Two years ago, really? Surely that cannot be right. I am still excited about this book, but time makes fools of us all.

A Winning Season is book ten in the Wickham Falls Weddings series by Rochelle Alers, who is a Nationally Bestselling Author, and I can see why. This book has an excellent romance story with a small town, the girl next door, a bit of sports, and it works perfectly well as a standalone. Sutton and Zoey are an easy couple to root for. They're likable, they have good chemistry, and they just fit together. The romance happens organically without it feeling like the author is forcing it along to its expected conclusion, and the whole story kept me engaged from start to finish. I may be new to this series, but I definitely intend to get acquainted with the earlier books very soon.

RATING - B+
REVIEWER - Jennifer Copeland

A WINNING SEASON by best-selling author Rochelle Alers is a fantastic and heartwarming book. This is the 10th book in her popular Wickham Falls Wedding Series. This book brings to life the budding romance of Zoey Allen and Sutton Reid. Zoey had to put her dreams of becoming a nurse on hold at the age of eighteen to raise her two brothers when their parents died. Zoey’s father had instilled in her that he wanted all of his children to grow up together and not apart. Zoey honored her father’s wishes so they could all stay together. One of her brothers is now in college and the other one is in high school. The one that is in high school is acting out and doing bad things. Sutton Reid has finally retired from being a professional baseball player. He is divorced and has moved back to Wickham Falls to help his aunt and uncle run Powell’s Department Store until he secures a teaching and coaching position.

In A WINNING SEASON, Zoey and Sutton encounter each other again for the first time when she finds out that he’s her next-door neighbor. The two strike up a conversation. They encounter each again when Zoey’s little brother attempts to steal Sutton’s expensive car. Sutton offers to help Zoey out with her brother by steering him in the right direction. As they spend time together, Sutton and Zoey start noticing each other. Will Zoey and Sutton give in to their chemistry? Will Zoey finally get a chance to live out her dream of becoming a nurse? Will Zoey and Sutton get their happy ever after? You will have to read A WINNING SEASON to find out! This was such a feel good and romantic story. This book has plenty of romance, love and some conflict. I love how this book has a good plot and storyline and how it flowed seamlessly.

Ms. Alers shows us in Starting Over in Wickham Falls that it is never too late to follow your dreams. She also shows that you can come home again and find love. Make sure to grab a copy!

There's something about seeing the Harlequin logo that has me one-clicking, ready to indulge in a great romance. And this author definitely brought me that.

A Winning Season is a cute romance that was a ok read. The story was ok enough for me to keep reading but it lacked in character development in my opinion.

A Winning Season is the latest heart-warming and uplifting instalment of Rochelle Alers’ enchanting Wickham Falls series.

Zoey Allen’s life has not exactly been a bed of roses. Having lost her father and stepmother when she had been a young teen, Zoey has had to put all of her hopes and dreams on the backburner in order to look after her two younger stepbrothers. Having always wanted to be a nurse, Zoey had chosen to forego nursing school and had instead tried to fit raising her siblings with working whatever job she could find. Zoey does not regret her decision. She would have done whatever was required in order to ensure that her siblings stayed together and with her stepbrothers growing up, her dream of going to nursing school no longer seems impossible. However, her stepbrothers getting older means that they are no longer the compliant young boys they once were and the behaviour of one of her particular siblings is causing her sleepless nights and much cause for concern. Zoey has not dated since high school and she has no intention of getting back in the dating world – but could her new next door neighbour make her change her mind?

Baseball player Sutton Reed has come back home to Wickham Falls after a successful sporting career. Having always been aware that a sportsman’s career had an expiration date, Sutton had invested wisely, been careful with his money and now that he is retired has the luxury of being a man of leisure while he figures out his next step. The divorced sporting hero is not in a rush to start dating again. He likes his privacy and is enjoying settling into his new life, but the beautiful girl next door Zoey Allen intrigues him and he soon finds himself drawn to her.

Zoey cannot deny that she finds Sutton irresistible, but with so much on her plate, romance is the last thing on her mind. But as Sutton volunteers to help her out with her wayward brother, the two of them start spending more and more time together and when cupid’s arrow strike, will they find the courage to act on their feelings for one another? Or are there simply far too many obstacles standing in the way of their happy ending?

Rochelle Alers writes enjoyable and entertaining contemporary romances that never fail to tug at the heartstrings and A Winning Season is certainly no different. Zoey and Sutton’s love story is charming, emotional, moving and one which will bring a tear to the even the most jaded of eyes and have readers cheering them on to get the happiness which has thus far eluded them.

