Time Of Possession

World-building is something that is discussed frequently among romance readers.  Yeah, we're in it for the romance, the characters, the happy ending - but a good book, a solid book, is going to transport us to another reality.  When the world-building is solid, more often than not it adds to the strength of the characterizations.

Where Jami Davenport has succeeded with her Seattle Lumberjacks (American football) series is with the world-building.  I've liked some of the romances better than others, but man - I get sucked into the world every single time.  The author does a good job with the "football stuff" without info-dumping a bunch of "inside baseball" jargon in the text.  My issues with sports romances and athlete main characters is typically when the sport, a very important aspect of that character's life, is either dismissed entirely (Why yes I am Super Hunky Quarterback but it's not like I need to watch film, practice, be at the training facility at all hours of the day - I have plenty of time to screw your brains out!) or is addressed and just flat-out wrong (research is thy friend).

Davenport has avoided these pitfalls.  Her heroes have jobs, so we see them working at it while trying to juggle the romance.  They talk like guys, act like guys, and the football stuff has a nice, authentic feel.  What I love about her football heroes is that they remind me of guys who could be playing in the league.  Brett Gunnels, hero in Time Of Possession is a career back-up quarterback, drafted dead last (Mr. Irrelevant), and is constantly downgraded because he's "too short."  He's like Frank Reich, Drew Brees, Tom Brady and every back-up who sat behind Brett Favre in Green Bay rolled into one.  And naturally he lands in the soup when the starting quarterback gets knocked out for the rest of the season and he finds himself getting distracted by the guy's very attractive, and already engaged, sister (our heroine).

I read this story for a First Look over at Hero & Heartbreakers - a post to make all you football geeks swoon.  On the Wendy Scale, I rated it a B-.  I loved Brett, I loved Estie, I loved their romance - heck I even loved all the pets they had running around in this story.  My only quibble was that the author may have bit off more conflict than the story could contain - namely Brett's past military service, which sometimes got lost in the shuffle.  Still, it was a very enjoyable read that once again sucked me back into Davenport's world.  If you like sports romances you really, really need to be reading this series.

Digital Review: Backfield in Motion

Backfield in Motion by Jami Davenport is the fourth book in the author's series about a fictional American football team, the Seattle Lumberjacks.  It's one of the very few romance genre series that I am currently, unabashedly, hooked on.  What has been the selling point, for me, is the entire world the author has been able to create - the team, the organization, the players, the coaches, the front office, just everything that goes into the world of professional athletes.  So while I didn't quite enjoy this story as much as some of the earlier entries, it's still a solid addition that propels the series forward.

Bruce "Bruiser" Mackey is the team's star running back and, outside of the quarterback, Tyler, the face of the franchise.  And oh what a face it is!  Bruce is a pretty boy, something he plays up for maximum effect.  This is the guy who does underwear ads.  Who is known to have not one, but two, good-looking women on his arm at any one time.  But behind that impossibly sexy face and charming smile?  There's a lot of secret pain.

Mackenzie Hernandez is on the grounds keeping crew at the Lumberjacks home stadium.  She's a bit of a tomboy and is seen as "just one of the guys."  Which normally is OK with her - except she's got a really annoying, really distracting crush on Bruce.  Bruce, who thinks she's "one of the guys."  Bruce who will play pool with her, pal around with her, and drink beer with her.  Bruce who doesn't see her as a woman at all.  Or so she thinks!  Anxious to win an annual scholarship the organization awards every year, Mac knows she needs to "network" to increase her chances.  The problem being?  Bruce gets roped in to help her and things get, well, complicated.

I love a good Ugly Duckling/Cinderella story, and that's what the author goes for with Mac.  Mac knows who she is and what she wants - it's just that life keeps throwing up road blocks.  Besides being dismissed out of hand because she's not "girly" - her family is still haunted by the disappearance of her older brother.  Her father is obsessed, tracking down every half-baked "lead" that comes his way and spying on the merry widow.  Naturally Mac not only has to deal with this fallout, she also finds herself drawn into "helping" her father with his various snooping.  It doesn't leave any time for having a life.  It doesn't leave any time for Mac to move on.  So when sparks start flying between her and Bruce?  It's a real eye-opener for her.

In turn, Bruce has some interesting baggage - also involving a doomed brother.  This gives our couple "something in common" outside of football, and provides some emotional heft to the sexy contemporary vibe of the romance.  What didn't quite work as well for me?  Well, Bruce.  He's kind of a jerk.  Which is funny since it's the team quarterback, Tyler, who is the Asshole With The Heart Of Gold figure.  No, Bruce is just kind of a jerk.  His only real friend on the team is the back-up quarterback.  The same back-up who has a "thing" for Mac.  Bruce gives pause for like, three seconds, and steamrolls his way into Mac's panties anyway.  OK sure, Mac doesn't have the hots for Brett - but still.  I mean, isn't there an unspoken Guy Code about such things?  I also found myself wanting a bit more on Bruce's family situation.  More time spent with his mother and sister would have been welcome in really delving behind that pretty boy façade he'd built up.

