I've been so excited for this book and oh my goodness it was amazing. I now NEED to read Tracy’s backlist 📚

Danae. Her character was perfection ♥️ like truly. The love she had overflowed to everyone 💗 the way anxiety was represented through her was beautiful 💙 and the raw feeling she experienced through the adoption process 🤍 as well as learning to ❤️ was amazing

Griffin. Struggling to see himself past his baseball career ⚾️ Griffin falls hard and fast for a woman who could care less about his job, and sees him straight to his core. This man 👏🏻 PURSUES 👏🏻 talk about a man on a mission. And the connection he had with Jason was everything 🥹

Jason, AKA fireball 🔥 He absolutely gets his own section 🧡 I loved how prominent Jason was. He was such a joy to read about and had me laughing 🤣 one moment and then crying the next 😭 This little boy stole my heart ❤️ as well as his mom and Griffins.

This book has so many feelings and it was amazing 🥹 The romance was beautifully written 💘 and I loved how it focused more on them learning how to mesh their lives rather than avoiding their feelings 💕 Seriously such an amazing book 📕 and the Harry Potter references ⚯͛ so good⚡️

⚠️ CW: adoption plays a major role in this book and there are on page trauma responses, anxiety, depression. The beginning of the book has great CW ⚠️

Home Safe by Tracy Baack is an opposites attract, sweet and swoony baseball romance. Danae is an elementary school librarian who is in the process of fostering one of her students with plans for permanent adoption. Griffen is the star player for the Kansas City baseball team, attempting to make a comeback after a season-ending injury. This book was absolutely sweet and thoughtful with amazing chemistry between characters. I loved how real the characters were and the author was not afraid to tackle difficult topics, such as navigation of the foster system, death of a parent, and trauma responses/triggers. While these were challenging topics, the author handled them with care and sensitivity.

Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

ARC Review!

This was an incredibly sweet read! Tracy Baack continually amazes me how she paints realistic characters and addresses heavy topics in a holistic way. As someone who has seen adoption up close, I can relate to so many of the joys and challenges this book talks about.

If you're looking for a sweet summer (or anytime) read, I highly recommend Home Safe. If you're not a baseball fan, this book might just convince you to give it another shot :)

Thank you NetGalley and Tracy for this book in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warnings: kisses only, foster care/adoption conversations, discussion of child abuse/neglect

ARC REVIEW:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Home Safe by Tracy Baack is a contemporary romance centered around the world of professional baseball. This novel is filled with tried and true tropes (single parent/ opposites attract) that have proven popular with the masses as well as some less utilized (foster care representation/ guardianship) in the writing community.

I was shocked to discover that Home Safe is only the fourth title on Baack’s resume. While she has written a previous sports romance (Love and Other Goals), this book posed a unique problem; she strongly dislikes the game of baseball. Despite her knowing relatively nothing about the game, Baack managed to educated me on basic rules, key terminology, and fun facts regarding the sport.

Although baseball plays a large role, the heart of the story is rooted in family. Unfortunately, being born into a stable home is a luxury not afforded to everyone. For those who have faced abandonment or displacement, they must seek family via other avenues. Most commonly in the friendships they form (adults) and outside sources such as foster homes, adoption, etc. (minors).

Witnessing Danae (FMC), Jason, and Griffin (MMC) go from acquaintances to a fully functioning family is guaranteed to soften even the hardest of hearts. Their journey was full of high highs and low lows. Not only did it provided an honest look into how trauma rears its ugly head; it offered healthy coping skills for leading a fulfilling life.

I cannot praise Tracy Baack enough. She has proven herself to be a gifted storyteller, penning a remarkable love story. Her talent shines through for many reasons, but the largest one being the subject matter.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Tracy Baack for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

* I hope my time with the Kansas City Crowns isn’t over. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this book spurs an entire series featuring some of the side characters we met in this book.

✨ARC Book Review✨

Book: Home Safe
Author: Tracy Baack
Pub: Indie Published
Genre: Clean & Wholesome Sports Romance

Wow. What an incredible story of love, trust, starting over, getting through the good and the bad, loving each other even through differences. I could go on and on about this book. Tracy really knows how to write depth and rattle characters. This book is heavy and light all at the same time. This one is going to love in my head for a while. So much to think on: foster care, trauma, adoption, communication, and yes even baseball. (Which I’m on Danae’s side, book lover not baseball lover 😆) But even not being a baseball fan, I loved the baseball parts of this book.

