Summary
We don’t get a lot of NBA superstars coming through little ol’ Pine Hill, Texas. That’s why everyone is all in a tizzy over the fact that the USA men’s Olympic basketball team will be training here of all places before this year’s Summer Games. With little else to talk about, rumors about the players have been spreading like wildfire, and there’s one man in the middle of it all holding a match.
Ben Castillo.
NBA champion.
Olympic gold medalist.
Widely hailed ‘King of the Court’.
The morning he walks into my dingy diner, I have enough sense to keep my head down and go right on wiping tables, pouring coffee, and serving up short stacks. A man who looks like that—superstar or not—has only ever meant trouble, and more trouble is the last thing I need, what with taking care of Nan and scraping by on tips from truckers.
If anything, he seems drawn to my indifference. His steely gaze pierces me behind the counter. My knees nearly buckle under the weight of his attention. But while Mr. Pretty Boy is probably used to snagging city girls with a smile, this gal is country strong.
I won’t be some clichéd convenience for him on his way through town.
So look over your choices carefully, Benny-boy. We serve up sides of hash browns here, not heartbreak.
Book Facts
Published: August 2021
Genre: Romance
Format: e-ARC
✨ I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review ✨
Review
I adore R.S. Grey’s books because I know I’m always know what I’m going to get – A cute, funny rom-com with delightfully likeable characters.
This book is broken into 2 parks, the first part is all about getting to know the characters, finding out how they meet, what their backgrounds are and of course how they fall in love. This one didn’t have quite as much slow burn as I would have liked but it wasn’t insta-love either so all is good. I think for Ben it was definitely instant attraction, whereas for Raelynn was a bit more slow, kind of like she was interest in him because he’s the new guy in town and of course good looking but the real feels came a but later for her.
The drama bombshell that changes things happens almost right at the end of part 1 which leads part 2, this twist isn’t something that I’m a huge fan of but it worked well for this story. There is a little time jump (I actually love books that do this, and I don’t think its talked about enough) both characters have had it rough during this gap, but we get to see where they are about 18 months later, it may have been a bit shorter than that. I don’t want to go into too much about part 2 because it will give away huge parts of the plot but I did enjoy it more than part 1 because that is were the depth of this story came in.
I enjoyed Raelynn’s character a lot and connected well with her right away. I could empathise with her, but I also liked how much of a sweetheart she was. Ben on the other hand, it probably took me until the end of Part 1 for me to warm up to, not really sure why but I think its probably because of how Ben’s background is drip feed through the story, I just didn’t feel like I fully understood him and until I knew all the bits that made him who he is.
Overall this was an enjoyable read, I love a sports romance and this ticked all the right box’s, the only reason I’m not giving 5 Stars is because of that little twist in the middle.
My Rating: 4/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟
About the Author
R.S. Grey is the USA Today bestselling author of over twenty novels. She lives in Texas with her husband and daughter, and can be found reading, binge-watching reality TV, or practicing yoga! Visit her at rsgrey.com
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