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Rating: 
Summary: It's a home run! -- Very highly recommended
Review: Baseball was Mace Duval's life until a big rig crossed the centerline and permanently ended his career. When his closest friend hustles him in a game of pool, Mace finds himself accepting a position as a roving instructor, going from shortstop for the Braves to batting instructor for the Lowell Weavers minor league baseball team. He brings with him a reputation for stunning hitting on and off the field. According to the media, when Mace was not hitting homeruns on the field, he was escorting actresses and models to star studded benefits and premieres, not to mention his bed. Becka Landon has been around locker rooms most of her life, and does not take the sight of testosterone-laden, naked men seriously. The players call her Attila behind her back, and Florence Nightingale to her face as she happily replaces the team's sports trainer while he is out with carpal tunnel. Keeping her spot with the team is a long shot, and she refuses to waste her time with a sexy hitter who will only be around for a week. But despite her intentions, Becka's body desires Mace, and he knows it. Her sassy belligerence challenges him to give both the coaching and the woman a try. Perhaps another bet, one that will land her in his bed, will have them both scoring a homer. Author Kristin Hardy's gift for creating an engaging tale, by turns romantic and gritty, absolutely sparkles in SCORING. Perhaps better named scorching, SCORING overlays a strong character driven plot with enticingly steamy sensual encounters and red-hot lust. Women see Mace has a hot player; little recognizing that much of his reputation is the result of the media madness that surrounds athletes on the arms of stars. Becka is a sassy, tomboyish, woman with an extraordinary ability to handle every player except Mace with great finesse. Despite her verbal protestations, Becka's profound attraction to Mace is visibly apparent to them both. Unfortunately, she falls into the trap of judging Mace by his reputation, adding a bittersweet dynamicism to their exchanges throughout the novel. Secondary characters likewise sizzle, including the Mallory Carson. Add SCORING to your keeper shelf, as Hardy scores a homerun with this enticingly sensual romance! SCORING comes very highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: It's a home run! -- Very highly recommended
Review: Becka Landon serves as team trainer for the Lowell Weavers minor league baseball team. Though there are a bunch of young hunks, Becka has sworn off males after the fiasco of her last boyfriend. Former baseball superstar Mace Duvall provides hitting instruction as the league's roaming batting instructor. He career was cut short by an accident, which leaves Mace with nothing, as baseball was his life. When Mace sees Becka, he knows he has one week to get her in his bed as his personal trainer. However, Becka wants nothing to do with him, believing he is just a womanizer. Becka and Mace bet with him winning the payoff being an evening of sex. After paying off, she sneaks away, but he refuses to leave. They play a game of wagers, but love has become part of the ante if he can overcome his belief that his life is over and she can learn to trust. This is an engaging sports romance that is at its most amusing best when the protagonists play a game of king/queen of the hill. Neither of these strong individuals will back down, but both struggle to embrace love. The story line gains some unnecessary tension when Becka, who has become Mace's biggest believer as a coach, fails to support him during a controversy, but Kristine Hardy still hits a homer with this take me out to the ball game romance. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: engaging sports romance
Review: Becka Landon serves as team trainer for the Lowell Weavers minor league baseball team. Though there are a bunch of young hunks, Becka has sworn off males after the fiasco of her last boyfriend. Former baseball superstar Mace Duvall provides hitting instruction as the league's roaming batting instructor. He career was cut short by an accident, which leaves Mace with nothing, as baseball was his life. When Mace sees Becka, he knows he has one week to get her in his bed as his personal trainer. However, Becka wants nothing to do with him, believing he is just a womanizer. Becka and Mace bet with him winning the payoff being an evening of sex. After paying off, she sneaks away, but he refuses to leave. They play a game of wagers, but love has become part of the ante if he can overcome his belief that his life is over and she can learn to trust. This is an engaging sports romance that is at its most amusing best when the protagonists play a game of king/queen of the hill. Neither of these strong individuals will back down, but both struggle to embrace love. The story line gains some unnecessary tension when Becka, who has become Mace's biggest believer as a coach, fails to support him during a controversy, but Kristine Hardy still hits a homer with this take me out to the ball game romance. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Romantic Times Review
Review: Becka Landon, trainer for the Weavers baseball team, knows how to deal with the egos of athletes and suggestive locker-room banter-until sexy former major-leaguer Mace Duvall comes into her life. Attracted to this shamelessly arrogant jock, Becka resolves to avoid his charm. Mace can't resist Becka's finely tuned defenses or her physique. Their sexual sizzle brings out their competitive natures and becomes the new game in town. Readers will love the blistering sparks and feisty interplay in Kristin Hardy's latest. SCORING (3) brings together two super-competitive lovers who find their way to mutual respect, partnership and happily-ever-after.
