This was different but so good. It was almost a stream of consciousness instead of a standard writing style. It was a little bit of a struggle at the start to follow what was thought and what was memory. Sometimes it was hard to distinguish. However, I highly recommend pushing through because there were so many aspects of this book that I absolutely loved. Coping with the death of a parent is very hard. I lost my father at about the same age as the MMC lost his mother. So I get it. But this poor MMC really does have a hard time. Watching him fall into people that help him out of all this hole is magical to read. The FMC really deserves a medal. No spice, well, sort of - just self-love.

Tw - death of a parent just prior to book.

Big thanks to netgalley and @j.roseblack for a copy of this book. This is my honest opinion.

This is one of those books that has a lot of great moments and equally a lot of moments that could've used some editing. The baseball and overall premise of the book are a lot of fun including the banter of rhe two characters. I like the idea of the therapy sessions but the therapist did not come across professional. This story was a slow burn that bordered on too slow which dragged the story out making it difficult to connect and making the ending not have the payoff it deserved. I believe this is going to be amultiple book series that could've been a standalone.

Sports & two people who hate but also love each other, say less, I was sat and ready for this book! I was in for this book, because of the depth of these characters and their personal stories and not just because of the love they have in the end. the story had depth and the plot was so much more than a sports romance book. We get so much from J.'s writing with this book! The banter also just kept me reading and falling in love with these characters.! This is a must read never needs it pick it up!

This book had great bones but lacked in execution for me. I feel like the author had great ideas but tried to do too much. At the same time, it feels like nothing really happened. There was no character development, and the characters weren’t the most lovable. There were also things that happened that weren’t unrealistic (ex. The client-therapist relationship) that were difficult for me. A lot of the supporting characters are great though. It was also refreshing to read a baseball romance.

I devoured Chasing Headlines by J Rose Black, and I'm still reeling from the experience. This romance novel masterfully delivers on the enemies-to-lovers trope, and I was hooked from start to finish.

Breslin and Liv are expertly crafted characters, with a palpable tension that simmers between them. Their banter is witty, their chemistry is undeniable, and their romance is sweet, tender, and passionate.

What I loved most about Chasing Headlines is the way J Rose Black skillfully weaves together the complexities of Breslin and Liv's relationship. The author tackles their differences with sensitivity and care, making their eventual romance all the more satisfying.

If you're a fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope, or just looking for a captivating romance novel, Chasing Headlines is an absolute must-read. With its engaging characters, witty dialogue, and sizzling romance, this book will leave you breathless and eager for more.

Ugh, I really wanted to love this. I love sports romances, mix in a female in sports, a fierce protagonist and baseball? Hell ya! But whew, this book was long . And not in the I never want this to end way, but in the I swear I’ve lived an entire lifetime while reading this way. The pacing felt off; some sections dragged, others sped by like a fastball to the face, and at times, I had no idea what the plot was actually trying to do. You ever read a book where so much happens, yet somehow... nothing happens at the same time? Yeah, that was this book.

The side characters? Loved them. Some annoyed me, but honestly, that just made them feel more real because, let’s be honest, people are annoying. Dottie alone deserves her own book. But our main character, Olivia... I started off rooting for her, but her arc never actually arced. She stayed just as impulsive, dramatic, and convinced she knew better than everyone else. 🙄

And Coop? Sure, he was a jerk, but so was she. And the fact that she almost cried because an athlete told her “no comment” as a journalist ? Painful. Also, why was she so weirdly rude about softball? As a woman in sports, why trash a predominantly female sport? That alone lost a star for me. (guess who played fastball? 😇)

Speaking of Coop, let’s talk about the one part of the book that really stood out: his mental health arc. A male athlete dealing with pressure, failure, panic attacks, and expectations? We never get enough of that in sports books. I appreciated how the story actually showed that men struggle too. More of this, please.

As someone from a baseball family, I needed the "no baseball for Olivia" rule explained so much better. The reasoning felt flimsy and forced, like an unnecessary obstacle thrown in to create tension rather than something that made sense. My dad had me in cleats at three years old—baseball has always been a part of my life—so I just couldn't wrap my head around why Olivia wasn’t allowed to be involved in baseball specifically.

And then there’s the college experience in this book, which is absolutely not how college works. The way these students talked to professors and bosses had me clutching my pearls. You’d be lucky to get one chance at that level of backtalk before you were shown the door. Some of Olivia’s work expectations were also wildly unrealistic… like, girl, that’s not how any of this works.

