Tag: baseball romance

Book Review: Caught Up (Windy City #3) by Liz Tomforde

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Liz Tomforde
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Release Date: October 10th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Kai.
I’m a single dad and starting pitcher for Chicago’s MLB team.I’m stretched too thin, but I don’t want help raising my son.Each of his previous nannies only lasted a few weeks before I let them go.Now, my coach is putting his foot down by hiring the one person I can’t fire—his daughter.Miller Montgomery is the last woman I should fall for. Too wild, too young, and too unattached. Chicago is just a quick stop for her. I thought I’d be counting down the days until she left, but summer feels too short when I start thinking about forever.
Miller.
As a high-end pastry chef who recently won the most prestigious award in my industry, I’m desperate to prove I deserve it. But with a new title comes new pressure, and I can’t create a fresh and inspiring dessert to save my life.With only two months to get back on track, I should be focusing in the kitchen, but instead, I let my dad talk me into using my time off to nanny for his star player’s kid.Kai Rhodes forgot how to have fun, and I’m eager to jog his memory. But when he and his son start to feel like home, I have to remind us both that my time in Chicago ends with the summer.Besides, I’ve always been a runner, and the last thing I want is to get caught.

GOOD.

This is the first baseball romance I can recollect recently reading and genuinely enjoying. I loved Kai so dang much and he was the sweetest Dad. I loved the level of baseball content throughout and getting to see teammates and Isiah. All of the friendships were some of my favorite aspects. I love seeing strong bonds. Oh!! And Miller and Monty’s relationship made my heat squeeze multiple times. They had a special bond I was endeared to from the beginning.

I enjoyed most of the romance. I didn’t love the summer fling aspects as it came to be a fairly repetitive dynamic, especially for Miller. After a medium-ish burn and some good angst I thought the needed relationship conversations would happen and I felt like those kept getting dragged out. I was tired of Miller repeating herself.

So while not my favorite of the series (The Right Move maintains all supremacy), I am still liking this series plenty. There were some fantastic scenes in here and I found the spice to be pretty easy to skip. Looking forward to book four!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports Romance
  • Language: high
  • Romance: 3-4 open door
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings: parental abandonment mentioned, sexual assault (on-page), death of a parent mentioned

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ARC Book Review: Home Run Heart by Hailey Gardiner

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 300 pages
Author: Hailey Gardiner
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 23rd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

There have only ever been two things that Brooks Alden can say he truly baseball and Nora Foster, the girl he dated in high school.

Returning home in the off-season gives Brooks an opportunity he never thought he’d get a second chance encounter with a now-divorced Nora. Suddenly, the hometown he’s avoided for so long becomes a place to make new memories together. They make a bargain that entails spending five Fridays sharing new experiences in the hopes that Brooks will discover that there’s more to life than baseball, while also helping Nora cope with the resulting grief of her divorce and the demands of single motherhood.

In this second chance, sweet romantic comedy, Brooks and Nora must find the courage to discover what makes them happy and learn what it feels like to have their hearts hit a home run.

Home Run Heart is a closed-door, second chance, sweet baseball romance that delivers on all the swoon without the spice. Books in the Kitt’s Harbor series are stand-alone novels but might be best enjoyed if read in order.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

IN LOVE.

You know what really makes me smitten? Second chance romances written like this. Good heavens y’all. IT WAS SO GOOD. What I loved most, is that this story was low on the drama and high on the romance. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I’m in the mood for drama, but what I crave other times is a slow, steady, soft and tender romance. If you need the soft and sweet right now, READ THIS BOOK.

I adored Brooks and Nora (hello dual POV, I love you). I loved the focus on therapy and working through past trauma and high pressure life styles and learning to balance what needs to be done and what you can do for yourself. There were many deep conversations and I am always looking for true communication and I liked seeing those moments between Brooks and Nora. And also, Ollie?? He was so precious!! And let it be known I was a puddle on the ground anytime he and Brooks interacted. PUDDLE.

This is a very fast paced read and will absolutely suck you in. I am now demanding that more closed door baseball romances because this is a niche I didn’t know I needed. I am such a fan girl of Hailey Gardiner’s writing and story telling abilities. Do not skip out on her books.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Content Warnings: emotionally abusive father, divorce and infidelity (recounted)

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ARC Book Review: Nothing Like the Movies (Better Than the Movies #2) by Lynn Painter

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: NA Contemporary Romance
Length: 440 pages
Author: Lynn Painter
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: October 1st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this highly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestselling Better than the Movies, Wes and Liz struggle to balance their feelings for each other with the growing pains of being a college student.