I learned so much about how to respond and talk to kids, how to be a better listener to other people, even adults, and to be more interested in them and not myself. I need to be a better “human can opener” like Griffin. Griffin is so sweet. He listens, apologizes, and is super thoughtful and observant. I also really appreciated the italic font for when the character was having inner dialogue with themselves. And the OpenDyslexic font for the chapter titles was perfection in the details. **Highly recommend this book! Especially for anyone who has been in the foster care / adoption scene.

❓𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞-𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞❓

FMC: Danae - elementary school librarian
MMC: Griffin - pro baseball player

What you’ll find:
⚾️ Dual POV
⚾️ Opposites attract
⚾️ Green flag MMC 💚
⚾️ He falls first
⚾️ Celebrity
⚾️ School librarian 📚
⚾️ Pro baseball player / She hates baseball
⚾️ She loves reading / he hates reading
⚾️ Single Foster mom / Adoption
⚾️ Pros & Cons lists
⚾️ Sledding, snowmen, baking cookies
⚾️ Dyslexia rep
⚾️ Therapy
⚾️ Conversation skills - “Human Can Opener”
⚾️ Question a day❔

INFO:
📚: Standalone Novel
📖: 347 pages

CONTENT:
🌶️: sweet kisses only (and lots of it 😆 but in a sweet way). They accidentally fall asleep on the couch together cuddling but nothing happens. Very wholesome
🤬: None
⚠️: death of a parent (past), parent in prison, foster care, emotions of a foster child, childhood trauma (past), therapy, strained parental relations

"𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝘖𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯."

𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰…
1. 𝘚𝘈𝘝𝘌 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳
2. 𝘍𝘖𝘓𝘓𝘖𝘞 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘴

The first word that comes to mind to describe this book is “sweet.” Some might see this closed-door romance as sickeningly sweet—and they might be right. But if the story makes me smile and giggle like a silly schoolgirl the entire time I picked up my iPad to read it, then I want more sickeningly sweet romances please. 🙏🏼

Danae and Griffin couldn’t be more different from one another yet they were so freaking cute together! I related to Danae a lot since she likes to live a quiet, predicable life with her books. Griffin was such a sweet, understanding, and caring guy, who sees people not as strangers but as friends he hasn’t gotten to know yet. And although I was frustrated at times with Danae (maybe because I’m so much like her 😂), both characters grew as individuals and as a couple, which was so nice to read. Add Jason to the picture and, holy cow, they’re one cute family. ❤️

The plot was predictable, but most romances are. The journey to the happily ever after isn’t always so predictable, however. Were there curveballs that kept me on my toes? No, not really. But it was fun, nonetheless, especially the whole baseball theme. I wasn’t a fan of baseball until a few years ago when the Dodgers made it to the World Series and won. My little brother and I were hitting baseballs into our neighbor's yard for a good while during that time. 😂 But gosh, that is a favorite memory of mine. ☺️❤️ I wish I could turn back the time.

Anyway, the highs and lows of this story made the ending so worth it. It’s such a cute book and I highly recommend it if you are into closed-door sports romances, opposites attract, and no cussing stories. I assure you, you won’t regret it. 💞

Home Safe
by: Tracy Baack
@authortracybaack

••I give 5 stars!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📚•Book Release Date: June 30, 2025!•📚

~Opposites may attract, but their differences could turn the relationship into a strikeout instead of a home run...

“Um, second thoughts are all I give. Second, third, tenth. Too many thoughts about everything all the time.”

⚾️📚-Home Safe, is a delightful opposites attract, single guardian baseball romance for fans of meaningful contemporary romance. It is a great fit for readers who want a closed-door sports romance with plenty of swoon but with no spice. This dear story is stitched with a wonderful blend of humor, depth and emotional warmth. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey this story took me on, with watching endearing characters work through trauma and finding healing and happiness. There is such gentleness, realism, and hope weaved throughout the pages, which led tearing up a few times. I recommend keeping a tissue near by. It was beautifully tender seeing how dear characters learn to let guards down and open themselves up to love again that hit a home run for me. The emphasis of finding someone to love and for them to be your safe place was beautifully weaved over and over again throughout. This is a dear uplifting story that left me more inspired and grateful! It is worth the home run read!🙌🏻📚⚾️

“I’m with you one hundred percent, forever.”