This was definitely a book about characters who are fresh out of high school and I’m really hopeful for some real character growth in the next book. But here’s the thing—I will be reading the next book. Why? Dottie. She was the best part of this story, and I need more of her.

Final verdict? 2.5 stars. Some solid moments and great side characters, but the pacing and realism dragged it down for me. Also, still so freaking mad about the softball comment.
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tropes:
⚾ enemies to lovers
⚾ forced proximity
⚾ slow burn
⚾ mental health representation
⚾ fake dating
⚾ found family
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favourite character:
👵🏻 Dottie 👵🏻
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spice rating:
🌶️.5
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I started reading this slowly and as it went on I loved how the characters and storyline developed. The hate to lovers story between the characters is amazing to watch and how the characters overcome fears and challenges of life just makes it so touching.

I really wanted to love this book, but it left me with way too many questions. I got hooked about 40% in, through the end, which left way too many ends hanging with the epilogue. I’m hopeful this is going to be a series because it was set up so well for the friend group to have their own stories, but then the epilogue left the main story hanging with no wrap up.

I would give another book by this author a shot, as I love baseball romances and there are not nearly enough out there. I did appreciate the attention to the baseball details being correct, and it seems like the author has a good grasp on the game and mechanics.

Thank you so much for the ARC opportunity

Sweet romance story takes place in the baseball world.

Coop is dealing with a ruined career when he lets his anger take control of himself.

Liv is a sports journalist that’s trying to break into the scouting side of baseball.

Their is tension and spark between then is strong and undeniable. They face many obstacles between past issues and family histories.

Captivating story. Well written and an enjoyable read.

cute, fun little sports romance book but also had some depth to it. Follows Breslin and Olivia, Breslin is a baseball player who gets himself into hot water following an altercation with a reporter and Olivia is the school reporter who dreams of being a scout but her family is against it.
i really enjoyed the banter between the two main characters, it made the story really fun to read.
This is definitely a young adult novel and if you aren't a fan of slow burn it may annoy you

overall 3.5 stars due to the banter between the two

Olivia has always wanted to be a baseball scout. But despite coming from a baseball family, her father firmly believes she should stay away from baseball. Breslin Cooper's family is the opposite - after the death of his mom and some legal trouble, he's trying to prove that he still believe that he still belongs playing baseball. But will he be able to become a team player?

Chasing Headlines is a book that understands that becoming an adult can be incredibly messy. Both Breslin and Olivia are not only trying to follow their dreams without family support, but going through the process of figuring out if your childhood dreams are still really what you want and how to make sure you're supporting those you love. Breslin and Olivia are a nice contrast in that Breslin doesn't really have any friends he has to lean on or seek support from, while Liv is surrounded by friends who have clear ambitions of their own. But the book has an unusually strong perspective of how essential it is to be able to rely on the people who care about you. Too often in New Adult books, problems are really solved without any support from the adults in the main characters' lives, and I enjoyed that in this book, there was a supportive staff of coaches and teachers who really wanted the best for their students.

This book also has a great sense of setting and place. I felt like I could feel the sun shining down on me and the Texas dust everywhere - it was incredibly vivid. I also enjoyed that this book ends more realistically - unfortunately, not all problems (particularly trauma) are solved by finding a partner and this book makes it clear that moving forward can be long-term work. I am definitely excited to read the next book in the series.

Breslin and Olivia's story was a fun sports romance that hit on some tough issues and it was well written about how those issues affects these characters. Olivia is driven to reach her dreams even though her brother and father is against it. Breslin and Olivia are sunshine/grumpy and their relationship is entertaining. I loved how the book was dual POV and we get to see the internal struggle of these characters and the mental health struggles of Breslin was well written. I really enjoyed watching the relationship between these two characters grow and I would really like to see more from them, I felt that the book just stopped leaving so many questions.

Received ARC in exchange for voluntary honest review from NetGalley.

Unfortunately this book was not for me and I ended up DNFing it at about 11%. I love sports romance but this book was VERY baseball focused and I didn’t find myself gripped by the plot. I found the FMC to be quite unlikable because she was SO obsessed with baseball and she didn’t really care about anything else. I think if you love the sport you’ll probably love this book, however as someone who doesn’t really care about baseball this didn’t hit for me.

