Review: Over the Fence Box Set by Carrie Aarons (Over the Fence #1-#3.5)
Note: An advanced reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author.
Carrie Aarons has compiled her three full-length Over the Fence novels into one box set and has included a new novella for the fourth baseball-playing friend to round out the series nicely. I love how this box set has allowed me to finally work my way through Aarons's back list, and I've always enjoyed sports romances in general and hers in particular. I've read her books that have gymnastics and football as their chosen sports, and now, it's all about what's considered as America's favorite pastime, baseball, with books one to three--all full-length novels--focused on college baseball and the new fourth book--which is novella in length--turning its focus on professional baseball.
The four books that make up the box set are Pitching to Win (featuring incoming high school senior Minka Braxton and incoming college junior and baseball pitcher Owen Axel), Hitting to Win (featuring college freshman and ballerina Chloe Trabucco and college junior and baseball shortstop Miles Farrington), Catching to Win (featuring wanderer Kelsey O'Brien and college senior and baseball catcher Clint Bellows), and Fielding to Win (featuring home "fixer" Brennan Raker and professional baseball player Parker Avery). Book one is more of a young adult slash new adult read; books two and three are new adult slash college romances; and book four is contemporary.
All four novels had fair doses of angst--which naturally makes the angst addict in me a very happy camper, especially since nothing was overly done or thrown in just for the sake of stirring up drama--what with one or both of the main characters dealing with issue brought about by their past or something ongoing. I appreciated the fact that the series had four different stories to tell, which isn't always an easy feat since I have come across several series that basically had the same story line with maybe a one or two things that have been changed. For this particular box set, I was able to enjoy four distinctly different tales and four equally different sets of main couples.
Among the four, I'd have to say that the novella, Fielding to Win, is my favorite (thanks to strong main characters who share somewhat similar pasts that continue to haunt them), and it takes place about five years after the events in the third novel, Catching to Win, which was my least favorite (no thanks to the heroine, even though the hero was a sweetheart who deserved better). The first book, Pitching to Win, was a good start and the second one, Hitting to Win, was definitely a great follow-up, with both having fantastic couples who grew quite a bit as their stories unfolded. So, having taken all the stories into consideration, I'm giving the Over the Fence Box Set four stars. ♥
The four books that make up the box set are Pitching to Win (featuring incoming high school senior Minka Braxton and incoming college junior and baseball pitcher Owen Axel), Hitting to Win (featuring college freshman and ballerina Chloe Trabucco and college junior and baseball shortstop Miles Farrington), Catching to Win (featuring wanderer Kelsey O'Brien and college senior and baseball catcher Clint Bellows), and Fielding to Win (featuring home "fixer" Brennan Raker and professional baseball player Parker Avery). Book one is more of a young adult slash new adult read; books two and three are new adult slash college romances; and book four is contemporary.
All four novels had fair doses of angst--which naturally makes the angst addict in me a very happy camper, especially since nothing was overly done or thrown in just for the sake of stirring up drama--what with one or both of the main characters dealing with issue brought about by their past or something ongoing. I appreciated the fact that the series had four different stories to tell, which isn't always an easy feat since I have come across several series that basically had the same story line with maybe a one or two things that have been changed. For this particular box set, I was able to enjoy four distinctly different tales and four equally different sets of main couples.
Among the four, I'd have to say that the novella, Fielding to Win, is my favorite (thanks to strong main characters who share somewhat similar pasts that continue to haunt them), and it takes place about five years after the events in the third novel, Catching to Win, which was my least favorite (no thanks to the heroine, even though the hero was a sweetheart who deserved better). The first book, Pitching to Win, was a good start and the second one, Hitting to Win, was definitely a great follow-up, with both having fantastic couples who grew quite a bit as their stories unfolded. So, having taken all the stories into consideration, I'm giving the Over the Fence Box Set four stars. ♥
Release Date: 24 October 2019
Date Read: 23-24 October 2019
Learn more about Carrie Aarons.
Purchase Over the Fence on Amazon.
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