In the end this is a good story.  The author tackles a lot here (the romance, the mystery of Mac's brother, there's even a kid thrown into the mix) and ties up all her threads nicely.  I didn't inhale it in quite the same way I did the previous books in the series, but it's a nice addition and moves things forward for Brett's story - which I cannot wait to get my hands on.

Final Grade = B-

Digital Review: Down By Contact

There's nothing more satisfying than getting hooked on a series - unless of course it's inhaling a book in one sitting.  I did just that with Down By Contact, the third book in Jami Daveport's series featuring the fictional American football team, the Seattle Lumberjacks.

Zach Murphy has spent all twelve years of his NFL career playing linebacker on a crappy team.  Now a free agent, he knows his remaining time in the league is limited, and all he wants is a Super Bowl ring.  So he signs in the off-season with the Seattle Lumberjacks, who have just won two Super Bowls in a row.  Unfortunately for him, the transition to his new team has not been a smooth one.  He keeps butting heads with the pretty-boy quarterback and embarrassing the front office at various high-brow charity functions.  Zach's about half-a-step removed from the trailer park, and gets flustered by all the "rules" of social etiquette.  When he ends up knocking over a tray of cocktails on the owner's uppity daughter, and inadvertently gropes the governor's wife, the team puts its collective foot down.  Zach is going to charm school.  To bad his private tutor is none other than the girl he can't seem to forget from high school.

Kelsey Carrington-Richmond has fallen far from the pedestal she used to be on.  A former beauty queen, and Mean Girl, she married the high school quarterback with political ambitions, only to discover he was an emotionally abusive asshole.  Now divorced, down to her last pennies, and essentially homeless, she heads to Seattle to find Zach.  She was horrid to him in high school, and she wants to apologize.  However she also is hoping that once he forgives and forgets, he'll help her get her "charm school for real men" idea off the ground.  The problem being she was thinking of just using his contacts.  She had no idea he would be her first student, and no idea whatsoever that he would be such a bear to work with.

The joy in this series is that Davenport has created a whole team, a whole culture, and populated it with interesting people.  Zach was first introduced in the previous story, a foil to butt heads with the team's hotshot quarterback, Tyler.  He's abrasive, uncouth, and a bit of a jerk.  In this book, we get more of the story behind why Zach is Zach.  His childhood, his career, the slights and traumas of his past that haunt him and he carries with him to this day.  Zach has a chip on his shoulder, but it's a chip readers will understand.  Living the life Zach has lived, it's a credit to his character that he's a professional athlete and not in prison - so you could understand how a guy like that wouldn't necessarily put a lot of importance on "social graces."

I loved that the author really made Kelsey a Mean Girl (although now reformed).  It's not sugar-coated. I also loved that how Kelsey treats Zach in high school, and the final episode between them that haunts them both, is credibly serious.  It's not some silly little thing where she invites him on a date, and instead ditches him for someone else.  No, it's truly awful.  It's easy to understand why Zach would still be so upset about the incident and why Kelsey feels like such a shit-heel even this many years after the fact.

As much as I loved these characters, I did have a couple of bugaboos.  I inhaled this book in one sitting (seriously, could not put it down!), so some repetition did jump out at me, along with incidents of telling over showing.  Also, Zach's younger brother plays in the NHL (hockey) and that's one I had a hard time with considering their upbringing.  Getting a kid into hockey is expensive and time consuming (the equipment, the ice time, the constant shuttling to rinks etc.) - and Zach's parents?  Yeah, that one strains.  Also, there's a sports error - which hello, this is me.  I can't let it go.  There's an episode later in the book where Kelsey takes Zach's autographed Ken Griffey Jr. baseball bat to confront a villain.  She muses it's OK since she's "never been a Yankee fan."  Um, The Kid never played for the Yankees.  Ever.  The Mariners, the Reds and a cup of coffee with the White Sox.  Maybe Kelsey should have mused, "Oh well, he never should have left Seattle...."

But the football stuff is all really good, and I love that the author gives us professional athletes, in locker rooms, that talk like guys.  They drop the F bomb.  They just do.  I also adored the fact that Zach was a 34-year-old linebacker.  Linebacker is not a "glamour" position like quarterback or wide receiver.  Zach is also cognizant of the fact that he's 34-years-old and that if the Lumberjacks cut him loose?  Who the hell wants a 34-year-old linebacker?  (Just ask Brian Urlacher).

In the end I really enjoyed this story.  As much as I liked the previous two books, this one might be my new favorite in the series, if only for the interesting people that the author chooses to throw together for a romance.  If you enjoy sports romances and aren't reading this series?  You really need to start.

