ARC Review: Too Hot to Handle by Katie Rose

This was my first time reading Katie Rose. “Too Hot to Handle” was the second book in the Boys of Summer series. The story centers on a baseball team- The New Jersey Sonics. Their image is in need of repair and Nikki Case is called in to help turn the team’s image around. The Sonics are unpolished, they constantly get into fights and they have a bad rap.

Nikki is a PR Guru. She is tough and confident. She was previously married but when her husband developed a gambling problem and racked up debt it ended in divorce. Since then, Nikki is focused on rebuilding her life and starting her career. She is all business and no nonsense. Needless to say the bad boys of baseball don’t want their imaged repaired and they definitely don’t want to play by Nikki’s rules. Nikki is not going to be intimidated, she gets the team to polish their image and gets them into better shape. Although the management is happy the players are not.

One player in particular, Jake Baldwin- the shortstop, is fascinated with Nikki. When one of the players challenges him that he can’t win over Nikki Jake takes up the challenge. Jake is very laid back. He has an image as a ladies man but he is also a great leader for the team. When Nikki doesn’t fall all over herself when he pays her any attention he is even more intrigued.

Nikki and Jake had fun chemistry. They were both fun characters to read about. Nikki tries to resist Jake but eventually she convinces herself that a small fling won’t harm anyone. She also convinces herself that all she wants is a short fling. Jake realizes that things might get complicated for him and Nikki if they get involved but he doesn’t want to miss an opportunity with her.

This was a cute story. I really liked the characters and the writing of the author. I personally think that Nikki gave in too quickly to Jake. Also, I wasn’t too happy with how the author handled Jake’s cold feet. Throughout their entire relationship Jakes was really into Nikki until all of the sudden he realizes that she deserves a white picket fence and a serious relationship. I wasn’t convinced about how this was a conflict. Also, I didn’t get how Chase and Darcy didn’t progress in their relationship. They were in the previous book but it seemed that their relationship was not that serious. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by the author.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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