I loved how the two characters helped each other heal. The storyline was good. I love the fake dating trope. I'm not into sports normally but this story makes baseball seem very interesting. I loved the duel pov too. I liked that they had 2 narrators in the audiobook too; one of each leads pov. I did feel it was a some parts were dragged out a bit longer than they should have and the ending was slightly rushed though.
Thanks Netgalley and Bonnier UK Audio for giving me the opportunity to listen to this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book centers around the fake dating turned real dating trope, and is a sports romance. Going in, I was nervous because I know nothing about Baseball beyond what uve seen in movies. People hit a ball with a bat, and then run in a circle... or is it a square? I've always thought of it as Adult rounders. I still do not know if this is a correct assumption. However you dint need to know how the game works. And it doesn't really work to explain how it works. Since the game itself isn't the focus. More like that the sport is simply just the setting. You have an athlete and a sports photographer. Most of the book takes place off the field so you don't have to worry about that.

The two main characters start off feeling like they could never work. They have nothing in common with the little information we are presented with. But as they grt to know each other, and subsequently we get to know them, this changes. Overall its a cute story. Its short being under 300 pages it didn't feel stressful to read, like some bigger books. It's sweet, the characters are nice and likeable, and with the fade to black instead of spice, I personally found that It was an enjoyable read (listen?).
The voice actors were really nice. Especially with the pov switches that happen throughout. The majority of it is in Maggies pov, however a few chapters we here from Tommy's. I enjoyed this. And I feel like this book is a nice palet cleanser after the more heavy books I've been reading lately. A much needed pallet cleanser.

Thank you Netgallery for the audiobook ARC

Another great audiobook with dual narrators. This is a fake dating baseball Sports romance.

Maggie is a sports photographer for the Chicago Baseball team, and meets the new player 'Bad-Boy' Tommy who has been traded to the new team after getting a bad reputation off the field with his old team.

After an innocent picture taken together by the parapazzi after a team night out , is taken way out of context and caused a stir online. The PR team suggests in order to help salvage Tommys reputation for them to fake date. Maggie is over a substantial sum to agree.

This leads to them bonding and discovering Maggie tragic past and trauma.

I thought this was a very sweet and fast-paced romance with fade to black and HEA

When I first seen this book I thought ok i don't know anything about baseball am I going to be lost or will I be able to keep up with the story but although this novel is based around a baseball player and photographer as the main characters it doesn't overload you with technical terminology for which I was greatful.

It was an absolute delight romcom at its finest and truly left me feeling all the nice kind of warm fuzzy feelings of romance going right. When Tommy and Maggie get together under unusual circumstances of a fake relationship in order to save his career, there is already something between them they have chemistry, making this a destiny waiting to happen kind of scenario. With a few little twists and turns of Maggies past that she has to face so she can move forward and gain some closure. Then their true love assisting in mending some family bridges for Tommy it just had me absolutely melting.

A nice, warm-hearted listen, and I would definitely listen to more in this series in the future. Everyone loves a happy ending, after all. This was a nice quick and easy listening audiobook.

Regarding narration for me it flowed well and was all well appointed the only one part I didn't gel with was when Tommy's ex Sutton was at his place near the end of the story this part in particular just felt a little peculiar hearing the narration in this way.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bonnier UK Audio & Ally Weigand for the opportunity to listen to this book in return for an honest review.

Lovely light hearted romance read/listen. Maggie is unexpectantly and initially unwittingly swept off her feet by newcomer Tommy to the baseball team she works for when they are forced into a fake romance situation due to some paparazzi snapping pictures of them innocently leaving a club.

I found some of it repetitive, but it was overall enjoyable and the characters very likeable with a solid 3.5 star rating!

Rating: ★★★★.5
Started: 27 April 24
Finished: 07 May 24

AUDIOBOOK ADVANCED COPY
Thank you Ally Wiegand, Bonnier UK Audio & NetGalley for gifting me an advanced copy of the First Base audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

The voice actors voices worked really well for this book and it was really engaging storytelling. I also really liked that you could differentiate between the characters that were speaking.

I really liked the characters of Jahmiel and Olivia. They were both so sweet and great side characters.

Such a beautiful story of grief, lost loves and 2nd chances. It details new happiness being found even when not looking or not even wanting it. It was a beautifully written story and I’m glad I got to read/listen to it.

Also, I was out on a run when I got to chapter 30 and let me tell you, I was gasping out “no” “no no no” when I got to the end of that chapter. I’m glad no one was around it my time of heartbreak.

The audiobook was really engaging and it was helped even more with how beautiful the story was.

The writing style was really good so I will be looking to read/listen to more of Ally’s writing.

