Hardball by CD Reiss

When a book is a good one it matters not what the setting, the content stands on its own merit, I am no aficionado when it comes to baseball so much of the terminologies are completely lost on me but what I did get was the fact that no matter the circumstance, no matter the personalities, no matter the impact, when Vivian walked into Dash’s life, his structured way was never going to be the same again.

Vivian is a fan, a super fan so to speak and there is nothing that she doesn’t know about both Dash and his teammates…or so she thinks because the almost elusive Dash is certainly a man that doesn’t let the outside world get too close.

So she was completely blown away when he was on the field when her little group of kids rocked up for a meet and greet session. Trying to keep a professional appearance up, Vivian the Librarian does everything she can to remain in control and to keep her alter ego “Vivian the fan” carefully subdued but it’s pretty hard going when Dash is right before her.

Good thing her little group of kids are able to keep her feet firmly on the ground because nothing smacks down a rumbling libido more than a toilet break that cannot wait!

Anyway when she leaves, she believes that her all but brief encounter with the delicious Dash is over, that is until he turns up at the library trying to enlist her help to track down his missing glove.

Now to most, a man of means like him should have no problem with replacing a glove but Dash is no normal man, he has issues and it is only by controlling his actions and every aspect of his environment that he is able to function almost. The glove is just the tip of the iceberg it the item it contains that he is having a problem being without, it is a tie to his past that he cannot sever.

Anyway promising to help track it down, she is soon more than just a helper, she is a trusted member of his inner circle and whatever they have pulling themselves towards each other is gathering pace.

Dash is nothing and I mean nothing like Vivian had pictured him to be, he is a complex creature but he has his reasons for the routine and as we come to know him, it all falls into place.

I loved the fact that he was so private, that he could constantly surprise Vivian, that he was so well read and scholarly but I adored the way the two of them were able to just fit and click together.

I thought the author brought an all too real condition to the fore with Dash and she did it with compassion, care and consideration.