The Perfectly Imperfect Match (Suttonville Sentinels #3)
Kendra C. Highley
Synopsis ❤
Pitcher Dylan Dennings has his future all mapped out: make the minors straight out of high school, work his way up the farm system, and get called up to the majors by the time he’s twenty-three. The Plan has been his sole focus for years, and if making his dreams come true means instituting a strict “no girls” policy, so be it.
Lucy Foster, needlepoint ninja, big sister to an aspiring pitcher, and chicken advocate, likes a little mayhem. So what if she gets lost taking her brother to baseball camp…at her own high school? The pitching coach, some hotshot high school player, obviously thinks she’s a hot mess. Too bad he’s cute, because he’s so not her type.
Problem is, they keep running into each other, and every interaction sparks hotter than the last. But with Dylan’s future on the line, he has to decide whether some rules are made to be broken…
Disclaimer: This book contains a crazy night of moonlit skinny-dipping, a combustible crush, and kisses swoony enough to unwind even the most Type A athlete.
Book Review: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Suttonville Sentinels is easily becoming one of my favourite series. I love sports romance, and I love the YA/teen genre. This series offers something different in the way of male lead characters. They may be athletes, but they aren't cocky jocks. They work hard to achieve their goals.
The Perfectly Imperfect Match is Dylan's story. We meet him in Swinging at Love, however, if you haven't read book 2 in the series you will still have the full enjoyment of this story. Dylan is a square. He keeps his head in the game and his eye on the plan. Some may say he's boring, but he is driven to achieving his goal. Baseball is his dream career, and he wants to give it his all. This means no distractions including girls.
Lucy is a free spirit. She's happy to colour outside the lines. She loves sewing, chickens, and living for the now. She is Dylan's complete opposite. From the second they meet they clash. They don't fit together like a jigsaw. They are perfectly imperfect so why can't they stay away from each other? This is a hot and fiery relationship with some mild sexual references.
This isn't a smooth sailing romance. Dylan can be a bonehead at times but he's a teen. All he has to do is work it out before he misses his chance with the girl of his dreams.
5 stars out of 5. I love Lucy's character, and she is strong enough to deal with the curveballs Dylan likes to throw. Another swoon-worthy teen read.
*I received an ARC in exchange for a fair review*
The Perfectly Imperfect Match (Suttonville Sentinels #3)
by Kendra C. Highley
Publication Date: July 10, 2017
Publisher: Entangled Teen Crush
Publisher: Entangled Teen Crush
£2.98 Kindle Edition or £11.76 Paperback
218 pages
❤ Question One: I love this series! One of my favourite parts is the fact the lead males aren't overly confident. They work hard and earn their goals. Was it always the plan to offer a different type of male lead?
Yes – while I love a good alpha male, my favorite heroes have layers. I wanted these guys to be strong and good athletes—but also have doubts. Being a teen is all about doubt, and I find it more realistic when they aren’t totally sure about everything.
❤ Questions two: The sport of choice in this series is baseball. Do you have a special connection to the sport or did something inspire you to choose it?
I always tell people I love two sports: college football and major-league baseball. I grew up watching the Texas Rangers play, and joke that the team is as old as I am (they came to Texas the year I was born). My dad and I bonded over listening to games on staticky AM radio after my mom died, so the sport holds a special connection for me.
❤ Question three: The Perfectly Imperfect Match is set in the summer holidays. What would a normal school day look like for our two main characters (Before they met)?
Anyone who’s read Swinging at Love has an idea about what Dylan was like: honors classes, crushing on his best friend’s girl, hanging out with his friends, and baseball practice. Lots of structure for Mr. Dennings.
Lucy is different. She does well in school, but doesn’t take honors classes. Her electives revolve around art and sewing. She comes in at the last minute, and takes off as soon as she can, because the things she loves aren’t in that building. Her senior year, though? Probably going to change…
❤ Question four: I love the cover artwork for this series. The Perfectly Imperfect Match being my favourite. How did you choose them?
I can’t take credit for that—the Entangled Publishing team always does such a great job with the covers. This one is no exception. The scene on the front cover is based on a scene in the book—you’ll have to check it out!
❤ Question five: Did Perfectly Imperfect Match turn out the way you expected when you started writing it?
❤ Question five: Did Perfectly Imperfect Match turn out the way you expected when you started writing it?
