Review: Straddling the Line by Jaci Burton

Trevor Shay has it all—a successful football and baseball career, and any woman he wants. But when he finds out his college mentor’s daughter is in trouble, he drops everything to come to her aid.

Haven Briscoe has finally landed a dream job as a sportscaster for a major network. But she hasn’t been able to move past the recent death of her beloved father, and it’s affecting her career. A plum assignment following the daily life of sports superstar Trevor Shay might be just the inspiration she needs…

Trevor will do anything to spark life back into Haven, including letting her into every aspect of his world. The chemistry between them flames higher than one of Trevor’s home runs and faster than his dashes to the end zone. But as they grow closer, Haven stumbles onto Trevor’s closely guarded secret, one he’s hidden his entire life. And despite his protests, now it’s Haven’s turn to put everything on hold to help Trevor. Will he let her in and trust her with a secret that could blow his professional and personal world apart?

Series: Play by Play #8
Release Date: July 1st 2014
Publisher: Berkley
Source: Manic Readers
Reviewer: Karen
Rating: 

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Reviewer’s Thoughts

STRADDLING THE LINE is a delightful, steamy read that captivated me from the first page. Haven Briscoe is a sports journalist and is assigned to interview Trevor Shay, an athlete who plays both professional baseball and football. There aren’t too many athletes who can play two sports successfully, but Trevor thrives on the pressure and excitement.

In college Haven tutored Trevor and had a huge crush on him, but he never noticed her. Now years later, as Haven interviews Trevor, there’s a lot of chemistry between them. Haven tries to fight her feelings for Trevor and keep things professional, but it’s a losing battle. Haven is different from all the other women Trevor normally meets, she’s a strong, independent woman, and has always been a bit of a nerd.

She’s nonplussed by the allure of his professional sports career and likes Trevor for himself, not because he’s rich and famous. Trevor is strongly attracted to Haven and can’t believe he never noticed her in college. He’s an alpha male and a professional athletic, but also a laid back, modest guy who is popular both on and off the field. Sparks fly whenever Trevor and Haven are together, but Trevor has insecurities that he’s afraid to share and doesn’t want to get too close to anyone because of them.

I’m always thrilled when Jaci Burton writes a new book in the Play by Play series and was excited to read Trevor and Haven’s story. This has just the right amount of romance and steam and I found myself immediately immersed in the story. The buildup of Trevor and Haven’s relationship and the plot is believable and didn’t feel rushed. Trevor and Haven have great chemistry and I wanted them to work through their issues.

Jaci knows how to write an entertaining story with interesting characters that I care about. All the secondary characters added to the story, many of them from the other books in this series and it’s always fun to catch up with all of them.