Curve into Forever

Vancouver Tridents, Book 5

De: Julia Jarrett

Narrado por: Samantha Brentmoor, David Lee Huynh

Kai Yamaki, star pitcher of the Vancouver Tridents has a secret... But all will be revealed, and hearts will be on the line in the final Vancouver Tridents story.

©2025 Julia Jarrett (P)2025 Julia Jarrett

Emotional, swoony and romantic second chance

I love a second chance romance with the man who knows what he’s missing. “Curve Into Forever” is an emotional, swoony and romantic second chance baseball romance that was a great addition to the series.

Isabella is back in Canada to visit her mom after she had left years prior to live in Italy with her father and his family. She also left behind a guy who was possibly her forever. Her mom is married and her new husband is the coach for the Vancouver Titans and when they go to family day, she’s shocked to see the guy she let go. Kai is the star pitcher and is just as shocked to see her. The two have unfinished business from their breakup and decide that they are okay with being friends again while she’s back in town. But as they spend time together, the chemistry they had back in college is still very much there.

Isabella and Kai had a deep history and that was a great foundation for their relationship. I loved how they met back in college as the two lone people from Canada and they really connected friends so them becoming more was so natural. Kai was her biggest supporter in finding her bio Dad and getting to know her Italian family. I loved Kai from the previous book and loved him even more after finishing his story. He’s genuine, fun and a great teammate. Even though he was hurt by Isabella leaving, he was able to forgive her and become her friend again. Isabella was someone I loved from the start and I admired her so much for being brave and moving to Italy to get to know her Dad and to follow her passion of cooking. Being a chef is a big part of her life and cooking is how she shows her love for family and friends. I loved how they reconnected and after realizing that feelings were still there and to be together while she was visiting. The steamy scenes were great and especially that extra thing Kai had to help spice things up. The ending was perfect for them and I enjoyed their story so much.

Samantha Brentmoor and David Lee Huynh narrated as Isabella and Kai and I loved listening to them bring this story to life. Samantha’s narration was fun, passionate and genuine just like Isabella. I did love her bringing back her Italian accent when she was voicing Isabella’s Italian cousin. David is a newish to me narrator and I thought he did a great job bringing Kai to life. His narration was easy going and fun just like Kai.

Brentmoor and Huynh are the closers…

Book 5 in Jarrett’s Vancouver Tridents was a solid closer to the series. Second chance romance is a favorite trope, and while common romance ground, like any tool the effectiveness is all about how it’s used. Readers need to understand why the MCs can’t be together and why they would want to try again after the separation. And while the effectiveness here felt inconsistent to me at the start, Jarrett stuck the landing with Kai and Isabelle. That is in large part due to the excellent performances of two stellar narrators.

The baseball of it all, with the team camaraderie was really well done. It was always a joy to see past MMCs interact with Kai. The relationships between the teammates has clearly grown from book to book. And it’s just really appealing to return to those connections between the guys. It’s in keeping with the building Jarret has done in previous books. So, on the sports romance side of things and the secondary character work, this one was definitely a winner.

Despite some unevenness in the beginning, Isabelle and Kai are two likable MCs made even more so by the work of Samantha Brentmoor and David’s Lee Huynh. Brentmoor was fabulous as always. While the FMC works on page, it was Brentmoor’s performance that made me more open to the arc Jarrett created for Isabelle. Every Brentmoor performance just further cements her GOAT status for me. Huynh is a new-to-me narrator,and I thought he was a great fit for Kai. I had a hard time with Kai when he and Isabella first reunite. The prologue is really sweet, but then the second impressions 8 years later were a little rough, especially Kai and the way his anger led in that moment. But Huynh was able to add layers to those emotions and soften that harsh impression. Both performers made it more believable that these MCs (especially Kai) would want to try to be friends let lone risk their hearts again.

Overall CiF is an enjoyable second chance baseball romance that I recommend for the Tridents team banter and standout narrator performances.

I’m grateful to have received an ALC copy of the audiobook via Home Cooked Books. All opinions expressed are my own.

