Tigers Meet Harlequin: The Catcher's Pregnant Bride

Our Hero: Alex Avila

What You Need To Know: Born and raised in Florida, Alex is a 2nd generation Cuban American and baseball is the family business.  His grandfather worked for the Los Angeles Dodgers for many years, mainly heading up their Latin America operations.  At the time the Tigers drafted Alex in the 5th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft, his father, Al Avila, was the Tigers assistant GM and was hesitant to draft his own kid because, well, this baseball business is complicated.

After Dave Dombrowski was let go at the end of the 2015 season, Al was promoted to GM and his son was now entering 2016 as a free agent.  The writing on the wall, Al let his own son walk.  Alex, fairly beat up now from his years of catching, signed a one year deal with the Chicago White Sox.  During his brief tenure in Chicago, Alex jacked two homeruns against Tigers ace Justin Verlander but mostly served in a back-up capacity for a club that had catching issues last year.  His one-year deal up with Chicago, and Detroit in need of a back-up to starting catcher James McCann, the family was reunited when Alex signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Tigers in the off-season.

His Baggage:  This is Alex's second appearance as a Tigers Meet Harlequin All-Star, having been the subject of a Cosmo Red Hot Read in 2014.  At that point in his career the physical toll of the catcher position was starting to show.  Alex has had more than one concussion, and other than a dynamite 2011 season, his bat isn't a whole lot to write home about.  He's very good defensively however, and I think he's one of the more under appreciated game callers working today.  He handles a pitching staff extremely well, and his rapport with Verlander is exceptional.  Alex is no dummy and he's grown up around baseball.  He understands the business side of things probably better than most players.  If we're to believe the press, he's got no hard feelings for his father who simply let him walk away during his free agency year.  It's business after all, and not personal.  Still, reports suggest that GM Al's own mother (Alex's grandmother) was not pleased with her son.

But this is my category romance idea, so yeah - Alex?  You're bitter as hell.  It makes for a better story.

The Proposed Category Romance Plot: He's been around baseball his whole life. After all, it is the family business.  He just didn't think his own family would cut him loose for the sake of that business.  His own father didn't so much as sniff in his direction when he became a free agent.  Not an obligatory call to his agent.  Not a single word.  The silence was deafening.  After all he'd done for the team.  The way he brought along the young pitchers.  How he handled the egos of the established aces.  So long Alex.  Don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.  Well, now he's back and his old man is acting like it's no big deal.  Suck it up son, it's just business.  Alex's head knows this, but the heart is taking longer to heal.  And it's after a particularly embarrassing tongue-lashing from the old man, in front of his teammates no less, that sends Alex into the arms of the pretty new assistant equipment manager.

The Heroine: Down on her luck she got this job assisting the team's equipment manager through a friend of a friend - and just barely.  Good Lord, the lecture she got about fraternizing with the players?  Let's just say that if she gets something in her eye and accidentally winks in their direction she'll be out on her butt so fast her head will spin.  So falling into bed with the back-up catcher was so not a smart move.  Especially when it turns out that the birth control failed and she's now got a bun in the oven.  So now she has to figure out how to tell her one-night stand that she's pregnant and somehow manage to keep her job.  Sure.  That won't be a problem at all.

What Harlequin Line?:  Oh Alex. You're ticked off at your father and you have a one-night stand that results in getting the heroine pregnant.  You've landed yourself in a Harlequin Presents.

Tigers Meet Harlequin: The Rancher's Sweetheart

Our Hero: Victor Martinez

What You Need To Know:  Victor was an undrafted free agent out of Venezuela and became the starting catcher for the Indians in 2004.  After a few years with the Boston Red Sox, he signed a free agent deal with the Tigers in 2011.  He has been money for Detroit, pretty much the only pure contact hitter we've had on the roster.  That said, his tenure in Detroit has been marred by injuries - namely an ACL that saw him missing all of the 2012 season and a torn meniscus in 2015.  Oh, and he apparently played all of 2016 with a hernia. Still, he finished the season with a .289 batting average, 27 homeruns and 86 RBIs.  If I had a hernia I'd be lucky to get out of bed.

His Baggage: This is Victor's second time as a Tigers Meet Harlequin All-Star, having spent the 2013 inaugural season finding himself an unexpected single father and trying to help his son grieve over his mother's death.  In real life, Victor has known his wife since they were 17-years-old, growing up in Venezuela.  They have three kids and make their home in Florida.

