Expat Irish rugby player Declan Fraser only wanted to play the sport he loves. He didn’t want to be stuck in this middle-of-nowhere town at this all too quaint university. He didn’t want his team captain to be an entitled jackass who switched Declan's position on the squad just to make himself look good. And he sure as hell didn’t want to fall in love with graduate student Autumn McShane.
Autumn is stubborn, but gorgeous; she bristles at any hint of dependency on anyone or anything, but she’s also a survivor. She’s everything Declan didn’t know he wanted. When Autumn finds herself in the middle of a challenging bet with her ex-boyfriend - who just happens to be the arrogant team captain that Declan hates - he feels honor bound to help her out. But he didn’t expect to fall for her in the process.
“Behind the Pitch” reveals the most twisted and erotic thoughts in Declan’s head as he navigates through his on again/off again, frustrating and deeply erotic relationship with Autumn McShane.
And lordy, does he have a filthy mind.
“I…it’s too much.”
Autumn didn’t like losing control. She didn’t like being weak. I understood that, but
that moment wasn’t a time to close herself up. I knew she wanted to let go. I knew
there was no way I could stop touching her, bringing her closer and closer to the
brink. So I gripped her tight, went deeper into her, smoothed my hands down her
arse, squeezed, dipped my finger between her cheeks. “Look at me, love.” When
my finger went lower, dipped further, her eyes flew open and a slow, lazy smile
made the dimples in her face deepen. “There, that’s it.”
“How are you doing that?”
I didn’t answer, not at first, too caught up in the low moans working out of her
throat. “Like that, McShane?”
“Ye…yes. Oh God—”
Her body loved how we moved together, how I touched her and when she came,
clamped down harder, firmer, I wanted to climb inside her, stay locked with her in
that moment, just the hot air of the room and weak whines of her voice keeping us
grounded to the earth. I needed her, I knew that, like I never needed anything in my
life. “I want you to say my name… like you mean it,” I said, steadying her face
between my fingers. “I want you staring in my eyes, looking at me while I fill you up
with nothing but my name coming off your lips.” Another pound into her, then two,
each harder than the last and then I lowered my voice, latched my teeth onto her
earlobe. “Do you mean it, McShane?”
“I…I do,” she said, her voice cracking when I pushed deeper.
“Then say it. Say it for me, love.”
“Declan.” She said my name like a promise and anything I felt before, any hope I
ever had of never looking back, fell away completely.
Yep. Definitely in love with her.
The scent and taste of her, the feel of her around me, gripping me, touching me,
was my undoing and I knew I’d explode soon. My eyelids lowered, then Autumn
tightened her hold on me just a bit further when she touched my face. “I need to
see you too.”
Completely, ruddy done for.
Before I begin my review, I feel it’s important to notate that this is most definitely a companion novella and is not meant to be read as a stand-alone. If you try to read this without having read the first book, Chasing Serenity, it will throw you off entirely and won’t make much sense.
Eden decided to take us into the mind of Declan for Behind the Pitch, and I for one am grateful! Most books and novellas that are released in a different POV tend to be the same exact story retold, just from the thoughts of a different character. That wasn't the case with this one, and I am SO DAMN THRILLED.
Now I’m going to be honest, I’m not usually a fan of novellas. Most of the time I feel like too much information is left out. Like the story isn't complete … that I’m missing a lot. However, that wasn't the case here.
This novella takes us through Declan's retelling of a few of our favorite Chasing Serenity scenes. A majority of the story, however, takes place in present time where Joe has dropped a second bombshell on Declan, forcing yet another wedge to come between him and Autumn. Follow along as Declan’s hurt and anger cause his world to come crashing down, leaving him scrambling to clean up the pieces afterward. Will he be able to set things right, or has he finally gone too far?
I absolutely loved Behind the Pitch, probably a bit more than I did the first novel. It was fun being inside of Declan’s head, and seeing his struggles, his feelings ... it just made me fall for him even more.
Declan is a complex character who tends to let his emotions control him. He’s not the type to stick around and talk things out, and that just made me want to smack him at times! But no matter how much he infuriated me with the choices that he made, I was always in his corner rooting for him to make things right. I love Declan, and just wanted to see him happy.
Behind the Pitch was a 5 star read for me. I thought Eden’s decision to start off with something new and then revisit scenes in Declan's POV, all while jumping back to the present in between, was a smart choice. It was fresh, it was new, and it was definitely worth my time. I can’t wait for the next book in this series!
Graduate student Autumn McShane has had her share of heartbreak. She's been abandoned and betrayed and she lost her beloved mother in a tragic car accident five months ago. That loss damaged her body and fractured her spirit but she's learning to recover, until her ex-boyfriend returns to town, intent on making her life miserable.
Declan Fraser hates her ex as much as Autumn does, but the last thing she needs is to put her trust in the hands of another man, especially one like Declan: his hard body and lulling Irish accent makes more than a few girls weak-kneed. The talented rugby player is rude and sarcastic, with tattooed, muscular arms and a cocky attitude, but he's the only one who can help Autumn win an ill-advised bet that, if lost, could cost her more than she's willing to pay. The reluctant alliance between Declan and Autumn stirs up cravings she doesn't want to admit, but Declan is a hard man to resist.
Just when Autumn starts letting down her carefully constructed walls to the sexy bad boy, he betrays her when she needs him most. Autumn suspects Declan has secrets, and she is determined to uncover what drove him away from her, even if that means fraternizing with the enemy. But will the truth return Declan to her arms or add to the scars on her heart?
Eden Butler is an editor and writer of New Adult Romance and SciFi and Fantasy novels and the nine-times great-granddaughter of an honest-to-God English pirate. This could explain her affinity for rule breaking and rum. Her debut novel, a New Adult, Contemporary (no cliffie) Romance, “Chasing Serenity” will launch October 2013.
When she’s not writing or wondering about her possibly Jack Sparrowesque ancestor, Eden edits, reads and spends way too much time watching rugby, Doctor Who and New Orleans Saints football.
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I've still got to read book one but would be great to have a book to follow on from, sounds amazing!
ReplyDeleteIt really is the perfect companion novella <3
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