Review – Throwing Heat by Jennifer Seasons

Publisher: Avon
Publish Date: Out Now
How I got this book: Edelweiss

Nightclub manager Leslie Cutter has never been one to back down from a bet. So when Peter Kowalskin, pitcher for the Denver Rush baseball team, bets her that she can’t keep her hands off of him, she’s not about to let the arrogant, gorgeous playboy win. Especially when the prize could put her business on the map. She’s got this in the bag, just so long as she can stay out of his arms … and his bed.

Peter struck out once before with Leslie, but this bet is sure to be the second chance he’s been waiting for. Determined to stoke the passion he knows is there, he’ll do anything to win—even if it means playing a little dirty.

But as things heat up, this combustible pair will have to decide just how much they’re willing to wager on one another … and on a future that just might last forever.
*Blurb from Goodreads*

I was really looking forward to this book, since Leslie and Peter have been secondary characters in the previous books, and their sexual chemistry was off the charts. I couldn’t wait to find out more about their backstory, but for some reason they didn’t grip me as much as I had hoped.

Leslie has always been known for making bad decisions, mainly when it comes to men. Peter is the one man who gave her the most hope, and then crushed her hardest. So, finding herself needing to stay with him while her apartment is being fixed is one of the most difficult things she’s ever had to do. The little side bet that Peter wants to wager doesn’t help matters. But winning means buying her brother’s nightclub for herself, and finally getting over him.

Peter has always loved Leslie, and the fact that he wants nothing more than a second chance with her is almost as distracting as his last year playing professional baseball. But as things heat up for them both, on the field and off, Peter and Leslie find they have much more riding on the bet than their silly wagers.

I wanted to love this story, I really did. For some reason, it just didn’t work for me. I love both Leslie and Peter both, especially after all the time we got to learn about them in the first two books, and yet when it was all about them, the story just fizzled out for me. I didn’t love them as much as before, their relationship didn’t seem as interesting, and the overall plot didn’t hold my attention like I expected, even after we got to see their entire history of their relationship in the very beginning.

The whole bet aspect of the book was fairly flushed out and well integrated into the book, however it felt empty and shallow. It was obvious from the get-go that these two would be playing mattress mambo, and the fact that Leslie held out as long as she did was a miracle. Other than that, the whole wager aspect of the book did little to keep me engaged.

Getting to know more of Leslie and Peter’s backstory was fun, and I loved getting to see more into Peter’s past, find out why exactly he is such a fun-loving and easy-going guy. I adored learning about his hard-knocks past. However, I felt like Seasons just glossed it over, never really went into the depth to explain why it made Peter the way he was. Then, when he went home and found out he had a brother he never knew about, Seasons never mentioned another word about it. It was confusing and a VERY loose end that was left dangling at the end of the book.

The secondary characters, namely the other baseball players, were the saving grace of this book. I love the commodoraty between players. Getting to see them enjoying each other’s company on the field, and backing each other up off the field is such fun to read. I love the sense of brotherhood that is between all the players, and hope that we get to see more of it in future books, as it was one of the few aspects of this book that really made it work for me.

All in all I was disappointed in the third Diamonds and Dugouts book. I wanted so much to cheer for Leslie and Peter, yet instead I found myself bored and ready for them to just admit they loved each other and live happily ever after, so the book would be over. Thankfully the secondary characters and the small tidbits of backstory were enough for me to push on and finish this one.
I give Throwing Heat a C-

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