Rating:
Summary: A major league hit!
Review: FROM: ALL ABOUT ROMANCE
Kristin Hardy combines an energetic writing style, snappy dialogue, and sizzling love scenes to make SCORING a major league hit. This book is a sequel to MY SEXIEST MISTAKE which received a highly favorable review from AAR's Nora Armstrong. Now, having read SCORING, I see just what Nora was talking about. Becka Landon has red hair, green eyes, and an attitude. Three months earlier, she broke up with her cheating boyfriend and hasn't given any man a tumble since. As team trainer for a minor league baseball team - the Lowell Weavers - Becka has had plenty of chances, but she's kept all the hunky players at bay and now they've come to think of her as just one of the guys. Becka is tough, smart, competent, and just a tad sexually frustrated. Enter ex-superstar ballplayer, Mace Duvall. His stellar career abruptly ended by a devastating car accident, at the urging of a friend, Mace is trying on a new job as the league's roaming batting instructor. Since the accident, his life has been without purpose and he's bitter about having his future stolen out from under him. Mace is scheduled to spend only one week with the Lowell Weavers, but when he sets eyes on Becka, he sees a bigger challenge than teaching young ballplayers how to hit, and getting the feisty redhead into bed becomes a top priority. But Mace's reputation with the ladies has preceded him, and Becka wants nothing to do with the man who has escorted some of the world's most beautiful actresses and models on his arm. In his effort to seduce Becka, Mace comes on strong, which convinces her he's nothing more than his playboy tabloid personae. Although Mace tries to convince her his reputation was mostly hype, she's not buying it. He's too good looking to be true, and she doesn't want to be just another notch on his belt (though she finds him so sexy, she can barely concentrate when he's around). One night, while blowing off a little steam playing pool, a wager is made, the outcome being if Becka loses, she spends the night with Mace. Becka loses. After a night of blistering sex, Becka realizes that in losing, she won. But she's not going to let Mace get the upper hand, so she leaves him an inflammatory note - in lipstick - on the bathroom mirror and sneaks out of his room. Since he was due to leave that day, she figures she'll never have to see him again. But after one night with Becka, Mace has decided to stick around a little longer. Thus begins a series of wagers and one-upmanship that drives Becka and Mace's relationship. Finally, Mace has had enough of the game and proposes the two of them admit their attraction, and make the most of their time together before he leaves to go home to Florida. Mace still feels like a failure and that the league just handed him a courtesy job for old times' sake. He doesn't believe he can really make a difference to the team, even though Becka insists he's a terrific coach and the boys really need him. Even though their relationship began firmly and simply with lust, as Mace and Becka get to know each other, love begins to creep in underneath it all. They are each insanely strong people and are truly a match for each other. Mace may think he runs the show, but Becka rises to every occasion, meeting him head-on, setting rules of her own. When the real test of their relationship comes, I was a tad disappointed that Becka didn't immediately take Mace's side and defend him rather than question him, but every story has to have a Dark Moment, and fortunately, Becka moves past it pretty fast. I'm always impressed when an author does her homework; Ms. Hardy sure knows her stuff when it comes to sports. As a baseball fan myself (Go, Mariners!), I was on the lookout for errors, but she never took a swing and a miss, thereby adding credibility to the world in which Becka and Mace operated. The central theme of the story is the romance between Becka and Mace, yet the peripheral characters and action all have their places and serve to move the story forward. SCORING strikes a good balance between sex, humor, and those things that drive people to do whatever it is they do. Becka and Mace are one hot couple, and they couple often, hotly. AAR is always pleased to discover talented new authors. This is only Ms. Hardy's second book and it sure was a hit with me, so the trend here is looking very good. If you're up for a sexy read with the emphasis squarely on the romance between two strong, smart people, then I recommend you give Kristin Hardy a try.
Rating:
Summary: A memorable pairing...
Review: FROM: THE ROMANCE READER'S CONNECTION
Legendary baseball bad boy Mace Duvall thought an
accident had cost him the one thing in life that
mattered most: His baseball career. When a friend and
former teammate gives Mace the opportunity
to come back to baseball as a traveling instructor for
the minor league teams, he is reluctant and intends
to stay around only long enough to hand in his
resignation. However, an affair with a fiery redheaded
sports trainer just might change his mind about
everything. Becka Landon doesn't give a second thought to being a
female sports trainer in the male-dominated world of
baseball. She is committed to doing her part to ensure
the success of the team. Though not part of her job
description, advances by hot-blooded young players are
handled with the greatest of ease. Advances by a sexy
instructor, however, might pose a little more of a
challenge. When I started reading SCORING, I thought that this
was going to be a tough sell since I am not that much
of a sports fan; especially with respect to baseball.