Both Victor and his wife grew up around farming and they've purchased a large chunk of land south of Orlando.  Victor is still one of the best hitters in the league, but he's slowed down considerably and he's in the twilight of his career.  While most guys would likely take up golf in retirement, or look for ways to stay in the game, the Martinezes plan to take up cattle ranching.  Because, of course.

The Proposed Category Romance Plot: He knows he can't play baseball forever, and his body has been telling him for a while now that there isn't much time left.  When in a situation like this the smart guys start looking at post-retirement plans.  He loved spending time on his uncle's farm growing up in Venezuela, and he wants that experience for his kids.  Plus, if he's honest, he loves the hard, honest way of life.  After a few minor setbacks, he's finally managed to purchase his dream plot of land in central Florida and is starting out with a small herd of beef cattle. Nothing big yet. He just wants to get his feet wet.  What he didn't plan on was his kids unhappiness at being uprooted from the noisy distractions of city life, the locals' animosity that an "outsider" bought up so much land, and the local veterinarian talking to him like a simpleton when he asks her to come out to take a look at an ailing heifer.  He should be insulted by her attitude, but all he can think about is how tempting her lips are and how long it's been since he's had a woman in his life.

The Heroine:  Vet school was not a walk in the park, but she somehow managed to graduate from Cornell, top of her class.  She's a bit of an anomaly, a female vet specializing in large animals.  But farming is in her blood, having grown up on her family's small farm in central Florida.  Now she's back, having taken over the practice from good ol' boy Doc Andrews.  It took her some time to win over the locals (a large animal vet with boobs seemed to throw them off at first), but they're starting to come around.

 Besides, they've moved on to bigger distractions, namely the big name baseball player who has moved into the area.  She's seen types like him before.  Likes animals, thinks ranching will be a lark, "really, how hard could it be?"  Ha! He's in a for a rude awakening.  Or is she?  Because the minute she meets him, and his adorable, albeit slightly surly, children she can't help but be charmed.  But the locals are just starting to accept her.  Getting tangled up with an interloper baseball player who thinks he's a rancher won't do anything other than derail all the hard work she's put in.  Or will it?

What Harlequin Line?:  Back in 2013 I put Victor in a Harlequin Special Edition and here we are again in 2017.  I'm sorry Victor, you're just a Special Edition kind of guy.

Tigers Meet Harlequin: The Handyman Can

Our Hero: Michael Fulmer

What You Need To Know:  Mr. Fulmer was a standout pitcher for his Oklahoma high school and committed to play college ball for the University of Arkansas.  Well, that is until the New York Mets drafted him in the first round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft.  Fulmer said farewell to Arkansas and joined the Mets minor league system.  He kicked around the minor leagues until 2015 when, in one of his final duties as Tigers GM, Dave Dombrowski sent former Tigers Meet Harlequin All-Star Yoenis Cespedes to the Mets in exchange for Fulmer.

Turns out Dave totally did us a solid.  Fulmer was optioned to Tigers AAA-affiliate, the Toledo Mud Hens to start the 2016 season.  However, when starter Shane Greene got a blister, Fulmer was called up to make his Major League debut on April 29 against the Minnesota Twins.  It was pretty much magic after that.  Fulmer became the first Tigers pitcher since 1913 to allow one or zero runs in eight consecutive starts.  He also pitched his first career complete game and shutout.  He finished the season with an 11–7 record, 3.06 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 132 strikeouts in 159 innings pitched.

Oh, and he won the American League Rookie of the Year Award.

His Baggage: By all accounts, which is backed up by this feature in Sports Illustrated, Fulmer is an understated kind of guy.  Even though he pitched his heart out once called up, he didn't allow himself to get too comfortable, realizing that the Tigers could send him down the minute Greene's blister was healed.  He spent the rest of the season living out of a hotel room.

He's the kind of guy who, on the day after he found out he was drafted in the first round by the Mets, still showed up to help his coach with a Little League camp and his footwear of choice is a pair of beat-up cowboy boots his wife bought him.

But by far my most favorite Fulmer fact is that, in the off season, he works as a plumber.  Seriously.  A good friend's uncle needed some help at his plumbing company, and there was Fulmer ready to dig ditches, lay pipe, whatever.  He likes it because it gives him something to do and allows him to not think about baseball for more than five minutes.

