Game Changer by Collette West
Unfortunately I read these books out of order – silly, I know but having heard so much about Brooks and Sasha in the two books I had read, I really was left with no choice but to rectify my mistake and read this the first book.
I have to say that despite the fact that baseball is not a huge sport over here in the UK I have fallen completely under the spell of the New York Kings and Collette West because the way she pores so much information and detail into the story means that I am completely hooked!
The book is delightful and none more so than Brooks because I read the whole thing just smiling at the mere mention of his name.
Brooks has been friends with Sasha’s brother Nate for what seems to have been his whole life and as such Sasha has always been off limits, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting more.
Life kicks Nate big time when the genetic heart abnormality that he has leaves him on the transplant list and out of the game that is the love of his life but in a bid to keep him in the team – Sasha offers the New York Kings a first – the opportunity to field the first woman in the league. It is a PR dream and never ones to shun publicity they jump at the chance.
So,as if her being Nate’s little sister wasn’t enough, she is now a team mate and it is definitely not a good idea to be having the thoughts he is having about her– Brooks really is between a rock and a hard place (get your mind out of the gutter ladies!!) but he has to find a way to make this work and to insure that the other players keep their distance.
The attraction between them does not go unnoticed and some of the others try to help them keep it under the radar but the team will protect their asset and Sasha is the publicity machines latest meal and they’re not shy at feeding her to the wolves.
I loved the rest of the team and found that while I already was aware of who Jilly and Scott etc. were from my backward approach to the stories I loved seeing them early on and getting to find out what they were like before they got their own stories.
There were plenty of tears as I read this book but also lots of smile, I thought the situation with Nate and the transplant opportunity was handled to Ms West’s credit, she took what is such a sensitive, important subject and showed the pressure that sort of situation puts on, not only the recipient but all those connected with them.
The scene where the team went to the hospital to see Nate had me in tears, here was the group of guys who on a day to day basis were encouraged to look after number one but when it came down to it – were all pulling for their team mate.
Told from both Brooks and Sasha’s point of view the story was one that held my attention and my desire for them to beat the odds, to make it despite the obstacles that are put in their way.
I loved the epilogue and will openly admit that by the end I was surrounded by the resulting debris that I have come to expect when reading a Collette West novel – a pile of tissues!!!