Thankfully, the author proved me wrong. SCORING is an
energetic read filled with a wide array of characters,
from the passionate to the absurd. The reader will be
willingly immersed in the highly competitive world of
minor league baseball; where performance is
everything, both on and off the diamond. Once again, Ms. Hardy has created a memorable pairing
in Becka and Mace. Their strength is evenly matched
and their rocky road to romance is one heck of a ride.
The supporting characters, which include an appearance
by Ryan and Cade (MY SEXIEST MISTAKE, Blaze #44,)
enhance the overall story and are not simply used as
filler or "window dressing". In SCORING, readers will
delight in wonderfully creative love scenes, witty
banter and a most satisfying ending. Fans of the Blaze
line expect heat and will not be disappointed. I
personally cannot wait to see what the author offers
next! Reviewed by Melissa Freeman
Rating 4
Rating:
Summary: Add SCORING to your keeper shelf
Review: FROM: WORDWEAVING
It's a home run! -- Very highly recommended Baseball was Mac Duval's life until a big rig crossed the centerline and permanently ended his career. When his closest friend hustles him in a game of pool, Mac finds himself accepting a position as a roving instructor, going from shortstop for the Braves to batting instructor for the Lowell Weavers minor league baseball team. He brings with him a reputation for stunning hitting on and off the field. According to the media, when Mac was not hitting homeruns on the field, he was escorting actresses and models to star studded benefits and premieres, not to mention his bed. Becka Landon has been around locker rooms most of her life, and does not take the sight of testosterone-laden, naked men seriously. The players call her Attila behind her back, and Florence Nightingale to her face as she happily replaces the team's sports trainer while he is out with carpal tunnel. Keeping her spot with the team is a long shot, and she refuses to waste her time with a sexy hitter who will only be around for a week. But despite her intentions, Becka's body desires Mac, and he knows it. Her sassy belligerence challenges him to give both the coaching and the woman a try. Perhaps another bet, one that will land her in his bed, will have them both scoring a homer. Author Kristin Hardy's gift for creating an engaging tale, by turns romantic and gritty, absolutely sparkles in SCORING. Perhaps better named scorching, SCORING overlays a strong character driven plot with enticingly steamy sensual encounters and red-hot lust. Women see Mac has a hot player; little recognizing that much of his reputation is the result of the media madness that surrounds athletes on the arms of stars. Becka is a sassy, tomboyish, woman with an extraordinary ability to handle every player except Mac with great finesse. Despite her verbal protestations, Becka's profound attraction to Mac is visibly apparent to them both. Unfortunately, she falls into the trap of judging Mac by his reputation, adding a bittersweet dynamicism to their exchanges throughout the novel. Secondary characters likewise sizzle, including the Mallory Carson. Add SCORING to your keeper shelf, as Hardy scores a homerun with this enticingly sensual romance! SCORING comes very highly recommended. Cindy Penn
Rating: 
Summary: Hit and Miss
Review: I have to say that I loved Mace, a real hottie with a heart as good as gold. Alas, our heroine Becka comes off as a complete witch, who never has any faith in him and treats him like a stereotype. The author pumps up the sexual tension, hen leaves him and everyone else dangling, just because she blows hot and cold and really cold. The book starts out well and you can tell the author likes baseball a lot, but they deal with a lot of issues outside the couple, so much so that the couple's affair takes a back burner every single time to the latest crisis with the team. I would love to have seen a real development of character from both people. The near end of the relationhip was terrible-sensationalist rubbish, and if I had been Mace I would have just kept on walking away from her, because Becka sure wasn't worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Hit and Miss
Review: I have to say that I loved Mace, a real hottie with a heart as good as gold. Alas, our heroine Becka comes off as a complete witch, who never has any faith in him and treats him like a stereotype. The author pumps up the sexual tension, hen leaves him and everyone else dangling, just because she blows hot and cold and really cold. The book starts out well and you can tell the author likes baseball a lot, but they deal with a lot of issues outside the couple, so much so that the couple's affair takes a back burner every single time to the latest crisis with the team. I would love to have seen a real development of character from both people. The near end of the relationhip was terrible-sensationalist rubbish, and if I had been Mace I would have just kept on walking away from her, because Becka sure wasn't worth it.
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