A fantastic ending to an incredible series.

I’ve loved Julia Jarrett’s Vancouver Trident baseball world and this was the perfect way to wrap it all up. Isabelle and Kai’s story was emotional, heartfelt and so spicy. Their second-chance romance delivered all the ache and all the heat. Narration Notes: Samantha Brentmoor brought the perfect mix of sass and softness - she is always a favorite of mine and auto-buy narrator. David Lee Huynh was a new to me narrator and completely surprised me. His voice gave Kai depth, restraint and emotional weight. I’d absolutely listen to him again. Huge thanks to Julia Jarrett and Home Cooked Books for the ALC.

Fantastic finish to the series!

I’m a sucker for a good second chance story and this one delivered. Kai, the charismatic starting pitcher has been the perpetually single playboy throughout the series. However, we find out in this story that he just never got over his first love. Kai and Isabelle were college sweethearts when they bonded over being the only two Canadians at their school. When Isabelle goes to Italy to meet her father, they didn’t know she would stay for good. They are reunited eight years later when she’s home for a visit and attends family day for the Tridents. After the shock wears off, they decide to catch up as friends. Time apart has not lessened their attraction to each other and just friends turns into friends with benefits quickly, but now with an expiration date.

Narrated by David Lee Huynh and Samantha Brentmoor. David is new to me, and he was terrific. He delivered on Kai’s big personality and all the emotion when dealing with the possible separation from Isabelle again. Samantha Brentmoor just continues to nail it. Leaving was hard for Isabelle, and you felt all her struggles with leaving versus her love for Kai through Samantha’s performance.

I enjoyed watching these two discover each other and how much they’ve grown and changed over the years. At the core, they still love each other. Their story is a sweet, funny, low angst second chance story. There are plenty of interactions with the characters from the series and overall it was a fantastic way to wrap up this series.

Fitting end to the series

Hard to believe our time with the Tridents is coming to and end. It's been pretty fun.

We meet Yami and Iz..... Star Pitcher and the stepdaughter of their coach. Huh?
Yea so coach got married in a whirlwind romance of his own and got himself an adult step daughter.

Oh... and she's Yami's long lost love.

Seems in college, she went to Italy to visit the family she never knew. And stayed. And built a life. And never got over her college love.

They can't help but secretly get together while she's in town for the summer.. but knowing it will end WHAT WILL THEY DO??

The whole lost love, and rekindling, and regret and second chance here will pull at your heart.

I loved some of the banter in this book, both between Kai and Iz but also Iz at the restaurant - LOVED that. And I always got hungry in the restaurant scenes.

The narration was so well done. Samantha is a favorite, and David Lee Huynh is new to me but I really enjoyed his presentation.

You can read it as a stand alone but you'll have a great time if you treat yourself to the whole series! Every installment just hits.

Great ending to a great series!

I have been Loving this series! Curve into Forever is book 5 in the Vancouver Tridents series! It follows Isabelle and Kai. Oh I love a good second chance romance! These two first meet in college starting out as friends then becoming something more. Isabelle goes off to Italy to reconnect with her father and never comes back. They are reunited 8 years later and the feelings and chemistry are still there! You could feel the heartbreak they both endured and see how they both handled it. It was beautiful to watch them find their way back to each other. The heat and tension between them was everything! What a nice ending to a great series!

The audiobook was narrated by Samantha Brentmoor and David Lee Huynh. Samantha is one of my favorite narrators and she was perfecto for Isabelle. She is good at bringing the passion and fun! David is a new to me author and he did a good job playing Kai! He was a joy to listen to and I can’t wait to hear more from him!

What to expect:
Second Chance
Baseball Romance
Coach’s Daughter
Playboy Hero with a broken heart
Mid Sized Heroine
Interracial Couple
Forbidden Love

Perfect ending to the series

I hate to see the Vancouver Tridents series end, but author Julia Jarrett has created the perfect send-off. It’s been so much fun to get to know the players over the course of the previous four books, watching them meet and almost lose and then reclaim their true loves, enjoying the camaraderie, the give and take of teammates, the thrill of the game. Curve Into Forever has all that and more as we get to enjoy – and angst over – Kai and Isabelle’s story.