There was a bit more to this than your average romcom in that there was a slow reveal of few issues which I thought were dealt with convincingly without ruining the light tone of the novel. In addition, some obvious plot lines were avoided which I was pleased about. A lot less predictable in some ways that you get used to with this genre.

A sweet and pacy romance perfect for newcomers , or those who love reading romance without the smut. It is a cute love at first sight, but determined to stay away from each other tension between a baseball player with a reputation and a sports photographer. After they are pictured together in an innocent conversation by the paparazzi, their reputations and jobs are at risk unless they go along with the advice of the PR team and fake a romance. They grow to know each other and find it harder and harder to keep up the illusion and deny their real feelings. A lovely summer-time read and at under 300 pages, and around 8 hours listening, you will devour this at speed. The audiobook is beautifully narrated by Ina-marie Smith and Nezar Alderazi. This is the first in the two.part Chicago Heartbreakers duo, so we can look forward to more swoon worthy sports romance soon #firstbase #allywiegand #emb labooks #netgalley

Sports romance ✅
Fake dating ✅
One-bed trope ✅
First base is the cute, fluffy romance that can get you out of your reading slump! It’s a short and sweet read
I cannot resist a book with fake dating so I had high hopes and First Base didn’t disappoint. This was a great audiobook read with the double narration!
The story focusses around Tommy (reformed bad-boy) and Maggie (team photographer). They both sign a contract to help improve Tommy’s public image and of course, they fall madly in love on the way.
As it was shorter romance, I didn’t feel there was that much depth to the characters but I personally didn’t mind this. I still felt the heartwarming feeling I crave and love when I read romances, so this book really ticked the boxes for me! Overall a fun read.

𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆, Bonnier UK Audio and 𝟴𝘁𝗵 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 ARC 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄.

First Base ARC Review
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3⭐️
Spice:🌶️


Thank you to Netgalley and Bonnier UK Audio for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy of First Base by Ally Wiegand in return for an honest review.

First Base is a cute and heartwarming short-story (less than 300 pages) about a baseball player (Tommy) and sports photographer (Maggie) who wind up fake dating to save Tommy’s reputation.

I love the fake dating trope in a sports romance so this story appealed to me instantly. If you are looking for a quick read that is sweet and fluffy then this is for you.

There is only a little bit of spice, and is fade to black style. The story focuses more on the emotional connection between the characters and their personal growth together than on their physical connection, which I didn’t mind.

While I liked this story, I didn’t feel connected to the characters and found the miscommunication trope towards the end kind of meh. I think that I just don’t like this trope very much and felt that a lot of the drama could have been avoided if they just talked it out instead of assuming.

I listened to the audiobook of First Base and was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a female narrator for Maggie’s POV and a male narrator for Tommy’s. The voice acting was great, especially during the emotional scenes.

Overall, First Base is a short but sweet romance story and is written well. However, I feel like it is missing something. I didn’t feel connected to the characters and therefore was not very emotionally invested in their love story.

This book mixed the sweet romance with the heavier themes and it was impossible not to feel for Maggie after what she’s been through and it seems that Tommy is exactly what she needs to start living again, and to open herself up to love. These two really support each other and I enjoyed seeing them interact with each others’ friends and families. I also thought that Tommy’s teammates were fun and would have liked to see more of them, and Maggie’s best friend, in the story than we did.

Tommy and Maggie dance around each other a lot because of the fake dating situation they find themselves in. It did get a little bit frustrating with them both feeling bad for being in that situation. Sadly, I also didn’t feel the chemistry with these characters and had to fast forward the spicy parts. The narrators, however, were great and good choices for Maggie and Tommy which made the audiobook nice to listen to.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

“First Base” by Ally Wiegand was a cutesy baseball romance that’s so sweet you’ll need to see the dentist.🦷 

It follows Maggie, a sports photographer, and Tommy, the newest baseball star and playboy, centred around a fake romance trope. It’s a sweet story that also tackles some deeper themes for our characters. It’s a quick and easy read.

However, I didn’t feel like the author hit a home run with this novel. The characters and the plot felt very surface-level, with me wanting a bigger connection to the characters. The third act of miscommunication I could have also done without. I’m not a huge fan of this trope in general, but it was just meh. 🫤 

Overall, this is a short review of a short book of under 300 pages. It was an okay read, and I did have some moments that left me smiling, but it won’t leave a lasting impression, and I don’t think I’ll ever reach for it to read again. However, this is my opinion, and if you like light and fluffy sports romance, then this could be one for you. 

𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 & 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝟴𝘁𝗵 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 & 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗪𝗶𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗰 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄.

3.75

Overall this was such a cute story that was easy to get into and remain interested until the end. The reason I didn't rate this higher was because there was nothing outstanding for me. I liked the characters seperately and I liked them together, there was a little miscommunication and OW drama but it was resolved relatively quickly so I wasn't too bothered by that.

