In The Second Season, Emily Adrian (Everything Here Is Under Control) has created an ironically funny, high-stakes novel about a woman trying to become the first-ever female announcer in the NBA. Ruth Devon was a college basketball star until her knee blew out, after which she married her coach, Lester, and planned to settle down as a stay-at-home mom. But, unable to resist the game, Ruth becomes a college basketball announcer and then a reporter on the sidelines of NBA games, while Lester, now her ex-husband, has moved from coaching to announcing from the box. Ruth has some guilt about how much time she's spent away from her 18-year-old daughter, Ariana, as her career advanced, but she absolutely loves her work. When Lester announces he's retiring, 42-year-old Ruth is determined to get his job.
The problems in Ruth's way: her sweet, younger boyfriend wants to spend more time with her, not less. No woman has ever been an NBA announcer. And she may be pregnant, which might ruin everything.
With wit and verve, Adrian traces a dilemma familiar to many women: work or parenthood? As she juggles her reporting and her relationships with Lester, her boyfriend and Ariana, Ruth's unsure if she's handling any of it correctly. Absolutely irresistible, The Second Season is a fast-paced, fascinating character study. Readers of Emily Henry or Taylor Jenkins Reid are sure to love Emily Adrian. --Jessica Howard, bookseller at Bookmans, Flagstaff