Final Grade = B

Digital Review: Forward Passes

Over the years I've been cantankerous on the subject of sports romances (authors not doing research being my main bugaboo) and series (OMG, where have all the stand-alone novels gone?!).  So just to be contrary, it would make perfect sense that I would find myself addicted to Jami Davenport's Seattle Lumberjacks series.  You know, it being a series about a professional football team.  Hey, it's a girl's prerogative to change her mind - right? 

Forward Passes in the second book in the series, and features hotshot, asshole quarterback Tyler Harris.  Tyler has just won his second Super Bowl.  He should be on top of the world, and instead all he feels is empty.  The death of a young fan from cancer has effected him deeply, and he's now feeling stifled by the cocksure, devil-may-care persona he's carved out for himself in the league.  Then fate steps in after he smashes his car into the back of a police cruiser (no, it was not a DUI, no matter what the media says) and his great uncle passes away.  Tyler spent time with the old guy when he moved to a nursing home in Seattle and now the old man has left him his rambling, falling down monstrosity of a house on the San Juans.

Lavender Mead has a long, nightmarish track record with jocks.  Her football coach father abandoned her and her brother after their mother died - essentially meaning that Lavender was raised by her shrewish grandmother.  Then there were the string of jock boyfriends who were one step up from pond scum on the evolutionary scale.  So while she may find Tyler sexier than sexy, he's all look, no touch.  Um, except he seems like a nice guy behind all that conceited bravado and he has a PhD in flirting.  He may be all wrong for her as far as relationship material, but who says they need to have a "relationship" beyond enjoying each other's company for a short period of time.  He's only on the island until his inheritance sticks (a stipulation of the will) and after that he's flying the coop.  Or is he?

I've been really looking forward to this book ever since I read the first book in the series, Fourth And Goal - Tyler being the main selling point.  He's all guy.  He's a rock star professional quarterback with a killer smile, killer body and killer attitude.  He plays up this persona for a number of reasons, and he swears enough to make drunken sailors blush.  He acts like a guy, talks like a guy, but underneath that Alpha asshole persona there's a gooey, squishy Beta heart beating away in his chest. 

Lavender is a girl with baggage.  Her family life is in the pits, and she tries her best to keep the peace with a grandmother that could give Evil Romance Land Mothers a run for their money.  She has a soft spot for senior citizens, and the uppity cat (named "Cat") that Tyler inherits from his great uncle.  She's scared to death of what Tyler represents, even early on when all he represents is one heck of a good time in bed.  When these two start burning up the sheets, it's only natural that their emotions start getting in the way.  They both have baggage and they both recognize a little bit of themselves in each other.

Every reader has those books they enjoy despite any flaws that might be on the page.  It just all works for them as an individual.  That's the experience I had with Forward Passes.  I'll be honest, I found the writing a little lumpy in the early chapters, mostly because there was a little too much repetition.  But once I was settled in, Tyler and Lavender start tap-dancing around each other, it all smoothed out for me.  Plus, I walked into this story already deeply invested in Tyler.  I think readers unfamiliar with the first book will do just fine starting with this one, but I have to admit that being already "plugged in" to the series did increase my enjoyment of this story right out of the gate.

Davenport does lay groundwork for the next book in the series with this installment, but it's never intrusive and the future hero actually (::le gasp!::) plays a significant role in this story.  While I felt the writing could have been smoother in parts, it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment, and I inhaled it in one sitting.  I also appreciated that while it would have been extremely easy to make villains out of certain characters, the author paints them with a bit more of a complex brush.  You don't agree with their actions, but you can understand why certain elements of the back-story happened.

I cannot wait to read more books in this series, which features well-done football scenarios, interesting and believable characters, and enough steamy sex to turn a blue-haired grandma's hair more blue.  I may have had to wait a while for Tyler's story, but it was worth the wait.

Final Grade = B

Jami Davenport Week: Favorite Football Romances

Are you ready for some football?

OK, so how about some football romances?

Jami thought it would be fun to write up a list of her favorite football romances.  Without further ado, here they are:

Susan Elizabeth Phillips - Any book in her Chicago Stars Series, although my personal favorites are This Heart of Mine and Natural Born Charmer.

Bella Andre's Game series - Game for Anything, Game for Seduction, Game for Love.

The PerfectPlay by Jaci Burton.  Or as Wendy likes to call it, the book with the most posted cover in the blogosphere.

Description:

Football pro Mick Riley is an all-star, both on the field and in the bedroom. But a sexy, determinedly single mom just might be the one to throw him off his game...

For years Mick has been taking full advantage of the life available to a pro athlete: fame, fortune, and a different girl in every city. But when he meets and beds confident, beautiful event planner Tara Lincoln, he wants much more than the typical one-night stand. Too bad Tara's not interested in getting to know football's most notorious playboy any better.

