My Review: Catch of A Lifetime

Isn't this cover so pretty?  I love the combination of blue across the top and the font works well with the overall style of the cover.

Description:
 Can she forget the fumbles of her past and open her heart to love?

He breathes football. She shudders at the very mention of the sport.

After a tragedy involving a football player destroyed her family, athletic trainer and graduate student, Cassie moves across the country looking for a fresh start, but a change in financial aid lands her in the middle of her worst nightmare.

Meanwhile, rookie coach Reed worries his dream career will slip away as injuries plague his players and his star receiver teeters on the brink of ineligibility. As the two work together to salvage the season, sparks fly, and Reed must eventually choose between the game and the woman he loves.




About the Author:
Candee Fick is the wife of a high school football coach and the mother of three children, including a daughter with a rare genetic syndrome. When not busy with her day job or writing, she can be found cheering on the home team at football, basketball, baseball, and Special Olympics games. As a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), she has been a Genesis Award double finalist and winner over several years.  Category: Romance/sports college, football, medical, therapist, tutor, contemporary, inspirational.






My Review: 4.5 stars
I’m going to go ahead and confess this: I’m not a football fan. I’m more in the category of “Hide! The game’s coming on!” Okay, now that we have that out of the way, I do have to say that I truly loved this book! So, if you’re second guessing picking up this story because you don‘t care for the sport, don’t worry about that part of it. You’ll hopefully love it as much as I did.

Ms. Fick's writing is excellent! The characters and setting came to life for me and I was drawn into the story from page one. This was definitely a quick read for me. Once I started it, I didn't want to put it down and also stayed up late finishing it. Her details and descriptions flowed perfectly throughout the story and even a football idiot such as myself very rarely became lost. I actually enjoyed the extra details she supplied regarding the sport, because even when I didn't fully understand, I could still picture it easily.

The protagonists are well rounded and I really liked both of them. They were incredibly realistic and seemed like people I would actually know and be friends with. Cassie Parker, is an academic advisor for the students on the football team. She despises the sport in general, but also has little respect for the teammates, due to a poor experience with football players in the past. I enjoyed watching her grow closer to them and actually become great friends with a few of them. Once she looked beyond the uniform to the people behind them, she found some wonderful friends. Cassie also has a strong faith in God, though it has been rocked by past events and she questions His will in her life. I appreciated her faith, but also the realism we see in her. Because, honestly, who hasn’t questioned God at some point? She isn’t perfect, but maybe that’s why I loved her so much.

Reed Worthington is the receivers’ coach (hope I have that right), who strives to do his best and be someone his team members can look up to. I loved him too. He is honorable and truly cares about each of the students he comes in contact with. I appreciated his desire to be a man worth emulating and he reaches toward God for guidance in that area. He is also less than perfect, and as his relationship with Cassie progresses, we see some mental struggles on his behalf. At first, I questioned Ms. Fick’s decision to include his struggle, but the further I read, the more I was grateful for her decision to make Reed realistic. Instead of causing me to lose respect for him, I found I loved him even more because of his desire to honor God and Cassie.

Honestly, the only reason I'm rating this at 4.5 instead of 5 stars is because I wish the story had been a bit longer. Ms. Fick touches on a few difficult topics, such as forgiveness, trusting God, physical assault, and dealing with temptation (as mentioned above). All things that were woven carefully throughout the story and handled well. I just would have appreciated more page time for them. In keeping with the book length, I felt they were a bit glossed over, at times. But, that being said and again noting the length of the story, I believe Ms. Fick did an admirable job of including such difficult topics. She took the book beyond what some would call “fluff” reading and made it something more. I must applaud her for that.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick read that touches the heart and may leave you thinking!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author for my honest review, which I have given. I was not required to write a positive review and have not been compensated for it in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you so much for taking time to read my review!  I hope you enjoyed it!  If you're interested in learning more about the book, or perhaps purchasing a copy, there's a link to Amazon below.  
I hope you have a blessed week!  Please come again!

Amazon