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Third Degree (Diamond Brides) Paperback – June 29, 2014

by Mindy Klasky (Author)

4.3 52 ratings

Book 5 of 9: The Diamond Brides Series

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A hot contemporary baseball romance by USA Today bestselling author Mindy Klasky. If you can't stand the heat… Chef Ashley Harris wants to own a restaurant—that's why she attended culinary school, and that's why she tolerates working for the world's most lecherous restaurateur. The Raleigh Rockets' third baseman Josh Cantor wants to launch his investment restaurant with the family recipes he loved growing up. Josh has been promised that treasure trove—but only if he can convince his grandmother that he's dating again, after a traumatic divorce. When a cooking reality show comes to Raleigh, Ashley and Josh must compete against each other to achieve their dreams—even when the flames in the bedroom roar higher than the ones in their kitchens. In the end, only one cook can win Who Wears the Apron. Will their relationship survive this trial by fire? The Diamond Brides Baseball Series: Each volume can be read on its own, and the series can be read in any order. Perfect Pitch (DJ Thomas and Samantha Winger) Catching Hell (Zach Ormond and Anna Benson) Reaching First (Tyler Brock and Emily Holt) Second Thoughts (Nick Durban and Jamie Martin) Third Degree (Josh Cantor and Ashley Harris) Stopping Short (Drew Marshall and Jessica Barnes) From Left Field (Adam Sartain and Haley Thurman) Center Stage (Ryan Green and Lindsey Ormond) Always Right (Kyle Norton and Amanda Carter) Categories: Fiction > Romance > Sports Romance Fiction > Romance > Baseball Romance Fiction > Romance > Athlete Romance Fiction > Romance > Hot Romance Fiction > Romance > Sexy Romance Fiction > Romance > Spicy Romance Fiction > Romance > Contemporary Romance Fiction > Romance > Hot Contemporary Romance Fiction > Sports Similar authors: Bella Andre Kate Angell Jaci Burton Carly Phillips Jill Shalvis 032917

Book 5 of 9

The Diamond Brides Series
Print length

178 pages
Language

English
Publication date

June 29, 2014
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.45 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

1611384087
ISBN-13

978-1611384086
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This introduction to Mindy Klasky's Diamond Brides series is a heartfelt, conflict-ridden story as irresistible as its characters. It's also a whole lot of sexy, savvy fun... Super-strong conflict, a naughty, tongue-in-cheek tone and the occasional sweet surprise all put Perfect Pitch firmly in the you gotta read this category. Klasky's writing is top-notch, her pacing swift and sure." - USAToday

About the Author

Mindy Klasky learned to read when her parents shoved a book in her hands and told her she could travel anywhere in the world through stories. She never forgot that advice. Mindy's travels took her through multiple careers - from litigator to librarian to full-time writer. Mindy's travels have also taken her through various literary genres for readers of all ages - from traditional fantasy to paranormal chick-lit to category romance, from middle-grade to young adult to adult. She is a USA Today bestselling author. In her spare time, Mindy knits, quilts, and tries to tame her endless to-be-read shelf. Her husband and cats do their best to fill the left-over minutes.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Book View Cafe (June 29, 2014)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 178 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1611384087
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1611384086
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.3 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.45 x 8.5 inches

