The Baller: A Down and Dirty Football Novel by Vi Keeland Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform on January 18th 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Sports
Pages: 284
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
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Bestseller, Vi Keeland, comes a sexy new novel.
The first time I met Brody Easton was in the men’s locker room. It was my first interview as a professional sportscaster.The famed quarterback decided to bare all. And by all, I don’t mean he told me any of his secrets. No. The arrogant ass decided to drop his towel, just as I asked the first question. On camera. The Super Bowl MVP quickly adopted a new hobby—screwing with me.When I pushed back, he shifted from wanting to screw with me, to wanting to screw me.But I don’t date players. And it’s not because I’m one of the few women working in the world of professional football. I’d date an athlete. It’s the other kind of player I don’t date. You know the type. Good looking, strong, cocky, always looking to get laid.
Brody Easton was the ultimate player.Every woman wanted to be the one to change him.But the truth was, all he needed was a girl worth changing for.Turned out, I was that girl.Simple right?Let’s face it. It never is.There’s a story between once upon a time and happily ever after… And this one is ours.
I know a lot of readers who have named Brody Easton one of their all-time book boyfriends. While I get it, and I see what they see, he never quite got to that level for me.
Maybe I’m a curmudgeon, but I think there’s a point where cocky turns to overblown arrogance. Brody straddled that line most of the time, but crossed it an awful lot, too. Part of my frequent irritation with him, I think, came from the fact that even though he had several POV chapters, we never really got any inkling of his feelings for Delilah or why he wanted her so much. His chapters were more just a chronicling of what he was doing at the moment, how his day was going, and less a glimpse into his mind and heart. He tells Delilah all the time how much he wants her (I mean seriously all the time. I’m all for some sexy banter, but sometimes a girl’s just asking a question), but we never get anything from him to let us know why she’s different than any of the other women who are constantly hitting on him, even other female reporters. “I want you because your tits are amazing” doesn’t really tell me why he’s so intent on this particular woman. There just wasn’t as much of an emotional connection with these characters as I would have liked.
Even though Brody refused to say why he wanted Delilah as much as he claimed he did, I know why I had a book crush on her. She got flustered during her first interview with him after that stunt he pulled, but didn’t let that stop her. She came back the next time prepared for him, and threw all his bullshit right back at him. She stood up for herself, refusing to let herself be just another notch on Brody’s football helmet. She didn’t want just a one-night stand, and stuck to her guns. Brody didn’t do relationships, but he eventually realized that the only way he was going to get anywhere with Delilah was to give it a try. Their first date was pretty funny. Brody informs Delilah that he’ll need her to wear something sexy, so Delilah goes her local Goodwill and stocks up on some of the worst clothing I’ve ever heard described, just to get to him.
The book took a different turn about halfway through. There was a third POV introduced, and it took away a little of the enjoyment for me. I felt like that POV and that entire part of the story was added in for extra drama, and I don’t really think that we needed it. It made me question Brody’s… I don’t know. Not his intelligence, exactly, but his ability to read people. His ability to recognize when someone wants something from him, and how to deal with it. Especially when that someone has a history of taking what they want, no matter the cost to others.
Overall, though, I really liked this book. I read Stuck-Up Suit a little while ago, which is by Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland, but this is the first one I’ve read by just Vi Keeland. I really want to dive into her backlist now, both hers and Ward’s. Brody and Delilah were hot, and even if I didn’t feel the emotional connection I wanted to, they had fantastic chemistry and I loved hearing about Delilah’s job as a sports reporter. Check this one out!
