This book was an absolute delight to read and had me grinning like a fool and crying in turns. I am an event photographer who frequently works adjacent to sports, and having an FMC in sports photography just filled me with so much joy. I felt like Ally did a wonderful job of describing what it's actually like to capture an event (and the need to always be scanning for the next shot). I could easily visualize the photos Maggie took during the game scenes. It was nice to see myself and a creative industry i love in this character.

Maggie and Tommy were so tender with each other, and even in hard moments, you could feel how much they wanted the best for each other. They are both so precious and unsure, both of themselves and each other in the beginning, and it really was a heartwarming journey watching them learn to trust. I literally wanted to give them both a big hug the entire time.

Grief and what it means to walk through it is a core theme in First Base, and I thought Ally did a beautiful job representing how grief can color your whole world and dim the vibrancy of who you are until you don't quite recognize yourself. I loved how Tommy gave support and encouragement to Maggie without overstepping. He understood when to step back and let her do what she needed in her own way.

I ADORED all the relationships in this book. Every side character cared so much about Maggie and Tommy and I could feel the love in the pages. Their interactions with their parents literally made me want to cry. And I'm always obsessed with teammates rallying behind to help the guy brainstorm how to win the girl. ;)

This book *does* have a miscommunication trope near the end, which is frequently an annoying and unnecessary addition. However, I think the reasonings behind Maggie's actions felt authentic to her character and her past. And her best friend was having none of it and called her out on it, which really redeemed it for me. We all need a friend who will call us out when we're acting on incomplete information. ;)

Overall, I loved every second of First Base, and I am really excited to see what Ally will write in the future. If you love a romance that is so much more than just two people ending up together, a fake dating scheme, or sports you're going to love this one.

Thank you NetGalley and 8th Note Press for the opportunity to read First Base!

[Thank you to NetGalley and 8th Note Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.]

I really enjoyed the premise for this book. It’s a cute idea but I think the story needs some editing.

The book’s flow is fine until we get to the last 25%. The 3rd act break up doesn’t happen until around the 90% mark which forces all of the resolution to happen quicker than it should.

Maggie gets upset due to miscommunication (she sees something and just sort of ghosts Tommy instead of talking to him), but when she tells her best friend she’s going to talk to him after she does a few things first, she literally gets forced into that situation. Again, because the ‘3rd act break up’ happens so late, this feels rushed.

When Tommy & Maggie get back together, I was so thrown off by what he was saying. It feel like a bunch of mmc rom-com movies speeches thrown together in a way that didn’t work with the story. I understand that Maggie loves rom-coms but it felt disingenuous for Tommy and for his and Maggie’s relationship. For example, when he’s declaring his love he tells her that when he first met her, he thought she was “ridiculous” but in the beginning of the book, he says he was “intrigued” and it was basically instalove for him.

Finally, I’m not sure why there’s a dual POV. Tommy only has 6 chapters to Maggie’s 28. It just felt like an afterthought?

It’s a fluffy, quick read. A good palate cleanser. I think the author has a lot of potential with future books (she did a great job giving the main characters background and depth), but she needs to focus on flow/timeline.

"First Base" is a fun baseball romance that has me drawn in from the very first chapter. Tropes include celebrity romance, fake dating, opposites attract and it is a primarily closed-door romance at that. It's told in dual perspectives that allow readers to get a clear glimpse into both main characters' heads. It's really cute, as is the epilogue's HEA scene. Adorable and fun, for sure. A fun, indulgent romance read that's like perfect for travel days.

I really enjoyed reading this book! It was a perfect mix of romance and sports!

Maggie and Tommy enter a fake relationship after being photographed by paparazzi together. The more time they spend together, the more their fake feelings turn into real ones, leading to a rollercoaster of emotions and challenges.
I loved the chemistry between Maggie and Tommy, it was an instant electric connection. The characters were well-developed and had their own personal struggles to overcome. I enjoyed seeing them develop throughout the book!

