Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This was an enjoyable book.

Calvin & Jose had an emotional & entertaining read. I got a copy of the book. And am voluntarily leaving my review.

This was light, fluffy little read that I happened to enjoy. It isn’t something that I would typically reach for but it was an okay book.
Obviously I loved that it had to do with Texas, as I am a Texan lol.
The plot was interesting because both of our main characters want to escape from their own problems.
I think it’s a typical fluffy romance plot and it had pretty cheesy scenes.

2 Stars
Review by Elizabeth
Late Night Reviewer
Up All Night w/ Books Blog

Typically, this type of story hooks me from the beginning but I found myself struggling to make it through The Perfect Catch. For some reason, I could not connect with the characters and it made that much harder to read. It felt like the chemistry between Calvin and Josie was forced and that was also a turnoff.

When we meet Josie and Calvin they are each running from something. Josie is running from a mistake she made while living in Florida and Calvin is hiding out due to his failing baseball career.

The plot was good up until a certain point and then it felt rushed. I tried to get into The Perfect Catch and powered through so I could write an educated review but it did not change my initial view.

I encourage you to read other reviews as well before making a final decision.

Super cheesy and unrealistic. I liked the characters but everything about the interactions between Cal and Joise seemed odd to me. I wish there was more with Hailey and Everett, I think they would have been great as more of a presence.

Light, flirty and just a lovely title sexy, The Perfect Catch makes for excellent reading if you’re after a book to unwind with. Set in Last Stand Texas, this is the first book in Joanne Rock’s Texas Playmakers series, which revolves around three professional baseball playing Brothers.
Both Cal and Josie are likeable characters with strong core values of honesty, caring for others, and working hard to achieve their goals. Both also have trust issues and through this story these issues serve to throw barriers in the way of their budding relationship.
I liked the flow of this story. I felt thoroughly invested throughout. My only tiny niggle was the way everything was tied up at the end, for me, it was just a little too neat.

Josie Vance had run away from a bad situation in Florida. Her ex-boyfriend had swindled her out of her entire savings and when she said she wanted to leave, her mother, threatened to turn her into the police for doing repairs without a license. Josie was the building supervisor for an apartment building her mother owned and she was such a cheapskate and never wanted to pay to hire someone to make repairs for the tenants so Josie learned to do them herself.

Josie had found a temporary job in Last Stand, Texas, for three months taking care of a farm and the dogs and bees that came along with it. Everything was wonderful until the owner's son showed up in the middle of the night.

Cal Ramsey had left Atlanta when he was cut from the professional baseball team that he played for. He had come home to the place he was raised but when he arrived in the middle of the night, it wasn't his mother he found, but a beautiful stranger holding a gun on him.

Josie and Cal danced around each other for most of the book. Both of them had trust issues but they both began to see the true nature of the other person and the thought of maybe there could be more, at least for a while began to surface. Josie was only going to be there for a few more weeks and Cal was hoping to get a contract with a new team. Was it possible to find happiness in such a short time or was it worth the effort?

This is a new author to me but I enjoyed the story very much. These two characters were opposites in a lot of ways but both needed love and trust in their lives and a safe place to land. There was one somewhat descriptive sex scene which is not something I like but it was easy enough to get feel the chemistry without reading the details.

I was given a arc copy of this book and I willingly offer my honest review.

This is a good story about finding yourself again after being through a difficult time in life.
I love the town of Last Stand and all that comes with it.
It's a good story filled with romantic moments and with give you a happy ending.

I went into The Perfect Catch by Joanne Rock with all intentions of loving this novel. Sadly though, it was just a like for me. I read anywhere from 15 to 20 novels a month, most of them are first person point of views. I was thrown off by the third person point of view writing style. I really need to start widening my horizon where novels and writing styles are concerned. I prefer first person over third person due to one fact, I love to feel what the characters are feeling firsthand, not be told what their feeling. This small thing made it really hard for me to actually get into this story and in the long run I found myself skipping through this one.

About The Perfect Catch:

Being a Major League baseball players has its perks. It also has its downfalls and Calvin Ramsey is quickly sliding down that slope. After learning his team has decided to let him go, Cal packs up and heads back home to his small town where he can put the pieces of his life back together and figure out where to go from here. He doesn't anticipate a mysterious woman dressed in his mother's bathrobe pointing a gun at him as he steps into his home or the feelings he has for her.

