The Game Changer (The Perfect Game, #2) by J. Sterling
Jack appeared at my door last night after six months of no communication wearing a Mets jersey and holding a dozen red roses. He told me he was sorry, that he loved me, and that he would earn my trust again. It took everything in me to not fall apart at the mere sight of him. I wanted to take him back into my life, but I needed to know that this time it would be forever…
In J. Sterling’s highly anticipated follow-up to her USA Today bestselling novel The Perfect Game, Jack and Cassie quickly realize that their new lifestyle can often be cruel and unforgiving. Their happiness is put to the test as the past is never truly far behind.
How do you stay together when the world's trying to tear you apart?
Kelly - 4 Crowns
“Being with him, no matter how illogical it seemed considering he was responsible for my internal carnage, completed me. We made sense together. Melissa couldn’t have been more right when she described us as ‘the perfect mess.’ I realised her assessment held more truth now that it ever had before.” - Cassie Andrews
”People spend their lives searching for their one true love, their other half. I found mine in college, dancing in a fraternity house driveway. Lucky for me, she found me right back.” - Jack Carter
The Game Changer is the perfect title for this book, as a new game is now in play…
Welcome to the BIG LEAGUES. It may sound glamorous, but J. Sterling proves that actually…it’s not all what it’s cracked up to be.
In this book we reconnect with Jack and Cassie as they rediscover the love they believed to be lost. This story held many redeeming qualities for both characters, especially Jack, as he comes back to reclaim his girl and make amends after making the biggest mistake of his life.
It has been six months since she saw him. Six months of feeling incomplete and unable to move on, her only reprieve is her new job in magazine photography. Cassie loves New York, so when Jack turns up on her doorstep, trending a METS baseball shirt and begging Cassie for forgiveness, she is surprised, relieved…and wary.
How can she ever trust him, again?
When he relives his tale of the last six months, it’s a bitter pill to swallow. Cassie, in these scenes, is an absolute hero! I don’t know how she managed to keep it together and it made me realise how much her character had grown. Gone was the starry-eyed, love struck college student, and in its place a woman who needed answers and would stop at nothing until she got them. I was so proud of her in these moments.
Jack’s voice is honest, his pain heartfelt and believable. I wanted to punch him in The Perfect Game for what he did to Cassie, yet in this book, he rekindled my love for him ten-fold; his story provided an ideal injection of anticipation and angst, without being too OTT.
Now for my reservations…
Jack's voice was stronger in this sequel, yet, at the same time it I felt it missed some of the magic of the first book. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I loved the first book more. The Game Changer felt like a series 'filler' more so than a full novel in its own right. I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, I just expected further progression on from the Epilogue in book one. This storyline, although highly enjoyable, was slightly predicable.
Still… the passion between Cassie and Jack is scorching and the trials of being the girlfriend of a famous ' athlete' made for an interesting diversion and tested both Cassie and Jack's strength of character. Both of which have grown exponentially!
The main focus of this story is fame. Just when you think they have their perfect reunion, notoriety throws a spanner in the works when all eyes are on the new METS pitcher and his life, including the ‘love of’, become public property number one.
With mistakes come repercussions and his one has just decided to cash in on the media money-train, pushing Jack and Cassie to the brink of destruction.
Can their love survive the story-hungry tabloids (however untrue), paparazzi and hate-filled social media sites?
Well that remains to be seen.
My advice to you: READ IT!