Release Review: Swing and Mishap: Tara Sivec

by - Sunday, September 27, 2020



 Swing and Mishap
(Summersweet Island #2)
Tara Sivec
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Release Date September 27, 2020 
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“Hawks fans still in shock after centerfielder, Shepherd Oliver, sustained season-ending injury last night in the 5th inning of the playoffs against Chicago.”

Two years ago, I was a pretty big deal. I thought I had it all, until a blast from my past popped up on my social media feed, keeping my ego in check and reminding me how basic I am. Except sassy Wren Bennett isn’t just a blast from my past. She’s the only woman I ever saw a future with.

Even though my soul leaves my body every time she says she hates baseball and has never watched me play, a year’s-worth of messages filled with laughter and sarcasm only remind me how amazing my “pen pal” is. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter how fine I look in a pair of baseball pants; I’m still 3,000 miles away, and she’s taken... or so I thought. Maybe I should have thought a little harder before I dropped her like a seeing-eye single into the outfield.

When an injury has me questioning everything about my life, I can only think of one place I need to go and one person I need to see. Home, to Summersweet Island, to get back my “pen pal.”

Now I just need to make sure single mom Wren knows I didn’t come back for a change, and I didn’t come back for a job. I’m swinging for the fences, and I’m finally coming home to make her mine. If only she’d stop insulting me and stay in one place long enough for me to tell her. She wouldn’t try to drown me with a tub of ice cream, right?

I’m sure it’ll be fine.


This story actually follows part of the same timeline as Kiss My Putt, there apparently was more going on behind the scenes in Wren's life we did not know about. 

Shepherd Oliver was her teenage crush and Mr. Popular in High School. He followed his dreams to become a pro baseball player and succeeded. One day a social media post helped him get back in touch with his old friend, Wren Bennett, from Summersweet Island...and a fantastic "pen pal" relationship was formed.

Wren is a hardworking single mom. She is sweet, caring, dependable, and giving. But he brings out her sassy side and she loves to challenge him. It was kept totally in the friendzone for a reason, but after about a year of fun, taunting, and laughter, everything changed. 

Now after making some big changes, Shepherd is headed back to Summersweet Island, and Wren better watch out. He has some questions he needs answers to, and he has set his sights on her. He is determined and ready to pull out all the stops. Unfortunately for him, Wren has some strong opinions of her own and can be a bit stubborn especially when hurt. He has the ability to bring out the worst in Wren, but can he convince her that he is the best for her?

This is a snappy, angsty, sexy, sweet, first crush, friends-to-lovers romance with an online twist and plenty of miscommunication. It illustrates the importance of honesty, family, finding your own voice, and realizing your own self-worth. These two give good banter, but they also make some mistakes and do not always make it too easy on each other. 

Shepherd is all kinds of swoony awesomeness...witty, charming, generous, talented, and focused. He knows what he wants even when he needs help trying to figure out how to get it. But he never fails to "go big or go home" when needed. He totally melted my heart. I also loved his developing relationship with her son, Owen. And Wren is probably the most stable and calm of this group, but Shepherd is the one man that totally riles her up and brings out the crazy in her. She is a true mama bear and does everything she can for her son, and is not used to being the center of attention.

It brings back her lively sister, Birdie, and her man Palmer, their friends, Tess, Bodhi, Murphy, and Emily. This group is kind of quirky, crazy, and over-the-top, but so much fun. And if there is a problem, they are there for Sip and B***h or even for a takedown if needed. I am already intrigued by the couple promised in the next book. 

Kiss My Putt
Tara Sivec
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“Palmer ‘Pal’ Campbell has epic breakdown on the 18th hole of the Bermuda Open! Video at 11.” 

After spending my entire pro golfing career being known as the quiet, controlled, no-nonsense golfer on the tour, there’s nothing more humiliating than throwing all of that down the drain—or into a water hazard—on national television. Needing some place to hide, to lick my wounds and figure out what I even want to do with my life once this blows over, I can only think of one place I need to be. Summersweet Island, where everyone treats me like one of their own, and they’ll all be happy to have me home again. 

Well, except maybe one person. It’s been two years since I last set foot on Summersweet Island or spoke to anyone there. But I’m sure Birdie Bennett, my best friend since I was 15 and the clubhouse manager of my favorite golf course, has had plenty of time to forgive me for that tiny little misunderstanding where I blocked her on social media and blocked her in my phone. Oh, and I guess I kind of, sort of accused her of being a stalker. It’s fine!

Once my sexy, spunky, former best friend gets over the shock of seeing me again and stops trying to drive a 9-iron into my skull, I can finally let her know I’ve also kind of, sort of always been in love with her...

Tara Sivec

Tara Sivec is a USA Today best-selling author, wife, mother, chauffeur, maid, short-order cook, baby-sitter, and sarcasm expert. She lives in Ohio with her husband and two children and looks forward to the day when they all three of them become adults and move out.

After working in the brokerage business for fourteen years, Tara decided to pick up a pen and write instead of shoving it in her eye out of boredom. Her novel Seduction and Snacks won first place in the Indie Romance Convention Reader's Choice Awards 2013 for Best Indie First Book and she was voted as Best Author in the Indie Romance Convention Reader's Choice Awards for 2014.

In her spare time, Tara loves to dream about all of the baking she'll do and naps she'll take when she ever gets spare time.

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