First, thanks to NetGalley for giving me an e-ARC of this book.

Super cutesy YA romcoms are totally my thing and when you add in a sports angle, I'm pretty here for it. This one was cute and fun, but I spent a lot of time yelling "OMG JUST USE YOUR WORDS ALREADY" in my head (and maybe out loud...). That frustration took this from a 4 to a 3 star book for me.

Overall it was a fun, quick read, especially since it's currently baseball playoffs at school.

Marnie use to play softball for the high school team, until during her freshman year she choked bad in the playoffs. This led her to quit, she still loves the game but honestly baseball is so much better. Which is why she does the Saturday neighborhood pick-up games. It helps that her best friend, Cody is the star pitcher for their school. Only, he broke his arm during a game with his arch-nemesis Santino. Cody convinces Marnie to try out of the team and to everyone’s surprise she makes it. Too bad none of the guys are liking it (except for Cody). It doesn’t help that she just found out that Santino is about to become a family member. When did life become so hard?

Marnie is an easygoing character with a lot of pop culture references. She is a confident person who isn’t afraid to stand up for what she believes in. When doubt enters her mind, she finds ways to fight it. Cody as her guy best friend, should be off limits in the love department. But the lines between love and friendship are blurry sometimes. This is one of those times. I like how he is supportive of her decision to try out for the team.

The best thing about this book was the relationships between the four friends. I love how they were there for each other, and yet still ultimately ends up hurting each other as well. Real friends look past the hurt and that is what all four of them do. I wasn't sure at times what was up with Joey (he was kinda a jerk to Marnie) but he does redeem himself. The chemistry developing between Cody and Marnie was adorable to watch, as was the dynamic of Joey and Sara.

Marnie’s family is a mixed bag of supportive and unsupportive. Her daddy and brother are there for her. Her mom not so much, and I really didn’t get it. Especially, since her mom supposedly use to be supportive. Marnie writes it off as her not being girly enough for her mom, but I call bull on that excuse.

Overall, Out of Left Field is an adorable read that will make you smile. It is heavy on the baseball jargon though, to the point where I thought it was excessive. It was fun though to read about a girl who has a love for a male dominate sport.


My Rating 4 out of 5 stars

Favorite Quote There is only one rule for having a ten-year friendship with someone: like-liking is strictly prohibited.

Other People
Sara- Marnie’s bestie
Joey- Cody’s bestie
Santino- Cody’s arch-nemesis

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was really looking forward to this book. I love sports romances, YA, and friends to lovers trope, so I thought this would be a hit with me. Unfortunately, I DNF at 35%. I can usually get through a book within a 24 hour period, but it took me almost 5 days, and I could only get to Chapter 9 before I finally gave up. The writing was pretty good. But, I found the characters extremely unlikable, especially the main character, Marnie. All the characters were pretty nasty to each other, and I never really found out why there was so much animosity towards each other. Ultimately, I just could not connect with the characters and could not finish the book.

*I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I don't read many sports-themed books and when I saw this one on Netgalley I thought I should rectify that. Many people like reading about sports or like the sports aspect with romance, so because this sounded cute and dealt with Baseball, one sport I know decently well, I gave it a try.

I'm glad I requested it because this is quite a cute story. I love how they called where they played baseball with friends the sandlot -- gave me The Sandlot vibes. Heck, the movie was even mentioned! So, I might be a tiny bit biased, since that was one of my fave movies as a little kid.
But, back to the book.
It is a cute, fun, easy, and quick read.

I really enjoyed reading it, even if I the main character annoyed me. She is so snarky! I usually don't mind, but dang... this was like every word. She didn't show or speak about her sad or confused emotions, instead keeping it bottled up and sassing people instead. Even with her friends, their way of communicating is usually through arguing. Then wonders why people would be intimidated by her -- really?
But, she does have problems she's working through that make her feel like a real person. Her interactions with other people don't always make sense to me, but her inner thoughts did.

A great thing about this is that Marnie and her friends don't always talk about romance. They talk about baseball, rivalries, and the future (i.e. after high school plans). Absolutely fantastic! The romance was pushed more into the background and felt more natural, letting Marnie's issue with pitching for a boy's team take center field.

Now, there are a few things you have to suspend your relief for. First, a girl gets to pitch for a guy's team. Professionally, I think the last time this happened was in the '50s and they kicked her out for essentially being too good (striking out Babe Ruth). Second, even in a good neighborhood, I doubt parents are okay with their kids running at midnight in order to help them fall asleep -- or if the parents don't know she really didn't try hard to sneak out so.... *shrugs*. Third, some things that happen with the baseball team and when playing against other teams.

It is a fun story though!! And while I wanted to scream at the characters to just kiss already, (seriously, how can they not tell if they like each other?! It is so obvious!), I thought the wrap-up was cute. I like friends to couple romances too ^_^

Oh! And going back to the talk about the future conversations: I thought it was awesome how Marnie's girl friend brings up how she doesn't want to go to college. This is a thing people need to know they aren't alone about thinking about. And there are other moments when the friends speak about how unsure of their future they are AND THAT IS OKAY! They are Juniors in high school --THAT IS ALLOWED. Not everyone knows what they want to do since they were 5 years old, or has their top colleges picked out by freshman year. Take your time, you;ll figure it out sooner or later.
I do wish more time was dedicated to talking about this, but I'm glad there was so time.

Okay, I'll end it here -- I know this is one of my longer reviews ^_^.
I will recommend this book to people who want a lighter romance in their contemporary and are interested in baseball.

