I can't decide if mother nature is really mad at us or what but man has the weather been crazy this winter.
Thankfully, I don't mind curling up in a nice warm fuzzy blanket with some teas and a good book, and guess what your in luck I got a book right here for ya. So enough chit chat from me lets find out more about Love Bats Last by Pamela Aares.
Title: Love Bats Last (Heart of the Game #1)
Author: Pamela Aares
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Tour Organized by: Indie Sage, LLC
Synopsis:
A stormy night changes their lives forever…
The baseball diamond isn’t the only field for all-star player Alex Tavonesi; he also runs his family’s prestigious vineyard. What he can’t seem to run is his love life. He’s closing in on the perfect vintage and the perfect game, but so far the perfect woman has eluded him.
Veterinarian Jackie Brandon is eluding her aristocratic past and memories of a soccer star who jilted her just before their wedding. She devotes herself to a marine mammal rescue center on the northern California coast, where hundreds of seals and sea lions are washing up dead.
A chance meeting in a midnight storm brings Alex and Jackie together to rescue a stranded whale. Watching her work, he realizes she’s the passionate, courageous woman he thought he’d never find–he just has to overcome her deep distrust of jocks. Jackie’s passion and courage lead her to discover what’s killing the sea mammals. The culprits want to silence her, and Alex is the only one standing in their way. What will he sacrifice to save the woman he loves?
Excerpt
She
dragged her hair away from her face. She’d love a sandwich. But there was a
mile of river to sample between here and the vineyard properties to the north.
And she didn’t want to answer questions. He looked like the type to ask plenty
of them.
“Thanks,
but I have to get back.”
“Back
where?”
Right.
Not the cleverest of responses on her part.
“Back
to, um...”
Jeez.
Tracking down water samples had made her feel like she was in some sort of
cheesy spy novel or something. This guy was just a guy having lunch near his
local deli. Right. Dressed in expensive
clothes and eating a sandwich by a really crummy spot in the river. She
might be good at chasing down the mysteries of marine mammals, their lives,
their health and the way the bigger picture affected them, but she was never
much good at figuring out people.
“Back
to work,” she said flatly.
“Where
do you work? Can’t be around here.”
It
was a simple question, a question she’d answered hundreds, maybe thousands of
times. She hated to lie, usually didn’t have any reason to, but it was hard to
ignore the small voice telling her to do just that. Maybe the sun had addled
her brain. And she hadn’t been
sleeping well. She’d read that lack of sleep could make you paranoid, make you
read things into situations that weren’t there. She really should get more
sleep.
“I
work at the California Marine Mammal Center,” she said as she pulled her foot
from the muck and edged closer to the Zodiac.
“The
seal hospital near the Golden Gate Bridge?”
The
Center was known for their quick response in rescuing injured marine mammals,
doctoring them up and returning them to the ocean, but the work went far beyond
that. Yet right now she didn’t feel like explaining.
She
nodded.
“I’ve
been meaning to get over there. For about ten years,” he said with a laugh.
“Evidently
not a priority,” she said, trying not to like the sound of his laugh. “Or if it
is, maybe you’re direction challenged?” She hadn’t meant to engage him, but his
smooth manner was like oil on a hillside, and she just kept sliding along.
He
sprang up from his crouch with a catlike, almost effortless, motion and took a
couple steps down the path toward her. She stepped back and nearly lost her
balance as her foot sank into the mud.
She
fisted her hands against her hips, and he stopped walking.
“I
heard you’re having a rash of seal deaths,” he said, suddenly serious. “Any
clues as to what’s causing the diatom bloom?”
Her
breath hitched in her chest. People in the Bay Area knew about the seal strandings;
reports been all over the news. But most didn’t know about the diatom bloom or
if they did, they didn’t get the connection. Maybe he was a scientist. But he
didn’t look like a scientist. Scientists never had muscles like his.
“It’s
too early to tell.” At least it wasn’t a complete lie. It was too early to tell. “I really have to be going.”
She
turned and pushed her shoulder against the pontoon. Color crept into her face.
She was stuck, in more ways than one.
“Here,”
he said as he closed the distance between them. He bent down and put the
sandwich on a rock. “Hop in. I’ll shove you off.”