As the single mother of a teenage son, the last thing Tara needs is the jet-set lifestyle of Mick Riley; even though their steamy and passionate one-night stand was unforgettable. Tara's life is complicated enough without being thrust into the spotlight as Mick's latest girl du jour. Tara played the game of love once and lost big, and she doesn't intend to put herself out there again, especially with a heartbreaker like Mick.

But when Mick sets his mind to win, nothing will stop him. And he has the perfect play in mind.

Not Another Bad Date by Rachel Gibson 

Description:

Adele Harris has never had a problem finding a man—it's finding a good man that's damn near impossible

Adele Harris has dated them all-geeks, nerds, liars, losers. Egomaniacs, nymphomaniacs, and just plain maniacs. She's been set up and stood up, and now she's had it up to here with the jerks of the world. It's enough to make a girl give up dating forever. If only she could find a guy that made her heart flutter like her first love, Zach, the college quarterback who swept her off her feet senior year... before dumping her to marry someone else. Okay, so he wasn't perfect. But when Adele heads back to Cedar Creek, Texas, for a family emergency, she discovers that her hometown heartthrob is still as sexy as ever—and now he's single.

It could be the end of Adele's streak. After all, forgiving Zach for breaking her heart years ago and learning to trust him again will take everything she's got, but Adele can handle anything... anything but another bad date.

Line of Scrimmage by Marie Force

Description:

In the Hail Mary play of a lifetime, a sexy NFL quarterback has just ten days to convince his wife to give him a second chance before their divorce is final—and he has to act fast because she’s already engaged to her high school boyfriend. Line of Scrimmage is a story of reunion, redemption, rejuvenation, and renewal. Readers will laugh and cry and hope—that at the end of the day, these two lovers, who clearly belong together, will somehow find their way back to one another.

Hot Stuff by Carly Phillips

Description:

Annabelle Jordan and her two sisters were little orphans in frilly dresses and ruffled panties when they went to live with their sports-lawyer uncle in his testosterone-fueled world of locker rooms, bookies and gambling.
Now the girls are all grown up, and publicists in their uncle’s firm, The Hot Zone. Yet Annabelle is all woman, despite her upbringing. And she’s naturally drawn to real men—like her latest client, ex-football legend and businessman Brandon Vaughn.

The chemistry is potent, undeniable…irresistible. But Annabelle soon realizes that Brandon is much more than just another jock. And that she’d better hold onto her panties if she doesn’t want to lose her heart

The Game of Love by Jeanette Murray

Description:(digital only)

Christina St. James is ready for normal. After walking away from her pro tennis career and a toxic relationship with a star hockey player, she’s starting a new life as a teacher and tennis coach in a small town. Now all she needs is an average guy to share it with.
Brett Wallace is no average guy. Forced to retire from the NFL after an injury—and suddenly single after being dumped by his status-conscious wife—he’s returned to his hometown to coach the varsity football team. Wary of women interested only in his celebrity, Brett finds Chris’s indifference to his former career refreshing.

The last thing Chris needs is to get involved with another pro athlete, but she can’t deny the sparks that fly between them. So she agrees to a purely physical, no-strings attached affair. But the rules of the game change when she falls for him…

Playing for Keeps by Liz Matis

Description:

Journalist Samantha Jameson always wanted to be one of the boys, but Ryan Terell won’t let her join the club. Fresh from the battlegrounds of Iraq, reporting on a bunch of overgrown boys playing pro football is just the change of scenery she needs. If trying to be taken seriously in the world of sports writing wasn’t hard enough, Ryan, her college crush, is only making it harder. As a tight-end for the team she’s covering, he is strictly off limits.

Ryan Terell is a playmaker on and off the field, but when Samantha uncovers his moves, he throws out the playbook. Just as he claims his sweetest victory, Samantha’s investigation into a steroid scandal involving his team forces him to call a time-out to their off the record trysts. But then a life threatening injury on the field will force them both to decide just how far they’ll go to win the game. 

Wicked Game by Mercy Celeste

Description: (digital only)

Miami quarterback Jaime Dalton is living every man’s fantasy. If that fantasy included a pottery-flinging cook, an embezzling accountant, and now blackmail, then his life is perfect. It was Cass Pendleton, his new personal assistant, with her sexy panties and drop dead eyes that made his life a living hell.

Cass Pendleton and Jaime Dalton have been mortal enemies since the first day of kindergarten when Jaime pulled her hair and Cass knocked him flat on his ass.

Jaime is on the verge of superstardom in the NFL; all that’s missing is a Super Bowl ring and a personal assistant who can handle his business without handling his business.

Cass seems to be the best person for the job. She’s smart, mouthy, dependable, pig-headed, loyal, and completely not his type. So why can’t Jaime think of anything except Cass?

He knows one thing for dead certain. If the game doesn’t kill him, sex with Cass Pendleton most definitely will.