The Proposed Category Romance Plot: He's coming off a magical season.  His first full season in the big leagues and he won Rookie of the Year?  It's hard to imagine.  His teammates are happy for him, determined to get him to go out and party like a superstar.  But that's not really his style.  He's looking forward to going home to Oklahoma.  Maybe buy a new truck with the bonus he got.  Maybe mend some fences on his uncle's ranch.  Instead he gets roped into doing a solid for someone on the team's grounds crew.  Well, the guy's sister at any rate.  What the heck, right?  Why not spend the off season staying in Detroit?  It seems like a good idea, until he meets the sister.  He knows she's still smarting over her divorce, and he does not need any added distractions.  But dang, she's so smart and sexy and Lord her ex was obviously a complete idiot. He's there to fix the pipes, but he finds himself distracted by thoughts of bedrooms.  Hey, how many bedrooms are there in this building anyway?

The Heroine:  She should have known her rat-bastard ex was no good when the family dog didn't like him, but she never seems to learn.  She worked in dive bars to help get him through college and spent too many nights alone while he was working his way up the corporate financial ladder.  What she didn't know is that he was climbing that ladder with his secretary and hiding assets, preparing to dump her sorry butt when the timing was right.  She found out before he could totally blindside her, but dang, he was good.  Finally, just to be done with him once and for all, she takes a payout (which she knows is likely paltry) and an apartment building.  She figures she can either flip the building or go into property management.  Either way, she has options.  Well, that is until she finally gets into the building and does a full, warts-and-all inspection.  Good Lord, her ex was a slumlord!


What she needs is help, and fast.  But with little capital, she needs people who will do quality work and not expect a whole lot in the way of salary in return.  She's desperate, but not without connections.  She puts out the call and luckily her brother totally comes through.  For reasons she can barely fathom, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year has agreed to help her out and fix the mess that is the building's plumbing.  But how is a girl expected to concentrate on resurrecting a wreck of a building and keeping her tenants from suing her when all she can think about is the handyman crawling under her ahem sink?


What Harlequin Line?:  That beard, that blue collar attitude, a heroine who isn't dead below the waist but a little vulnerable?  I want this to be a Blaze.  Just think of how much trouble this couple could get into with all those ahem tools at their disposal?

The 5th Annual Tigers Meet Harlequin Extravaganza!

That's right kids, it's that time of year again.  When hope springs eternal and even Chicago Cubs fans think their team can win the World Series (oh yeah...that's right...).  Opening Day of the Major League Baseball season kicks off on Monday, April 3.  Seriously, probably my absolute favorite time of the year.  Hands down. Bar none.

I can't believe it, but that "brilliant" (depending on who you ask...) idea I had back in 2013 is now celebrating it's 5th anniversary.  Once again I will be taking four lucky players on the current Detroit Tigers roster and spinning them their very own Harlequin romances.  Per usual (for any lawyers reading this...) these stories are 1% truth and 99% pure Grade A malarkey.  I love Harlequins and I love Detroit Tigers baseball - so why not throw them both in a blender and see what kind of half-baked idea is the result?

This year brings us two new editions to the Tigers Meet Harlequin All-Star roster and two returning players getting brand new stories.  We'll kick things off tomorrow, but in the meantime, why not catch-up and/or relive the previous four years of shenanigans?

2016 Tigers Meet Harlequin Roster:
Miguel Cabrera, first base - The Slugger's Family Promise
Daniel Norris, starting pitcher - The Pitcher's Second Chance Romance
James McCann, catcher - The Catcher's Sexy Revenge
Brad Ausmus, manager - The Secretary's Dreamy Bombshell

2015 Tigers Meet Harlequin Roster:
J.D Martinez, outfield - Someone to Come Home to
Ian Kinsler, second base - The Texan's Redemption
Yoenis Cespedes, outfield (NY Mets) - The Woman He Couldn't Forget
David Price, starting pitcher (Boston Red Sox) - Reunited with the Pitcher's Sweetheart

2014 Tigers Meet Harlequin Roster:
Rick Porcello, starting pitcher (Boston Red Sox) - Angling Towards Danger
Alex Avila, catcher - Collision at Home
Jose Iglesias, shortstop - The Shortstop's Secret Baby
Max Scherzer, starting pitcher (Washington Nationals) - His Brother's Keeper

2013 Tigers Meet Harlequin Roster:
Victor Martinez, designated hitter - The Single Dad's Homerun
Austin Jackson, outfield (Cleveland Indians) - Action Jackson
Phil Coke, relief pitcher (Japan) - Good Time Phil
Prince Field, first base (Retired) - Daddy Doesn't Love Me
Justin Verlander, starting pitcher - Bring the Heat
Miguel Cabrera, third base (now first base) - The Venezuelan's Sexy Bodyguard

Mini-Reviews: Catching Up With The Wicked Quills

In a bid to delude myself that I'm making progress on the TBR Of Doom, I've started on audio editions of books I own in either print or digital.  I also have this nasty habit of leaving series unfinished for long stretches of time, so when I saw that work had the Wicked Quills of London trilogy by Eva Leigh, I decided on a back-to-back listen.  The results were mixed.

