Lord alive did this one take a bit to get going. Or, I should really say that it took a little while for me to believe in this story at all. By the end of it, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it as a great sports romance - particularly for anyone looking to read about athletes and characters of color in their romances and for anyone who enjoys good banter between characters.

Caitlin is on her way to a big party for the Dallas NBA team when she gets a flat tire. Whosoever should pull up to assist her but their new star player, Brady. For reasons and through romance novel machinations, the two end up striking a deal where she will serve as his public girlfriend to help fix a pretty dismal reputation. Unbeknownst to Brady, Caitlin is the coach's daughter. It is, for the record, unbeknownst to the coach as well. You see, he left her mom with nothing more than a letter and a paltry payoff to sail onto NBA stardom. So while Brady gets a reputation boost, Caitlin gets the chance to meet her father/get some dirt on him to publicly embarrass him as some sort of long game revenge.

No big deal, just two average folks with totally normal motivations. Ha! Well, clearly sparks fly between the two of them. The flirting dialogue is fantastic and the longer I spent with these two the more I liked them. I have little patience for personal revenge fantasies, so Caitlin's initial quest was not something I was exactly here for, but the more she softened and we were shown other pieces of her than that piece the more I liked her. I also appreciated some of the exploration the book has about growing up with a single black mother and having a twin brother - Caitlin is honest in her inner monologues about that and she and her brother have some very frank conversations that I really liked eavesdropping in on.

SLAMDUNKED BY LOVE is a fun book with sparkling dialogue and two folks who fall madly in love. Along the way, they have some pretty athletic sex and tell a lot of cheesy pirate jokes. If that ticks any of your boxes, one-click this one now!