Customer Reviews:
4.3 52 ratings

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Mindy Klasky
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USA Today bestselling author Mindy Klasky learned to read when her parents shoved a book in her hands and told her she could travel anywhere in the world through stories. She never forgot that advice. Mindy's travels took her through multiple careers—from litigator to librarian to full-time writer. Mindy's travels have also taken her through various literary genres for readers of all ages—from traditional fantasy to paranormal chick-lit to category romance, from middle-grade to young adult to adult. In her spare time, Mindy knits, quilts, and tries to tame her to-be-read shelf.
Mindy's Books:
WASHINGTON WITCHES
Girl's Guide to Witchcraft
Sorcery and the Single Girl
Magic and the Modern Girl
Single Witch's Survival Guide
Joy of Witchcraft
Dreaming of a Witch Christmas
Nice Witches Don't Swear
Capitol Magic
WASHINGTON VAMPIRES
Fright Court
Law and Murder
High Stakes Trial
Stake Me Out to the Ball Game
Capitol Magic
WASHINGTON MEDICAL: VAMPIRE WARD
The Witch Doctor Is In
Fae's Anatomy
The Lady Doctor is a Vamp
WASHINGTON WARDERS
The Library, the Witch, and the Warder
AS YOU WISH
Wishful Thinking
Act One, Wish One
Wishing in the Wings
Wish Upon a Star
GLASSWRIGHTS
The Glasswrights' Apprentice
The Glasswrights' Progress
The Glasswrights' Journeyman
The Glasswrights' Test
The Glasswrights' Master
KEARA'S RAVEN
Keara's Raven: Escape
Keara's Raven: Betrayal
DIAMOND BRIDES
Perfect Pitch
Catching Hell
Reaching First
Second Thoughts
Third Degree
Stopping Short
From Left Field
Center Stage
Always Right
HARMONY SPRINGS
Harmony Christmas
Harmony Hearts
Harmony Hero
MISCELLANEOUS
The Daddy Dance
The Mogul's Maybe Marriage
Season of Sacrifice
The Rational Writer: A to Z
The Rational Writer: Nuts and Bolts
Eight Kisses (editor)
Nevertheless She Persisted (editor)
See more on the author's page
Mindy L. Klasky
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USA Today bestselling author Mindy Klasky learned to read when her parents shoved a book in her hands and told her she could travel anywhere through stories. As a writer, Mindy has traveled through various genres, including hot contemporary romance. In her spare time, Mindy knits, quilts, and tries to tame her to-be-read shelf.
See more on the author's page

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

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Meghan D

another home run!

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2014

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My second favorites in Mindy's Diamond Brides series! Compelling story and a quick read. Can't wait for the last three books to come out!

Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2019

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Read it in one day. Love this series. Great job Mindy. Highly recommend. A++++++. A must read for sports lovers

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2014

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I LOOOVVEE these books. Worth every penny :)

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Doc

An Appetizing Addition To The Series. (Pun Intended)

Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2014

(Spoiler Free Review)

"Third Degree" is the fifth of the Diamond Brides Series. This is Ashley and Josh’s Story. Both were introduced in earlier books and now it is their turn. Like all the others in the series their story is contemporary, compelling and fun.

Mindy has crafted a series in which she is working her way through a baseball team position by position. The Raleigh Rockets don’t exist but she has done a good job incorporating them into MLB. Don’t worry though, the books in the series are not so much about baseball as an interesting way to tie a number of what would otherwise be disparate stories together. Each novella is a unique story, but still retains its links to the structure of the series and weaves in characters from the other books though in minor roles.

These are upbeat fun reads. Ms. Klasky shows her mastery of the genre at every turn of the story. These feature interesting characters that are surprisingly well drawn for a novella. Story lines are current and the books well plotted so that you move effortlessly through the story. Yes these have the perquisite happy endings but the fans of the genre know that is why you read them.

I always look forward to new offerings from Mindy. I know they are going to be well written and thoughtful. I also enjoy watching her writing style continue to grow and evolve. The only problem I have is when I finish a book I have to wait for the next. I think that is the mark of a good storyteller, you are always ready for that next story. So Ms. Klasky let’s get busy with that next story.

Here is that pesky disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review.

Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2015

Page turner.

Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2014

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Read the whole series, starting with the first one, couldn't put them down. Cute, quick, happy reads. This particular one was a bit rushed and (more than usual) unrealistic at the end but the hot and steamy parts were way more entertaining than all the others.

Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2014

This is a cute predictable romance story of how two people compete to win a chef’s competition. Josh is a professional baseball player, but dreams of opening a restaurant of his own, serving food based on his grandmother’s recipes—which she will dole out to him one at a time during the competition, a long she can see evidence of an on-going, promising relationship with a woman—she desperately wants a new grandchild before she dies, and her health is failing. Ashley loves cooking but despises her lecherous boss and the moves he keeps trying on her. Both are determined to win the competition. When they get together, sparks fly between them, but, as competitive and determined as they are, they hold back their emotions, devoting all their efforts toward the competition. How does all this turn out? Who wins the competition? The author has woven a predicable but enchanting story around this angle I enjoyed reading about the two key characters and the many twists and turns of the competition and their relationship. The story is not very long and drawn out, but short and sweet. I have read others in this series, and, while this one was quite well done, it is not my favorite. I think the predictability got to me. Still, it is still another good summer or anytime read for someone looking for something light and easy. I received this from Library Thing to read and review.