Scandal Takes the Stage is the second book and was the real dud in the series for me.  I liked the first book well enough, although felt there were "pacing issues."  This one?  I was just bored.  Literally, nothing happens.  Maggie Delamere is a playwright at the Imperial Theater in London.  She's feeling pressure from the theater benefactors to write a sequel to her most successful play and she has horrible, awful writer's block.  She's stymied.  Into the mix enters our hero - Cameron, Viscount Marwood.  An heir to a Dukedom, a notorious rake, and completely smitten with Maggie.  Of course she's having none of it - loathing the aristocracy as a general rule because she was "done wrong" in her younger days.

And that's it.  Maggie doesn't like aristocrats and has writer's block.  Cam is warm for Maggie's form.  No, really.  That's it.  Eventually they get together, fall in love, and must move past the minor obstacle that Maggie is a nobody and Cam is a Duke's heir.

None of this is helped by the audio narrator, who is merely serviceable.  Is Mandy Williams the worst narrator I've ever listened to?  Hardly.  But there's something flat about her delivery which isn't helped by the flatness of this romance.  Honestly I would probably grade this lower, but Leigh handles the time period well and the world-building is really good.  I can't in good conscience slap this with a D.  So....

Final Grade = C

While listening to Scandal, my hold for Temptations of a Wallflower came in.  Given my lackluster response to Scandal, I had serious doubts jumping into this one right after - but in for a penny, in for a pound.  Turns out I really enjoyed this book - and I think it's the strongest book in the whole trilogy!

Lady Sarah Frampton is a Duke's daughter and has been labelled by the ton as the "Watching Wallflower."  Our girl is half a breath away from being "on the shelf."  What nobody knows however is that she's also the Lady of Dubious Quality, a writer of salacious erotic novels.  She has gone to great lengths to keep her identity under wraps, recognizing that the scandal would ruin her parents and likely result in her banishment from England.

Jeremy Cleland is a third son of a demanding, moralistic Earl, which means Jeremy was slated for the Church.  Now a vicar, he's in London, having been summoned by his father and uncle to ferret out the Lady of Dubious Quality.  Daddy sees this as a way to remind people of all his wonderful (ha!) work being the voice of morality for the county (ugh!) but he's not about to go sleuthing at his age - so he orders Jeremy to do it, or else he'll cut off his allowance.

Jeremy and Sarah happen to meet at a garden party and are immediately drawn to each other.  But even though he is an Earl's son, he's a third son.  Which means a Duke's daughter is way, way above him.  But they can't stay away from each other and, naturally, fall in love.  But Jeremy doesn't know that Sarah is the Lady and Sarah doesn't realize that the man she loves is trying to ferret out her true identity so his father can ruin her.

This does sound fairly unsavory, but it works.  Sarah and Jeremy are both characters forced into boxes by outside forces.  Sarah is expected to play the dutiful Duke's daughter, the perfect society girl, and catch herself a husband.  Jeremy's life is not his own, having been strong-armed into his father's plans and wishes.  I suspect some readers will question why Jeremy doesn't just tell his father to go hang - and I'll admit there were moments I was frustrated with him.  But I also can understand that a third son of an Earl, making a living as a vicar, would be concerned with his father cutting him off financially.  Sarah's motivations for keeping her secret are, frankly, blatantly obvious.

The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, and by the time they fall in love, the suspense of the story kicks up several notches.  The Big Secret is literally a Sword of Damocles hanging over the second half of this story.  Also, this was by far the sexiest tale in the trilogy.  These are two characters so perfectly suited for each other, and you have the added complication of their different social standings.  The attraction is immediate, steamy, and the anticipation is particularly well done.  I tend to get easily bored by love scenes that don't really mean anything in romance novels (other than beef up word count or because "readers expect them!") - but the passion is particularly well-written in this book and makes the Black Moment when the Big Secret is revealed all the more blacker and gut-wrenching.

The audio version is particularly well done, with Eva Christensen narrating.  It was a pleasure to listen to.  I also appreciated how the author chose to end this story.  Like the previous two, she avoids the trap of everything being Absolutely Stunningly Perfect on the final page.  Our couple is happy, but there is collateral damage.  People who turn their noses up at unconventional unions, parents not happy with the choices made by their children.  And honestly, that's so refreshing it somehow manages to make the happy ending even more rewarding.

