Thursday, February 27, 2014

The Changeup by Rhonda Shaw (Virtual NBtM Review Tour, GFT)







                                         
 



The Changeup (Men of the Show)
 by Rhonda Shaw



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:

Maddie felt herself blush fiercely at the lingering look he gave her, but she remained where she stood and watched as he walked through the living room and out the front door, keeping a smile plastered on her face even though it felt as if everything was freaking out internally. When the door closed behind him, she closed her eyes as she let out the breath she’d been holding and slouched against the counter. This was a bad idea. Nothing good could come from it; in fact, the only possible outcome was one of them getting hurt. But even knowing that, she couldn’t stop herself. She couldn’t ignore the fact that he got her juices flowing without much effort.

Despite all that, it wasn’t enough. She was much older than he was. They were in two different stages of their lives; there was nothing to build on. While she was looking to lead a quiet, comfortable and peaceful life, he should be looking for excitement, thrills and new experiences—casualness versus commitment, living-it-up versus settling down.

And then there was the inevitable scrutiny of their age difference. Even if they got past it, others would comment on it. Their families would definitely have opinions on the matter and families were never ones to keep their opinions to themselves, especially ones that had people like Lenore in them, regardless of the existing awkward situation with Chase and her niece. How would they ever get past that? It wouldn’t be easy, but was it worth it?



The Changeup (Amazon link)


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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.

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Amazon link




GIVEAWAY

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Other stops on the tour can be found at this link

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My REVIEW:

4 out of 5 stars

The Changeup by Rhonda Shaw is part of the ‘Men of the Show’ series and is the story of Maddie Hamlin, divorced mom of a sweet daughter named Bree, who is coaxed into a romantic relationship with a younger man named Chase Patton.  Chase is delighted to have found a ready-made family who, although fascinated by his baseball fame, are more interested in him as a person but he finds it far easier to be accepted by the young daughter than her mom who is worried about the inequity in their ages.  Fortunately, Chase hasn’t gotten where he is by being faint of heart.


This delightful contemporary romance combines the thrill of baseball with the complications of an older/younger romance.  The fear of judgement is not an issue with the charismatic young daughter who is so much fun to read about and the flowering of Maddie and Chase’s relationship is heartwarming.  I certainly hope there are more stories as there are intriguing secondary characters that I would like to read about even as I would love another glimpse into the lives of Maddie, Chase and Bree.


A copy of this delightful story was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

12 comments:

  1. Thank you for hosting and the wonderful review! I'm so glad you liked it. Thank you to everyone stopping by to learn more about THE CHANGEUP. I hope you enjoy! :)

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    1. You have yummy hunks in your story, looking forward to learning more about all of them! Thanks for visiting.

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  2. Great review, sounds like a good read.

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    1. Thank you, Rita, I appreciate you visiting.

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  3. Congrats to Rhonda on the new release! Thanks ELF for a great review :)

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    1. Thanks for the compliment, erin, and thank you for visiting!

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  4. Great Review Elf. The book sounds really good---Rae

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    1. Thank you, Rae. I appreciate you taking the time to stop by!

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  5. You are welcome, sorry I was a flake about the time and thank you so much for the reminder!

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  6. You're welcome, thanks for visiting, E.J.!

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  7. Thanks for a great review. I love the chemistry between Chase and Maddie.

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    1. You are quite welcome, Elise-Maria. I thought they had such a wonderful rapport and it was only enhanced by how great they meshed into a family. Thank you for visiting!

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