This was the first baseball romance I have read and it definitely won’t be my last! I’m already so excited for the next book in this series. The chemistry between Tommy and Maggie was undeniable and the fact that this book also touched on moving on from grief really hit this out of the park! *pun intended* I found myself falling in love with these characters and wanting to know more about them and the thing that Ally did was give me that background I wanted to get to understand them better. So many cutesy moments where I was kicking my feet and giggling. The perfect little sports rom com that I’m sure Maggie would have watched on repeat. 10/10 highly recommend!

This was a great book. A great storyline and plot with great characters. It was a quick read and a page turner. A great sports romance. I absolutely loved it!!

First Base, a debut novel by Ally Wiegand, felt like all the coziest things: coming home, a warm hug, the first sip of a warm beverage on a cold day. After an eventful evening last night, it was the perfect companion to the high of an adrenaline rush because it was just fun and easy to read.

I read the previous reviews, and I have some things to say. It's not insta-love. Its insta-lust. I believe 100% in insta-lust after watching Joe Manganiello make his True Blood debut in S3E3. Its a real thing and I stand behind Tommy's instant infatuation with Maggie (great name by the way).

The story was cute. It wasn't twisty or turny, but the pages were easy to flip. There was enough intrigue built in the first act that I wanted more ASAP and I kept going. I liked that a lot of the conflict was resolved quickly and easily and felt heartwarming. There was no villain or person you just despised with a passion, just obstacles that Tommy and Maggie overcame. Sometimes they overcame them together, sometimes they did it separately.

Mostly, I enjoyed the writing style of Ally Wiegand. Her voice felt like I chatting with a friend and he or she was telling me a story. I felt like the story moved easily and the flow was great. I do prefer a book with a bit higher of a spice level, but this was open door and you do get some heat starting at the 75% mark.

First Base was a fun read and a breath of fresh air. It will appeal to romance readers who prefer mild spicy scenes and a strong HEA. The HEA itself had me SWOONING. Check the tropes, if they aren't for you then pass on reading. But for me? Ally Wiegand found a new fan!

4.5 Stars rounded up.

First Base by Ally Wiegand is a heartfelt and fast paced baseball romance. This quick read, 285 pages, is ideal for the reader who wants to enjoy a fake dating sports read in an afternoon. I’d also recommend this book to someone who is interested in getting into the sports romance world. It’s an easy read for someone to pick up and get lost in the dual point of view narration of this fake dating baseball couple who are very much dropped into the public eye.

This is probably one of my favorite tropes, the 'no, I don't date' to 'falling' to 'in love'. This is the perfect summer read for any chick lit/romancey kind of readers out there.

From being set in Chicago, to baseball (just the right amount of sports/dating/regular life kind of vibe) to the fake dating, to falling in love, this book has it all. Super easy and quick read.

I really enjoyed getting to read this one, and cannot wait to see what the rest of the series will be like!

Thank you NetGalley for me E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this one! Baseball romance, fake dating--the makings for a good romance. But the characters were lacking connection and chemistry and I found their falling hard and fast a bit unbelievable. It was cute, but not a fave!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for ARC in exchange for honest review!

I love this cover!!!

I live sports romances but when you throw fake dating in the plot I am so there! This was a cute read and how can you not love the characters!!!

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review

First Base

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“ Baseball photographer Maggie Redford is happy to watch life from the stands. At twenty-five, she's already lost the love of her life and is content to focus on her job snapping shots of Chicago's MLB team instead of her lovelife. But Maggie's thrown a curveball when the team signs Tommy Mikals, a tattooed hotshot whose talent for making plays is matched by a playboy reputation.”

Wow! What a great start to a series. I usually read cozy mysteries most of the time so I grabbed this arc to change it up a bit and I’m so glad I did. I loved the characters and how relatable they are and how detailed their feelings were written. And who doesn’t love a sports story with a little spice and a happy ending? Will be recommending this one.

