I received this book for free from Candi Kane PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Change Up by Meghan Quinn Series: Brentwood Baseball #5
on June 11, 2020
Genres: Adult Sports Romance, Adult Romantic Comedy
Pages: 380
Source: Candi Kane PR
Format: E-galley
My Rating:
Goodreads
Synopsis:
BREAKING NEWS: The Bad Boy of Baseball, Maddox Paige, is totally and utterly whipped.
Okay, that might not be the headlines in the newspaper this morning, but it’s the reality of my current situation.
It all started a month ago when I received a call from my best friend, Kinsley. She got a new job in Chicago and needed a place to stay. I’ve known the girl since I was five, what harm would it be to have her stay at my place for a while?
Ha! Total disaster.
Now instead of going out every night with my teammates, I’m couch surfing and sketching endless photos of my best friend . . . but that’s the least of my concerns.
The disaster, you ask? I’m rapidly falling head over cleats in love with my best friend, my roommate, and my number one fan.
And she has no idea . . .
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Prologue:
**MADDOX**
Have you ever said something you regret?
Something you haven’t forgotten about an hour later?
Something that sits with you, stews deep in your belly, and then seeps into your bones, burying itself so far into your marrow that all you can think about is the one thing you said . . . and how you wished you could take it back the minute it slipped past your lips?
That’s where I am.
Full of regret.
People always say, “Don’t regret anything. It’s what makes you who you are.” That was said in a whiney, nasally voice. Did you hear it?
Well, those people, the ones trying to spew rainbows and sunshine up your ass about blatant mistakes . . . yeah, they’re only saying that because they fuck up on a daily basis.
Think about it, what REAL person is okay with all their regrets? No one. There is always that one thing you did, that one time, that you will always, always, always think . . .
“What if I’d done that differently?”
It keeps you up at night.
You wonder, what transformed, what took over my brain, to utter such words. To alter your life completely and send it down an entirely different course.
Yeah, my life has been fucking altered all right.
Everything was fine.
I was pitching one hell of a fucking season for the Rebels, my ride or die team. I was getting along with my teammates, even the infamous Cory Potter, who made a splash after last season. I’ll hand it to the man, he really is the boss. I was getting laid whenever I wanted, which is always a plus for a guy who has massive amounts of adrenaline pumping through him daily, especially on a pitching day. And there were no strings attached.
None.
Yeah, I might have a rotation of women I call, but any single player in the major leagues does. You need the outlet. Even the prestigious Cory Potter had some booty call numbers before he found Natalie.
I was living a great life, and then it all changed. And it changed fucking fast.
Before I knew it, I was staring into my fridge at dairy products not made from a cow, but rather from oat. What the fuck is that? Oat milk? Explain to me where an oat has a goddamn nipple.
My toothbrush is made from bamboo, which gives off a very woody, splintery taste, and I’ve been using toothpaste tablets instead of paste from a tube . . . because apparently, tubes suck up life in the landfill.
The eco-friendly toilet paper in my apartment disintegrates in my hand and is worthless, making bathroom breaks a fucking nightmare.
And there’s a goddamn three-legged dog in a suit and tie sitting on my couch that goes by the name Herman, or Hermy for short.
I don’t have any privacy, I don’t even remember what meat tastes like anymore, and “Hermy” has a goddamn staring problem. And the three-legged motherfucker, yeah, he’s stealthy. I find him waiting for me outside the shower . . . staring.
When I wake up . . . staring.
When I’m trying to make a goddamn tempeh sandwich . . . staring.
Every time I tell him to “get a life” or to “fuck off” or for the love of Christ “get a new hobby”, he doesn’t even bat an eyelash.
He just stares!
I can’t fucking take it anymore.
I’m losing my goddamn mind and I don’t know . . . maybe it’s because I haven’t had sex in what feels like forever, or because my burgers are now made of imposter “meat”, or maybe because I’m forced to do things I don’t want to do. Either way, something needs to give, because I’m pretty sure from all the vegan shit I’ve been eating, my armpits are just about ready to spring their own mung beans.
Christ.
One phone call.
That’s all it took.
One fucking phone call from a person I cannot say no to, a person who will forever and always be . . . my insanely beautiful and free-spirited best friend.
My Review:
Now, normally you’d see me immediately gushing about how much I loved a book by Meghan Quinn. And don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it, I just feel like I expected more of an edge from Maddox, the player we loved to hate because of what a jerk he really was, or seemed to be. But this book unfortunately really didn’t show much of that. I get that we needed to fall in love with him, but I still needed that hard, acerbic man we had met, and without it, I just felt something was missing. Honestly he didn’t seem to have that much to change in order to win the girl in the end for me. Yeah, we got how his childhood had been and how much he had dealt with, and that was really the great connection between him and Kinsley.
Of course the story had a lot of the fun pop culture moments that I love, like a reference to the movie The Money Pit, one of my all time favorite movies, and there was a lot of humorous banter between the characters as usual from this author. And the steaminess of it was top level, I mean when nothing was actually even happening, just all talk, well I was fanning myself for sure! Then, the piercing, yes! The relationship seemed just a little bit too easy at first, and then when the big fight or dramatic moment came, I also felt that the two characters gave up too quickly, it wasn’t something I am used to from this author. I usually can totally understand why her characters do what they do and don’t think it’s drama for drama’s sake. Now, again, don’t get me wrong, I still had tears running down my face after the big showdown though. And I loved the dog, Herman, I wanted to cuddle him myself! So while I recommend reading this if you’re already involved with the rest of the Brentwood Baseball series, I’d say don’t start with this one. Although once again, Jason, my favorite, steals the show at times.
About the Author:
USA Today Bestselling Author, wife, adoptive mother, and peanut butter lover. Author of romantic comedies and contemporary romance, Meghan Quinn brings readers the perfect combination of heart, humor, and heat in every book.
Connect with Meghan:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meghanquinnauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7360513.Meghan_Quinn
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormeghanquinn/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorMegQuinn
Website: http://authormeghanquinn.com
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/meghan-quinn
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2LitE4x
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I loved your honest review today for one of your favorite authors. It’s too bad this one wasn’t your favorite, but it sounds like it was still fun to read, especially Herman! I love when dogs are a part of the book–when a character loves and cares for an animal, I know he/she is a good person.
It wasn’t a bad read, just wasn’t as good as every other book I’ve read by her. Or at least I didn’t get as invested in the characters for this one. Thanks for stopping by!