idea that it was a clean read before I picked it up.
I think that the character development for the two main characters in this story was pretty much perfect. For a fast-paced story, we get a lot of background information and character traits that show us what kind of people they truly are. The information about the characters isn't shoved in the readers' faces either. Everything is introduced at just the right time so that the storytelling feels completely natural. Both main characters, Kate and Miller, have a bit of character growth in the story. It wasn't anything tremendous, but there was some growth nonetheless.
I thought that the plot of the story worked really well. I was a little skeptical when Miller was crazy about Kate's BFF, Stella, at the start of the book. I wondered if this fact would sour me to the story, but things worked out rather well. I did think that this point could have been developed a bit more, at least where Miller's change in feelings was concerned. It felt like when he truly felt something for Kate that his feelings for Stella just flipped like a switch, which felt a little unrealistic to me. And I thought that the resolution between Kate and Stella over Miller was a little too low-key. Otherwise, I felt that the plotting of the story was great. It kept my interest and was truly engaging.
I enjoyed this romance very much. It is a cross between a good girl/bad boy story and an enemies to lovers story. Not really enemies but more of a dislike to lovers story. The dislike on Kate's side is all due to Miller's reputation. She judges him before she truly knows anything about him. Miller doesn't necessarily dislike Kate, though he definitely isn't into her at the start of the book. Kate is very much a good girl and Miller plays the part of the bad boy, though the reasons for his bad reputation are out of context. I thought that the slow-burn romance was fantastic. I love nothing more than a gripping slow-burn romance and this one was perfect in that respect. I loved the chemistry that built between Kate and Miller over time. I love that they fall for each other over time as they learn more endearing qualities about the other.
I was slightly disappointed with the epilogue. It gives us a glimpse of what the next book in the series will probably be about and I didn't have a problem with that at all. What was disappointing is the fact that it didn't really give us any more depth into how the relationship between Kate and Miller had progressed. They aren't even together in the epilogue, they are talking on the telephone. It was clear that they had been dating and their feelings were clear, but I suppose that I was expecting more at the end.
Overall, I was delighted by this book! It is a wonderful fast-paced sports romance with characters that will win you over undoubtedly. The plot is engaging and will make you root for the main characters throughout the story. I will definitely be reading the next book in this series!
I adore sports romances and this one was definitely one that I enjoyed. I usually like them on the steamier side, but I still very much adored this one even though it is a clean read. I actually had no idea that it was a clean read before I picked it up.
I think that the character development for the two main characters in this story was pretty much perfect. For a fast-paced story, we get a lot of background information and character traits that show us what kind of people they truly are. The information about the characters isn't shoved in the readers' faces either. Everything is introduced at just the right time so that the storytelling feels completely natural. Both main characters, Kate and Miller, have a bit of character growth in the story. It wasn't anything tremendous, but there was some growth nonetheless.
I thought that the plot of the story worked really well. I was a little skeptical when Miller was crazy about Kate's BFF, Stella, at the start of the book. I wondered if this fact would sour me to the story, but things worked out rather well. I did think that this point could have been developed a bit more, at least where Miller's change in feelings was concerned. It felt like when he truly felt something for Kate that his feelings for Stella just flipped like a switch, which felt a little unrealistic to me. And I thought that the resolution between Kate and Stella over Miller was a little too low-key. Otherwise, I felt that the plotting of the story was great. It kept my interest and was truly engaging.
I enjoyed this romance very much. It is a cross between a good girl/bad boy story and an enemies to lovers story. Not really enemies but more of a dislike to lovers story. The dislike on Kate's side is all due to Miller's reputation. She judges him before she truly knows anything about him. Miller doesn't necessarily dislike Kate, though he definitely isn't into her at the start of the book. Kate is very much a good girl and Miller plays the part of the bad boy, though the reasons for his bad reputation are out of context. I thought that the slow-burn romance was fantastic. I love nothing more than a gripping slow-burn romance and this one was perfect in that respect. I loved the chemistry that built between Kate and Miller over time. I love that they fall for each other over time as they learn more endearing qualities about the other.
I was slightly disappointed with the epilogue. It gives us a glimpse of what the next book in the series will probably be about and I didn't have a problem with that at all. What was disappointing is the fact that it didn't really give us any more depth into how the relationship between Kate and Miller had progressed. They aren't even together in the epilogue, they are talking on the telephone. It was clear that they had been dating and their feelings were clear, but I suppose that I was expecting more at the end.
Overall, I was delighted by this book! It is a wonderful fast-paced sports romance with characters that will win you over undoubtedly. The plot is engaging and will make you root for the main characters throughout the story. I will definitely be reading the next book in this series!
Tori Kron has spent ten years educating middle school students in the art of English writing. She is a proud graduate of Purdue University, where she discovered a love for nearby Chicago and the adventures that awaited within. When Tori isn’t in front of the classroom, you can find her working with fellow authors in the Midwest Writers Guild or traveling the world with friends. In between excursions, she happily resides in Evansville, Indiana with her husband and son.
My name is Vanessa a.k.a. Queen Alchemy. I am a 30-something-year-old mother of four nerdy, fantastic children. We live in the Midwest. I have a reading addiction, and I hope that I never recover! I'm the hugest nerd you can find with interests not limited to the following: comics (Batman and Captain America for the win!), science, computers, zombies, unicorns, Harry Potter, cartoons from the 80's & 90's, Frankenstein, history, crafting, cooking & baking, Star Wars, digital scrapbooking, D&D, Minecraft, Hello Kitty, horror, metalcore, royalty, tattoos & piercings, bright colors, and so much more!
Great review, Vanessa! The romance sounds especially well written and swoony! I like how fun and cute this sounds overall!
ReplyDeleteThank you. The romance was indeed written wonderfully. It is a slow-burn romance that gets under your skin. Loved it!
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