Oh my, Lanta, was this the cutest little read! Ally knocked this slow burn, cozy romance out of the park! I couldn't put this book down!

Tommy is the perfect reformed playboy. I'm in love with the fact that he started to change his ways BEFORE meeting the girl. Most of the time, it's the girl making the MMC change their ways. But with Tommy, he recognized his downwards spiral and decided to change before meeting Maggie, which ends up making him perfect for her!

Maggie is 3 years into trying to emotionally & mentally recover from a traumatic event. And while her situation with Tommy propels her to have to finally face those emotions, I like how Ally wrote Maggie's journey as a self-discovery after a traumatic event. Maggie grew and overcame because of her desire to want to be with Tommy.

I'm usually the girl who LOVES spicy, steamy scenes. But the way Ally wrote this fade to black scene was so incredible. You could really feel all the emotions both characters had in that moment. Nothing was rushed, and you got the intensity of the moment without going into graphic detail.

I definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for a cozy sports romance!

I liked this romance. I wished there had been some more depth to the characters and the story itself as it felt kind of surface but I thought it was really sweet. Definitely a fun quick read.

I could really relate to Maggie and I was so excited to see how she came out of her shell to figure nd love again. I think it is a great message that sometimes love is out there when we least expect it and I think this book captures that beautifully

3.5🌟
I loved this! It was so cute and the things they would say to each other were so cute and wholesome. This book is fade to black so there are no descriptive scenes but I was okay with it because the story was great! I love this concept it's very unique and I loved our fmc because she had a lot of depth emotions as she discovered how to love someone again. Our mmc was fine but I feel like his "bad boy" reputation was nonexistent and we didn't really see much development from him. Overall I loved this it was a cute, fluffy, and short pallet cleanser!

I received a copy of this for my honest review.

Our FMC is the photographer for Chicago baseball team,, and has kept herself from any kind of romantic entanglement since her fiance died four years ago. The day before opening day she is at the field taking some photos when she sees the teams newest addition. Our MMC was just signed as the newest short stop, but is on a very short leash because of his past life as a bad boy. To celebrate opening day the whole team goes out to a club, but it's really not either of their kind of scene. He can sense she is uncomfortable and offers to take her home, but as they leave the paparazzi snap a photo of them. Because he's trying to reshape his image, and she works for the team, the PR department decides they can work with this and set up a fake dating agreement. He agrees, but he has motives beyond his image - he wants to know her. He recruits his teammates to help him keep the girl, while she is working on taking down the wall she has built up. Is this too good to be true, is the past too much to overcome?

I was really excited to read this sports romance and thought it was a great story for a debut novel. I enjoyed the fake dating, that trope has always been a favorite of mine! I liked that the main characters had interesting backstories that gave them more depth than just the romance. It also made it easier to connect with them throughout the book. I liked seeing Maggie navigate through her grief and Tommy grow out of his wild past.

I’m not a big fan of the instalove and miscommunication tropes, which is why i’m giving this book 3 stars. The conflict could’ve been resolved more quickly if the fmc would’ve just listened to the mmc and i thought the third act breakup was unnecessary but overall it was a solid debut!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Woof. I love a leading man with a player past who ends up falling for the woman he's in a fake relationship. Give him a sleeve of tattoos and you've got me, hook, line, and sinker (book pun not intended). I loved Maggie and Tommy's relationship SO much. Their chemistry was wicked from the get go when she got hurt just because she was so busy checking him out, and he was the first one to see if she was okay. I knew from then on out that things would be heated, and boy was I not let down. I loved the little character arc tommy went on from bad boy player to Maggie's, and Maggie's only. It reminds me a lot of Hook Line and Sinker by Tessa Bailey, but only in the way that I love reformed player MMCs.

I truly loved Olivia and her entire character. she was always up to bat for Maggie, and never let her doubt herself OR Tommy. she was the push Maggie sometimes needed.

