Review: "Knowing the Score" by Kat Latham (London Legends #1)

Spencer Bailey has one goal: to become part of the national team, which is a bigger deal this team around because England is hosting the World Cup, the biggest and most important tournament in the sport of rugby. He's worked too hard for far too long to be an integral part of the London Legends, the professional rugby team he plays for, but some people haven't forgotten about a transgression that occurred when he was just nineteen. Since then, he makes sure the women he chooses to be with know the score going in--he has no intention of pursuing anything more once the season starts. 

Caitlyn Sweeney is an American aid worker who helps an old man seemingly suffering from a heart attack. She's relieved to her from the man's grandson and agrees to visit the patient in the hospital. Meeting Philip Bailey's grandson stirs something within her, and even though she's usually intimidated by men of his physical stature, she can't deny her attraction to him, an attraction that appears to be mutual. What was supposed to be temporary becomes something more, but when Spencer's past rears its ugly head, will there still be hope for them to have that feeling of permanence that they both want?

Knowing the Score is the first book in the London Legends series by Kat Latham and is, as are the rest of the books in the series, set in the rough and tumble world of rugby. My knowledge of rugby is limited, especially since I've only seen bits and pieces of it on television, though we do have a national team called the Philippine Volcanoes. Even so, I enjoyed the book and liked that I learned some new things about rugby and that I picked up a few new words and phrases to add to my British English vocabulary. And for whatever else I was clueless about, Google was happy to help with just a few clicks.

Spencer and Caitlyn were interesting lead characters who had secrets they were keeping from one another. While I was already anticipating that the whole temporary affair situation would develop into them falling in love, there were certainly a couple of twists that I didn't expect. The epilogue threw me for a loop, and I admit, I so wanted Spencer to have everything that he ever wished for but the world doesn't always work out that way and he had to make a choice. And I shall leave it at that. If you've already read the book, you'll know what I'm talking about; if not, well then, I suggest you check the book out now.

For a sports romance, I'm glad that it had what I felt was a good balance of sports and romance. Kat Latham's writing pulls you in, and even if you're a novice with all things rugby, you won't feel totally lost while reading the book. This also wasn't a fluffy love story because there were serious issues that both Spencer and Caitlyn had experienced when they were younger and they were still experiencing the aftereffects several years down the line. Knowing the Score was a great start to the series and I already started wondering about the other players as soon as I finished this. Four stars! ♥

Date Read: 09 May 2015

Learn more about Kat Latham here.

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