I had little hope for Gemma Bruce’s The Man for Me. An early heavy petting scene led me to believe that the book would be all about sex, with little plot or character development. Happily, I was wrong. This is a wonderful romance between a compelling hero and heroine and between the heroine and baseball.

J.T. Green is a sportswriter for a national publication. The victim of a tabloid-created scandal, her editor punishes her by sending her to cover the Gilbeytown, Pennsylvania Beavers, an independent league baseball team. Why isn’t she fired? Because her father is “The Coach,” a man loved and feared throughout baseball.

When she arrives in Gilbeytown, J.T. discovers that while long-time town residents love the Beavers, the mayor wants to tear down their ramshackle stadium and build a new one for the Triple A club he hopes to attract. A series of odd circumstances has left the townspeople – and most of the players – believing that the Beavers are jinxed.

Tommy Bainbridge – a major league baseball pitcher – is AWOL from his team, hiding out in his hometown of Gilbeytown. Tommy agrees to help his uncle, the manager of the Beavers, out with a problem; Keep the reporter coming to cover the team busy. The problem is, Tommy and his uncle think the reporter is a man.

Tommy spots J.T. in a bar, assumes she’s a baseball groupie, and against character, invites her out for dinner. J.T. recognizes him, but doesn’t let on, figuring this is the perfect opportunity to get a scoop as to why he’s not with the team. Within minutes of meeting, and after exchanging only a few words, they share a very erotic kiss, some heavy petting, and come close to having sex. At this point I came close to throwing the book against the wall, figuring the rest was going to be all sex. Fortunately, that’s not the path the author took.

Other than J.T. and Tommy’s initial meeting, I enjoyed practically everything about this book. I liked Tommy, but was captivated by J.T. who has a wonderful enthusiasm for life and for baseball. I enjoyed watching her fall in love with the team, and the townspeople. J.T. is a former college baseball star and there were some delightful scenes where she worked with a group of local children, teaching them some of the finer points of the game.

The physical attraction is strong between J.T. and Tommy. After their first encounter, the author allows them to discover each other in a slower fashion. I enjoyed the process and had no doubts about their eventual love for each other.

Early on, the author introduced a lot of characters – mostly team members – leaving me a bit confused. However, as J.T. learned more about the team, they began to develop personalities and came to life for me. The author provides vivid descriptions of the town itself, helping bring the entire setting to life.

The Man for Me isn’t a romance that coincidentally has an athlete as hero as J.T. and Tommy’s love of the game is at the core of the book. If you don’t love baseball, I’m not sure you’ll like it quite as much as I did. For me, it’s a wonderful addition to romances featuring athletes; to paraphrase J.T., baseball rocks, and so does this book.