Fair Play

January 5, 2004
Martin's second playful romance set in the world of professional hockey (following Body Check
) scores again. After nearly being raped by a sports star, Theresa Falconetti doesn't date athletes—or, in truth, anyone at all. So when two suitors begin courting her, she's flummoxed rather than flattered. Smooth, sexually undemanding Reese Banister seems like a dream come true even though he's the nephew of the man determined to take over her financially shaky PR firm. In contrast, new client Michael Dante, whose family owns a popular Brooklyn restaurant, is her worst nightmare. He's a professional hockey player, he comes from the same Bensonhurst neighborhood as her lovable but irritating Italian family and he's always in her face. As Theresa tries to upgrade the image of Michael's restaurant, decide whether or not to sell out, deal with her father's cancer and cope with the lingering scars of sexual trauma, she must assess the men's true worth. The takeover plot line is sketchy, and Reese's courtship is so transparently shady no reader will be fooled. However, Martin depicts the worlds of both professional hockey and ethnic Brooklyn with deftness and smart detail. She has an unerring eye for humorous family dynamics, and her treatment of Theresa's psychological trauma, while accurate, never overwhelms the story's sweet buoyancy.

January 1, 2004
Michael Dante is a veteran professional hockey player who knows that his playing days are numbered, so, also co-owner of his family's restaurant, he decides to take that to the next level. This involves hiring a PR firm whose co-owner is the lovely Theresa Falconetti whom he's had his eye on since meeting her at his coach's wedding two years ago. He can't get her out of his mind and has high hopes. Theresa, though, has changed due to a traumatic event, and has sworn off players of all sports, especially hockey. In addition, she has made every effort to squelch her Italian American roots and has no desire to date Italian men. Her edicts knock Michael's plans right out of the box. Can Michael bring Theresa around? Witnessing their "courtship" is a pleasure in Martin's fun and witty story. But there's so much more. The depth of the characterizations and the unexpectedly moving passages make this an exceptional romance and a must-read for all fans of the genre.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)