Cover Image: Team Player

Team Player

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Member Reviews

Summer or fall is just the right season to read a baseball themed romance! Even though the plot is familiar ( sports star and PR agent, forbidden affair etc.), in this author's hands it's inventive and character driven. The baseball scenes are clearly well thought out, descriptive, knowledgeable and believable. The ups and downs of the relationship mirror the accompanying team highs and lows. Very enjoyable, looking forward to the next in the series!

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I love this author and was excited to read this book - I thought both MCs were delightful. I'm excited to see her do other genres as well.

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***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

Team Player by Julianna Keyes
Book One of the Charleston Thrashers series
Publication Date: March 28, 2019
Rating: 4 stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

BOTTOM NINE
Gwen Scott wants to love her job with the Charleston Thrashers, the MLB team she’s worshiped since she was a kid, but she can’t. Hateful colleagues and mind-numbing work make her days unbearable—until her head for baseball gets her exclusive access to the Thrashers’ clubhouse and she comes face-to-face with Tyler Ashe, the team’s sexy shortstop and baseball’s most ineligible bachelor.

BASES LOADED
Ty has sworn off relationships in order to focus on his all-star career, but with his best friend gone, his team struggling, and the press blaming him for every loss, the most recognizable man in the majors is in a slump. Until he starts spending his time off the field with a stern blonde who recites baseball stats for kicks and sees through his arrogant façade.

TWO OUT
As the Thrashers’ season gets into full swing and Gwen adjusts to her new job, their fun banter and friendly teasing turns into stolen kisses and countless steamy nights. The team’s strict policy against player-staff relationships throws a curve ball into the mix, but they can’t hide from their feelings any more than the most famous man in baseball can hide from the spotlight…

What I Liked:

I actually read this book in a grief-induced haze after my father's sudden death, in early 2019. I remember picking up Team Player but, over a year and a half later, I don't remember a single thing about the story. So this was a pleasant "first-time" reread for me. I needed a nice, positive distraction from the current political turmoil we (in the States) are dealing with. I have read most of Julianna Keyes' books and I can always trust her for a fun, sexy, positive romance story.

Team Player is the first book of a new series, revolving around baseball. Ty is a hotshot baseball player who is having a rough season, and Gwen works in PR for the baseball. Ty doesn't do relationships, and Gwen is incredibly focused on her job... but they meet by chance and a lot more than sparks fly. But is their secret relationship worth the risk?

I have yet to read a book by Julianna Keyes that I didn't like, and Team Player is no exception. From the start, I was hooked on Gwen's personal backstory, and Ty's as well. I wanted to know more about Gwen's grief, and Ty's loss. I wanted the Thrashers to turn their season around. Heck, I wanted Jorge Ibanez to be super annoying to his teammates. Keyes has a way of writing each and every character, whether primary or secondary, in a way that makes you want to know more about them and make you cheer for them. I was half in love with the entire Thrashers team (even Ibanez with his silly antics).

I liked seeing Gwen grow from being someone who went through the motions (due to fresh grief - something I very much understand!) to someone who became passionate about her career and her future. Ty grew from someone who didn't care about anything or anyone to someone who gave his all for his team, and his girlfriend.

Ty and Gwen have seriously great chemistry! If there is one thing that Keyes does incredibly well, it's build tension, and pull off some seriously sizzling chemistry. She also writes a great story and fun, relatable characters, but I'd say her strong suit is building tension. The romantic tension between Ty and Gwen is the shiver-worthy kind. Not to mention that they are adorable together. Seriously, relationship goals! I almost believe in love again, thanks to them.

The big conflict in this book is clear, when you look at the premise of the story, but Keyes wrote it in such a way that I didn't quite see it coming, the way it did. Suffice it to say, I was hooked and kept reading right until the end. This story was addicting and I couldn't wait to reach the end to see how things wrapped up. There is a cute HEA, so don't worry about that!

I really, really liked this book. It's a classic Keyes book, and yet, Keyes' writing and storytelling gets better and better with each book. I'm excited to see what she writes next!

What I Did Not Like:

This might be just me but I wanted a liiiiittle bit more from Gwen's (personal) end. I love the HEA with Ty, but I wanted more loose ends to be tied. Some loops to be closed. I can't say a lot without giving spoilers, so I'll keep it generic. But an epilogue would have been perfect.

But, the next book is a companion novel, so maybe I'll get to see more Ty/Gwen (and therefore, Gwen) in the next book. Maybe!

Would I Recommend It:

If you like adult contemporary romance - particularly sports romance - you should definitely try this new book (and series) by Julianna Keyes. I'm not even a baseball fan, but somehow, I am now, thanks to Team Player. Or maybe it's just baseball in fiction. I'm not ashamed to say that I might be a little in love with fictional baseball players.