•Content: a child who is in process of being
adopted out of the foster care system.
mentions of parental toxic/dysfunctional neglect, drug use, death by overdose and incarceration-all kept minimal and vague; anxiety representation, kisses only.

“You don’t have to say yes... But don’t say no
Just because you are afraid.”

-I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

“Your love is no small thing.”

#homesafe
#authortracybaack
#allaboutthebestreads

Home Safe is cozy, heartfelt, no-spice romance that quietly pulls you in with its grounded characters, realistic relationship, and emotional depth. Tracy Baack offers a refreshing take on the sports romance genre by steering clear of over-the-top drama and instead focusing on the slower, more meaningful process of building trust and connection.

The story alternates perspectives between Danae, a book-loving teacher/librarian navigating single parenthood as she adopts a child in foster care, and a professional baseball player whose grounded nature and emotional maturity set him apart. The alternating perspectives give readers a deeper understanding of each character’s thoughts and allow the romance to unfold naturally and believably.

What I appreciated most was how Baack resisted the usual clichés—there’s no unnecessary angst, no wild misunderstandings—just two adults learning each other’s rhythms and showing up with honesty and care. The pacing is steady, allowing space for growth and reflection, especially as Danae balances her son’s needs with her own slowly reawakening heart. #homesafe #netgalley

📚 ARC REVIEW!
Overall Rating: ⭐️4.5x
Spicy rating: Close-door romance, just kisses!

〰️Opposites Attract
〰️Dual POV
〰️Golden Retriever MMC
〰️Strangers to Lovers
〰️Foster care representative
〰️Baseball Player MMC
〰️School Librarian FMC
〰️'He falls first and hard.’

Even before reading the description, I was already genuinely drawn to the book just by seeing the cover. So when I found out my request got accepted, I was beaming and just couldn't wait to read it. And honestly, the book went beyond what I expected, it really exceeded my expectations! 🙂‍↕️

I found the characters really funny and relatable, especially Danae. Danae is our FMC in the book. She works as an elementary school librarian, and she's just about to become a single foster mom to literally the sweetest little boy, Jason. This kid is literally the root cause of Danae's and MMC Griffin's story, but let's focus on Danae first. Danae's journey throughout the book was so impactful, it was moving to see how she faced her trauma and worked through everything she went through. The way she dealt with her anxiety made me feel so connected to her in such an intimate way. The overthinking, the painting your nails with clear polish just to pick at it later on, and the constant second-guessing your decisions you know were right. And through all of that, I loved seeing how she stepped up and grew, both emotionally and mentally. 
 
Our MMC Griffin is the ‘darling’ of the Kansas City Crowns baseball team. He’s kind, caring, and would do everything and anything to make the people he cares about happy, he’s basically a golden retriever in human form. The only catch? He’s not that into reading. If I had to describe him in three words, they’d be
1. Very
2. Husband
3. Material

Now, about the chemistry between the MCs. Danae absolutely dislikes baseball, but when she crosses paths with Griffin during Jason’s baseball camp, her opinion of the sport just might slowly start to shift. 
Through the chapters, I really loved how they stayed mature and understanding throughout their moments together AND that even when a problem arose, they didn’t go at each other like cats and dogs. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a gentle, easy-to-read romantic novel without a lot of drama.

The book really did a great job writing and handling the emotions in this book! It was incredible to see such deep, complex feelings conveyed in a way that was so clear and easy to understand. I would also really love to mention that the author brought such seriousness and importance to the topic of becoming a foster parent and how to handle trauma and going to therapy. The author did a good job handling these topics without it feeling forced or brushed aside just for the book to go straight to the ending.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice: none
Tropes:
* Opposites attract
* Baseball player & school librarian
* Warnings: foster care & adoption, past trauma for child
* Anxiety & dyslexia representation
* He falls first

Thank you to NetGalley, Tracy Baack, and Victory Editing Co-op for this eARC! I am a teacher, and after reading the summary I knew I had to get this book!

