This was my first fanfic/wattpad book style so maybe I missed the picture, but I felt like it focused too much on Josh and baseball. I would have loved more wine and Gretchen content. But I also really love baseball so who amI really to complain about it?

I really liked the character dynamic, it was filled with lots of funny, steamy, light hearted interactions and a nice HEA.

I would definitely read a book two that focused on the Sharla and his lordship pretty please make this happen Caroline Richardson

Thank you Netgalley and Wattpad Books for the egalley in exchange for my honest review.

I LOVED this book. I read it without 24 hours and could not put it down. The book caught my attention from the first page. If you like a steamy romance story this book is for you.

I like the celebrity (or in this case, athlete) meets normal girl trope and wanted to check this book out. The friendship between Sharla and Gretchen was well developed, along with the connections Joshua had with the team in Vegas. The plot progressed quite quickly at the beginning so it was easy to delve in but unfortunately, it seemed to slow down quickly and was a little jumpy. I didn’t feel the connection between Josh and Gretchen and found a lot of their time was spent in the bedroom. Whilst they opened up a deep connection quickly, I didn’t feel much chemistry between them. I prefer more flirting in my romance reads and a bit more relationship building outside of the physical intimacy. There were also a lot of side plots that seemed short and random, such as Neptune’s arraignment, Coach’s cancer and Sharla’s romance. I would have liked to see more meaningful interactions in Josh and Gretchen’s relationship instead of their characters slotting into side characters’ drama.

Overall, it was an easy read and a good plot concept but it unfortunately didn’t suck me into the story.

DNF @ 25%
I was interested in the idea of the book: regular girl meets famous sports player and they develop a romance, however I could not get into the story because of the lack of development. Gretchen just decides one day that she is going to made a choice she usually would not have made which ends up in her favor but it does feel a little bit weird that Gretchen and Josh are so touchy and casual with each other during their first interaction. While there was an obvious physical connection I could not feel a more deeper emotional chemistry with the two main characters as it was just right place at the right time considering the situation they were both in. Since I did not end up finishing the story it might have picked up better later on, but I really could not find myself wanting to read more just based on the beginning of Gretchen and Josh's storyline.

Rating: Not For Me, 2 stars

This book sucked me in with the cute cover and the sports romance. I was not a fan at all of this book. I am a sucker for a good sports romance but there was very little to like about this besides the baseball. The characters were flat with absolutely no characterization other than being "hot." and I think that was the main issue that made it all feel silly. It was the most extreme case of insta love that I have ever read to be honest. I don't mind insta love in romance if it makes sense, but this was just a terrible case of lust at first sight followed by two characters repeating for the next bajillion pages how much they love each other and want each other. So the insta love and the lack of characterization made what were supposed to be dramatic or cute moments just feel absurd.

Also the factor that tears the hero and heroine apart was TERRIBLE. It was just so ridiculous on so many levels. I kept reading wondering if anything would change but it didn't. Definitely should have actually followed through on my thought of DNFing at 15%, but, alas.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Josh is a baseball player on his way out when he meets Gretchen, a sommelier, at an airport. She is a huge fan of his and she buys him a coffee when he looks like he's a bit down and the two instantly hit it off.

This was not my favorite. Gretchen and Josh both consistently are mentioned as not falling quickly for people or having one night stands, despite immediately doing both of those things and as a reader, we never really get the sense that this feels out of sorts for them. They also don't seem to talk about anything besides wine and baseball, the only two characteristics that either of them are given. There is just a sense of insta-love here that doesn't feel genuine or real. When Josh learns that Gretchen was actually a fan for a long time and had put him on a list of famous people to sleep with, his reaction is played as if he is the one in the wrong but from the get go, Gretchen knows who he is and even knows enough about him to know his standard coffee order. This is a bit of an obsessive fan thing so why wouldn't Josh feel violated from that? This just didn't hit the mark for me.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely hate writing not-so-glowing reviews but I always feel as if I should be honest, especially when the author, publisher and NetGalley have graciously gifted me an ARC of a book. Unfortunately Out of His League missed the mark by a mile. I absolutely love baseball so was excited to read a romance with Baseball as the main focus however this book was just not realistic to me. It relies heavily on the “insta love” trope and has the characters saying they think they love each other at 15% through, despite meeting on the first page. The use of the miscommunication trope to drive the plot feels childish and adds to the unrealistic story. I know this book was published by Wattpad and unfortunately it absolutely reads that way. Don’t get me wrong, I have read amazing books on Wattpad or through fan fiction, but unfortunately the stereotype is that Wattpad books are more of a “hallmark” movie compared to a blockbuster hit and this book fits that to a T. The authors’ writing is not explicitly bad but the plot line is cliche and boring. I pushed myself to finish as I wanted to write a complete review but otherwise I would have dnf’d around 20%. On another note, mainly for the publisher, the layout of the Kindle copy of this ARC needs serious work - the alignment/spacing/page breaks are all off and the dialogue is difficult to read, don’t let the author down!

I’m a huge fan of sports romances and Gretchen and Josh were adorable! I do have to say that throughout the book I did find some of the transitions a bit confusing. I don’t know maybe it was just me but at times I was going back a page to reread and make sure I didn’t skip anything. I also feel like this book could’ve been shorted a bit because there was no drama really ever continually occurring so it just felt like cute scene after cute scene was happening without any ups and downs. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but I personally enjoy for this to be points of tension, etc. when I’m reading a romance book. I do just want to say that I really did love Josh he was always aware of when he would make mistakes and would own up to them which is so refreshing to see in a romance book. Overall this was a super quick read and I really enjoyed it and would most definitely recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for proving me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I mean get me a baseball boy and a job that involves a shit ton of wine tasting and I would be one happy camper.

