Small town romance, second chance with a mix of a single mom and BASEBALL? Sign me up. I don’t think there’s anything more relatable than that. I really enjoyed this book. Banter was cute and will definitely be picking up more books by this author.

Mom Ball is Kaci Lane’s latest sweet small-town romantic comedy. It is the second story in the Sweet Southern Mamas series, set in fictional Apple Cart County, Alabama. It should be read after Mom Squad in order to be familiar with the characters.

Brooke was introduced in Mom Squad as Morgan’s best friend. She is a single mother of 8-year-old Timothy, living with her wealthy parents in rural Apple Cart County, Alabama. Brooke broke up with her high school boyfriend, Nate, when she learned that she was pregnant from their single sexual encounter because she didn’t want to interfere with his pursuit of a professional baseball career. She transferred from The University of Alabama after one term and enrolled in the local community college to study X-ray technology. She works as a X-ray tech at the local hospital. Brooke never told anyone the identity of Timothy’s father.

“Nate the Great” Miller is a professional baseball player for the Atlanta Braves, but he injured his arm and is recovering from surgery. He purchased the Vanderburke Mansion in his community, which is adjacent to Brooke’s family farm. Nate hasn’t dated anyone seriously since being dumped by Brooke, and he has no idea that he fathered a child.

Brooke is shocked when she encounters her ex-boyfriend and father of her child in a cow pasture. She is in the middle of a Girls’ Spa Day when she finds out that her son and his friends are unsupervised, so she rushes off to find him and make him return home. Nate offers to informally coach the boys in baseball so they will improve for their Little League team. Then Morgan tricks Brooke into helping her coach the team.
Brooke has to confess Timothy’s parentage to Nate, and hope that he will forgive her. She wants to become a real family, with Nate settling down for good with Timothy and her. Nate has to balance his feelings of betrayal with his desire to know Timothy and his fears of being able to continue his career. The reader knows there will be a happy ending, and there’s very little angst.

I really enjoyed reading Mom Ball; Brooke, Morgan, and the other ladies engage the reader with their antics. The reader can identify with the emotions of both Brooke and Nate, and will root for them to find their happy ending. There are many humorous scenes throughout the story, and the dialogue is authentic for Alabama. Overall this is a sweet Southern romance that feels like a Hallmark movie.

I received an advance review copy (ARC) from NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

4.5 ⭐️

Small town romances with second chances are my favorite kind of books, and this one is really well written with amazing characters. I appreciated how Nate tried to assist Brooke and Timothy in any way he could. I loved seeing Nate and Brooke reunite. I've never read anything by Kaci Lane before, but I'll definitely look for more!

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing for e-ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

What a cute book. I really enjoyed it. This was my first by this author and will not be my last. Great writing style! A fun and easy read.

Mom Ball is a small town romance with a side of sports. It was a great time that romcom lovers should read!

Mom Ball by Kaci Lane was a fun read. Coming face to face with your old high school boyfriend, and him finding out a secret that has been kept from everyone. You will need to read to find out what happens.

Thank you netgalley for an arc of Mom Ball by Kaci Lane

Cute story and really enjoyed.

We all love a sports romance and this one did not disappoint. I was hooked from the off and couldn’t put down.

A Sweet, Small Town Romantic Comedy that is an absolute MUST READ. though the cover could have been better, I could not put the book itself down. All the stars!

Brooke and Nate were high school sweethearts. One night of fun set their lives on very different paths and years go by before they see each other again only to realize they still love each other. But there’s one big bombshell standing in their way. This book was such a cute easy read. I enjoyed the characters and the way they handled their issues. I’m usually not a big baseball fan but this one was really good!

Mom ball by Kaci Lane was a fun lighthearted read following high school sweethearts Nate and Brooke as they unexpectedly reunite in their small town of Apple Cart after 9 years apart. I really enjoyed this book, while it can be read stand alone (which I did) some scenes and characters felt a little awkward which I think is because they were introduced in previous novels, so I would recommend reading the series in order. Overall, a nice read for those who love a single southern mama! Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC!

This review has been posted on Goodreads and will be posted to Amazon Australia as soon a possible.

This has some fun quirkiness to it. There is a definite southern feel to the book that makes it fun to read. There is a lot of little league baseball. This is a second chance romance. The romance is well developed and satisfying.

I enjoyed reading Mom Ball by Kaci Lane. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

DNF. Mom Ball had all the makings of being my next literary escape, but I really could not connect with the characters, except when Timothy said "do baseball' instead of 'play baseball. I read for an hour and decided this was not to my taste.