Kai has been a peripheral series favorite from the start and I have to admit it was a little hard to feel anything but anger toward Iz when she went to Italy and did not return as promised. Of course it was the right decision for her for so many reasons. Young women need to feel empowered and emboldened to take charge of their own lives. The opportunity to meet her family and form bonds with them was not to be missed. And she and Kai were so young. Love is hard; young love is harder. Finishing your education, new jobs, new careers, still learning about yourself. But Kai was so certain of their relationship, that they belonged together. He encouraged her to take the trip because he knew it was what she needed, but when she didn’t come back . . . he was shocked and heartbroken. Could he have behaved better in the immediate aftermath? Sure. But back to that young love thing and still learning, learning to express yourself.

Iz purposely put on blinders and avoided any attempt at finding out where Kai was and what he was doing for eight years. He moved on but still held her in his heart. And when they meet again, through the coincidence of all coincidences, it brings up a lot of emotions, including anger, betrayal and mistrust.

Author Jarrett does her usual excellent job of taking us through the rocky road to true love with Kai and Iz. Humor shines through, romance and tenderness are still there, as well as acknowledgement and acceptance. Along the way we are treated to revisits with all the couples who have come before: Ronan and Willow, Maverick and Sadie, Monty and Lark, and Rhett and Kai’s little sister Evie. A delightful trip down memory lane leading to a very satisfying conclusion.

I was lucky enough to receive both advance reading and listening copies. Books are good; audiobooks are even better. And with talented narrators like Samantha Brentmoor and David Lee Huynh it’s perfection. Tone, pace, emotion, all there and all so enjoyable. I loved Curve Into Forever and the entire series is going on my repeat list. I recommend it without hesitation. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

Second Chance

Curve into Forever is the fifth book in the Vancouver Tridents series, but it can be read as a standalone.

Isabella went home to visit her mom after living in Italy for years. Her mom had gotten married to the coach of the Vancouver Tridents, and one of the players was Kai, the guy she’d left behind all those years ago.

Kai was a huge player in their time apart. But once he saw Isabella again, he couldn’t let her go again.

This was cute and low-angst. Kai and Isabella quickly fell into their friendship again, and it was obvious they still had feelings for each other.


Narration Style: Dual

The narrators were great and made this an enjoyable listening experience.

So good!!

Story - ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Spice - 🌶🌶
Narration - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Curve Into Forever is book #5 in the Vancouver Tridents baseball series. We have fallen in love with this team and now we finally get Kai's story!! Isabelle is the step-daughter of the new coach with a secret...she and Kai have history together from college. After an eight year separation, these two are back in the same town and in each other's lives. This story has so much good stuff going on: enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, second chance, sports romance with some slow-burning spice that you are yearning for! While there isn't a lot of "turmoil", this story is full of emotion that will warm your heart.

The dual narration was fantastic! David Lee Huynh and Samantha Brentmoor were perfectly cast to voice Kai and Isabelle. They brought the emotion, the passion, and all the angsty goodness! 5/5 stars for this duo.

Fantastic End to the Series

Kai is the charismatic goofball on the team, always giving the rest of the guys a hard time for falling in love and getting stuck with a ball and chain. As much as he messes with his friends, he's genuinely happy for them all, but his secret is that he's loved before and lost it all 8 years ago, and he's never been the same.
When Isabelle, his college sweetheart, barrels back into his life it takes both of them for a loop and forces them to face their unresolved past while trying to keep it a secret from everyone in their lives.
Isabelle has been in Italy all this time, and coming back to her roots shakes her resolve on what she truly wants for her future. Adding Kai back into the picture doesn't help when their chemistry is still so strong and they never stopped loving each other.
This story had a wonderful balance of plot and spice with the spice serving real purpose for the development of their relationship. A great finish to the series.
Samantha and David were great on this title, bringing the balance of fun and levity that makes the story special.