A spellbinding contemporary romance written with compassion, sensitivity and heart, A Winning Season is another wonderful read by Rochelle Alers.

Eighteen year old Zoey Allen’s world turned upside down when her father and his second wife died from carbon monoxide poisoning. She becomes her two brother’s sole guardian, which means she has to put her own life and plans on hold. No relationships and certainly no nursing school. Zoey is all about keeping her family together.

Ten years later, Zoey managed to keep her family close. One of her brothers is in the military and the other brother is preparing to graduate from high school. However, her brother Harper, isn’t always the easiest to handle and continually gets into trouble.

When Sutton Reed, a very handsome former baseball star, moves next door, things change quite a bit for the Allen siblings. For one thing, Harper is totally in awe of Sutton which helps his behavior quite a bit. For another thing, Zoey finds herself attracted to the sexy athlete.

Zoey tries to avoid any romantic entanglements until her life is in order, but she can’t help her growing feelings for Sutton. He’s also feeling deeply for Zoey and wants to take their relationship to the next level.

Zoey and Sutton’s romance is sweet, emotional and heartwarming. Sutton’s relationship with Zoe’s brother is inspiring. It’s a very touching book that tugs on the heartstrings. This is the story of a family trying to find their way. It’s filled with strong characters and much family drama.

Although it’s the 10th book in the Wickham Falls series, it’s a standalone story. I haven’t read any of the other books in the series and I didn’t feel as if I missed anything. I would like to take another visit to Wickham Falls and see what other stories are in that small town.

This was my first Harlequin Special Edition title, and I don't know that I liked it as much as I do the Dare or Desire titles. I don't think I was in the right mood to read this one and found the plot a little lacking. As someone with a background in social work, I also didn't really love how therapy was framed in the book (with the heroine's younger brother). I DNF this book at 35%, but I would be interested to try one of Rochelle Alers other titles in the future.

I liked this read, it had a lot of heart. Zoey and Sutton's story will give you plenty of feels. This book has an engaging story that entertains, while also maintaining a strong sense of realism. I could 100% believe in these characters, their situations and their romance. I felt both characters were extremely likable and I thought they made an easy to root for couple. Taken all together this creates a wonderful romance that was a real pleasure to read.

Zoey Allen has been raising her two brothers since she was a teenager after the death of her parents. The easy going brother is now in college and Zoey is trying everything she can to make it through the next few years with the sassier brother, then she can follow her dreams and go back to college herself and start living her own life. Her life is planned, but will the sexy new neighbor throw a wrench in her well laid plans?

Sutton Reid is a retired major league baseball legend who returns to town to help his family and finds himself living next door to a beautiful woman and a riled up teenage boy. Sutton has a soft spot for mentoring troubled teens and vows to help anyway he can. Can he be just a mentor when Zoey keeps distracting him?

This is such a sweet story of family, friendship and second chances. It was beautifully written, and I enjoyed the story. It is a feel good, happy ending story that just tugs on your heartstrings. Thank you so much to the author Rochelle Alers, Harlequin and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book to review. It was fabulous! All opinions expressed for this review are unbiased and entirely my own.

I really enjoyed this slow burn story about Zoey and Sutton as they both worked on what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives and came from very different places. Zoey and her brother's backstory is tragic and heart wrenching, something no children should have to go through but Zoey's strength and determination was shown early on in how she stepped up even when she didn't know how.

It's understandable that later in life her one focus is getting her brothers to adulthood but she's let her dreams and wants go by the wayside in order to do it. When Sutton Reed moves back to town it's immediately evident that sparks fly between them, but this story is multifaceted and deals with a lot more than just their attraction. I really enjoyed the small town feel of this story where there are a lot of people connected and involved in each other's lives, it's great to see a community that lifts other people up.

The writing style and pacing made this an easy and enjoyable read and I just found myself smiling and laughing at a lot of points. I would definitely pick up more books by Rochelle Alers in the future.

I hadn't read Alers before, but I was in the mood for a sweet contemporary when I found this while browsing NetGalley. I'm a total sucker for Single Mom/Sisters who step up stories, and the premise appealed to me. I had a few issues with the writing, but I really liked the story overall.

Zoey's parents unexpectedly pass away when she's 18, and she fights to get custody of her two younger brothers, who are 6 and 8. She's put her life on hold to raise them, but it's been ten years. When her youngest brother graduates high school, she plans to finally realize her dream of attending nursing school and maybe travel a bit. Until retired Major League Baseball star Sutton Reed moves in next door...

