Product Description

Women's professional basketball is one of the hardest games to break into, and being accepted for tryout camp is a huge achievement. Coaching a professional team is a full-time occupation with no time for a personal life. Patricia Calvin, in her second year as head coach of the Missoula Cougars, is building just the right combination of players to take her team all the way to the championship. Recently graduated from college, Sherry Gallagher is hoping to join the roster of a professional team to begin a career in the game she loves. Neither woman is looking for a relationship. So when this player and coach discover they have feelings for each other there's sure to be some Fast Break action ahead.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #893260 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 172 pages

Customer Reviews

No triangle offense here
The central storyline of the book is solid. A coach and a player develope a friendship that becomes something more, but remains very chaste throughout their season. Some plot lines needed to be further developed in order to fit together the reactions of the main characters. For example, Pat Calvin, the coach, would not need a shoulder to cry on when her ex-lover says she had cheated on her. Pat's character was created to be a stoic, strong, self-made woman. To be thrown by that revelation was out of her character. To even have her ex come see her was a bit uneven to the story. Seems it was just in there for conflict.
The relationship between Pat and Sherry didn't 'mature' enough to make me believe that they had grown in love with each other. The secondary characters of Mandy and Dawn weren't given enough backstory to make their inclusion in the plot meaningful. They were just annoying.
And, too much diagramming of basketball plays.
All in all, a solid effort, but it needed to be fleshed out more thoroughly, for which I hold the editor responsible.

One and a Half Stars Would be about Right
I wanted to be as charitable about this book as the other reviewer before me, but I cannot. The book is readable - but just barely. (And part of that has to do with the fact that some idiot decided to use a font size that is not standard, it corresponds with font size 8 on the computer). You can blame the publisher for poor layout, but you cannot really blame the editor for a bad story. The failure is in the author conception of the characters and the way the plot rolls out. Or should I say bounces. Because it bounces all over with unreal conflict and cheesy emotional situations.

Pat, the coach is not a very believable character. I believe they call it a cardboard character. Sherry is not much better. Mandy and Dawn were more than annoying. They had a secondary plot that did not play out satisfactorily. And I have to agree I was bored senseless by all the basketball plays. Note to author - when using sports in a novel that is supposed to be a romance, what goes on in the game ought to have some sort of parralel to what is going on in the storyline. Not just be play after play after play of meaningless stuff. (That _is_ something the editor should have cut out). Showing off knowledge of basketball trivia has no place in fiction, put it in some nonfiction next time.

On the positive side, this book is slightly better than that horrible Jesse & Jennifer series. At least this one seems somewhat realistic and contemperary. But the author needs so much work on how to make a plot that's not a rim shot and characters who do not foul out because they are so flat and lifeless. This book is not a winner - better luck next season.

Basketball Woes
I'm never sure what to expect from Mickey Minner. I've really enjoyed most of her writing, but some of it is lackluster and borderline boring. That said, `Fast Break' clearly falls onto the enjoyable side of the fence.

Admittedly, this is a stereotypical sports story with stereotypical characters. The plot is predictable and is almost fully laid out on the back cover. However, the book is still able to stand on its own merits due to character development. Both Pat and Sherry are very likable. They have personality characteristics the reader can easily identify in their own friends and family, and their pasts are fully developed as well. It's easy to get wrapped up in their situation as the story unfolds. To this reader, that is the measure of a good book.

Bottom Line - Predictable, but very enjoyable; this light read is sure to be appreciated by most readers.