My review: 4.5 ⭐ rounded up
This was such a heartfelt story of finding love again after loss ~ when and where you least expect it.
I 💙 Jack and Max so much!
MLB star pitcher (I wish I knew if he’s left handed ⚾, I have a weird thing about loving lefthandedness 😂 and add in a baseball uniform and holy moly 🥵), Jack Spears moves in next door to the Hartwell’s ~ Max, his wife, Lainey and daughter, Emma. They become fast friends and ‘Uncle Jack’ totally dotes on Emma.
Tragedy strikes and Max is left a widower and single father. During the off-season, Jack steps in and helps take care of Emma, and Max, too.
Usually I am not a fan when children are present throughout the story (I prefer they be introduced during the HEA), but if I have to have them, then my preference is a widowed dad with a daughter. And I didn’t find one thing wrong with Emma, she was adorable throughout.
I really loved the dual POV writing, which really showed all their emotions, from being shy and scared to in awe of their feelings to eventually blissfully happy.
I noticed that they talk to themselves a lot – do all books do this? Now I’m going to have to pay attention because it really stood out to me it in this one ~ and I didn’t hate it. All the questioning Max did of himself was endearing.
“I couldn’t face Jack when I was one Lego-foot-piercing away from losing my ever-loving mind.”
I did not like how Jack told Max his secret, why it took him so long to do so, or how Max reacts in the weeks that follow, however, once he figures his sh*t out, he is all in and I mean all in! He really turned out to be so sweet and possessive and not in a creepy stalker way, in a sweet and can’t get enough of this man type of way.
“My freaking body had hopped off the layaway shelf and lit up like a black Friday sale.”
It was on the longer side, but the story was so well written that the pages turned rather quickly.
I really enjoyed this authors writing style and funny lines. I will definitely read more books from her in the future.
*Thanks to Booksirens and Dianna Roman for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
Book blurb: Release date ~ March 22, 2022
Sometimes love is where you least expect it, and sometimes it’s right where you left it in this slow burn to steamy friends to lovers tale.
Widower, Max Hartwell, is barely keeping it together, being a single-dad, managing his law firm, and navigating life’s chaos. Life after loss is too difficult for surprises, which is why Max would be lost without his reliable best friend and neighbor, Jack.
Best pitcher in the MLB, Jack Spears, is at the top of his game. He has it all, except for the one thing he wants most, which happens to be the one thing he can’t have if he doesn’t want his private life to overshadow his career: love. When an emotional evening reveals his biggest secret, he’s faced with losing everything that matters most to him.
Can Max see him for the man he truly is, or will Jack forever be doomed to live in the shadow of the image he created as America’s favorite pitcher?
Heartfelt and human, The Shutout is a story of friendship, loss, love, and the rough road to new beginnings