Final Grade = B+

#TBRChallenge 2017: Dare She Date The Dreamy Doc?

The Book: Dare She Date the Dreamy Doc? by Sarah Morgan

The Particulars: Contemporary Romance, Harlequin Medical #451, 2010, Book #4 in Series, Out of Print, Available Digitally

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: I discovered Sarah Morgan through her Harlequin Presents in 2011, and shortly after that an online friend sent me this book when she stumbled across it in a library book sale.  It was also a RITA finalist and I try to pay attention to the RITA finalists for category romance.

The Review: I didn't start my TBR Challenge read until Sunday and wouldn't you know it?  I ended up DNF'ing that book.  So, once again, limited time and poor planning means I went rummaging through my Harlequin TBR Rubbermaid Tote of Doom.  Sarah Morgan is an autobuy for me (even if I am grossly behind on her backlist) so she fits well with this month's Comfort Read theme.

Once you get past one of the dippier titles in the Harlequin universe (and there are plenty of dippy titles to go around) this was a pretty solid read, although not without faults.  Jenna Richards has been divorced for less than a year and she's still in shock.  She married young, which means 33-year-old Jenna is also contending with a teenage daughter, Lexi, who is not all that happy with her mother at the moment.  Why?  Because Jenna has moved them from London to Glenmore, a tiny Scottish island in "the middle of nowhere."  I mean, the cell phone reception is crap.  Jenna is a nurse and the island is isolated enough that the medical staff is pretty much on call all the time.  Meeting the ferry to greet her?  Dr. Ryan McKinley who puts the yum in yummy.  He also has a past he's trying to move on from, but one look at Jenna and he's smitten.

There are some really well done aspects to this brief (185 pages) category romance.  Morgan does a great job of creating a small town contemporary romance on a light page count.  The setting is quaint (the hero lives in a lighthouse!), the residents amusingly meddling and sweet without being annoying and saccharine.  It's a perfect example of why I prefer my small town reading in the category format over a bloated single title word count.  Ryan is sexy and charming without being a notorious playboy or brooding angst factory.  Lexi is a woman who at 33 is still young but feels old before her time thanks to a surly teenage daughter and an ex who blindsided her.  I fell right into this world from the moment I read the first page.

What doesn't work so well?  The romance here is Grade A Insta-Love. Basically it's one of those romances where the couple sparks immediately and they seem to jump straight from "Hello, nice to meet you" to "I love you" without so much as a cup of coffee.  Ryan's baggage slightly annoys me (Ambitious First Wife) but it's not as egregious as other conflict of this ilk I've read in romance (still, I was a little annoyed).  And Jenna?  I did like her.  I did.  But dang if this woman isn't a martyr.  She's really overprotective of Lexi, which is somewhat understandable, but she's willing to throw herself into a pit of misery to placate a teenager who doesn't really need placating (here's an idea - talk to your kid!).  She also acts like 33 is 95.  She literally says to Ryan: "You deserve children Ryan.  I'm thirty-three.  I have no idea whether I can even have another child."

Seriously?!

She's a nurse. It's 2010, not the 18th century!

Then there's Lexi who acts like a typical surly teenager.  Lexi didn't bother me.  Actually I think she's the most authentic character in this story.  Lord but this child acts like a real teenager.  Which I guess serves as a warning if you're a reader who has a teenager at home and you're looking for a bit of "escapist reading."  You may want to steer clear of this one.

I liked this one, and it's a pretty good category romance.  It's not Morgan's best work (of what I've read), but she's created an interesting community in Glenmore and after DNF'ing my first choice, I positively sank into this story.  Worth a look for Morgan fans and readers who love all things small town contemporary.

Final Grade = B-

Reminder: #TBRChallenge for March 2017

For those of you participating in the 2017 TBR Challenge, this is a reminder that your commentary is "due" on Wednesday, March 15.  This month's theme is Comfort Read.

This is one of the themes that's open for interpretation.  Whatever sort of romance fits the bill as a "comfort read" for you.  Be that a favorite author or trope or sub genre.  What's the type of romance you grab when you just want to sink into a story and turn off reality for a few hours.  I can't imagine anyone saying no to a comfort read - but what if you're not in the mood or nothing in your TBR fits the bill? Hey, no problem!  Remember: the themes are optional!  The whole point of the TBR Challenge is to read something, anything, that has been languishing for far too long.

You can find more information about the challenge, and see the list of participants, on the 2017 Information Page.  (And it's not too late to sign-up!)