Sutton only planned to spend a year in his hometown while he worked out his next plan after he retires from the majors, but one look at his sexy new neighbor and he knows he's in trouble. Zoey is everything he ever wanted in a woman, and mentoring her younger brother Harper fulfills him in unexpected ways. Convincing Zoey they should be together long term will take all of his skill...but he's playing to win.

I loved the relationship between Harper and Zoey (the older brother, Kyle, has joined the Marine Corps and is only mentioned in this book). She had a hard road taking on her brothers and raising them to be men, but she never shied away from it. She was strong and knew herself well. I really enjoyed her character, and her family.

Sutton was also a great character. He was raised by a single-mom and wants nothing more than to work with kids and settle down with his own family now that he's retired from the majors. He really falls in love with Zoey and her brother, and I loved how committed he was to them both.

There were a couple continuity errors, but they didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the story.

This was a sweet book, focused on family and love. I liked the romance and the way Zoey and Sutton came to care for and rely on one another.

<strong>Rating: 3.75 out of 5</strong>

After the death of her parents Zoey has been raising her younger brothers on her own with the support of the community. But it seems one of her brothers are testing boundaries and really pushing the limit. Baseball player Sutton just moved in next door after being out of town for a long while and meeting Zoey and the brothers that he can't help but care for the family. Seeing the path that Zoey's brother is going he made a deal to mentor him and get him on the right path but with spending time with the boy he's also talking a lot with Zoey and they cant help but fall for one another.

I loved this sweet contemporary romance novel. It was such a nice escape getting to to know Zoey and Sutton and seeing their romance bloom. I loved how selfless and loving Zoey was for those she cared for especially for her younger brothers, she was doing everything she could. She gave up everything for them and now at a place where shes trying to get on track to getting the education for the nursing career she was on path for. Then theres Sutton who has it all and now looking for some downtime. I loved how caring he was as well, he didn't know Zoey or her brother and things could've ended differently if he didn't decide to help the child and be his mentor. Loved seeing the change in the child as he spent time with Sutton. Overall this was a sweet book with no drama and I enjoyed it.

Three ½ Stars.

A Winning Season is a nice small town romance. Loved the idea of two neighbors meeting and sparking a bit of love. Loved the story-line of Sutton mentoring Zoey’s younger brother Harper. There was a lot of repetitiveness on page as well. Among other things, both Zoey and Sutton had a parent who wasn’t in their lives when they were growing up, it was mentioned so much. I was like “okay, we get it”.

Now, this romance. Although, Sutton and Zoey had some chemistry on page. I do think the pacing of the relationship between them was a bit lackluster. It was really quick. And I got what the author was doing. She gave a lot of story behind both of our main protagonists lives...why they are both in the current situations that they're in. But I do feel like it took away from the building of the romance in general and there were just too many plot holes in the story to make most of it believable.

At the end of it all, I liked A Winning Season for what it was. A romance set in a small town between two people attempting to get their footing right in the world again and love comes along for the ride. I’ll definitely pick up another Rochelle Alers book again but this one was a okay read.

Zoey Allen is a remarkable young woman. For the past ten years she raised her brothers Kyle and Harper after the deaths of their parents. Kyle has recently enlisted, and Harper only has a couple of years left in high school. For reasons Zoey doesn't understand, Harper has been consistently getting into trouble. Feeling more like a mother than a sister, she is more than a bit overwhelmed.

Sutton Reed has retired from baseball, but he never lost the love of the game. What Sutton enjoys more, however, is helping the less fortunate. When he discovers that his new neighbor's teen brother is in need of guidance. He can't help but step in. While Sutton finds that he and Harper get along quite well, he fights his growing feelings for Zoey. After all, he is trying to set the right example for Harper, so he intends on burying his strong attraction to Zoey.

Before she took on responsibilities for the boys, Zoey had dreams ahead of her. There is light at the end of the tunnel as she looks forward to when Harper graduates. She has never once regretted her choices. Surprised at the chemistry that exists between her and Sutton, Zoey once again must reevaluate her goals.

This is such a wonderful story. I love strong, selfless characters while reading a story. I also love awakening feelings being explored. While the romance is more of a slow burn - especially while both parties are naturally concerned for the teen - it certainly did not negatively impact this story. Also, this story was set in a small town. When you have that, you often have concerned neighbors and often a bit of matchmaking. This all played together to deliver a warm, engaging story, one that I enjoyed reading in just one sitting.