Goals for a Sinner by Lynn Shurr

Description:

Unlucky in love, sports photographer Stevie Dowd has given up on men in order to concentrate on her goal of getting a cover shot for a prestigious sports magazine.

Connor Riley, wide receiver for the New Orleans Sinners, has remained celibate all season to strengthen his game for a Super Bowl victory.

Their goals collide, literally, when Connor bowls over Stevie on the sidelines as she attempts to get her perfect picture.  Realizing Stevie is the woman he had a crush on in high school, Connor feels his vow is about to be broken.  Can he win both the Super Bowl and Stevie Dowd?

Seriously, I think this is the most beef cake I have ever posted on this blog.   Do you have any favorite football romances?  If so, what are they?

Jami Davenport Week: The Interview

When I conceived of the idea to host a Jami Davenport Week (or as I like to think of it, The Woman Who Wrote A Football Romance That Didn't Make My Eyes Bleed Week), I knew we would have to do an interview.  Jami graciously agreed, even after she saw my questions.  Without further ado - give a warm Bat Cave Welcome to Jami Davenport!

Wendy: Jami, welcome to the Bat Cave!  Tell readers a little bit about yourself....

Jami: I’m one of those writers who disproves the “writers are introverts” theory. At any conference, you’ll find me in the middle of the rowdiest table in the bar. Not that I’m a huge drinker, just a huge socializer. I love hanging out with people, and I’m always watching and filing info away for future books. I’ve been writing since I learned the alphabet. In fact, I still have the first thing I ever wrote at about age five, a story about a horse named Wildfire, illustrated by me.

I was born and raised in North Central Washington, attended Washington State University, received degrees and education and business, taught high school for a few years, got a job in IT, and I’m still at that same day job. In my free time, I used to show horses. Since my show horse retired last year, I’ve put my riding on hold to concentrate on writing more books. I currently live on a small farm near Puget Sound with my hubby, a green beret turned plumber, two large dogs, and a spoiled rotten cat (aren’t all cats spoiled?). You’ll find my dogs, my cat, and my horse in many of my books, as I can’t write a book without featuring at least one animal.

Last but definitely not least, I’m a huge Seattle sports fan.

Wendy: When did you start to seriously pursue your writing? How long and how many manuscripts had you completed before receiving “the call?”

Jami: About eight years ago, I posted a fan fiction piece. My writing was so popular that several readers pushed me to pursue publication. Ready to realize my life-long dream of being published, I joined two chapters of RWA (Peninsula and Olympia) and a few online writing groups. Almost immediately I was inundated with “writing” rules by well-meaning authors. The rule I heard the most was “sports romances don’t sell.” Discouraged, I put away the football romance I’d been writing for over a decade and concentrated on a more sell-able contemporary.

I sold the contemporary (also the first novel I’d ever completed) a few years later and several super-erotic books under another pen name. After a couple years of making very good money writing under the other pen name, I found myself burned out on erotic romance. I decided to concentrate on the Jami Davenport pen name and writing what I really loved—hot contemporaries.

Wendy: How did you come up with the idea of Seattle Lumberjacks series?

Jami: I’ve been writing football-themed romances for years (if I told you how long, you’d figure out how old I really was), though I’d never allowed anyone to read them. In fact, my first attempts were essentially YA’s. Fourth And Goal is the metamorphosis of that long-ago YA into an adult romance novel. Derek and Tyler (from Fourth And Goal) have actually been in my head and on paper in some form or another for about twenty years.

Sports romances are definitely my passion, which makes sense because I’m passionate about sports, especially football. In my original version, I called my team the Seahawks, which, of course, I couldn’t use when it came time for publication. I brainstormed team names. It had to be something that represented the Pacific Northwest. I considered Chinooks, but that was already taken, as were several others I liked. I poured over lists of Washington state high school mascots but nothing worked for me. Since I live in Shelton, near the Olympics, I naturally thought about old-growth timber which used to everywhere and the tough men who tamed the wilderness.

I also wanted my series to be as realistic as possible when it came to football scenes. I’d read so many sports romances in which the author obviously didn’t research the sport. My husband played D-1 college ball as a fullback/linebacker, so he proved to be an invaluable resource. Local Seattle sportscaster, Jen Mueller, also provided an insider’s answers to my questions. BTW, Jenn has a great blog called: “Talk Sporty to Me.”

Wendy: Loose Id published the digital edition of the first book, Fourth And Goal and earlier this year you took the plunge into self-publishing. We hear a lot about self-publishing in digital, what led you to self-publish the print edition of Fourth And Goal?

Jami: Loose Id is wonderful as a publisher and extremely author-friendly. My contract stated I could ask for my print rights back if the book wasn’t published in print within one year. As a computer geek, I believe in ebooks and the future of ebooks, but this is one book I REALLY wanted in print. So I asked for the print rights and hired the talented Kim Killion at Hot Damn Designs to do the cover and formatting. I did the setup on CreateSpace myself.