For a few beautiful months, Wes had his dream girl: strong-willed girl-next-door Liz. But right as the two were about to set off to UCLA to start their freshman year together, tragedy struck. Wes was left dealing with the fallout, which ultimately meant losing Liz in the process.

Flash forward months and months later and Wes and Liz find themselves in college, together. In a healthier place now, Wes knows he broke Liz’s heart when he ended things, but he is determined to make her fall back in love with him.

Wes knows Liz better than anyone, and he has a foolproof plan to win her back with the rom-com worthy big gestures she loves. Only…Liz will have none of it. Wes has to scheme like a rom-com hero to figure out how to see her. Even worse, Liz has a new friend…a guy friend.

Still, Wes won’t give up, adapting his clever plans and going hard to get Liz’s attention and win back her affection. But after his best efforts get him nowhere, Wes is left wondering if their relationship is really over for good.

Thank you Simon Teen for the gifted ARC.

SMITTEN.

I enjoyed this story so dang much. I love Wes and Liz and I loved seeing how their relationship progressed through this book. It’s messy and complicated, has a bit of drama and struck many chords of life in college and figuring things out. I loved watching the character growth for both Wes and Liz. Each had some tough truths to learn and adapt from and I love that they found their way back to each other in the end.

And this is a subtle baseball romance?? Heck yes. I could not get enough of the baseball content and I loved Liz’s college job! I think it worked perfectly for this story and added to the necessity of some good ol’ forced proximity moments that I crave.

The side characters were fantastic too. I loved all of Wes’s teammates (and please tell me we might get more stories from this UCLA crew??). Liz’s roommates were also so fun and it really reminded me of the joy that being on a college campus can bring.

Bonus points if you catch the little Taylor Swift references throughout. I loved all of the song lyric additions and gosh dang am I obsessed with a good argument scene, bring me all of the passionate confessions. This truly did read like a movie for me and I would watch it in a heartbeat.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: high and present throughout
  • Romance: kisses
  • Content Warnings: loss of a parent (heart attack), grief depiction, panic attacks

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Book Review: Play Along (Windy City #4) by Liz Tomforde

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 385 pages
Author: Liz Tomforde
Publisher: Golden Boy Publishing
Release Date: July 11th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Kennedy

I’m the only woman on staff for the Windy City Warriors, and after years of putting up with a sexist lead doctor, I’m desperate to land my dream job with a new team next year. All I have to do is maintain my professional reputation for my final season in Chicago.

But a Las Vegas run-in with the team’s shortstop threatens it all, leaving me with a fuzzy memory and a ring on my left hand.

Now, not only am I legally bound to the most persistent man I’ve ever met, but thanks to Isaiah’s scheme to save my job, I have to pretend the whole thing was a planned elopement and not a drunken mistake.

Isaiah Rhodes is reckless, impulsive, and frustratingly charming. He’s also my brand-new husband.

They got the saying wrong. What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas… sometimes it follows you right back home.

Isaiah

As the shortstop for Chicago’s professional baseball team, I’ve had my fair share of fun. But that all ended the day Kennedy Kay became a single woman.

I’ve crushed on the team’s athletic trainer for years. I’ve flirted to no avail, so imagine my surprise when I woke up in Sin City with a ring on my finger and my favorite redhead in my bed.

We agree to stay married for one baseball season, just long enough to keep her job safe, but in my mind, I’m using our time together to prove to her I’m husband material.

Kennedy might be reluctant to join in on our game, but it’s one I refuse to lose.

So come on, wife… play along.

KNEW IT.

I had a feeling from the get go this was going to be a winner for me. I LOVE books where the man is absolutely gone for her and Isaiah Rhodes DELIVERED. I have not recovered. I think The Right Move is still my top, top favorite, but this absolutely competes. I have been waiting for this story after the perfectly drawn out tension.

This marriage of convenience had me in a chokehold. I loved Kennedy!! She was fierce and capable and I just wanted her to feel the love that was surrounding her after being in a deficit for so long. The slow build for her and the character growth she showed was top tier. I loved her journey.

AND ISAIAH? Y’all can already tell I’m obsessed. I loved getting his POV and seeing the deeper workings of his thoughts and decision making processes. He’s a hopeless romantic with a huge heart who just wanted someone to want him. And that hits on a whole other level.

I loved the baseball content, the found family, the soft and sweet and the hard and fast. There’s not one moment I wasn’t glued to my kindle trying to read this.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports Romance
  • Language: moderate-high
  • Romance: 4+ open door
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings: loss of a mother recounted, anxiety attacks (brought on by thunderstorms), misogyny and sexism in the workplace

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