I just finished reading this book and I am still feeling that euphoria that only a great story (or great sex) can give you. This story has great characters - some surprisingly so! I did not think that Pam, the Hollywood starlet who had a "Friends with Benefits" relationship with the hot leading man in this romance would be lovable, funny and supportive of the love of his life, our heroine, Dani. Her character was an extra gift amidst the beautiful story of these crazy-in-love kids, who can argue and give great banter before making monumentally bad assumptions and sweetly masterful reconciliations. This is a great story about young love that fails but never really falters so mostly it is about hope. They hoped - and I hoped with them - that love would be enough to get them to their Happily Ever After. I really enjoyed taking this ride with them! My first thought was to rate this 4-stars, but I'm still thinking about it and smiling about it, so I'm moving it up to a 5-star rating. What a great romance! Although the main character is our heroine Dani, she is basically the "bad guy" in this romance since she was in a relationship with Brad while in college but broke it off with him because she thought he cheated on her. Now it's 7 years later and she is contracted to write a book about him now that he's a superstar third baseman with the Dodgers. Thay have a lot of history to discuss while trying to deal with the strong feelings they still have for each other. What's so heartwarming about this story is the fact that it's all about second chances so we become a part of their memories as well as a part of the current feelings they have for each other. Brad Reynolds was a star baseball player in college and had women all over him. Dani was his love, but she felt inadequate and threatened all the time despite the fact that Brad told her she was the only one for him. Perfectly understandable, actually, as was her reaction of running rather than fighting for him back when she was young and vulnerable. That's what made this story so believable and real. Even though thehero is a superstar athelete, the story is real since it is rooted in his younger days when he was basically just a regular guy. He is definitely approachable. Brad is a fabulous hero--very romantic. My favorite scenes were his sending her messages on baseballs throughout his games and his reading a poem to her in a college class. Great sexy love scenes. Lots of sort-of arguing between them, with her calling him an arrogant ass or a dick. This might offend or irritate some readers, but I found it funny and endearing. Bits of baseball to keep things interesting. Excellent romance. I will definitely look for more from this author.