My Thoughts:

You all don't realize how much I wanted to love this one! Baseball is my favorite sport and when I saw the cover, I immediately wanted to get wrapped up in this novel and hide away for hours on end. There were moments I absolutely loved and moments that didn't meet my standards. I wanted more of the game. I wanted more feels.

I do have to say though, Cal brings the swoon in a few scenes. I loved those moments the most!

It's really hard to give a review on a novella type novel. I fear giving spoilers away so I'm going to cut this review a tad bit short and say I'm so confused on how I feel about this novel!

Overall, The Perfect Catch was an alright read. There were moments I loved but there were also issues I had with the flow and the writing styles. Because this is my first novel written by Joanne Rock, I won't let it deter me, I'll give this author another shot because the world is too big, you can't love everything. Hopefully my next reading experience is better.

5 Stars!

I was pulled right into this story. The story has secrets, laughs, sweet love, and heartbreak.

This is Josie and Calvin’s story. When Calvin returns home, he is surprised to find Josie in his space. Josie has had enough of the players. She lost everything because of her ex. She does not want to be bothered with another player. She wants to do her job keep a low profile and not expose all her secrets. Will she be able to do that or will Calvin tear down all her walls and have her falling for him in no time?

I loved these characters and the side characters. I felt I could connect with the characters and the story was a great read.

I highly recommend this book.

I really enjoy a slow and sweet romance. I liked that it was still a bit of a slow burn, even for being a bit of a shorter book. The characters went into their back stories quite a bit, which I also really loved, as a character driven reader. The writing didn't blow me away, and I don' think I'll ever re-read this one. But I'd recommend it for a fun, character focused, sweet romance.

This book is a short read and has Calvin Ramsey being cut from the major league baseball team he was with. Now showing up at his mother’s home he is upset that she is not there and that the caretaker that she hired she did not run any background check on. This first got me because during his 10 years of playing pro ball he hardly ever came home but now he wants to run everything. Josie and he come to an agreement and they sort of work things out. He then begins to work with his grandfather who would like him to stop playing ball and take over the family farm. He, of course, wants to get back into the game which has been his life forever. Josie and he begin a romance after going to one of his brothers’ minor league games. It is there that Josie begins to see just how much baseball has been the focus of the family especially when they get back to the house and she sees pictures of their sister receiving an award but the boys are all looking at the father and not at their sister. When Calvin receives some news over the internet about Josie he, of course, thinks only bad things and how this will affect his baseball career if he should have a shot with another team. Saying some pretty harsh things to her and not listening she leaves and he is given his own medicine by his mother who sets him straight by already knowing the information and more of it. Telling him to fix it and thinking the story is going to continue it ends abruptly. I felt it did and I felt that there were many unanswered questions. I did like the grandfather and Josie characters though.

This was a fun and flirty short read that was the perfect way to escape a cold and rainy afternoon. This was my first read from this author but certainly won’t be my last.

The boys of summer. What more needs to be said? I love a good baseball/sports book. This one fits the bill for that. We meet Cal Ramsey, baseballs (former) golden boy. He is having a tough time having just been cut from his team. He comes home to lick his wounds and meets the caretaker at his mom’s house (shotgun included!) in the middle of the night. Thus begins the story. What is Josie hiding? Is she running from the law? The chemistry between these two is great, but secrets have a way of coming back and biting you where it hurts. And you guessed it, that’s what happens. Of course Cal has his own demons to deal with. Will he get to play ball again? Will Josie’s secrets cause problems for him down the road? WHY won’t she trust him and tell him these secrets? This is really important as he is from a baseball family dynasty, but as they will find out, there are more important trials and tribulations to be taken care of between Cal and Josie can get on with their lives, whether apart or together.
Looking forward to the next installment in this series.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this work. The opinions are my own.

The Perfect Catch, Joanne Rock’s latest and the first in her new baseball series, is the perfect spring read. No matter how well your team is doing, this baseball book will make you smile and enjoy some time at the ballpark.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this novel.

I loved it! The secrecy...for a good reason. The chemistry. The angst and troubles with each of their families!! It all adds up to one amazing read. I truly enjoyed reading it and hi can't wait to hear more about the brothers!!!