There are so many sweet moments between Griffin and Danae! Their romance and relationship builds so beautifully, and I really enjoyed their openness to each other, despite how different their interests and backgrounds are. They are so thoughtful of each other, quickly observant of certain subtle tells and how to help ease their worries or fears.

There are many moments that made me tear up, especially related to Jason. I have had students with their own family trauma, and the way the author handles this is done with realistic grace. It is clear the author took time to research and understand the very complicated feelings and reasonings behind emotional difficulties of children in the foster care system. I absolutely loved how devoted and determined Danae was to make sure he felt accepted, safe, and where he belonged. When you add how Griff interacts with Jason, my heart just kept melting each time he did or said something that shows how big of a heart he really has 🫠 Their happy ending was perfect, especially in the additional bonus scene!

I felt that this book mirrors how my husband and I are with each other and how much I appreciate that he helps me through my own anxieties and second guessing. It made me reflect on how amazing it can be to have someone who accepts you as your whole self. ❤️

I loved how real the characters felt in this story. The author handled some difficult topics with care and sensitivity. This added a lot of emotional depth to the book.
At first, I found it a little frustrating how the fmc kept saying that she didn’t like baseball, but as the story progressed, I understood her perspective more.
What really stood out was the emotional connection between the characters their bond felt genuine and heartfelt, and it made their relationship feel all the more real and genuine.
Thank you Netgalley for this eARC

I absolutely loved this book! Tracy has this way of capturing your attention on page 1 and holding it all the way through. I absolutely love how realistic the book is in the sense that you could picture the book happening in real life. I love Griffin and Danae and how they navigated their relationship with each other in the spotlight, with Jason, and with a hectic baseball fan. As someone who is indifferent about baseball, I really enjoyed this book and whether you are a fan of baseball or not, you will love this book. Thank you so much Tracy for the ARC!

4.25⭐️

Let me start out with, I love Tracy’s writing style, I truly don’t think I could hate anything she’s written because I just so thoroughly enjoy her writing. Along with that she is great at writing such open and real communication within her romances that I feel like can be lacking from a lot of romances.

I will say I wasn’t expecting the themes of foster care/adoption to just as central as the romance was to the whole story. I think if I had gone in with that expectation, I personally may of enjoyed it a bit quicker, cause it did take me a little bit to get into it, since the romance came in a bit slower.

I still really enjoyed this and would recommend it. Tracy does a great job at making you love the characters and their romance, along with writing and bringing light to tough and important subjects such as the foster care & anxiety in this book.

Content warnings: foster care, past trauma, anxiety.
No Spice, kisses only.

*Thank you to NetGalley & Tracy for sending me an arc of this book to read in exchange for my honest opinion!

A heart warming story that will give you all the feels!

I received an ARC through Netgalley and all opinions are my own.

First off, thank you to NetGalley and Tracy Baack for this ARC of Home Safe.

Home Safe is the perfect romance book if you are looking for no spice and a sports romance. I loved reading this book and found myself constantly wanting to read and find out what happens.

Danae is a caring and thoughtful woman who decides to foster one of the students. She is an overthinker with anxiety, and it feels like a real representation of these traits. I love the fact that she hates baseball and has a foster son and boyfriend who love and play baseball.

Griffin is the dreamiest dream guy I have ever read. He is patient with Danae as she struggles with her anxiety. Also, he was raised in a family that adopted foster children, which gives him insight into Danae and Jason’s relationship. He’s one of those "something's wrong? How can I fix it?" and I love it. 

One thing I enjoyed about Home Safe and the MCs was that they were who they were and disliked what they disliked. They didn't try to change or pretend to like each other's passions. 

I loved all the characters, including Griff's sister, Sam. She was adopted into Griffin's family and helped Jason and Danae. She was always willing to hang out with Jason and quickly wormed her way into my heart.

Lastly, I found Jason's trauma response very enlightening. It was such a good choice by Tracy to add. This book tackles serious issues with foster care and how things can affect children. I liked that it wasn't that Danae adopted Jason and all his trauma went away.

Overall, this book is for anyone who loves sports romance but wants a book with a more realistic feel than just smut and high drama.

