Book Review: Stealing Home by Carrie Aarons
Stealing Home
by Carrie Aarons
Series: Callahan Family
Category: Contemporary Romance, Sports Romance
Tags: Baseball, Sports, Strong Heroine
Published January 2021
Rating: ★★★★
Boyfriend Rating: 💍💍💍💍
Amazon | Goodreads
*Disclosure: I participate in affiliate programs including Amazon Affiliates ,so if you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Aarons’ books keep getting better and better with each new release!
Stealing Home is a poignant, realistic look at domestic abuse and how real love can truly be found after devastation.
A Powerful Beginning
“Hannah’s getting married, but she’s not marrying me.”
I love a book with a great prologue to set the stage.
Walker is ready to drink himself into a stupor on the eve of Hannah’s wedding day.
You can sense just how much Walker already cares for and loves this woman, but you also see how much joy Hannah has at the start of her marriage.
What transpires is a romance novel that is both tragic and incredibly hopeful.
It’s tragic in the sense that Aarons paints such a realistic portrait of domestic violence and abuse.
Without having first hand knowledge of such an important topic, I think that Aarons portrayed it really well and with such tact that hammers home the cracks in our society when it comes to protecting woman and children who are in these dire situations.
This book actually takes place after events that occurred in the first book of the series, Warning Track, but this can easily be read as a standalone.
Hannah is now recovering from a violent attack from her husband, a well known and popular baseball player, who has been abusing her for the past five years of their marriage.
Walker is a teammate of her husband who has been secretly in love with Hannah and who was there to help save her from her latest attack.
Only now he’s not willing to sit on the sidelines and hide his feelings from her. He’s desperate to protect her and shower her with the love she deserves.
A Heroine With Strength
I honestly think the best part of this book is seeing Hannah’s growth and survival.
Aarons artfully describes how crippled and isolated she felt – never having a safe place to exist or hide while enduring her husband’s abuse over the years.
Even more sobering is how Aarons describes how often women return to their abusers or why they don’t leave in the first place. Or, how our justice system is not set up to protect victims of abuse.
Without knowing the history between Walker and Hannah, it might have felt a bit jarring as to how quickly they start a relationship given her situation but it flowed and worked for me.
I don’t agree that Walker would have acted they way he did at the point where things started to fall a part, but I guess every romance book has to have that moment of disconnect before reaching the happy ending.
Despite that hiccup, I think Walker was a great book boyfriend.
He cared for her so deeply and took things at her pace given her history.
He planned the most romantic first date and was so sweet with her children.
He’s a keeper!
I read this book in one sitting, desperate to read Hannah’s happily ever after.
It was very well written and one I recommend reading.
If domestic abuse is a trigger warning for you, you may want to pass, but I felt the topic was well discussed without any extremely difficult instances to read through.
*Thank you to Carrie Aarons for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.
Do you have a favorite baseball sports romance book? Share in the comments below.
Don’t Miss a Review
Be sure to like my Facebook page and follow me on Pinterest so you can stay in the know of all the latest when it comes to romance books.
Make sure you don’t miss a single book list or review by joining my email list, and I’ll also give you my list of Top 10 Romance Book Boyfriends!
Save on Books!
Interested in these books and more? Join Kindle Unlimited where you have access to unlimited reading and a HUGE catalogue of romance books to choose from! Just fill up your library and happy reading. Sign up for a free trial of Kindle Unlimited today!
Are audiobooks more your speed? Start a free trial to Audible, your home to unlimited romance audiobook listening.
