Short, sweet, romantic love story of a high profile sports player down on his luck and a once bitten, twice shy woman...both of whom are running from themselves.

Calvin Ramsey, baseball player, has been released from his team. He can't believe that this happened. He is planning to visits his mother and grandfather and wait to be called in from different team.
Josie Vance, lost her all money to con artist and have been fired from the job. She is lucky to get new job as a caretaker of old farmhouse in Last Stand, Texas.
Cal and Josie meets, sparks fly. What would happen when Josie past finds them? Would Cal risk his career for her, or would he let her go?
Loved this story, book is well written with great characters.

2 stars
Sadly, I didn't love this book. It was too short and everything was either really slow at the beginning of the book, or really fats at the end. If it was longer, it might have been better. i

Cal is a major league baseball player from a "baseball family" who's just been unexpectedly released from his contract. Josie is a smart and resourceful young woman trying to escape from her dysfunctional relationship with her mother, and start a new life, hiding out in a small Texas town. The two meet on Cal's family farm, and the sparks start to fly.

I liked this book most of the way through, but I felt like the ending was very abrupt and rushed.

I was enjoying the story of Josie and Cal; getting to know the characters and their personalities, damages and back stories. The chemistry is brewing, the conflict is developing, and things start to click, and then BAM! DONE! I'm a fan of love conquering all just as much as the next girl, but c'mon. I just didn't find the resolution to be completely believable, and./or satisfying.

I did like the author's writing style, and as I said, I enjoyed first probably three quarters or more of this book a lot. I would most likely give another book in this series a chance just to see if things are wrapped up a little better for my taste with someone else's story.

I finished this short romance quickly. It was a really cute story but fell a little short for me. I would have loved to have seen the characters developed more. I kept thinking the book was going to go another way with the story but it never did. There was a lot left to explore towards the end. I would read another book by this author.

This was a sweet romance that moved quickly. Josie Vance (and I have to wonder if she’s a long lost sibling to Colt Vance in “Homecoming for the Cowboy”) is caretaking a property for Cal Ramsey’s mother while his mom is on a mission trip. She lost her life savings to a romancing con artist and fears her own mother could get her in legal hot water (mom is a bad landlord who doesn’t want to pay licensed contractors to fix her apartments and had Josie, as her manager/handyman do the repairs and now threatens to report Josie!) Cal has been released from his baseball team and at loose ends. He comes home to find his mom gone, a stranger in her house, his grandfather recovering from a major accident no one told him about and his famous pitcher father his usual difficult self. Neither is looking for a relationship but they have chemistry and quickly fall in love. But Cal finds out about Josie’s potential legal troubles in the wrong way and won’t let her explain. Only a call from his mother in South America sets him straight and he rushes to redeem himself before it’s too late.

Josie ended up needing a job after having a falling out with her mother. Her kind elderly neighbor gives her an ad to which she replies. Josie goes to work as a caretaker/bee/garden/ caregiver for Haley when she goes on a mission trip.
Cal is cut from the team so he heads home to hide out from the media.
Cal falls for Josie and sparks fly. Cal realizes he doesn’t want to be like this father and Josie stands up for herself and counters her mothers charges.

The Perfect Catch, is a quick read. Because it is, there isn't too much drama. Some family drama on both sides, but minimal.

A very enjoyable book, pleasant story and interesting characters although the background characters could have been fleshed outmore but all and all a good read

2.5 Stars

While reading the description I thought, yes! this ticks all the boxes and also wrote by a bestselling author. What could go wrong.

It is a very short story, so I thought ok things are going to happen quiet quickly. I was very, very, VERY wrong. Half way into the book, Josie and Cal were still having the same conversation about their past and who they were.

*SPOILERS*
However, once I hit half way everything happened at once. They go to a game together, sleep together, secrets come out and boom they are in love. I'm sorry but what! All that happened in about 5 chapters.

Positives: Joanne Rock has a lovely writing technique. This book has massive potential, the plot is there and its good. It just needs to flow better.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Texas Playmakers series book one The Perfect Couple by Joanne Rock. A great start to a new series set in Texas. A enjoyable storyline, likable characters, and great dialogue. I look forward to reading more in this new series.

Josie is easily distracted, "...a leather tool belt hung low on his hips over a pair of faded jeans. “Oh.” She lowered her hand, nearly forgetting why she’d come over in the first place. “Hi.” Cal is a real considerate man, “nevertheless, we should find a bed.” He wrapped her in strong arms. Lifted her. “You’ll want to be comfortable when I’m taking your clothes off.” I liked this book, I liked Cal.

I loved Cal and Josie’s story. They both have past hurts and not interested in a new relationship. Sometimes that is when love cannot be denied. I love books with cowboys! I can’t wait to read more from Joanne Rock.

THE PERFECT CATCH by Joanne Rock is the perfect afternoon read! I loved reading about Cal and Josie! I definitely will be waiting for the next book in this series on this baseball family! Give 🌟's from me, it's a homerun!

This was a very quick read with so much potential....the characters were interesting and so was the premise of the story but the relationship between the two main characters just seemed to quick to be believable. They went from ‘let’s have a no strings attached affair’ to the L word in less than 24 hours...the author could have ended it with a ‘let’s see where this goes’ since it’s the start of a series, which would have made more sense, which I would have enjoyed a lot more

The story of Calvin and Josie.
He is a baseball player and in the public eye, she is on the run from her real life, so the last thing she wants is to be in the spotlight. But the more time they spend together the more she falls for him, so what harm can a fling be?

Looking forward to the rest of this series!

Returning back home to Last Stand, Texas after being released from his baseball contract, Calvin runs into an unexpected surprise when he find the beautiful caretaker Josie residing in his childhood home. Unbeknownst to the hometown sports hero, Josie moves to Last Stand to have a fresh start when she loses all her savings to a swindler ex-boyfriend and being fired from his job by her mother who threaten to report her to the authorities for violating state law when helping out her apartments tenants. After a one-sided flirtation from Cal's end which proves difficult to resist, he proposes a two week affair until his mother returns from overseas and the guarded brunette employment ends. Though she was reluctant at first due to not wanting to gather attention to her nor her past, it was hard to denied that mutual attraction and they spent an intimate night together. But when the public’s fascination with the baseball-playing Ramsey clan is at an all-time high, would the building relationship tarnish when her past is revealed?

Overall, I was impressed with this laid back and easy read. It wasn't generally what I was expecting when I picked up the book and I anticipated a somewhat of a cowboy romance but it was the complete opposite. The characters were realistic and struggled with real life issues such as dealing with estranged and broken relationships, work struggles, and relationships woes. The relationship between Josie and Calvin was very natural, mature and didn't seem force. They were immediately wary of each other despite the attraction and over time, a mutual understanding and romance was developed. Furthermore, in the span of 2-3 weeks the romance between the leads was formed rather quickly. If you haven't known this about me already, I am not a big fan of instant love and this series could have easily ended with an open-ended final in which the characters could have explored the natural of their romance naturally. When the "L" word dropped, I was like nooooo yet it didn't take away from the premise and was still a very enjoyable read. With "The Perfect Catch" being the first Joanne Rock novel I have read, I surely plan on keeping an eye out for any future series from the author.