3 stars
When a baseball player gets cut for good. where does he go to lick his wounds? Well, our guy goes back home expecting to be surrounded by family and finds a sexy caretaker for the animals instead.
She is there to hide away from all of her past mistakes and only wants to live a quiet life. But him being a famous ballplayer blows that out because of interest in him from fans and the public puts her at risk.

“Relationships 101―never chase a woman who doesn't want to be caught.” Is my favourite quote from this book and describes this book very well. This is a very short novella that was a bit slow at the start but ended quickly to the HEA we all love to read. This is a new author for me and I must say I very much enjoyed there writing style and story. The characters were relatable and likeable with a few secondary characters I am looking forward to reading about more in the future books as this is book one of “Texas Playmakers”. I loved the banter and chemistry between Calvin and Josie as they both take their journey into there changing world.

Calvin Ramsey has returned home to the Last Stand after being dropped by his baseball team not just for the rest of the season but for good. He needs time to think about what he should do next. He found his Grandfather recovering from an accident and his mother away overseas, all he was unaware of before turning up to his childhood home. But his biggest surprise was the sexy caretaker his mother had hired to look after her home and animals in her absence.

Josie Vance was hiding something from Cal and he was unsure if he could trust her. A woman from his world keeps secrets to gain what they want. But the more time he spends back home and with Josie, he started to have to fight the feelings he had for her and keep his distance as she was differently not showing interested in him.

“Of all the women he could have chosen, why was he so taken with a mystery woman who’d made it clear she didn’t want to get to know him better?”

Josie was not happy with the arrival of her employee’s son to the homestead next to the Rough Hollow Ranch in Last Stand. She was happy and contented with her life her and was slowly getting to know Everett Ramsey an earning his trust and she learned all the new roles she had to do to keep the homestead working while Hailey Decker was away. You could say that Josie was hiding or recovering from some hard time of her past that she would very much like to keep to herself. She could not fall for another player that would break her heart or do worse again.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

Joanna Rock delivered a romance that had a little bit of everything in it. Love, fear, distrust, a father from hell, a sweet woman and a man looking for his place in the world. He found it in his childhood home with one of the most unlikely woman.
Calvin was lost. Going home and having to face his future with the possibility of no baseball in it was daunting, scary and humbling. Finding out all that he missed while he was away was humiliating. But, now he is here and he is going to step up to the plate. He'll be here to help his grandfather. He'll be here to make sure the farm is running smoothly. At least until he gets the call-up again. But, will that ever happen? He knows he has to face his father and he knows that he'll have to deal with his attitude. The only thing keeping him half-way sane and fully insane is Josie. He needs to find a way to break through to her … get her to open up … get her to let him into her life.
Josie learned the hard way that trust is earned and not freely given. Now she is living with the past that could come back to haunt her. Unfortunately, Calvin isn't really helping matters. Working around the farm shirtless … buying her groceries … getting her involved with more that just taking care of the bees. Now, here she is out and about with him and, of course, the one thing she feared comes true. She opened herself up and not he's shutting her out … without listening to her side of the story.
Joanna Rock really did a nice job with this story. It was fluid, it was believable and it was interesting. She built the plot to the inevitable ending that had me both horrified and happy. She hit it out of the park with how the game of baseball is played and what players go through … especially with pushy stage-fathers. Yes, she made it easy to not like his father and step-mother. But, I really enjoyed the rest of the characters that she built and am looking forward to the rest of the books in this series.

I'm a fan of Joanne Rock's books plus add in a baseball player you have me sold. I mean the cover definitely drew me in too. Man my heart goes out to Cal his future in baseball is up in the air. That's the worst possible outcome for a player. Though he's a crossroads in life it may just a blessing in disguise because he gets to meet his mother's caretaker Joise. Sparks fly between them, but Joise is gun shy when it comes to men and relationships. I don't blame her upon learning her back story. She deserves some happiness and peace. I love her love of books and reading; kindred spirit. Cal set ups to the plate for Joise which wins me over. I also loved the way Josie makes Cal feel and brings him some sort of peace during his turbulent time. Being a baseball fan I was intrigued by the behind the baseball aspects.