Yes and no. Believe it or not, the whole “chicken advocate” thing was always there. In fact, one of Lucy’s shirts, with a cartoon chicken saying “moo” is a T-shirt I had a few years ago. It made me laugh. What I didn’t expect was how easy—and how hard—it was to keep these two together. When they get out of their own way, it works….but they had to figure that out first.
❤ Question Six: I can't wait for the next instalment in this series. Have you already got an idea in the pipeline?
Right now, this is the last Suttonville book (although, who knows what might come later). My newest is in editing, and is my first attempt at New Adult. It stars a secondary character from Defying Gravity, and the rest is a mystery. Now, I’m writing the last book in my Unstrung series, and from there, I have an idea for a new fantasy series. We’ll see what happens!
Excerpt #1
https://www.goodreads.com/series/199685
Kendra C. Highley lives in north Texas with her husband and two children. She also serves as staff to four self-important and high-powered cats. This, according to the cats, is her most important job. She believes in everyday magic, extraordinary love stories, and the restorative powers of dark chocolate.
Excerpt #1
Lucy
watched Dylan cut through the water with a precise breaststroke. Even his
swimming was neat and tidy. She slumped against the bench as he pulled himself
onboard and untied the boys’ boat. He stood there, dripping, while their friends
cruised away.
“Um…”
He swallowed hard and wiped water out of his eyes. “Look—”
“Don’t
bother.” She slumped as far as she could without falling off the bench. “I know
what you meant. Just because our friends set us up doesn’t mean we have to do
anything about it.”
“Hey.”
He sounded irritated now. “You don’t understand, and that’s why I’m here. I’m
not dating because I’m focused entirely on baseball right now. I have a shot at
the minors next spring after we graduate, and I’m putting all my energy into
that. It’s not you.” He rubbed his face, shifting his balance like he was going
to jump out of the boat any second. “You’re…you’re…well, you’re someone I would
definitely chat up under different circumstances.”
Lucy
slowly sat up straighter, noticing how his ears had turned red. The little
devil on her shoulder, the one that made her impulsive, talked her into pulling
her shoulders back and pushing her chest out ever so slightly. Just to see what
he’d do. When his eyes drifted, then snapped back to her face, she smirked a
little. “Chat me up, huh? Even though you think I’m a hot mess?”
“Did
I ever say that?” He crossed his arms over his life vest. “Maybe I questioned
your ability to drive places, but I never said you were a mess.” “Uh huh.” She
relaxed against the seat, unable to believe it. “You seemed really annoyed that
I stayed for camp today. I could almost see the thought bubble over your head,
‘this one’s brought his crazy sister.”
“I
didn’t…” He squeezed his eyes shut and ground his jaw. After a deep breath, he
tried again. “I just thought you were a little overprotective. Otis is nine,
not two.”
“And
who are you to decide that?” Lucy sat up straighter, daring him to look her
over. “But, if you want, I’ll stay away from your precious camp. You better
take good care of my brother, though, or we’ll have more than words, Coach Dylan.”
She
sighed, furious that she’d taken the bait and engaged with this jackass. “You
don’t have to stand there like you’re about to jump in the lake if I twitch in
your direction. I wouldn’t touch you if you paid me.”
Dylan’s
eyes narrowed. As if he was calling her bluff, he unbuckled his life vest and
dropped it to the floor. Oh, shirtless
boy alert.
Yep,
she was right…he was cute. And cut.
His blond hair was tinged gold by the setting sun, but her gaze kept straying
somewhere else…somewhere tan and muscular. As she watched, his forearms tensed,
showing off a pair of arms that demanded her attention.
She
met his eyes and found him smirking back at her. Right. “I appreciate the effort,
but you’re not my type.”
He
rolled his eyes. “You’re not exactly mine, either, Princess.”
She
rose, standing with her feet wide apart to compensate for the rocking boat.
“And what type is that? Bubble headed? Simpering? Compliant?”
He
glared at her. “Disciplined. Smart. Driven.”
She
laughed coldly. “I think that’s the wrong kind of girl for you. Too much
like-knows-like. You need someone to shake you up, make you live for now
instead of a year from now.”
“Oh,
and you think you’re the person to do that?”
For
some reason, both their voices had risen, but she couldn’t back down. Mom would
tell her the passion was getting the better of her, and if only she took a
second to breathe, she’d see it. Too late for that now. “I might be, if you removed
the stick from your ass.”
He
took a step toward her. “Yeah, and you
need someone to untangle your hot-mess self.”
She
took a big step toward him, pointing a finger at his chest. “I knew you thought
I was a hot mess!”