I don’t have any plans on self-publishing other books at this time. Because of my day job, I prefer to spend what spare time I have writing, not working on publishing books. I’d rather delegate those duties to a good publisher.

Wendy: When can readers expect to see more books featuring the Lumberjacks?

Jami: Last winter, Loose Id passed on Book 2 of the Seattle Lumberjacks series. It wasn’t hot enough for what they publish, and I didn’t want to add more heat to this particular book. They generously released me from my obligations to sell the series to them. Free to shop the book around, I targeted a few top-notch digital publishers and waited. I’d done my research, and I knew I’d be thrilled with a contract from any of them. Boroughs Publishing Group was the first to make an offer. Forward Passes is currently in edits and the release date will likely be late fall 2012.

Wendy:  I have to admit that I am dying for Tyler’s book (Forward Passes), mostly because he comes off as The Asshole With A Heart Of Gold in Fourth and Goal. What were the challenges in writing his story? (It was the swearing right? I’m going with the swearing….)

Jami: Definitely the swearing was an issue. Personally, I never use the “F” word, so every time I type it, I cringe. I did a search for it in this manuscript, and it occurred 167 times. I cut quite a few of them out of the book, except at the beginning. Tyler is Tyler, and I couldn’t cut them all or he just wouldn’t be himself.

I also found it difficult to juggle his jerk persona with the nice guy buried underneath. I didn’t want him to come across as too much of a jerk but he couldn’t be the sweet, guy-next-door either. I’m guessing there will be readers who won’t like him one bit, but my critique partner and I loved him.

I introduce a linebacker named Zach in Book 2 who becomes Tyler’s nemesis. Their dislike of each other continues into Book 3. I’ve been having a lot of fun with that, too.

Wendy: Seriously, I cannot wait for that book!  Finally, you’re obviously a sports fan. If you met a Sports Genie, and he granted you one sports-related wish, what would it be?

Jami: Hmmm. That’s an easy one: For the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl.

Wendy: Dear Sports Genie, I'm less demanding at the moment than Jami.  At this point I'd settle for the Buffalo Bills being respectable.

Jami, thanks so much for stopping by!  Folks, Jami will be checking for follow-up questions in the comments, so feel free to leave one....or two!  Also, remember that for every comment you leave on a Jami Davenport Week post - you are automatically entered for a chance to win a print copy of Fourth And Goal!

Jami Davenport Week: Fourth And Goal Review

Please note: this review was originally posted on June 14, 2011

My reputation for being Little Miss Crabby Pants seems to be getting out.  Or at least my annoyance with romance authors who include professional sports in their books and muck up the details.  My various tirades on this subject is what led Jami Davenport to e-mail me about her latest ebook, Fourth And Goal.  Ms. Davenport assured me that she knew exactly how I felt, as she's a football (Seattle Seahawks) and baseball (Seattle Mariners) fan herself.  She asked if I would be interested in reading her latest for review, and after a quick perusal of the excerpt, I signed on.

Derek Ramsey is a wide receiver for the Seattle Lumberjacks - he's just not sure for how long.  A star athlete in high school and college, his career in the NFL has so far been a bust.  He's well aware this is his last shot, and he's going to work his ass off to make it work.  What he doesn't need are any distractions, so when he hires old friend Rachel McCormick to be a live-in caretaker for his property, he really questions his sanity.

Buddies growing up, Rachel and Derek shared one wild and passionate weekend of Hot Nookie.  She made the mistake of confessing her true feelings, and he bolted faster than you can say "Wham, bam thank you ma'am."  Coupled with the hurt feelings over this incident, Rachel's father, Derek's high school football coach, has become embroiled in an old points-shaving scandal.  Rachel knows that Daddy is innocent, which means he's taking the fall for one of his old players.  Derek seems like a good place to start snooping.

I love a good reunion story, especially when the reunion involves a love affair gone bust.  Rachel adored Derek, so when he spurned her affections, it left her deeply wounded.  For his part, Derek is a moron.  He has feelings for Rachel, and can't seem to quite get her out of head, but since he's a guy, it takes him a while to admit it.  All this gets complicated when they tumble back into bed together (boy howdy, do they tumble!), and Derek has the best game in his fledgling NFL career.  Hey, ballplayers are nothing if not superstitious.  They're just going to have to keep on burning up the sheets!

I really enjoyed the fact that Rachel is a heroine who knows football.  She lives and breathes it.  While she's the nonathletic klutz in a family of athletes, that doesn't mean she didn't learn a thing or two.  In fact, Derek was such a good player in high school and college because she worked with him breaking down game tape.  Her father's troubles led the arena league team she was working for to let her go (guilt by association).  She needs to snoop on Derek to clear her father's name, to give herself a chance at a career she wants, but frankly, she also needs the money.  She also needs to figure out what she wants to do.  She wants to get into scouting, but between her father's troubles and the fact that she doesn't have a penis, it's proving to be difficult.