This book is a quick read and perfect for baseball season. It reminded me of Miranda Kinneally's YA sports romance novels which also feature a female lead who is competing against guys in a sport while adding in a romance along the way. There's not a lot of depth but a lot of readers are looking for a light, fun read during the summer and this book delivers that.

I loved the idea of a girl playing on the boys team and the hint of a bff to more sold it.

I liked Marnie well enough. She’s tenacious and talented and stands up for herself. The rest of her friends and their dynamic was quite odd. I struggled with how they could be supportive of Marnie’s pitching when they played on the weekends, but after winning the spot on the school team, the same people she’s known since kindergarten now ignore her.

Plot wise it did get repetitive. There was a lot of telling and not showing, especially during scenes of the games. It felt like some threads of the story were thrown in for fun, as they didn’t really provide substance to the story.

Overall, it was a quick read and had a lot of potential. Sadly, the execution just didn’t work for me.

**Huge thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for providing the arc free of charge**

Marnie has attitude! She also is a lightning rod AND a pretty good pitcher. When her best friend, the star pitcher of the school's playoff baseball team goes down with a broken arm, courtesy of a hated rival's brushback pitch, Marnie becomes the best option to lead the depleted team into the playoffs. Twists, turns, family, high school loves/hates/cliques/rivalries all are used to show the scary road traveled as Marnie navigates her way through life.

This book is hitting the shelves at a perfect time because baseball season is in full swing! I thought the characters were very cute and you will be cheering for Marnie the whole way. Kris Hui Lee definitely hit this one out of the park!!

While I always love a good female empowerment story, I feel a little like this one plays it down a little bit. I wanted to see a bit more character arc and development from people outside the main character.

So growing up, baseball was my jam. As a kid I watched all, and I mean, all the baseball films you could think of. "The Sandlot", "Rookie of the Year", "Angels in the Outfield", "A League of Their Own" - you name it, I could quote it. So when this book popped up I immediately requested it because I wanted a wee bit of nostalgia! I had a great time reading this book. The romance was sweet but not too overbearing (which I appreciated, especially when this book really was quite swoon worthy), and the baseball was written so well! SO well! I am hazarding a guess that the author really loves baseball? Because I could feel the enthusiasm for the game seeping out of this book, and that made me happy. Like Marnie, I played softball in school, but I was always drawn to baseball (which isn't super big here in Australia, alas). This book reminded me of why I really love Kasie West - this book was lighthearted and sweet, and just what I needed. Would recommend!

*I received and eARC from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.*

I have been looking for baseball stories with female protagonists ever since my favorite television show, Pitch, was canceled. This story seemed cute and I'm sure others would love it but I just couldn't get into it. The writing seemed a little juvenile which isn't a bad thing. It's just not what I was looking for.

I hate to say it, but this book was a DNF for me. I typically love books like this (they had me at a Kasie West comparison). The characters were just unlikable, and the writing drug along so slowly. I just couldn't connect with this, even as a lover of sports and romance.

Good book, a little bit repetitive in terms of the baseball game scenes but on the whole a good read. I hoped for a little bit more interaction between characters.

As an athlete myself, I LOVED this book---keep em coming, Kris!

While I really enjoyed the concept and premise of the book, it ultimately fell a bit flat to me - the plot was predictable and very surface-level, nothing deeper going on in terms of message or subplot.

The book overall has a charming quality to it. It's your standard fluffy teen romance and it definitely works. The dynamic between the two leads is a little interesting. I can't entirely tell what's up with them, but they are a good pair of leads.

Overall, interesting read, if not a little repetitive of the current stock of teen novels. But good all the same.

I liked how the book focused on Marnie gaining confidence and taking risks. The baseball setting is fun. I wish some plot lines were developed more, specifically her relationship with her mother, and with her best friend.

I enjoyed this overall, but I will admit that the immaturity of the MC (Marnie) annoyed me a little bit. She has great heart, and I love her fighting spirit -- but man, she really struggled to be honest with those around her (and even herself). In some ways, it felt like the author was relying a little too heavily on the trope of miscommunication (and lack of communication) to build tension too. But all in all, it's a sweet story with many positives. I also liked the supportive families and the solid friendship between Marnie, Joey, Cody, and Sarah.

OUT OF LEFT FIELD is a fun, feel-good novel. The writing style reminds me of Kasie West's with cute scenes and banter. At some points, the characters seemed older than they really were and sometimes younger, but maybe that explains the whole experience of being a teenager.

The main story follows Marnie as she tries out for the boys' baseball team when their pitcher is injured in a game. This leads to Marnie feeling like she needs to prove herself to the team, and not wanting to disappoint them or herself. Meanwhile, she's also trying to figure out if her 11-year friendship with Cody could possibly become more.

I appreciated the idea of a girl being able to join a boys' sports team and being respected. There are great moments of friendship and growing pains. In one scene a father tells Marnie that she encouraged his young daughter to want to play baseball. The plot very much encourages a co-ed appreciation of male and female sports.

For most of the novel, Marnie is feisty and outspoken, so it was just a little concerning how much she blamed herself for certain things such as losing a game, a fight with Cody, etc. I understand that she might just hide her insecurity with her jokes and attitude, but I found all of her apologies unnecessary.

Also, I personally found the amount of cussing excessive. Don't get me wrong, I know that's how teenagers talk, I just found it a little distracting from what was really going on in the story.

Overall though, the book is a cute, contemporary read!

The language in this book was very salty. So much that I chose not to finish it. I love baseball books and this one where the girl faces adversity of an all make team had me so anticipatory. not all terms have potty mouths and books that portray otherwise are misleading.