New review is now up.

*****

Kelly Maxwell has finally landed her dream job as publicist for the San Francisco Blaze.  But the team’s newest member, handsome bad boy catcher Matt Scanlon, is refusing every interview.  She’s got to get him to open up before the season ends, or she may not be back next year.  And after everything she overcame to achieve her dream, Kelly’s not about to let that happen.

Matt Scanlon just wants to be left alone to rebuild his life and his career.  After a year of masking the pain of a recent loss with hard partying and fast women, he finally hit rock bottom and was traded to a team he’s loathed his entire life—a team with little to no chance at the post-season.

Butting heads is getting Kelly and Matt nowhere but annoyed, and with the team’s schedule on the road, they can’t avoid close quarters—or their surprising attraction to one another.  As the season winds down, Matt finds his growing feelings for Kelly have brought his numbed emotions back to life.  But when betrayal shatters their fragile trust, winning it all seems more impossible than ever.

The Winning Season is the follow-up to Love in the Afternoon, which stars Kelly’s twin sister Kayla.  I’m guessing, based on this book, that Kelly and Matt actually meet in Kayla’s book but if, like me, you haven’t read it that’s ok too.  Packard does a fantastic job of giving her readers a smooth transition – the necessary back story doesn’t seem too detailed for those who are familiar with their history but it has all the information (delivered in a realistic fashion) for those who are new.  I would think that would be the hardest part of writing a series – balancing the needs of new readers with those of returning ones – and I think Packard handles it perfectly.

Both Matt and Kelly have their demons.  Matt’s life has hit rock bottom and the Blaze is his last chance, but he has his reason for self-destructing and it is a doozy.  It is easy to understand his downward spiral and he works very hard to turn things around.  Kelly has self-esteem issues that go back decades – a very tall and athletic woman (with a cute, pixie sister), she doesn’t fit society’s mold for beauty, and working in a man’s world doesn’t help.  She may have made peace with who she is but she still struggles.  Watching these two start out fighting like cats and dogs only to end up fighting their attraction for each other was quite entertaining.  I think that Matt may be one of my favorite heroes of all time and having him meet his match in sassy Kelly was perfect.

There are a few loose ends but I’m hoping to see them come up in future books.  I’m guessing that J T’s story is next – there were plenty of hints about it here and I’m definitely intrigued – but there are a lot of possibilities and I’m looking forward to all of them.  Packard has a fun, tight writing style that brings to life characters who will touch your heart and your funny bone.

If you love stories about big, strong, hot, and troubled athletes, then The Winning Season is the book for you.  I had a hard time putting it down and was looking for more when it was over.