She
tilted her head and shaded her eyes. Maybe he could do it; he looked incredibly
strong. His shoulders reached beyond those of most normal men. Only movie thugs
and athletes had shoulders like that.
God,
she was being ridiculous. Letting him shove her off was the best solution.
Maybe the only one.
“Okay,”
she said.
Their
gazes locked, and she felt both trapped and held.
“I
don’t bite,” he said.
There
it was again, that easy, wide smile. She was really losing it if she could let
herself be charmed by a stranger standing on a riverbank.
Before
she could move away, he closed his hands around her waist and lifted her over
the side of the boat.
“Straddle
the pontoon on the opposite side,” he said as he released her. “Lean into it.”
The
confidence of his tone told her he was used to giving orders.
He
walked to the bow of the boat and stepped into the water. She noticed that he didn’t fall into the eddy pool. Maybe
he knew this stretch of river very, very well.
She
hung her weight against the pontoon and watched his arm muscles work as he
gripped the bow line and levered his shoulder against the boat. With perfect
control he tipped the bow down. The bottom of the boat sucked up off the
riverbed with a sigh and a slurp, and with a firm, steady motion, he pushed the
boat into the river.
“You
might need this.” He grinned and tossed the bow line over the side. She caught
it with one hand.
“Nice
catch,” he said as he stepped out of the water.
Mud
covered his expensive shoes and stained up his pant legs. He apparently didn’t
notice or didn’t care.
Her
hands shook as she started the engine. Only then did she remember she hadn’t
thanked him. She waved and shouted thanks over the buzz of the motor.
“My
name's Alex,” he said as he waved and stared after her. “Maybe I'll see you
around these parts again.”
Not
if she could help it. Maybe he wouldn’t notice that she was headed north,
upriver to the vineyards. Besides, why would he care?
“There
aren’t any marine mammals up that way,” he shouted with a puzzled smile. “No
clapper rails either.”
She
shrugged and looked resolutely upriver.
So
much for not noticing.
I Heart Books Review:
Love Bats Last by Pamela Aares
Review by: Dana Marie
4 out of 5 stars...
Jackie Brown is on a mission to discover what has been poisoning seals and sea lions up the northern California coast. Alex, a baseball player and owner of a vineyard, finds himself volunteering for the marine rescue center Jackie heads up. Interests peak but she is trying to stay focused on her work. She has had her heartbroken before by the game playing type. Besides, she doesn't have time for romance as she needs to find who is behind the chemical dumping and save some marine animals.
Love Bats Last is a sweet romance with suspense, strong characters, and it's a great story. The romance and sex had just enough description to keep interested and wanting more. I was having a little trouble with the edgy and slightly put off feeling that Jackie portrays in part of the story. Who knows maybe this was mostly because I was more than willing to take Alex off her hands for her. I also would have love to see a bit more of what the attraction was for Alex. Not that being an amazing veterinarian and wildlife protector isn't a great thing. I just needed a little more. I also usually like my romance a little more fast paced and a dash more of bad boy. However, I am willing to admit it was a nice change of pace to indulge in a little much needed sweet heat. According to Alex "Heat, Dr. Brandon, is precisely the thing."
The characters worked well together and each had great substance.The story was interesting. The little bit of danger will keep you on the end of your seat. I didn't want to put the book down and I am looking forward to the next in the series. So bring on the next installment of the Heart of the Game romance Pamela Aares. Your readers are waiting.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/845048221?book_show_action=false
About the Author:
Pamela is an author of contemporary and historical romance novels. Her first book, Jane Austen and the Archangel (Angels Come to Earth, #1) was released in 2012. Midnight Becomes You, (Angels Come to Earth, #2) will release in 2014, along with three more books in the Heart of the Game series, all releasing in 2014.
Before becoming a romance author, Pamela Aares produced and wrote award-winning films and radio shows including Your Water, Your Life featuring actress Susan Sarandon and the NPR series New Voices. After producing The Powers of the Universe and The Earth’s Imagination, she knew without a doubt that romance lives at the heart of the universe and powers the greatest stories of all.
Pamela holds a Master’s Degree from Harvard and lives in the wine country of California with her husband and two curious cats. Her love of nature led to adventures scuba diving the coral reefs of Fiji, exploring the cliffs of Greece, sea kayaking the Rosario Straits and white water rafting the wild and scenic rivers of the west—and romance!
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