He
took another step, but she wasn’t afraid of him. No, she didn’t think she’d
ever felt so alive, honestly. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her
fingertips tingled. Like she’d been in a dim room, and someone had turned on a
floodlight.
“Fine!
I did think it, and I’ll say it,
too,” Dylan snapped. “You’re a hot mess, Lucy Foster. What are you going to do about
it?”
Her
mouth dropped open, and her whole body flushed with heat. The next step she
took brought her an inch away from him. Close enough to see he was shaking.
Rage? Fear? All she knew was that she was shaking, too, but it was from neither
of those things. “You know what I think? I think you’re a jackass!”
Then,
before she could decide whether this was the worst idea she’d ever had, she
swayed closer, so that her chest brushed his just barely, and went up on tiptoe, stopping short of kissing
him…waiting to see what would happen.
They
stared each other down, each of them breathing hard. Lucy’s gaze dropped to his
lips then back to his eyes, daring him to make a move.
He
growled, this frustrated, almost anguished sound, before closing the distance.
He pulled her close, his wet torso sliding slick against hers. Then his mouth
was on hers, and she forgot everything—about being angry, about being stuck in
the middle of the lake with a guy who pushed her buttons, about Dad being gone.
Nothing mattered but his warm breath against her cheek and his strong arms
holding her tight despite the rocking boat beneath them. Good thing, because
she was lightheaded, but didn’t want to come up for air.
They
clung together, the kiss frantic and disorganized. Somewhere in the back of her
brain, she recognized this guy hadn’t let himself go for a long, long time…and
that he’d been hurt recently. All of it was there in the depth of this kiss.
His chest was warm, heaving against hers, and his fingers traced the line of
her bare spine, sending shivers across her back.
She
didn’t even hear the other boat approach. No, she didn’t notice a thing until
Serena called, “Sweet baby Jesus! I said apologize, not act out a movie star
kiss in the middle of my boat!”
Excerpt #2:
When
she pulled into the small lot, only one other car was there: a charcoal Porsche
crossover. The tailgate was up, and Dylan was leaning into the back, his face
hidden from hers.
“Okay,”
she breathed. “You can do this.”
Being
nervous was so stupid. She was never nervous before meeting up with a guy.
Excited maybe, but not palms-slick, knees-trembling, stomach-fluttering
nervous.
But
she was.
She
made her way through the gate and onto the field. A catcher’s mitt, a chest
guard, and a helmet with a mask were lying on the ground by the metal thing
that kept pitches from hitting the spectators.
Just
how seriously was he taking this? “Is all this stuff for me?”
The
tailgate slammed closed. “Yeah, just a sec.”
Dylan,
carrying a basket of baseballs with a glove resting on top, came striding in
from the parking lot. He was dressed in his usual: Tight, dry-fit T-shirt and
athletic shorts. When had she started thinking that was sexy? Maybe it was the way
he moved in those clothes—confident and sure. Like nothing could touch him.
Like he owned the ground he walked on, but was willing to share it with her.
Heat
crept up her neck that nothing to do with the brutal sunshine.
He
carried the basket to the pitcher’s mound, then turned to face her. “Overkill?”
She
looked down at the catcher’s equipment, hoping he hadn’t caught her gawking.
“Maybe a little. I was thinking more about tossing a ball back and forth.”
Dylan
cocked his head. “Not for Otis. There are nets and things that will let him
pitch on his own, but if you really want to catch for him, you’ll want to do it
the right way.”
Lucy
held in a sigh. He was in full instructor mode. She’d have to work around that
if she wanted to crack his resolve. And she really wanted to try. “Maybe show
me how to hold a baseball the right way, and we can work up from there?”
His
eyes narrowed. “Otis could teach you that.”
“I
want you to teach me.”
That
hung in the air between them. Dylan looked away, but his shoulders were tense.
Good, someone knew how she felt, too. “Lucy…”
She
wasn’t going to hear any excuses. Serena was right—She needed to cut the crap.
She marched over to the bucket of baseballs and pulled one out. She walked over
to Dylan, stopping a foot away, and held up the ball. “Show me.”
His
head snapped up. The heat in his gaze burned straight through her, and she had
to bite back a smile of triumph. She had his attention now. And someone liked
girls
who
took control.
A
line knit between his eyebrows, and his shoulders were up around his ears, but
he didn’t tear his eyes away from hers. “Okay, I’ll teach you, if that’s what
you want.”