Bad boy baseball player Tommy is traded to the Chicago Cougars where he meets Maggie, the team photographer.

I started this book just as spring training started and it was a perfect read for this time of year. The excitement for the sport is infectious and overall it’s well written.

Both main characters have baggage they work through. It’s a beautiful thing to see their character development and some surprises! Some parts in the middle felt like they were dragging but once I hit 70-75% I couldn’t put it down. I didn’t even hate the third act break up. No spoilers though.. you just have to read it.

I will say I loved the ending. It was so fitting and tied in baseball and, yes, I got a little teary eyed!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

First Base had me at sports romance but then threw in one of my favorite tropes—fake dating—and I was sold. This was such a cute read, and I really loved the banter and dynamic between Maggie and Tommy!

This was such a cute read that had me kicking my feet like a little girl. First Base follows our two main characters, Tommy and Maggie. Tommy is a pro baseball player who has just moved to this new team due to some scandalous behaviors he committed while on his last team. He’s determined to change his ways and make a fresh start in Chicago. Enter Maggie who is a photographer for the new team that Tommy is playing on. When Maggie almost gets taken out by a baseball at a practice while she’s taking photos, sparks ensue between our two love interests.
This book was so fun. I randomly came across First Base while browsing Netgalley and knew it sounded like something I would enjoy. Upon finishing this book, I came to the realization that I’ve never read a baseball romance before now!
Gasps and disbelief!
I’m very much a sports romance girly which is why I was so shocked when I came to this realization. I was super satisfied with the outcome of this book. It was a super sweet romance that had me oooing and awing at all points of the reading experience.
I wouldn’t say this is closed door, but this is very limited in its descriptions and imageries of the intimate scenes. I found that the story was building on the journey that the characters went on and the story was pushed that way instead of relying on sexy times to push the plot.
Tommy and Maggie grow a lot in the story with both of them dealing with inner demons and past traumas together. I loved Tommy’s character so much. He never tried to hide his feelings or beat around the bush when it came to how he felt about Maggie. He was a sweetheart from the beginning which automatically made me root for him.
I think I would have given this 5 stars if not for the miscommunication trope thrown in at the end. It kind of seemed like the author threw it in there just to have a third act break up, but it was pretty unnecessary. I liked Maggie up until the last few chapters where that miscommunication trope was thrown in.
The whole thing could have been easily fixable had she spoken to Tommy about the issue (which wasn’t a huge one, IMO.) I really liked Olivia (Maggie’s best friend) at the end of the story because she talked some sense into Maggie before she did something really stupid.
Luckily, the miscommunication was squashed quickly with a pretty amazing grand gesture from Tommy. I automatically went back to the oooing and awing due to Tommy’s act.
Overall, I really enjoyed this cute book and I will definitely be checking out the next books in this series!

I received this as an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and 8th Note Press for the ARC of First Base.

Although this was a sports romance about baseball it had way more depth than that. Maggie and Tommy both have emotional baggage and events they need to overcome to be the best they can today. There’s a great story of forgiving yourself and focusing on the future not the past. This was a cute story that flowed nicely. I enjoyed it!

2.75 stars 𝜗𝜚

💌 tropes — this is a fake dating, sports romance, with no smut.

🌺 thoughts — tbh this sounded like a sweet combo to me bc I love all those things but idk something didn’t click. the characters didn’t have much chemistry and honestly? they didn’t even seem to like eachother at all. (not in the enemies to lovers kinda way)

📖 quote —
”Her energy made me feel at ease, like I had known her for years rather than a few days.” 🎀

now this quote. this, I LOVED. it’s literally the only thing I have highlighted help.!!

you cannot tell me this isn’t giving lover:
<i>have I known you twenty seconds, or twenty years?🤭

🫶🏼romance — tommy and maggie were pretty cutesie 🧸
I don’t actually have many complaints I just didn’t feel very committed to the story or particularly liked many characters. but generally, it is pretty adorable so there’s that <33

🥀 conclusion — would I recommend?probably not personally ❤️‍🩹 but taste is subjective so if this sounds like your thing, go for it!! it just wasn’t for me 💛

thank you to netgalley and 8th note press for this arc in exchange for an honest review!!