It was a delightful read that I would highly recommend to fans of sports romance. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Well this was a delightful debut novel. I believe baseball and romance are the best combination. As a baseball fan/former employee there were a few things I side eyed but I managed to get over that. I enjoyed the fake dating aspect and thought that Tommy & Maggie were adorable

First Base by Ally Wiegand was a fun and entertaining romance book to easily read in one night. The writing itself wasn't the best and even frustrating at times at how wordy and redundant parts were but the story overall made up for it. While it did at times feel easy to guess the next scene or dialogue between the two main characters, it was still entertaining nonetheless and interesting to read about the main character as a baseball player as it feel that hockey has taken the spotlight recently. Overall, a fun and easy book to read.

Thank you Netgalley and Ally Wiegand for sending me this ARC.

I absolutely adored this book! It was so well-written, it didn’t feel like a cheesy romance novel, and I feel like the progression of the story was perfectly paced and satisfying.

I honestly related so much to Maggie in her struggles with PTSD and panic attacks, so I truly felt like I was in the story and experiencing things with her. Watching her character development was amazing, and motivates me to keep pushing and hopefully overcome some of my own struggles.

The tropes in this book are honestly some of my favorites, and I spent so much of my time squeezing and kicking my feet because of how adorable and sweet the story was! Tommy is boyfriend goals for sure.

The book description was perfect and I knew exactly what I was getting into when I started the book. The cover is so adorable too! The detail in the story, it made me feel like I was actually at the baseball games and it made me feel nostalgic for those Spring and Summer games.

I think the author did a fantastic job, and anyone that is a fan of sports romance and fake dating will love this book! Incredible!

This story was so so good. I loved the baseball setting, loved the characters, and loved that the story pulled at my heartstrings but also made me smile and laugh. Maggie’s grief and guilt absolutely hurt my soul and I want to hug her.

Baseball
Fake dating
Playboy x good girl
Death offscreen
Grand gesture
He falls first
Slow burn
Workplace romance

Tommy is a wild boy and was traded to Chicago after his image got to be too much. Maggie is a photographer for the team and finds herself mesmerized by Tommy. After the paparazzi takes a picture of Tommy and Maggie leaving a club one night the PR team devises a fake dating plan.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ally Weigand for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I loved this book. The romance was perfect. I was in the mood for a baseball romance and this book hit the spot. I definitely recommend this book!

Loved this book! Sports romances always do it for me! Definitely a slow burn with a lot of who fell first. I don’t have much to say on things that I didn’t like in this book! Only thing would have been more interaction with side character(to possibly get a second book 😊). Will definitely put Ally Wiegand on my authors to watch list! ❤️

⭐ Overall Rating: 4.5 / 5 stars | 🌶️ Spicy Rating: 1 / 5

📚 Tropes: fake relationship, workplace romance, celebrity MMC, slow burn

⚠️Content Warnings: death of significant other (past, seen in flashbacks), car accident (past, seen in flashbacks), anxiety attacks/disorder, grief

-REVIEW-

👩🏻‍🦱FMC: I loved Maggie’s chaotic energy, introverted personality, and unassuming charm. She’s one of those characters that feels like she could actually exist somewhere out there. I enjoyed seeing Maggie’s growth during the book to overcome her past trauma.

👨🏻MMC: Tommy was such a sweet, cinnamon roll guy that it almost was hard for me to believe that he was ever the partying, irresponsible guy we’re told he was prior to this book. I was expecting more of a tortured hero type of character based on the blurb, but that definitely wasn’t Tommy. He had hardships, but he was handling them in a fairly healthy manner. Weird for a MMC, right? 😆

⚡CHEMISTRY: Lots of mutual pining with long stares, hand grazes, and all that good stuff. This had a sweet kind of chemistry with some undertones of heat.

🏘️ATMOSPHERE: I’m a sucker for a sports romance atmosphere. I was engaged with the team, the characters’ friends, and their families. I’m excited to see Olivia’s story in the future!

📺PLOT: The characters’ growth and romance was the main star of the narrative, but there were a few plotlines to keep the story engaging. I thought Maggie’s grief was executed perfectly - certain scenes had me tearing up a little bit.

✍🏻 WRITING: This story was written with first person narration and contained dual POVs. I enjoyed the author’s descriptive writing style. It wasn’t overly descriptive - but just enough to make me feel like I was apart of the story.

👍🏻OVERALL: What an excellent debut by Ally Wiegand! This was a super sweet contemporary romance. I was particularly impressed with Ally’s ability to weave heartfelt, emotional scenes into an otherwise lighthearted novel.