My favourite thing was the MMC was a reformed playboy that reformed himself BEFORE meeting the FMC. It wasn't because of her but he had put in the work for himself which was refreshing, and the author didn't go on about his sordid past too much and we saw none of it on page.

I enjoyed the audiobook of this, thank you so much for the ARC NetGalley and I would recommend this as a cute baseball, fake dating, friends to lovers with good character growth.

First Base is book 1 in the Chicago Heartbreakers series from Ally Wiegand and it's a solid debut. I do gravitate to sports romances these days and despite not knowing how to play baseball, I love a baseball romance.

It's described as "fake dating" but to be honest it feels more like "friends to lovers" with "fake dating" than solely just "fake dating". I liked that both main characters had things to work through and that they were good for each other's development. It's fast-paced dual POVs and a relatively short read, meaning the plot moves quickly (not a slow burn in sight) but also packs a lot in. I don't know why Chapters 30 - 33 were written the way they were (especially so close to the end), it felt like a box-ticking exercise in romance writing but not every romance needs a third-act break-up or miscommunication trope. This meant the ending was rushed and the lack of any Tommy POV felt unbalanced. The final chapter and epilogue leave this romance reader feeling better about the Chicago Heartbreaker series.

I listened to this as an audiobook and Ina-Marie Smith and Nezar Alderazi did a great job bringing Maggie and Tommy to life, I will be looking for audiobooks they're on from now on, they've jumped straight onto my auto-listen audiobook narrators list.

I'm excited to see what happens in Going for Two (Book 2) and where Ally takes the Chicago Heartbreakers next!

Thank you to Bonnier UK Audio for providing a free audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review. First Base is out now! #FirstBase #NetGalley

While this book did have some flaws, for a debut I was impressed. Who doesn't love a sports romance and its a nice change from all the hockey romances.. It was fast passed due to being under 300. The main trope in this is fake dating and I loved it

2.75⭐️

tropes: fake dating, workplace, sports romance.

This book follows Maggie, a woman who has lost the love of her life, and Tommy, a reformed playboy who's last chance to save his career in the MLB is to sort out his public image. After being photographed on a night out, they are forced to pretend to be in a fake relationship to save his career.

I found that the writing was easy to follow and was very fast paced but it was also quite repetitive and I did find myself bored at times. I also didn't love the way it was wrapped up in regards to the forbidden aspect due to it being a workplace romance - it felt like it wasn't really discussed if there were any consequences at the end which I didn't love. I also thought that some parts of the plot were predictable.
I liked the characters but I didn't connect to any of them very much and didn't really care about them. I'm not sure if this is a series I'll carry on with because I'm not really attached to any of the side characters that might have books after this one.
Overall, this was a quick, cute, sports romance that makes a great palette cleanser but I didn't absolutely love it.

I read this book in audiobook format - it has two narrators, one for Maggie and one for Tommy. They do a great job of keeping you engaged in the story. The changing P.O.V made it easy to realise when the chapters started and finished because each new chapter would start with the name of the character. However, the numbers weren't spoken which made it difficult to track where you are in the story.

- Thankyou NetGalley and Bonnier UK Audio for the audiobook arc! -

A heartwarming sports romance, this is a light, easy and enjoyable read. The characters have some development and the plot flows quite nicely. I liked the dual perspective. There was something quite endearing about this read!

3.5 Stars. I found this so heart warming and I really enjoyed the portrayal of mental health. It was a cosy sports romance. It didn't blow me away but I did enjoy it.

This is a feel good story for all those who love a good sports romance book. It came with smiles and tears for what the two main characters are going through in their life and how they help the other through it all.

I enjoyed this story.

🎧 Audiobook ARC🎧

First Base - @allywiegandauthor

Thank you to @netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to receive a copy of this audiobook.

I love a sports romance book especially if it's hockey but this is my first baseball romance. It was a really cute listen with a duel point of view. Both narrators gave a great job of telling the story.

Maggie Redford is a photographer for Chicago's MLB team. She loves her job and loves doing it from the sidelines. She's not interested in meeting anyone as she already had the love of her life. Surely this can't happen twice.

This all changes when she meets Tommy who is trying to redeem himself from past mistakes by laying low and playing for the Cougars. But when he meets the gorgeous team photographer he's not sure if he can stick to this plan.

When an innocent photo is captured of Maggie and Tommy and it goes viral PR comes up with a plan for them to fake date. But the more time they spend together and the more they get to know each other, how much of it really is pretend?

There are some really cute scenes in this book and the characters are great and even better together. It was a nice light hearted read despite there being some traumatic issues in the book.

I enjoyed this book and would happily read more by this author.