Home Safe is the third book I have read written by Tracy Baack, and she has become an instant read for me. This book will pull at your heartstrings and instantly fall in love with the characters. Cheering them on all the way.

The character development was fantastic. Danae is trying to figure out her life as a new single mom, while also dealing with her dysfunctional relationship with her parents. Jason is battling all kinds of emotions as he fights to find new ground in his new life with Danae and all the trauma he has gone through in his short life. Griffin is working to figure out who he is outside of baseball.

The setting was perfect. I didn’t know how I would feel about a sports trope as that is not my favorite thing. I thoroughly enjoyed the Baseball trope. Even though there were a lot of scenes on the Baseball field/stands, there were a lot of times where it was off the field. The balance was perfect.

The storyline- tugged at my heartstrings. There were many layers to this story. Danae is in the process of adopting Jason, while also meeting and falling in love with a famous baseball player, Griffon, each with their own issues. I loved that there was insight into dealing with trauma for kids and that they dealt with it in a real way, both for adults and kids.

This opposites-attract romance was a kisses-only story. It was clean and perfect.

Tracy Bacck sometimes includes faith in her books, this book does not. The only hint to it is that prayer is mentioned a few times, but other than that, there is nothing mentioned. It does not take away from my rating, though I did want to mention for those who purely like Christian fiction.

*I received a complimentary copy from the author and voluntarily chose to review it. All opinions are my own.

School librarian, Danae, is struggling with her new role as foster mom to one of her students named Jason. Working hard to build bonds and a secure loving home for Jason, Danae enrolls him in a baseball program for foster youth, given baseball is one of Jason's biggest passions. Danae may loathe the sport on a personal level but is willing to give it a try for Jason. In walks Griffin, local baseball hero and camp coach. Danae knows practically nothing about the sport but when Griffin shows interest in dating her and supporting Jason, Danae has to decide if Griffin is worth the risk.

The romance and baseball subplot were pretty slow-paced and didn't hold my interest much. I would've preferred more development in their relationship or more tension in the third act. It felt like another run-of-the-mill sports romance, cute but nothing special. Luckily, the foster to adopt plot with Danae and Jason brought the emotion into it and made the plot go to a deeper emotional level than the romance did.

*** I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. ***

I loved everything about Home Safe. Tracy did a fantastic job writing each character. The research that went into writing this book is evident. I always appreciate when an author takes time to genuinely research the topics in their story. It was a joy to read about Danae, Griffin, Jason and Sam.

This story centres around Danae, Jason and Griffin. It’s a sports romance, opposites attract, that’s layered with some deeper themes, particularly issues related to foster care, adoption, and a child navigating emotional regulation. I thought the book did a great job balancing these heavier elements with moments of lightness, fun, and romance.

I loved Griffin as the leading man, his character was well written and showed his huge heart, I really appreciated how caring and selfless he was. He showed how you can overcome adversity and thrive in something you love doing. Danae, wasn’t my favorite heroine, but was still likable overall. Her devotion to Jason, her soon to be adopted son, was one of her strongest and most endearing qualities.

I found some elements of the story a little ‘lacking’ in areas, for example, Danae’s reasoning for hating baseball seemed very childish and very ‘surface level’. There isn’t any spice to this story so if that’s what you’re looking for, this isn’t the book for you.

Instead of getting the epilogue separately, it would have been nice to be part of the book. However, I did enjoy the story overall and found the mix of heart, romance, and real life challenges compelling.

5 ⭐️ read for Danae and Griff’s story!
Published on Goodreads and Amazon: 06/30/2025

Tracy Baack did amazing with this story from the overall writing style to the content that was included. Themes in this story included foster/adoption care, childhood trauma, neurodiversity (implied but not factually stated) and more. These themes can be difficult to accurately portray in a way that is both informative but not overly dramatized. Tracy Baack did amazing with both.

Griff and Danae’s story was incredibly sweet, highlighting the importance of communication, witty banter, and the importance of accepting differences in those we love. While Danae is an avid reader (and who doesn’t love that!), Griff is an MLB player who focused not only on his game but his outreach as well.

Their story focused on interactions and major character development rather than the spice that is found in some romances which overall contributed to the adorable nature this is Danae and Griff. While this was the first book I’ve read by Tracy Baack, it absolutely will not be the last!