I knew from page 3 or 4 that I would love this book. The way Ally described her characters and their immediate attraction had me hooked. I am so glad I finished it because it was a really good, fun read.

Tommy and Maggie both have some real issues that they need to work through, and they do just that with each other's support.

I like to go into books with a bit of mystery, so I am a big "don't read the back cover" kind of gal, and when I realized that this was had the fake-dating trope, I was even more in love!

This will be good in the summertime while you're on summer vacation, by the beach, or visiting the city.

This was a cute debut book for this author. I love sports romance and fake dating buuuut I’m not the biggest fan of instalove and miscommunication.

I enjoyed how the characters were not one dimensional both have a backstory that has trauma that they have to work through I was very curious when we would get the backstory about Maggie’s fiancée and it was so sad but I’m glad she finally got a resolution. I couldn’t stand the third act breakup because it was all based on assumption and of course she didn’t let him explain anything. Honestly she owed him such a big apology but his grand gesture was really cute. It is a closed door so if you like them spicy (me) just know there isn’t any if that here but still get the idea of their romance together.

Tropes
* He falls first
* Fake dating
* Athlete/photographer
* One bed - fade to black
* Grand gesture

Cute. An easy read that was a bit predictable, but I like that sort of thing! It was the perfect read during a week full of Opening Days. Would be a great beach read!

4 Stars, 2-3 chili peppers

Maggie is a beloved photographer for a baseball team, she's been single for four years and has no plans to change that. Tommy has just transferred to the Cougars after being dropped from his last team for partying too hard. One of the conditions of his new contract is no partying, no women, and no tabloid appearances. During a team practice, Tommy saves Maggie and her camera from a foul ball and the attraction is instant. So, when the team goes out to celebrate the pre-season, Maggie joins them, knowing full well that there's a no-fraternizing rule she's bound to. She decides to leave early and Tommy offers her a ride home. A paparazzi snaps their picture as they head out and lands them in a meeting with the team's PR department. The head of marketing offers an ultimatum: Tommy and Maggie present a fake, stable, serious relationship to the press or Tommy is dropped from the only team that was willing to give him a second chance. Maggie signs the contract to help him out, keep her job, and get a fat check from the team.

Will the two be able to stick to strictly business or will the forced proximity draw something real out of the fake dating situation?

This was a very enjoyable book, easy to read. It was a bit predictable, but I don't consider this a bad thing in fluffy romances. I did think it was setting up for an interconnected sequel, but the epilogue seems to have nixed that idea.

4.5 stars. I ate this book up! I read it in a days time, in part due to it being paced so well. I really enjoyed both main characters’ back stories and them working through things together. I also always appreciate where the actual sport is depicted in a sports romance. I look forward to future books in this series!

This was the first book from this author I read and I loved it so much. It had all the things you love in it, from banter to fake dating to real love and everything in between. It had the perfect amount of everything in it.

This was a cute romance book that I think tried to handle a few too many serious topics at once. I feel like I was getting whiplash between the steamy scenes and the romantic scenes and the heartwrenching scenes that oftentimes felt like they came out of nowhere. I think with a little more build-up or a little bit deeper dive into some of the characters, they would be slightly less jarring.

I found the characters to be very endearing and I was definitely rooting for them, I definitely enjoyed Maggie's POV a little more than Tommy's but I still enjoyed Tommy's backstory and hearing about how head over heels for Maggie he was. The book itself was very short so things happened quickly, sometimes a little bit too quickly.

Overall, I think this was a nice foundation; I'm looking forward to checking out Ally Wiegand's next books in this universe and seeing where she takes them.