Rating:

4.5 stars -> rounded down to 4 stars. This book was awesome! I had a fun time reading it and I really enjoyed it. I will be reading Bench Player as soon as I can - especially since I realized that it features Allison (Gwen's boss) and Connor (Ty's best friend). I'm excited!

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Gwen accepted the j9b with the Charleston Thrashers because of the love she had for a aunt that recently passed away. It just seemed natural to accept a job that provided her Aunt with so much joy. Trying to fix the image of notorious playboy Tyler Ashe was just part of the job. The unlikely chemistry that resulted was enough to blow the roof of the stadium. Great story I throughly enjoyed every minute!

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I finished it right now and omg it's been so long since I have felt this way about a book. I loved a lot of things about it, there's others that I didn't enjoy as much but what I loved the most was that Tyler and Gwen seemed real.

Everything seemed so real and three dimensional and I was so invested in the story when Ty fucked up, when something bad happened I was so stressed and angry but I could ALWAYS understand WHY he did what he did. I have zero tolerance for heroes who are dicks but Ty was the perfect example that you can fuck it up a lot of times and not be a dick.


I was super stressed because Ty and Gwen were both recovering from different painful situations and I would think that their relationship was bordering on toxic. Not because they wanted it to but they needed to have friends, Gwen's life can't be all about basketball and Ty. That's extremely sad.

Don't get me wrong the dynamic of their relationship was good, they were extremely cute together and when Ty messed up I could understand him even if, like Gwen, I was angry with him.

Their relationship was a 10 but I needed her to have a group of friends because she would end up feeling lonely even if she had Ty.

And that's the thing! This is a story about recovering from a difficult situation, finding an ally, a lover, companionship and love. Tyler and Gwen had to realize that even if they loved each other they had to start again in a different place.

I would have preferred if the pacing wasn't so rushed towards the end and if it was less "tell don't show" in Gwen's life outside the Trashers BUT the ending was hopeful and lovely and it left me feeling happy for both of them and wondering how their lives would be.

The book felt like a chapter in their story, and even if he or her messed up (mostly him, sorry Ty but he always said the wrong things) I could totally imagine them together, growing old together, fucking it up and making up and just LIVING.

I'll definitely recomend it to fans of sports romance, contemporary romance with more complex characters, fans of the trope: slow burn/ friends to lovers.

Also now that I think about it Ty reminded me of Dimitri (from Dance with me by Alexis Daria) because both of them fucked it up a lot of times because they're awful at socializing but they're such good men!

To sum up I didn't think that I would love this book so much because I started it earlier this year and left it at 30/40% but when I decided to finish it I got totally invested in the story and it'll end up on my list of favourite books from 2019.

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I closed out my Keyes binge by finally reading this book that has been on my TBR for several months. It’s a baseball romance. The heroine works in the PR department for a baseball team. The hero is a short stop on the team the heroine works for. They connect when Gwen has to provide talking points to the coach. Ty is a “player” who isn’t interested in relationships. Of course, they end up in one. Ty says some stupid shit and Gwen isn’t there for it. There is the issue of them working together and that becomes a major conflict for them. There are some interesting secondary characters that perhaps Keyes will write about some day. I found this story enjoyable, but it wasn’t as compelling and memorable as Time Served or In Her Defense. Gwen is a perfectly likable heroine and after reading Rachel & Caitlin recently, I wanted to see more of that from Keyes.

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Julianna Keyes is one of my favorite authors. Her writing is solid, her words flow well and she has a wicked sense of humor. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book of the Charleston Thrashers. Baseball serves as the backdrop and I am very impressed with the author's deep knowledge of the game as she used to play baseball. I liked the main characters, Gwen and Ty and they meshed together very well. Though they were both new to relationships, they had their subtle ways of affection. Also, there was not a lot of drama which is nice.

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I completely forgot to post my review here, but I love Julianna Keyes! Team Player is a sweet romance. It doesn’t have a lot of angst but I think that’s a plus. Someone unneeded angst puts my off. And I love that’s it’s a sports romance!!

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I liked this story.. I love baseball, and I enjoyed reading a bit of “behind the scenes” of a major league team. Gwen and Ty were an enjoyable couple too. 3.5 stars from me.

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I did enjoy this books loved the chemistry between Tyler and Gwen. Gwen knows all about baseball especially the Thrashers since her aunt raised her since she was a little girl and taught her that she knows. Gwen is working in the Thrashers PR department and does all the jobs no one wants to do and feels she is living her dreams regardless of the job because it would have made her aunt proud and Gwen still really misses her. Tyler plays for the Thrashers but feels lost since his best friend Connor is now in jail and he is not friends with anybody else. Gwen and Tyler start spending time together even though it is forbidden, but someone figures it out and causes chaos with the things they spill, will they be able to survive it? Grab a copy and enjoy!