I’m a bit conflicted about this one. It was fun and witty with some great characters; a badass strong female sports journalist/scout and a brooding, hurt baseball star. But it was way too long and some parts felt a little too cheesy for me to fully root for the characters and their romance.

The story is told from the dual POVs of Liv Milline, who is part of a famous baseball family but forbidden by her dad to have anything to do with the sports, and Breslin Cooper, who is a baseball prodigy who finds himself on a wrong path after his mother’s death and a public altercation with a reporter. Trying to find his footing again, he does everything he can to avoid reporters. Too bad that the girl from the water fountain meet-cute turns out to be the school reporter…

This was a truly slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance. Almost too slow-burn and with a bit too many hot and cold, back and forth, even a fake dating part, to keep the intensity all the way through. But definitely a lot of fun banter along the way!

There were also some great emotional parts with Bresling struggling with his mother’s death, his father’s rejection and his new harsh reality.
I didn’t like the therapy sessions though. They were cringy and completely unprofessional and inappropriate (the therapist more or less suggesting sex with Liv to help Breslin’s healing, how such a subject could even come up). Due to the slow burn, there shouldn’t really be much smut, but the author solved this by these talks and by adding long dream sex scenes, lot of spicy thoughts etc, which felt a bit like taking an easy way out. I honestly think a lot of it could have been edited out to add more intensity in the ‘real’ plot and to make the book shorter.

The ending on the other hand felt very rushed and without the conclusions I had hoped for. But hopefully some of these issues will be resolved in the next book in the series!

All in all, it was an enjoyable, fun sports romance, with a lot of banter but also hitting on some tough emotional issues. So a solid three star read, but it could easily have been more with a little more editing.

This book actually might be the new textbook definition of slow burn. I'm talking such a slow burn that I couldn't even find the matches to start the fire at times. The author set up beautiful tension between the two MC's, Breslin and Olivia. I was so aggravated at points, wondering if they would ever get together, but let me tell you that these two were at each other's throats, making for some dialogue dripping with sass and enemies-to-lovers energy. While there is limited spice, the tension continuously built through the banter between these two.

I know that this book is supposed to be driven by our girl Olivia, overachieving baseball reporter and wannabe baseball scout, but my man Breslin was really holding down the feelings and the plot for this one. From start to finish, our guy could not catch a break to save his life. Other than the viivd descriptions of his forearms, I appreciated his inner monologue, jarring conversations with his therapist and debates with himself as he wrestled with his feelings for Olivia and his journey through grief. The author did such a thorough job with Breslin's character with the details and emotions that make up his complex personality.

If you are looking for a rom-com with two headstrong MCs and a diverse cast of secondary characters set in a baseball world, this book is for you. Personally, I am not as familiar with baseball and found that the plot revolved heavily around knowledge of it and less about the romance, so I'll give it 3/5 stars.

I absolutely love this book. Olivia, having grown up in a pro baseball family, Is off to college and dreams of being a baseball scout. Breslin Cooper, or Coop, is one of the top athletes heading into college for baseball but also mourning the passing of his mother, but after poor timing on a reporters part, he now hates reporters. Liv gets a job with the college paper covering baseball and her longtime crush, Coop, who ends up be an insufferable ass.

The book is not just an enemies to lovers romance but tackles realistically grief and the stress of family expectations. I love the growth and character development in this book so much. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.

The banter between liv and coop was amazing i found myself engaged in this book. The slow burn was definitely slow but it had decent spice. I wasn't a huge fan of the FMC if I'm being honest. There was a good amount of baseball content which I appreciated.

Tropes included :
enemies to lovers
a lot of banter
forced proximity
fake dating
Slow burn
mental health rep

The first chapter scared me with all the baseball talk but it progressed. Slow burn enemies to lovers fake dating and teases the 🌶️ but doesn’t produce. Overall not a bad read just wanted a little more.

I had a wicked hard time putting this book down! It has a covers a wide range of tropes. Enemies to lovers, baseball romance, young love beginning their college careers, redemption, grief, mental health, found family, and cinnamon roll supporting characters. The only reason I did not give this book 5 stars was because the slow burn did not bring about an eruption!!!!! I can’t wait for the next book!

Also the author did a great job portraying the complex balance college athletes face on a daily basis. They juggle school, athletics, family/friends, networking, and trying to navigate the beginning of the athlete’s future (socially, professionally, and personally)

This was such a good book, I can’t recommend it enough. The banter back and fourth between the characters was hooking and pulled you in to read more of the book.