And Tommy donating to the boys and girls club has my heart because I didn't even think that authors like, knew that place existed. I work for the boys and girls club organization and it is truly a wonderful place so to see it in a book made me so happy.

Thank you NetGalley and 8th Note Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Tropes:
-Sports romance
-He falls first and harder
-Fake dating
-One bed
-Slow burn

Maggie is content with her life as a photographer for a Chicago MLB team. Tommy Mikals is a professional baseball player who gets traded to the team on his final stings, after years as a playboy partier. Circumstances lead to a contract being presented forcing both their hands into a fake relationship to save both their jobs. Can they keep their true feelings at bay?

Thoughts: I found myself enjoying this debut novel. As a big baseball fan myself I found the expressions of love for the game very profound and endearing.
Tommy definitely fell first and harder. I do wish we had a bit more chapters on his POV as I loved seeing his thoughts and I wish we could’ve had a bit more insight on his past. I loved how genuine he was with Maggie and how he made acts of love seem so effortless.

I loved Maggie and found her character to be relatable. She went through trauma in her past and it affected her views on relationships, which is understandable. I did want to yell at her a few times at how oblivious she was on Luke’s affection towards her.

Overall it was a nice cozy read that I would recommend to those who are delving into the sports romance genre.

I do hope Jamil gets his own book!

Trigger warning: past trauma and mentions of car accident and death of loved one

This is an adorable sports romance set in the world of baseball (if you hadn't already figured that out haha). Baseball is the only sport that I enjoy watching occasionally so this was right up my alley. I loved that the female main character also had a job related to the team. It felt more organic this way instead of just a random person.

This book uses the fake dating trope, but it felt more natural than it normally does for me. If you love a good sports romance with very little spice, this book is for you!

this book had everything I love in a rom com and MORE! I’m always in for a sports romance, but to add in a pro baseball player, team photographer, some fake dating, and 2 complex characters that I felt like I was really able to relate to… perfection. I would 100% recommend this one.

that moment when the fake dating becomes real- YES. LOVE.

Thank you NetGalley and 8th Note press for the opportunity to review First Base by Ally Wiegand. It is the story of a couple of damaged people find a way to heal through loving each. It was very sweet. The two are caught by paparazzi leaving a club, as he innocently was just trying to give her a lift home. His contract requires him to have no scandals and she is the team photographer. Obviously this calls for a fake relationship. The difference is they both really like each other. So really the are just dating. He is still a mess from a strained relationship with his father and she is still broken from having lost her fiancé in a car accident where she was driving. Their sweet relationship carries them to healing. It is really a sweet book. However, for me I t lack sizzle and there was no real conflict, There is a somewhat manufactured third act breakup, which I don’t think it needed. Overall, it is a nice debut.

Maggie is a good girl with a past trauma and is a photographer for a processional baseball team. Tommy is the new short stop on the team with the bad reputation behind him. When they meet, they are instantly attracted. There is a no fraternization policy so Maggie knows better than to get involved. Tommy needs to leave women alone and change his reputation to keep his career. One picture changes both of their lives in ways they never imagined. Follow Maggie and Tommy as they navigate the baseball season and the complications that come their way. They are forced into a fake relationship but trip into real feelings. Can they overcome the past to make a future together?
There are some sensitive topics in this book. The FMC deals with trauma. Know that before reading. Overall, the book made me laugh, cry, yell, smile, giggle, shout, all of the feelings! Such a great book. It was a sweet and quick read.
Thank you to Net Galley for the eARC of this book.

Read this if you love fake dating and the baseball player x photographer trope. This book was a short and sweet read but I did not enjoy the miscommunication and third-act break up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of “First Base” by Ally Wiegand. All opinions are my own.

This was a cute baseball romance, just in time for spring training season! I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one by this author. Definitely recommend.