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This is the first time I have read this author and I really enjoyed this book. This a slow burn romance that I couldn’t get enough of. I love a good sports romance and this was one was right up my alley.

Ty and Gwen had a connection that was sometimes on and sometimes off. I am recently learning the game of baseball so I really enjoyed this book. I felt like I was there with them during the baseball games.

I will be reading more from this author.

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Julianna Keyes has yet to disappoint me with her books. There's something about her writing that I find very comforting. I was excited to see that she was releasing a new sports romance and I didn't hesitate to request a copy. Team Player was a low-key book, in my opinion, and that made it a story that was very easy to sink into. I enjoyed both Gwen and Ty's characters. They were both very likeable. Gwen was hardworking, brave, and very kind. She had recently lost her aunt who she was very close to. Her aunt was the reason she had gotten a job with the Trashers. There was a sadness and loneliness to Gwen that I found relatable. She was surrounded by all these people in her life, but she was still alone. I was really glad when she and Ty formed a friendship with each other. Ty was equally lonely in his life despite his fame as a baseball player. Their relationship was sweet and they had decent chemistry with each other. It obviously wasn't without its obstacles, but I never doubted that they would make it until the end. This was also my first baseball romance. It's not a sport I've read in romance and not that one I know anything about, so I was happy that Julianna Keyes spent some time really delving into the politics of the sport. Overall, I quite enjoyed Team Player and I look forward to reading more from this series.

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I am a fan of sports themed romances. Team Player is light, sexy, and extremely entertaining. I appreciated the complexity of the characters and world Julianna Keyes created. I would have liked to see a little more growth on the part of the male lead, it would have made it easier to root for the happily ever after. Ms. Keyes writes with humor and I'll admit there were some laugh out loud dialogue moments and situations. I am very taken by the secondary characters introduced in this book and really look forward to their individual stories. I will definitely watch for the series.
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

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Enjoyed reading this book. Juliana wrote something that was hard to put down. Loved the sports romance aspect of it.

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Gwen Scott has been a fan of the Charleston Thrashers since she was a little girl. And getting a with them was supposed to be a dream. Turns out not everything is fairies and rainbows where her colleagues are concerned. With a head for numbers and stats, being stuck as an errand girl for the PR departments is the last thing she wanted but, the bills need paying so she's keeping at it. A few words uttered without constraint to the coach while on an errand brings her in to his focus and she finds herself advising him on media comments, players and strategies. And of course that also makes her get noticed by some of the players including bad boy Tyler Ashe, the team's shortstop. Even though neither of them are allowed to get involved and neither of them wants anything serious, they soon realise that nothing is as it seems and the best made plans usually fail.

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I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley.

I grew up watching baseball with my grandfather, so i'm always a bit excited for baseball stories. This book didn't disappoint.

Such an easy and enjoyable read.

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I love this author’s work. This story was so good! I loved the hero in this story and I though the ending was good. Definitely recommend

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I saved this gem of a sports romance for my Opening Day read and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve made in a long while. Astros baseball on the television and a harried, hard working PR assistant falling in love with a lonely short stop on my Kindle. Heaven.

This was such an easy read. I appreciated that the author brought her baseball knowledge A game. You can just tell she loves the game. Gwen and Ty had great chemistry, and despite their relationship being kept secret for most of the book (for reasons), the angst level wasn’t overwhelming. Oh, there was drama to be sure, mostly Ty screwing up and acting a fool, but it wasn’t rip your heart out of your chest and this couple always made up pretty quickly.

It wasn’t just the main protagonists and their relationship that kept me turning pages. I’m so interested in the rest of the players on the Thrashers. Especially Reed. I mean how do you not want to know more about a man who starts reading YA PNR in order to connect with his teenage daughter? And I want to find out more about Connor and his insider trading. What’s next for him? Does he come back to baseball? Ms. Keyes just whet my appetite and I can’t wait for more.

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I grew up watching baseball and so I'm a HUGE fan of it. I think what I appreciated the most about this book was the fact that the Julianna knows her stuff and you can tell. Sometimes when you read sports romance books you can be disappointed when there is a lack of the actual sport in the book. With this story that is not the case, you get the "view" the games not just be told about it.

I also loved Gwen and Ty's relationship, how they grew not only as a couple but as individuals. The only issue I had was the ending, I wish we could have seen them farther down the line, however, that's just a personal preference.

I can't wait to see who the next book is about.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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A new top five favorite sports romance. I just love Julianna Keyes' writing. It features two characters who are both dealing with different kinds of grief find someone with whom they connect. Low angst. Realistic conflict. I can't wait for more in the series.

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