This is an erotic romance, and I generally go into this genre expecting "sexy and fun."  So when an author gives me some depth, it's always, in my opinion, a nice addition.  While there are plenty of Sexy Times between Rachel and Derek, their mutual back stories, coupled with Derek's burgeoning stardom (once the team starts winning!) gave this story such a lovely feel.  Nobody knows the Lumberjacks exist, until they go on a winning streak, and with that comes more demands on Derek's time.  Who does he say no to?  I also appreciated the added touches of Derek's beat-up body surviving the grind of an NFL season, and also that he wasn't a mega-super-duper-star right out of the gate.  You know how many guys have great college careers but are either a bust or "just OK" in the NFL?  Quite a few.

I do have a couple of nit-picks, because you know - this is me we're talking about here.  First, point-shaving in football is not an easy thing to do.  Unlike basketball, teams aren't scoring points every other minute.  In order for it to work, you pretty much need the quarterback in the mix.  Derek, as a wide receiver, wouldn't be the best guy for the job, because WR is a "dependent" position.  In other words, someone needs to throw him the damn ball.  I suspect the author realized this, so she stacks the deck in her favor by making the QB Derek's cousin-but-they-might-as-well-be-brothers, Tyler.  So Rachel thinks that either Derek could be protecting Tyler, or they were in cahoots together.  I'll admit it, I nit-picked this aspect of the story half to death, but the author wraps it up in a way that I was sold on it by the end.

The writing itself is quite good.  It does take a little while to get to the Sexy Times, so some readers might find the first portion of the story "slow" - but it worked well for me as far as setting the stage is concerned.  The one aspect that didn't always gel was the author's tendency to use football lingo/euphemisms in the story - especially during love scenes.  A couple of times, this can be cute.  More than that?  We land in eye-rolling territory.  Less definitely would have been more.

But you know what?  I really enjoyed this story.  A lot.  With my nit-picks, my final grade would generally be around B- or B territory.  However, I gotta say it, I got sucked into this book.  I mean, hook line and sinker sucked in.  I was deeply invested in these characters.  Not just Derek and Rachel, but all of them.  Even Derek's asshole cousin, Tyler, who cannot string a sentence together without dropping the F-bomb half a dozen times.  Hooked folks, I'm positively hooked.  So....

Final Grade = B+

When does the next book come out?  Dang.

Introducing Jami Davenport Week!

This blog was started for the sole reason that I'm self-absorbed.  I like talking about....well, me.  I also like talking about the books I'm reading, and way back in 2003 I didn't have a whole lot of people in my Real Life to share my romance reading with.

OK, I had nobody.

As blogging has evolved, book blogging in particular, more and more promo has crept in.  I haven't done a whole lot of this sort of thing.  Mostly because 1) I have a full time job 2) I have a full time life and 3) I'm self-absorbed and think this blog should be all about me.  I have absolutely nothing against blog tours or guest posts, it's more like I just think they're not always a good fit for my blog.  Well, unless a great idea falls into my lap.

I first "met" Jami Davenport through a fantastic e-mail she wrote me in 2011.  She stumbled across a comment I made over at Dear Author about how I pretty much refuse to read sports-themed romances.  I like sports and I like romance - the problem is I hate romance authors who do little to zero research on the sports they feature in their books.  I get this image in my head of Barbara Cartland in a bubble bath, manically laughing and saying "Women don't care about football/baseball/rugby/Quiddich so long as the hero is hot and hunky those silly girls will lap it up!"

Yeah, no.  Not this girl.  This girl gets all Hulk-smash when an author has an AFC team meeting an NFC team in a playoff game - before the Super Bowl.

Jami's pitch to get me to read Fourth And Goal, an upcoming romance from LooseID featuring a football wide receiver hero was convincing enough that I said, "Sure, why the hell not."  And one night, while babysitting Lemon Drop so my sister and The Super Genius Brother-In-Law could go out to dinner like grown-ups, I inhaled it.  Devoured it in fact.  The book even landed on my Best Of 2011 list.

Months went by, and Jami e-mailed me again.  She was self-publishing a print version of F&G and wanted to know if she could blurb my review on the book cover.  This led to a discussion on her writing book two in the series, finding a publishing home for it, and voila!  Before you can say "smack Wendy simple," I'm telling her that I want to host Jami Davenport Week here at the Bat Cave.  Now that she has found a home for book two?  Here we are.

I've got several posts planned for this week, along with a fantastic giveaway!  Thanks to Jami's generosity, I will be giving away three print copies of Fourth And Goal, the first book in her Seattle Lumberjacks series!  Every time you comment on any of the Jamie Davenport Week posts, you will be entered to win. 

So sit back, and enjoy!

Contest is open to both US and international readers.  Winners will be announced Monday, September 10.

