Sophie Doyle has her dream job as the head athletic trainer for her favorite baseball team (go Red Sox!), a handsome boyfriend, and easy access to the finest cannoli in Boston. When she loses all three and the World Series to boot, she’s forced to apply for the open trainer position at an arts-focused boarding school in New Hampshire. The only available room is a glorified closet in an apartment with three guys: Jonas Voss, the aloof and attractive orchestra teacher, and his two rambunctious roommates.
Sophie knows that training a bunch of privileged high school kids whose idea of a play is A Chorus Line instead of a walk-off homer is going to be a big change from the pro athletes she’s used to. She wasn’t expecting that these students would have big-time talent and even bigger-time problems. Sophie has troubles of her own—Jonas is a full-fledged grump who clearly doesn’t want her near him or the precious piano he never plays.
With sunny optimism, Sophie sets out to win over Jonas and help the kids she’s growing attached to. But when her relationship with Jonas moves to the major leagues and plans change at the end of the season, they have to choose whether they are playing for keeps.
Release Date: Jun 20, 2023
Heat Level: N/A
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $10.99
“If not for his cold, unfriendly attitude and the fact that I’d crossed an invisible line I hadn’t even known existed, I might’ve found him handsome. But he was just a man who did not like me- Join the club, I wanted to tell him. People who detest me: Jonas Voss and ninety-nine percent of the population of Boston.”
Sophie Doyle has her dream job as the head athletic trainer for the Boston Red Sox, but when she loses her team their chance at winning the World Series, not only does she lose her job, but she also becomes the most hated person in Boston. With no job and no place to live, she takes a job at a boarding school where she meets Jonas Voss. He’s a cold, aloof, and grumpy music teacher with a difficult past who Sophie wants to melt his icy exterior to find the man beneath the façade.
I think this is another solid book for Libby Hubscher. Is it something that is going to stay with me? Probably not, but it was an enjoyable read, nonetheless. I liked how dimensional these characters were. I felt like I knew their fears, dreams, and insecurities throughout the story, and the author kept peeling back layer after layer until both were exposed to each other and to me as the reader. Their relationship made each of them better. Sophie became more understanding and found her place in the world by helping Jonas and his students with their injuries, and Jonas found strength in Sophie to play piano after he believed he would never be able to again. There was no unnecessary drama or third-act breakup, and it felt like two adults choosing to make each other a priority in their lives.
What stopped it from being a five-star read? There were a few moments when they were in the middle of a crucial moment in their relationship where they would move past their will they/won’t they phase, but the chapter just ended and left those moments unresolved. It was in very special moments when their relationship could have moved to the next level that she did this, and it cut short some moments where I believed magic was about to happen.
If you’re a fan of books by Chloe Liese and Ali Hazelwood then I think that this may be something you will enjoy.
~ Michelle
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