Publisher: Samhain
Publish Date: Out Now
How I got this book: eARC from publisher
For a while, MLB pitcher Chase “Deuce” Dixon used his bad-boy reputation as a smoke screen to cover up his elbow injury. But plummeting pitching stats don’t lie, so now he’s a free agent, spending the off-season in surgeons’ offices, and considering a post-baseball career in security.
His first night moonlighting as a nightclub bouncer, he’s surprised that the singer on stage is his little sister’s pure, sweet, spitfire of a best friend. And some drunk guy is getting way too personal.
Summer Maitland doesn’t need Chase strong-arming one of the few fans she’s managed to accumulate during the career she keeps secret from her family. And despite her body’s shimmering reaction to his touch, she certainly doesn’t need a self-appointed bodyguard following her around.
Chase has other ideas. If anyone’s going to lay a hand on Summer, it’s going to be him. Now if only he could keep his tongue out of her mouth long enough to keep her safe. And his hands to himself before he scares her off.
Warning: Contains an ace hurler moonlighting as a bouncer moonlighting as a bodyguard, and an angel-voiced chanteuse who’s up for anything he can throw at her—in and out of the bedroom. This one could make you rethink the definition of fastball.
*Blurb from Goodreads*
I love sports heroes, and Quinn has been an author I really enjoyed in the past, so getting the read the first in the Deuces Wild series was a no brainer. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me as well as some of Quinn’s previous books.
Summer has always wanted to try and make a career out of signing. Getting the chance to perform in and around New York City is a dream come true. Having her best friend’s older brother, and her secret crush, around for the wild ride isn’t what she expected. But Chase has decided that Summer needs someone to watch over her, and he has declared himself her protector. Only, Summer would rather have him worshipping her body than protecting it.
Chase is lost. His elbow is screwed up and his baseball career is most likely over. He’s coasting through life not really sure what he wants to do. It’s not until he sees Summer again that he knows for sure that he wants to be near her. But keeping his hands off her in a sexual manner and keeping her safe is harder than he expected. When her career finally takes flight, Chase will have to decide if he’s ready to follow her on her dreams, reach for his own, or find a way for them to have it all.
This book took awhile to start, for me at least. I really struggled with connecting with both Chase and Summer both as individuals and a couple. I had a really hard time rooting for either of them as well as their relationship. For me, Chase was harder to relate to because he came across as so spoiled and depressed. His baseball career was in the pits, with his messed up elbow. But, instead of doing something about it he whined and complained and wallowed in his own self-pity. Then, once he decided that he was going to name himself as Summer’s protector he had a hard time committing to her as well. He waffled as to what he wanted, what he was going to do, and how he was going to handle himself. He made it very difficult for me to like him.
After getting to know Summer a little better, I did enjoy her character. Apparently there was a somewhat traumatic event in her past, and although Quinn didn’t hit on this event nearly enough for my liking, it did explain a little bit about Summer’s character. I liked that Summer was so fearless in going after what she wanted. She wanted a singing career, and she did what she had to in order to get it: traveling by herself and playing in some seedy places. I did think that her good girl persona wasn’t explored very well either. She was described as a church going good girl, and yet I never felt like it really impacted her character one way or the other.
Their romance was not the typical best friend older brother that I’m used to reading. Chase didn’t really have to seem any qualms about dating his younger sister’s friend, other than a slight protest to the age difference and the fact that he was in such a bad place. I wanted a little more drama in regards to changing the dynamic of their friendship, because at times it felt like they weren’t as good of friends as they sometime said.
All in all I was disappointed in the first book in the Deuces Wild series. The bodyguard agency that Chase was building didn’t really hold my interest, and I had a hard time connecting with the hero and heroine and their romance. While Quinn’s writing is normally superb, this book just didn’t work for me.
I give Protecting His Assets a C-