Many thanks to Harlequin Love Inspired and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

I was really looking forward to reading "A Winning Season" by Rochelle Alers because I'm a big fan of both baseball and small-town romances, but unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped I would. On the positive side, I liked main characters Sutton and Zoey and thought that they were well-developed. That said, IMO the character development was achieved somewhat awkwardly through the insertion of random information dumps in the middle of conversations or as the characters were thinking about unrelated topics. There was also a fair amount of repetition; for example, how many times did we need to be reminded that Zoey "had to grow up quickly" because she became her brothers' guardian?

Sutton and Zoey's romance seemed rather lackluster to me as well. They didn't seem to be a very good fit as a couple because they were at such different places in their lives and had opposing goals and dreams. Sutton was ready to settle down in his hometown, become a teacher, and start a family, while Zoey was counting down the days until her youngest brother graduated from high school so she could finally start living life for herself. She dreamed of attending nursing school and establishing herself in her career before thinking of marriage and children, but when Sutton came along, it seemed like those thoughts suddenly went out the window. They eventually agreed to marry right away and hold off on having children until after Zoey finished nursing school, but I had a tough time understanding why Sutton would go along with that plan. He made basically the same agreement with his first wife, and it didn't work out very well for him. What happens if Zoey decides she still isn't ready to start a family when she finishes nursing school? How much longer is Sutton willing to wait to have children?

The pacing of Zoey and Sutton's relationship felt off to me too. They became close friends almost immediately and started exchanging confidences within hours of their first meeting, which seemed very unrealistic to me. It takes time to build the kind of trust necessary to share such intimate secrets! Then, just a few days later and before they had even been out on an official date, Sutton was already asking Zoey "hypothetically" what he'd have to do to get her to marry him. He progressed to telling her that he loved her shortly thereafter. It all felt incredibly rushed, and their feelings for each other did not feel believable to me as a result.

Overall, the things I didn't like about this story outweighed the ones I did, so I cannot recommend "A Winning Season." I would try another one of the author's books in the future, however.

*ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

She gave up her plans and dreams after high school to raise her two younger brothers and now her new neighbor makes her life take on a new sparkle. Small town, close friends and family, a former baseball player… all the delights.
Review

A Winning Season is the tenth in the Wickham Falls Weddings series of standalone contemporary romances.

A Winning Season opens with an eighteen year old, Zoey Allen, learning her dad and step-mom were killed in a carbon monoxide leak. She doesn’t even hesitate to set her life plans aside to get custody of her two younger brothers and promise Kyle and Harper they will all be together until they grow up.

Ten years later, Zoey is a home health care worker with dreams of going to college and becoming a nurse just as soon as Harper finishes high school in two years. But unlike his brother, Harper is getting into trouble and she is at her wits end. Her new neighbor, former baseball star, Sutton Reed, knows a thing or two about young men and offers to work with Harper. It’s not his celebrity status, but his kindness, comfort, and attraction she feels for him that make her want to change her plans to include her handsome neighbor.

Sutton saw the writing on the wall when he started playing as many games hurt as healthy so he walked away from the game before he was forced to leave. He reached the pinnacle of the career he always loved, got his history degree online while he played ball, and now he wants something else. He is headed back to his West Virginia home town to maybe get a new chance at marriage and family that he didn’t have with his ex. His eyes land on his amazingly strong and beautiful neighbor who he knows has lost so much, but worked hard for her brothers. Zoey is just the kind of woman he can fall deeply for if she would only let him be more than a neighbor, friend, and her brother’s mentor.

A Winning Season has that laid back charm of a good small town romance with engaging characters I could root for right away, and a slow burn romance while they work through life’s challenges. Part of the world of Wickham Falls, A Winning Season is full of glimpses to previous couples and characters and appears to take place at the same time as the previous story, Starting Over in Wickham Falls, with Sutton’s cousin getting her story.

The opening of the story introducing the Allen children’s tragic story pulled me right in and I enjoyed meeting Sutton and his family as well as getting a feel for the setting. Harper’s issues as a kid still struggling with loss and now teenage stuff is ripe and ready. I liked seeing his story develop with Sutton guiding him.

Sutton’s struggles are mostly in the past with a past relationship that didnt’ work because they wanted different things and also confronting his absentee dad. He’s older and in a different place than Zoey so he’s stable and ready for this new turn in his life. What a wonderful hero that had me swooning a lot.