As a frequent traveler, you have no IDEA how often I spot swoon-worthy men in airports and wish I had the nerve to do something about it (and yes I have shot my shot before, no it has never progressed outside the doors of the airport), so the fact that they got an AIRPORT meet cute is fantastic.

I love a good sports romance as well, and have been reading an awful lot of books lately with a male love interest named Josh so this book was right up my ally. It was ridiculously sweet and had some good spice to it as well. (I read some dark romances though so like my perception is probably pretty off so I'm totally just assuming that this is what most people would consider good spice. Like it is very much not a closed door romance.)

The only thing I didn't like about this (and this is totally just a personal preference) but it has some very strong instant-love vibes and it's just not my cup of tea. I like seeing characters struggle with understanding their emotions through a spicy romantic slow burn. Nothing wrong with instant-love, plenty of people love it but I just don't believe in it.

Anyways, this was fun and sweet and yeah if you like sports romance and instant love and baseball and wine then I think this book is right in your league (hehe)

i had somewhat high expectations for this book cause of the cute cover, but i was disappointed.

*thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review*

This was cute but just fine. I didn't really connect with the main character or the love interest, and the chemistry wasn't really there for me! But it was a cute premise and story overall.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW
3/5 STARS

I had a lot of hope for this book, even as a Wattpad graduate the premise and synopsis sounded right up my street of a cute sports romace. While it defiantly delivered on the romance and more intense stuff, the overall storyline fell pretty flat for me. The world could have been expanded and embellished more and the general writing style was not my favourite.

An easy to read romance that doesn't quite make it passed all the bases. Our central focus of Gretchen and Josh carry the bulk of this story, with their attraction perhaps a little rushed and rapid but still cute and enjoyable. As the book went on I found myself more invested in their story and enjoyed the ending.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Out of His League had a promising premise but was just an okay read for me. Gretchen buys her celeb crush and baseball star Josh a coffee at the airport and the two hit it off. They have a weekend of fun but unfortunately real life gets in the way and the two need to decide if they can find their way back to each other and make it work.

The instant love in this book was very instant and very physical. The first half of the book felt like a lot of just physical attraction and not much else. As the story went on you got a little more conversation and depth but I still wanted a little bit more from these characters. Gretchen's best friend also had some love life drama hinted at which could have been the author setting up for another story but it just felt distracting.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this didn't work for me. The insta-love is a trope I truly cannot stand, and this was no different. It didn't feel real, or like they had any chemistry. They met once and and barely spoke and he wanted her in his lap? LOL...OK.

There also wasn't a focus on sports and that was an element I was actually really excited to read about.

Moving on - if you like this trope you will like this book! This just wasn't for me.

I really didn’t like this book, I felt like the whole plot and relationship was rushed. I also felt like the one main conflict was kind of stupid and immature, and every other conflict was pretty random and felt forced. (Thank you Netgalley!)

The cover, the title and the synopsis gave me everything. The actual story gave me nothing. I hated the insta-love because it felt so disingenuous and it’s my least favourite romance trope. The miscommunication and lack of actual sports? I’m not even a sports fan but going into a sports romance you assume there would at least some more of it. If you want a quick read with no real substance or likable main characters then this might be for you.

Honestly there was no plot what so ever. This is a Wattpad book and baby it shows. My rules with books is if they fuck before page 150 then the book is trash. It’s honestly super hard to get into and the whole thing was just weird to me. It’s super unrealistic and unfortunately I really didn’t like this one. They spent most of the book fucking and fooling around in bed. I am full of regret and next time I will play much closer attention to the arc’s I request. I would go more in depth but this book was so boring I can barley remember anything that happened.

“Out of His League” was a cute sports romance! The main character Gretchen sees her favorite baseball players on the worst day of his life in the airport. One cup of coffee later and boom. We have instant attraction!

At the start we hit the story off with a home run of spice and we see Gretchen and Josh's instant connection develop into a deeper more meaningful relationship. Of course with any good romance their relationship hits many roadblocks that all relation ships seem to struggle with until they both compromise and find out what they really want is each other. By the end of the book I was fully rooting for Gretchen and Josh to be together!

If you are a sports romance fan this one is a quick and lovely one that will surely be a walk off hit! Thank you so much to @netgalley for this ARC. Out of His League is out on April 5, 2022 and you can preorder your copy now.

This book is about Gretchen who just happens to meet her favorite Baseball player at the airport as he’s sent down to the minors. She buys him a cup of coffee and the both of them catch a case of insta-love/lust. While I am really into the cover and sports romances it sadly didn’t really give what I was looking for. It was really cheesy and corny (at times really cute) but still a little bit too much Wattpad for me.

**thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review**

A charming, fun story for anyone looking for a read-it-in-one-sitting novel with very likable characters and steamy scenes. Richardson sets up a meet cute by the newly bold Gretchen with Joshua Malvern—dreamy baseball player—and thrusts the reader right into the action. These flirty fun main characters fall in love with each other and will make you fall in love with them along the way. I rooted for them throughout the book! The supporting characters are wonderful and I hope there is a sequel featuring them specifically. Hope to see more fun reads from Caroline Richardson. 3.5 stars.