His
voice was soft, not annoyed, as he moved around to stand behind her. His breath
was warm on her neck and goose bumps raced down both her arms. His hands
covered hers, helping her turn the ball, so it was in the right spot against
her palm, before moving her fingers into the correct position.
Lucy
hardly breathed.
“This
is how you hold the ball—always hold it across the seams.” He gripped her hand
in his larger one, and mimed throwing the ball, not like a pitch, but like one
of the other players would. “This is how outfielders throw, but it’s all you need
to send the ball back to Otis.”
He
mimed the throw again, moving her arm overhead. “You’ll release it from the
top. Think you’ve got it?”
Lucy
wanted to say no, just so he’d keep holding her arm, but she nodded. “Let me
try.”
He
stepped back, and she took a deep breath. Her hands were shaking. You can do
this. Maybe. She regripped the ball like he’d shown her, wound up, and threw.
The
ball went about ten feet, bounced off the ground, and rolled.
Dylan
couldn’t stifle his chuckle. “That was…uh, that was good for a first try.”
Lucy
put her hands on her hips. “It was terrible. Let me try again.”
He
dug three balls out of the basket and handed her one. She threw the first one
farther, but way to the left. Grumbling, she held out her hand for another
ball. This time, she managed to throw it mostly straight.
“You
know?” Dylan still sounded amused. “This might be good for Otis. He’ll have to
practice fielding balls that come off the bat on a hop anyway.”
“Is
that a nice way of making lemonade out of my lemon of an arm?” Lucy asked.
Dylan
winked at her and trotted into the field after the balls. Lucy watched as he
bent to pick them up. She had to admit, the view was pretty spectacular.
She
didn’t quit ogling him in time, and Dylan straightened up to find her staring
at him, twirling a piece of hair around her finger. He strolled over, grinning.
“What?”
She
smiled back. “How do I catch a pitch?”
“You’ll
have to put on the mask and guards, first.”
Lucy
went for the gear and put it on. “Now what?”
“You
squat.”
His
voice was daring her to do it. Fine. She dropped into a crouch and punched the
mitt a few times. “Like this?”
“Uh,
yeah.”
His
voice had cracked—now she was getting somewhere. She waggled a bit, crouching
deeper, and grinned when he watched her, slack jawed. “Show me what you’ve
got.”
A
fresh smirk. “I throw pretty hard.”
What,
did he think she was made of glass? “Prove it.”
Mumbling
something she couldn’t hear, Dylan paced around the mound a minute, then
settled down to wind up.
The
pitch that came at her moved much faster than she expected. She caught it,
barely, then pulled her hand out of the mitt and shook it. “Ow. You win.”
“Hey,
you caught it. That’s something.” He was nodding in approval. “That’s good for
the first time.”
“You’re
a good coach. I see why Otis likes you so much.” She stood, stretching the
kinks out of her back. “Speaking of which, I need to be honest. I wasn’t here
just to learn to throw a ball. Truth is, I wanted to see you. I couldn’t think
of a way to convince you unless Otis was involved somehow.”
Dylan
took a few steps off the pitcher’s mound, inching closer. “I guess that’s
fair.”
She
took a more obvious step toward him and pulled off the helmet and chest plate.
“I appreciate you worrying about Otis. I do. But…he’s old enough to understand,
and I want to get to know you.”
“We’re
totally different.” Dylan’s voice grew rough. “Opposites—”
“Opposites sometime attract.” Lucy took
another big step, closing the distance to about ten feet. “That’s part of the
fun. I’m not saying I want a proposal or anything. Just coffee.”
“We
already had coffee.” To her surprise, he came three steps closer. His fists
clenched, unclenched. “Maybe…”
She waited, watching an obvious war play out
via the expression on his face. He wanted to try this thing out as much as she
did, but his so-called “better nature” was holding him back. Feeling bold, she
closed the distance, standing right in front of him. “Maybe, what?”
He
took in a sharp breath, eyes fixed on hers. Dylan’s eyes weren’t as blue as
she’d originally thought, but a stormy blue-gray. Intense and distant, kind of
like how he could be sometimes. She hoped she could fix the “distant” part.
Finally,
he reached for her hand. “How about lunch?”
Smiling,
she gave his fingers a little squeeze. “Thought you’d never ask.”
OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES:
https://www.goodreads.com/series/199685
Giveaway Details
· $25 Amazon gift card (US and International)
· Signed copies of The Bad Boy Bargain and Swinging at Love, and signed bookmarks (US only)
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