Synopsis:
Take me out to the ball game.
I want to watch Dash
Wallace’s ass.
I love this book. It has everything I love in my fictional,
dream world….
Dashiell (Dash)
Wallace is a hot commodity in baseball.
He is the star short stop for the Dodgers. Like baseball players around the league he
has superstitions that bring him luck; including women in every city. He has a mentor that keeps his head on
straight. He has preparations and
routines that he must follow before every season and every game. However, there is one thing he never does
have a girl at home.
A lot of that is going
to change. Jack Youder the second
baseman who is Dash’s mentor and stabilizer is getting older. There is a good chance that the Dodgers are
going to trade him. Dash doesn’t like
change. Enter Vivian Foster…a school
librarian…a fan…a home girl. Vivian and
Dash start out on the wrong foot but something keeps pulling them back
together. It is obvious that they want
each other but it isn’t so obvious that it can be a healthy relationship. Dash doesn’t due permanent either. Vivian doesn’t plan endings.
“I’m sorry, I don’t
like expiration dates. I’m not saying I want more from you or anything like
that, but it’s too risky for me. The whole thing.” “Promising anything past
April—” “I don’t need a promise.” “Promise is the wrong word. Attempting.
Trying. That’s risky.” He wasn’t committed to putting his jacket back on and I
wasn’t accepting it, so he stood there holding it between us. “We have opposite
ideas of risk,” I said. “Things last until they don’t. I can’t do this your
way. Thanks for the lift home.”
Dash he is a mess. He is hot.
The women love him. He is full of
himself. “There is nothing more offensive than a man blessed with looks where he
should have been given courtesy.” He
has issues. He loves playing baseball
more than anything. I love the way this
character is developed. At times he
makes me angry at times but even when he makes me angry he is redeemable. His goodness is close to the surface.
There are so many
things that I like about these characters.
They are real. Vivian is a
strong, loving, and loyal woman. She is
alone after the breakup from her long time relationship. She is working through her loss slowly. It is
hard for her friends and her father to watch.
Vivian is committed to her father.
Their relationship is so beautiful and the more you find out about them
the more you will love them.
The father daughter
sub-plot is perfect. Their relationship
warms my heart completely. One of my
favorite scenes…
“He didn’t blink,
adopting me without my biological father’s interference. I didn’t appreciate
that properly until I was twelve, when he’d brought a woman home to meet me. I
didn’t remember her name, but she had red hair and was younger than he was. She
ignored me so noticeably that Dad excused himself, picked up my plate, and he
and I ate dinner in the kitchen while she finished alone.”
Re-reading that makes
me smile. In addition to their love for
one another, they share a love of baseball.
In fact, it is her dad’s birthday gift that actually brings Dash into
Vivian’s life and then the fun really begins.
CD Reiss is an
excellent storyteller. It is hard to
write a story better than Jonathan’s and Monica’s but Hardball is a very close
second. It is a completely different
story from anything I’ve read of hers.
That is so refreshing that she isn’t stuck in formula. Hardball is what I call an old fashion
romance. It is a quick, easy, and
addictive read that you won’t put down.
I highly recommend Hardball to everyone who enjoys a
good love story. It fits the bill.
5 STAMPS
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