This is a fun, entertaining read. Tommy and Maggie are interesting, relatable, intriguing, entertaining, complex, fun characters. I enjoyed their romance and the path that it took to get to their HEA. These are fun characters to spend time with. This story brought out many emotions – laughter, tears, and cheers – not all at the same time. The secondary characters added to the fabric of the story and my enjoyment. I hope if Weigand writes more in this world (which I’d love to see Olivia and some of the players get their romances) that we get to see more of Tommy and Maggie.

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

3.5 stars!!

As a former Chicago resident, I loved the slight references to real locations (even if I was annoyed it wasn't the cubs and the sox!!). This was a cute, sweet story of fake dating to real relationship with two people trying to put their lives back together after getting their worlds rocked in ways they didn't expect.

Maggie is a team photographer for the Chicago Cougars, and Tommy is the bad boy new player who's there for some image rehab. When the two are very innocently spotted leaving a club, the photos make it look otherwise and the two have to begin fake dating to help keep Tommy's image clean. While it starts out as just a contract, through out of town game days, driving lessons, and lots of piers, those feelings start to become real and Tommy and Maggie are pushing each other to be the best versions of themselves. This was wholesome!!!

Thank you so much to Ally Wiegand and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review!

Book 1 Chicago Heartbreakers Series
Sports romance - baseball
Reformed rake
He fell first and harder
Fake dating
Only one bed
Slow burn

Opening day is around the corner, so no better time to warm up with a baseball romance featuring a shortstop (Tommy) and team photographer (Maggie).

Sucker for sports romance. Sucker for women breaking into male dominated industries. Sucker for female friendships.

Can confirm. There absolutely is crying in baseball.

“She was the Amy Poehler to my Tina Fey. The Thelma to my Louise. The Laverne to my Shirley.” We all need an Olivia to our Maggie.

Shortstop!! Tommy living out the dream as Chicagos newest shortstop following a trade from San Diego. Chicago is the last chance he knows he has to revamp his image, and fall back in love with the game after spiraling out of control.

A previous boyfriend, Luke, comes up frequently around Maggie’s thoughts and feelings around relationships and love. Get ready to have your heartbroken. (But don’t worry, Tommy will put it back together again alongside Maggie).

Maggie’s callout of Graham Simpkins (aka Daddy, Mr. Napkin Head himself: Jude Law in The Holiday) had me wanting to be besties with her based solely on her taste in fictional men.

Now friends, I need to be VERY clear about NYC:
1. no one sits on the curb — especially to eat pizza.
2. NO ONE talks that proper and lives on Staten Island.

The third act breakup dual pov did not line up for me. It was unnecessary. I hated it. And then the 4th act was so rushed as the last <10% of the book. It knocked this book down a bit for me alongside a few other plot holes. A solid 3.25 star read and solid debut!

Thank you NetGalley and 8th Note Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

Hey, BCK.Reads followers, C here. And I have the biggest news ever.

W•O•W! Ally Wiegand’s novel was an absolute GRAND SLAM.

I could not have picked a more perfect book for me to get excited about spring and the start of baseball season.

I love fake dating & celeb/sports romance and this book gave me all the happy feels. Maggie and Tommy’s friendship was sweet and authentic, which led to a fun slow burn.

This book was made for me.
XOXO
-C

A cute fake dating romance! It did feel a bit too “instalove” as some points for me. But the story itself was super sweet and there was barely any third act break up.

Thank you NetGalley and 8th Note Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am a sucker for fake-dating and am so happy with how things worked out with Tommy and Maggie. I really appreciated how they both had their different issues from past relationships and ended up helping each other work through things.

There were some minor inconsistencies and the transitions weren't always the smoothest. Sometimes I found myself going back and rereading things because I didn't quite get how things were playing out. Also, while I love a dual-POV, this book heavily favored Maggie's POV over Tommy's POV. I would have loved more chapters from his POV.

Overall, such a cute and heartfelt read! A great debut novel. I am excited to read more from Ally Wiegard, especially from this series.