I loved the first in this series and the second did not disappoint. It was super funny with quick banter and a steamy, second chance romance.

An extremely endearing story with a lot of heart and charm. I loved the main characters, and the supporting characters—they all felt so real, relatable, and likable. I would have liked to have seen the main characters in particular developed more. Often I felt the story could have taken us deeper into their lives and how they got into the situation they were in—so many times I found myself wishing the author would have taken me deeper into the heart process and why for each character. Instead I often found the softball team playing the role of a main character instead the supporting mechanism it perhaps should have been. This left the story feeling crowded at times and pulled into different directions.

But when I say this book has heart it really does! I loved this line in particular: "But we don't get to go back, we only get to go forward. Life isn't always as it should be, but we can make it into what it needs to be." I love that the author took us into that reality—showing us with passion that it's true. No matter the cards we have been dealt we always have a choice to progress past it and build something truly beautiful.

Overall, easy fun read that leaves you wanting to know more about each character.

I recieved an ARC of this book through Netgalley. The fact that this was an ARC is the ONLY reason I did not DNF. I have never left a negative review anywhere, but there was just too much that was problematic with this book. While the author has a lovely writing style, and I understand that this was supposed to be Southern charm meets Hallmark, the humor was at the expense of minorities or anyone who wasn't a "normal" god fearing person. I feel compelled to review so that maybe some things can be resolved.

1. Her friend takes her broken flip flop to save so she can use it as a paddle on her kids.. And then proceeds to list everything she likes to hit them with. This whole exchange did not come across cute.
2. When they travel to a town over for a little league game, the people are described in an unflattering light because they drink or don't comport themselves properly. And the worst was when the team they played was described in a horrible light and it was implied it was because they spoke Spanish. There was a whole scene around this and it was extremely problematic.
3. I understand the whole premise is that she didn't tell the baby daddy she had his kid, but she finally admits that a part of her felt like she "deserved" to raise her kid on her own because she had sex. ONCE. While in a commited relationship as an adult... She kept her child from his healthy, non toxic, loving father for 8 years because of her own selfishness and hangups.
4. Any character who does anything outside of "expected behavior" is labeled weird or problematic to the FMC.
5. There were too many comments about men not being able to admit to things they enjoy because others would judge them? Silly things like blankets and pictures on the wall... It's 2024.

Cute second chance, Baseball romance.

Brooke is a single mother raising her 8-year-old son. When she found out she was pregnant by her high school sweetheart she broke up with him and kept her son a secret. Now he is back in town and living right next door.

Nate has loved Brooke most of his life, and when he meets her son, he wishes that he was his dad. Little does he know that he is, and Brooke has been keeping this secret from him for 9 years.

I thought this was a cute story. I loved the little league aspect. My kids played ball, and I could see all of these things playing out. Little league can be a funny place at times. The kids added some funny moments. Nate was such a sweet guy. I loved his character.

I deducted one star for a couple of things that bothered me. Keeping her pregnancy a secret from such a great guy was not my favorite. I was also a little annoyed that Nate never connected the dots. Even when she told him that she broke up with him because she was pregnant, he immediately thought she cheated. He never thought the kid was his, never did the math...I could not figure out how the whole town never guessed that he was the father. It just all seems a little strange to me.

With all of that being said I did like the book. The author did a great job of including not only little league but some MLB as well.

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing for this title. This is my very honest review.

I loved this book! The romance was so cute and I loved the banter! It was so entertaining. I would highly recommend this book!

Will Brooke tell Nate he’s Timothy’s father after all this time?

Brooke Marshall would do anything for her son Timothy but she never expected to see his father Nate Miller after she had quit answering his calls when she was in college after only night together during their long time dating, Now Nate lives across the pasture while he finishes rehabbing his arm and volunteered to teach Timothy and his friends about baseball since he pitches for the Braves. Maybe his volunteering will help their team when she get suckered in to coaching Timothy’s baseball team.

Nate still didn’t know why Brooke had quit answering his calls but he maybe he would get some answers now he was helping her son with baseball.

If you have ever lived in a small town you will love how much the people in Apple Cart County know your entire life story especially with Brooke and Nate when she returned home pregnant with Timothy.

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

A huge thank you to the author, Kaci Lane, and the publisher, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

Sweet, cozy, romantic.
Just fluff. Pure fluff. As in, can't-stop-giggling-and-kicking-my-feet.
Overall great experience. Love it.