Hey there, bookworms, and welcome to the weekend! I know it’ll go by in a flash, but I hope to savor it a little bit while it lasts and curl up with some long-awaited reads!
I meant to bring you my latest review earlier this evening, but I wound up with such an awesome headache that I came home from the office and crashed for hours. If anyone has any tried-and-true remedies for migraines, please feel free to let me know, because I’m sick of being plagued by them multiple times a week!
Anyway, before I get to the review, I just wanted to put out two quick updates. One, I plan on getting back to my own writing soon, and in the spirit of that, I’ve been posting installments of some of my words on Wattpad. If you’re interested in checking out a new story and a political romance, head to the right side of the homepage and check out a work in progress, Madam President! Two, I’m pretty sure I’m going to move forward with forming a book club. I’m still figuring out the logistics of a place to discuss monthly picks, but I will, so if you’re looking to join a group to read and geek out over new stories, please stay tuned and I hope you join in!
Okay, now that I’ve blabbed enough, let’s get to tonight’s review! It’s been a long journey, but after I post this, I’m finally caught up on ARCs and review requests. I can’t believe they’ve kept me so steadily busy for so long, but I’m thankful they have. I’ve discovered some really awesome stories that I may have otherwise not known about if the authors weren’t kind enough to seek me out to showcase their work in my own, small way. Anyway, tonight I’m going to be talking about (finally, right?) Refuse To Lose by Alison Mello.
This is the first work I’ve read of Mello’s and I’m glad I was introduced to her newly debuted A Coach’s Love series. It’s kind of a toss up if I’ll lose myself in a sports romance, since I’m to the biggest sports fan overall, but this was a cute and fun read that I’d suggest packing in your beach bag this summer.
Trystan is working on bettering himself. After making a severe mistake and taking the fall for a good friend, he has to serve his time by carrying out his sentence of coaching the community baseball team. What begins as a bit of a chore for him turns into something much more when he meets Stella and her son, DJ.
New in town, Stella and her young son are licking their wounds and hoping to rebuild their lives. After losing her husband in a tragic manner, Stella is learning to open up her heart to new love. After leaving New York City and adapting to small-town country life in rural West Virginia, the mother-son duo are finding happiness in their new surroundings. Meeting Trystan while working her usual morning shift at the town diner was just icing on the cake.
His sweet demeanor and striking good looks also come with a reputation. A tiny town brings massive gossip, and Trystan is very much at the center of it all. Thankfully, he and Stella communicate well and they fall into quite a cozy routine together with DJ.
There’s not a ton of conflict in this book, which is nice. Aside from an ex of Trystan’s who causes some trouble for him and Stella, there isn’t much in the way of miscommunication or tons of obstacles for these two to overcome. They move at their own pace due to their pasts and make their relationship as good as they can so that they and DJ can be content in the long run.
The writing style was a little choppy for me and didn’t quite flow the way I would’ve enjoyed, but the book had an overall sweet message about team building and community. There was the focus on DJ and the trials of growing up, and trying to do that without a parent present. Trystan was lovely the way he stepped up to the plate as it were, and was there when DJ needed a role model aside from the strength of his mother.
Romance mixed with some life lessons and simple values is what made this story for me. I was able to ignore some of the book’s flaws and concentrate more on what I was gaining and taking away from this journey. Im intrigued and I’ll be sure to keep my eye out for future installments in this series and see where these characters go in the life that they’ve built.
My Final Rating: three out of five stars
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