Far From Normal by Becky Wallace

 

“Maddie McPherson is sick of Normal—both her hometown of Normal, Illinois and being the ‘normal’ sibling. But when she lands a summer internship with a sports marketing firm, she finally has a chance to crawl out of her genius brother’s shadow. Not to mention, a glowing letter of recommendation could secure her admission to her dream college.

But Maddie’s nickname is “CalaMaddie” for a reason, and when the company tasks her with repairing the image of teen soccer phenom Gabriel Fortunato, she wonders if she’s set herself up for embarrassment. Gabriel is a tabloid magnet, who’s best-known for flubbing Italy’s World Cup hopes. As Maddie works with him to develop “pleasant and friendly” content for social media, she also learns he’s thoughtful, multi-talented, and fiercely loyal—maybe even to a fault. Falling for a footballer is exactly how CalaMaddie would botch this internship, but with the firm pressuring her to get the job done, perhaps her heart is worth risking?” - taken from Goodreads.com

This was another super cute, sports-related rom-com from this author. Maddie McPherson wants to follow in her aunt’s footsteps and work in sports marketing. Getting a summer internship with her aunt’s firm is her first step. When Maddie has a bike accident at a soccer game on the beach, little does she know that her savior will turn out to be her first big project, soccer bad boy Gabriel Fortunato. In order to improve his image, Maddie soon realizes that Gabe is not his public persona. She soon finds herself trying to draw a line between work and pleasure.

Visit Becky Wallace’s website.

Defending Taylor by Miranda Kenneally (Hundred Oaks book 7)

SERIES ALERT! This is the seventh installment in the Hundred Oaks series. Some characters from previous books do appear but they in no way spoil the story.

There are no mistakes in love.

“Captain of the soccer team, president of the Debate Club, contender for valedictorian: Taylor's always pushed herself to be perfect. After all, that's what is expected of a senator's daughter. But one impulsive decision-one lie to cover for her boyfriend-and Taylor's kicked out of private school. Everything she's worked so hard for is gone, and now she's starting over at Hundred Oaks High.

Soccer has always been Taylor's escape from the pressures of school and family, but it's hard to fit in and play on a team that used to be her rival. The only person who seems to understand all that she's going through is her older brother's best friend, Ezra. Taylor's had a crush on him for as long as she can remember. But it's hard to trust after having been betrayed. Will Taylor repeat her past mistakes or can she score a fresh start?” - taken from Goodreads.com

Welcome back to Hundred Oaks High! In this latest installment, readers will be thrust back into the world. A few characters from the past couple of books make an appearance and Jack Goodwin from Racing Savannah has a minor role. Once again,a book that is hard to put down where the sport of women’s soccer takes the stage. New readers to this series will have no problems picking up this book and enjoying the story. Die hard fans will be disappointed that Jordan Woods and Sam Henry do not make an appearance. If you happen to read this book as in the electronic version, Jordan and Sam do have a story included at the end.,

Visit Miranda Kenneally’s website.