The Changeup by Rhonda Shaw - Review and Giveaway

(Contemporary Romance)

This review is done in conjunction with a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions Rhonda will be awarding a $25 Amazon gift certificate to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Click on the banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Playing for keeps

After nine years of striking out in the dating department, Maddie Hamlin is throwing in the towel. But just as this mom resolves to remain single, she meets sweet and sexy pitching phenom Chase Patton at a family dinner. He’s perfect for her aside from the fact he’s only twenty-two.

Chase knows he should be focusing on his rookie year with the Detroit Rockets, but he can’t stop thinking about Maddie. He doesn’t care that the beautiful school counselor is twelve years older, and he’s already lost his heart to her adorable daughter. When an incredible date leads to an incredible night of passion, he knows he never wants to let her go.

But dating in the media spotlight is a whole new ball game. Maddie quickly discovers that not everyone accepts their unconventional relationship and that finding love may mean losing everything else…

Here's my review:

This is a charmer of a love story between an older woman and a younger man, but Maddie is definitely no cougar. In fact, she does everything she can do to prevent the attraction between her and Chase growing into anything else--not only because of his age but because she's under the understanding that he is dating her niece.

Chase is mature for his years, and he doesn't see anything wrong with pursuing a relationship with Maddie. After all, they get on well together and he adores her daughter.

Rhonda Shaw does a wonderful job of portraying all the characters--even the secondary characters are fleshed out so you can almost believe they are real people. The pacing of the story couldn't be any better, and this reader came to care so much about Maddie and Chase that when it looked like everything was turning against them it hurt my heart.

I'm not normally a fan of sports-themed books, but I enjoyed this one so much, I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, which features two of the secondary characters from this book.

Four Flowers. Enjoy this excerpt:

“Lift your left foot there, that’s right, and bring your arm back to here. You feel that?” Chase asked as he held her right arm up, his warm hand moving slowly from her elbow to her wrist. He angled his body and she could feel the feel length of him pressed against her, leaving almost nothing to the imagination. “And then you’re going to bring it through and follow through to here.”

Maddie nodded. Could she feel that? She could feel nothing but that! The breadth and solidness of his chest against her back as he leaned over her made her want to turn and worship its strength. Her butt was snug against his front and she didn’t even want to think about what she could bump into if she moved even the slightest inch. His breath was warm on her neck and his lips were right by her ear making her mouth water. Her skin started to tighten and tingle as the air seemed to clog in her throat, and she could feel her cheeks burning. Her reactions, all of them, were shocking. Had it been that long that any touch from a male was going to set her off? Did it not matter that he was many—way too many—years her junior? Her mind screamed, asking what the hell she was thinking, but her body was happily ignoring the alarms.

About the Author:After writing one mind numbing technical document after another, Rhonda Shaw decided to combine her love of writing with her love of reading romance. Born in California, but transplanted to the Midwest, Rhonda is a warm weather girl to the bone. She works in the software development industry and was a lifelong dancer until her body told her it was time to come down off her toes. For more information about Rhonda and her books, please visit her website at http://www.rhondashaw.com. Connect with her on Twitter or Facebook.

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