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2015

*I received a copy of this book as part of the Early Reviewers program in exchange for an unbiased review. Brief plot spoilers may follow.*

Summary:
Ashley Harris is a jaded chef who enters a local cooking competition where the winning prize is enough capital for her to achieve her dream of opening her own restaurant. Stuck in a job where she constantly has to ward off a handsy manager, she really needs this risk to pay off. Her real piece of competition comes in the form of hunky Josh Cantor, a baseball player who also has a lot to lose by not winning the competition. His grandmother Angel is battling Alzheimer’s and steadily getting worse, but she is very adamant during her lucid moments that she’d love to have a great-grandchild before the dementia fully sets in. Josh too is jaded, from a mismatched marriage and awful divorce, and has sworn off the idea of falling in love again. But Angel drives a hard bargain: Josh must find love again, and for every photograph she sees of the new couple, she’ll hand over one of the recipes in the cookbook Josh covets so much. Josh agrees to the bargain, but as he begins to fall for Ashley, he realizes he made a mistake.

Ashley and Josh were just about all of my favorite parts of Third Degree. I was really pleased with the fact that Josh wasn’t the normal alpha male type that I usually see in these books. He wasn’t overly confident, didn’t see himself as being above everyone, and while he gave off the detached, smooth vibe he was actually very observant and not without a conscience. I liked that he immediately bristled about having to potentially trick both his grandmother and Ashley, instead of not thinking about it at all until he’d fallen in love with her. I thought Ashley was a normal girl in all the right ways, not too tough that she needed to be brought down a notch, but not ready to dissolve at the first sign of trouble. She had a reasonable (and understandable) amount of hang-ups and even though we didn’t get to find out details about either of their families (which I wouldn’t have minded), I feel like we were still given a good sense of who both characters were. I felt like I understood their motivations, a good chunk of the reason why they became who they were, and I liked that they both had at least one good person on their sides. I liked the way that the plot unfolded. I didn’t feel like there were too many contrived scenes, save for the ending, but I liked that I could understand how events and situations could come to pass instead of them just popping up out of nowhere. I also liked how the conflict was brought out in the open; I never would have expected it. I was halfway expecting someone to hack into Josh’s phone and a public scandal to erupt so I was pleasantly surprised when that didn’t happen. I think this book had probably the most unconventional phone sex scene that I’ve ever read, and at first I thought it was going to end up creepy but it was quite intriguing. Another thing that I liked was that the food got its shine as well. It wasn’t a book about food and romance where food takes the backseat. It had a prominent part in this book and I appreciated that attention to even the details.

As for things that I was not so fond of, even though I thought the ending was creative, it did seem a little rushed. It would have been nice to see how everything played out with both Ashley and Angel; I didn’t feel like there was ever a proper conversation to resolve the conflict. It would have been nice to see how Josh’s plans changed as a result of what he did for Ashley or how he explained his actions to her. There were a few grammatical errors but nothing too large. I kind of wish that there was a bit more attention to the baseball, more so Josh’s attitude towards it. Even though this is touted as a baseball romance, it rather than the food takes a backseat to the rest of the story.

Overall I don’t have too many complaints with the book. I thought everything was well-written, descriptive enough for the reader to understand everything that was going on, and a simple plot/writing style that still had the ability to be thorough. I liked the mix of smaller characters, loved the main two, and I actually enjoyed that there wasn’t a heavy dose of vulgarity in the sex scenes. This from a chick who reads erotica on the daily. LOL Anyway, I really enjoyed Third Degree and I’m looking forward to checking out more books in the series!

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Top reviews from other countries

Christina

very good

Reviewed in Canada on March 27, 2015

Verified Purchase

Love finds people in the strangest places & Josh & Ashley are no different. They meet as contestants on a cooking challenge show with money, a year of special chef services & a years lease on a new restaurant as the winners prize. Josh needs the win to restart his investment portfolio after a very expensive divorce, Ashley needs to win so she can quit her current line cook job for an overly grabby boss & open her own restaurant. Circumstances bring them close & an ailing grandmother will tear them apart. Can they find a way to get back together? Who will win the competition?

Kindle Customer

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 22, 2016

Verified Purchase

A good series to read, but just felt that they became a bit predictable.

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