Zoey’s story is split between her growing romance with Sutton and figuring out her life as her brothers are growing up and leaving home. She has a plan and that has seen her through, but she doesn’t realize that she has put so much into her brothers that she has no idea what to do when Sutton shows interest and enters her life. He shows and says his love early on, but she has a lot of baggage to unpack after shoving all those emotions and thoughts to the back of her mind just to get through each day. It turns out that Harper isn’t the only one still struggling. She never got past her birth mother abandoning her, her dad’s emotional distance, and the marital struggles she saw between Charlene and her dad. It all makes her hesitate to put herself out there even though she knows Sutton is the real deal.

There are many engaging scenes of just the two of them on casual or formal dates, surrounded by friends or family, and daily life in Wickham Falls. I loved it, but at the same time felt it could have been trimmed a little to move things along a bit more swiftly. Zoey needed time, but I did have the urge to grab her hand and drag her along a little faster. Sutton was very patient with her. There was a surprise event near the end that provoked a crisis. In a way, it wasn’t too big of a surprise, but at the same time, it felt like it came out of no where. Fortunately, it was swift and swiftly dealt with.

I had a good time in Rochelle Alers’ Wickham Falls world and would definitely like to go back for the other stories. I can heartily recommend this one to those who enjoy gently paced, slightly spicy small town romance.

My thanks to Harlequin for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a little mixed on this one. While I liked the premise there were parts that I found problematic. The romance itself is super cute between next door neighbours. Zoey has a lot of issues and baggage and I felt for her, but I almost DNF'd when she threatened foster care for her brother when he misbehaved. They all clearly needed counselling and I wish she arranged that for them. I feel like this portrayed counselling as a last ditch effort when in reality it would have been so beneficial after what they've all been through. I did like the mentor type relationship that build between Sutton and Harper.
As a parent of a child who is not interested in sports, I didn't appreciate the opinion that the problem was the lack of sports. It's stereotypical to assume boys need sports when, like in my case, some prefer artistic outlets.

The heroine having already identified that the 16 year old brother for whom she is guardian may need counseling (to deal with the tragic death of his parents when he was six) discovers him coming home two hours late with beer on his breath. Rather than make arrangements for him to get support she has already suggested he needs, she gives him chores and says she'll turn him over to the juvenile justice system to, at best, be put in foster care if he makes any further mistakes. Thus far, those mistakes have been getting caught urinating in a public parking lot while drinking with his friends and being messy around the house. This is the point at which I was about done with the heroine, but I kept reading until , a short while later, the brother is inexplicably caught trying to open the hero's Aston Martin. Apparently, he intended to take the car for a joyride. This seemed highly improbable as the kid had already been established as having huge hero worship for, and desperately wanting to be introduced to, the hero, a former baseball star. I really didn't buy that the kid, a star student who'd immediately responded to his sister's demands re chores and curfew and clearly expressed hero worship for the baseball star, would steal the hero's car. What really did me in, though, was that the hero proceeds to completely take over, giving his unsolicited opinion that the kid's problem is a lack of sports: that adolescent boys need an athletic outlet for their sexual energy. He further hopes that the boy doesn't need therapy, though he doesn't say this part out loud. Framing therapy as a worst case scenario for a boy who traumatically lost his parents and leaning heavily into gender stereotypes isn't the reading experience I'm looking for. Moreover the interactions between the characters felt abrupt and stilted, alternating between strangely invasive non sequiturs and unearned confidences that contradict prior characterizations. Regrettably, I'm DNFing at 20%.

When Sutton Reid decides to return home, he's not sure what will have changed in his hometown.

There's a boy needing help next door and Sutton steps in.

Will things go well or will Zoey Allen prove too much of a distraction for Sutton?

Zoey is the glue holding the family together. Not a believer romance wise, sacrifices are all she has known to get by in life.

I don't know anything about baseball and am not from the US, but this story sounded cute.

I do enjoy any kind of storyline with people helping each other out in some way and the anticipation and feelings Sutton had surrounding his return home were palpable which I liked.

The sense of anticiption at various pooints in the story kept the pacing going for me. I kept wondering what was going to happen.

Quick, riveting and sweet.

Although this is not the first time I have come across Rochelle Alers' books, (The Inheritance was great) this is a nice shorter book.

Is Sutton just the guy to Zoey's mind and make her fall hard?

Thanks to Rochelle Alers and Harlequin for my ARC in exchabange for an honest and voluntary review.

4 stars.