Calling It is Jen Doyle's debut novel. I always try to go in with an open mind to a debut novel, because sometimes you find some serious gems and other times it is obvious that it is an author's first book. The blurb really drew me in here though, and I absolutely love sports romance stories, so I had to give this one a shot. Unfortunately for me, this is one of those cases where it didn't work for me at all.
After almost losing his career in a car accident, professional catcher Nathan Hawkins heads home to avoid the paparazzi. Not only are the media speculating about his career and the accident, but he also just lost his fiance to his supposed best friend. But when he goes to his sister's apartment, the nearly naked woman he finds wielding a baseball bat is definitely not his sister. Nate agrees to help the town librarian with the renovations to the library and is shocked to realize that it is the woman he ran into. As the two begin to get to know one another, things quickly become more and both Dorie and Nate find themselves enjoying what is happening between them, but will either of them be ready to let go once Nate has to head back for spring training?
One of my biggest issues here was Dorie. I couldn't stand her right from the start, and honestly most of the secondary characters weren't any better. Dorie was impossible for me to connect to and I found myself wanting to reach through my Kindle more than once to strangle her. She did nothing but irritate me, and it just never got better. I especially got tired of the constant push and pull that Dorie was doing when it came to Nate. The secondary characters here annoyed me as well, often times jumping to conclusions and sticking their noses in where it didn't belong. It started right away in this book and was just impossible to come back from. The only character I found myself really liking was Nate.
I also had a really tough time with the author's writing style, and I think a lot of that could just be a personal thing. There were times that things almost seemed to be missing and the writing came off as a bit choppy. I would have to read several sentences and paragraphs multiple times to try and figure out how we got from point A to point B. It just didn't flow well, and this one was pretty slow and awkward. There wasn't really anything new or different here to grab my attention, so my interest kept waning with all the issues I had. There were also some things that were just unrealistic and had me rolling my eyes throughout the story, and I couldn't ever connect or find anything to really make me want to read this book. I have seen a lot of positive reviews and readers that enjoyed this book, so if you like sports romance stories, you might still give this one a shot. This one wasn't for me at all, but that doesn't mean that it might not work for you.
**ARC Provided by Publisher**