Digital Review: Fourth And Goal

My reputation for being Little Miss Crabby Pants seems to be getting out.  Or at least my annoyance with romance authors who include professional sports in their books and muck up the details.  My various tirades on this subject is what led Jami Davenport to e-mail me about her latest ebook, Fourth And Goal.  Ms. Davenport assured me that she knew exactly how I felt, as she's a football (Seattle Seahawks) and baseball (Seattle Mariners) fan herself.  She asked if I would be interested in reading her latest for review, and after a quick perusal of the excerpt, I signed on.

Derek Ramsey is a wide receiver for the Seattle Lumberjacks - he's just not sure for how long.  A star athlete in high school and college, his career in the NFL has so far been a bust.  He's well aware this is his last shot, and he's going to work his ass off to make it work.  What he doesn't need are any distractions, so when he hires old friend Rachel McCormick to be a live-in caretaker for his property, he really questions his sanity.

Buddies growing up, Rachel and Derek shared one wild and passionate weekend of Hot Nookie.  She made the mistake of confessing her true feelings, and he bolted faster than you can say "Wham, bam thank you ma'am."  Coupled with the hurt feelings over this incident, Rachel's father, Derek's high school football coach, has become embroiled in an old points-shaving scandal.  Rachel knows that Daddy is innocent, which means he's taking the fall for one of his old players.  Derek seems like a good place to start snooping.

I love a good reunion story, especially when the reunion involves a love affair gone bust.  Rachel adored Derek, so when he spurned her affections, it left her deeply wounded.  For his part, Derek is a moron.  He has feelings for Rachel, and can't seem to quite get her out of head, but since he's a guy, it takes him a while to admit it.  All this gets complicated when they tumble back into bed together (boy howdy, do they tumble!), and Derek has the best game in his fledgling NFL career.  Hey, ballplayers are nothing if not superstitious.  They're just going to have to keep on burning up the sheets!

I really enjoyed the fact that Rachel is a heroine who knows football.  She lives and breathes it.  While she's the nonathletic klutz in a family of athletes, that doesn't mean she didn't learn a thing or two.  In fact, Derek was such a good player in high school and college because she worked with him breaking down game tape.  Her father's troubles led the arena league team she was working for to let her go (guilt by association).  She needs to snoop on Derek to clear her father's name, to give herself a chance at a career she wants, but frankly, she also needs the money.  She also needs to figure out what she wants to do.  She wants to get into scouting, but between her father's troubles and the fact that she doesn't have a penis, it's proving to be difficult.

This is an erotic romance, and I generally go into this genre expecting "sexy and fun."  So when an author gives me some depth, it's always, in my opinion, a nice addition.  While there are plenty of Sexy Times between Rachel and Derek, their mutual back stories, coupled with Derek's burgeoning stardom (once the team starts winning!) gave this story such a lovely feel.  Nobody knows the Lumberjacks exist, until they go on a winning streak, and with that comes more demands on Derek's time.  Who does he say no to?  I also appreciated the added touches of Derek's beat-up body surviving the grind of an NFL season, and also that he wasn't a mega-super-duper-star right out of the gate.  You know how many guys have great college careers but are either a bust or "just OK" in the NFL?  Quite a few.

I do have a couple of nit-picks, because you know - this is me we're talking about here.  First, point-shaving in football is not an easy thing to do.  Unlike basketball, teams aren't scoring points every other minute.  In order for it to work, you pretty much need the quarterback in the mix.  Derek, as a wide receiver, wouldn't be the best guy for the job, because WR is a "dependent" position.  In other words, someone needs to throw him the damn ball.  I suspect the author realized this, so she stacks the deck in her favor by making the QB Derek's cousin-but-they-might-as-well-be-brothers, Tyler.  So Rachel thinks that either Derek could be protecting Tyler, or they were in cahoots together.  I'll admit it, I nit-picked this aspect of the story half to death, but the author wraps it up in a way that I was sold on it by the end.

The writing itself is quite good.  It does take a little while to get to the Sexy Times, so some readers might find the first portion of the story "slow" - but it worked well for me as far as setting the stage is concerned.  The one aspect that didn't always gel was the author's tendency to use football lingo/euphemisms in the story - especially during love scenes.  A couple of times, this can be cute.  More than that?  We land in eye-rolling territory.  Less definitely would have been more.

But you know what?  I really enjoyed this story.  A lot.  With my nit-picks, my final grade would generally be around B- or B territory.  However, I gotta say it, I got sucked into this book.  I mean, hook line and sinker sucked in.  I was deeply invested in these characters.  Not just Derek and Rachel, but all of them.  Even Derek's asshole cousin, Tyler, who cannot string a sentence together without dropping the F-bomb half a dozen times.  Hooked folks, I'm positively hooked.  So....

Final Grade = B+

When does the next book come out?  Dang.

Note: This title is currently only available as an ebook.  You can purchase it via Loose ID and wherever their titles are sold.