Thank you Netgalley and Ally Wiegand for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and 8th note press for this opportunity. This book was *chef’s kiss* so good. This book is about a baseball photographer and a player which I thought was very original. Maggie, the main female character gets caught on camera instead of holding it. This book has the fake dating trope. It does deal with some heavy stuff, but it has a happy ever after. It was very sweet getting to read along as the story between Maggie and Tommy’s relationship unfolds and how they heal each other.

⟡ fake dating
⟡ professional athlete x team photographer
⟡ trauma, grief
⟡ one bed trope

Amazing Debut book!

Maggie is a photographer for the Chicago Cougars, her favorite team. After getting a small cheap camera and going to games as a little girl with her dad she fell in love with the sport and pictures. She decided to capture it all.
After not having been in a relationship for the last four years due to a traumatic experience. She thought she would be alone forever and only ever experience love through her favorite romcom movies.
Back at work she finds out that Tommy Mikals was joining the team. His reputation is well known. He is a ladies man, a heartbreaker, and not monogamous. But is this all true?
Tommy is a professional baseball player who got swept up in the fast life of money, women, and parties. His relationship with her father played a huge part of how he fell into this career of baseball.
When Maggie and Tommy are seen in a scandalous picture the Cougars PR team decides having Tommy being seen with a relatable nice girl like Maggie can fix his reputation. The two are set up to fake date but when they aren’t able to fake how they feel what will happen.

I really enjoyed this sweet easy romantic comedy book. I love sport romance books! I’m especially excited to read the rest of this series I know all the other boys on the team will be getting a book. I love interconnected series with teammates, friends, or family. The miscommunication trope at the end really threw me just because that trope is so annoying and hard to get through. Overall it was so amazing and so so cute.

Thank you Ally Wiegand. Thank you Netgalley and thank you 8th Note Press publishing for this arc.

This was such a cute and easy read!
This book had a lot of my favorite tropes and was overall heart warming. This book was beautifully written! Not only was this book about a sports romance, it took a deep dive into the characters lives and backgrounds and the relationship they built. I think this book covers certain topics that I think others can relate too.

Tommy , a bad boy trying to redeem his reputation and past, strikes a deal with Maggie and the ChicagoCougars to keep his career. Maggie, a MLB photographer who gets caught up in the paparazzi with Tommy and suddenly her career is also on the line. To avoid them loosing their jobs, they must pretend to be in a relationship.

Baseball Romance! Yes!!!
This was such a cute book!
It was an easy read and the writing was great! It was my favorite tropes so I might be a little bias, but fake dating and one bed are THE BEST! When Maggie was going into detail about why she loved baseball it stuck home for me because I grew up watching it with my dad too.

Favorite lines: “Just because this isn’t real doesn’t mean I can’t still treat you right.” & “Maggie, will you shut up for one second?”

why I gave it 4 and not 5:
It was close door/not detailed spice, and I know there are people that prefer it that way and I’m not knocking it. But, for me when the tension was building and you knew it was about to happen and there were few details… I was devastated.

A baseball fake dating with sprinkle of only one bed? Yes, please!

A great start for a debut author. The story was character driven and I definitely enjoyed Tommy and Maggie’s development.

Tommy and Maggie felt like real people, they weren’t perfect, but you kept rooting for them.

I enjoyed that while Tommy and Maggie pushed each other to do better, they let each other improve at their own pace.

I really enjoyed the story, it was cozy but with heart.

Overall no major complaints. I would rate it 4.5/5.

An engaging baseball romance. From fake to real with interesting back stories. Family and friend relationships, too. A sweet romance but there is foul language and steamy scenes which I skipped. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Overall I wasn't a fan, and only ready 30% of it. I really did not like how the fake dating relationship happened (your fired or else).

(4.8 ⭐️)
(2.5 🌶️)

This book was so much more than a sports romance. Holy crap! This had me hooked from the opening line. Baseball has always held a place in my heart, and this book really played on my heart strings. Maggie is so relatable and if you’ve experienced loss, reading this book will be therapeutic. I cried throughout because it was just so beautiful. This is not just a sports romance book, it’s a book about two damaged people who heal each other, by simply being there. Sometimes we just need the right person to come along and show us the path back to ourselves. I absolutely loved this!